“Do not love the world or anything in the world…. This world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.” — I John 2:15a and 17

The book of Titus, like I Timothy, gives guidance on the characteristics to look for when appointing church leaders. Titus was instructed by Paul to finish the work of selecting elders of the church in Crete. Paul advises:

“An elder must be blameless, the husband of one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. Since an overseer is entrusted with God’s work, he must be blameless — not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.” Titus 1:6-9

The theme of Chapter 2 is this:

Anyone who carries the name of Christian should conduct himself or herself in a godly manner, always. When I say I am a Christian, I am instantly judged by the world. Not for who I am, but for who others before me have been. I am typecast even before I am known personally and by what standards I live, because others in the past have set the bar — sadly, sometimes very low.

Chapter 2 counsels that older men should live “worthy of respect and self-controlled”, the older women should train the younger to be “self-controlled and pure, kind and subject to their husbands… so that no one will malign the word of God.”

Titus is commanded to:

“…encourage the young men to be self-controlled… set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing to say about us.”

Christian slaves are told to “show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God, our Savior, attractive.”

Therefore, I must be above reproach. Not perfect, for I am still in this sinful skin until Christ returns, but I should live my life in a way that those outside the fold will see and crave because they recognize the work Jesus is doing in me. But, should they not crave it, at the very least they will have no ammunition against the body of Christ because of my behavior.

I have seen much opposition to Christ and his work of redemption this week. Not directed toward me necessarily, but in things people have posted publicly on social network sites, and stuff in the news. This is a dark time where many are seeking something “other” because it is easier or trendy. To put it plainly, people don’t want to be redeemed. They are happy in their sin, and can’t wait to go deeper in. Be in prayer for these. Do not be afraid to speak to them. One word could turn someone around. One word could change their lives forever. I don’t mean to sound so dramatic, but we (as a corporate people) are no longer standing on the foundations on which this country was built, we are jack-hammering them instead, and for this I grieve.

These are the very reasons God judged Israel and the neighboring nations, like Egypt in Ezekiel 31-32, for their pride, arrogance, idolatry, wickedness. Does any of this sound familiar?

The invitation to repentance for Israel and Judah in the O.T. was declined again and again, and the blessings of the Lord had to be removed to bring them around. They were put into exile, humbled, kind of like a major time out to think about all God had done for them and where they took a wrong turn. But, he promised it would only be for a time, and when they were redeemed from Babylon 70 years later, they faithfully turned back to God.

Our nation has been truly blessed over its short history, but those blessings have since been taken for granted, credited completely to man, or simply forgotten.

So now we are here today, with a decision to make. Christ is calling to YOU and to ME, his people. Will we stand up proudly and answer him? I have.

The reading for November 28 is Ezekiel 33-34 and the book of Philemon. Pray, read, listen, and grow.

Acceptance must be universal. Like roads we travel on or the bin bags we pack. Like sunrise and sunset, like hope, like restoration. They are for all, and treat all with parity. My shopping bags do not argue with my load anymore than yours.

Acceptance must be universal, in those I see and those I do not. In the fabric of my relationships with everyone, acceptance must be universal.

There is an obvious need for a clear understanding of slavery as we approach the book of Philemon.   In this  post I want to summarize a few points from John Byron on slavery.   The article is dealing with Paul’s metaphor of a slave, but some of the information provides an excellent entry point into the difficulties of dealing with slavery in the first century.

John Byron surveys recent attempts to deal with Paul’s slavery metaphors in New Testament studies.  The bulk of the article deals with a shift from the work of Bartchy in 1973 which made extensive use of Greco-Roman and Jewish legal texts to more recent sociological studies by Patterson and others.  Bartchy’s view was that slavery in the first century was “decidedly benign,” while Patterson argues that slavery was equivalent to a “death experience.”  Bartchy’s views have been far more influential on New Testament commentaries than Patterson’s studies, perhaps skewing the point of Paul’s metaphor of slavery.   Byron’s article is a challenge to the commonly taught idea of selling one’s self into slavery to pay debts and the possibility of a better life as a slave.

This debate highlights the problem of sources.  Bartchy, for example, uses legal texts to show that there was a softening of attitudes toward slaves in the first century which made the slave into something more like “employee” rather than property.  There are a number of problems with using legal, as Byron points out in his conclusion.  The main source for Roman Law is dated to A.D. 533, well after the first century.  In addition, there is a great difference between a law and actual social attitudes.  Bartchy may cite laws protecting slaves, but there is no real evidence that society accepted those laws or that authorities always enforced them. Even in America, we know that simply having a law does not guarantee everyone obeys the law, nor does the law tell us anything about society’s attitude toward the law.  Traffic laws would be a good example here.  Someone studying American law could say the maximum speed on the highway is no more than 70 M.P.H., but we know this is not the case at all.  In some cases, authorities may choose not to enforce a strict speed limit.  The same may have been true for slavery, therefore Roman law becomes less secure for reconstructing actual practice towards slaves in the first century.  Consistency in application of laws is not a forgone conclusion in the case of slavery in the world of the first century.

There are other literary sources for slavery dating to the first century which may provide some data.  Philosophers are often cited as indicating a shift in society’s attitude toward slavery.  As Byron notes, there is no evidence these writings reflect public sentiment.  In fact, one might argue there are very few times in history where the writings of a philosopher accurately reflected the views of society as a whole!  It is possible to miss the point of a philosopher by not taking a saying in context of their system of thought.  For example, the oft-cited view of Seneca that masters ought to not mistreat their slaves is not an example of a softening of attitudes toward slaves but rather an example of the Stoic ethic of self-control.
References to slaves appear in the satirists and in novels.  These references are also problematic since they do not really say anything about the status of a slave in the society.  To take sayings of Marital, for example, as indicative of the general thinking of the populace is akin to taking Jerry Sienfeld as an example of how all Americans think.  Novels which portray slaves as virtuous, socially mobile, etc. are poor evidence since the slave character is usually a prince who has wrongfully been enslaved and overcomes this setback and is restored to his proper status in the end.  The novelist and satirist do not intend to give a sociological opinion of the status of the slave in the first century, therefore it would be dangerous to rely too heavily on them in our research.

There is much to be learned from the sociological approaches to slavery described by Byron.  These studies seem to turn the accepted view of slavery one normally encounters in a commentary on Philemon around in a completely opposite direction. The law codes are a “legal fiction” and slavery was far from a pleasant experience.  If one was forced into slavery it was as if one has died.  This was no mere economic decision (selling yourself into seven years of slavery to pay off a debt, for example.)  The slave, at the social level, was no longer a person but rather he has become property and is no longer his own. This “dying to self” and giving up personal ownership to a master is an appealing element when looking at Paul’s use of the metaphor, but it may be more influenced by American / western values of individuality and freedom rather than that of the Greco-Roman world.  Was “freedom” more important than slavery?  Perhaps not, sometimes it my have been better to be a slave to a powerful person than a freedman.

How does this “background” effect the way we look at Philemon and his slave, Onesimus?

John Byron, “Paul And The Background Of Slavery: The Status Quaestionis In New Testament Scholarship,” CBR 3.1 (2004) 116-139.

Post something you learned from your reading in the Bible and from reading Explore the Book. Please, post no less than 200 words. Feel free to be transparent and write how the passages effected you devotionally. You can also post questions you may have about what is being taught.

Philemon is an awesome letter in the New Testament dealing with a slave who ran away from his master and stole a bunch of things from him who later accepts Christ and now is heading back home.  Paul shares how Jesus has changed this man so much that he’s willing to vouge for all he stole.

Taught at HAVEN youth High School on Friday, October 2, 2009.

Download the MP3

Is Jesus first place in your life?  The initial response for a Christian would be a resounding, “Yes!”  And it would seem very much like the right answer.

But, Jesus did not come only to be first place in your life.

I believe many of us have prioritized Jesus out of our lives by making Him first.  We give Him the first 15 minutes of our day.  We may even give him the last 15 minutes of our day.

But, what do we do with all of the hours in between?  Where is Jesus as 10, 2, and 4?  I want to suggest to you that first isn’t necessarily bad, it’s just not all there is.

Here is a picture of first:

Do you see any problems brewing with only placing Jesus first in your life?  Second is pretty happy.  It gets to hang out right next to Jesus.  But, what about third?  And look how far fourth is away from Jesus.  Whoever or whatever fifth is doesn’t get much contact with Jesus at all.

Let me propose a different configuration.  When you allow Jesus to take up residence in the center of your life, He is able to influence every aspect of who you are and what you do.  Just like the hub of a wheel, it is the hub of your heart that provides support to every area of your life.

Christianity is an invasive force.  Jesus wants to invade your business.  He wants to invade your marriage.  Jesus wants to invade your Friday nights and Monday mornings.

There are four key spokes to the wheel of our lives:

• Personal life – who I am and the basic choices I make
• Social life – how I relate to others
• Business life – what I do to generate income
• Political life – how I view the world around me

It is very possible to claim Jesus to be first in your life and allow Him little or no impact on these key areas.

What happens when Jesus is not the center of our life?  We become the center of our life.  And when we are the center, our faith becomes just another spoke on the wheel.  It’s a good spoke, but it’s just a spoke.

When faith becomes a spoke, rather than a hub, it doesn’t influence the other spokes.  Truth be told, we begin to influence it more than it influences us.

We become the filter that processes life.  We tell everything where to line up.  And we determine how much influence each spoke has on us.

How well do you think we hold up to that pressure?  We don’t.

What happens to a wheel that loses its hub?  It collapses.

There was a time in my life when Jesus was just another spoke on the wheel, a time when I was the center of my own life.  Eventually, I came to realize there is all the difference in the world between knowing Jesus as a good guy and receiving Him as your Lord and Savior.

Where is Jesus in your life?

He could be in a good place.  You could even say He is first.

But, is He the center?

Links

Click HERE to view the story of Laura, a 10 minute glimpse at establishing Jesus as the center of your life.

Parents, Click HERE to access this week’s Family Connect page.  It’s another opportunity to bring what happens on Sunday morning to the kitchen table on Monday night!

On the Radar

We are looking forward to EFC’s first choir leading us in worship during the Christmas season.  Contact Pastor Mindy if you are interested in joining the choir.  No experience necessary.  Our first choir rehearsal will be Monday, November 16^th!

Pastor Eric and his son, Keegan, leave Thursday on a mission trip to Eastern Europe.  They will be traveling to Croatia and Poland as Pastor Eric teaches in several church leadership schools and preaches in local churches with Prepare International.  Keegan will be getting his feet wet on the mission field and being an “armor bearer” for his dad.  Please pray for this trip and these two travelers as they help bring the Kingdom of Heaven to Europe!

Brazil Mission Trip — Pastor Mindy and Pastor Lorin leave in December for a mission trip to Brazil!  They will each need to raise over $3,000 for trip costs.  For more info and to find out how you can support their trip, click HERE.

