Good morning friends! We had an inspiring service last night in Ridgewood on prayer. Our hearts were stirred to be men and women of prayer, to strengthen the feeble knees and lift up the arms that hand down. Jesus called His house a house of prayer. Are we a praying church in name only, or are we men and women of God given to prayer? Let us encourage one another to pray one for another and to see great answers to prayer. Let us believe our great and mighty God, and let us all be men and women of prayer. Excerpts from Psalm 111 - Praise the Lord! I will praise the Lord with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation. The works of the Lord are great, studied by all who have pleasure in them. His work is honorable and glorious, and His righteousness endures forever. He has made His wonderful works to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and full of compassion. He has given food to those who fear Him; He will ever be mindful of His covenant. He has declared to His people the power of His works, in giving them the heritage of the nations. Lord, we thank you for ever dying for us at Calvary, and that you suffered and died for our sins, and took our punishment so that we might have eternal life. We thank you that we have access right into your presence every single day, and that we can come before the throne of grace and make our requests known to you. AMEN! Acts 17:16-21 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols. Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there. Then certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, “What does this babbler want to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods,” because he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak? For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what these things mean.” For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing. Paul was waiting for Silas and Timothy to arrive in Athens, and while he was there, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw how much they were given to worshiping of all sorts of idols. He spent time in the synagogue with the Jewish and Gentile worshipers, and also in the marketplace. He taught about Jesus, the only true God. Paul was not shy in preaching the gospel, and the news of what he was doing spread far and wide. Certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. They thought of themselves as being progressive in their thinking and they considered themselves the elite thinkers of their day. They scoffed at him, What does this babbler have to say? Others said, He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods. They brought Paul to the Areopagus, which was a place where Gentile justice was administered very fairly, based on facts alone. No emotional outbursts or swaying of the judges with pity was ever allowed, and this court had a very good reputation as to finding out the truth of a matter. Here they asked Paul what this new doctrine was that he was preaching, and to explain to them the strange things that their ears were hearing. These Athenians were known for listening to and telling each other whatever the latest new thing was that they had heard. They prided themselves on being logical and having the best reasoning available to man. It reminds us of the elites in our society as well - they think they have the corner on all reasonable thinking - and tolerance to any position that agrees with theirs is ok - but any opposing view is hate speech. Professing themselves to be wise, they become fools. These people had itching ears - to hear the latest new thing, and be up on the latest trends. The social media was by word of mouth - no Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest or the like. Let us not get caught up with the latest and greatest trends. Let us get caught up with knowing Jesus better, spending more time with Him, falling in love with Him. Let us get caught up listening for His soft, gentle voice to follow Him. When we are about to choose our own way, let us listen for that voice that says, No, not that way, come my way, follow me. His way is always best! Walk with the King today, and be a blessing! I leave you with the hymn, His Way With Thee. Would you live for Jesus, and be always pure and good? Would you walk with Him within the narrow road? Would you have Him bear your burden, carry all your load? Let Him have His way with thee. Refrain: His pow’r can make you what you ought to be; His blood can cleanse your heart and make you free; His love can fill your soul, and you will see ’Twas best for Him to have His way with thee. Would you have Him make you free, and follow at His call? Would you know the peace that comes by giving all? Would you have Him save you, so that you need never fall? Let Him have His way with thee. Would you in His kingdom find a place of constant rest? Would you prove Him true in providential test? Would you in His service labor always at your best? Let Him have His way with thee.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Dec 2014 11:56:49 +0000
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