Put That On My Account

 

Philemon 1:10-20(NKJV)

10I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten while in my chains, 

11who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me.

12I am sending him £back. You therefore receive him, that is, my own heart, 

13whom I wished to keep with me, that on your behalf he might minister to me in my chains for the gospel. 

14But without your consent I wanted to do nothing, that your good deed might not be by compulsion, as it were, but voluntary.

15For perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose, that you might receive him forever, 

16no longer as a slave but more than a slave—a beloved brother, especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.

17If then you count me as a partner, receive him as you would me. 

18But if he has wronged you or owes anything, put that on my account. 

19I, Paul, am writing with my own hand. I will repay—not to mention to you that you owe me even your own self besides. 

20Yes, brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in the Lord.

For those unfamiliar with the story, Onesimus was a slave who ran away from his mater and found his way to serving Paul while Paul imprisoned.  Onesimus converts to Christianity while serving Paul and then Paul writes this letter to Philemon, the owner of Onesimus, who is also a believer.

Paul seems to be saying "Hey he strayed but he is now a believer.  Please pardon him, if for nor other reason than as a favor to me-"put that on my account."

What a great way we could all be a blessing to others if we took that approach in our daily lives.  Just start looking for simple little was to "put that on my account" for others.  Things like paying for someone else's coffee or feeding their parking meter, or seeing a military member having breakfast and secretly paying for their meal.  There are all sorts of fun ways that we could "put that on my account" and be a blessing to others.  Think about what a smile you could put on someone's face with such a simple gesture. 

As a quick aside, one of the things that I have noticed about some of Paul's writings lately is that he likes to use guilt trips.  He sometimes sounds like the stereo typical "little old Jewish mother".  Like in the passages above.

14But without your consent I wanted to do nothing, that your good deed might not be by compulsion, as it were, but voluntary.

 Paul says he wants their granting of his request to be voluntary, not compulsory but then he goes on and tries to guilt them into it.

19I, Paul, am writing with my own hand. I will repay—not to mention to you that you owe me even your own self besides. 

Pretty funny.  I hope you all have a great Labor Day Weekend!

Whom He Poured Out On Us Abundantly

Titus 3:4-6(NKJV)

4But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 

5not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 

6whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 

On Monday I wrote about Rightly Dividing the Truth.  We looked at the role that the Holy Spirit plays in helping us rightly divide the truth and I explained how you receive the Holy Spirit.  How all you have to do is accept Jesus into your life.  Have you done that yet?  If not, why not take a moment and do it right now?

What I want to look at todays is the promise that this verse contains.  As you can see from the highlighted part, God has promised to pour out the Holy Spirit on us in ABUNDANCE. 

a·bun·dance

1. an extremely plentiful or over sufficient quantity or supply: an abundance of grain.

2. overflowing fullness: abundance of the heart.
3. affluence; wealth: the enjoyment of abundance.

4. Physics, Chemistry . the number of atoms of one isotope of an element divided by the total number of atoms in a mixture of the isotopes.

Wow.  That's a lot of Holy Spirit!  What are we supposed to do with it?  Embrace it.  Learn to listen to the Holy Spirit in your everyday life.  Learn to trust the guidance you get from the Holy Spirit.  He is there to lead you to the life of abundance that God has planned for you!

Zealous for Good Works

Titus 2:14(NKJV)

14who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

Zealous for good works.  I like the sound of that.  What exactly does zealous mean?

zeal·ous

full of, characterized by, or due to zeal;  ardently active, devoted, or diligent.

Pasted from <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/zealous?s=t>

Here is my take on it.  Zealous means really into it.  Excited about it.  Eager to help, etc. 

So ask yourself a question.  When you are asked to help in ministry in some way, what is your response.  Is it zealous or is it begrudging?  Remember, God loves a cheerful giver and that includes the giving of our time and effort, not just our money.  So the next time you are blessed with an opportunity to serve, be excited about it!

Rightly Dividing the Truth

 

2 Timothy 2:15(NKJV)

15Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 

Rightly dividing the truth sure can be tough.  There are many things in the Bible that are pretty clear cut.  Easy to understand. 

However there is a whole bunch of stuff in the Bible that really takes some study and some guidance to understand.  We study it by being in the Word daily.  Setting aside time in our schedules to read AND REFLECT on the Word of God.  One of the things that really helped me with the REFLECT part was keeping a daily Bible Reading Journal. 

What I do with the journal is put into words what God said to me that day through His scriptures.  In other words, what did it actually mean to me.  I started that in 2006.  I had read the Bible for many years before that but I never took the time to put into words what it meant.  Doing that added a whole new level of understanding to my spiritual life.

So we are in control of the study part but what about the guidance?  Where do we get that? 

You get the guidance through the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is that little voice inside you that drops a new way of seeing things in your mind as you read a scripture that you've read a hundred times.  The Holy Spirit is the one that turns on that light bulb of understanding on a part of scripture that you have been puzzling over for a while. 

How do you get this Holy Spirit for guidance?  By simply asking Jesus Christ to take over and be the Lord of your life.  Just close your eyes and say a little prayer like this.  "Dear Jesus, I want to learn more about you and I want to grow closer to God.  Please take over as the Lord of my life.  Amen". 

That's it. Now stay in the Word daily and be prepared to be amazed at how the Holy Spirit will help you rightly divide the truth!

Fulfill your ministry!

 

2 Timothy 4:5(NKJV)

5But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

That's good advice for preachers and others that work in the church wouldn't you say?  But does that apply to the rest of us?

Folks, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ as I am, then we all have a ministry.  We are told to do the work of an evangelist.  Does that mean God expects each and every one of us to get up and preach a sermon?  Not at all. 

evangelist

1. an occasional preacher, sometimes itinerant and often preaching at meetings in the open air
2. a preacher of the Christian gospel
3. any zealous advocate of a cause
4. another word for revivalist

Pasted from <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/evangelist?s=t>

Take a look at number three.  A zealous advocate for the cause.  I don't think God expects us all to be preachers but I do think He expects us to be a zealous advocate for the cause. 

How do we do that?  By letting the love of Jesus shine through us.  By always giving God the glory and sharing with others exactly how God has changed our lives.  By being excited about Jesus!

When we do that, we fulfill our ministry, just as God intended!

Be an Example!

1 Timothy 4:12-13(NKJV)

12Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, £in spirit, in faith, in purity. 

13Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. 

Here is another simple piece of scripture that gives us a clear bit of instruction. 

Be an example to believers!  OK, how do we do that?

We are to set an example in our words, conduct, love, spirit, faith, and purity.  People need to see Jesus shine through us and by focusing on these six areas we are best able to serve Him.

Let's have a great day setting the example!

Why do we exercise?

1 Timothy 4:8-9(NKJV)

8For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come. 

9This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance. 

Why do we exercise?  It helps to keep our bodies fit.  It helps to build discipline.  It makes us feel better and gives us more energy.  There are many reasons.

"but godliness is profitable for all things"

As we seek God daily through prayer and by being in the Word we get many of the benefits of physical exercise and then some as we seek godliness.  The study of God's Word can benefit us in all areas of our life.  It builds discipline, makes us feel better, gives us encouragement,  gives us counsel that will help us in building our faith, building our businesses, and building our personal relationships.

Give it a try and see if it works for you!