Revelation Bible study this Tuesday from 12:00 – 1:00 in my office.  Everyone is welcome to join in, just bring your Bible and a lunch box.  Keep up with the progress at The Watchman’s Gaze.

You Heard it at EFC

Been trying to remember one of those awesome songs we sang?  Here is our worship list from yesterday.  You can usually find them for purchase on itunes.  Click highlighted songs to hear on youtube. 

1. “Arise, King of Kings”
2. “Grace Like Rain” by Todd Agnew
3. New This Week — “I Adore You” by Jesus Culture 
4. “You Won’t Relent” by Misty Edwards 

Sunday Preview

Next Sunday, November 15, is our Missions Sunday.  Pastor Mindy will be bringing the message!

OCTOBER 31, 2009
SOURWOOD GEORGIA

SERVANT

Kidnapped into slavery is about the worst thing that could happen to you. BUT

could we imagine one that would volunteer to be the personal slave of another person?

Could we imagine one that would volunteer to be the personal property of another and make the agreement binding and legal, lasting for the rest of there life?

What would that be like? We might comprehend this lifestyle by recalling to mind some slave stories from the BIBLE.

Joseph was kidnapped as a teenager and survived to be made second in command over the whole land, accountable only to his owner— for all of his long and fruitful life. His story takes up 2/3 of the BIBLE’s first book: Genesis.

When he was a child, Daniel was kidnapped into slavery by the army that conquered his homeland and for the rest of his life, Daniel only lived at the pleasure of his owner. You may read of his lifestyle as he grew up and lived his life as a slave—in The HOLY BIBLE book of Daniel.

The New Testament has the short story of a slave who ran away only to voluntarily become the servant of another person. His name was Philemon. We may understand why he would escape from a life of slavery, BUT why would he ever commit to be servant to another for the rest of his life? PLUS—he also committed his services to the man who told him about his new master. A BIBLE cometary will give you a lot of information about the life of a slave during the time of the Roman Empire.

TO BE CONTINUED

In yesterday’s message, we took an honest look at the question of what right Paul had to speak into Philemon’s life and his business dealings with his slave, Onesimus.

One of the key principles Paul leaned on to defend Onesimus, his spiritual son, was the equity that had been built between Paul and Philemon.

Equity is the relationship developed through love and over time.

Equity is like a checking account, and every relationship begins with a small deposit.  What we do with that initial deposit determines how long the relationship will last.

Time, love, and sharing experiences such as victories and heartaches build equity in a relationship.

Disappointment, frustration, and unresolved conflict make withdrawals in a relationship, and you can only be overdrawn for so long before your account gets closed and the relationship gets broken.

You have gone through life opening and closing accounts and maintaining old lines of credit without even realizing it.  You just called it friendship all along the way.

Paul was in an equity crisis with Philemon through this letter and he was drawing on every ounce of shared vision and experience the two of them had together.  He was zeroing out the account in this request for Onesimus’ life, and he was hoping he didn’t find himself overdrawn.

I handle our family finances, and I mange our money with an organizational system that works the best for me at this time in life.  But, I don’t handle our money with precision as much as close approximations. 

I am usually aware that I could be off by a little on my balance, and I compensate for what I know is a weakness in my system by intentionally placing a cushion in our checking account.  I deposited 200 dollars into the account and never wrote it in the register. 

It’s my grace cushion.  It gives me the chance to be off a little bit, and not be penalized.

Would you determine today to put a grace cushion in your relationship accounts?  It is very possible a friend could be off one week or one month.  It is very possible someone could miss an important moment.  It is even possible that one day a conversation won’t go so well between you, and that friend is going to need a little extra equity in that moment.  If you would pad the account with grace today, it may save a relationship tomorrow.

People are the only eternal thing we come in contact with on a daily basis, and our relationships with those God has placed in our lives have the potential to last forever.

Podcast

Click HERE to listen to Pastor Eric’s complete message of Paul’s Letter to Philemon.  (Podcast will be available late Monday afternoon.)

Links

We have a new blogger in our congregation.  Oasis of Praise is a beautiful sight dedicated to maintaining a heart of praise even in the “Calgon” moments of life.

Parents, we have another opportunity for Kitchen Table Discipleship by checking out the latest family connection page at our children’s Wordchangers blog.

Check out this amazing video of a fiery 3 year old bedtime prayer!  Talk about discipleship!

On the Radar

ALL CHURCH NIGHT OF WORSHIP this Wednesday, 7 pm, at EFC!  For more info, check out our website at www.efcsweetwater.com!

Pastor Eric and his son, Keegan, leave in just 10 days on a mission trip to Eastern Europe.  They will be traveling to Croatia and Poland as Pastor Eric teaches in several church leadership schools and preaches in local churches with Prepare International.  Keegan will be getting his feet wet on the mission field and being an “armor bearer” for his dad.  Please pray for this trip and these two travelers as they help bring the Kingdom of Heaven to Europe!

Brazil Mission Trip — Pastor Mindy and Pastor Lorin leave in December for a mission trip to Brazil!  They will each need to raise over $3,000 for trip costs.  For more info and to find out how you can support their trip, click HERE.

Revelation Bible study this Tuesday from 12:00 – 1:00 in my office.  Everyone is welcome to join in, just bring your Bible and a lunch box.  Keep up with the progress at The Watchman’s Gaze.

You Heard it at EFC

Been trying to remember one of those awesome songs we sang?  Here is our worship list from yesterday, for those of you who just absolutely need a copy for yourself.  You can usually find them for purchase on itunes.com.

