It Was God’s Plan All Along!
It is impossible for a human to peer inside the body of another person, to see the other person’s soul. That’s God’s work; salvation is His to know!
Nonetheless, there is work to do: fun & taxing work; easy & tiring work; rewarding & heartbreaking work; and quickly accomplished & long-lasting work the Lord may of ask us today, not because He needs us but because—He desires to share an intimate relationship with each one of us!
Let us ask ourselves—Are we ‘going’ to church?—OR—Are we ‘being’ the church?
Anytime God gives us the opportunity to place others before ourselves, may we always be QUICK to RUN INTO THE DIRECTION THE LORD WOULD HAVE US GO!
This morning, while reading from The Acts of the Apostles, it was heartwarming to be reminded of the God who has placed His Saving Grace within His children.
Please pause to read with me, as together we are reminded—It Was God’s Plan All Along!
Before we read, see the image of where the apostle Paul stood and with whom he was speaking when he shared this reminder.
- See Paul in Athens, Greece, standing in a place called Mars Hill.
- See Paul standing walking throughout this place, observing all the objects of worship that had been erected.
- See an altar, one created, just in case they overlooked ‘one of the gods’ they needed to worship.
- See this inscription chiseled on the façade of the altar—
‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ (The Acts of the Apostles 17: 23b NASB)
- Finally, let us read the Word of God, hearing the apostle Paul speak these words to those standing there (and also to you & me).
“Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.
(The Acts of the Apostles 17: 23b-25 NASB)
“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;
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;”
- May we never hesitate to voice our prayers to Almighty God, even the smallest of things.
- May we always remember that nothing at all is too small to God because He cares about all of His creation. ALL! EVERY SINGLE PERSON!
“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,
- 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;
for in Him we live and move and exist, . . .”
(The Acts of the Apostles 17: 26-28a NASB)
The melody “Who Am I” by Casting Crowns reminds us through lyrics the message the apostle Paul was preaching to the Athenians that day. Please pause to listen.
“Lord—
You hear me when I am calling.
Lord, You catch me when I’m falling &
Lord, You tell me Whose I am.
I am Yours.
Not because of what I’ve done.
Not because of what I’ve accomplished.
But because of who You are.”
“Who Am I”
- Long before any of us were born—
- Long before any of our parents chose where to call ‘home’—
- Long before the entire universe was created by God—
God planned where we would be born!
- God planned to whom we would be given as a child!
- God planned for each of us to seek Him & that is why He placed the innate desire within each one of us—to know Almighty God!
The CREATOR—of EVERYTHING & of EVERYONE—wants to share an INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP with each one of us!
“for in Him we live and move and exist,
as even some of your own poets have said,
‘For we also are His children.’
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.
Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance,
God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent,
(The Acts of the Apostles 17: 28-31 NASB)
- 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.”
- Paul speaks of the Savior Jesus Christ, God’s Only Begotten Son!
- God sent Jesus to earth so that through Him all men would be saved!
It Was God’s Plan All Along!
The Bible records that when the apostle Paul finished speaking, “some began to sneer, . . .”
“But some men joined him and believed, . . . ” (The Acts of the Apostles 17: 32b & 34a NASB)
Let us never forget—
- It Was God’s Plan All Along!
Let us always remember—
- He desires to share an intimate relationship with each one of us!