In Him
From one man He made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though He is not far from any one of us. ‘For in Him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ Acts 17:26-28
Have you ever wondered what your purpose here in this world is? Have you ever felt like you didn’t belong here? Maybe you have felt in the past that you were born at the wrong time or even considered that things would be better if you were not here at all? Well, today I am going to give you an answer to all of these questions and concerns. In the scripture reading today, Paul answered these questions for the philosophers of his day and his insights are true, even in the days we live in.
I love this passage because even though the people of Athens worshipped many gods, Paul didn’t write them off as too far gone. He came and proclaimed Jesus to them and they were ready to hear. Because they believed there were many gods, they were open to the possibility that there might be some they didn’t know about. They even had a statue made for an unknown god. I find it very interesting that Paul took time to look at their idols of worship. He didn’t take on a religious mindset that it would be wrong to walk among their idols because it might be perceived that he was interested in worshiping them. As he read their descriptions, he found the structure that was titled “unknown god”. Now he had a point of reference to talk to the people about when he had the opportunity, and he did. Ultimately, the people invited him to come into their place of worship and tell them about the good news. There were some that believed, and the rest had something new to consider and I’m sure many more came along later.
So, there were five things Paul told them about their existence and these five points are relevant and accurate for us today. Let me unpack them for you:
- God marked out an appointed time for you! You are here on purpose for such a time as this. God has a purpose and plan for you to fulfill and He has given you the empowerment and gifts to complete that mission. It is up to you to line up your life intentionally with that plan and stay on course.
- Seek Him, reach out for Him and you will find Him. The starting point for finding your purpose is to receive Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. Then make time for Him in your life each day. This looks like quiet, alone time, praying and looking into His holy Word. Searching out the promises He has given you in His Word. Cultivate and grow your relationship with Him and let Him know each day that you desire to know His plan for your life and then follow the steps He gives you day by day. Start by being kind to others, speaking words of encouragement and life. Putting away complaining and murmuring and be the light right where ever you are.
- Begin to recognize that God is not far from you. He has deposited His very Spirit inside of you when you received His love and salvation. You can talk to Him all day long and you can be in constant communication with Him all the time. You can check in for wisdom and answers in every situation and He is close for consultation in whatever you face every minute of every day.
- In Him you live and move and have your existence. You can believe and understand that you are here on purpose. God has personally designed you for this time on the earth. You have gifts and abilities that are relevant to reaching people in the world today. Seek out the plan and start by recognizing what brings you joy in your heart. You can begin to identify your gifts by noticing what you love to do and what brings you the most satisfaction in life. Your life and every movement is given to you by your loving Father in heaven. He will help you find the path He has orchestrated for you and the people you are on mission to reach.
- Lastly, you are His offspring. This means you are a direct descendant of God. He created you in His image and now He wants to empower you with His power. Press into your relationship with your creator and Father and He will give you directions for success every step of the way.
Today I want to encourage you to consider these five things and how your life is agreeing with them. Identify where you may need to adjust your course. Mostly, take time to by with your Father. He is gentle and He is kind. He always has your best interest in mind and most of all, He wants to lead you on the path of rightness to where He has strategically place blessings for you to walk in and people for you to love. He is not trying to keep good things from you, He is working on getting you on the road to where He has already placed your blessings and successes. Trust Him today and talk to Him about whose life you can impact today. In Him we live, move and have our being.
If you have never received His great gift of salvation, do that today by praying the prayer below sincerely and from your heart:
God in heaven, I know I’m a sinner and I need a Savior. I want to turn away from my sinful life to the life You have planned for me. Please forgive my sins, cleanse me from my past, and make me new today. I know Your Son, Jesus died for me. I believe in my heart that You raised Him from the dead. At this very moment, I accept, confess, and proclaim Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior . . . to be Lord of my life from this day forward. I now have a right relationship with God my Father through this salvation in the blood of Jesus. I thank You for giving me Your Holy Spirit to guide me and to empower me to accomplish the things You have planned for my life in Jesus’ name, Amen
Today’s scripture reading: Acts 17:16-34
16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols.
17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.
18 A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.
19 Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?
20 You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.”
21 (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)
22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.
23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.
24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.
25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.
26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.
27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.
28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill.
30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”
32 When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.”
33 At that, Paul left the Council.
34 Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.
The Daily Dose 