1. “Jesus Forever” by Anthony Skinner
2. “I Have Found” by Kim Walker
3. “Breathe” by Kathryn Scott
4. “Inside Out” by Hillsong

Sunday Preview

Next Sunday, November 8, we will conclude our exploration of the book of Philemon by examining Philemon’s perspective as he received the Apostle Paul’s profound letter.

Daily Bible Reading, Thoughts, and a prayer for October 29th

Today is the 29th of October.  This is the Daily Bible Reading, thoughts, and prayer starter for today.  Today we are reading from the New International Readers Version Bible.  We’ll begin today from Lamentations 1:1-2:19.  We will continue with Philemon 1-25, Psalms 101:1-8, and Proverbs 26:20.

Lamentations 1:1-2:19 ¹Oh, oh, oh… How empty the city, once teeming with people.
A widow, this city, once in the front rank of nations,
once queen of the ball, she’s now a drudge in the kitchen.

²She cries herself to sleep each night, tears soaking her pillow.
No one’s left among her lovers to sit and hold her hand.
Her friends have all dumped her.

³After years of pain and hard labor, Judah has gone into exile.
She camps out among the nations, never feels at home.
Hunted by all, she’s stuck between a rock and a hard place.

⁴Zion’s roads weep, empty of pilgrims headed to the feasts.
All her city gates are deserted, her priests in despair.
Her virgins are sad. How bitter her fate.

⁵Her enemies have become her masters. Her foes are living it up
because God laid her low, punishing her repeated rebellions.
Her children, prisoners of the enemy, trudge into exile.

⁶All beauty has drained from Daughter Zion’s face.
Her princes are like deer famished for food,
chased to exhaustion by hunters.

⁷Jerusalem remembers the day she lost everything,
when her people fell into enemy hands, and not a soul there to help.
Enemies looked on and laughed, laughed at her helpless silence.

⁸Jerusalem, who outsinned the whole world, is an outcast.
All who admired her despise her now that they see beneath the surface.
Miserable, she groans and turns away in shame.

⁹She played fast and loose with life, she never considered tomorrow,
and now she’s crashed royally, with no one to hold her hand:
“Look at my pain, O God! And how the enemy cruelly struts.”

¹⁰The enemy reached out to take all her favorite things. She watched
as pagans barged into her Sanctuary, those very people for whom
you posted orders: keep out: this assembly off-limits.

¹¹All the people groaned, so desperate for food, so desperate to stay alive
that they bartered their favorite things for a bit of breakfast:
“O God, look at me! Worthless, cheap, abject!

¹²“And you passersby, look at me! Have you ever seen anything like this?
Ever seen pain like my pain, seen what he did to me,
what God did to me in his rage?

¹³“He struck me with lightning, skewered me from head to foot,
then he set traps all around so I could hardly move.
He left me with nothing—left me sick, and sick of living.

¹⁴“He wove my sins into a rope
and harnessed me to captivity’s yoke.
I’m goaded by cruel taskmasters.

¹⁵“The Master piled up my best soldiers in a heap,
then called in thugs to break their fine young necks.
The Master crushed the life out of fair virgin Judah.

¹⁶“For all this I weep, weep buckets of tears,
and not a soul within miles around cares for my soul.
My children are wasted, my enemy got his way.”

¹⁷Zion reached out for help, but no one helped.
God ordered Jacob’s enemies to surround him,
and now no one wants anything to do with Jerusalem.

¹⁸“God has right on his side. I’m the one who did wrong.
Listen everybody! Look at what I’m going through!
My fair young women, my fine young men, all herded into exile!

¹⁹“I called to my friends; they betrayed me.
My priests and my leaders only looked after themselves,
trying but failing to save their own skins.

²⁰“O God, look at the trouble I’m in! My stomach in knots,
my heart wrecked by a life of rebellion.
Massacres in the streets, starvation in the houses.

²¹“Oh, listen to my groans. No one listens, no one cares.
When my enemies heard of the trouble you gave me, they cheered.
Bring on Judgment Day! Let them get what I got!

²²“Take a good look at their evil ways and give it to them!
Give them what you gave me for my sins.
Groaning in pain, body and soul, I’ve had all I can take.”

¹ Oh, oh, oh…

How the Master has cut down Daughter Zion
from the skies, dashed Israel’s glorious city to earth,
in his anger treated his favorite as throwaway junk.

²The Master, without a second thought, took Israel in one gulp.
Raging, he smashed Judah’s defenses,
made hash of her king and princes.

³His anger blazing, he knocked Israel flat,
broke Israel’s arm and turned his back just as the enemy approached,
came on Jacob like a wildfire from every direction.

⁴Like an enemy, he aimed his bow, bared his sword,
and killed our young men, our pride and joy.
His anger, like fire, burned down the homes in Zion.

⁵The Master became the enemy. He had Israel for supper.
He chewed up and spit out all the defenses.
He left Daughter Judah moaning and groaning.

⁶He plowed up his old trysting place, trashed his favorite rendezvous.
God wiped out Zion’s memories of feast days and Sabbaths,
angrily sacked king and priest alike.

⁷God abandoned his altar, walked away from his holy Temple
and turned the fortifications over to the enemy.
As they cheered in God’s Temple, you’d have thought it was a feast day!

⁸God drew up plans to tear down the walls of Daughter Zion.
He assembled his crew, set to work and went at it.
Total demolition! The stones wept!

