Mike Edmisten Follower of Jesus. Husband of Nicki. Father of Ryan & Brock. Communicator of the Word.

Stay There In Ephesus

Steven Furtick writes my favorite blog on the planet. He's a great preacher, but I think he's an even better blogger. Recently, he gave me a brand new perspective on this seemingly innocuous verse.

As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer… (1 Timothy 1:3, NIV)

It's a fairly safe assumption that Timothy didn't want to stay in Ephesus. On multiple occasions, the Apostle Paul urged him to stay there. We rarely have to urge someone to do what they already want to do.

Secondly, his mission in Ephesus was tough. Confront older men who were teaching false doctrine and set them straight. Nothing easy about that.

But Timothy listened to his mentor…he stayed in Ephesus.

Do you feel like God is urging you to stay in a place that you'd really rather leave behind? Is he calling you to persevere when you would rather get-the-heck-out-of-here?

Stay there in Ephesus. Hang tough. Keep fighting. Don't throw in the towel. Until God releases you from your Ephesus, persevere.