If you didn't already know this, I am a complete and total geek. I love the historical context of scripture, and will spend way too much time trying to discover more about the settings of the time. Thankfully for you, my inner nerd produces short(er) summaries of all the information I learn so that others can benefit from my randomly acquired knowledge. And so, I give you a summary of my search to understand Ephesus.

Ephesus was a large city in Asia Minor, aka Turkey. As a major trade point with access to multiple bodies of water and an intricate road system, Ephesus was one of the economical centers of its time. It was also known for its worship of Diana or Artemis. This pagan goddess known in both Roman and Greek mythology was believed to be a great hunter, the goddess of fertility, and the protector of the poor. Ephesus was a city devoted to her, so much so that they spent over 200 years building a temple to her that later became one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

Paul spent time ministering at the church of Ephesus during his third missionary journey around 57 A.D. At the end of his time there, an unruly mob of craftsmen began to riot because Christianity was beginning to destroy their business (Acts 19). The silversmith Demetrius and his colleagues made their profits constructing idols of Artemis, and Christianity threatened that by declaring that there was only one true God. The Christian way of life was so well known and radical that it became known as the "Way". And, the Way was threatening the status quo in Ephesus.

The imagery of the riot in Acts 19 amazes me. It says that the disciples begged Paul not to venture into the theater because of the mob. The theater was a massive amphitheater that held over 25,000 people. Scripture says that there was a mass crowd in chaos- some were angry, many confused, and quite a few people didn't even know why they were rioting. I am trying to imagine what kind of crowd Paul and the other believers faced as they served Jesus by witnessing in public places like the theater.

In my study of Ephesus, I came across this preview of Mark Driscoll's Ephesians project. It talks a little more about life in Ephesus and is really interesting- especially the portions of economics, freed slaves, and community. If you have a few minutes, check it out. I would recommend fast forwarding the video to 2:40 and playing it from there.



Awesome, huh? Can you imagine the Christian couch surfing of the time? "Hey, you have a Jesus fish wheel symbol thing on your door, can I crash here?' Don't I wish traveling were the same way today; though, I prefer airplanes and cars to camels and foot.

Back to the book of Ephesians. Ephesians was penned somewhere around 62-65 A.D. while Paul was in prison in Rome. There is some debate as to whether Paul wrote the epistle and who the epistle was written to, but the evidence and opinion I have found leads me to believe that Paul is the author and the churches at Ephesus were the original recipients. Though, this epistle was meant to be a circular letter, passed from church to church.

Ephesians is unique in that it doesn't contain the personal rebuke or correction of many of the other epistles. It is written to those who love God regardless of their location and background. Ephesians is a beautiful declaration of doctrine explaining how Christ relates to His church and the duty of the Church to respond to their relationship with Christ. My prayer is that this study of Ephesians will challenge each of the girls in my group to understand who God has created them to be as individuals and a community and to act with a remainder of their first Love Jesus. I'm excited to see what God does as we dive into His word and learn more about the early Church.

My small group this semester is studying Ephesians, and I am going to attempt to track what I am learning from the study here. Why study Ephesians? Well, to be honest, I am studying Ephesians because I was intrigued by the book of Revelation. When reading Revelation, the letter to the church of Ephesus really struck me.

To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: 
      These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: ²I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. ³You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.⁴Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. ⁵Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. ⁶But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. ⁷He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

Revelation 2:1-7 details how the church is affirmed for their hard work and perseverance.  They hate those who falsely claim to know God and the Nicolaitans who were trying to control the laity. They have endured suffering for the faith and have not grown weary. Sounds like a solid church, right? They have great doctrine and are known for their deeds.  Sign me up to work with them.

But wait a moment, the church is reprimanded for forgetting their first love and not being as good as they once were. They have fallen greatly from their passion at the height of their devotion to God. Apparently the church had forgotten the Agape love of Christ and in turn forgot to love Him and His Church with the same passion that they once did. I don't know about you, but I can relate to their position.

Some times even in the midst of having sound doctrine and doing good deeds, I forget my first love. I forget who God is and in turn forget how I should be responding to Him.  The church is reminded of how far they have fallen and called to repent. This letter struck my curiosity. How far did they fall? What was the church like at the height of their faith and service? And, what can we learn from the church at Ephesus to prevent us from forgetting our first love?

The best answer to my questioning is the Bible. Paul wrote an circular epistle to the Ephesians that detailed both the doctrine and duty of the Christian community. Unlike other Pauline letters, the letter to the Ephesians does not offer any personal rebuke or correction which proves to be an interesting fact when you consider how harsh Paul was in his writings to other churches. Furthermore, this letter was entrusted to the Ephesians to be passed from church to church to instruct the faithful and encourage believers to serve God to the fullest.

