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Acts Reading Plan | Week 13 | Day 2
Prayer
Allow some silence for your soul to catch up with your body.
Psalm 19:10 describes God’s words in scripture this way: “They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb.” As you come to read scripture and spend time with God, thank Him for His word and ask Him to open your heart to what He is saying.
Bible Reading: Acts 17:10-15
Read these verses three times slowly.
As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.
But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea,some of them went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. The believers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea. Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.
Reflection & Questions
Today, we read of the Berean Jews and the amazing way that they received Paul’s message. We’re told, “they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. As a result, many of them believed…”
They are a great example to us. They received the message with eagerness. They examined the Scriptures daily. And they believed. Eagerness. Examination. Belief. It might be written as a formula: Attitude + Action = Growth. If we aren’t growing, we might check the other side of the equation. How’s our attitude to scripture? Are we eager or apathetic? How’s our action with scripture? Are we examining or unconcerned?
Let’s be like the Bereans and receive the message with great eagerness and examine the Scriptures daily.
- Do you sense you are growing in your faith? If not, do you think it has to do with attitude or action or both?
- Is there a next step the Spirit is leading you to take in your approach to Scripture?
Prayer
Talk to God in response to today’s reading. Remember, you can talk to Him about where you are, not where you feel you should be.
Worship Song
You might use this song today to worship Jesus today:
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Questions?
Ed Applegate
