Blocked

Blocked

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?

Blocker

Matthew 23: ¹³ “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. ¹⁴ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.

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After searching for the right programs and the right people with the right aged children, our church home was finally found. It had a normal cadence, a coffee shop and a book store. I was now part of “Insert church name” and proud of it. We did not exclude, but for some reason the crowd was full of high income people.

• GOD wants me to be careful of becoming blind.
• GOD wants me to be careful of falling into the habit of church.
• GOD wants me to be careful not to “Block” others from the kingdom unintentionally.

After a while I did not see the poor or widows or hurting people. Only smiling faces with no financial worries at all. The right things were said and the buildings were huge, but GOD wanted something different for me.

• GOD wants me to help the widows.
• GOD wants me to be sincere about my prayers, not just make long ones and compare them to others.
• GOD wants me to seek the lost and not just sit in church.

I must admit, having a church with all the amenities felt great, but my senses became dull to my neighbor’s needs. “Invite them to church” was the mantra versus “Lead them to CHRIST and send them out to do the same.” I still love that church and I did become part of their outreach group which was a much smaller crowd. I need to heed GOD’s warning of hypocrisy.

• Are you looking for church to be a club?
• Do you exclude people by the way they dress, or how they look?
• Can you consider the widows and other hurting people in your prayers to GOD today?