Latest / A Chapter a Day Bible Reading / April 23 - Philemon

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April 23 - Philemon · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends, it's Sean here. It's Wednesday.
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  It's the 23rd of April and I'm so glad to have your company on
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  this auspicious occasion where we will both start and finish a
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  book of the New Testament. That's right, today we will read
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  the book of Philemon and it's entirety.
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  Yeah, it is the shortest book. Well, that's not entirely true.
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  There are others that are only 1 chapter, but it is a very short
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  book. It is a very intimate portrayal
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  of what a house church looks like.
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  It gives us this window into the early churches, into the
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  difference that it makes being a disciple of Jesus as Paul brings
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  together this slave and this master, but also brothers in
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  their faith in Jesus. And this is this beautiful story
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  that speaks right to us today about what is the difference
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  that our faith makes in our daily lives in a real, tangible
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  way. Not just some theoretical idea,
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  but nuts and bolts. How does it change my life?
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  So this is as pithy as it gets. Short, sweet, deeply personal
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  and deeply practical. Let's read it together, friends,
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  as we read together the book of Philemon.
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  This letter is from Paul, a prisoner for preaching the good
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  news about Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy.
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  I'm writing to Philemon, our beloved Co worker, and to our
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  sister Aphia, and to our fellow soldier Arcopus, and to the
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  church that meets in your house. May God our Father and the Lord
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  Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
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  I always thank God when I pray for you, Philemon, because I
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  keep hearing about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for
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  all God's people, and I'm praying that you will put into
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  action the generosity that comes from your faith as you
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  understand and experience all the good things we have in
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  Christ. Your love has given me much joy
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  and comfort, my brother, for your kindness has often
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  refreshed the hearts of God's people.
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  That is why I am boldly asking a favour of you.
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  I could demand it in the name of Christ because it is the right
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  thing for you to do, but because of our love, I simply prefer to
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  ask you. Consider this as a request from
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  me, Paul, an old man and now also a prisoner, for the sake of
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  Christ Jesus. I appeal to you to show kindness
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  to my child Onessimus. I became his father in the faith
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  while here in prison. Onessimus hasn't been of much
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  use to you in the past, but now he is very useful to both of us.
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  I am sending him back to you, and with him comes my own heart.
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  I wanted to keep him here with me while I was in these chains
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  for preaching the good news, and he would have helped me on your
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  behalf, but I didn't want to do anything without your consent.
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  I wanted you to help because you were willing, not because you
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  were forced. It seems you lost an Nisamus for
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  a little while so that you can have him back forever.
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  He is no longer like a slave to you.
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  He is more than a slave, for he is a beloved brother, especially
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  to me. Now he will mean much more to
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  you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord.
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  So if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you
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  would welcome me. If he has wronged you in any way
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  or owes you anything, charge it to me.
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  I, Paul, write this with my own hand.
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  I will repay it and I won't mention that you owe me your
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  very soul. Yes, my brother, please do me
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  this favour for the Lord's sake. Give me this encouragement in
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  Christ. I'm confident as I write this
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  letter that you will do what I ask.
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  And even more, one more thing, please prepare a guest room for
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  me, for I am hoping that God will answer your prayers and let
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  me return to you soon. Epiphras, my fellow prisoner in
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  Christ Jesus sends you his greetings, so do Mark,
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  Aristarchus, Demos and Luke, my Co workers.
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  May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your Spirit.
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  Our Lord. Thank you for this generous
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  reminder from Paul that as we live these lives of faith,
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  suddenly things do change. The structures that the world
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  would tell us are so important and the hierarchies that we're
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  able to peg ourselves into and look down, and all those below
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  us, well, they just don't make sense.
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  In your Kingdom, Lord, where we all stand before you, our Father
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  and our brother, as brothers and sisters, equally forgiven,
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  equally loved, equally valued by you, our wonderful, merciful
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  God. And in the light of that truth,
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  how can we be anything other than forgiving and inclusive of
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  those around us? So Lord, make your Kingdom
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  reality seep deep into our hearts so that it becomes a lens
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  through which we see each other as equal, loved children of the
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  living God. So we come before you now,
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  Jesus, and we pray this in your mighty, mighty name.
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  I'm in.