You are ALREADY loved

We ventured out to the city of Sardis this morning where we learned about a people who were obsessed with death. Out of the hundred thousand people who lived here, many people worshiped the god Kibula. But we discovered there was something much bigger going on here. Throughout the city we found subtle but sneaky ways the Jews showed their faith in the God of Israel. Some shops had small crosses gently engraved on the front of their store. There were even symbols in the synagogue. These people were definitely on a mission in the midst of chaos. What a great example these people have set for us because they loved the Romans they were living with and they were able to tell a different story. They believed ultimately, meaning they trusted the story God had for them no matter how hard it must have been.

A beautiful reminder that we were left with when leaving this place was that "you are loved by God and there is nothing you can do to change that. You are ALREADY loved."

Later in the day we journeyed to the city of Aphroditis, which was known as the heart of art. We sat in the arena of Aphroditis where thirty thousand people once sat and watched the Olympics. What a cool feeling to be sitting in the stands talking abut the stages of their Olympic Games back then when many people at home are enjoying watching our current Olympics. The most astounding thing I discovered is that the Olympic Games follow the chapters of Revelations. Go ahead and check it out! What this means is that we find ourselves in the games. And all of the people who have gone before us are cheering us on in the stands. We have a race to win. Marty told us told each of us, "don't stop running." So we all took off running to the end of the field. It was a joyful and overwhelming feeling to think about all of the people cheering me on in the stands as I ran as fast as I could. It was powerful, just to know that all you have to do is put one foot in front of the other.

I have run the race. I have fought the good fight.

Written by Kaylee