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Articles
Totally Different
Imagine living in a city with a huge temple in the middle. This temple was dedicated to a goddess called Diana or Artemis- her Greek name. Every year, the residents of Ephesus paid her homage with an elaborate procession. By honoring Artemis, the city ensured the favor of the goddess and its own continued prosperity. This temple is so amazing that it becomes one of the seven wonders of the world. It is where everyone worships in the epicenter of the town. It’s where people do business; it’s where people socialize. It’s where people spend their time.
Could you be a totally different temple?
“Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” – Ephesians 2:19-22
Now imagine living in a city so rich it is known as “the bank.” It is at the convergence of three major roads and all business goes right through it. Prosperous, sophisticated, highly cultured, Ephesus was the leading city of the wealthy and populous Roman province of Asia, one of the most precious jewels in the empire's crown. The wealth evident in both the private and public spaces of the city was generated, in part, by the activity of its harbor located beside the Kaystros River- close to the fertile Meander Valley. Some of its wealthiest citizens lived in expensive condominiums known as the “Houses on the Slopes.”
Could you be a totally different kind of rich?
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” – Ephesians 1:3
Today, we face the same challenges. Will we be God’s temple in the face of other gods? Will we live richly in God’s grace? Will we be totally different?
