READ
23 When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in great numbers. And he expounded the matter to them from morning till evening, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the law of Moses and from the prophets. 24 And some were convinced by what he said, while others disbelieved. 25 So, as they disagreed among themselves, they departed, after Paul had made one statement: “The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet:
26 ‘Go to this people, and say,
You shall indeed hear but never understand,
and you shall indeed see but never perceive.
27 For this people’s heart has grown dull,
and their ears are heavy of hearing,
and their eyes they have closed;
lest they should perceive with their eyes,
and hear with their ears,
and understand with their heart,
and turn for me to heal them.’
28 Let it be known to you then that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.”
30 And he lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, 31 preaching the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ quite openly and unhindered. (Acts 28:23–31, RSV2CE)
REFLECT
The Old Testament is expounded
Testifying to the kingdom of God
About Jesus both from the law of Moses and from the prophets.
The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet-meaning the WORD OF GOD IS WRITTEN BY THE HOLY SPIRIT.
We have a choice how we listen to anything we hear…if our heart is open to listen to believe truth, we will hear truth. If our heart is closed because we don’t want anyone telling us how to live, we will harden to truth. This is true even for the mundane of life, not to mention the Word of Almighty God. You can shipwreck your finances if you do not believe 2+2=4 and live beyond your budget. You can shipwreck your soul if you do not believe truth that God has spoken.
If you reject, the truth will move on to another. Salvation is a gift but it must be received and responded too with yes or no.
PRAY
There is no excuse to not believe. Even the Old Testament teaches about Jesus. There is no excuse because even nature proclaims the Glory of God. Our hearts are hard because we do not want a King. We want to be the lord of our own little kingdom. We do not want someone telling us how to live our lives. We think we are so smart and we also don’t care if it is stupid, we are constantly destroying ourselves by our unruly desires. We just want to control our little world that is actually killing is. Oh Jesus, please forgive my hubris. Please destroy my pride and unruly desires. Please help me submit to you as King and live in freedom in your Kingdom. Your Kingdom sets my heart free of destruction and produces life. Please open my eyes!! Soften my heart!! Heal my soul. Save me! Amen!
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