This verse in Ephesians is intense! We are to live our lives wisely and make every opportunity count. Why? Because the days are evil! That gives me serious pause to stop, reflect, and pray whenever I read this! May the Lord give us wisdom and empower us to make the most of every opportunity that He gives us! Amen!
I was doing some research this morning on the ancient Roman amphitheater you see above. It resides in Caesarea, Israel right off the Mediterranean coast. It is still being used today for concerts. I would not want to see a concert there though because I know what kinds of evil things were done in that place. Caesarea was King Herod’s city!
Consider this history lesson from Touryourway.com (Israeli Tour Company):
“Caesarea is the ancient Roman capital of Judaea, housing impressive ruins on a fully-fledged Roman town. And no Roman town would be complete without an amphitheatre in which to enjoy the sadistic spectacles that were so popular at the time. The city was built by King Herod in 22 BC, and with it the amphitheatre that served as a venue for a mass execution of Jews who had revolted against the Romans between 66 and 70 AD. The thousands of captives were taken from Jerusalem where they had unsuccessfully defended the city, and killed en masse in Caesarea for the crowd’s entertainment. 65 years later, 10 sages who had been taken during the famous Bar Kochba revolt were tortured center stage, to the public’s delight.
Every five years, Herod’s port city hosted the gladiatorial games, sporting competitions, and performances. The amphitheater was the foremost venue of entertainment, and going to see people fight to the death was the equivalent of going to see a movie.
This is the oldest Roman amphitheater still standing east of the Mediterranean. It measures 100 meters across and seats 4,000 spectators, a huge number for the time. It is situated by the sea in pride of place in the south of the city. For 500 years, the amphitheater was the center of entertainment in the region. It was home to classic Greek & Roman theatre, and later the genre of pantomime developed, and mime plays were performed which made jokes about the local Jews.”
So, that amphitheater was a place of sin, violence, death, arrogance, and mockery. Yes, the days were indeed evil in their time and they are just as evil in our time! Have you been on Twitter lately? It is nuts! There is so much violence and sin in the world right now most of us believe we are in the end times! By reading the Scriptures in the Word of God and witnessing so many signs of the times, we might just be! I don’t know the times or the dates of the end, but I am keeping watch brothers and sisters!
So, the Apostle Paul warns us in his letter to the Ephesians that we need to make the most of every opportunity. Sometimes opportunities only come once and we never see them again. When those God given opportunities show up, we should take it and give it everything we’ve got in the Lord! Of course we always pray about all things and submit to God’s will in everything. The Lord makes it clear when we are to move and we are to move forward in faith. When the Lord opens doors it is exciting!
That brings me to something I want to share! There is a Christian radio station I listen to here in Denver called WAY-FM. The morning show helped me so much during my suffering with Celiac! The host Brant Hansen is hilarious and witty and it was always very encouraging to listen to him. He also has a co-host named Sherri who is also hilarious and their conversations were always uplifting to listen to when I was hurting so badly.
Two years ago in October of 2016 I emailed Brant regarding a question he talked about on his show. This was back during the political madness of the big Presidential election (that madness is still going on). He had asked about how people deal with the stress from it at work. I had seen a funny bumper sticker on a mini van at church, so I bought the same one online. I had it on my truck leading up to the election. The photo below is what I emailed to Brant. I am really not that cynical. I was just tired of it all back then and I wanted to make people laugh and ease the stress. I did see a guy laughing one day in my rear view mirror as he leaned forward to read it. He was laughing hard too! So funny! Welcome to my sense of humor.
I never heard back from Brant…until a few days ago! Yes, he emailed me back exactly two years later! It was funny because when I got his email it was like I had just emailed him and I remembered the whole thing. I am really encouraged that he wrote back and what he said was encouraging! He apologized about the delay and joked about how he had finally gotten help getting organized. Funny dude!
I did not have a published book or a blog back in 2016, so I told Brant about it in my reply. Through that, I met his assistant who was a very nice and very helpful sister in Christ! She was excited to hear about the book and the blog and she also said encouraging words. I offered to send free copies of my book (you know me, I always do). She accepted the free offer and gave me the station address where they broadcast out of Florida, so I mailed it this morning!
I don’t know what the Lord is going to do with this. He has opened a door and created an opportunity out of an email I sent two years ago! Amazing! I have been praying daily for the Lord to deliver me from this disease and bless me to be able to provide for my family. I have asked Him to allow me to earn an income somehow with my writing. Not through this blog, this will always be free, but somehow. Maybe the book is just for Brant to encourage and strengthen his faith, or maybe he will talk about it on his show. I don’t know. Either way, I am blessed and encouraged right now for just having the opportunity to send it! Please brothers and sisters pray for me and pray over this opportunity in the power of the Holy Spirit! May the Lord’s will be done with it!
I want to be even more open with all of you. The days are evil and I am working for Jesus! I have prayed that the Lord would use my book (which is my testimony) for His glory! I have prayed that it would go out into the world and bear fruit! I will always give away my book for free to anyone who wants one and my purpose in writing it was not to make money. I hate money and I hate talking about it. I wrote it and published it on Amazon because that is what the Lord told me to do. If the Lord wants it talked about on a nationwide radio station and a bunch of people end up buying it, then I will accept that blessing, praise Him for it, and tithe it accordingly. Then I’m paying some bills and taking my kids out for ice cream! The most important thing is that people hear the truth God wrote through me! I preached the truth of the Gospel in love in my book and I testified to the supernatural things God has done in my life with joy! Again, may His will be done! Thank you for your prayers and encouragement!
What opportunities has God brought your way? Let me know if I can pray about anything for you too! I pray for all of us that whatever the Lord might be doing in our lives, we would be faithful and make the most of every single opportunity He blesses us with!
Grace and peace to you all!
Ryan Callahan's Blog 
Cool story Ryan! The days are evil, it is hard to know if you doing Kingdom work moment by moment when your ministry is online. But we must submit to Him, and His word goes out and doesn’t return empty. Things are happening out there.
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Amen! Thanks brother!
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Amen 🙏🏽 we are living in the last days, my mom says it to me every time we speak. May the Lord have mercy on His people
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Amen! About a year ago, there was a woman at the register at the store who looked to be in her late 70s. We got to talking about the state of the world. Before I left, she looked right in my eyes and said, “hold on, it’s the end times!”, as she clenched her fists together to show holding on tight. I have never seen her before or since then, but I will remember her!
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We are a family run dive centre in Cyprus, we love your content.
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Thank you! I looked at your website and your scuba company looks amazing! What a beautiful place to dive! God bless your family!
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