Leviticus 13-14; Acts 17

“Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols. 17 Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there.” Acts 17:16-17

Have you ever been provoked to action because the sin of the world and the devastation of its consequences compelled you to do something? A hungry baby, a broken family, injustice to the innocent, the lies and deception of the unbelieving world. I’m stirred when I hear mandates from the government to teach young children that immorality is ok and that living righteously is not to be pursued. This week a comprehensive study was completed that proved that youth that were taught abstinence were less likely to have teen pregnancy than those taught safe sex or taught nothing at all. Wow, who would have known? The liberal news commentator that acknowledged the study, quickly dismissed it by saying, “Well this isn’t the only study on this subject”. I have to say my spirit was provoked. My dilemma is usually what I should do about it. What I want to do about it is go on a one man crusade to stop all but abstinence teaching in all schools. I do think it would be a worth while sacrifice of my time and energies but it isn’t heaven directed calling. But whenever I am stirred in my spirit like Paul I believe God is calling me to do something. It might be as simple as making it a focus of prayer, it might be a letter. It might be that I will not support the sponsor, or that I will make sure to encourage others to vote for a different candidate. I haven’t had a Karl’s Junior Hamburger in three years since they did that Paris Hilton commercial. Do I think they are going to stop using sex to sell hamburgers to adolescence because I haven’t been in there drive-thru in awhile? No, I’m smarter than that. The important thing is that I do something because if I ignore my provoked spirit, there will come a time when I will no longer be provoked and I can’t afford that.

Pastor Rick

Next reading: Lev.15-17; Acts 18