As I’ve stated in my earlier reflections on the book of Acts, the book has two primary sections. The way, Luke, the author of the Gospel according to Luke and the book of Acts, wrote this letter based on two primary people: Peter and Paul. Each section focuses on one of these two Apostles. 

The first section, which goes from chapter 1 to the middle of chapter 12, is all about Peter as the main character in the stories. The end of chapter 12 is the beginning of the section of the book. 

The rest of the book is all about Paul’s missionary journeys: 

• • Paul’s first missionary journey covers chapters 13:1 through 14:28. 
  • Paul’s second missionary journey covers chapters 15:38 through 18:22. 
  • Paul’s third missionary journey covers chapters 18:23 through 21:16 

Some people look at the last chapters (21 through 28) as Paul’s fourth missionary journey. Others take it as just Paul’s trip to Rome. We will look at that in more depth as we progress with our study. 

For the sake of this specific reflection, let’s focus on Paul’s second missionary journey. We talked about his first journey in the previous article, Encouragement within Tribulations. 

I need to point out that every time Paul was in a new place, he always looked for a synagogue, which is any gathering for prayer and teaching with at least 10 male Jews present. 

In other words, a synagogue doesn’t have to deal with the building because you can be a synagogue in a home or in an open-air. 

No wonder why Jesus said these words, 

For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Matthew 18:20. 

Our text for this reflection comes from Acts 17:16-34. I will use just a few verses from this piece of Scripture to help us learn from the book of Acts. 

There are four major places Paul visits during his second missionary journey: Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, and Corinth. 

Keep in mind, as also stated earlier, Paul, once he’s in a new place, would look first for his fellow Jews. The only place to find them was at a synagogue. 

However, some of these Jews would persecute Paul because of his teaching that Jesus is the Son of God and the Christ (Messiah) about whom the Prophets and Law have talked. So, Paul wasn’t always welcome in his own Jewish communities wherever he could find any. 

He’s going to end up in Athens, the city mentioned in our scripture (Acts 17). Athens was a very influential and religious city in Greece. In this town, the most prestigious place was the Areopagus. 

It’s the place where the city council met. There were also temples of gods (about twelve primarily represented) in the city. Also, the Areopagus hosted cultural activities in town. So, it was a very special place for Athens. 

Now, some very influential people have heard of Paul’s teachings. Out of curiosity, they wanted him to come and speak to everyone at the Areopagus. 

Paul talks about two truths, which are still relevant today just as they were then. 

 

 

Truth One: God is The Lord of Heaven and Earth

 

 

Read this,

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 human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. Acts 17:24-26. 

After walking around town, Paul saw a sign with these words, ‘to an unknown god.’ He’s going to use this statement to make the point that he’s here to talk about the God they do not know yet. 

First, he says that God is the Creator of everything we see and what we don’t see. God made the whole universe and everything in it, including humans. 

Second, God owes nothing to anybody. In other words, God is self-sufficient. What we do or how we live does not lessen who God is. It doesn’t make God better or change God. Who God is doesn’t depend on any of God’s creatures. 

Third, God gives everyone life, breath, and everything else. In other words, everything and everyone, in the universe God created, depends on God. 

If there is one reality that we, humans, cannot explain is the breath of life. Whether you’re in perfect health or bad health, the truth is that the breath of life you have can be taken away anytime whether you and I like it or not. 

The breath of life is the basic need we all want every day to do what we do on a daily basis. Don’t we? Without this basic need, we become nothing, but history. 

 

 

Truth Two: God Wants Us to Seek God, Reach out for God, and Find God

 

 

Read this:

God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any 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 human 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 everyone by raising him from the dead.”

There are two reasons why God wants us to seek, reach out for, and find God. 

First, it’s because: 

• • We live in God. 
  • We move in God. 
  • We have our being in God. 

In addition to God being the source for the breath of life we have, it’s also in God we discover more about who we truly are. 

In other words, it is in God we find our identity. Through faith in Christ, we discover and claim back our identity as children of the Most High God (John 1:12). 

Second, and more importantly, God calls us all to repentance. 

When you think of repentance, it simply means that we renounce our human way of life to embrace God. We fully surrender to God by faith in Christ and let God rule over our lives on a daily basis. 

Repentance helps us find God. Additionally, it helps us be ready for the day of judgment. When we repent, not only do we become children of God, but we also become co-heirs with Jesus Christ. When God looks at us, God sees Jesus Christ. Who then can condemn us? We are already justified and only wait to reign with Christ when He comes back again. 

 

 

In Conclusion

 

The book of Acts isn’t just a history book about how the first Christian Church was born. It’s primarily about the message of God’s Kingdom, which calls every human being to repentance. It’s the message that God, wants us all to seek, search for, and find God. Repentance is our only way back to God. That’s how we find God. We do it by simply believing that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior.