Paul's Postcard to Philemon
No one likes conflict. When we are at odds with those we love, it can create a lot of stress. Sometimes, we’re not the one at odds, but we are stuck in the middle between two friends or family members who are at odds with each other. Negotiating that kind of relationship can often feel like a high wire act—one wrong step and you’ll go crashing down.This is the context of Paul’s letter to Philemon. This epistle is unique within the New Testament for several reason. First, it is the shortest of Paul’s epistles. Second, it is not directed specifically to a group or church, but to one person—Philemon.In this letter we get to see the true heart of the great Apostle. He is writing to his friend and disciple Philemon on behalf of Onesimus, Philemon’s slave. Onesimus ran away from his owner and stole from him in the process of doing so. Originally from Colossae, Onesimus likely made his way to Ephesus and traveled the well-known route to Rome. Within Rome, it would be easy for a slave to disappear into the population.After arriving in Rome, Onesimus met Paul, heard the gospel, and was saved. Some would call this a chance encounter, but Paul is clear in his letter to Philemon that perhaps this was God’s plan for Onesimus to escape only to find true freedom through the gospel (Philemon 15-17).As a Christian, Onesimus wants to make right the mistake he made in running away. With this desire to return to his master to make amends, Paul intercedes on his behalf, appealing to Philemon to accept Onesimus as a brother, and not as a criminal. This may sound like an easy request, but it placed Philemon in a difficult spot. As a slave owner, he had to maintain order and authority over his slaves, or one runaway becomes many runaways. The Romans were harsh with runaway slaves, and it was within Philemon’s legal right to have Onesimus put to death for his crime. Yet, with this knowledge underlying his appeal, Paul graciously and humbly asks Philemon to accept Onesimus back into his household and to make use of him as a fellow Christian servant, not a slave. That’s a big request.How do you feel you would respond to a request like this? Not only may it grind against your own personal values, but it creates a leadership vulnerability that could impact your business and management practices. What if all of Philemon’s slaves suddenly heard the gospel and became Christians? Should he treat them all as brothers and fellow servants? If so, how would his household function? Keep in mind, the question is not whether slavery was right or wrong. Paul makes no appeal to Philemon arguing that slavery as an institution was wrong. This was an accepted part of Roman culture, and the New Testament takes a careful approach to how it addresses the issue of slavery. The decision is a personal one for Philemon. Have Onesimus executed or receive him as a brother? What would you do?For the rest of the story, be sure to attend your Lighthouse this week and find out what happened to Philemon and Onesimus.This Week's R2R DistinctiveHumanity (John 3:16) We believe all people are born separated from God by sin, but God in his love sent his Son Jesus Christ as their savior.For this week's devotional study, download this week's issue of The Compass.
To Finish the Mission Requires Courage
As we continue our study of Finish the Mission during GO Month 2015 at First Family Church, we come to the topic of courage. A short definition of courage is simply to place yourself in a position where the outcome is uncertain. Courage is often associated with heroes who place their very life at risk in order to save others. Firemen, police men, and soldiers are modern examples of courageous servants.Hebrews 11 provides a long list of examples of courageous men and women who lived their lives in strict obedience to God. Hebrews tells us that the element that made their service courageous and pleasing to God was their faith.How do you learn faith yourself or teach faith to a child? Key is knowing for certain what we believe and in whom we believe. Faith allows us to follow God in spite of our human fears. Jesus gives evidence of this kind of faith in the garden the night of His crucifixion when he prayed, “not my will, but your will be done.” Jesus knew the pain and ultimate loss of life that was in front of Him, but by faith in God’s greater work and ultimate resurrection, Jesus willingly went to the cross out of obedience to the Father.Growing in Faith falls into that gray middle ground between our own determination to be obedient and the work of the Spirit to produce fruit from our lives. Consequently, when we seek to grow in our faith and obedience to the Word of God, we must seek the help of the Holy Spirit but also recognize the battle that we will face with our own flesh.God is at work throughout our world today, and He has equipped each one of us for a unique contribution to His work. To join Him, we must move to where He is working. This may be across the street or around the world. Yet, as so often happens, fear enters in and we fail to take that first step towards obedience.Key to growing in faith is investing time in the Word of God. Through regular, daily Bible study, we come to know the Lord at a deeper level, and become sensitive to His leading in our life. As we follow Him, He grows our faith little-by-little.The Lord will finish His mission, the question is whether He will use your gifts and contribution or do so without you. To be left behind is our loss. We should rather be no where else than in the very heart of God’s will for our lives. Join with me this week and pray that God will grow our faith, and that we will discipline ourselves for the race ahead, so that together we can finish the mission God has prepared for First Family Church.This week's R2R distinctivePatience (Proverbs 14:29): I take a long time to overheat and endure patiently under the unavoidable pressures of life.For this week's devotional study, download this issue of The Compass.
