Onesimus – Philemon

257 – Onesimus – Philemon

Philemon 1:1-25

Onesimus was a slave who ran away from his master Philemon. He went to Rome and eventually met Paul who led him to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Onesimus stayed with the apostle and helped him in the ministry. Eventually they knew it was time for the “runaway slave” to return to his master. Paul was a personal friend with Philemon, so he wrote a letter to help the two men reconcile their relationship. He said…

Philemon—my dear friend—greetings to you, your family, and the church that meets in your home. I pray for you on a regular basis. I thank God for the love you have for the Lord Jesus Christ and for fellow believers. Those who meet you are encouraged in their faith.

Dear brother, you know me. I don’t normally hesitate in telling you what is right and wrong. I’m usually quick in reminding you of your duties in Christ. But I’m not going to do that this time. Instead, I am going to beg.

Picture this in your mind. I’m an old man who is in prison for the cause of Jesus Christ. In my weakness, God sent me a helper, Onesimus—a man who caused you pain and grief. But God sent him to me and I was able to introduce him to Jesus. He yielded his life to Christ and then became invaluable as a helper to me.

In a way, it was like you sent him here to help me because you couldn’t come yourself. I don’t know how I can carry on without him; but he and I both know he should go back to you. He was helping me in your stead, but we didn’t have your permission.

Listen, he was a worthless slave when he ran away from you. Now he’s coming back as a valuable brother in Christ, a co-worker in the ministry and a dear friend of mine. Receive him back in love.

Oh, concerning those things he stole from you —put those on my account. Here, I will pick up the quill and write this in my own handwriting. “I, Paul, will repay it.” I won’t remind you of the fact that you actually owe me your very life.

Please receive him as if you were receiving me. You’ll bring joy to my life when I hear how you’ve accepted Onesimus back into your life and home.

But what am I talking about? I know you’ll do this and even more.

By the way, prepare your guest room for me. I know you’ve been praying that I’d be set free and come back to visit you. I think the Lord is going to answer your prayers.

Greet all my good friends who are there. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Paul.

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Twelve Years Old

180 – Twelve Years Old

Luke 2:40-52

When Jesus was twelve years old, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. When it was time to return home, Jesus stayed behind at the temple, without his parents knowing. They traveled a whole day, thinking he was among the crowd..

That evening they realized he was missing. They went back to Jerusalem and searched for him for three days. Finally they found him in the court of the temple, sitting among the teachers. He was listening to them and asking questions.

Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his ability to answer questions.

His mother ran up and said, “Son, how could you do this to us? We’ve been searching for you.”

He said, “Surely you knew I’d be here in my Father’s house—doing his business.” They didn’t understand what he was talking about.

Jesus went back to Nazareth, and lived in submission to his parents. He grew, and matured, and was respected by all that knew him. God’s blessing was on his life.

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A Furnace Filled with Fire

168 – A Furnace Filled with Fire

Daniel 3:1-30

Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue. It was 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide. He then gathered together all the officials of his kingdom. They came and stood before the statue.

One of the officials made a declaration. “When you hear the orchestra play, fall to the ground and worship the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. If you don’t do this immediately, you’ll be thrown into a furnace filled with fire.” The orchestra started playing and the crowd fell to the ground in front of the gold statue.

This occasion gave some of the officials an idea. They thought this was their chance to get rid of some of the Jews that were among them.

They said to the king, “Your command was clear. When the orchestra played, everyone was to drop to the ground and worship the statue. You said if anyone didn’t do it, they’d be thrown into a furnace filled with fire. There are three Jews who ignored you, and they’re in high positions in the kingdom. Their names are Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They don’t serve your god, and they didn’t worship the gold statue.”

Nebuchadnezzar was furious. He sent for the three Jews and had them stand before him. “I’ve been told you don’t serve my god, and you didn’t worship the gold statue. I want to see if this is true. The orchestra will play, and when it does you’re to drop to the ground and worship the gold statue. If you don’t, you’ll be thrown into the furnace filled with fire. There’s no god that can rescue you from my power.”

The three men didn’t hesitate to answer the king. They said, “We would never argue with you, but please understand. Our God is able to rescue us from the furnace filled with fire. He can easily rescue us from your power, but if he doesn’t, let it be known, we still won’t worship the gold statue you’ve set up.”

