Good morning to all on this glorious Sunday morning and Happy Mother's Day to all the mother's in the house. I have thoroughly enjoyed being a mother and I have been blessed to share my joy with four wonderful children. Aleron is at the house with us this weekend and there is something about having you children around you that gives you a sense of wholeness. Waine and I are both motherless children but remember our mother's often. We were blessed to have Hisako and Violet in our lives.
I am continuing my journey in Acts 19 verses 1-41 " While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit." So Paul asked, "Then what baptism did you receive?" "John's baptism," they replied. Paul said, "John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus." On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve men in all. Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. This went on for two years, so that 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. Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, "In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out." Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. One day the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding. When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds. A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. In this way the Word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power. After all this had happened, Paul decided to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia. After I have been there, he said, I must visit Rome also. He sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he stayed in the province of Asia a little longer.
About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way. A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in no little business for the craftsmen. He called them together, along with the workmen in related trades, and said: "Men, you know we receive a good income from this business. And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that man-made gods are no gods at all. There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited, and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty." When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting: "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul's traveling companions from Macedonia, and rushed as one man into the theater. Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples would not let him. Even some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, sent him a message begging him not to venture into the theater. The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there. The Jews pushed Alexander to the front, and some of the crowd shouted instructions to him. He motioned for silence in order to make a defense before the people. But when they realized he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" The city clerk quieted the crowd and said: "Men of Ephesus, doesn't all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven? Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you ought to be quiet and not do anything rash. You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples nor blasphemed our goddess. If, then, Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a grievance against anybody, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. They can press charges. If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must be settled in a legal assembly. As it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting because of today's events. In that case we would not be able to account for this commotion, since there is no reason for it." After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly." Amen and may God bless the reading and hearing of His Word.
As I go through the Acts of the Apostles and read of their accounts through Asia it strikes me that before he, Paul, brought the Gospel to the world of Asia, the people of these nations had a lot of Displaced Spirituality--they had beliefs and customs and were faithful to them. They worshiped idols that had their own histories; they were possessed with evil spirits who recognized the name of Jesus even when the people themselves did not. These folk were looking to believe in something greater than themselves. This is the nature of man. We have to and do believe in something greater than ourselves. I have not met anyone in my 60 years of traveling on this earth that was devoid of beliefs. They may not believe in God but believe in something. We are all hard wired in that regard. We may believe in our own power to be moral and upright, To be fair and kind. More and more of us get caught up in the dark spirits and believe in the power of hate and self indulgence. We all believe in something. As Christians our belief is in the Power and Majesty of God through Christ. We then are filled with the Holy Spirit whose main job is to allow us to live in faith so that others can come to know the love and power of God through Christ. The world, just like the people of Ephesus, is looking for something to believe in. The world is almost willing to believe in anything -- you hear it in the news daily. The world is thirsty to quench the void that fills lives without Christ. Just like Paul and his disciples it is our job to present the Gospel to this sin sick world. Like them we will not always be accepted because dark spirits want to retain their hold on the lives of the confused and lost. It at times may be dangerous and physically harmful to us but the rewards are so worth it. To know Christ and His Power through our own sacrifice is a SWEET TIME for all that know Him. To watch Him work through circumstances that you thought were impossible and to change lives right before your eyes makes it all worth while. I am a believer in the Power of Christ and the Holy Spirit. I am a Believer in the majesty and glory of God. I am at peace with the knowledge that God works through me and my faith so that others can come to know and love Him. As long as we stay humble to His calling more will come to know Him.
Don't get wrapped up in the circumstances you may find yourself in. God doesn't care about your circumstance. He just wants you to proclaim in faith what you know to be true--that God loves you and cares for you and that Christ died to set us free. Such a simple story--so much Power exists because Christ went to the Cross for you and me. To know God is to love Him. To love God is to serve Him. To serve God is to love you.
Now may the LORD bless you and keep you. May the LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
Stephanie
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