corinth to athens to chios to izmir to selcuk

(corinthian temple to apollo, greek god of the moon)

The last couple weeks have been full of travel.

Upon arriving in Corinth, we settled into our hotel for a couple days, and were able to go on a couple excursions to some of the ruins of ancient Corinth. Learning about the culture of the time, it became more clear as to why Paul wrote the things he did to the believers in Corinth. In the early first century, Corinthians were known everywhere for their drunkenness, debauchery, and general lifestyles of immorality. They were also known for their worship of Aphrodite – the Greek goddess of love. To worship this goddess, the people would go to the temple area at the top of the hill above Corinth and spend time with any of the 10,000 sacred priestesses, who could more realistically have been identified as prostitutes. In this way they thought, they were worshipping the goddess of love.

(Paul stood here before Gallio in Acts 18)


(acro-corinth, where the temple to aphrodite would have been located)

In I Corinthians 13, Paul writes one of the most well known definitions of love in all of history:

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, it is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

Keeping in mind that this was written to the people of Corinth, these words take on a whole new meeting. It is no longer an overused verse used only for weddings; but rather, it is a radical, new declaration of love to a people who have always had a counterfeit form of love.

After Corinth, we traveled to Athens, then boarded a ferry that would take us to the Greek Island of Kios, where we stayed last Saturday night. Paul stopped briefly on the island during his third missionary journey (Acts 20:15). We mainly just saw the port of Kios, but I enjoyed seeing a little bit of the Greek fishing culture while we were there.

(boats docked in chios)

From Kios last Sunday, our class boarded a smaller ship to make the quick trip over to Turkey, where we then took a couple hour bus ride to where we are now staying in Selcuk. Selcuk is very near the ancient city of Ephesus, where the apostle Paul spent much of his time in ministry. On Wednesday, our class got to go on an excursion to see some of the sites where Paul was while he was in the city. Paul stayed there for more than two years on his last missionary Journey, and wrote many of his epistles from the city of Ephesus. It was amazing to be able to see with my own eyes the exact same places where Paul himself spoke to people about the life that is found in Jesus.

(ephesian amphitheatre, where the ephesians rioted for two hours in Acts 19)

(more ruins in ephesus)

I am challenged by the heart of Paul in a place that was so engulfed in the worship of their goddess, Artemis. It was probably very overwhelming for Paul to begin ministering in such a place, and it probably took a while to see progress. However, because Paul was so devoted to ministry in Ephesus, a great many people came to know Jesus.

…people throughout the province of Asia – both Jews and Greeks – heard the Lord’s message.
Acts 19:10

The Turkish people are so friendly, and we are frequently blessed by their hospitality as we are often invited in to have the oh so delightful apple tea (basically instant apple cider) that they drink here.

(turkish carpet, found everywhere in selcuk)

72.6 million people live in Turkey,
99% of these are Muslim
(75% of which belong to the Sunni sect).

(market day in selcuk)

It may seem overwhelming, as Ephesus surely did to Paul, but it is evident that there is much room for God to move here. There is so much about this culture that our God desires to redeem. These people are beautiful, but they have yet had a personal revelation of the love of Jesus in their lives. Please pray that we would make the most of the times we get to spend with people while we are out in the community - that God would bring us into contact with people who are ready for an encounter with his perfect love.