Abide Together: Reflections on Acts 17

In Acts 17, Paul is in Thessalonica preaching the Gospel and once again some people believe while many do not.  Those who do not believe persecute those who who do and Paul, Silas and Timothy have to leave.  They then go to Berea and preach the Gospel.  It is said of the believers that they were more “noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.”  Many believed and others did not and Paul, Silas and Timothy had to leave again. They next end up in Athens and Paul engages the philosophers with the Gospel. HE explains to them who the true God is and calls them to repentance.  Some after hearing of the resurrection were irritated, while others believed.  I am always challenged by the people in Berea, who examined the scriptures daily to see if what Paul was saying lined up with God’s Word.  God’s Word, found in the 66 books of the Bible, is the standard by which I must examine everything in this world.  Lord, help me examine the Scriptures daily and encourage others to do so, in order that we all might rightly understand You and what you are about in this world.

– Bryan McKenzie