by Shannon Tillman | Nov 7, 2024 | Bible Study
I hate confrontation. Actually, I tried to write I “dislike” confrontation but did not
think that word was strong enough to explain my emotions. I hate it.
Unfortunately, I have made many compromises in my life in attempts to avoid it.
I have also suffered drastic consequences for not speaking up when I should have
done so. Unfortunately, I can relate to Israel’s most evil king, a man named
Ahab. He also did not speak up or do the right thing when it was in his power to
act.
Ahab was a military expert but a failed husband and father. Despite miraculous
military conquests enabled by the Lord, Israel’s king, Ahab, continued to allow his
wife, the infamous Jezebel, to expand her evil religious domain in Israel. Not only
did Ahab not confront her, he eventually joined her wickedness as she expanded
demon worship throughout the kingdom. Although Ahab would receive counsel
from God’s prophets, he ultimately allowed the choices of Jezebel to prevail.
1 Kings 16:29-33
In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of
Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years. Ahab son of Omri
did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him. He not only
considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also
married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve
Baal and worship him. He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he
built in Samaria. Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to arouse the
anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than did all the kings of Israel before him.
Although the king would worship Baal, Ahab wanted the Lord to help during
military battles.
1 Kings 20:1, 10, 13, 21
Now Ben-Hadad king of Aram mustered his entire army. Accompanied by thirty-
two kings with their horses and chariots, he went up and besieged Samaria and
attacked it… Then Ben-Hadad sent another message to Ahab: “May the gods deal with me, be
it ever so severely, if enough dust remains in Samaria to give each of my men a
handful.”… Meanwhile a prophet came to Ahab king of Israel and announced, “This is what
the Lord says: ‘Do you see this vast army? I will give it into your hand today, and
then you will know that I am the Lord.’”… The king of Israel advanced and overpowered the horses and chariots and inflicted
heavy losses on the Arameans.
Although the Lord proved time and again that He was God alone, Ahab wavered
between victory on the battlefield and defeat at home. Ahab did not care about
the spirituality of his family. As long as Ahab had kingdom victories, he did not
exert energy to ensure spiritual victories in his family. His wife and children could
serve idols as long as his “ministry”, his work, his fights were won.
I feel like this too often defines Christian families. We neglect obvious issues in
the home. Sometimes, more energy is expended to address “kingdom” issues
instead of dealing with problems in our families. We are conquering the world in
God’s name while avoiding confrontation in the family. If those like Ahab do care,
then they are not willing to risk the argument that would ensue by confronting
and tearing down the idols in the home. We are so bold for the kingdom, yet so
weak in our homes.
I knew of a minister whose children were evidently wounded from problems in
the home. When the situation was addressed, most church members ignored the
issue, deciding to look the other way. A growing church was more important than
broken children. The minister rejected help and turned the loving confrontation
into a violent attack on those who spoke up. The dysfunction continued. Ahabs
and Jezebels continue today. They have kingdom victories while idols in the home
destroy the families. The church celebrates the victory and looks away at the
evident dysfunction, issues, in other words sin, to the detriment of the children.
Deciding to not deal with idols, with strongholds, with sins in one generation can
lead to devastating consequences later on. One of the daughters of Ahab
murdered others in order to gain the throne in Judah:
2 Kings 11:1
When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded
to destroy the whole royal family.
Athaliah expanded her control by force. Her mother, Jezebel, murdered as well in
order to get what she wanted. When we do not deal with our sins, it can lead to
brutal sins in the next generation.
We must take drastic action in our lives for the sake of future generations. We
need to stand in authority, cast out family idols, and lead our family in the
worship of the Lord. But to do this, we must evaluate ourselves, to ask the Lord
to show us what we value more than Him. Whatever or whoever is placed first in
our lives is an idol. That idol cannot be dealt with gently but must be cast down.
Radical effort is necessary for radical change. Future generations will be blessed
by the effort exerted to restore the Lord as the King of your house.
by Shannon Tillman | Oct 31, 2024 | Bible Study
She was alone. Her disease process had caused her excruciating pain. The pain
of her body, however, did not compare to the loneliness of her soul. She had been
forced into isolation. The laws of her day condemned her as “unclean”. Anyone who
came into contact with her would be contaminated and considered “unclean” as well.
