Eudoia and Syntyche

Scripture For The Day  

April 27, 2023

"Euodia and Syntyche" 

I am studying the women in the bible alphabetically so next in line is Eudoia and today we study once again how women were many of the first to hear and accept The Gospel. 
The Philippians church originated out of a women’s prayer meeting. 

At this particular time, many believed in God but hadn’t accepted Jesus Christ as His Son. One day Paul shows up in Philippi at a women’s prayer meeting. And he begins to preach JESUS. During this prayer meeting, a woman named Lydia accepted Jesus that very day, and out of her home, the Philippian church began. Many women played prominent roles in the Philippian church. Among those women, we read about Euodia and Syntyche. These two women worked directly with Paul in the Philippian church. They were part of the original ministry team. But for some reason, they became upset with each other. The argument was bad enough that word was sent to Paul while he was imprisoned in Rome. Paul spent much of his time in prison reaching out to various churches, friends, and ministers. He was in isolation yet made a point of staying as connected as possible to the people who sought his guidance.  Philippians 4 Paul writes of how he loves and misses his brothers and sisters in Christ and how they bring him so much joy. And he was proud of all their hard work. He says to continue as you have been taught.

 But then in verse 2, he addresses the problem. Sadly, two Christian women were on the outs. A church is comprised of human beings that will disagree with each other from time to time. It’s a given. We all have different ideas and different ways of doing things and it’s okay to disagree. Just not to the point of division and hurt. We don’t know what this argument was about. We just know that Paul was trying to diffuse the situation. “Euodia and Syntyche, you both belong to the Lord, so please live in harmony.  And I intreat thee also, help these women. They have worked hard with me in telling people the Good News and their names are written in the book of life.” 

As I continued to read Philippians 4, my heart was encouraged once again. “Think on these things” To say it is ironic takes away from the encouragement on my heart from the Lord. Over the past few weeks, I have been praying these words over my heart quite a bit. They were even a focus on a topic at a women’s conference just a few days ago. Think on the things of The Lord. When someone speaks hurt, Philippians 4:8 them. Don’t let it hurt your heart. Speak His Word. Speak Jesus. Let the bad bounce right off of you and continue to love and to grow in Him.  This is not the usual highlight of women in the ministry that I have been sharing. But I feel that it is so important for us to learn that God uses women as well as men in the ministry of Jesus Christ. And there will be disagreements along the way. But that's when we need to Philippians 4:8 away the negativity and begin again.