Day 02 - Southern Coast: Aspendos, Perga

Hi everyone! It’s Bright here and I am very excited to unpack our second full day here in Turkey!

We closed out our time in Antalya today with a few awesome stops. Our morning started off with getting to see some ancient Roman aqueducts. As we looked at the ruins around us, Jared reminded us of how the people in Rome sought to change the world based on their standards of the good life – however, their ingenuity actually paved the way for the Gospel to be spread. Jared encouraged us to think about how challenging it must have been for Christians during this time to stand firm in God’s grace when the world around them painted such a different picture of what the good life was.

We then headed to the theater in Aspendos! Though this place is not mentioned in the Bible, it played a very important role in Roman history. Jared talked about how big entertainment was for the Roman people and how the stories they communicated were propaganda – messages that they wanted their people to know, believe and listen to. Actors in Roman performances were often men that wore masks to portray various different characters – Jared challenged us to think of ways that we may be like them, wearing our own masks to portray an outside image of ourselves that does not match what is on the inside. As we sat in this ancient theater, we were reminded of how our culture slowly begins to tune our heart through propaganda, selling us a false gospel, a version of the “good life.” We desperately need Jesus to tune our hearts to sing His praise, so that we may ultimately be a theater for the gospel, living out our identities as the light of the world for the glory of God.

After our time at the theater, we made our way to our final stop of the day – the ancient Roman city of Perga. We even got to walk through the actual gate to the city which Paul himself likely walked through during his first missionary journey! During our time in Perga, Jared continued his talk on propaganda and how it shapes how we think – another form of propaganda used by the Roman people was commerce. We were challenged to think about our own perceptions of what we have, wear and buy. Instead of aligning ourselves with the propaganda of this world and believing its false lies of abundance, we should instead live as walking propaganda for the Kingdom.

We ended our time in Perga by talking more about Paul and his traveling companions during his missionary journeys! We learned about Barnabas and John Mark and how their credibility within the church likely paved the way for Paul to be able to take the Gospel as far as he did. Jared left us with one final question: how different would the church be if we, in courage and humility, celebrated other people’s gifts rather than comparing ourselves?

Thanks for tuning in today! I am pumped to see how the Lord will continue to teach us during our time here. Please pray that He would continue to tune our hearts to His grace as we get to sit in the Scriptures and for a fruitful remainder of our time in Turkey!