November 13
1 Timothy 5
The church should care for widows, and the elders who lead the church should also receive respect.
INSIGHT
There are those in the church who feel that they have the gift of confrontation, and others the gift of rebuke. While we may smile at this, there are indeed those who have an acute sense of justice, gravitating toward exhortational ministries. These people provide an important balance in the church, but they must be cautious to wield their words with truth and grace. Paul writes that we should "not rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father, the younger men as brothers, the older women as mothers, the younger as sisters, with all purity" (vv. 1-2). The point is that such ministries are always to be done in a spirit of grace, truth, and love.
PRAYER
Because scriptural truth is intended to heal and strengthen us, we praise Him:
Sing to Him a new song;
Play skillfully with a shout of joy.
For the word of the Lord is right,
And all His work is done in truth.
He loves righteousness and justice;
The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord (Psalm 33:3-5).
Pause for praise and thanksgiving.
Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin:
Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:4-5).
Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind, and pray this affirmation to the Lord:
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."
(John 14:6)
As you make your requests known to the Lord, include:
faithfulness with your talents,
your state and local leaders,
your activities for the day.
Finally, offer this prayer to the Lord:
Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy,
That we may rejoice and be glad all our days! . . .
And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us,
And establish the work of our hands for us;
Yes, establish the work of our hands.
(Psalm 90:14, 17)
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