The woman had not been allowed on the temple grounds for over a decade. She felt far
from God, an outcast from His Presence. She suffered physically, emotionally,
relationally, and spiritually.
The woman had suffered financially as well. She had lost everything in desperate
hopes for healing, but none came. For she had…
been subject to bleeding for twelve years.26 She had suffered a great deal under the care
of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew
worse. (Mark 5:25b-26)
She heard about a Teacher who had been healing others. But how could she a
woman, an unclean one at that, get near him? He could possibly shame her in front of
everyone. But she had endured so much pain and longed desperately for healing, not
only for her body, but for relationships, for contact, for love, for God.
A messianic prophesy from the book of Malachi spoke a word of promise. Could
it help her?
But to you who fear My name
The Sun of Righteousness shall arise
With healing in His wings;
(Malachi 4:2a)
The rabbis of the day proclaimed that when the Messiah came, He would be able
to heal through His wings. These “wings” were the tassels on the prayer shawl worn by
Jewish men. The woman believed that if she could touch the wings, the hem of His
garment, she would be healed.
With great risk she set out. She knew that if discovered, she could be punished
severely. The crowd may become angry, for touching her would make them unclean.
What if the leaders publicly flogged her? She understood the risk, but she knew it was
her only chance for healing, for change, for life. Despite the potential consequences,
she decided to go to the Healing Teacher. She quickly hid herself among the people in
the crowd following Him.
27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his
cloak,
28 because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” (Mark 5:27-
28)
The cross-reference of the story in the book of Luke specifies the part of the cloak
touched by the woman.
43 And a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and could not be healed by
anyone,
44 came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak… (Luke 8:43-44a)
The woman reached out and by faith touched the “wing” of the Messiah.
29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her
suffering.
30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around
in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
31 “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can
ask, ‘Who touched me?’”
32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it.
33 Then the woman, knowing
what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him
the whole truth.
34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and
be freed from your suffering.” (Mark 5:29-34)
This woman experienced physical, emotional, social, and spiritual healing in one
encounter with Jesus! By faith, she reached out and touched the edge of His garment.
This would have been the fringe on His prayer shawl. She touched the prayers of Jesus
and her life was changed.
The power of Jesus healed her body immediately. Yet, He wanted to restore her
in other ways as well. It is not enough to be physically whole but remain emotionally
broken. He would not move further until she came to Him. The crowd wanted to move
on, but Jesus waited patiently for this precious woman to reveal herself, to become
vulnerable in front of Him. When she did, Jesus began healing the woman’s soul. Jesus
called the lonely, isolated woman “Daughter”, restoring her into relationship with God
and others. The woman, who would have been considered under a curse because of
her disease, finds herself commended by Jesus as a woman of great faith. After years of
emotional turmoil, she is commissioned to go forth in a life of peace. Because of her
encounter with Jesus, she received instant deliverance from all of her suffering. Her
spiritual, physical, emotional, and relational strains dissipated in a moment. Jesus
healed His daughter in every way.
This woman experienced healing because she had put herself at risk, stepped out
in faith, and touched the fringe of His garment. Her desperation drove her to Jesus, and
Jesus freed her from all of her painful circumstances that had made her desperate.
Jesus heals, delivers, restores, and tenderly cares for His daughters.
When we come to the end of ourselves, we must extend our faith to touch the
prayers that Jesus prays on our behalf.
34
… Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the
right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. (Romans 8:34b)
Jesus prays for you. You can come to Him by faith and receive His tender ministry
toward you. Do not look at your “uncleanness”. Do not focus on your “issues”. You do
not need to hold back. Instead, you can reach out to Him, for Jesus cannot be
blemished by you. Instead, Jesus releases His wholeness, His answers, His prayers into
your life. Jesus restores you back into full fellowship with God and with others. He will
free you from your suffering.
by Shannon Tillman | Oct 24, 2024 | Bible Study
I live a life of embarrassing moments. Whenever we share stories, mine usually
win. I live awkward. That may be why I relate to the awkward situation we find in
John 8 where a woman is held up to shame by a crowd but Jesus restores and
transforms her.
John 8:2
2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered
around him, and he sat down to teach them.