⁹Her city gates, iron bars and all, disappeared in the rubble:
her kings and princes off to exile—no one left to instruct or lead;
her prophets useless—they neither saw nor heard anything from God.

¹⁰The elders of Daughter Zion sit silent on the ground.
They throw dust on their heads, dress in rough penitential burlap—
the young virgins of Jerusalem, their faces creased with the dirt.

¹¹My eyes are blind with tears, my stomach in a knot.
My insides have turned to jelly over my people’s fate.
Babies and children are fainting all over the place,

¹²Calling to their mothers, “I’m hungry! I’m thirsty!”
then fainting like dying soldiers in the streets,
breathing their last in their mothers’ laps.

¹³How can I understand your plight, dear Jerusalem?
What can I say to give you comfort, dear Zion?
Who can put you together again? This bust-up is past understanding.

¹⁴Your prophets courted you with sweet talk.
They didn’t face you with your sin so that you could repent.
Their sermons were all wishful thinking, deceptive illusions.

¹⁵Astonished, passersby can’t believe what they see.
They rub their eyes, they shake their heads over Jerusalem.
Is this the city voted “Most Beautiful” and “Best Place to Live”?

¹⁶But now your enemies gape, slack-jawed.
Then they rub their hands in glee: “We’ve got them!
We’ve been waiting for this! Here it is!”

¹⁷God did carry out, item by item, exactly what he said he’d do.
He always said he’d do this. Now he’s done it—torn the place down.
He’s let your enemies walk all over you, declared them world champions!

¹⁸Give out heart-cries to the Master, dear repentant Zion.
Let the tears roll like a river, day and night,
and keep at it—no time-outs. Keep those tears flowing!

¹⁹As each night watch begins, get up and cry out in prayer.
Pour your heart out face-to-face with the Master.
Lift high your hands. Beg for the lives of your children
who are starving to death out on the streets.

Philemon 1-25

^1-3I, Paul, am a prisoner for the sake of Christ, here with my brother Timothy. I write this letter to you, Philemon, my good friend and companion in this work—also to our sister Apphia, to Archippus, a real trooper, and to the church that meets in your house. God’s best to you! Christ’s blessings on you!

^4-7Every time your name comes up in my prayers, I say, “Oh, thank you, God!” I keep hearing of the love and faith you have for the Master Jesus, which brims over to other believers. And I keep praying that this faith we hold in common keeps showing up in the good things we do, and that people recognize Christ in all of it. Friend, you have no idea how good your love makes me feel, doubly so when I see your hospitality to fellow believers.

^1-3I, Paul, am a prisoner for the sake of Christ, here with my brother Timothy. I write this letter to you, Philemon, my good friend and companion in this work—also to our sister Apphia, to Archippus, a real trooper, and to the church that meets in your house. God’s best to you! Christ’s blessings on you!

^4-7Every time your name comes up in my prayers, I say, “Oh, thank you, God!” I keep hearing of the love and faith you have for the Master Jesus, which brims over to other believers. And I keep praying that this faith we hold in common keeps showing up in the good things we do, and that people recognize Christ in all of it. Friend, you have no idea how good your love makes me feel, doubly so when I see your hospitality to fellow believers.

Psalms 101:1-8

^1-8My theme song is God’s love and justice, and I’m singing it right to you, God.
I’m finding my way down the road of right living,
but how long before you show up?
I’m doing the very best I can,
and I’m doing it at home, where it counts.
I refuse to take a second look
at corrupting people and degrading things.
I reject made-in-Canaan gods,
stay clear of contamination.
The crooked in heart keep their distance;
I refuse to shake hands with those who plan evil.
I put a gag on the gossip
who bad-mouths his neighbor;
I can’t stand
arrogance.
But I have my eye on salt-of-the-earth people—
they’re the ones I want working with me;
Men and women on the straight and narrow—
these are the ones I want at my side.
But no one who traffics in lies
gets a job with me; I have no patience with liars.
I’ve rounded up all the wicked like cattle
and herded them right out of the country.
I purged God’s city
of all who make a business of evil.

Proverbs 26:20

²⁰ When you run out of wood, the fire goes out;
when the gossip ends, the quarrel dies down.

Thoughts, comments, and Prayer

Thoughts from October 29th Bible reading

Oh man is that true?  Were sort of hitting that theme again; our words matter, our actions matter, the way that we conduct ourselves matters because we are ambassadors of the Kingdom.  Paul writes his letter to Philemon; traditionally Onesimus is a run away slave that becomes a Christian, a convert by Paul, Paul sends him back and asks him for grace.  Now his right legal course of action is to do something really bad like cut off his hand or kill him, or something treacherous to teach him he is not his own.  And that doing that again would be terrible.  And for all of his fellow servants and slaves; don’t even think about it.  But here’s Paul telling him his actions are going to matter here; this is your brother in Christ, what you do here is big, and I am counting on you and expecting you to do more than I have asked.

And in Proverbs here; even in Psalms David is saying these are the kind of people I’m going to hang with.  The decisions that I make are going to matter; I’m not going to contaminate myself.  Show up God; this is where it’s at, I’m doing the best I can.  And of course in Proverbs; what a brilliant Proverb “When you run out of wood, the fire goes out; when you take away the fuel for an argument it goes out, you take away the fuel from gossip and it goes out.  Amazing power of the Bible.

