Day 17

January 26 // Dan Houston

Acts 17:28 For “‘In Him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed His offspring.’

Several years ago, I was attending a safety conference and heard a presentation that changed my life.  Actually, it was the Holy Spirit using the speaker and his secular presentation, that changed my life.

The speaker discussed the difference between priorities and values.  He said that our priorities are constantly changing due to the circumstances around us.  On the other hand, values are constant, regardless of our circumstances.  It was sometime later it hit me.  My relationship with God, through His Son Jesus, had been a priority in my life, subject to change when higher priorities came along.  God was telling me that my relationship with Him should be a value.  

As I thought more and more about this, I quickly realized the difference in the two relationships with Him.

In our scripture for today’s teaching, Paul is describing to the philosophers in Athens a relationship with God that is a value, not a priority.  If indeed “in Him we live and move and have our being,” we are called to reciprocate God’s presence, which is constant, by striving for our relationship with Him to be a constant, integral part of everything we do.

I like to visualize a value-based relationship with God like an umbrella which covers me all day long.  When it starts to rain, raindrops of trials, temptations, or troubles, I know my Umbrella is always there with me.

24/7/365/lifetime/eternity!

Awesome God, thank You for Your constant presence in our lives.  We know You are always there for us, protecting us and loving us, no matter what the circumstances are.  We pray that through the power of your Holy Spirit, You would lead us to a relationship with You that is a part of our every thought, action and word.  We pray this in the name of your beloved Son Jesus Christ.

Amen.