A Net in Time

Curriculum and book reviews, faith, homeschooling and more!

Faith

Looking back over Philemon

By Leave a Comment

Summing up what I learned from Philemon.

Over the past week I’ve worked my way through the book of Philemon. It’s been good to put up nuggets of truth from this short book of the bible.   To consider the people that Philemon spent his time with and the love he held for fellow believers.  It’s good to see that love and to be reminded that we too should have a great love for our fellow believers.

Then to see Paul’s heart… oh… he loved Onesimus and yet he chose to send this loved helper back to Philemon. He also had the confidence that Philemon would do what was right, take him back and love him as a fellow believer.   Paul closes off Philemon reminding me that we are not to be believers in isolation, but a people working together. 

Philemon 1-3  Paul’s Greeting in Philemon.

Philemon 4-7 Paul’s Prayer for Philemon. 

Philemon 8-22 Paul’s Confidence.

Philemon 23-25 Not In Isolation.

Not in Isolation

By Leave a Comment

I regret not being able to get to these verses yesterday, I had plans to do so, but then life intervened.  Anyways, today we read the last three verses of Philemon.  Last time we met we talked about a request Paul had of Philemon. 

23 Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you, 24 and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.
25 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

seeing that we are not in isolation as believers

These last three verses are Paul’s closing greetings.   Greetings from other people who are with Paul in prison and elsewhere.  Epaphras is a fellow believer in prison.  You can learn more about who he was at this link. 

Fellow workers are Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke.   These men are not prisoners but share in the work of the Lord, helping others know the Lord. 

I find this verse interesting: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.  I might be, being nit-picky but I wonder if there is significance in saying with your spirit instead of just saying be with you. 

I have to admit that I don’t know what I can take away from this passage.  I know that other people helped Paul while he was in prison, and that they helped him minister the gospel to others.

That he wasn’t the only believer imprisoned for his faith, is nothing new to my ears.

Recognition is there, that Paul often closed his letters extending grace to those reading the letter. 

But what is there for me today?   I fear I do not see it.  Maybe it’s just as simple as this. We are not believers in isolation. Paul called for Philemon to keep a part of his heart.  Giving him Onesimus back to care for as part of his church and household.  Others were there to help Paul as well so he was not alone. Being alone in grief is not a good thing, it wasn’t easy for Paul to give Onesimus back to Philemon depending on him as he did.

Let us then remember to not be in isolation.  To remember our larger family.  A good thing that eh?

 

Sun of My Soul

By Leave a Comment

Okay, I didn’t know what song to do today as everything we’ve sung lately in services I’ve already done.  So I found this one in my old hymnbook.  It’s been a LONG time since I have sung this hymn.

This one was written by John Keble. The Rev. John Keble was a high churchman of the Church of England.  He was a a founder of the Tractarian Movement. This movement aimed at strengthening the spiritual life of the church.  They did this through writing tracts.  You can learn more about them here.   Rev. Keble was less of a hymn writer and more of a poet.  Many hymns attributed to his name were actually verses taken out of poems that he had written.   He worked as a professor at Oxford for much of his life. 

 

Lyrics

Sun of my soul, Thou Savior dear,
It is not night if Thou be near;
O may no earthborn cloud arise
To hide Thee from Thy servant’s eyes.

When the soft dews of kindly sleep
My wearied eyelids gently steep,
Be my last thought, how sweet to rest
Forever on my Savior’s breast.

Abide with me from morn till eve,
For without Thee I cannot live;
Abide with me when night is nigh,
For without Thee I dare not die.

If some poor wandering child of Thine
Has spurned today the voice divine,
Now, Lord, the gracious work begin;
Let him no more lie down in sin.

Watch by the sick, enrich the poor
With blessings from Thy boundless store;
Be every mourner’s sleep tonight,
Like infants’ slumbers, pure and right.

Come near and bless us when we wake,
Ere through the world our way we take,
Till in the ocean of Thy love
We lose ourselves in Heaven above.

Tired, a poem leading to rest

By Leave a Comment

Tired, a poem, a five minute friday post

Tired

Exhaustion takes its toll.
 Weariness floods the mind.
 Fatigue runs through the bones.
 but
 Come.