Oh God, Make Your Passion My Mission
One of the core themes of the Star Wars saga is the rebellion of the evil empire against the good represented by the Republic and the Jedi Knights. As we watch movies like Star Wars, we identify ourselves with the good guys, those who fight for the brotherhood of mankind and the ultimate triumph of good over evil.Culturally, we see the world through similar eyes—we see the good of America at war against the evil of the Islamic State; we see the good of capitalism at war against the evil of communism. This is true throughout history.It should come as no surprise, then, that when it comes to man’s rebellion and war against God, we still see ourselves as part of the good guys, but we are not. Mankind represents the very personification of evil. From the moment we begin breathing, until we are laid to rest in the earth, our very thoughts are in rebellion against God and His Messiah. Of all of creation, from the heavens to the depth of the ocean, who has openly rebelled against their Creator like mankind? We stand alone, guilty, and without excuse.The truth is, the Bible is clear in its description of God’s perspective of man:
“The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. You destroy those who speak lies; the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man” (Psalm 5:5-6)
Yet, it is equally truth, that God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son to die for us while we were yet sinners!This is the mystery of the Cross. It’s too easy to think that when Jesus gave His life on the Cross, he did so for our lies, our lustful thoughts, and our multitude of other sinful actions. When Jesus went to the Cross, he didn’t just endure the penalty of our sin, He stood in the place of sinners. Isaiah 53 paints a vivid picture: 3 He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.— Isaiah 53:3–6 (ESV)As we work our way through this week’s Compass and the accompanying Lighthouse Lesson, it is my prayer that we begin to appreciate the depth of God’s love for us and for unreached people around the world. He is not calling us to live as a silent “moral majority” within our communities or culture; God is calling us to join Him in the ongoing redemptive work of bring a people to Himself from every tribe, language, nation, and people. If you are willing, join me in praying this simple prayer this week: “Oh God, move me closer to your heart for the nations. Make Your passion my mission.”This week's R2R distinctiveJesus Christ (John 1:12): We believe in Jesus Christ, His deity, virgin birth, sinless life, vicarious death, burial and bodily resurrection, His ascension to the right hand of the Father and His personal future return in power and glory. We are significant only because of our position as children of God.
For this week's devotional study, download this issue of The Compass.
Navigating Towards the Deeper Waters of Faith
What is the most awe-inspiring sight you have ever seen? Natural wonders like the Grand Canyon or Yosemite National Park may come to mind. Perhaps it’s the vastness of an ocean or staring into the eyes of a newly born son or daughter.When I asked myself this question, the image that immediately came to mind was Downtown Chicago. There is something awe-inspiring to exit the elevator on observation deck of the John Hancock Tower and look down on Downtown Chicago. It is magnificent! With one look you can capture the beauty and simplicity of a thriving metropolis with millions of people. Yet, at the same time, you are looking at an incredibly complex system. Each building contains all of the necessities to support the lives of those who live and work there. Millions of miles of pipes create a water and sewer system; millions of miles of electrical wire carry electrical power to millions of tiny outlets. While the simplicity is clear to see, the complexity is lost in the very scope of the image. You can’t see the woman struggling with a broken down car or the ambulance rushing a dying man to a hospital. You can’t discern the young couple on their first date with love in their eyes, or the middle-aged couple meeting in separate buildings with their attorneys putting the final touches to the contract that will bring an end their 30-year marriage.We live our lives in a relatively small space. While life should be simple, it proves to be rather complex. Slowly, if we are not careful, we become self-focused to the point we no longer even see the needs of others around us. It’s like looking at Downtown Chicago from the John Hancock tower, it’s too easy to look past the details of what’s happening in the lives of those around us.God is watching the details of our life, and He cares about the details. He looks upon a city like Chicago and He sees and hears the woman in her prayer closet praying fervently for her son who has wondered into a dangerous life of drug use and sexual promiscuity, and He has compassion on her. He sees the young high school student mocking the street preacher and He has compassion on that young student and begins to open his ears and his heart to the gospel message being preached.God is at work all around us, and He is asking us to join Him. That’s an amazing proposition. The God of the Universe, the Creator of all things, is asking you and me to join Him in his redemptive work throughout the world.Over the next month, as we focus our attention on The Great Commission and what it means to us, begin to ask the Lord, “how can you use me?” The Lord will answer this prayer. The next prayer we need to pray is equally simple, but infinitely more difficult: “Lord, I know how you want to use me, now give me the faith to follow you in obedience as your Spirit leads.”Let me close this week’s introduction with some words of encouragement from Jon Courson:
Dear saint, the Lord won’t force us to go any deeper in Him than we choose—but He will take us as deep as we wish.…
Some get their feet wet up to their ankles. They are standing on the promises, born again, saved.
