Grace and Peace (Philemon 3)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11-13-02

 

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  Grace and peace

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Philemon 3

 

            Message of the verse:  “3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”  (NASB95)  “May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.”  (NLT)

            This is the standard greeting that Paul uses in all 13 of his NT letters.  Grace and peace are linked to salvation and the triune God are also the sources of our salvation.  The meaning of grace is that God gives to the believer what he does not deserve.  Peace is also part of salvation in that we have, as believers, peace through the blood of the cross, so that we are no longer enemies of God.  The mention of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ confirms the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ.  

           

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  This is the wonderful truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ and it is something that I should be thanking God for each and every day of my life. Without God’s grace and peace with Him I would be lost and on my way to a Christ less eternity in hell.

 

The Word of God was a wonderful reminder of my salvation through Jesus Christ my Lord.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  To continue to trust the Lord to meet my needs when it comes to taking care of my fears.  Too trust Him to get me thought this day having victory over IBS and its affects on me.

 

Memory verses for the week: Romans 11:33-36:

 

Oh, the debt of the riches of both the wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!

 

For who has know the mind of the Lord?

Or who has become His counselor?

 

Or who has given to Him

And is shall be repaid to him?

 

For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

Introduction to Philemon

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11-12-02

 

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  Intro to Philemon

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Philemon1-2

 

            Message of the verse:  “1 Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved brother and fellow worker, 2 and to Apphia our sister, and to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house:”  (NAS95)  “1 This letter is from Paul, in prison for the preaching the Good News about Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy.  It is written to Philemon, our much loved co-worker, 2 and to our sister Apphia and to Archippus, a fellow soldier of the cross.  I am also writing to the church that meets in your house.”

            This is one of three divinely inspired letters that Paul had written to individuals that is recorded in the Bible.  It is written to his friend Philemon who lived in Colosse, and had a church meeting in his house.  He owned a slave, Onesimus, who had stole some money and ran away to Rome where he meet Paul.  Paul quickly became friends with Onesimus and found him very useful for the cause of Christ, however he knew that he would have to return him to his rightful owner.  That is the reason for this letter to Philemon, for Paul wanted Philemon to forgive Onesimus for leaving and for steeling money from him.

            Paul starts out his letter by identifying himself as a prisoner of Christ Jesus and not as an apostle of Jesus Christ.  Paul could have used his authority to make sure that Philemon would deal well with his slave Onesimus, but he wanted Philemon to forgive him because he wanted to.  Paul mentions Timothy in the greeting of this letter.  He did this in some of his other letters and probably because Timothy would be the one who would take over Paul’s ministry when Paul would go to be with the Lord at his death.  He also mentions Philemon’s wife and son in the greeting and also the church that meets in their house, and wants Philemon to read this letter to the church too. 

           

            Spiritual meaning for my life:  The theme of this letter is forgiveness and a person must demonstrate it because he chooses to forgive someone.  Forgiveness means not holding a grudge against the one that you forgive.  God has forgiven me of my sins because Jesus Christ has paid the penalty for them at the cross.  If I then am freely forgiven of my wrongdoing I should also demonstrate true forgiveness to those who offend me.  Forgiveness is something that at times is very hard to do, but if it is not done in a Biblical way then bitterness will spring up in my heart and this is sinful and can have a very bad effect on my life.  God has to change my heart so that I can forgive someone, and He gave me a new heart when He saved me.

 

The Word of God has given me instruction as I studied it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  I know that I am upset about going to the dentist today because of IBS.  I want to handle this in a way that will bring honor to my Lord and not a victory for my enemy.  I want to trust the Lord to get me through this appointment today.

 

Be Fruitful, not Unfruitful (Titus 3:14-15)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11-11-02

 

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  Be Fruitful, Not Unfruitful

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Titus 3:14-15

 

            Message of the verse:  “14 Our people must also learn to engage in good deeds to meet pressing needs, so that they will not be unfruitful.  15 All who are with me greet you. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all.”  (NAS95)  “14.  For our people should not have unproductive lives.  They must learn to do good by helping others who have urgent needs.  15.  Everybody here sends greetings.  Please give my greetings to all of the believers who love us.  May God’s grace be with you all.”  (NLT)

            A little note from verse thirteen that I missed doing yesterday and that is that Titus was to help Zenas the lawyer to prepare for his journey.  Now in verse fourteen Paul continues on this theme as he tells Titus that all believers should be willing to help out those who are in need.  This is done so that the unsaved and also the saved can see Jesus coming through you.  In verse fifteen he gives a pretty standard farewell telling Titus that all who are with him greet Titus and to greet those friends of Titus that knows about Paul.  He then says that grace to be with all of those who read this letter.  Amen.

 

The Word of God Was instructive and insightful to me today.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  I do not want to focus on me as much as I have in the past.  I do not want to live in fear of IBS.

 

Memory verse for the week:  Romans 11:33-36:  “33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! 34 For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? 35 Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN? 36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.” 

Personal Items (Titus 3:12-13)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11-10-02

 

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  Personal items

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Titus 3:12-13

            Message of the verse:  “12 When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, make every effort to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there.  13 Diligently help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way so that nothing is lacking for them.”  (NAS95)  “I am planning to send either Artemas or Tychicus to you.  As soon as on of them arrives, do your best to meet me at Nicopolis as quickly as you can, for I have decided to stay there for the winter.  Do everything you can to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos with their trip.  See that they are given everything they need.”  (NLT)

            In this closing section Paul speaks of personal items to Titus.  He mentions names and places and also tells Titus to come and see him.  The first person, Artemas, there is nothing else written about him, however Paul does seem to trust him.  Tychicus was mentioned before and probably carried Paul’s letter to the Church of the Colossian and also to the Church at Ephesus.  Paul mentions the city of Nicopolis and says that he would like to winter there.  This city was probably in the southern part of Greece, so it would be a good place to spend the winter.  In verse fourteen Paul mentions a lawyer named Zenas and there is nothing else known about him.  He then mentions Apollos and he was a friend of Paul’s who is mentioned in Acts 18:24-28 where Paul explained the full message of the Gospel to him.  He had only heard the preaching of John the Baptist.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I believe that these verses were put in this letter to show that it is good to have friends and to be able to count on these friends when you need someone to count on.