Imagine a huge crowd of people. Most likely the tallest person in the group is
standing right in front of you blocking your view. (At least, that seems to be what
always happens to me.) Some of the group is able to hear and see clearly. Others
are straining to see and hear Jesus. Suddenly, people break through the crowd.
John 8:3
3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in
adultery. They made her stand before the group
Think about the humiliation, the embarrassment. We do not know if she was
dressed or how well she was dressed. She may have had just a blanket draped
around her. She had been ripped out of a personal situation. In front of the
crowd, in front of Jesus, she is forced to stand before them in her sin, in her guilt.
Before all these people, she is exposed physically, relationally, and emotionally.
Here this woman stands before them guilty and probably angry for she stood
alone. Where was the man she had been with moments before? By Jewish law,
he was guilty as well. Had he betrayed her? Was this a set-up, a plot using her in
an attempt to trap Jesus? We do not know. All we know is that she stood alone,
in front of a crowd in her shame. Moments later she finds out why.
John 8:4-6a
4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the
Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They
were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
These men were not concerned about the law. They just wanted to trap Jesus.
She knew now that she was being used. Her life to them was meaningless, she
was only a pawn in their game.
How often do we use others? We may try to justify it and say, “I’ve never had
anyone’s life threatened like these Pharisees are doing to this woman.” But have
you used anyone for your own personal gain? Have you had secret motives
behind your actions or words? At times, we have all been deceptive. Who do we
hurt in the process? The innocent, maybe even the guilty. This woman was guilty
but that did not justify the Pharisees actions. There have been people in our lives
that have been guilty but we are still accountable to what we do to them. God
never called us to revenge. He will handle judgment. He called us to love and
forgive others.
The author of love is faced with a question. “Should we stone this woman or
not?”
John 8:6b
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.
If my life was in someone’s hands, I sure would want him to say something! This
would not be the lawyer I would be asking for in my defense. Jesus stays silent.
The crowd stares. His finger marks on the stony ground.
We do not know why Jesus did this. We are not told what He wrote. Some in the
crowd probably thought it was a strange reaction. But I like to imagine that Jesus
did this to lessen the embarrassment of the woman. He took the focus off of her
and put it on Himself. Is this not what He did for us on the cross? He took the
sins off of us and took them upon Himself. He took the shame and
embarrassment that we deserved. Jesus shows compassion to us even though we
are guilty and deserve punishment.
John 8:7a
7 When they kept on questioning him…
The Pharisees kept pestering Him. No one else said a word. There was a huge
crowd around. I am sure others saw how wrong this was. They knew this woman
was being used, yet no one said anything.
How often do we stand by while injustice takes place? We never raise our voices
in defense, while people around us are being hurt.
As a counselor I have seen and heard many upsetting things. The one that breaks
my heart more than others is when I hear about children who have been abused
and you hear about neighbors who knew but did nothing. I have heard the
phrase “I didn’t think it was my place to get involved.” How often do we
Christians say that? We sit back and do not get involved and then we wonder
why our nation is falling apart. We are called to be the salt and light of this earth.
The unsaved will act unsaved. That is all they can do. We have to be different.
We are not part of the crowd. We should be leading them. We are the only ones
who know the Way. Who is the Way? Jesus. We have to lead people to Him. We
cannot look like the world. If people do not recognize us as being a Christian,
then what good are we in advancing Christ’s kingdom?
I heard about a minister in Haiti. He asked the congregation who had been
witnessing to the lost about Christ. He finally said if you are not witnessing to
people then you might as well leave the church because you are taking up space.
Ouch. Harsh words. Real truth. Christians, we need to speak up.
That day only one Person spoke up. Jesus was the One who came to this
woman’s rescues. The crowd was silent; all eyes were on Jesus.
John 8:7b-9
…he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be
the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the
ground.
9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first,
until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.
Everyone left, the Pharisees and the crowd had gone. All that remained was Jesus,
the woman, and the stones. The stones, which were the evidence of her judgment, were lying on the ground in the sand. The punishment she deserved
never transpired because of Christ’s intervention. The punishment you and I
deserve did not transpire because of Christ’s intervention on the cross. He came
between this woman, and our lives, and the sentence of capital punishment
looming over us.
