Note for 20250629 - Sons in Faith - Part 4 - Philemon 1 - Good Reports
Sons in Faith
Philemon
Part 4 - Philemon 1 - Good Reports
Philemon 1:1-25 NASB2020
[1] Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved brother and fellow worker, [2] and to Apphia our sister, and to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house: [3] Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. [4] I thank my God always, making mention of you in my prayers, [5] because I hear of your love and of the faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints; [6] and I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective through the knowledge of every good thing which is in you for the sake of Christ. [7] For I have had great joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother. [8] Therefore, though I have enough confidence in Christ to order you to do what is proper, [9] yet for love’s sake I rather appeal to you—since I am such a person as Paul, an old man, and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus— [10] I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, whom I fathered in my imprisonment, [11] who previously was useless to you, but now is useful both to you and to me. [12] I have sent him back to you in person, that is, sending my very heart, [13] whom I wanted to keep with me, so that in your behalf he might be at my service in my imprisonment for the gospel; [14] but I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that your goodness would not be, in effect, by compulsion, but of your own free will. [15] For perhaps it was for this reason that he was separated from you for a while, that you would have him back forever, [16] no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. [17] If then you regard me as a partner, accept him as you would me. [18] But if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge that to my account; [19] I, Paul, have written this with my own hand, I will repay it (not to mention to you that you owe to me even your own self as well). [20] Yes, brother, let me benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. [21] Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, since I know that you will do even more than what I say. [22] At the same time also prepare me a guest room, for I hope that through your prayers I will be given to you. [23] Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, [24] as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers. [25] The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
https://bible.com/bible/2692/phm.1.1-25.NASB2020
Note for 20250629
We have looked a little at doing good deeds in Titus, but here in Philemon, we see reports of both what is heard of Philemon and then also Onesimus, which we can assume was Philemon's slave at some point.
You know, many would look at this letter and say, "Why is this even in the Bible?" But... The believer knows, don't we? Yes there are things that may border on administration and asking "favors" as we would put it today. However, these are not requests for favors, there is a servitude required here from him that might have been a master before. There is also the matter of outstanding debt, that is something we might want to wrap our minds around in holy consideration.
Did you notice, the church spoken of is in Philemon's house? Even that challenges our modern day understanding of what church might be.
This letter is almost as if Paul is telling Philemon that his slave, Onesimus, who was a problem for him before, has now been educated by Paul in prison about servitude and that he will no longer be a problem. In fact, Paul gives an indication that he would rather have kept Onesimus with him. He says to Philemon to receive Onesimus not as a slave, but as a brother in faith, which brings us to the point why this letter is included in the series, "Sons of Faith."
How beautiful is it when Paul says, if Onesimus owes Philemon anything, to put it to his own account and that he will pay it. That is a nature that we can identify with in Christ, not? Though, it does leave a little question for us... Would we do that for one considered a slave?
And right as we consider that, we are confronted with the concept of, what is slavery? Paul's letter to Philemon opens slightly differently to the opening of Titus. In Titus he says, a bondslave of Christ, here he writes, a prisoner of Jesus Christ. There is more to that than even just a mere situational comparison in that Paul may well have been imprisoned at the moment of his writing the letter. It may also have spoken to the relationship that existed between Philemon and Onesimus before, bringing it into a relation, for Philemon to consider.
How many points in this short letter can we use to measure our attitude towards one another and for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, living it instead of just speaking it?
Letter writing has become an old school thing. These days, we communicate with short messages in real time, or phone calls. Even emails have taken a back seat to things like WhatsApp and other instant messenger apps. Is it used for Good or Bad reports? A letter is private, sent by name and address, but what of Facebook, Instagram and X (twitter?) Is that private? No, today, reports are made to the public and the intended receiver gets it in public, even if the writer got a few facts wrong. We live in a different world than what Paul and Philemon lived, where scorn and insult fly globally like fiery-darts. "Shaming" someone has reached a point where some kids have taken their own lives, because they are too young to deal with the complexity of it. "Cyber bullying" they call it, and it is so common that my device here offered up the term on predictive text. That is a concern, is it not?