Prayer for October 29th

(Prayer) God; You are amazing!  It is amazing how You can look down into our lives every single day that we breathe; and no matter how many times we go over this material it applies to the life we are living now.  It is always present and available to speak to us and I don’t know how You did that, amazing, brilliant, You are awesome, You are second to none.  You are everything that we can comprehend and even so much more than we cannot.  We love You.  We pray God for this week, speak to us Holy Spirit, we invite You, help us dear God to work through the things that You are working on.  And we pray these things in Your name.  Amen.

Have a great day.  And I will be waiting for you here tomorrow.

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Hello. We are continuing our study of genres this week with a look at the letters written in the Bible. The word “epistle” simply refers to these letters. The majority of letters occur in the New Testament although there are a few shorter letters written in the Old Testament as well. So, I want to go over 1: the general characteristics of letters and how we can recognize them; and 2: the specific characteristics of the NT epistles. We will look at how epistles need to be interpreted in light of their unique characteristics.

Letters today are similar to those written back in Biblical times. Today we have an abundance of methods of communication, but back then they had to rely on either a messenger or a letter brought by a messenger. On a side note: when a messenger brought the message of the person he was representing he took on the authority of the person who was sending the message. The person who received the message would have heard it and accepted it as if it was spoken directly by the person sending it. For instance, if a king sent a message to one of his servants, the words of the person delivering the message have the same authority as if the king himself were speaking.

It is fairly easy to recognize the genre of letters. They have a set pattern and are pretty consistent in their form. Besides their unique form, they are usually specified in the text as being letters. In the New Testament, where there are entire books as letters, this forewarning is not there, but the characteristics of the letter are clues enough to tell their genre.

When we come to a letter in the Bible we need to ask four basic questions:
1) Who wrote it?
2) Who was it written to?
3) What prompted it to be written?
4) What is its message?

To say this another way, we should try to discover the author, audience, occasion and purpose of the letters we find in Scripture.

NT Epistles

The New Testament contains a lot of epistles. Paul wrote a lot of letters to churches and even individuals. These epistles have certain characteristics that put them in this genre. The main characteristics of these epistles is the same four things I just mentioned: an author, audience, occasion and purpose. Stylistically, the letters follow a general style, but even if a few of these characteristics are missing we can still call them letters. Formal letters today have a short greeting at the beginning telling who the letter is addressed to, then there is the body of the letter and a conclusion at the end that tells who the letter is from. The epistles follow a similar pattern. The main difference is that both who the author and audience of the letter are put at the beginning of the letter in the greeting. Also, at the beginning of the letter, there is usually a prayer before getting into the body of the letter. At the end of the letter there is a final salutations. One of the biggest differences between our letters and the epistles is the greeting section. Our letters have really short greetings, we usually just a have a “dear someone” and then get right into what the letter is about. The epistles though have lengthy introductions. Even the shortest introductions are longer than ours. Take for instance the introduction to Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians. It starts out: Paul, Silas and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Compare this to the seven verses of introduction in the book of Romans.

Because of these introductions it is fairly easy to see who these letters are written by and who they are written to. The other two questions are more difficult to answer, but will yield more benefits. When reading these letters we should seek to find out what situation or problems were going on that the author was writing about. We also need to see what the author’s overall purpose for writing was. When we come to the letters written by Paul, we can usually go back to the book of Acts and see what the city was like and the circumstances surrounding the original bringing of the gospel to that region. This will help us get a picture of what may have motivated the writing of the letter.

Most of the information about the people who the letter was written and what is going on with them can be found in the letter itself. Some of the purposes of the letter will be clear from even a cursory reading of it. It could be that the letter is a warning against false teachers, a call to unity, teaching certain theological ideas, or just encouraging them to stand firm in the face of persecution. These are a few big ideas to look for when reading through these epistles. You can sometimes figure out the problems that were going on by looking at what the author is admonishing the people to do. If he is telling them to be united, it is probably because they were things going on that had caused the people to splinter or isolate themselves. If the author is warning against false teachers, it is because there actually are people that are teaching false doctrines. The authors of these epistles are addressing real issues that need real answers.

Optimally, the best way to read an epistle is to read it as a whole in one sitting. When you read the book as a whole, you get a better understanding of the big picture of the letter. The overarching themes become clear and it is easier to understand what the book is about. When you are reading an epistle it is especially important to recognize the transitional words. As you read notice especially when you get to words like “finally”, “therefore” or “now”. These words can signal breaks between large blocks of text. Romans 12:1 starts with a “therefore” and signals a transition in the book. I Cor. 15:1 shows a transition using the word “now” and Phil. 3:1 shows an example of the word “finally” as a transition. When you read through the epistles it is helpful to follow these transitions so that you can see when the author is moving from one topic to another.

The letters of the Bible, especially the NT epistles were written with a purpose. To best understand them, we need to try to understand why they were written and what issues they were addressing. As you read look for hints and clues as to what these purposes are.

Reflection

The book of Philemon is really short and can be easily read in one sitting. Read through it and answer these questions:
Who is the author of this book?
Who is this written to?
What is the problem the author is addressing?
What does the author want Philemon to do or believe?

Proverbs 16:9 tells us, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.”  Nowhere do we see this truth more clearly illustrated than in the life of Onesimus.  Click HERE to read Pastor Eric’s account of the remarkable story of this slave who dared to allow the Lord to direct his steps.  It’s a good one!

Podcast

Hear the complete message of The Story of Onesimus by clicking HERE.

Links

We are excited to introduce our new Children’s Ministry weblog, where you can access weekly family pages and find the latest worldchangers news.  Its another great opportunity to connect church and home! 