John 8:10-11a
10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one
condemned you?”
11 “No one, sir,” she said.
Jesus came not to condemn, but to save. That was His purpose. He still does that
for us today. We can be saved from our sin by believing in Him.
Once we come to know Him as Lord and Savior, should we stay the way we were
before we knew Him?
John 8:11b
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of
sin.”
He tells us to go and leave the sin. He saves us first and the He transforms us into
His beautiful image. Too often people believe the lie that they have to get their
lives right before coming to God. That is not how it works. We are all sinners.
We cannot come to God any other way. Come as you are. Experience His love
and mercy. He wants to give to you. You will never be the same. He has saved
you from so much, all you will want to do is live for Him. He saved your life. Now,
He will help you live it.
Where do you see yourself in this story? Are you like the:
-
The Pharisee: judging others even though we are all sinners.
-
The Crowd: Staying silent and allowing the world to rule instead of standing up for
what is right, no matter the cost.
- The Woman: Facing the sins you have committed; your life feels exposed. Jesus does
not want to condemn you; He wants to change you.
There were a lot of people there that day, yet only one remained with Jesus. The
person judged as the “worst” sinner, was the only one saved. Everyone else left
Him. Stones marked their departure. Only she had her life changed. Others
threw shame at her but Jesus restored her dignity. They left stones behind, but
she left her old life behind. She was transformed. Jesus willingly does that for
each of us. May we be changed even today.
by Shannon Tillman | Sep 26, 2024 | Bible Study
I do not have a sense of direction. I have found myself lost in my own
neighborhood! I thank the Lord for GPS often. I need specific navigation in my
life. The GPS helps me find my way home. The Lord is the ultimate navigator.
Even when we choose to go our own way, He knows how to bring us back, often
with a creative and even disgusting flair, as we will see in the case of Jonah.
Jonah 1:1-2
The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Go to the great city of
Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”
God has a plan for all of our lives. He shows us the steps of the plan along the
way. Just like Jonah, God gives us assignments. We have a choice on how to
respond. We can either accept or reject the assignment. Jonah decided to reject
it.
Jonah 1:3a
3 But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish.
We know we cannot run away from God. He is everywhere. That is like
pretending you are the invisible man. Imagine if we walked around and said, “you
can’t see me!” People would think we were crazy! (It would be funny to watch,
though!) Yet, like Jonah, we attempt to run away from God. We do things and
think we can get away with them. We never confess it to God; we just pretend
that it did not happen. God sees it. He knows what we have done. He knows
when we get off course.
That is where we find Jonah. He is way off course. He decided to travel to
Tarshish, a city in the opposite direction of Nineveh. God had called him this way,
Jonah decided to go that way. There is God’s way and then there is our way,
which are opposite directions. When we choose our way, there is always a price
to pay.
Jonah 1:3b
He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying
the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD.
Jonah paid money to run away from God on a boat. Sin costs. It always does.
Maybe it costs us our integrity, time, family, money, friends. Is the sin worth the
cost?
Sin always cost our relationship with God. The amazing thing about God is that
He comes after us. He disciplines us in His love. He does this in order to reconcile
us back to Him. God does amazing things to get our attention.
Jonah 1:4
4 Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that
the ship threatened to break up.
Sometimes we get mad at God for sending the storm, yet we don’t see Him doing
this in love. Why did He send the storm? We ran away. Cause and Effect. We
cannot blame God for what we have done. Instead, we can make a better
decision in the storm.
Jonah 1:5a
5 All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the
cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.
Innocent people suffered because of Jonah’s sin. The same is true for us. All sin
has consequences, often hurting others. We do not live life in a vacuum. Before
you sin, think about who may be affected by it. There may be people who are
complete strangers to you that feel the impact of the consequences. These
sailors cried out due to fear of the storm while Jonah soundly slept.
Jonah 1:5b
But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep.
Have you ever noticed how sin can physically take a toll on you? We spend so
much energy fighting against what is right that we become tired. We work in our own power, not in God’s limitless strength. That leaves us ineffective for the
Lord’s work. The sailors decide to wake Jonah up to help them.
Jonah 1:6-7
6 The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your
god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”
7 Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is
responsible for this calamity.” They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.
