Knowing the Unknown God

September 2

(Acts 17:23b-26 NIV) “Now what you worship as something unknown 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 hands. {25} And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. {26} From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.”

(Philippians 3:10-11 NIV) “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, {11} and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.”

At the beginning of his presentation to the Areopagus, Paul told the highly educated Greek philosophers, “I know something you don’t know. I know who the Unknown God is. In fact, I know the Unknown God personally. I have met the Unknown God.” Paul then began to make known to them this Unknown God. He started with the truth of Genesis, telling them of the Creator God who gives life and breath to all things. This God is Spirit and does not live in manmade temples, nor does He live in idols made by human hands. From one man, this God made all nations. This God determines the length of our lives and where we live out those lives. This God is the sovereign Lord of all things. Paul went on later to proclaim that this God is the risen Christ. This is our calling, Christians. Our God, who is unknown to many, wants to be known, and we are called to make Him known. Share the truth. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day

Covering Our Bases

September 1

(Acts 17:22-23 NIV)  “Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men 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.”

(John 14:6 NIV) ““Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.””

(Deuteronomy 4:23-24 NIV) “Be careful not to forget the covenant of the Lord your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the Lord your God has forbidden. {24} For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.”

In the minds of the highly educated philosophers of Athens, it was wise to embrace every idea and every god. They celebrated the diversity of their culture and built altars to all the gods. Everybody’s god was seen as equally valuable. The Athenians were so concerned about being inclusive that they even had an altar to the “UKNOWN GOD”. They didn’t want to risk leaving anyone out. This is called pluralism and it is still popular among the sophisticated and enlightened of our day. The inclusiveness of the Athenians would have been lauded by our contemporary culture. But Paul knew it was wrong. His Judaism told him that there was but one God, and his newfound faith in Christ had convinced him that there is but one Messiah and one way to salvation. His wisdom holds true today. There is but one covering for all of the bases. His name is Jesus. Let Him cover you. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day

The Best Idea

August 31

(Acts 17:19-21 NIV) “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 want 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.)”

(1 Timothy 6:20 NIV) “Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, {21} which some have professed and in so doing have wandered from the faith.”

(Mark 12:28-30 NIV) ““One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” {29} “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. {30} Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”

(Romans 10:8-10 NIV) ““The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: {9} That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. {10} For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”

Paul was brought before the Areopagus, a group who spent all their time listening to and talking about the latest ideas. They thought Paul’s ideas were strange and wanted to hear more. They were trying to intellectualize the faith. Many today try to do the same thing. As long as Jesus remains just in the mind, and never moves into the heart and soul, we can keep Him at a safe distance. As long as Jesus is just a good idea, He does not threaten our lifestyle and we don’t have to change. Other ideas and philosophies are just as valid for managing our lives. Thus we hear people say, “Jesus is fine if He works for you -- just don’t push your religion on me. I have my own ideas about God -- my own personal religion. Believe whatever you want.” But Jesus didn’t come to be just a good idea. Jesus came as God’s best idea! Believe in your heart. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day 

Babble On Believers

August 30

(Acts 17:18 NIV) ““A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute 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.””

(1 Corinthians 1:20-25 NIV) “Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? {21} For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. {22} Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, {23} but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, {24} but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. {25} For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.”

(Colossians 2:8 NIV) “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.”

Paul proved that reasoning can work in evangelism, but no method is fool proof where man has both free will and pride. Some believed -- others debated Paul. When we share Jesus and His resurrection, we can expect opposition. In Athens, it was philosophers. Genuine and wannabe philosophers of today will usually attack us in one of two ways. First, there is the “put down”. They called Paul a “babbler”. Today it may be “bible thumper”, “narrow minded”, “holy roller”, or a dozen other slanderous titles designed to make you feel stupid, out of touch, or ashamed. Second, the supposed philosopher will try to convince you that you are advocating foreign gods. They’ll say stuff like, “I believe in God, but you’ve gone too far with this Jesus in your heart stuff. Don’t get carried away with that wacko foreign thinking.” Christian, do not listen to the philosophers of this age. Babble on! -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day