Daily Fountain Devotional 3 October 2020 for Anglican Communion
TOPIC: Restored in Christ
TEXT: Philemon 1:1-25(NKJV)
1. A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon. Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain.
2. [It is] vain for you to rise up early, To sit up late, To eat the bread of sorrows; [For] so He gives His beloved sleep.
3. Behold, children [are] a heritage from the LORD, The fruit of the womb [is] a reward.
4. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So [are] the children of one’s youth.
5. Happy [is] the man who has his quiver full of them; They shall not be ashamed, But shall speak with their enemies in the gate.
STUDY: Onesimus, the escaped slave of Philemon encountered Jesus while in prison with Apostle Paul. While working under Paul’s ministry, he (Paul) discovered that Onesimus had issues with his master, Philemon. Paul understood as a leader that a loving appeal is often better than an authoritative command. Having been restored to Christ, Paul had to appeal to Philemon to accept his former slave back as a brother, friend, fellow-labourer and fellow-soldier. Proving that if anybody is in Christ Jesus, he is a new creature; old things have passed away (2 Cor.5:17).
It can be inferred from the life of Onesimus that everyone is profitable to the kingdom;no one is useless. Onesimus’ salvation brought tremendous transformation in his relationship with God and man. Are you saved? If you are, then know that old things have passed away. All blackmail and accusations are all gone if you are in Christ Jesus. It is not too late, you can start today. We encourage you to emulate the role played by Paul in reconciling the one time enemies to becoming friends and fellow labourers. Forgiveness is for the strong and not for the weak.
PRAYER: God help me to be reconciled to you fully. Amen.
Daily Fountain Quote of the Day
Then Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” (Mark 9:23)
Daily Fountain Devotional 3 October 2020 – The Church of Nigeria is the Anglican church in Nigeria. It is the second-largest province in the Anglican Communion, as measured by baptized membership, after the Church of England. It gives its current membership as “over 18 million”, out of a total Nigerian population of over 200 million.