The group tried to figure out who caused this terrible storm. Jonah, knowing his
guilt, just shrugged his shoulders with the rest of them saying, “I don’t know.”
When the lot fell on him, he finally fessed up. “Oh, yea, I sinned against God.”
When I was a little girl, I would sneak the cheddar popcorn salt and eat it straight
from the container. (I love anything salty!) One day, my sister asked me if I had
been eating the cheddar salt. I blatantly told her “No”. She told me to go look in
the mirror. I had orange cheddar salt all over my face! I had been caught.
Jonah was caught as well. The sailors asked him about his guilt. The sailors did
not know God; this was their first impression of a prophet of God. Have we ever
considered the impressions we make on non-Christians as they look at our lives?
Jonah 1:8-13
8 So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us?
What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country?
From what people are you?”
9 He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who
made the sea and the dry land.”
10 This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?” (They knew he was
running away from the LORD, because he had already told them so.)
11 The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we
do to you to make the sea calm down for us?” 12 “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I
know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.”
13 Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the
sea grew even wilder than before.
These unbelievers did all they could to save Jonah! They risked their lives to save
the one. What a sharp contrast to Jonah who refused to go to the city of Ninevah
because he wanted the 120,000 people there to die! But God does not want any
to perish. He is concerned for the majority as well as the individual. The Lord
worked this situation for good, despite Jonah’s disobedience.
Jonah 1:14
14 Then they cried out to the LORD, “Please, LORD, do not let us die for taking this
man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, LORD,
have done as you pleased.” 15 Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and
the raging sea grew calm. 16 At this the men greatly feared the LORD, and they
offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him.
The sailors came to know God. The Lord brings people to Himself, despite what
we may do to interfere. I am thankful that the final responsibility is His not mine.
I want to obey His calling in my life but I have often run the wrong way. God does
not need me, but He allows me to be a part of His plan. I want to obey the offer.
God called Jonah; he rejected the offer.
Jonah 1:17
17 Now the LORD provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly
of the fish three days and three nights.
God attempted to get Jonah’s attention in the storm. Now, the Lord goes to more
drastic measures. He does the same for each of us. Is God trying to get our
attention? We need to talk to Him now while in the storm before the fish comes!
Thankfully, God accepts our cry for mercy wherever we may be and whatever we
may have done. Jonah prayed to the Lord from the fish and God heard his cry.
Jonah 2:10
10 And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
God rescued Jonah from the fish and reinstated his call to Ninevah. A rough start
but at least he was now heading in the right direction, obeying the call of the
Lord. I, too, have had stinky messes to contend with because I chose the wrong
way. But I am thankful to the Lord, who gets us back on the right path. Today, let
us just choose His way and avoid the messy detour!
by Shannon Tillman | Apr 17, 2024 | Bible Study
Have you ever been blind-sided by someone? I wonder if that is how Philemon felt when he received a letter from the Apostle Paul. I am sure upon its arrival, Philemon felt honored to be singled out for personal correspondence from the esteemed preacher. However, the letter ends up being a difficult call to action.
The letter begins with compliments to Philemon as one who is a dear friend, fellow worker, one who loves God’s people, and has great faith. These words would have definitely encouraged Philemon. Then, the tone of the letter changes.
Philemon verses 8-11
Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love. It is as none other than Paul—an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus— that 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.
Onesimus was a slave of Philemon. He ran away yet somehow, though, he was influenced by the preaching of Paul and became a believer in Jesus. Amazingly, Onesimus the slave is led to Christ by the same person who led his master to Christ. Onesimus must have confessed his past sins and thus Paul sent him back with this letter.
Philemon verses 12-16
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 would not seem forced but would be voluntary. Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever— 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 fellow man and as a brother in the Lord.
Suddenly, a seemingly friendly letter, becomes a series of difficult choices. Would Philemon forgive Onesimus? Not only that, would he choose to see Onesimus no longer as a slave but now as a brother in Christ? Would he trust Paul’s heart about this man’s transformation and his usefulness to Paul? Would Philemon free his slave to serve in the ministry?
Paul knew that he was asking a lot in this short letter. He was asking for a radical heart change in Philemon. Yet, Paul pressed the point even further.
Philemon verses 17-19
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.
