A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope,
encouragement and exhortation.
Friday, August
23, 2019
Steven
Binkley is a young neighbor who won a photo
competition with this Canada Goose photo on Donegal
Creek, the stream alongside the trail across from our
house.
Message
summary: Thank
God for the millions
of ordinary people
in the Church like
Tychicus, who take
their callings
seriously and do it
heartily as to the
Lord!
Listen to our
message on your
audio player.
"Tychicus
will tell you all
the news about me.
He is a dear
brother, a
faithful minister
and fellow servant
in the Lord"
(Colossians 4:7).
How many
of you have ever
heard of Virginia
Miller? We visited
with Ginnie in the
course of our
chaplain service at
a local personal
care center. She had
a delightful
positive outlook
even though she
endured much
suffering. After her
death at 93 years of
age her pastor spoke
of the years Ginnie,
who was already
quite old, would
drive over to the
church each week,
pick up the church
bulletins, take them
home and return them
folded for Sunday's
Worship Service!
Yesterday
I shared a line from
a song I've been
enjoying by Casting
Crowns, "I'm just a
nobody trying to
tell everybody all
about Somebody who
saved my soul." It's
such a catchy phrase
that I found myself
repeating it often
yesterday in the
course of my
chaplaincy work. I
take the word
"nobody" to be
descriptive of the
way we are all
relatively not
famous (unless some
really famous person
is lurking out there
reading our
encouragements that
I don't know
about!)
When we
study Bible
characters there's a
tendency to focus on
the well-known ones
like Moses and David
and Paul. That's
understandable since
we have more
material to draw
from. But all
through the Bible
there are a lot of
lesser known
characters that we
can learn from.
Let us
consider Tychicus
today. If you've
read through the
Bible (or even the
New Testament)
you've read his
name, which is found
only five times, but
I really doubt if
most have paid much
attention. That's
the way it tends to
be for those with
lesser roles. It can
be determined from
these few references
that he had a
chronologically long
and geographically
varied ministry.
Tychicus and Paul had worked together a long time. We first find him referenced in Acts 20:4 when he was traveling with Paul on a missionary journey. We have no record of his background or time of conversion, although he was from the province of Asia. One resource indicated that tradition teaches he died a martyr. Tychicus is one of the many ministry associates that Paul worked with. Paul wrote "He is a dear (literally "beloved") brother, faithful minister and fellow servant". These are impressive credentials coming from Paul, who is always sending him out as a faithful messenger (see Ephesians 6:21, 2 Timothy 4:12, Titus 3:12). In the daily passage and in Ephesians 6:21 we note that the express purpose was to take information about Paul's condition and to encourage the recipients of the letters. I suppose you could say Tychicus was a pretty ordinary person, but I would add that since he did his work heartily as to the Lord, God made him of extraordinary use to the kingdom. A good messenger delivers the message without distorting it. He had no personal agenda that might cloud the message. He doesn't get delayed by his own personal interests, nor does he get into petty distraction or engage in gossip. Would your credentials hold for this duty? Thank God for the millions of ordinary people in the Church like Tychicus, who take their callings seriously and do it heartily as to the Lord! We hope today's message will open your eyes to the blessing you can be to others. Ordinary, faithful people who seek to live like Christ. They teach Sunday School, count offerings, swab toilets, mow the lawn, run the sound system, visit prisoners, pick up the elderly for church, and perform a thousand other duties, large and small, to advance the Kingdom of God. Some, like Virginia, fold the bulletins! Are you
weary in your walk
today? Or do you
sometimes think,
"What's the use?
What can I do with
what little I have
to offer?"
Listen, watch, and
pray. God will show
you or He might just
speak to you through
another Christian
leader about a duty
that you are able to
meet. Be faithful in
whatever God lays on
your heart, just as
Tychicus was.
In Paul's final letter we find his name in a brief but telling verse. Others had abandoned him, but Paul writes "I sent Tychicus to Ephesus" (2 Timothy 4:12). Tychicus had his bag ready. Faithful! That's the kind of people Christ's Kingdom needs today. I want to shake hands and pat Tychicus on the shoulder when I get to heaven. Who knows, maybe they hug in heaven! I want to thank him for his faithfulness in God's service. He carried messages from Paul to churches that later became the Scriptures we read today. Both the epistles to the Colossians and Ephesians were messages that Tychicus hand delivered to the churches. There are
a lot of people I
want to see and
thank when I get to
heaven. A few are
well known, scores
more, like Tychicus
are virtually
unknown. Bluntly
speaking, most of
you reading this
message are
virtually unknown.
Ouch. Well, I sure
am in that category!
Yet, like Tychicus,
I want to be a
faithful servant for
Christ letting my
light shine,
whenever, however,
and wherever He
gives me
opportunity. What
about you?
Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber ![]() Note: Paul sent Tychicus from his prison, writing from a damp cell with his own earthly future very uncertain. Yet he is considering the needs of others before his own. Today's
Suggested
Music and
Supplemental Resources
"Nobody"
Video
Casting Crowns/Matthew West
Why You ever chose
me, has always been a
mystery
All my life I’ve been told I belong at the end of the line With all the other Not-Quites, with all the Never-Get-It-Rights But it turns out we’re the ones You’ve been looking for all this time ‘Cause I’m just a nobody, trying to tell everybody All about Somebody who saved my soul Ever since You rescued me You gave my heart a song to sing I’m living for the world to see Nobody but Jesus I’m living for the world to see Nobody but Jesus Moses had stage fright, and David brought a rock to a sword fight You picked 12 outsiders nobody would’ve chosen And You changed the world Well, the moral of the story is Everybody’s got a purpose So when I hear that devil start talking to me, saying “Who do you think you are” I say… I’m just a nobody, trying to tell everybody All about Somebody who saved my soul Ever since You rescued me You gave my heart a song to sing I’m living for the world to see Nobody but Jesus I’m living for the world to see Nobody but Jesus So let me go down,
down, down in history
As another blood-bought faithful member of the family And if they all forget my name, well, that’s fine with me I’m living for the world to see Nobody but Jesus To receive the "Daily Encouragement" each Monday-Friday through email see this page to subscribe to our email list. You can also subscribe to the Wordpress rss feed or through a Wordpress email subscription. (See the email subscription on the right side after opening this page.) ![]() Our ministry labor is comprised of approximately half our time to Daily Encouragement and the other half to our chaplaincy ministry to companies for which we receive compensation. Each of these ministries essentially is the same as a part-time job (20+ hours weekly) for each of us. Our goal for many years is that each would provide half of our ministry expenses and income. If you would consider making a donation to our ministry see here for more information. Donate directly online here. This will open to a page that designates the offering to: WEBER,STEPHEN CHAP, Specialized Chaplaincy Ministry ID: 700001-237376 ![]() Permissions: Please feel free to pass on, reproduce and distribute any material on Daily Encouragement Net, in part or in whole, in any format, provided that you do not alter the wording in any way or charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. It is our desire to spread this material, not protect or restrict it. We do request that you keep the contact, copyright and subscription information intact. Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version. Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
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