zeal

Return to Your First Love

“You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.” – Revelation 2:3,4 To wrap up our discussion about the church at Ephesus, I want to look at the words John wrote in the book of Revelation. In the Apostle’s vivid vision, which happened while he was exiled on the island of Patmos, he was given messages of wisdom and instruction for each of the seven churches in Asia. As we’ve seen over the past couple of days, the Christians in Ephesus lived in an atmosphere of persecution and hostility. Because they wouldn’t worship the image of Artemis or bow down to the emperor Domitian, they were oppressed and mistreated. Nevertheless, they endured and stayed strong in their convictions. However, through John, the Lord communicated the one thing He had

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Stand For What’s Right

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, 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 If you’ve listened to me for any length of time, you know that I love history, especially because I believe it completes our understanding of the Scriptures. That said, many of us are familiar with the book of Ephesians — which Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus — but we may not know the story behind it. Ephesus, which was labeled the crown jewel of the Roman Empire, was home to the temple of Artemis, the Greek goddess of hunting and nature. Considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the temple was not only elaborate and beautiful, it was also a hub of commerce. It housed offerings

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