God Thoughts February 22nd

God Thoughts February 22

Memorize: I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. Philemon 4,5

Read 2 Corinthians 2 Corinthians 8:1-7 * highlight the word fellowship.

The NIV translation makes today's verses harder to spot Koinonia,

which is in verse 4.  So if you can spot it in the NASB: "begging us

with much urging for the favor of participation in the support

of the saints."  Koinonia is built on reciprocal relationships, on

two-way streets.  Jesus life is an example of neither

independence no dependency but interdependency.

Paul, writing from Macedonia, hoped that news of the generosity

of these churches toward the hurting disciples in Jerusalem

would encourage the Corinthian believers and motivate them to

solve their problems and unite in fellowship, by learning to give.

Most often the focus in these verses is on the giving, let's reverse

that and talk about the church in Jerusalem's receiving.  The

partnership of grace all believers requires both giving and

receiving.

Here is a quote from "The Art of Neighboring building genuine

relationships right outside your door." that illustrates why

receiving is important: "Allowing ourselves to be on the receiving

end can be harder than it looks.  Our tendency is to put ourselves

in positions of power-in this case, always being the one to give.

We want to be seen as the capable one with all the resources and

answers.  But being in a relationship where we allow others to

meet our needs is always a good thing.  The art of neighboring

(Koinonia) involves our being able both to give of our time and

energy and just as important, to receive from others."  (120)


Prayer:  

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.

God Thought February 21st

God Thoughts February 21

Memorize: I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. Philemon 4,5

Read 2 Corinthians 6:14-17 * highlight the word fellowship.

Paul urges believers to not “be yoked together with unbelievers,” that is, to form binding partnerships or relationships with unbelievers because this might weaken their Christian commitment, integrity, or standards. It would be a mismatch. Earlier, Paul had explained that this did not mean isolating oneself from unbelievers (see 1 Corinthians 5:9-10). Paul even urges Christians to stay with their unbelieving spouses (1 Corinthians 7:12-13). Paul wanted believers to be active in their witness for Christ to unbelievers but not lock themselves into personal or business relationships that could cause them to compromise their faith. Believers should do everything in their power to avoid situations that could force them to divide their loyalties.     

These verses also have a strong application for marriage. Paul did not want single believers to enter into marriage with unbelievers. Such marriages cannot have unity in the most important issue in life—commitment and obedience to God. Because marriage involves two people becoming one, faith may become an issue, and one spouse may have to compromise beliefs for the sake of unity. Many people discount this problem only to regret it later. Don’t allow emotion or passion to bind you with someone who will not be your spiritual partner. For those

who have discovered God’s light, there can be no fellowship or compromise with darkness (1 Corinthians 10:20-21).

Tyndale. Life Application Study Bible NIV (Kindle Locations 197905-197906). Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Kindle Edition. 

Prayer: Father, if my house is to serve you, it must start with me having undivided loyalties to Your Kingdom and righteousness.  Jesus, you are my king and brother, may I remember the light you have brought to me.  Holy Spirit keep me far from the temptation of compromise.  Amen

God Thoughts February 20th

God Thoughts February 20

Memorize: I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. Philemon 4,5

Read 1 Corinthians 10:14-17 * highlight the word fellowship.

Therefore in verse 14 points back to what Paul has just said. The

context is the statement in 1 Cor 10:13 about temptation,

indicating that the way of escape is to "flee idolatry" and run to

the true God.

"Flee from idolatry" = to seek safety by flight, to escape safely out

of danger. Paul had used this same word in 1 Cor 6:18 when he

commanded the Corinthians to flee immorality and in 1 Timothy

6:11 Paul used this same word when he commanded Timothy to

flee from the love of money.

It is not enough to flee, one must run to something!  Verse 15 in

NASB states I speak to wise people, NIV sensible people.  In

original language (phronimos) = ones who use the mind. Paul

wanted them to make proper use of their minds to think through

what he was about to say concerning their association with

idolatry. "You yourselves judge" = you sit in the judge's seat!

Here is what we run to Communion is a word that describes a

close fellowship or union with something or becoming a partaker

of something or establishing a close attachment to something.

Here Paul will use three different activities to show that there is

a close association or communion that is developed as a result of

participating in them.

Communion is a word that describes a close fellowship or union

with Jesus and his tribe.  A sharing in the blood of Christ" and "A

sharing in the body of Christ" = koinonia means fellowship,

association, community, communion, joint participation, or

intimacy. In the case of the Lord's Supper, believers have close

communion and fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ as

members of His body.  What we run to is home, God our father,

and His children.  The way to overcome idolatry is  run to the

Living God!

Prayer:

Praise be to the Living God, who has participated in man's suffering by the Sacrifice of Jesus, and the remembrance of his people.  Amen

God Thoughts February 19th

God Thoughts February 19

Memorize: I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your love

for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. Philemon 4,5

Read 1 Corinthians 1:4-9 * highlight the word fellowship.

How many Christian denominations are there?  I have heard the

number 33,000 and even 50,000 plus.  Today'a passage makes

clear there is only one fellowship, one Koinonia, and one Church.

