| Friday, January 28 For Love's Sake Without your consent I wanted to do nothing, that your good deed might not be by compulsion, as it were, but voluntary.
Philemon 1:14 In Roman times, a wealthy man named Philemon lived in the Colosse region of Asia Minor. One day his slave Onesimus ran away after stealing some money. The fugitive trekked to Rome where he met the apostle Paul and was converted to Christ. Paul sent him home with one of the shortest and most personal letters in our Bible--the epistle to Philemon. In it, the apostle exhorted Philemon to consider Onesimus "no longer as a slave but more than a slave--a beloved brother" (verse 16). Paul hinted he would like to have Onesimus helping him in his ministry. But he stopped short of using his authority to order Philemon to comply. "Though I might be very bold in Christ to command you...yet for love's sake I rather appeal to you" (verse 8-9). The Lord longs for us to obey because we want to, not because we have to. Some religions codify what must be done to others, but true charity comes from the heart. Let's serve God faithfully because we long to please Him each day. If kindness or helpfulness is in any way forced, it becomes insincere...We must constantly examine our own lives to insure that proper actions are produced by proper motives.
James A. Borland Read-Thru-the-Bible
Exodus 35:1-37:29  | 
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