Effie Darlene Barba

Philemon 1: 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:

¹² Whom I have sent again: thou therefore receive him, that is, mine own bowels:

¹³ Whom I would have retained with me, that in thy stead he might have ministered unto me in the bonds of the gospel:

¹⁴ But without thy mind would I do nothing; that thy benefit should not be as it were of necessity, but willingly.

¹⁵ For perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that thou shouldest receive him for ever;

¹⁶ Not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved, specially to me, but how much more unto thee, both in the flesh, and in the Lord?

¹⁷ If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself.

¹⁸ If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account;

¹⁹ I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it: albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides.

The letter to Philemon is but one chapter.  Philemon was apparently a wealthy leader in Colosse who had come to know Christ as His Savior under the teaching of Paul the Apostle.  Paul was enslaved in Rome.  Most say that Onesimus was a runaway slave that somehow ended up in being found by Paul, some say that he had stolen from Philemon; but whether he had runaway or was sent to Paul, we do know that while with Paul he found Christ as his Savior and Paul was sending him back to Philemon.  Whatever debt he had to his master, Paul chose to take that debt upon himself, much like Christ paid our debt to God on the cross.  Within this short letter, there is a reminder of two important facts.

1.  The great forgiveness which is afforded us as Christians.  Christ paid our penalty of sin on the cross so that now we are more than servants to God (though servants we should be).  We are also brothers and sisters of Christ having been adopted into God’s family (Romans 8:15). Though we were unprofitable to God we know become profitable by the living out of our salvation in Christ. 

2.  We as Christians need be forgiving of those who are our brothers and sisters in Christ.  Many times we want people to "pay the price for their sins-even if they find Christ and are forgiven by God"  We should follow Paul’s example and be willing to help them in every way that we can and demonstrate the love of Christ to our brethren.  We should rejoice in the salvation of each soul instead of pridefully saying or thinking, "I can’t believe that he or she is now saved.  What was God thinking when such a horrible person was offered the same salvation as I."  How quickly forget the darkness from which God has rescued us.  Let us always be mindful of the Grace that set us free from the chains of sin and that it had nothing to do with us. 

Let us remember the Fullness of His Grace that we may also display that grace to a world in need of a Savior.

2 Thessalonians 1: ¹¹ Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power:

¹² That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

For those of us who know Christ as our Savior we are given the power through grace (future grace) to fulfill all of the good works that we resolve to perform.  That is God is not only the power to save us (which is in itself more than I could ever deserve); but it is through His power and grace that I am empowered by faith in His promises to live out this Christian life that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be Glorified.  His Glory through grace and faith to transform this covetous, regenerate heart into one that displays His Glory.  For a deeper understanding of this I urge you to listen to the following sermon by John Piper– http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/sermons/living-by-faith-in-future-grace#/watch/full  In this sermon, John Piper certainly explains this much better than I ever could.  Let me present below the examples of how this works as taken from John Piper’s sermon.  We make resolutions (resolve to perform good works or denounce sin in our lives through our free will); but the power to perform that comes only through faith and through the powerful works of God fulfilling it through us and for us. 

Six Examples (from John Piper-please see permission note below)

• If you set your heart, to give sacrificially and generously, the power of God to fulfill this resolve will come to you as you trust his future grace in the promise: “My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). And the promise: “Whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully” (2 Corinthians 9:6). And the promise: “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8).
• If you set your heart to return good for evil, the power of God to fulfill this resolve will come to you as you trust his future grace in the promise: “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven” (Matthew 5:11–12).
• If you set your heart to renounce pornography, the power of God to fulfill this resolve will come to you as you trust his future grace in the promise: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). “It is better that you tear out your eye than that your whole body be thrown into hell” (Matthew 5:29). Much better. Wonderfully better. All-satisfyingly better.
• If you set your heart to speak out for Christ when the opportunity comes, the power of God to fulfill this resolve will come to you as you trust his future grace in the promise: “Do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour” (Matthew 10:19).
• If you set your heart to risk your life by ministering to the needy in a dangerous place, the power of God to fulfill this resolve will come to you as you trust his future grace in the promise: “To live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). “Don’t fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. . . . Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered” (Matthew 10:28–30).
• If you set your heart to invite some for Thanksgiving who cannot repay you, the power of God to fulfill this resolve will come to you as you trust his future grace in the promise: “You will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just” (Luke 14:13–14).

