The Unknown Gods in our Lives

This week I’ve been trying to work out my schedule. I consistently feel spread pretty thin, like I don’t really have time for anything anymore. As I was pondering the reasons for this I came across this in the scriptures:

In Acts 17: 22-31, Paul, an apostle of the crucified and resurrected Jesus Christ, is preaching on Mars' Hill in Athens one day and he comes across a bunch of alters used by the people there for sacrifices. As he spots each alter on the hill he notices that they are each dedicated to an individual pagan god. One takes him aback, as it is dedicated to, "THE UNKNOWN GOD". 

How like the people of Athens we can become. I feel like we can have alters to unknown gods. What I mean is that we can get so caught up in something unimportant here on earth that it ends up being something that we subconsciously “worship”. It may not even be one of the common earthly things that people tend to "worship" such as money, cars, etc. It can be anything that consumes too much of your time, energy, or gets in the way of better things. 

I've found that sometimes I let little things like popularity, clothing, or even classes get in the way of the more important spiritual things in my life. Even little things like that can take up a substantial amount of time that I could be doing much more worthwhile things with my life. I think this is an area where everyone can always improve, so let's do our best, eh?

That Which Looms in our Path: Taking a Step Back

Life isn't always going to be perfect.

Even the best of people are going to get pushed over the edge sometimes. 

     I mean, look even at the apostle Paul. In Acts 15: 36-41 his companion Barnabas wanted to bring Mark along to check on all of the cities they had preached in, but something about Mark just irked Paul, they got into a contention of some sort, bad enough that Barnabas took Mark to another city and Paul travelled with Silas (another apostle) instead.

     We don't really know what it was that bothered him, they were both apostles of God. But even the apostles are allowed to get flustered sometimes. This really gave me hope, as I find myself frequently frustrated by things that happen in my own life. It's okay to take a break sometimes, even to take another path with a different person if necessary! Either way they both went and continued The Lord's missionary work, probably more effectively than if they had travelled together despite their contention. 

            The point is that there’s no denying that life is going to be difficult at times. It’s what we do in response to it that makes the difference, though. We can choose to merely wallow in our struggles and contentions, halting our spiritual and emotional progression, or we can choose to take a step back, get a good look at the big picture, and then make a decision of how we can overcome the obstacle that looms in our way. 

Good luck out there!

Trust and Faith

First and foremost, this blog is a place where I will be coming occasionally to write about what has helped me personally to find peace in my life. I hope you might find something to ponder about as you read through experiences that certainly have made me ponder, to say the least.

So without further ado...


Gamaliel. It's not exactly a common household name.
      Yet I find myself marveling at this man--this pharisee--who essentially saved the apostles from unnecessary persecution. All he did was tell the rest of the pharisees that if what the apostles did was of men, it would fail on its own, and if what they were teaching was truly of God there was nothing they could do to stop it anyways.

      I'm not sure why this passage in The Acts hit me so hard (Acts 5:34-39). I think it's because Gamaliel, while he didn't necessarily believe what the apostles were teaching, had enough trust and faith in God to know that his will would come to pass regardless of what they as council members did. 

      It helped me to realize that I'm going to encounter a lot of people like that in my life. While they may not necessarily have the same beliefs as me, we may share the same love and trust in God, and I need to be more sensitive to that and respect it. 

Well. Those are my thoughts for this week.