I was just reading in the 17th chapter of Acts and wanted to shout when I read what Paul taught about God!
Paul addressed those who liked to sit and discuss the latest ideas. They invited Paul to speak to them because they heard about his teachings concerning Jesus and His resurrection. Paul told them that he noticed they were very religious and even saw one of their altars dedicated to AN UNKNOWN GOD.
Who was this unknown God that they were ignorant about?
There is only ONE true God and Paul introduces these educated philosophers to Him …
Acts 17:24-28
“God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.'”
Wow! I love it! He captured so much truth in those few sentences!
Paul explained more …
Acts 17:29-30
Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent …
God does not live within idols. And I often wonder how often even we who love Jesus so much can expect something divine to rest or remain in objects. These last two verses really made me stop and ponder.
The past several years people in the Charismatic circles have been very excited to see supernatural manifestations of heaven here on earth. I am too! Don’t get me wrong. I love God so much and I want ALL people to experience Him. He is the same YESTERDAY, TODAY, AND FOREVER. He STILL touches us physically. We can still feel the weightiness of His presence and have access to heavenly places since we are seated with Christ. But … I think we have to be careful not to hold onto any item and think it has the DIVINE living in it — like a fetish.
Fetishism: the attribution of religious or mystical qualities to inanimate objects, known as fetishes.
Several weeks ago I went to a soaking session at a local worship center. I took a pillow with me that is stuffed full of feathers — beautiful white feathers that sometimes fall out. As I was leaving I looked all around to pick up each feather that I saw on the floor. I walked into the book store and laughed with the employes that I had gathered every feather so that someone wouldn’t grab it — thinking it fell from heaven. They admitted that they have seen feathers fall there sometimes, but they disappear when they hit the floor. We both agreed the reason they disappeared was to prevent people from holding onto what they considered a sign and wonder — and pocket a piece of heaven.
But we have something even greater than an object. We have the CREATOR of the object! We have that DIVINE nature IN US because we have given our lives to Jesus. We are NOT of this world, but our citizenship is in heaven.
Don’t get me wrong. I want any touch of my Lord and holy heavenly things too that I can have. I think we have to be so careful though that we never make the mistake of the pagans and associate the divine with an object. No idols or fetishes should be in our hearts or homes.
Have a blessed Wednesday everyone!
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