I am so excited to learn more about the early Church through this letter to the Ephesians. My next post regarding this topic will detail some of the background information of the church in Ephesus. In the meanwhile and always, my prayer is that God will continue to remind me of how far I have personally fallen and restore to me my first love: Jesus.

There have been many times this week when I have wanted nothing more than to blog. Then I remember that my thoughts would be on display for anyone to read. That intimidation factor never fails to create some hesitation. The remaining reluctancy comes from my lack of ability to articulate my thoughts. Here is a random stream of partial thoughts to account for the difference.

Sometimes I think God allows us to begin a test that He knows we will fail... simply so He can remind us of how much we need Him in our lives in order to succeed.

Funny how the Romans 8 declarations of no condemnation and nothing separating us from the love of Christ come directly after Paul comes to terms with the reality of his inability to do good because of his sinful nature.

This week I feel like God is reminding me of who I would be without Him. There are some tests I am passing, others I am failing, but in every test I am reminded that He is the victor.

During one of our team times in Ibiza, we took the time to pray and prophesy over one another. (Which, by the way, may be the greatest way a group of friends can show love for one another. Oh, how I cherish these times in life.)

"He's preparing you for a great plan. Even when you're alone, you'll still be consistently moving in power- no matter how many people are around you or what circumstances are going down. "

Truth be told. I have never been a good athlete by nature. Competitive? Yes. Athletic? Not really.  I used to excel at sports for one reason and one reason alone: physical activity was my way of dealing with stress or frustration.  Growing up, I had enough built up tension to successfully work out at least once, twice, sometimes three times a day.

In recent years, I haven't really felt the tense frustration that used to lead me to run or shoot hoops. But for some reason, this week I have felt it.  Unusually irritable, I have wanted nothing to do with people. Yet, at the same time I have wanted nothing more than to welcome people. Crazy, ain't it?

Tension compels me to run. It isn't the love of the competition or the desire to improve my game or even a concern for my health. I run when I am stressed, when there is something to run away from. My irritation compelled me to act.

What if my actions were compelled by something else, something greater than myself and my emotions and my reasoning? What if this passage were true?

"Christ's love has moved me to such extremes. His love has the first and last word in everything we do." 2 Cor. 5.14 (The Message)

What if Christ's love compelled me to run? What if I allowed His love to control my life? If  Jesus was my motivation for everything, I would be running toward Him instead of away from my tensions. I would be running toward the storm, through the desert, into the fire, across the promised lands, and bypassing everything  this world has to offer to arrive in His arms.

Tonight I remind myself that I am not fueled by tensions in this world, but by the love of Christ.  It's time to start running toward something again.. both literally and metaphorically speaking.

"I will run the race set before me, I will seek your face as the prize of my life. I will run". - Misty Edwards

This isn't a profound post. It isn't a new quote. It probably isn't even worth reading for many, but it is my heart at the moment. This is the person I long to become, but it's also the person I am afraid of becoming.

Lesson number one... in order to say hello to what is next in life, I must first say goodbye to many other things. Things like myself defined in my eyes, my excuses, my preferred friendships and my love of external processing.

 Lesson number two... which was learned before lesson number one, but seems less painful... the posture that one takes at the edge is more important than living life on the edge. To live on the edge effectively, I need better posture.

 Lesson number three... my energy is correlated with the amount of time I spend with God and the degree to which I am connected with the Holy Spirit. Right now, I am draining. The causation? Lack of Jesus time. Tomorrow, we fix that.

"Everyone knows I'm in
Over my head
Over my head
With eight seconds left in overtime
She's on your mind
She's on your mind"- Over My Head, The Fray

It's overtime. My deadline was August 1st. The extended deadline August 10th. Most people would say that I am in way over my head, and they are correct. The clock is ticking...

With just moments left, my eyes are on the basket, my heart desires to make the shot, and the music in my head sounds a little like this...



Awesome song, but "She's on my mind"... a little white isle with some propa music, but for now...

Lord, please help me get my head in the game! Let's finish strong because this is only the beginning... =]

The branch of the vine does not worry, and toil, and rush here to seek for sunshine, and there to find rain. No; it rests in union and communion with the vine; and at the right time, and in the right way, is the right fruit found on it. Let us so abide in the Lord Jesus.  - J. H. Taylor

John 15... He is the Vine, and I am the branch.  I shall remain in Him, and He shall remain in Me. I will not worry or toil or rush about trying to find the provision I need to be fruitful. But rather, I shall wait in His presence and know that He is God. At the right time, in the right way, His will will be done and this branch will bear His fruit.