²²Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. ²³For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.  ²⁴“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. ²⁵And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. ²⁶From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. ²⁷God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. ²⁸‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’  ²⁹“Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man’s design and skill. ³⁰In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. ³¹For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.”

Meditation

1. Paul’s sermon on Mars Hill (Areopagus) began by drawing on pagan Greek poets to establish a point of contact, and then went on to proclaim God’s truth.  Paul had caught glimpses of God’s truth in the religion and culture of those people but knew that they needed to be pointed to the God of the truth. So Paul’s quotes connected him with the Athenians and set the stage for his teaching.
2. What are the “points of truth” from which you can start to communicate the gospel to those in your world?
3. Majority of the people today still doesn’t know the true God.  How do you need to better prepare yourself to effectively communicate the gospel of Jesus Christ to those to whom God has called you to minister?  Ask God’s help to prepare you to be His witness to unbelieving folks around you.

Family Time (Begin this time by reading the passage above using a children’s Bible.)

Use a Bible Map to locate where Areopagus.  Paul shared the gospel with the Greeks at this place.  Whom have you shared the gospel with?  Where did you do it?  Identify the people and place that you can share the gospel with this week or this month.  Write them in your Family Devotional Journal.

Prayer & Journaling:  On your prayer journal, as you listen to God, write down a few thoughts, questions, words, names, drawings, or anything that has come to your mind during this time.

Proverbs for Today 14:5-7

⁵ A faithful witness does not lie, but a false witness breathes out lies.  ⁶ A scoffer seeks wisdom in vain, but knowledge is easy for a man of understanding.  ⁷ Leave the presence of a fool, for there you do not meet words of knowledge.