Look how Paul handles an obvious sensitive matter even in a private letter to Philemon. And of course, today it is not private anymore but in the most printed text of all time. And yet, there is no shame in his report of Onesimus, but one of love, even willing to pay Onesimus' debt.
Luke 12:2-3 NASB2020
[2] But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. [3] Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.
https://bible.com/bible/2692/luk.12.2-3.NASB2020
What would the situation look like if Artificial Intelligence released everything that you ever said in secret to the very person you spoke about? Or a hacker? How might your day change then?
“This is not just a leak – it’s a blueprint for mass exploitation. With over 16 billion login records exposed, cybercriminals now have unprecedented access…” — Cybernews
(For the sake of the reader, I have placed information at the very end of this document, this breach is worldwide and “fresh” data)
Good reports, and what is not good, is there a need to write about it? Can you defend every statement you have ever made in secret? By the Grace of GOD, may we never see that day, and yet, this quote was spoken by Jesus Christ himself. In fact, more than just this once.
Paul calls Philemon to a higher standard in Jesus Christ, and he reminds him of his good report before he touches on the matter of Onesimus. He even addresses that which may have been a barrier to forgiveness. He said that he would pay the debt so the right thing can be done. Talk about yearning for righteousness.
Selah, Shalom.
Verse of The Day
From the YouVersion Bible App
Matthew 5:9 NASB2020
[9] “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
https://bible.com/bible/2692/mat.5.9.NASB2020
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Here’s a refined summary of the Cybernews article and its implications:
📄 Article Summary
Scope of leak
Researchers uncovered 30 exposed datasets—many from infostealer malware, credential stuffing, and recycled breaches—totaling roughly 16 billion login credentials (cybernews.com).What’s unique
Unlike old, recycled dumps, the article emphasizes fresh logs, including URLs, usernames, passwords, and metadata—making the data "weaponizable at scale" (f5.com, cybernews.com).Services affected
Logs cover nearly every major platform imaginable: Apple, Gmail, Facebook, Telegram, GitHub, government services, VPNs, etc. (cybernews.com).Exposure duration
The datasets were briefly accessible via unsecured servers before being taken down—too short to track sources, but long enough to be harvested (cybernews.com).
⚠️ Threat Assessment
This leak is particularly dangerous due to:
Account Takeovers – Stolen credentials enable unauthorized access to social media, email, banking, and corporate accounts (infostealers.com, cybernews.com).
Identity Theft & Fraud – Personal data can be used to impersonate victims, apply for loans, or commit financial fraud .
Targeted Phishing & BEC – Detailed metadata and tokens allow for high-precision phishing or business-email-compromise attacks (malwarebytes.com).
Automated Credential Stuffing – With bots enabling millions of login attempts, even tiny reuse of passwords can lead to mass account breaches (f5.com).
Even if only a fraction of the 16 billion entries are valid and unique, the volume empowers attackers to launch large-scale, automated campaigns.
🌍 Scale Compared to World Population
Earth’s population is approximately 8 billion as of mid-2025.
A leak of 16 billion credentials equates to two credentials per person worldwide (f5.com, infostealers.com).
However, due to data overlap, duplicate or outdated entries likely inflate the count .
But even if, say, 25% (~4 billion unique credentials) are valid, that still could correspond to a quarter of the global population—a significant and alarming impact.
Even if users change compromised passwords, the metadata and tokens make cleanup non-trivial. The volume and freshness mean practically anyone with an online presence could be affected.
🛡️ Recommendations
Change and unique passwords for all accounts.
Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) or, better yet, passkeys (businessinsider.com).
Use a password manager to prevent reuse (news.com.au).
Check accounts on services like Have I Been Pwned for breaches (businessinsider.com).
Scan for malware-infostealers, and avoid downloading software from untrusted sources.
Bottom Line
This incident highlights a clear escalation in the scale and sophistication of infostealer operations. While some leaked credentials may be old or redundant, the massive, fresh, structured dataset signals that credential harvesting—and subsequent attacks like phishing, identity theft, and account takeovers—are reaching industrial levels.
Given the scale and relevance to nearly every internet user, it's a wake-up call to adopt stronger cyber hygiene practices and secure any exposed accounts.
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