Con man

Conning can be fun.

I remember a show on Comedy Central called Con trying to prove this.

The show followed a con artist who went around and conned people and companies.

There was a way in which he did this.

While he was very clever it was also very wrong.

There was an episode where he said he wanted to ski down a famous ski mountain with just him and his friends in the middle of the day.

I didn’t think he could pull it off, but he did.

He claimed he and his friends were a boy band all struggling with serve acid reflux disease and they were making this music video with skiing being a part of it.

They pulled it off, skiing in the middle of the day during peak time all by themselves on a mountain.

I couldn’t believe they pulled it off, but they did.

Whether we know it or not we can get conned into believing certain things and are tricked.

There was this ancient god by the name of Artemis.

The entire city of Ephesus lived making money off this god.

When Paul came through and people started to believe in Jesus, they stopped buying and started to ruin the money making con of this so called god.

People were ticked.

You mess with people’s money and they get ticked.

This was stated in verses 26-27 in Acts 19…

“And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia.  He says that manmade gods 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 worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty.”

This made the people a lot of money in this city.

The city was known for the temple of Artemis, 425 feet long and 220 feet wide, having 127 white marble columns 62 feet high and less than 4 feet apart.

This god was known for fertility and either was considered to have many breast of eggs on her showing fertility.

Very much a sex symbol, people believed in her so they could produce offspring and there was prostitution surround this god.

Paul threatens not only there money, but the culture and values as the people looked at what they were doing was ok.

People started to riot over Paul supposedly trying to take over the city with this Jesus character.

When faith comes along, it sometimes requires us to change what we do with our life.

We turn away from those things that kept us from God.

Not saying you have to just listen to Christian radio or stop drinking, but you live your life for something greater and you get rid of things that keep you from living a holy life.

The people in Ephesus had to give up their belief in this man made god.

Certain things can con you without you realizing it.

Jesus did not come and die for you as a con.

It really happened.

What do you need to give up in order to have a stronger faith then you have right now?

Will that make things better in your life?

Have a great day.

You'll be divorced in three months

There are people that don’t care about you or what you stand for.

Some of those people will say things to your face or behind your back.

You could be doing good and they could start talking behind your back to make things worse rather than better.

I got engaged at the young age of 19 and most people were surprised when I told them I was engaged.

I went around my job one day and told people that I was getting married.

One person told you the way things would be said this phrase…

“You’ll be divorced in three months.”

Wow.

I couldn’t believe someone would be that bold to say that.

You will be divorced in three months?

That’s messed up.

We had a conversation and she told me that her friend and her husband were together everything was going great and they got divorced quickly.

I said will it’s different because we believe in God and are faithful people.

She said, “So were they.”

10 years later, I do not write this to say hey been married 10 years but rather to say there are some people that will lift you up in life and others that won’t..

Some people will be against you.

Paul and Barnabas were doing some pretty cool things in Iconium.

They were speaking about the Gospel of Jesus and many people believed.

Yet there were people that weren’t happy with this fact.

It said this in Acts 14:2, 4-5…

“But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers…The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles.  There was a plot afoot among the Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them.”

There will always be people that are for you and some that will be against you.

People will question what you believe, what you do with your life and who you are trying to be.

Some people will encourage and some will not.

There are deceivers among you.

Will you let that affect you?

People will get other people that are deceivers that try to ruin a good thing.

I have seen this happen to me and I have done this to others.

The people against Paul were poison.

They took the good things Paul was for and made people against them.

Are you in this situation now?

Paul and Barnabas didn’t let these people that tried to kill them stop them.

Are you letting poisonous people destroy your life or are you fighting the good fight and staying strong.

With man there are only certain things you can do.

With God nothing is impossible.

Stay strong even when people are against you.

Not everyone is going to be happy with you or what you stand for.

With God nothing is impossible.

Are you for or against the one that makes everything possible?

Some people will say thing to irritate you maybe it’s like saying your marriage will only last three months or something like that.

If you are going through a rough time right now, I pray for you and lift you up.

Hang in there during the tough times, something good is just around the corner.

Have a great day.

Real talk

Sometimes in life there is a greater power.

Sometimes we don’t understand this.

Looking through the Bible we see smaller lessons and teachings from God that are practical and everyone can practice.

Love your neighbor as yourself.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul.

Very very good parts that everyone can do and learn from.

Certain areas are above us but still show the power of God.

There was this guy named Elymas who was trying to lead the proconsul of that time from hearing the message of God and Jesus that Paul and Barnabas were bringing.

Yet Paul gets harsh with him.

We are supposed to love but also be true to our faith and call people out.

Listen to this in Acts 13:9-11…

“Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery.  Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? Now the hand of the Lord is against you.  You are going to be bling and for a time you will be unable to see the light of the sun.”

Dude went blind.

This was as real as real could be.

Elymas was trying to deceive the people and Paul set him straight.

The proconsul saw what happened and believed in Jesus for what he witnessed.

When talking to people about faith we need to do it with love while also being blunt and not sugar coating it.

Kinda hard when you are stuck in the middle.

We won’t always have stories about miracles where this could happen.

The power of God is amazing and that is the same God I believe and give my life too.

Have a great day.