In February this year, I completed a Concealed Handgun License certification class taught by my friend Dave Williams. I learned a lot and am glad I went through the class. (My Sig 9MM is a fine piece of weaponry.) While taking the class, I took a call from a church member whose wife had a stroke. The husband was obviously distraught, and I was able to pray with him and encourage him. (The good news is, God blessed her, and she is doing well today; thank You Lord!) When I got off the phone, Dave made the comment that pastors are always on-call, and he really appreciated pastors and what they do.
Andy and Kathy Spencer were also in the class that day. Andy shared with Dave that this is precisely why he has his Take Five Ministry. Andy said, "compassion fatigue is for real," so who will be there to give encouragement and help to pastors who are constantly giving to help others? Andy and Kathy are those kinds of people, and so is Dave. They love pastors. The Spencers have answered the call of God on their lives to host retreats for pastors and their wives. They genuinely serve these caregivers, refreshing them to continue in the ministry.
As we noted last time, the Apostle Paul had people like that in his life. One of them was Onesiphorus. He was from Ephesus but traveled to Rome to refresh Paul in prison. He was not ashamed of Paul's chains, his literal chains, as Paul was incarcerated in Rome for preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul writes that his friend
"sought me out very zealously and found me." This was not the first time Mr. Onesiphorus had helped Paul. He also ministered to Paul while he was in Ephesus. Paul had an intense and fruitful ministry in Ephesus, staying a total of three years. The Greek word translated "ministered" is
diakoneo, from which we get the English word "deacon". The word literally means "to serve".
Onesiphorus was the real deal, a genuine friend to Paul who went out of his way to help. He was the pastor to Pastor Paul. He cared for Paul, refreshed him, and served him in various capacities. If Paul did not have people like this pouring into his life, I have no doubt that Paul would have never been able to serve the Lord in the powerful ways that he did.
If you are a pastor reading this devotion today, I am praying, and I mean literally praying in Jesus' name, that God would raise up Onesiphoruses in your life like the Spencers and Dave, people who will be a blessing to you, who will encourage and refresh your weary soul. If you are reading this and are not a pastor, will you consider being an Onesiphorus to your pastor? You may think your pastor is superman and needs no encouragement from you, but you are mistaken. Trust me, he is fighting battles you have no idea he is fighting. A word, a blessing, a gift... who knows, it could be the very motivation he needs to stay in the fight another day.
Have a great weekend everyone, and thanks for reading our devotions. If you know someone who would be blessed by this ministry, tell them about how they can sign up on our website and start receiving these devotions each weekday for free. They can sign up at
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