The Choice is Yours

Acts 13:44-52

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2013%3A44-52&version=NIV;NLT

 

 

Last week, when all the buzz was about the upcoming Ohio State/Penn State football game, the host of a local sports radio talk show told how he and his wife had recently celebrated their daughter’s first birthday. Of course, even at the age of one, she is a HUGE Buckeye fan!

 

The brother-in-law, who IS a huge University of Michigan fan, gave his niece a stuffed U of M teddy bear and U of M pajamas. The mom was incensed, and told her brother that he wasted his money; that no daughter of hers would ever use anything with U of M on it.

 

The question was posed: Was it more important to be polite, or to ream out her brother? All the callers agreed… she did the right thing. But here’s the question that came to my mind: What is most important - family or football; relationships or rivalry?

 

In the Acts 13 passage, the phrase “the word of the Lord”, is repeated multiple times

implying the importance of it.

 

The word of the Lord gave Paul strength and focus in his life and ministry. It helped him to weather the hard times and move forward with purpose and power. It enabled him to be used by God impacting the lives of both Jews and Gentiles. Without the word of the Lord, Paul would have continued down his path of persecution, rather the road of redemption. Paul was a force to be reckoned with because of the word of the Lord.

 

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.            John 1:14 NIV

 

Here’s how The Message interprets the first line of this verse: “The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.” That picture brings it home and makes it very personal. The point is that the word of the Lord can’t be ignored.

 

So, regardless of whether you are a Buckeye fan or not, you must ask yourself the question - what is most important to me; the word of the Lord, or something else? The choice is yours, but keep in mind that your answer will be life-changing.