Christ Church Daily Devotion Feb 29 2024

In this Daily Devotion from Christ Church, the reading from Acts 19:23-31 tells the story of a riot that occurred in Ephesus. A silversmith named Demetrius was upset because the teachings of Paul were causing a decline in his business of selling silver shrines of Artemis. The riot forced Paul to flee the city. This story shows how people prioritize material and monetary things over their beliefs. The devotion encourages us to focus on spreading the good news of Jesus and sharing what we have with others. Welcome to Christ Church's Daily Devotion for February 29th, 2024. Today, we will be reading from Acts, Chapter 19, Verses 23-31. About that time there arose a great disturbance about the way. A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in a lot of business for the craftsmen there. He called them together and along with the workers in related trades, and said, You know, my friends, that we receive a good income from this business. And you see and hear how the fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus, and is practically the whole province of Asia. He said that gods made by human hands are no gods at all. There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited, and the goddess herself, who is worshipped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty. When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting, Great is Artemis of the Ephesians. 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. Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples would not let him. Even some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, sent him a message begging him not to venture into the theater. Paul was on his third missionary journey here. The numbers of followers and believers were greatly increasing due to the teachings of Paul, Timothy, and other disciples, and the miracles that they performed. This was creating a stir in places such as Ephesus. But when the real opposition took place was when the reality set in that it was going to greatly decline the income of the people. The belief in the gospel to live the way of Jesus began to have a significant economic impact on the silversmiths of Ephesus. They began their living selling silver shrines of Artemis, the patron god of Ephesus. A riot occurred, forcing Paul to flee from the city. This story shows how people who are not true god believers center their lives around material and monetary things. As the gospel changed the thoughts of people, and even changed some of their habits, it did not cause a movement of opposition. But when these changed habits affected the wealth of the craftsmen, resistance resulted. Riots and persecutions started to hinder the spreading of the good news. Do we do this today? Your personal worship option today is, Dear God, help us to stay focused on telling others the good news of Jesus, and how you love all of your children. Keep us from hoarding our money and material possessions, but rather give us joy in sharing all that we have. Amen.