142 Life and Death Matters at Mar’s Hill

Acts 17:16-34, TBC Book Two, Chapter 142
Upon arriving in Athens, in the province of Achaea, Paul was overwhelmed by what he saw—idols were everywhere, as were the altars and temples dedicated to those gods. While waiting for Silas and Timothy to join him, Paul decided to begin reasoning with the Jews and God-fearing Greeks in the local synagogue. Once his partners arrived, he went daily to the marketplace, speaking to all who would listen. It wasn’t long before he found some sparring partners, eager to challenge his “strange ideas.”

“What is he babbling about?” one man asked.

“I’m not sure,” another replied. “He seems to be presenting some foreign gods.”

To the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers, Paul’s ideas were both strange and foreign. The ancient Epicureans promoted “happiness” as the ultimate pursuit in life, but many now took that to mean they should indulge in food and drink, living in the pleasure of the moment. The Stoics claimed the highest ideal was to live a life of virtue, to accept hardship in this life and not be controlled by the desire for pleasure or the fear of pain. But Paul challenged both pursuits. . . .

(See THE BIBLE CLICKS, Book Two, Chapter 142, for the rest of the story.)
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Today’s Takeaways
     A proverb to guide you: Destiny, defined by God: “That I might seek him, reach out for him, and find him.”
     A promise to cling to: “From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.” Acts 17:26,27 NIV
     A praise to fill you: You Are God Alone  Phillips, Craig, and Dean     [Can skip ad after first 5 seconds]

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