Nebuchadnezzar became so mad his face was twisted with rage. He shouted to his guards, “Make the furnace seven times hotter! Tie up these men and throw them into it!”

The furnace was made hotter, and the three Jews were tied up and thrown into the fire. Since the furnace was so hot and the king wanted the execution to be done quickly, the flames killed the guards as they threw the men in.

Suddenly the king was shocked at what he saw. He got up and shouted, “Didn’t we throw three men into the fire?”

“Of course Your Majesty. We threw in three men.”

“But look! I see four men in there. The fire’s not hurting them, and they aren’t tied up. They’re freely walking around. And look! The fourth man is like a god.”

Nebuchadnezzar got closer to the furnace and yelled in. “Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, servants of the Most High God. Please, come out.”

The three men came out of the fire. Everyone gathered around and saw that the men and their clothes were totally unaffected by the fire. They didn’t even have the smell of smoke on them.

Nebuchadnezzar made a proclamation. “I give praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They chose to die rather than worship any god but their God. So he sent his angel to rescue them. No one is to say anything offensive about the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. If anyone does, that person will be torn to pieces and their house made into a garbage dump.”

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Find the real story in Daniel 3 #Christian #Christiancomedy #Biblestories #Jesus #God #Bible #Biblestudy
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Going to Egypt

164 – Going to Egypt

2 Kings 25:22-30 Jeremiah 40:1–44:30 52:31-34

Stories 159 – 164 happened during the life and ministry of Jeremiah, the prophet.

Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, totally destroyed Jerusalem. He left a few people to care for the land, and made Gedaliah governor of Judah.

Rebel soldiers still lived in the hills of Judah. Gedaliah met with them and said, “The king of Babylon wants to have peace with you. So stop fighting. Look at what the people left behind when they went into exile. You can harvest their grapes and olives and summer fruit. Select a town and go live there. I’ll represent you with the Babylonians.”

The soldiers followed this advice and lived in the land. Jews who lived in other countries came back and accepted Gedaliah as their governor. Altogether, they had a great harvest that year.

The king of Ammon hired ten Jews to kill Gedaliah. The people of Judah warned the governor about this plot. They said, “We have it good here. We don’t want these traitors to ruin it for the rest of us.” But Gedaliah didn’t believe them. He thought they were simply trying to get an advantage over their fellow countrymen.

Gedaliah invited the ten traitors to have a meal with him. During the meal, the men drew their swords and killed the governor. After throwing his body down a large well, they headed back to Ammon. The men of Judah chased after them. There was a battle, but most of the traitors got away.

The people of Judah knew what Nebuchadnezzar would do once he found out his governor had been killed. They made plans to escape to Egypt. They went to Jeremiah and said, “Ask the Lord what we should do. We promise we’ll do whatever he says.”

Ten days later, Jeremiah gave them a message from the Lord. “Don’t move to Egypt, but stay in Judah. I’ll be with you and protect you from the king of Babylon. If you stay, I’ll build you up and establish you here.

“I know you’re afraid, but listen to me. Your fears are waiting for you in Egypt. You won’t find war, hunger, and disease in Judah. No, they’re waiting for you in Egypt.”

The people yelled at Jeremiah, “You’re lying to us. The Lord didn’t tell you that. You want us to stay here so Babylon will kill us.”

The people left Judah and went to Egypt. They took the prophet and Baruch with them. Jeremiah finished his book in Egypt, and then he died.

Years later, a new king ruled Babylon. He brought King Jehoiachin out of prison and gave him his freedom. He was also given a living allowance and was invited to eat at the table of the king of Babylon. He lived in comfort for the rest of his life.

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Broken Pot

159 – Broken Pot

Jeremiah 1:1-19 18:1–20:18 II Chronicles 36:1-5 II Kings 23:28-37

Stories 159 – 164 happened during the life and ministry of Jeremiah, the prophet.

During the time of King Josiah, the prophet Jeremiah was called of God to preach to the people of Judah. The Lord said, “You’re to tell them they’re wicked, and Babylon will come and take them away. It’ll be useless to resist this invasion because I’m the one making it happen.”