Dog-tired, beat down by life
 Ever so ready to drop
 Knocked out by the demands placed.
 but
 I will give you rest.
Constant care tuckers me out
 Mental energy is overused.
 Everything feels so cliched.
 but
 learn from me.

Overused, overworked,
 Worn out, sick to the death of
 the noise and bustle.
 But
 Find rest for your souls.

Heavy hearted and burdened
 Bored by the everyday worries.
 Beaten by expectations 
 But
 Find Gentleness and Humility.
Come oh thou bone-tired.
 Come Oh thou whipped ones.
 Come oh thou weary ones.
 Come

 Find
 An easy yoke.
 Find a light burden.
 Come.
Rest easy.

”Matthew 11:28-29 “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

 

Five minute Friday is hosted by Miss Kate.

Looking to the Better Half

By Leave a Comment

There is need of only one thing, Mary has chosen the better part which will not be taken away from her.

Luke 10:42.

I’ve been feeling in need of a change in my life lately, a break from the endless doctor visits with no solutions, a break from feeling like all I can do is sit down so I feel less miserable, a break from people asking “are you sure it isn’t all stress dear?”, a break from writing (though I love to write and would LOVE a weekend away where I could just write and read and write some more) and a break from thinking about what I need to get rid of before we move, a break from .. well.. everything really. I’m feeling my patience slipping away from me. 

Looking to the better half, a way to find a better centre

I don’t like that.

So I came to my study today in “Having a Mary heart in a Martha world” with a heart that feels heavy.  I want something different to happen. I need a change and I’m just feeling battered.

This chapter called me back, back to the heart of God.   Reminding me that God needs to be the centre of everything in my life.   So how do I do that?   How do I make needed changes in my life to show God as being at the centre?    I’m thinking show is the wrong would… as I don’t want it to just LOOK like God is centre to my life, but that he actually IS centre to my life.   It’s been good for me to have the accountability of having a daily moment of faith on my blog.   It helps to keep me centred and thinking on God you know?

As I read Joanna Weaver’s words I’m wondering if part of my batteredness (is that even a word?) is that my prayer life is ….. not as strong as I like it to be.  Yes I pray, and when someone mentions a need I’ll lift up a quick prayer for them, or when I see them on the homeschool forum or their name flit back on facebook or Instagram I’ll pray for them but do I pray continually and with meaning?  NOT.  

Do I sit down and just talk with God about my thoughts and what not?   (I don’t mean literally sit down but figuratively) Honestly, not as often as I should.. generally more in the “I’m not doing so well moments”.  I need to break out of that… to reach harder for the better part of knowing the Lord and wanting to spend time in his presence.

The question then is how to cultivate that?   How do I cultivate a more consistent prayer life?  A more consistent time of centring myself in the Lord?

Consistency

When my lad was young I had a little book of scriptures that I read with him.  We’d do one passage per week and basically memorize them.  We used them as a start to a night time prayer.  I am recalled back to that and how often I don’t pray as I should because honestly… my life isn’t that scintillating.. what would I talk about all the time.  But as I get more consistent in study of God’s word life… I can use that scripture reading, or that spiritual book reading as a basis for talking with God?   Wouldn’t that be awesome?  A daily build in right there!  

Creativity 

Prayers don’t always have to be the same eh?   Prayers can be sung, whispered, written.  Prayers can scripture based, need based, thanksgiving based, or just a mish mosh.  They can be “hey we have food and people!  Thanks for it all”.  They can be rote or they can be spontaneous.  Changing it up means you don’t just pray just to pray, but you pray because it’s GOOD to talk with the Lord and to listen to him talk back as he recalls scriptures and biblical truths to mind. 

Conversation

Prayer is just that you know?   Prayer is meant to be a conversation between you and God.  It’s talking and listening from both sides.   God listens to us, we talk to him.   God talks to us, and we listen to God.  This is a skill that needs to be cultivated just as you do when you make a new friend, or are maintaining an older friendship.

What say you?

Is there something in your life … like in mine…that needs to change so you have a better centre?  A better way to make the rest of your life revolve better?

Will you pray for me as I learn to pray for you all the more?   Feel free to contact me privately if you have a prayer concern, or mention it in the comments.  I’ll try to connect with you to see how you are doing.  Accountability is a good thing you know?

