9-October

It’s Thursday and I owe my boss something special—yesterday I misread the schedule and he didn’t even blink (well not much). He just took care of me...much like Paul took care of the people of Ephesus. 


“...To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Ephesians‬ ‭1:1-2‬ ‭NIV‬


“Peace to the brothers and sisters, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭6:23‬ ‭NIV‬‬


He calls them the faithful and brothers and sisters. When Paul came to this place, there were about 12 believers but their knowledge was really limited—they didn’t know about the Holy Spirit ro the power available to them. He preached and argued persuasively about the kingdom of God at the temple for three months. Then, he took the ones who believed with him and moved to a lecture hall to continue preaching and teaching for the next two years. Preaching until “...all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord. God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.” Acts‬ ‭19:10-12‬ ‭NIV‬‬ 


Ephesus was originally built about 10th century BC by the Greeks along the coast of what is now Turkey. It was abandoned around the 15th century due to an awful outbreak of malaria. Excavations of the city began in 1863. The city was huge, mostly made of marble, covered about 2 square miles (about 1200 acres) and at one time about 200,000 people lived there. When it rains, ancient coins still appear. 


This bustling, modern city sitting on a natural harbor, had the first dermatologist (Rufas), the first OB/GYN (Sonanus), a large library, the temple of Artemis (Diana), public toilets, a sophisticated water and sewer system. The stadium/amphitheater held 25,000 people. All in all, it was impressive place. 


In this place, the apostle Paul made his home for a couple of years. He developed a strong church of both Jews and Gentiles in Ephesus. For a time he was imprisoned here, probably in what is now known as “Paul’s Tower”, over the idol makers losing money (which lets us know he and the church were making an impact in the city.) It was from this prison, he wrote the letters to the Corinthians. 


Paul walked into this place and changed our history—just because he was passionate about people coming to know Jesus. It was his entire focus. 


Lord Jesus thank you for the history of the church—to be able to read and follow what the apostles faced and how they responded can’t help but inspire us and deepen our faith. We want to be passionate about you and sharing your message—teach us Lord to be more like you. We pray today that we might make a difference in the lives of those around us—that we might say the right words and do the right things to be your example in a world that like Ephesus, needs you. We praise you Father God and worship at your feet. Amen and amen. 


Love you dear one,

Pam



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