Jeremiah said, “Lord, I don’t want this job. I’m too young, and I’m not good at public speaking.”

The Lord said, “I chose you for this job before you were born. I’ll tell you exactly what to say. Still, the people won’t listen, and they’ll try to kill you. But don’t worry. I’ll be with you and protect you.”

For years, during the time of King Josiah, the Lord told Jeremiah all the reasons why Judah would be punished and sent into exile. Jeremiah was burdened for the nation, so he cried and prayed for them. God said, “Stop that! These people are heading for disaster and there’s nothing you can do about it. I wouldn’t listen even if Samuel and Moses stood before me and pleaded for them! This situation is beyond religious acts and the giving of prayers.”

The Lord sent Jeremiah to the potter’s house. There he saw the potter working with a clay jar on the turning wheel. Suddenly he found a flaw in the pot. So he simply crushed the clay down and started over.

The Lord said, “Oh Israel, this is what I’m doing to you. You’re like clay in my hands and I’ll crush you so I can make you into that which will have my blessing and joy.”

The Lord told Jeremiah to buy a clay pot and go to the rulers of Judah. The prophet bought the pot and stood before the leaders of the people. He held it up in the air and said, “The people have forsaken the Lord to worship idols. Therefore, listen to what God is saying to you!”

He threw the pot down and it shattered into pieces! He said, “Jerusalem will be like this clay pot. I’ll totally destroy the city. Your enemies will slaughter the people. The city will lie in ruins just like this clay pot.”

One of the priests got angry and had Jeremiah beaten and put in stocks. The next day the priest went to release him. Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord has changed your name. It is now ‘Terror’. In terror, you’ll see your friends killed in the streets. In terror, you’ll watch the city be destroyed. You’ll be taken to Babylon where you’ll die; and there you’ll be buried.”

King Josiah was killed when he fought the army of Egypt. The people of Judah made his son king. Three months later, the pharaoh of Egypt captured Jerusalem and took the new king to Egypt, where he died. The pharaoh set up another son of Josiah to be king of Judah. His name was Jehoiakim.

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A Book is Found

157 – A Book is Found

II Kings 22:1-20 II Chronicles 34:1-32

Josiah was eight years old when he became king of Judah. He walked with the Lord from the day he became king until the day he died 31years later. He was the last great king before the people of Judah went into captivity.

When he was 26 years old, he hired men to restore the Temple. Money had been given for that purpose, so he gave it to the workmen and said, “You have proven yourselves to be men of integrity. Therefore you don’t have to keep an account of this money.”

One day, the high priest found the Book of the Law, written by Moses. He sent it to the king, who had it read out loud. When Josiah heard what was written in the book, he ripped his clothes and said, “Surely the Lord’s anger is great against us! Our ancestors made a contract with God and then broke it over and over. His judgment on us must be close at hand. Go and find someone who can ask the Lord about this.”

The priest went to a certain section of the city to the home of Huldah, a woman prophet. They asked her about what was written in the book. She said, “I have a message from God to the man who sent you here. God says, ‘The people of this land have totally turned against me. They serve idols and false gods. I’m about to fulfill the judgment written in the book you found. Disaster will soon fall on this place and everyone who lives here. Nothing can turn away the judgment that is coming.’ ”

Huldah then said, “I have another message to the king of Judah. The Lord says, ‘When you heard the words of this book, your heart was sad and you ripped your clothes and cried. You have sought me with humility, and I heard you. Therefore, you will not see the disaster I’m bringing on this place. I will wait until you die and are buried.’ ”

The priest took these words back to Josiah. When he heard them, he gathered together all the elders of Jerusalem and Judah. They in turn went and got the rest of the people. Everyone went to the Temple, where they heard the king read the Law of Moses. They heard about the agreements their nation had with God.

Once the reading of the Law was done, Josiah stood in the place reserved for the king. In front of everyone, he made those same commitments to the Lord. He vowed that he would follow God’s commandments with all of his energies and power. All the people agreed to do the same.