May God increase our daily faith in his inexhaustible, blood-bought, Christ-exalting future grace.

©2012 Desiring God Foundation. Used by Permission.

Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. For web posting, a link to this document on our website is preferred. Any exceptions to the above must be approved by Desiring God.

Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: By John Piper. ©2012 Desiring God Foundation. Website: desiringGod.org

 

 

1 Chronicles 16: ⁸ Give thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.

⁹ Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works.

¹⁰ Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord.

¹¹ Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually.

¹² Remember his marvellous works that he hath done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;

I know that I have been talking a lot about joy; but, praise is an essential part of the Christian life.  When we stop looking at our circumstances and keep our hearts and minds focused on God, joy will over bound in our lives.  If you do not know Joy; then, you may want to examine your life before God and let Him reveal in you what sin might be interfering with your joy.  I say this with great humility because I recognize how often in my Christian walk that sin or lack of faith interfered with my experiencing and living a joyous life.  King David was well aware of this very fact when he prayed for forgiveness of sin and in Psalm 51 cried out to God "¹² Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

¹³ Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee."  

So let us rise up and sing it from the mountaintops this Christmas season in celebration that our Savior was Born. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OFD0W6ybx4&feature=g-vrec

Colossians 3: ¹⁵ And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.

¹⁶ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

¹⁷ And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

Do you have peace today?  Peace does not depend upon the circumstances that surround you in this world.  It is wholly dependent upon your relationship with God.  Do you know that He loves you so much that Christ left the splendor of heaven to live a humble life of rejection, poverty, and then to go to the cross to bear the punishment for your sins? The only true peace and joy that mankind can know is found in a relationship with God.  Man’s failure to understand that and man’s constant search for happiness in counterfeit joys has resulted in hearts that are dark, selfish, covetous, and void of the only true light which can come from God.  God chose not to leave us in this broken state and paid the price so that we might have an intimate relationship with Him.  He left man with a will to choose or reject this gift; because no gift is truly valued unless you are given the opportunity to seek and desire it.  However, this gift when received is laden with all the promises of God’s protective love and His promise to transform you into the person He knows you can become.  Once we have received Christ and the wisdom which He so freely provides; then let us teach others.  Our Joy (if we truly understand the treasure we have been given) should overflow, lovingly to all those around us.  This is a peace and joy that no one and no circumstance can steal from you.  Is it not in moments like this that we should be singing out a praise song of love for our Savior and our King.

Psalm 119: ³⁵ Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight.

³⁶ Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness.

³⁷ Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way.

I hope that you all had a wonderful thanksgiving weekend.  I must say my joy has been overflowing with the grand opportunity that I had to spend the holiday with my son and his fiance.  God has so blessed me as I see evident in the lives of my children.  There is no greater joy for a mother than to watch their children grow in faith and flourish in their lives with God as their guide.  As we now enter into the Christmas season, I know that there may be many who feel caught in the wilderness of this life.  We listen to all the debates about the financial crisis that the country is in.  Many of you may be living in fear of your own financial situation.  This is made even more evident as some feel pressured to buy gifts beyond their means in order to "not let anyone know that their finances are crashing around them."  Much like our government, they are borrowing beyond their means–part of what has started the crisis that we find ourselves in.  But there is a much greater crisis lying at the heart of it all, that is the wilderness of our own hearts.  It begins with broken relationships that begin with a covetous heart. First and foremost is the broken relationship with God as we like Adam desire and seek after the counterfeit joys of this world and ignore the only true source of joy that is found in God, Himself.   We live in a world of broken relationships that begin with the words, "I deserve better, I want more, I will have more at any cost."   We are broken people and we need a savior–that is the good news which we must follow if there is to be any hope.  Christ came down from heaven to reach out to us in the very wilderness of our souls so as to offer a means of reconciliation with God.  He paid the price for our arrogant pride and covetous heart, so He might share His love, His joy and His Glory with such an undeserving bunch as we are.  The Gospel message must be more alive within our hearts and we need to cry out as David did in Psalm 119 that God incline our hearts toward Him. We need to cry out to Him to turn away our eyes from vanity and covetousness that we might follow after Him.   Today, my prayer is that God change my heart each and every day that I might be true to my Savior.  I ask that He remove all selfishness, all covetousness that I might be more like Him today.  I pray that He fill my heart with His love so that it overflows to the world around me.