Welcome the one who offended you as if you were welcoming your spiritual leader and friend. Demand payback, not from the one who owes it, but from the one who literally shared with you the message of eternal life. These are Paul’s requests to Philemon.
Philemon verses 20-21
I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.
In honoring Paul’s desires, Philemon would refresh his heart. Paul believed that Philemon would go above and beyond in response. If he did, we do not know. There are speculations in church history. Onesimus, the slave, may have become Onesimus the minister with Paul if he is the same man mentioned in Colossians 4. I hope Philemon did respond to Paul’s requests, because this would be the right thing to do.
I must admit, my standards for Philemon are higher than the standards I set for myself. I want him to forgive his slave, embrace him as a brother, and release him back to Paul for ministry. Yet, when I recently finished reading this short letter, God brought a person to my mind who did some terrible things against me. Immediately, I felt a guard go up in my heart against this person. Then, I realized, The Lord had blind-sided me with this letter, just as Paul had done to Philemon.
What if the person asks forgiveness? Would I hold the one in judgment? Would I want them to prove their transformation? Would they have to earn trust and relationship back piece by piece, like a slave working toward freedom? Or would I embrace them with love and release them into the fullness of God’s calling over their lives?
The same questions that Paul asked of Philemon, God asks of me. They are the same questions the Lord is asking you for each person that has wounded and caused you harm. The letter is to each of us. What will our response be?
by Shannon Tillman | Mar 18, 2024 | Bible Study
Princess parties are common for birthday themes. Often the participants receive plastic tiaras to wear on their heads, which usually break within a week’s time. However, the Lord wants to set a true and lasting crown upon us.
Psalm 103:2, 4b: “Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name… (who) crowns you with love and compassion.”
A crown symbolizes authority. The only ones allowed to wear a crown in a kingdom are the people who have legal authorization. A servant does not wear a royal headdress; however, the king and queen have the right to don a crown. They received the crown on their day of inauguration, when they were given legal authority to rule the land.
The Lord crowns us. The name of the crown He gives us is called “love and compassion.” Since the crown symbolizes our authority, then the name of the crown shows that our rule stems from love and compassion. What we decree in the kingdom must come from the authority of the kingdom which is governed by love and compassion. Our words and actions must line up with the kingdom ways of love and compassion since that is the authority we were given.
Often in our difficult circumstances, we want to make decrees out of our own opinions or sense of justice. Those type of decrees can only be made from the throne room. We may have crowns, but we are not the ones seated on the throne.
Psalm 89:8a, 14: “Who is like you, LORD God Almighty?… Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you.”
This verse references God’s throne which is balanced on righteousness and justice. Those are the stability of His kingdom. His throne does not totter because He is seated on both of these divine attributes. He dispenses justice from a perfect place of righteousness. This is why He tells us to leave the punishment of injustices to Him.
Romans 12:9: “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.”
His throne is righteousness and justice. While these are the trademarks of His throne, this is not what we are crowned with. The crown He sets on us, the authority He has given us has a foundation of love and compassion.
How do we dispense love and compassion in difficult times to difficult people? We must recall what God did for us.
Psalm 103:2-4: “Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion.”
When we recognize His mercy and what He has done for us (forgives all our sins, heals our diseases, redeems us from the pit) then we can in turn respond with grace and mercy to others. We have been given much, so we give out of and in response to what we have received. With the authority bestowed to us, we decree loving and compassionate verdicts to those in our sphere of influence. I am not discussing what they may or may not “deserve”, just as we did not deserve all that God has done for us. I am also not talking about excusing or ignoring sin. This verse references how we are to govern our lives and our spheres of influence. Confronting sin can still be a loving and compassionate response. What I am referring to is that love and compassion dictates the response, however it may need to be. The way to ensure a loving and compassionate attitude is by focusing on, instead of forgetting, his benefits. Then, we are able to be beneficial to others by extending love and compassion. We were crowned with the attributes of salvation that we did not deserve and we grant these attributes to others, who also do not deserve them. This is the authority He gave us; this is the authority we are to work from; this is the way we are called to “rule” our worlds so that lives may be changed.
We have been given a beautiful crown. May we govern well. Extend love and compassion and see the kingdom of God spread.