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Uzziah

149 – Uzziah

2 Chronicles 26:1-27:9 & 2 Kings 15:1-7 15:32-38

When Amaziah died, the people made his son, Uzziah, king. He was 16 years old and served as king for 52 years. God gave him great success because he followed the Lord and wanted to please him.

Uzziah did many wonderful works. He defeated the enemies of Judah and was known far and wide as a powerful king. He restored Jerusalem and strengthened the other cities of Judah. He loved the soil, so he excelled in farm activities. He provided for his army so that every man was well equipped for battle. He invented the catapult, so he could throw large stones from the walls of Jerusalem.

One day, King Uzziah was feeling proud of his accomplishments and his dedication to God. He decided to go into the Temple and burn the incense himself, instead of letting the priest do it. The high priest suddenly realized what he was about to do. He got 80 other priests and went in the Temple so they could stop the king from doing this.

He said, “Uzziah, this is wrong! God made it clear that only a descendant of Aaron is allowed to offer incense to the Lord. Please, leave right now! You’re not honoring God in this.”

Uzziah became angry as he stood next to the altar with the censer in his hand. He couldn’t believe all the priests were so bold as to confront him on this. Suddenly leprosy appeared on his forehead. All of the priests saw it and rushed him out of the Temple. He willingly went with them because he knew the Lord was punishing him.

Uzziah had leprosy for the rest of his life. He had to stay away from other people, so he lived in isolation. Because of the leprosy, he wasn’t allowed to go into the Temple. He couldn’t even go into his own palace. His son Jotham lived there and ruled the people in the king’s stead.

Jotham became king after his father died. He followed the example of his father’s early years. He continued to build up the kingdom of Judah. He did what was right and became a powerful king.

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Jonah & the Vine

147 – Jonah & the Vine

Jonah 3:1-4:11

Once again, God said to Jonah, “Leave right now and go to Nineveh. You’re to tell them I’m going to judge them because of their wickedness.” This time, Jonah immediately got up and went to Nineveh.

The city of Nineveh was extremely large. It took three days to walk from one side to the other. So Jonah started his walk across the city. He shouted, “God is going to destroy this city in 40 days!”

The people of the city heard him preach and believed that what he said was true. They passed a law that said everyone was to fast—no exceptions. Everyone was to go without food, and they were to wear burlap sacks. They prayed and asked God to be merciful to them.

The king stepped down from his throne and laid aside his royal robes. He put on burlap sacks and sat on a pile of ashes. He sent out another law that said, “No one is to taste any food or water. That includes animals as well. Everyone is to wear burlap sacks, and stop any evil they are doing. Maybe God will change his mind and allow us to live.”

The Lord saw all they were doing. He knew they had turned away from their wickedness, so he stopped the judgment that was about to kill them and destroy their city.

Jonah was furious when he heard about this. He said, “I told you this would happen! I knew you were a merciful God. I knew you were quick to forgive. That’s exactly why I didn’t want to come here. That’s why I ran away. Kill me right now. I don’t want to live.”

The Lord said, “Do you think it’s right to be so angry about this?”

Jonah didn’t answer, but went to the east side of the city. He made a small shelter so he could sit and see exactly what God was going to do with the city.

While he was sitting there, God caused a vine to grow up next to him. The vine had large leaves, which provided shade from the hot sun. Jonah was pleased with the plant, and enjoyed the shade it provided.

The next morning, God caused a worm to attack the vine and kill it. As the sun got hot, the plant withered. Then God caused a hot east wind to blow on Jonah. As the day went by, the sun and the wind got hotter and hotter, and there was no vine to protect him. Jonah cried, “I don’t want to live anymore. I want to die!”

God said to him, “Is it right to be angry about the vine?”

“Yes, it’s right for me to be angry. I’m so mad I want to die.”

The Lord said, “You’re angry about a simple vine. You didn’t plant it. You didn’t water it. It came up one day and died the next.

“Shouldn’t I also care for the people of this city? If for no other reason, there are over 120,000 children living here, not to mention all the animals.”

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Jonah & the Fish

146 – Jonah & the Fish

Jonah 1:1-2:10

The Lord said to Jonah the prophet, “Leave right now and go to Nineveh. You’re to tell them I’m going to judge them because of their wickedness.”

