Presenting the Twenty-second Edition for 2006 of the WEEKLY DEVOTIONS:
Jesus Christ is the only One who destroys Walls and Fences that separate us from God and each other
Keep on praying, this world is in great need of it. "Always be joyful. Keep on praying. No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”
Life has many walls, fences and barriers that cannot be seen by the human eye blocking people from each other and from God. Jesus Christ is the Great Wall Remover tearing down Sin Walls that separate us from God and blasts away those walls, fences and barricades that keep us from each other. Jesus Christ"s death and resurrection opened the way to eternal life to bring all who believe in Him into the family of God.
Oneness and peace in Jesus Christ destroying the wall of hostility
For Christ Himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death. He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near. Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us. Ephesians 2:14-18
Roman, Greek and Jewish cultures were littered with barriers, as society assigned people to classes and expected them to stay in their place, men and women, slave and free, rich and poor, Jews and Gentiles, Greeks and barbarians, pious and pagan. But with the message of Jesus Christ, the walls came down and Paul could declare, in this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave or free, Christ is all that matters and He lives in all of us.
Now in the letter of Paul to Philemon a personal plea was made for a slave called Onesimus who had stolen from his master and run away. Onesimus ran to Rome where he met Paul and there Onesimus responded to the Good News and came to faith in Jesus Christ. So Paul writes to Philemon and reintroduces Onesimus to him explaining that he is sending him back not just as a slave but now as a brother in Jesus Christ. Tactfully Paul asks Philemon to accept and forgive his brother. Now the barriers of the past and the new ones erected by Onesimus’s desertion and theft should divide them no longer. They are now one in Jesus Christ.
Paul's Plea for Onesimus
Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.
Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, yet I appeal to you on the basis of love. I then, as Paul—an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus— I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains. Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.
I am sending him—who is my very heart—back to you. I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains for the gospel. But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do will be spontaneous and not forced. Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back for good— no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord.
So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me. I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I will pay it back—not to mention that you owe me your very self. I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. Philemon 1: 7-20
Psalm 146
Praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD, O my soul.
I will praise the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
Do not put your trust in princes,
in mortal men, who cannot save.
When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
on that very day their plans come to nothing.
Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD his God,
the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them—
the LORD, who remains faithful forever.
He upholds the cause of the oppressed
and gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets prisoners free,
the LORD gives sight to the blind,
the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down,
the LORD loves the righteous.
The LORD watches over the alien
and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.
The LORD reigns forever,
your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Praise the LORD.
What barriers are in your home, neighborhood and church??????? What separates you from fellow believers??? Is it Race? Status? Wealth? Education? Personality?
As with Philemon, God calls you to seek unity, breaking down those walls and embracing your brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ.
