Thought for the day: Lord, what do you want me to do?
Saul of Tarsus
So Paul standing before the Council, addressed them as follows: Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious, for as I was walking along I saw your many alters. And one of them had this inscription on it, To an Unknown God. You have been worshiping him without knowing who he is, and now I wish to tell you about him.
He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesnt live in man-made temples, and human hands cant serve his needs, for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need there is. (Acts 17:22-25 NLT)
There was a time in my life when I had an Unknown God. When I went to Vietnam in 1967 I considered myself an atheist. Actually I probably was more of an agnostic but I considered myself as atheist. Simply put, an atheist says, There is no God, and an agnostic says, I dont know. At that time in my life I did not have enough facts or information to make an accurate decision and my ego led me to tell others, as if I had that information, that there was no God. I remember that right before I left for Vietnam that my mother gave me a five dollar gold piece to carry with me as a good luck charm. She did that because I did not believe in God. My mama no doubt had some how prayed over that coin. I did carry it with me everywhere I went in Nam. As I think back over that time of my life this day, I realize that that possibly could have been the start of faith working in my life. I remember the first firefight we got into. It was in December of 1967, it was night and we had set up a night ambush. It had some how it got tripped, and all of a sudden it got loud, very loud. There were M-16 rounds flying everywhere and the night was lit up with red tracers. There were claymore mines going off, and grenades being thrown. Within minutes we had artillery support and major explosions were happening right in front of us. To this day I remember the first words out of my mouth the first few seconds of that firefight. They were, Jesus Christ. I dont know if I was cussing, crying, or spiritually calling for a Savior? All I remember is saying those words. When I came back to the States in June of 1968, something had changed in my spirit. I believed in something, but did not know what it was. It was an Unknown God. During the late sixties and early seventies I fooled around with psychedelic drugs, yoga, and Hinduism. For me it was still an Unknown God in my life. When I first got introduced to AA in 1974 and in my various incarcerations and substance treatments for the next nine years, I believed in an Unknown God. In 1983 when I was doing time again for another DWI I got a hold of a Bible and through faith in, and the grace of a loving God, I had the unknown God in my life defined to my understanding. I remember the first time I read about the apostle Paul in Athens and about the altar with the inscription To the Unknown God. I connected to those Greeks, and I also connected to Pauls explanation of who that God is. Today I know that I know, and through times of prayer, reading the Word, and fellowship with other believers, I grow closer and closer to my God who reveals Himself more each day of my life. I dont want to go back to the way it was, God has done for me what I could not do for myself JRE
Even though God may be unknown to us, he is near and willing to reveal himself. God has promised that if you look for me in earnest, you will find me (Jeremiah 29:13). Turning over our will involves accepting God as he is instead of insisting on creating him in our own image. When we seek God with an open heart and mind, we will find him.
THE LIFE RECOVERY BIBLE, page 1323
Saul of Tarsus
So Paul standing before the Council, addressed them as follows: Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious, for as I was walking along I saw your many alters. And one of them had this inscription on it, To an Unknown God. You have been worshiping him without knowing who he is, and now I wish to tell you about him.
He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesnt live in man-made temples, and human hands cant serve his needs, for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need there is. (Acts 17:22-25 NLT)
There was a time in my life when I had an Unknown God. When I went to Vietnam in 1967 I considered myself an atheist. Actually I probably was more of an agnostic but I considered myself as atheist. Simply put, an atheist says, There is no God, and an agnostic says, I dont know. At that time in my life I did not have enough facts or information to make an accurate decision and my ego led me to tell others, as if I had that information, that there was no God. I remember that right before I left for Vietnam that my mother gave me a five dollar gold piece to carry with me as a good luck charm. She did that because I did not believe in God. My mama no doubt had some how prayed over that coin. I did carry it with me everywhere I went in Nam. As I think back over that time of my life this day, I realize that that possibly could have been the start of faith working in my life. I remember the first firefight we got into. It was in December of 1967, it was night and we had set up a night ambush. It had some how it got tripped, and all of a sudden it got loud, very loud. There were M-16 rounds flying everywhere and the night was lit up with red tracers. There were claymore mines going off, and grenades being thrown. Within minutes we had artillery support and major explosions were happening right in front of us. To this day I remember the first words out of my mouth the first few seconds of that firefight. They were, Jesus Christ. I dont know if I was cussing, crying, or spiritually calling for a Savior? All I remember is saying those words. When I came back to the States in June of 1968, something had changed in my spirit. I believed in something, but did not know what it was. It was an Unknown God. During the late sixties and early seventies I fooled around with psychedelic drugs, yoga, and Hinduism. For me it was still an Unknown God in my life. When I first got introduced to AA in 1974 and in my various incarcerations and substance treatments for the next nine years, I believed in an Unknown God. In 1983 when I was doing time again for another DWI I got a hold of a Bible and through faith in, and the grace of a loving God, I had the unknown God in my life defined to my understanding. I remember the first time I read about the apostle Paul in Athens and about the altar with the inscription To the Unknown God. I connected to those Greeks, and I also connected to Pauls explanation of who that God is. Today I know that I know, and through times of prayer, reading the Word, and fellowship with other believers, I grow closer and closer to my God who reveals Himself more each day of my life. I dont want to go back to the way it was, God has done for me what I could not do for myself JRE
Even though God may be unknown to us, he is near and willing to reveal himself. God has promised that if you look for me in earnest, you will find me (Jeremiah 29:13). Turning over our will involves accepting God as he is instead of insisting on creating him in our own image. When we seek God with an open heart and mind, we will find him.
THE LIFE RECOVERY BIBLE, page 1323
