Acts 19: 28 When they heard this,
they were furious and began shouting: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29 Soon
the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius and
Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia, and all of
them rushed into the theater together. 30 Paul
wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples would not let him. 31 Even some of the officials of the
province, friends of Paul, sent him a message begging him not to venture into
the theater.
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When I answered the door, my
friends were outside asking if I could go to the party. “What party?” I asked
nervously. It didn’t matter what their answer was, I knew I wouldn’t get permission
to go. I thought of ways to escape the house, but there was no way out. I
resorted to a tactic that never worked before. “Everyone else is going.”
- There have been times when I have been blocked from doing something.
- There have been times when I wanted to join the crowd but could not.
- There have been times when I simply wanted to be part of the group without knowing what was going on.
The crowd in Ephesus was not
having a party. They wanted to worship the goddess Artemis so they could make
money on idols. They became furious over Paul’s words of love stating JESUS was
and is the only GOD. A mob formed and protests took to the street. Many people
didn’t know who they were angry at, but some did and seized Paul’s companions.
Paul was blocked.
- GOD wants me to have the heart to serve.
- GOD wants me to be confident in HIS protection.
- GOD wants me to use wisdom rather than emotion.
Rushing in when the situation
is heated leads to hurt people and no resolution. Unfortunately, this fight had
to happen. I mean, when everything was calm, the greedy people lulled others
into following a false god. But the true GOD was being overlooked. GOD wants me
to be ready to speak about JESUS, not just say the word “GOD.” I am glad HE
enables me to freely speak about HIM.
- Are you being blocked when it comes to speaking about JESUS?
- Is the situation too volatile to say the name of JESUS?
- Will you have patience because GOD hears you and will make a way for you to continue to speak on HIS behalf?
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