This is a two part reflection on Paul’s quote of an ancient Greek poet found in Acts 17:28
My God rules, OK – Part 1
Apparently, moving house is one of the top five most stressful life events. It is more stressful even than starting a new job, getting a divorce or having a child! Money worries, uncertainty, the physical effort and the emotional strain are all mentioned as causes of this stress.
By the time you are reading this, Jill and I will hopefully be moved to our new house. We see this move as a physical accompaniment to the spiritual gift from our loving heavenly Father to us. We have experienced a huge spiritual blessing in this last year. Our spiritual territory has been enlarged. We are part of God’s unfolding plan, to increase the way in which His word is found and read and impacted on those who need to hear it.
We launched our blog (this one you are now reading!) in December 2025 and ever since we have witnessed the growth of this little online miracle out into a wide, wide world. At the same time our physical move to a new house with a new territory and new opportunities for us to be salt and light in a new community has been slow and at times complicated and frustrating. But we heard God say that it is closely linked to the ongoing success of the blog and to this new season of fruitfulness in our seventh decade and beyond. The odd problem and slowness of the process have tested both my patience and even sometimes my trust in God! Jill has more than once had to remind me that I don’t have to solve every problem, because God is in charge.
In the Book of Acts (Acts 17:22-34) we read how Paul addressed the Greek philosophers of the Areopagus (the High Council of Athens). He used a quote from a sixth century BC poet to explain to them that the God of the Bible both cares for and reveals himself to those who seek him. The words he quoted were: “In Him we live and move and have our being”. Every time I read these word they bring me up short, exposing my worldliness and my forgetfulness of His promises rather too starkly.
The profound nature of these words causes me to stop and think. Then in my readiness to reflect and take note I can see how God‘s hand has been on my whole life – and even in this move we’ve just pulled off. His continued influence on, his sustaining power in my life, is a reality and is true both now and in the future.
Part 2 looks in more detail at Acts 17:28
All references are from the NKJV unless specified otherwise.
John Partis
bearing-kingdom-fruit.com
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