✝ Daily Encouragement (7/28/23) "Philologus"

Published: Fri, 07/28/23

A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation. The online Bible teaching ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber.

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Friday, July 28, 2023

A rather decrepit Nebraska Barn

"Philologus"

Travel Note: Today we are visiting with friends and family in Kansas City, MO planning on returning to Pennsylvania tomorrow.

Message summary: May we be counted among those who love the Word of God and meditate on it all day long and all life long!

Due to travel our podcast is not prepared for this message.

"A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold" (Proverbs 22:1). "Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas and all the saints with them" (Romans 16:15). "Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long" (Psalm 119:97).

Our names are very important to us. People like to be addressed by their name; they like to see it spelled correctly and hear it pronounced properly. Something we seek to do, though it's getting harder as we age, is to remember names. In our chaplaincy role we seek to learn names and address people by their proper name. It can be somewhat insulting to be addressed by Hey Pal, Buddy, or the endearing term "Hon" often used by a waitress or one you've never met who serves your table. Maybe one of the worst ways to be addressed is, "Hey you!"

Our names identify us. Some names immediately bring good memories to mind. The first daily text reinforces the value of having a good name. "A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold."

I am named after the Bible character, Stephen, as most would guess who read our messages. Stephen was not a family name when I was born but very purposefully the Bible character. Not surprisingly Stephen is one of my favorite Bible characters and his name means "crowned one."

Brooksyne's (Brook seen') name is a name originated by her mom so there's not a special meaning behind it, except that it is a derivative of her father's name, Brooklyn. She assists people with the pronunciation by saying, think of the "scene of a brook" but turn it around and say, "Brook scene" with the accent on the second syllable. One advantage (or for some a disadvantage) to such a name is how easy it is to find her using a google search! Very few people can be identified through google just by typing their first name.

The second daily text today is included in a long listing of Paul's friends and ministry associates we've examined this week from Romans 16. In fact this chapter lists 35 proper names! In this message let's look at one more, Philologus, the only time he is mentioned in the Scriptures. Very little is known about him and I'm simply presuming his is a male name. It's packed with meaning, a compound of two words; Philo meaning "love" and logos meaning "word." Perhaps he was known by the abbreviated name, Phil, such as those today who have the name Phillip!

We can't do more than conjecture but I wonder if this was a name with underlying meaning as was often the case in the Bible? If so Philologus means "lover of the word." Or in this case it might have been, like Barnabas, a descriptive nickname based upon what others had observed. Barnabas means "son of encouragement" due to his encouraging characteristics. After he had acquired the nickname he is not again referred to by his birth name of Joseph (Acts 4:36). Perhaps in the case of Philologus others had observed that he was a diligent student of God's Word and gave him this nickname!

Philologus will be an interesting person to meet in heaven and then we'll find the story behind the name for sure and the right way to pronounce it. Though very few, if any of our readers are named Philologus, each of us should have a lifelong love for God's Word. The Psalmist declared, "Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long" (Psalm 119:97).

We can also see the Apostle Paul's desire for the Word of God as evidenced in a request made to Timothy in his final letter: "When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments" (2 Timothy 4:13). This was likely a request for the Scriptures which is also evidence of his love for the Word right up to the time of his death.

May we be counted among those who love the Word of God and meditate on it all day long and all life long!

Be encouraged today, ( Hebrews 3:13)

Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Daily prayer: Father, clinging to Your Word is like holding tightly to a brightly lit lantern on a darkened path. I can't see what's ahead but the light shines bright enough for me to proceed step by step. I am enlightened, strengthened, encouraged, convicted and challenged by the Holy Bible as I faithfully read and meditate upon the inspired words written by believers throughout the generations under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Like Philologus I want to be a lover of the Word as I join with the Psalmist who proclaims, "Oh how I love Your Law. I meditate on it all day long. I have kept my feet from every evil path so that I might obey Your Word." Amen.

Brooksyne's Note: Before we left the St. Marys, PA area where we pastored almost 16 years I read in our local paper, "Congratulations on your second birthday, Brooksyne". That was a bit shocking to my eyes since I had never read about another "Brooksyne" in print. Since it was spelled the same as mine I wondered if the child was named after me, but she lived in a town ten miles away and I didn't know how to find out. Years later I came across this name again and followed up since this young lady is on Facebook. I wrote her and asked about the origin of her name. She said her grandfather saw the name in a church bulletin, liked it, and recommended it to his daughter so she named her new baby Brooksyne, but pronounces it, "Brook sin". She was quite pleased by my contact through Facebook since she had always wanted to find out more about her name over the years. Her grandfather died while she was a child so she couldn't ask him which was her only lead up to that time.

List of proper names in Romans 16:

Phoebe, Priscilla, Aquila, Epenetus, Mary, Andronicus, Junias, Ampliatus, Urbanus, Stachys, Apelles, Aristobulus & household, Herodion (relative), Narcissus & household, Tryphena, Tryphosa, Persis, Rufus & his mother, Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas & brothers with him, Philologus, Julia, Neures and his sister, Olympas, Timothy, Lucius, Jason, Sosipater, Tertius, Gaius, Erastus, Quartus

Last night we visited with Tim and Janet Beebe in Lee Summit, MO. Janet is a cousin from my Stephen's dad's side. It's been nearly ten years since our last visit so it was good to catch up with them again in their lovely home next to Lakewood Lakes.

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