 

The Word of God was refreshing to me today.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  I want to trust the Lord with the IBS that he has allowed me to have.  There are far to many times when I do not allow God to show me what good can come out of this seemingly bad health problem.  He is teaching and I must be listening to His teachings.

 

Memory verses for the week:  Romans 11:33-35:  Oh, the debt of the riches both of the wisdom and Knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!  For who has known the mind of the LORD?  Or who has become His counselor?  Or who has first given to Him and it shall be repaid to him.

           

 

Discipline for Believers (Titus 3:10-11)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11-09-02

 

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  Discipline for believers

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Titus 3:10-11

 

            Message of the verse:  “10 Reject a factious man after a first and second warning, 11 knowing that such a man is perverted and is sinning, being self-condemned.”  (NASB95)  “10 If anyone is causing division among you, give a first and second warning.  After that, have nothing more to do with that person.  11 For people like that have turned away from the truth.  They are sinning, and they condemn themselves.”  (NLT)

            These two verses are tied in with verse nine and the warning given in verses ten and eleven apply to those who were doing the things described in verse nine, however I am sure that they do apply to other types of sinning in the Church.  When a person is sinning in a way that he or she knows that they are doing wrong they are to be confronted by someone in the Church and if they refuse to repent then they are to be warned again and if they still do not repent then they are to be kicked out of the fellowship.  There are other places in the Bible that also teach about Church discipline.  (See Matthew 18:15-17; Romans 16:17,18; 2Thess. 3:14,15)  When a person is disciplined it is for there own good and should be done in a spirit of love in order to bring one back to a right fellowship with the Lord and other believers.  Discipline is not to get even but to correct.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  These verses have spoken to my heart this morning because of something that happened last night.  I need to confront Dave about a situation that was discovered last night and I need the courage to do so in a way that will bring about a spirit of love and correction.

 

The Word of God has brought conviction and instruction to me today.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  As stated before I need to trust the Lord to give me His strength and guidance to take care of this problem with Dave.

 

Memory verses for the week:  Romans 11:33-35:  “33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! 34 For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? 35 Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN?”

 

Do not Argue with False Teachers (Titus 3:9)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11-07-02

 

My Worship Time                                          Focus: Do not Argue with False Teachers

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Titus 3:9

 

            Message of the verse:  “9 But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and strife and disputes about the Law, for they are unprofitable and worthless.”  (NAS95)  “Do not get involved in foolish discussions about spiritual pedigrees or in quarrels and fights about obedience to Jewish laws.  These kinds of things are useless and a waste of time.”  (NLT)  Greek discussions and genealogies

            Paul is giving the same message to Titus that he gave to Timothy about arguing with the false teachers about genealogies and the law.  These false teachers were more than likely Judaizers who taught that a person had to obey the law of Moses in order to be saved and thus went against the doctrine of justification by faith and nothing else as Paul taught.  A believer is not to argue with these false teachers, and as John says don’t even let them in your house, but state the truth and leave it at that.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  When I wittiness about the Lord I am to do it in obedience to the Lord and to do it to bring glory to the Lord and not to win an argument with someone else or try to show them that my way is the right way.  To have the proper attitude about things is most important in all things that I do, to do them for the Lord and in the power of His Holy Spirit.  Don’t do things for me, do them for the Lord.

 

The Word of God brought conviction to me today.

 

My Steps of Faith:  Do all that I do for the glory of the Lord.

 

Memory verses for the week:  (Rom. 11:33-35) “33 ¶  Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! 34  For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? 35  Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN?

A Faithful Saying (Titus 3:8)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11-06-02

 

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  A Faithful Saying

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Titus 3:8

 

            Message of the verse:  “8 This is a trustworthy statement; and concerning these things I want you to speak confidently, so that those who have believed God will be careful to engage in good deeds. These things are good and profitable for men.”  (NAS95)  “These things I have told you are all true.  I want you to insist on them so that everyone who trusts in God will be careful to do good deeds all the time.  These things are good and beneficial for everyone.”  (NLT)

            The NKJV says, “This is a faithful saying.”  This is used five times in the pastoral letters so it must have been a favorite way of Paul’s to get a point a cross.  I think that in the verses before these that Paul was giving the gospel message to Titus.  He now tells Titus that he wants him to pass this message on to those who believe so that they will be doing good deeds.  By doing these good deeds they will attract others who they can in turn tell about the saving grace of God through Jesus Christ.  He then says that these things are good and beneficial for all.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  As Mrs. Tuffs said last night believers are to be a magnifying glass so others can see the Lord Jesus Christ.  We are to keep our glass clean by doing good works for the cause of Christ so others can see Jesus here on earth through us. 

 

I think the Word of God was very full of instructions for me today.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  I need to continue to trust the Lord to get me through each day doing His will even though I am having so much trouble with IBS.

 

Memory verses for the week:  Romans 11:33-35: Oh, the debt of the riches of both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!

For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor?  Or who has first given to Him And it shall be repaid to Him?