Christian Reflection and Prayer

Speaking before the Council of
Athens, the Apostle Paul said:

 24 “He is the God who made the
world and everything in it. Since he
is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t
live in man-made temples, 25 and
human hands can’t serve his needs—
for he has no needs. He himself gives
life and breath to everything, and he
satisfies every need. 26 From one
man he created all the nations
throughout the whole earth. He decided
beforehand when they should rise and
fall, and he determined their boundaries.

 27 “His purpose was for the nations to
seek after God and perhaps feel their way
toward him and find him—though he is not
far from any one of us. 28 For in him we
live and move and exist. As some of your
own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
29 And since this is true, we shouldn’t think
of God as an idol designed by craftsmen
from gold or silver or stone.

 30 “God overlooked people’s ignorance
about these things in earlier times, but now
he commands everyone everywhere to repent
of their sins and turn to him. 31 For he has
set a day for judging the world with justice by
the man he has appointed, and he proved to
everyone who this is by raising him from the
dead.”

 32 When they heard Paul speak about the
resurrection of the dead, some laughed in
contempt, but others said, “We want to hear
more about this later.” 33 That ended Paul’s
discussion with them, 34 but some joined him
and became believers.(Acts 17: 23-34)  NLT