Colossians 1:7
Many a person has been used by God to advance His kingdom on
this earth and many people have been used to expose us to new technology that
have changed for the better our life style. Many men and women have done amazing things of valor and the
history books give proof to this statement, but very few of all the people on
this earth ended up in the book of all books, God’s word, the Bible. One such man is found in verse seven, “Just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow
servant. He is a faithful minister
of Christ on your behalf and has made known to us your love in the
Spirit.” This is my
take away from verse seven; Epaphras is first and foremost a servant to and for
the Lord, he also is a teacher, because they learned from him, and a minister
of Christ, and was sent and maybe supported by the church at Colossae.
Do we have any more ink on Epaphras, yes in Chapter 4:12,13,
the apostle Paul has this to say about him; “Epaphras,
who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on
your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all
the will of God. For I bear
witness that he worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in
Hierapolis.” Do you
have anyone in your life that you can count on “always struggling on your behalf
in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of
God”? I am so thankful
to say I know of two men who are engaging the throne of God on my behalf, asking
that I will just let go and let God do it all for me.
The book of Philemon, a small book in the New Testament, has
only 25 verses, and it is a letter to Philemon and Apphia our sister and
Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house. In verse 23 Epaphras is called, “my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus” and he
also is sending his greeting to this house church, but look who else is there, “and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow
workers.”
You maybe an Epaphras or you may know a person that is being
used in that way to support the kingdom of God. He is a fellow soldier in this army of Christ, a fellow
worker doing what you may not be able to do for many reasons at this point in
your life. They are encouragers
and servants to some big name guy like Paul, and may not get notices or even
appreciated by many, but our Father is keeping a record, and someday soon, God
will say, “Well done my good and faithful worker.” So be faithful to your calling.
Bart Phillips was such a man; he served Jim Daly at Focus on
the Family in such a manner. He
was a prisoner of Christ and a fellow worker, and his race is over and it was
finished in a manner pleasing to our Lord.
From the Back Porch,
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