QT 22 May 19, Phil 23-24, Christianity has nothing in common with the lone ranger

Philemon 23–24 (ESV) — 23 Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you, 24 and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.

NOTE: So much for the idea of Christianity as the business of lone rangers. I can only think of one time in Paul's entire life when he was actually alone. I believe it was when he was in Athens and it was a rather short period. Paul recognized that Christianity has nothing to do with the idea of a lone ranger. Christianity is about fellowship, the body of Christ, and reaching out to the world. Staying home because your faith is "private" is a copout, an error, and an affront to the idea of the bride of Christ. Yes, the bride has a number of warts, and we contribute to those warts, but the healthy growing church is one where the people meet, worship, fellowship, and reach out to friends and neighbors.

PRAYER: Father, I am by nature a loner. I know I could easily barricade up in my little bubble. Protect me from Satan's evil strategies. Give me a love for the unlovely and a desire to help others rather than just helping me help myself.

QT 21 May 19, Phil 22, The softer side of Paul

Philemon 22 (ESV) — At the same time, prepare a guest room for me, for I am hoping that through your prayers I will be graciously given to you.

NOTE: We get a little insight into the personal side of Paul. I seriously doubt that Philemon was going to start preparing a guest room for Paul or even to leave it open for the next year. More likely, Philemon had a guest room that was always open for visitors. While that may not have been true of most people, we have indications that Philemon was wealthy. The church met in his home and he apparently had servants. Also, since Paul never directly visited Colossae and he knew Philemon well, suggesting that he had met him while Philemon was traveling.  And so the statement is made almost tongue in cheek. Paul didn't need to say anything, but his humorous comment tells Philemon that he is hoping to visit if released. Of course, he is also hoping to go to Spain as well. Paul had a lot of dreams and not all of them were fulfilled, showing that dreams and desires are not necessarily indicators of God's will.

PRAYER: Father, help me to separate dreams and your will. Give me contentment in the place that you have "placed" me.

QT 20 May 19, Phil 19-20, Do we really live up to the standards of our faith?

Philemon 19–20 (ESV) — 19 I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it—to say nothing of your owing me even your own self. 20 Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.

NOTE: This seems a little harsh or strong for Paul, and yet he must have known Philemon well enough to say it. His challenge to Philemon is to forget the loss and expense that was incurred by Onesimus actions. Rather, see the eternal gain of a new brother in Christ. If Paul's ministry has had any effect--yes, Paul should expect actions consistent with the gospel and not the world. Philemon needs to act as Christ would and accept back his brother in Christ. That is our problem in the church today. The love of Christ is not shown. There is anger and bitterness when people don't get their way. Jesus said, "by this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." Rather than focusing on ourselves, our loss, our embarrassment, our whatever …, we need to act in a manner consistent with the life of Jesus Christ who gladly was mistreated for the benefit of all.

PRAYER: Father, it is easy for me to get mad at personal assaults or affronts. I know it is wrong and I ask your forgiveness. Far more important is to love others and forget the hurts. Help me to live as you want me to live and to love as you want me to love.

QT 16 May 19, Phil 17-18, Loving first

Philemon 17–18 (ESV) — 17 So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me. 18 If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account.

NOTE: Paul displayed the Christian attitude to loss, anger, and misunderstanding. He took it upon himself. He was not in the wrong, but he was willing to bear the burden of the wrong. It did not matter who paid the loss. It was just money. It was just an internal sense of right and wrong that isn't even always biblical. The bigger issue was healing hurts and reconciling people. I find it is a lot easier to assume the fault to rectify a relationship than to get the other person to admit their error. So what? God will reveal it to them in time. It is not my job to play junior Holy Spirit. Now if it is a regular pattern, I may need to reevaluate that position. But God says, it is His to judge and to repay a person for their actions.

PRAYER: Father, help me to let go of hurts quickly. Help me to love others independently of how they might act. My job is to love first. Work in all of our lives to change us and to make us more like Jesus Christ.

QT 15 May 19, Phil 14, Giving is never to be under compulsion

Philemon 14 (ESV) — but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own accord.

NOTE: Onesimus is a runaway servant of Philemon. He comes to Christ through Paul's witness. And now, Paul is sending him back to fulfill his obligations as a bond-servant. There is no teaching of slavery in this passage, but rather the typical Christian teaching of obeying government authorities according to the culture and time. I don't know if Onesimus was a forced slave or one who sold himself into slavery to pay off debts. In the latter case, that is no different than many professional sport contracts where a person sells his services for a certain number of years. In our culture, it pays very well to be a servant to a wealthy land owner. The main point Paul argues is that while Paul might be able to use him as payment for Paul's ministry to Onesimus, he argues that giving should not be by compulsion but rather a person's choice. There is no discussion of tithing or the law's requirements. The New Testament teaches that each person gives as he has made up his own mind, not under compulsion, for God loves cheerful givers.

PRAYER: Father, thank you for the mercy and grace of the new covenant. Thank you that we are not compelled to give. Thank you that giving is truly giving from the heart. I pray my heart for giving might continue to grow.

QT 14 May 19, Phil 6, Living like Christ all the time

Philemon 6 (ESV) — and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.

NOTE: I think we share our faith in two ways and in two directions. In general our faith is shared in words and also in actions (where action is a very broad category to include love, acts of mercy, service, kindness, gentleness, compassion, etc.). The two directions are toward unbelievers and believers. In the first case, unbelievers are left to question their pre-conceived ideas of faith because of the representation of our life. Hopefully, the opportunities where we live out our faith will lead to opportunities to express words, answering questions about our faith. For believers, we tend to call this direction fellowship and it is equally important. Many people live worldly lives in the church -- they really aren't any different than the world around us, and they don't encourage people to live upright and godly lives. They don't build up the faith of believers. The end result is sterile Christianity.

PRAYER: Father, wake us up to the extreme importance of a witness that truly reflects a loving Jesus Christ to believer and unbeliever alike.

QT 13 May 19, Philemon 1-2, We need close church relationships

Philemon 1–2 (ESV) — 1 Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,

To Philemon our beloved fellow worker 2 and Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house:

NOTE: At first I thought I could make out who was who, but on further thought, I am not sure of the relationship of the three to each other. I am pretty sure Archippus is an elder and leads the church, but that is based on Col 4:18. Apphia appears to be married to one of the two, but could be a daughter to one and a sister to the other. While the letter is primarily to Philemon, it directly affects the other two, either because they are leaders in the church or because they are related to Philemon. In any event, it is nice to see ministry in the home and to see Paul's acknowledgment of such (as he does often in his letters). Sometimes our big building and large congregations cause us to miss out on the intimacy of the early church. A small group, of some kind, or small bible study, brings us back to the spiritual relationships that existed in the first century.

PRAYER: Father, thank you for fellowship and the friendship and relationships of  close brothers and sisters in Christ. I pray that others might experience the close of a small group within their church and not settle for just Church and Sunday School.