Paul’s Prayer for Philemon

By Leave a Comment

Last time we meet we discussed the first three verses in Philemon.   Today we will cover the next four. 

4 I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, 5 because I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. 6 I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ. 7 Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people.

Philemon 1:4-7 Pauls prayer in regards to Philemon

Isn’t it lovely when people thank God as they remember you in their prayers?   Isn’t it?  Just think of how comforting that must be, to know that God is being thanked FOR YOU.   At least I feel that way.  🙂   But I know that sometimes I’m a touch odd.  🙂

But listen here… listen to the reason Paul is giving things for Philemon and the others.   He has heard about Philemon’s love for God’s people and for his faith in Jesus Christ. Wouldn’t that be neat?   It’s like talking about a person about someone you really, really appreciate and you are just saying all the good things you know.   That’s what it feels like Paul is doing here. I wonder if these thoughts made Philemon’s heart smile. 

Paul goes on to say that his additional prayer for Philemon is that he may have a “deepening” of his “understanding of every good thing we share“.  Oh, for Philemon faith and understanding would deepen.  Isn’t that a marvellous prayer to have for someone? 

Philemon’s love for the people of God fills Paul’s heart with great joy and is a source of encouragement for him, knowing that Philemon has refreshed the hearts of God’s people. 

Oh.. I need to pray this for people that I know.. Like Lori and Kym and Deb and Carol and for my hubby and my son.  To pray prayers of thanksgiving, thanking God for their faith, and their love of the people of God.  It’s an important thing to do, and an encouragement for the people of God.   Oh and to pray that their faith and their understanding God will grow deeper and stronger!   That’s a great prayer!

Who do you need to pray this prayer for?

 

Oh.. while I’m talking about Prayer I need to tell you about this prayer app my hubby has been using lately.  It’s called PrayerMate.   I was looking at it this morning, and if I have room on my phone I think I’ll download it as well.  Sample prayers, prayer lists that can be personalized, and more.  It’s a rather cool app and also available for i-phones as well. So give it a boo and let me know what you think eh?  🙂

 

Paul’s Greeting in Philemon

By Leave a Comment

I have been pondering what to do for my next devotional time since I finished Ezra.  I was commenting to hubby and he said “just do something short until you figure out what you should do.”  He suggested Habbukuk since it’s only three chapters but I kinda wanted a break from the Old Testament until I was more sure what I should study next.  I started going through New Testament books thinking maybe I’d do James (and I still might later) when Philemon leapt off the page.  So I’ll take the next few days to go through Philemon.

We’ll start off with Philemon 1:1-3.

1 Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,
To Philemon our beloved fellow worker 2 and Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house:
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.The greeting paul gives in Philemon 1

Philemon is a one chapter book written by Paul along with Timothy to Philemon, Apphia and Archippus and the house church they are part of.

You know, I’ve always thought this letter was written just to Philemon.  I have NO CLUE who Apphia and Archippus are.   Time to do some research!

Philemon in introduced as a beloved worker.  Paul must have thought well of Philemon to call him a beloved worker.  He may have been the leader of the house church Paul referred to. 

Okay, most people think, due to historical records, that Apphia was Philemon’s wife.   There are those that disagree. Her name means “that which is fruitful”.

It is thought that Archippus was related to Apphia in some way.. possibly a brother or son.  The general thinking is that somehow all three of them are connected in some family way.  But we don’t know for sure.  What we do know is that Archippus was a fellow soldier in the church. Exactly what his ministry was we aren’t sure.  He is also mentioned in  Colossians 4:17 with the injunction to do the ministry he was called to. 

When Paul wrote this letter to them, he was a prisoner for Christ Jesus.   Timothy was with him at this time, not a prisoner, more there to just be an aid to him.  This helps with the timeline of writing being before the writing of 2 Timothy.  Mentioning Timothy’s name when writing about a private matter may have been helpful to Philemon.

Paul extends a greeting “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ”.   It’s an often used greeting by Paul to people he is writing. 

Did you notice that Paul calls himself a prisoner and not an apostle in this letter?  Makes me wonder if being a prisoner was weighing on him a bit as he wrote this letter.  Or it was it was linked to the word he had for Philemon.  It’s hard to know eh?   It’s just a step out of the ordinary for him.