To the Unknown God Within You

Exodus 20:2-4

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2020%3A2-4&version=NIV;NASB

 

 

²² So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. ²³ For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Acts 17:22-23 NASB

 

Talk about hedging your bets. Just in case they didn’t have all the bases covered, the men of Athens had a place to worship the Unknown God. No doubt, that made them feel safer; more secure. And feeling secure is a big deal.

 

In America, normally you don’t find an idol or an object of worship set up in the house. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have them; they’re just more subtle.

 

The best way to self-evaluate is to take a look at your time, talent and treasure. Then ask yourself, how do you use them? Look at your calendar or checkbook or online banking account. How are you spending your time and your money? How do you use your talents?

 

John D. Rockefeller, was at one point the world’s richest man and first ever American billionaire.  Considering he was a billionaire in the early 1900’s he is still considered as the richest person in modern history.  When a reporter asked him, “How much money is enough?” He responded, “Just a little bit more.”

 

Whether it’s about money or something else, don’t we all feel that way at one time or another? But we are created for something more; something better; something bigger. Here is what Paul wrote to follow up his words about the Unknown God.

 

This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about. ²⁴ “He is the God who made the world and everything in it... ²⁷ “His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us.  Acts 17:23-27 NLT

 

What is it that you want “just a little bit more” of? God wants the best there is for you. Should you settle for less?

 

 

The Story – Chapter 23 – Jesus’ Ministry Begins

Watch  "Who Am I" and this will make Amazing sense.

John Chapters 3 and 4

John chapters 3 and 4 hold many significant messages! The first section in Chapter 3 is titled “Jesus Teaches Nicodemus.” This Nicodemus fellow reminds me of me in ways. He went to Jesus at night when no one else was around. Nicodemus acknowledged Jesus as a teacher who had come from God. He inquired about how a grown man could be born again. His question seems surface and even quite silly. Nicodemus said, “How can a man be born when he is old? Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!”

When I began my true and sincere walk with the Lord and started spending time in the bible, I too had many questions that likely sounded immature and unaware, but that’s exactly what I was. We all began there, no matter what our age. Nicodemus was an important member of the religious ruling class yet understood very little. We all have much to learn, and if we pay attention we will find that the more we know, the more we know we don’t know. Perhaps that’s why we are called “children of God,” and the reason He says we must be like children in our beliefs. Mark 10:15 "Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it." The Lord knows we will never be able to fully understand because of our limited human mind within this earthly realm. Seeking His heavenly world in awe and wonder as a child however, is what God wants of us.

John 3 is the place in the bible where one of the most famous verses appears. The Journey (A Bible for Seeking God and Understanding Life) states: This one sentence contains the greatest message from the greatest source, describing the greatest love, demonstrated by the greatest sacrifice ever given. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son; that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

John 3 concludes with John the Baptist’s testimony about Jesus. Because he was there before Jesus, and baptizing, when Jesus arrived on the scene, many went to John asking about Jesus. John reminded them; “You yourselves can testify that I said, I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him………He must become greater, I must become less.” As John the Baptist, we are here to acknowledge the Lord, and as we help to spread His word, give all the honor and glory to Him as we become less. It is not about us, but about He who sent us. We are but a vapor in the wind. It has nothing to do with what we've done,  and everything to do with who He is. 

Listen and watch “Who Am I” by Casting Crowns

Read or Listen to John 3 and 4