"When Priscilla and Aquila heard him [Apollos], they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately" - (Acts 18:26, NIV).
Seeing is not always believing. Old beliefs as well as old habits die hard. For centuries people believed Aristotle's opinion that the heavier an object, the faster it would fall to earth.
I am not an engineer but according to a report I read, in 1589 Galileo challenged Aristotle's teaching. He invited learned professors to the base of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Galileo went to the top of the tower and at exactly the same moment pushed off a ten-pound and a one-pound weight.
Both landed at the same instant, but the professors still wouldn't believe what they saw. They insisted Aristotle was right.
To move ahead in life and to grow—intellectually, emotionally and spiritually—it is important that we examine all our beliefs, test them, hold to the true and discard the false. Admittedly, this is much easier said than done but done it must be if we are to keep learning and growing. Unless we are open to and willing to change, we get stuck in our ways and cease to grow.
We don't read much about Apollos in the Bible but he was a contemporary of the Apostle Paul. He was a very gifted and educated man "with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures." But he only knew about John the Baptist's baptism. So when Priscilla and Aquila heard him speak, they explained the gospel message to him more completely.
The end result was that Apollos was willing to listen, was teachable, made the necessary changes in his beliefs and as a result became a "great help" to the church (v. 27).
"A man's mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps." - Proverbs 16:9 (RSV).
For several months now, a constant in my prayer life has been centered around a sermon that our pastor shared. He instructed us to begin praying that God would be the author of our lives and that we would allow Him to write out the pages as the story of our life unfolds. As I read it in my quiet time, today's scripture verse really stood out to me, though nestled among dozens of other unrelated proverbial instructions. It brought to my mind and attention just how much God truly is in control of our lives.
We spend a great deal of time in our lives making plans for the future and establishing goals that we wish to fulfill. We purchase life insurance, invest in retirement funds, plan vacations, and do so many other things to plan and prepare for our future. God gives us the wisdom and ability to make such decisions and develop such plans for our lives, and I truly believe that He expects us to make those plans wisely. But sometimes what we lose sight of is that even though we make our plans and establish a blueprint for our lives, God is still in control.
I think that is what God is trying to tell us through this proverb. We can make our plans and establish in our minds the way we are going to go, but when we go, God is in control of and directs each step that we take. What a comforting thought that is -- to think and to know that every step we take and every breath we take, God is right there beside us directing our path! If, en route to a destination we planned in our minds, we stumble or fall, He is always there to pick us up and put us back on our path. If we establish a path for ourselves that would lead us out of God's will, His direction and guidance will help move us toward the right path that leads to Him.
All we have to do to have this guide come with us and lead us in our journey, is to let Him have control. As my pastor said, we must allow Him to be that author and guide in our lives, and He will be more than happy to accept the position.
