Monday – September 20th – 1 Timothy 5:9-10 ------
5:9 Do not let a widow under sixty years old be taken into the number, and not unless she has been the wife of one man,
10 well reported for good works: if she has brought up children, if she has lodged strangers, if she has washed the saints' feet, if she has relieved the afflicted, if she has diligently followed every good work.
The Daily Walk Bible inspirational thought for today:
THE CALM THAT PUTS US TO SLEEP MAY BE MORE DEADLY THAN A STORM THAT KEEPS US WIDE AWAKE.*
Welcome to Monday! Our inspirational thought today is a great reminder of why we are immersed in a church-wide movement toward “awakening”. Yes, groups are meeting, prayers are being lifted up, and sermons are focusing on inviting the Holy Spirit to invade the lives of the SunRise faith community. We are seeking and preparing ourselves for God to wake each of us up from our own spiritual sleepwalking of contentment and complacency. Our personal “awakening” begins when we make a commitment to open ourselves up more to God this week than we did last week. Such incremental increases pave the way for a powerful movement of God in our lives and in the life of SunRise. What a great way to start this new week.
In our pick verses today, Paul resumes his teachings on the role and responsibility the church has in taking care of widows. Again, we must filter Paul’s words through the lens of first century Asia Minor to best embrace the deeper meaning God intends for us to glean for the twenty-first century midwest. In these two verses Paul is introducing guidelines for the Ephesian church to effectively deal with widows who have the greatest needs. Resources were extremely limited in Paul’s day, and for those, both Jew and Gentile, who chose to be a follower of Jesus, this choice could often mean a shunning from family and friends. Paul knew better of the situation of his day than any of us could effectively arm-chair quarterback distanced by some two thousand years. Why did he pick the age of sixty for the implementation of help? In my research I discovered that in the Jewish culture of that day, sixty was considered the beginning of old age (Leviticus 27:3, 7). Wonder what the number would be if Paul were writing this memo today? In addition to age, Paul also outlined that the support directly coming from the church itself would be a blessing for those who had in turn been a blessing to the life of the church community.
Blessings
Pastor Jim
Tuesday – September 21st – 1 Timothy 5:11-15
*Tyndale. The Daily Walk Bible NLT (Daily Walk: Full Size) (Kindle Locations 50148-50149). Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition.
5:9 Do not let a widow under sixty years old be taken into the number, and not unless she has been the wife of one man,
10 well reported for good works: if she has brought up children, if she has lodged strangers, if she has washed the saints' feet, if she has relieved the afflicted, if she has diligently followed every good work.
The Daily Walk Bible inspirational thought for today:
THE CALM THAT PUTS US TO SLEEP MAY BE MORE DEADLY THAN A STORM THAT KEEPS US WIDE AWAKE.*
Welcome to Monday! Our inspirational thought today is a great reminder of why we are immersed in a church-wide movement toward “awakening”. Yes, groups are meeting, prayers are being lifted up, and sermons are focusing on inviting the Holy Spirit to invade the lives of the SunRise faith community. We are seeking and preparing ourselves for God to wake each of us up from our own spiritual sleepwalking of contentment and complacency. Our personal “awakening” begins when we make a commitment to open ourselves up more to God this week than we did last week. Such incremental increases pave the way for a powerful movement of God in our lives and in the life of SunRise. What a great way to start this new week.
In our pick verses today, Paul resumes his teachings on the role and responsibility the church has in taking care of widows. Again, we must filter Paul’s words through the lens of first century Asia Minor to best embrace the deeper meaning God intends for us to glean for the twenty-first century midwest. In these two verses Paul is introducing guidelines for the Ephesian church to effectively deal with widows who have the greatest needs. Resources were extremely limited in Paul’s day, and for those, both Jew and Gentile, who chose to be a follower of Jesus, this choice could often mean a shunning from family and friends. Paul knew better of the situation of his day than any of us could effectively arm-chair quarterback distanced by some two thousand years. Why did he pick the age of sixty for the implementation of help? In my research I discovered that in the Jewish culture of that day, sixty was considered the beginning of old age (Leviticus 27:3, 7). Wonder what the number would be if Paul were writing this memo today? In addition to age, Paul also outlined that the support directly coming from the church itself would be a blessing for those who had in turn been a blessing to the life of the church community.
Blessings
Pastor Jim
Tuesday – September 21st – 1 Timothy 5:11-15
*Tyndale. The Daily Walk Bible NLT (Daily Walk: Full Size) (Kindle Locations 50148-50149). Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition.
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