From: "Phil Rembleski" <PHIl@rescuechurchofchrist.org>
To: "1111RESCUEMEMBERS"
Sent: Fri, Nov 11, 2022 at 5:44 AM
Subject: 11-11-22 THOUGHTS
11-11-22 THOUGHTS
Paul contemplates the DIVINE NATURE in a public speech below. We would be wise to absorb these words and think deeply. Paul’s complaint is “too many gods and none of them real.” He was speaking to a religious people who were wasting their time! God is defined in beautiful words. Paul speaks of a man GROPING FOR GOD TO FIND HIM. Grope here means “to handle, touch and feel”, and describes the mental action of a diligent seeking. Our problem today is not physical idols made with hands. We struggle, however, with “ the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life” 1John 2:16 ! We need to be GROPING FOR GOD, rather than lusting after the world. The temptation of our current world is to THE SELF! Think about the DIVINE NATURE with all of its eternal implications!
Hab 2:20 "But the LORD is in His holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before Him."
Acts 17:22-33 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.’ Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. 24 "The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; 25 nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; 26 and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, 27 that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’ 29 "Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. 30 "Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, 31 because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead." 32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, "We shall hear you again concerning this." 33 So Paul went out of their midst.
2Pet 1:4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of [the] divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.
My Prayer:
Help us, O Lord, to seek you with all of our hearts. May we earnestly desire and grope for your presence. May we find you, O Majestic One, and discover the meaning and joy and purpose you have given us. Help us to see, actively and presently, that we live and move and exist in Christ Jesus. Make our lives as you want them to be. We want to be all in, O God, each day that you give us. Thank you for the proof of the resurrection. We desire eternity in your presence. In Jesus name, Amen.
Pray for Heather and Bob