Devotion 10: Once Upon a Time There Was This Guy....

Philemon 1 (New International Version)......... 4I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, 5because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints. 6I 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. 7Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.

Once upon a time there was this guy named Philemon who….

When Paul writes, (you know – PAUL –the LETTER WRITER!), he usually doesn’t mince words. Why, I’ve read some of his letters to church's that would make a preacher blush, I’ve read letters where he’s called out whole church's and then gone back and checked to make sure they had straightened things out! So, when I read Paul’s letter to a man he calls, “our dear friend and fellow worker,” I pay attention to what it is he LIKES about this person. So, here are three thoughts on things Philemon does that Paul approves of:

Once upon a time there was this guy named Philemon who….was active.

Active: effective, powerful

If we research the word “active” just a bit we find that it’s related to words like “effective”, and “powerful”. Now, most men would probably be fine with having these words used to describe themselves wouldn’t they? You’re effective in your work and just generally a powerful guy – right? But are we “active” Christian men? Is our personal Christian life effective and powerful? When was the last time you did something for the Lord? Guys, I think Paul might say to most of us that it’s time to get off the bench and in the game.

Once upon a time there was this guy named Philemon who….was an encouragement.

Encouragement: consolation, comfort, solace; that which affords comfort or refreshment

Men, in general, are leaders and loners and stiff upper lip kind of creatures. A lot of the time we leave the nurturing and encouragement to the ladies and that’s a mistake. Not that they don’t do an awesome job but….. If we can band together for teams we should be able to band together as a church or Men’s Group or whatever and encourage one another. Before they moved away my son-in-law was part of an accountability group of young married men at our church. These were young men starting families and recognizing it was hard being the kind of men they wanted to be. They prayed together and called upon each other when they had questions or problems or just wanted to ask, “Hey, am I doing OK here?” And the other men would listen to them and be there for them and encourage them. And I was humbled.

Once upon a time there was this guy named Philemon who….refreshed

Refreshed: to cause or permit one to cease from any movement or labor in order to recover and collect his strength

OK, on this one I know EXACTLY what Paul means. On Wednesday nights I lead a “Small Group” at our church. We all know Wednesdays. We are one-half way through the week and about three quarters worn out. Almost invariably something happens at the office that adds to my stress level so that most Wednesdays nights I’m not necessarily in a worshipful mood by the time I reach church. But God is good and I am part of a very, very special group. My small group is truthfully like no other group I have ever been part of. You see, this bunch of Christians genuinely likes each other –the whole darn group. We gather together with laughter and smiles and move on to prayer and study. We build each other up and rejoice at our time together with God’s people. As the evening goes on I feel more and more energized and closer to God than when I walked in the building.
One of our customs is that each Wednesday night I close our time with prayer. And virtually every Wednesday my prayer starts, “Father, I am refreshed….”