Philemon: Debt, Forgiveness, Redemption, ...Glory

"So if you consider me a partner, accept him as you would me. And if he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it -- not to mention to you that you owe me even your own self. Yes, brother, may I have joy from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ."
- Philemon 17-20

In Philemon, we have Paul in a unique situation where he is the spiritual father of both a man, Philemon, and Philemon's slave, Onesimus. Through a series of events, Onesimus escaped slavehood, made contact with Paul and became a Christian as well, and therefore a brother to both Paul and Philemon. Onesimus fears returning to Philemon even though he knew it was the right thing to do. He was afraid of his punishment -- however, we see here that Paul, out of love for his brother, not only made an appeal on Onesimus' behalf, but even credited the punishment due to Onesimus from Philemon to Paul Himself! Then, in the midst of taking the "IOU" of punishment upon himself, he reminded Philemon of the debt to which he had to Paul for leading him to salvation in Christ. There is so much going on here as you think about substitution, forgiveness of sins, reconciliation, selflessness, and encouragement in the message of the Gospel. Though we do not know, we can assume that Philemon forgives Onesimus who is permitted to do ministry as a faithful servant of Christ, a brother of both Paul and Philemon, to God's glory!

I don't want to try to explain everything going on simply because of my inability to fully convey everything you might learn from reading the text yourself.

I encourage you to read Philemon today. Pay attention to these themes, and think about your own life -- where these might apply. Where debt is owed that forgiveness might be paid in it's place, and where you can make an appeal on behalf of others whose life has put them in a place that is viewed as less fortunate by the world.

Blessings!

Putting Those Things to Death

"So if you have been raised with the Messiah, seek what is above, where the Messiah is, seated at the right hand o God. Set your minds on what is above, no on what is on the earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with the Messiah in God. When the Messiah, who is your life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.
Therefore, put to death what belongs to your worldly nature.... "
- Colossians 3:1-5

Given today's culture, media, and even religions, it's easy to get our mind's set on the things on this earth, both figuratively and literally. Not just our minds, but our eyes, our hearts, our spirit, pulled straight off Christs heart and brought into selfishness and distractions. We get drawn directly into coveting, lying, anger, greed, jealously, lust, selfishness, sexual immorality, slander, cutting words, etc... We see it on TV, from sports, to sitcoms, to movies. We hear it in music from rock, to country, and hiphop, and we read it in the newspaper and magazines every day.
It's time to "put to death what belongs to the worldly nature..."

How do we do that? Well, it starts with "setting your minds on what is above, not what is on the earth." We do this by reading Scritpure, by praying to our Messiah who has raised us with Him and whom has hidden our life with Him for eternity. If we are setting our minds on things above, we are separating ourselves from sin, and fleeing the desires of the sinful nature. Additionally, we are humbly admitting our sin and asking forgiveness. We're being transparent, and not puffed up and prideful; we are puutting others before ourselves in order to love them as Christ did. We are seeking to walk in the Spirit! (Eph 5:18, Gal 5:20-22)

It starts each day with spending time with the LORD, asking for Him to use you and to intercede before our Father in Heaven for you, to surrender yourself as His each day. It's taking time in scripture and using it to test your mind, heart, and actions. It's spending time in fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ and spending time sharing and loving those who don't believe in our God. In Colossians 4:2-6 Paul says, "Devote yourselves to prayer; say alert in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us that God may open a door to us for the message, to speak the mystery of the Messiah, for which I am in prison, so that I may reveal it as I am required to speak. Act wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. Your speech should always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer each person." I couldn't say it better myself... who could!?

It was just today that I caught wind of a guy named Alex Eklund on facebook who coined the quote "I'd rather have a Proverbs 31 woman than a victoria's secret model.".. Now, to some men, this might seem like an easy thing to say, but to the majority population of males in this world, that is a very difficult thing to say. That is why I wanted to share this, it is the perfect example of setting your mind on the things above and not what is on the earth. This whole time the earth would point us in the opposite direction of Proverbs 31. Way to be Alex!

One of my favorite hymns is Before the Throne. It is powerfully integrated with scripture! As you reflect on these scriptures mentioned above, please take some time and listen to this song.