Skip to main content

Daily Devotion: Philemon 1:8-11

By

Philemon 1:8-11    "Wherefore, though I might be much bold in Christ to enjoin thee that which is convenient,  (9)  Yet for love's sake I rather beseech thee, being such an one as Paul the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ.  (10)  I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds:  (11)  Which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me"

Paul previously acknowledged his bonds in Christ; that is, he was joined to the Lord Jesus Christ for the purpose of ministry of the Word of God. As he writes to Philemon, he now comes to the purpose of this letter. God's wisdom shines through the Apostle as he describes himself being bound and aged. He is telling Philemon that wisdom is now speaking. We have no idea how old Philemon was at the time of this letter, but in that day great value was placed upon wisdom.

Wisdom allows Paul to see life from both sides of this issue. He acknowledges Onesimus to have been unprofitable to his master; but now he is a changed man. The slave experienced conversion while in the presence of the Apostle and was coming back differently from the manner in which he left.  Certainly Paul knows the impact of Jesus Christ on an individual since he also had experienced such a drastic change in his own life. Therefore he could be bold in declaring the man coming back was not the same as the man who left.

I think of such men as John Newton, the slave trader. He was such a rough man of the sea; yet, he was drastically changed when the Lord came to him. We experienced such a change when the Lord appeared to us also. We all can say, "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found. T'was blind, but now I see."  Paul expressed it in this manner in his second letter to the Corinthians: "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Aren't you thankful the grace of God can reach into the lowest pits to bring us out and make new creatures of us?

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Daily Devotion: Psalm 88:1-4

By
Psalm 88:1-4  A Song or Psalm for the sons of Korah, to the chief Musician upon Mahalath Leannoth, Maschil of Heman the Ezrahite. "O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee:  (2)  Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry;  (3)  For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave.  (4)  I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength" I've said this before and I will say it again (and probably more times before we get to the end of the Psalms) - I love the Psalms because I can surely identify with them. Most Psalms start in a low place and as the writer expresses his thoughts, the Lord begins to lift him up out of that dry place.  Though this entire Psalm is a fervent cry unto the Lord, the Psalmist tells us specifically in three verses that he cried daily unto the Lord. Just a few Psalms ago, we were reminded that God always hears our prayers. ...
Read more

Daily Devotion (Video): I Will Fear No Evil - Psalm 23:4

By
Read more

Daily Devotion: Knowing God By Bearing Fruit

By
Some will notice the title is not “Bearing fruit because we know God,” so to avoid getting sidetracked with that, we can start with the fact that we won’t bear any godly fruit unless our heart has been changed and the Holy Spirit dwells within us. Also, to avoid confusion, I’ll be using the terms “bearing fruit,” “good works” and “service” interchangeably.  I took this article’s title from Part 7, of John Piper’s “Look at the Book” session on Colossians 1:9-12. I greatly encourage you to view that short video to get his excellent exposition on this subject.  When I saw the title of the video earlier this year, I got kind of excited because that’s the direction my thinking has gone in the past several years. My thinking was founded Biblically with verses on good works like Matthew 5:16 – “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father, who is in heaven.” But I couldn’t expand it to expla...
Read more