In yesterday’s message, Pastor Eric referenced the Global Rich List.  You can find a link to the list embedded in his blog post, The Story of Onesimus.

On the Radar

Brazil Mission Trip — Pastor Mindy and Pastor Lorin leave in December for a mission trip to Brazil!  They will each need to raise over $3,000 for trip costs.  For more info and to find out how you can support their trip, click HERE.

We have a new Lunchtime Bible study coming this week!  Beginning this Tuesday, October 20, we will dive into a lunch time study of the book of Revelation.  The study will run every Tuesday from 12:00 – 1:00 in my office.  Everyone is welcome to join in, just bring your Bible and a lunch box.

You Heard it at EFC

Been trying to remember one of those awesome songs we sang?  Here is our worship list from yesterday, for those of you who just absolutely need a copy for yourself.  You can usually find them for purchase on itunes.com.

1. Friend of God
2. Forever and a Day by Anthony Skinner
3. I Surrender by Kim Walker
4. Revelation Song, Kari Jobe version

Sunday Preview

Next Sunday, November 1, we will continue our exploration of the book of Philemon by considering Paul’s perspective as he penned this dangerous letter.

Who is Christianity for, anyway?  Who do its rules apply to?  Who do its promises apply to?

Are there those in this world who are above the Christian faith?  Above laws, consequences, and accountability?  Are there those in this world who are beneath the Christian faith?  Those who are too dirty?  Those who are too broken?  Those who are too shameful?

Are there those in this world who have already used up all of their grace?  Those who have squandered their last chance?  How many times can a man be forgiven before he is unforgivable?  How many bridges can you burn before there is absolutely no way to get back home?  How useless can one life become?

His name was Onesimus, and if he were standing before you today, these are the questions he would be asking.

He is the kind of guy who, when you spend fifteen minutes with him, suddenly your life doesn’t seem so bad.  Suddenly your marriage doesn’t seem so crappy.  Suddenly you are proud your children didn’t turn out like him.

Do you know people like that?  People who make you think your life isn’t as bad as it could be?  Do you feel like you are one of those people, like you give everyone else hope because at least they are not you?

Onesimus was a slave in the city of Colossae during the first century.  While Jesus was preaching and teaching in the village towns around the Sea of Galilee, Onesimus was miles away crying himself to sleep every night after a day of back breaking labor.

We can only speculate as to how Onesimus became a slave.  It is very likely he was born a slave and lived his entire life as the property of another man.  Maybe he was captured in war through no fault of his own and brought to Colossae to live his life in slavery.  Maybe he was a prisoner, sentenced to a life of slavery as a result of his own foolish choices.

I can’t tell you the “how come” of this man’s life, just as I can’t fully explain the “how come” of your life.

I just know who he was when I was introduced to him.  He was a slave.  And you know what else is said about him?  He was a useless slave.  Does it get any worse?  It is bad enough to be a slave, but you are at the bottom of the barrel when you are a useless slave.  This was Onesimus.

For those of you who grew up on the farm, he was the chicken that didn’t have any tail feathers.  Even among the simplest of animals on a farm there is a pecking order.  And even among the chickens, there is a chicken that eats last, and when she goes for the leftovers, all of the other chickens attack her.

Onesimus was like a young man I once met at a gas station.  As I visited with him about his life, I discovered he was in the local high school marching band.  When I ask him what he played, he looked down, grinned and said, “The air tuba.”

The what?

Apparently he couldn’t play the tuba, but they needed more people in order to look like they had a band.  So, they handed him this bulky instrument and told him to march around on the field, but not, under any circumstances, was he to blow into that thing.

Do you know what it’s like to play the air tuba?  Hands full.  Lots of activity.  No purpose.  No music in your life.  All dressed up — with no horn to blow.

Believe it or not, Onesimus is a man we find in the pages of the Bible.  We discover part of his story in the book of Philemon.  There we read Onesimus is a useless slave, but his story gets even worse.

Apparently, Onesimus becomes fed up with his life as a useless slave, steals from his owner, and runs away.  A useless, runaway, thieving slave.  I know what you’re thinking, “I’d rather play the air tuba than live a life like that.”

But, as is the case with great Bible stories, that is not all there is to Onesimus’ life.  Just as this is not all there is to your life.  His story continues, and so does yours.

Onesimus stole from his master and fled as far away as possible.  Evidence points to the likelihood he made his way to Rome.  He wanted to go where no one could ever find him.

But, you just can’t hide from God.  Somehow, somewhere, in the great metropolis of Rome, Onesimus met a man we refer to as the Apostle Paul.  Paul was a prisoner in Rome at the time, and Onesimus, as a runaway slave, must have found it very difficult to make a living in this capital of the world.  He eventually made his way to working among prisoners just to find enough food to survive each day.  And there, as a servant to prisoners, Onesimus, the useless thief and slave, found his freedom.  In a prison in Rome, Onesimus met Jesus.

And everything changed when Onesimus met Jesus.  Everything can change when you meet Him as well.

So, what are the life lessons we can glean from the remarkable story of this useless thieving slave who met Jesus?

The first lesson we learn is:

Life Is Not Fair

And the truth is, you don’t want it to be.

The average American makes approximately $26,000 a year.  Do you know where that puts them in the scope of our world? 

According to this Global Rich List, the average American is the 569, 942,529^th richest person in the world.  The average American is among the top 10% of the richest people on earth.

In the United States, you are considered at poverty level if you are a single person with an income of $11,000 a year.  Do you know where you fit on a world wide scale?  You would be in the top 13% of the World’s richest people. 