Verse 9, God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship

with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

What follows is a rebuke by Paul: "be no divisions among you,

but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought."  Verse

10.  Here is what the :(Tyndale. Life Application Study Bible NIV

(Kindle Locations 196425-196426). Tyndale House Publishers,

Inc.. Kindle Edition. states)  Like a frustrated coach watching

his team bicker on the court, Paul called for a time-out.  He saw

the danger of divisions and arguments. The Corinthian believers’

lack of unity was obvious. They may have been playing in the

same “uniform,” but they were doing as much as the opposition

to bring about their own defeat. The problems weren’t so much

differences of opinion as divided allegiances. They were arguing

over which position on the team was most important in a way

that made them ineffective as a unit. They were on the field, but

out of the game.     Divisions between Christians work like brick

walls and barbed-wire fences to undermine the effectiveness of

the message that believers are to proclaim. Focus on your coach,

Jesus Christ, and the purpose he has for you. Strive for harmony.

Keep arguments about allegiances off the team."

I would go further; our fellowship, our Koinonia, the churches

One foundation is with Christ-not Man! Unity only happens when

we grow close to Jesus and His teachings in Spirit and Truth.  No

matter what the sign out front says, you are only in the fellowship

of the Lord, if you obey Him!

Prayer: 

Heavenly Father, I give thanks for the unmerited favor expressed in

Jesus.  By the Indwelling of Your Holy Spirit, we lack nothing as

we wait faithfully for Jesus return.  May we keep our eyes fully

on Jesus, and the partnership we have in Him.  Amen

God Thoughts February 18th

God Thoughts February 18

Memorize: I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. Philemon 4,5

Read Philemon  As you read Philemon today focus on putting yourself in Onesimus, Philemon's and Paul's shoes.  What issues needed forgiving?  What was the Process?  What is the key to forgiveness?

PAUL CONTINUES TO speak with reserve and leads into his actual request with a “perhaps.” The passive voice, “he was separated from you,” is a euphemism for Onesimus’s illegal flight. But the passive voice is also used in the New Testament to “denote God’s agency and further mitigates the seriousness of whatever Onesimus may have done by attributing it all to God’s purposes. Gnilka states what many commentators have concluded: “Behind the passive formulation is to be presumed the activity of God, who is involved in the case.”24 Paul would like Philemon to see the hand of God in what has happened by insinuating that Onesimus’s flight may have had some divine purpose.

This move is psychologically astute. The less malicious intent we attribute to the person who violates us in some way, the less anger we feel toward them. Couching Onesimus’s departure in the grammar of God’s purposes can only help Philemon ease his anger at his slave. The basic assumption is that God is the one who transformed Onesimus and that God “separated the slave from Philemon for a time—in order to effect the transformation.”25

If this is so, then Philemon should ponder what God’s will is for Onesimus. Why did the slave experience this transformation? Was it only to make him a good slave, or was he intended for something more as a slave of Christ? We can imagine that slaves who became sincere Christians “served their masters more industriously (see Col. 3:22–25). But Paul does not revel in the transformation of a useless slave into a useful one, as if conversion’s only purpose in such cases is to improve the service that slaves render their masters. God’s designs, then, will not be complete until Philemon receives him as a beloved brother and sets him free for service in the gospel—hence Paul’s use of “perhaps.”26”

Excerpt From: David E. Garland. “Colossians, Philemon.” iBooks. https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/colossians-philemon/id398992905?mt=11

Prayer: God our Father,
you loved the world so much
you gave your only Son to free us
from the ancient power of sin and death.
Help us who wait for his coming,
and lead us to true liberty.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. AMEN

God Thoughts February 17th

God Thoughts February 17

Memorize: I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. Philemon 4,5

Read  Romans 15:23-33. The Greek word koinonia-fellowship is in these verses what word is it in English?

For you see, the believers in Macedonia and Achaia[m] have eagerly taken up an offering for the poor among the believers in Jerusalem. Verse 26 NLT

They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings.”

Paul in Romans 15 has expressed his preference for the future (Spain) but his priority in the present is to serve the saints and provide for the poor. Incidentally, this would have taken him 1,000 miles in the opposite direction, making this his fifth journey to Jerusalem. The word for “service” is fascinating. It’s the picture of a servant doing menial and mundane tasks, something the Greeks regarded as degrading and dishonorable. Not so for Paul as he was simply following in the footsteps of our Savior who came to serve and not be served.

The Jewish-background believers were facing persecution for their faith and many had lost their jobs and even their homes. On top of this, many were experiencing abject poverty due to a famine in the land. The Gentile-background believers from Macedonia and Achaia responded generously to help meet this need. Let me make four observations.

• They gave joyfully. It says that they were “pleased” to do so in verse 26 and again in verse 27. This literally means that they freely decided and took great pleasure in giving. This is echoed in 2 Corinthians 9:7: “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

• They gave in order to discharge a debt. While their giving was filled with great joy they also gave a way to show that they were indebted to the Jews in Jerusalem for passing along God’s truth to them. We see this in verse 27: “They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings.” The principle here is to provide a material blessing where you are receiving spiritual blessings.

• They contributed because of what they had in common. It’s very interesting that the word contribution here is the word koinonia, which some of you will recognize as the Greek word for fellowship. This literally means, “To share in common.” They were doing more than just giving money; they were exhibiting what fellowship really is – the sharing of lives. Paul is all about propagating the gospel but he also wants to equip the churches by helping them grow in unity. It’s time for the Gentile Believers to care for the Jewish Believers.  This reveals his heart both for unity among believers from different ethnic, linguistic and cultural backgrounds, as well as his passion to help those in poverty.

Caring for the poor is a sign of a healthy Koinonia.

Prayer:  Father, as I enjoy your blessings today.  If there is anyone wondering, that is hungry, homeless or helpless may I share Your love with them.  Amen