January 29 – There is But One

“For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.”  1 Timothy 2:5-6 (NASB)

Have you ever needed someone to stand up for you or stand between you and another who has reason to hold your behavior or actions accountable? Some of us have had mediators plead our case for us. We hope our mediators are good at their job and can persuade the judge to decide in our favor. The Judge in our verse today is God our Father and our Mediator is the man Christ Jesus. The Anointed Son of God, Jesus. It is good and reassuring that we are promised here that there is one God. An exact translation is, “For (there is but) one God, and (there is but) one Mediator...” Also the promise that our Mediator, Christ Jesus gave Himself as a ransom for all. And all who by faith believe Christ Jesus, will receive eternal life purchased by that ransom. There is not one God for this nation, one for another; one God for slaves and one for free men; one God for rulers, one for subjects; there's but one God for all the race of Adam, the one and only true race. It's wonderful that our Mediator purchased our salvation.

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October 18 – It’s All From Him

“The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.”  Acts 17:24-25  (ESV)

Understanding context is important. When the apostle Paul spoke these words he was in Athens, Greece.  He was standing on the Areopagus (Romans called it Mars Hill). This is where the Athenian supreme tribunal and “court of morals” was held.  Paul has been invited to speak to the wise ones. Today we look at a bit of what he said and a couple of promises which Paul was proclaiming to the Athenians.  First, God made the world and everything in it. Temples made by human hands were not where God lives. The same is true today. We worship God in buildings and we might call them God’s House but God’s House is all of Creation. We also think of the things we do as a means of providing what God needs. But the promise is that He Himself provides for us and He needs nothing from us. God has no needs. God calls us to worship Him, to give glory to Him and His Name, to Praise Him, to Love Him and His Word, and to Obey His commandments. We need to do those things and others out of obedience and not out of God’s need of them. 

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December 18 – Joy From Serving Right

“The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. ”  - Acts 17:24-25  (ESV)

It may be common to think it is our duty to serve God by providing His needs. No, for we glorify God by praying that He would provide our needs and then, trusting Him to answer.  That results in living in the joy of God providing and caring for us as we serve others with our lives and love.  We learn from our verse that God is not served by our human hands as if He needs anything.  If we think God is needy of our service, we are actually taking Him down from His rightful place in our heart – we belittle Him in that way. Pagan religions live in fear by that rule.  The mighty grace of God, which brought us into His family, should not be preempted by our thinking God needs us to serve his needs.  “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” Mark 10:45  By faith, God is glorified in our dependence on Him and our trusting Him to do what He came to do – providing us with what we need to serve others. A joyful life is the promise.

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