87% of the world’s population lives below U.S. poverty standards.

Life is not fair.

I am not fair with my children.  I don’t give to each of my children equally, and I’m sure my sons are very glad, because I don’t think they would have wanted to wear a cheerleader outfit to school last Friday like my daughter did.

I love all of my children, but I do not give them all the same of everything.  No, I give them what they need.

My friends, you have been crying out, frustrated and angry, because you feel like life has given you a raw deal.

• Why did I have to be born into this family?
• Why did my parents have to be the ones to get a divorce?
• Why did I have to be given this body?
• Why was I the one who got abused?
• Why was I the one who got addicted?
• Why was I the one who caught the disease?

Life is not fair, but the beginning of your story does not have to be the end.  Life is not fair, but you are not alone. Life is not fair, but life can be very, very good.

Life is not fair, but it is not God’s fault.  He is not to blame.  God loves you, and God is for you, not against you.  He can turn your lump of coal into a diamond, if you will choose not to collapse under the pressure.

Every day I live my life in the company of heroes.  Sometimes the greatest hero in the room is the person who mustered the courage to get out of bed that morning; the one who battled past depression, pain, or disappointment to face a new day.

Many of you are heroes because you have managed to stay alive this long.  You are heroes because of the way you have raised your children with little or no support.  You have made it this far, but your story is not over, and it gets better from here.  It is time to raise our goals from survival to victory!

The next observation I want to make from the life of Onesimus is:

There Are Some Bridges You Just Can’t Burn

The key we must understand here is that sometimes the first step forward is a step back.

Onesimus had it made, he had escaped.  He had left behind the life of a useless slave.  He had met Paul.  He discovered Jesus.  Finally, everything was going well for this young man, and then his newfound father in the faith said those horrifying words.

“Onesimus, it is time for you to go back.”

This is the reason the book of Philemon is in the Bible.  It is a letter Paul gave to Onesimus as he sent him BACK to his owner.

Sometimes the road forward leads us back through familiar territory, but here is the key.  Though we may head back into the same place, we are not the same!  We have changed.  We will bring life to any circumstance God calls us to walk through or minister in.

In Paul’s letter to Philemon, we read:

…yet I appeal to you on the basis of love. I then, as Paul—an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus— I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains.  Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.  I am sending him—who is my very heart—back to you.  I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains for the gospel.  But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do will be spontaneous and not forced.  Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back for good— no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord.  — Philemon verses 9-16

You can’t keep running from your past.  The more you run from your past, the more your past becomes your future.  Jesus died on a cross so you could make peace with your past, not run from it.

It is possible the next step of healing in your life may feel very much like a step back, but it is the step back that will lead you forward.

History tells us Philemon received Onesimus back into his house.  He obeyed Paul’s instruction, accepted Onesimus as a brother, and even granted Onesimus his freedom.  When Onesimus deserved death because of his actions, Philemon gave him his freedom.

And there is even more to the story.  Let me introduce you to someone church history refers to as Saint Onesimus.

In this picture, Onesimus is holding a letter in his left hand.  That letter wasn’t his death sentence as he headed back to his master.  It was the beginning of his new life.

Church history records another disciple of Paul named Timothy became the bishop of the church in Ephesus and led the church of Asia from that great city about 100 miles from Colossae.

There is a list of the Bishops who followed in line after Timothy; and the next name listed is Onesimus.

Onesimus, Bishop of Ephesus, who sat upon the Episcopal throne where he oversaw the Body of Christ.

Onesimus?  The slave Onesimus?  Leading the church of Asia?

This is the Beauty of the Bible.  This is the glory of Christianity– that, whoever you are, the story of the Jesus is for you.  The story of healing, hope, opportunity, and restoration.  The story of victory is for you.

My friend, what will you do with the days you have been given?  How will you respond to the marvelous grace of Jesus Christ?  I invite you to rise above your circumstances and live in the potential God has established for your life.  You don’t have to be the Bishop of Asia for your life to be counted a success.  No, our Lord measures by a different standard.  But, your life can be eternally significant if you follow with courage the invitation of God.

Rise up.  Let your story be told.

This questions comes following a post I did here. My question comes from the second paragraph where I talk about verse 5. Basically, is the NIV justified in rendering the verse “because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints.”  The underlying Greek is this: ἀκούων σου τὴν ἀγάπην καὶ τὴν πίστιν ἣν ἔχεις πρὸς τὸν κύριονἸησοῦν καὶ εἰς πάντας τοὺς ἁγίους. A rather literal translation would be, “I hear about your love and faith(fulness) that you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints.” The basis for translating according to the (T)NIV, as I understand it, is something called chiastic structure. Basically, it’s a literary structure where the pairs go A B B A. If that’s the structure Paul has in mind, then the majority of modern translations are justified in going with pairing faith with Jesus and pairing love with saints. If πιστις is rendered as faith, then I understand how the chiastic structure is necessary. If we go with a broader meaning for πιστις, like faithfulness or loyalty, then it would be perfectly fine to have both πιστις and αγαπη applying to both Jesus and the saints. What is the full justification for rendering it like the NIV? I’ve only seen the chiastic structure assumed, not argued. Are we harmonizing with Colossians 1? Input from more knowledgeable in Greek would be wonderful.

phil 1:1: Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker, Written by Paul during one of his times in prison in Rome.
Phil 1:6: I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. An active faith creates even more understanding.
Phil 1:10: I beseech the for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds It has been assumed that Onesimus is a runaway slave, who met up with Paul and was coverted.