Today's Passage - Acts 17:26-34

Acts 17:26-34   "From 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.  God 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.  'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'  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.  In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.  For 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..."   In this passage, Paul answered three big questions that people often ask: First, where do we come from?  Second, why are we here?  Third, where are we going?  First, Paul said definitively that God made all nations from one man.  In other word, human beings are created by God, not evolved from apes.  Human beings and animals have fundamentally different characteristics.  All human beings by nature wants to worship; no matter how primitive a culture is, you will see people conducting certain form of worship.  Some worship rocks and mountains, but no matter how under-developed the place is, it is human nature to worship in order to seek the meaning of life.  You will never, however, see apes or dogs contemplating about meaning of their life, or worshipping something.  Thus, human beings and animals have drastically different nature when it comes to worship.  The desire to worship also illustrates that human beings are created by God, because when God created people He left a void in our hearts, and the void can only be filled by God.   Next, why are we here?  Paul said here that our time and place are determined by God, so everything in our life, our movement and our existence are in Him.  God is indeed the Lord who give us meaning to our lives.  The purpose of our life on earth is to glorify Him.  No matter what we do and where we go, we must manifest His beauty in our lives.   Third, where are we going?  Paul clearly told us that one day we will face judgment, and Jesus is the Lord who will come and judge us.  You and I will be on trial, and the Bible tells us that those who believe in Jesus will receive eternal life, and those who don't will perish eternally.  May the Lord help us to truly understand our own faith!   Pray with Pastor Tong   Lord, I ask that you once again open our eyes and our hearts to receive you, to confirm to us that you are the Lord who created us.  Manifest to us the reason you created us so that we may follow you in our daily lives and experience your truthfulness.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!       Participate in Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Building Expansion Project - by Donating a Seat for a future new believer!