Today we are reading Acts 19. In this chapter we read about Paul on his Third Missionary Journey. ”About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way. For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen. These he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods. And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.”“ Acts 19:23-27 ESV When you read this passage it seems utterly amazing. “Gods made with hands are not gods.” How can anyone make a god? You can make a toy or a useful object. However, you cannot make anything that is supernatural. You cannot make anything that can hear your prayers or satisfy your soul. Only the one true God can do that! Why did Demetrius oppose Paul? Money. The devil used money to stir up opposition to the Gospel. He still uses that today. How do you protect yourself from this strategy of the devil? May God help you to truly trust in Him. Pastor Tim