Others, wanting to go deeper, go up to their knees—that speaks of prayer. “I want to do more than get my feet wet, Lord,” they say. “I want to be part of what You are doing. Use me in prayer.” And they get involved in intercessory ministry—praying in the Spirit.
Others, wanting to go deeper still, wade in to their waists—signifying reproduction. Not only are they standing on the promises, or up to their knees in intercessory ministry, they are adding to the kingdom by witnessing to their family, friends, and neighbors.
But there comes a point where some are just over their heads, saying, “Lord, I’m going to just let go. Have Your way in my life. I’m giving it to You without reservation. I don’t know where this will take me, but I’m Yours totally. Do what You want to do in and through me for Your glory.”
Maybe right now you’re in the doldrums in your walk. If so, I encourage you to launch out into the deeper waters of faith. Oh, maybe your kayak will get overturned in the rapids a few times and maybe you won’t know exactly where you’ll land. But I guarantee you won’t regret it. I’m so glad that the water of life flows right through heaven because it means that the Lord’s Spirit is on the move even there and that we can continue going deeper and deeper in Him throughout eternity.
This week’s R2R distinctiveGod the Father (Psalm 121:1–2): We believe God is personally involved in and cares about the daily lives of His children.For this week's devotional study, download this issue of The Compass. To learn how to use The Compass, click here.
Persecution in America! Really?
It’s a scene played out in homes across America every day: kids arrive home from school, scan the kitchen shelves and refrigerator, and then yell out, “Mom! I’m starving, and there’s nothing to eat in the kitchen!” Translate this into first world language, and what he means is, “Mom, I’m hungry, and there’s nothing that looks good to me in the kitchen!”
Words mean different things in our culture than in third world cultures. In the third world, starving means life and death. We’ve seen the pictures of children so thin and ravaged with starvation that they are nothing more than a skeleton with skin.
So it is with the concept of persecution.
In America, Christians often label battles in the values war as “persecution.” If a public school systems moves to take the closing benediction out of a high school graduation, it’s labeled persecution. If a town decides to no longer have a nativity scene in front of city hall, it’s labeled persecution. Even when the law and religion collide, such as when a court rules the tradition of a National Day of Prayer as unconstitutional (which was later overturned by a federal appeals court), these acts are often described as persecution by over zealous Christians. The truth is, in the first world, Christians may experience open discrimination, but not true persecution, especially government-sponsored persecution.
Historically, God has not spared His people from persecution. In fact, Jesus went so far as to warn his followers that persecution and tribulation should be expected (John 15:18, 19). Many of the New Testament epistles were written to encourage the early church as persecution spread throughout the Roman Empire. In Acts 8, part of our text for this week, Luke tells us that the church was “ravaged” by persecution (Acts 8:3).
Never forget, however, that God has His purposes, and that many times His ways seem to make little sense from a human perspective. In the case of the first century church, God used persecution to facilitate the spread of the gospel and accomplish His plan as outlined in Acts 1:8.
As you study this week’s Scripture, ask the Holy Spirit to give you a renewed sense of urgency as we pray for and intercede on behalf of those enduring strong persecution in the world today. Commit to be a part of the 40 Days of Prayer and Fasting, and make the persecuted church a part of your focus for the next six weeks. At the same time, recognize that the Lord uses trials to accomplish His purposes. Are you in the midst of a trial right now? Pray that God will use these trials to deepen your relationship with Him.–Chris Eller