Jonah knew that God was merciful and would forgive Nineveh if they repented. He didn’t want that, so he ran away from God’s will and went to the seaport town called Joppa. He bought a ticket and got on a ship going to Tarshish. He wanted to get far away from God’s will so there would be no possibility of Nineveh’s repenting.

Once the ship was out to sea, God sent a violent storm to hit it. The sailors were terrified because the storm was about to destroy their boat and drown them. They threw their cargo overboard to lighten the load. When that didn’t help, they prayed to their various gods. While all of this was going on, Jonah was fast asleep down in the hold of the boat.

The captain woke him up and said, “How can you sleep? We’re about to die. Get up and pray to your god.”

Eventually the sailors figured out that this storm was directed at only one person on the ship. They cast lots to see who it was. The results showed that Jonah was the reason for their troubles. They said, “Who are you, and what have you done?”

He said, “I serve the Lord God, who made the sea and the dry ground. But I’m running away from him.” Suddenly the storm got worse! The men screamed at Jonah, “What should we do to you to calm the storm?”

Jonah yelled back, “God only wants one thing, and the storm won’t stop until He gets it. You’re to grab me and throw me overboard.”

The men didn’t want to kill an innocent man, so they worked even harder to fight against the storm and get to land. Finally they realized they couldn’t fight God. They cried out to the Lord and asked him for mercy for what they were about to do. They then grabbed Jonah and threw him overboard.

Immediately, the storm stopped! The men were shocked at the power of God. They fell to the deck and worshiped the Lord and vowed to serve only him.

God had a large fish waiting for Jonah as he went into the water. The fish immediately swallowed him, and he stayed in the fish’s stomach for three days.

Jonah prayed and acknowledged that it was God who put him in the fish. He finally said, “I’ll give you what you want. I’ll thank you for your will, and do what you want me to do.”

With that, the Lord spoke to the fish. It went to land and vomited Jonah onto the shore.

Continued in the next story

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Joash

144 – Joash

2 Kings 12:1-21 2 Chronicles 24:1-27

Joash was seven years old when he became king of Judah. Jehoiada, the high priest, taught the king and helped him live a godly life. As long as Jehoiada lived, Joash followed the ways of the Lord.

When the king was older, he decided to make repairs on the Temple of the Lord. Athaliah had taken every thing of value out of it to use in the worship of Baal.

Joash assigned priests and Levites to go throughout the nation and collect money for Temple repairs and annual upkeep. Many years earlier, Moses had provided for this by imposing a tax.

They started collecting the money, but the repairs didn’t start. The king finally realized the money was being used for administration costs and for other things the priests thought important.”

It was clear that the priests and Levites were the wrong people to oversee the Temple repair. Joash decided on a different method. He told men to make a large box and put it at the Temple gate. He then announced that people were to bring their money for the Temple and put it in the box.

The people of Judah liked this, so they brought their offerings and put them in the box. When it got full, the money was given to the men making the repairs. This gave them the ability to keep at their work and not slow down. They were men of integrity, so the king didn’t require them to give an accounting of the money and how it was spent.

The offerings kept coming in even after the work was done. So the extra money was used for making various tools of worship. The people of Judah became faithful at coming to the Temple and worshiping God.

All of this was done while Jehoiada was still alive. He died when he was 130 years old, having lived a good life. He had served his king, his God, and the people of Judah.

After his death, Joash listened to various leaders of Judah who wanted a different direction for the nation. He allowed them to make changes, and soon the people stopped going to the Temple to worship God. Instead they turned to idols and sex goddesses.

The Lord sent prophets to preach against this. The son of Jehoiada was now a priest. God had him stand before the people and say, “If you leave the Lord, he’ll leave you.”

The people rejected this message and wanted to kill the priest. Finally Joash ordered him to be stoned, even though he was the son of Jehoiada, who had been a faithful friend and advisor.

Soon afterwards, God allowed a small Syrian army to conquer the superior army of Judah and take Jerusalem. Many of the Jewish leaders were killed, the king was badly wounded, and the Syrians took everything of value. After they left, several men went into the king’s bedroom and killed him.

Joash had been king for 40 years. The people didn’t bury him in the tombs of the kings because of what he had done to the son of Jehoiada.