Blessings to you, the readers of this page, in Jesus Christ our Lord. May He guide you and protect you always.
"The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onespirhorous; for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain: But, when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently, and found me. The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day: and in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well."Onesiphorous restored strength and revived the Apostle Paul. He renewed him with a fresh supply of hope. He gave Paul a fresh supply of strength so he could maintain the gospel. What a wonderful blessing. We need to have more Onesiphorous servants like him today. This is a ministry that is lacking in the body of Christ at present (this is really a much needed ministry) ... to minister to the one who ministers to you. Galatians 6:6 puts it like this: "Let him who is taught the Word share in All Good Things With him who teaches." Wow ... isn't that a wonderful ministry? Look at this command from the Lord to share all your blessings with the one who teaches you!!! Many workers on the front lines have quit, left the call and abandoned the great work that the Master has trained them for because there just was not an Onesiphorous to hold up his or her arms. I can tell you it is not as easy as it appears to be a minister. Most of the time you feel misunderstood, alone, abandoned, used, and abused (taken for granted). Whatever you do for people is never is enough, or not right and God forbid you land in Jail like Paul ... oh well, that would be it ... the counsel would be called and you could be put out on your ear. This did not happen in the case of Onesiphorous and Paul. Onesiphorous was not ashamed of the chains that seem to hold Paul. Even in Paul's persecutions Onesiphorous identified himself with the Preacher-Man! Following Jesus will always lend itself to the opening of situations in your life ... some of them which may be unpleasant. You may run into ridicule or differences with the world and situations which may land you into the same kind of place that Paul found himself ... But, I pray that you will be an Onesiphorous person or that God will give you an Onesiphorous person if you are in need of a refreshing. Remember to refresh someone's spirit today. None of us has anything to hold our heads up about if not for Jesus ... "There is none righteous ... no not one."2 Timothy 1:16-18
Don't be like the other group that is mentioned in 2 Timothy that had no Grace and no Mercy. We see that Phygellus and Harmogenous because they just did not understand Grace and Mercy ... and they depended upon the Law they turned away from Paul and took the world's side. We also see another follower leave Paul in 2 Timothy 4:
10 For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.You know it is time to make a quality decision right now! Which spirit will you choose? Onesiphorous (refreshing) or Demas who loved the present world and departed the faith?
You know here is one step more to think about ... you can be in a place and still not be there ... you say, "How." The answer is your heart is not in it. Did you ever have someone give you a kiss and you knew that the passion had gone??????? Do you feel the joy of serving the Lord has gone? ... Well, I come to you with the spirit of refreshing this morning ... Cheer-up and know that no matter what you have done or not done ... God still loves you and wants you to be happy. I have always taught my congregation that whatever they need they need to give ... why? Because the Bible says, Luke 6:38 "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again."
Onesiphorous gained a reward of mercy for himself and his house by being merciful to Paul and bringing a refreshing unto him no matter the cost or what anyone thought. (Look at the prayer of Paul above)
We all may not be facing the same problems and some may be suffering more severe situations then others ... so we must remember to strengthen one another as Onesiphorous did Paul DAILY. In Hebrews 13 verse 3 it says it this way: "Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body."
Hello! We are all in the same boat ... Like it or not! You might as well enjoy the journey.
You know it always seems easier to walk away from a situation then deal with it, BUT, it always comes back to haunt us in one way or another.
www.EnglesideChurchofGod.orgUsed by permission.
Blessings to you in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Rev. Bill McGinnis, Director - LoveAllPeople.org
You may link to this page by any means you choose, including "framing."
Index of LoveAllPeople.org: - ETHICS & HUMAN RELATIONS - POLITICS & PUBLIC AFFAIRS - CHRISTIAN - AUTOMOTIVE - LEGAL SERVICES - GENERAL INTEREST - PUBLISHING & CONSULTING - AFFILIATES - FEATURED PRODUCTS - SITE MAP - CONTACT LINK
You can accept Jesus here and now at
Jesus Direct.
To support us, please buy from
Our Affiliates.