Read Acts 17 – Courageous, discerning and wise… these are some of the traits Paul, Silas, Timothy, Jason and the believers in Thessalonica, Berea and Athens illustrated. May I confess? I came to Christ as a skeptical non-believer. I thought Christians were the exact opposite of what we read about here. I had questions with an underlying sneer of superiority. Paul reached out to people like me in these places. He risked and suffered greatly to get the Truth out.
I love what he discovered in Berea, people who were eager for truth and searched the Scriptures daily to see if things were as Paul said, :11. Many believed, but the haters from Thessalonica learned this; they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds, :13.
The believers escorted Paul to Athens. There he walked about town and saw all kinds of statues commemorating various gods. He even saw one dedicated to the unknown god, and that was an open door. Verse :23 shows us how he met the locals where they were at and introduced Jesus. It’s a beautiful, wise and honoring way to help his audience receive the Good News. The mission was highly successful, and good seeds were planted.
Beloved, do you still have questions? What is in the way of your whole and complete surrender? Nothing is grounded in truth like Jesus. The bible can stand up to your questions because it is God’s true Word. And when you find yourself on solid ground, tell others!
Judy in the Sky 