Day 03 - Hierapolis, Colossae, Laodicea

Day 3 - Restoring Evangelion

Today, we started off with an early morning where we were able to enjoy the beautiful city of Pamukkale, Turkiye from a hot air balloon!! It was so amazing to be able to see the beauty of God’s creation from the sky and do it alongside people you love!! It was an experience I will never forget!! It was so peaceful and beautiful!!

Our first stop of the day was Hierapolis. We visited the Necropolis of Hierapolis. In the book of Colossians, it discusses a man named Epaphras who bore witness in Hierapolis. He was in agony for the spirituality of the city. He labored in prayer for the city. He was a man who was about the people and the gospel. Our focus today was on restoring prosperity. Prosperity to Epaphras looked like being a faithful witness for Jesus and that was prosperity for him. He had a right view of prosperity.

Next, we visited the Martyrion of St. Philip. Philip was a disciple of Jesus. He came all the way to Hierapolis to share the gospel. He proclaimed and lived out his faith boldly and as a result was martyred. He was crucified, drug through the city, and had unimaginable things he had to experience. Yet despite all the difficulty, tragedy, and heartache that he endured, Philip never stopped being faithful. He was a man who lived out Philippians 1:21. Philip was a man who was bold, faithful, and obedient to Jesus not for fame or popularity but because he was in love with Jesus.

After Hierapolis, we made our way to Colossae where we read the book of Colossians. The takeaway is that we are all in Christ and we should walk in Him. He is supreme and Lord of all.

Our last stop of the day was Laodicea. John wrote a letter to the people in Laocidea in the book of Revelation. It was a letter of criticism calling them to repent. Laodicea had an astounding banking center. They had no problem with money. They had a medical school and specialized in ophthalmology. They had a stadium, great water system, rare black wool but were poor. They were missing it. John calls them to repent.

The takeaway from today is prosperity is not about having the most money or fame. It is possible to look really good and seem to have it all but miss Jesus. Prosperity looks like having true life in Jesus. Jesus is in the business of bringing dead things back to life. We should walk in faith for the future because I can look back at that part of my life that was dead and I don’t have to have fear for the future.

- Faith Wolverton