Good morning to all on this glorious Tuesday morning. Waine and I are in Atlanta and interestingly enough Freddie and Aleron are here with us as well. Its a rainy day in Georgia and as I start my day I wasn't going one more day without diving head first into the Word. We spent the weekend with Kai and Hailee and they were the balm of therapy I needed to recharge -- children are truly the evidence that God still loves this earth and plans for its future. We are terribly affected by the earthquake in Japan and the Tsunami that came afterward. Please lift this tiny country up in your prayers. Please continue to pray for ET and his healing and also the healing of JKS. I thank God for my health and thank God for each of you.
I am continuing my journey in 1st Timothy 5 verses 1-25, "Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity. Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need. But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God. The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help. But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives. Give the people these instructions, so that no one may be open to blame. Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. No widow may be put on the list of widows unless she is over sixty, has been faithful to her husband, and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the Lord’s people, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds. As for younger widows, do not put them on such a list. For when their sensual desires overcome their dedication to Christ, they want to marry. Thus they bring judgment on themselves, because they have broken their first pledge. Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also busybodies who talk nonsense, saying things they ought not to. So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to manage their homes and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander. Some have in fact already turned away to follow Satan. If any woman who is a believer has widows in her care, she should continue to help them and not let the church be burdened with them, so that the church can help those widows who are really in need. The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. For Scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves his wages.” Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. But those elders who are sinning you are to reprove before everyone, so that the others may take warning. I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of favoritism. Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, and do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure. Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses. The sins of some are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them. In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not obvious cannot remain hidden forever.
If I could only clearly write how timely this passage of scripture is for me! God's Word is truly always on time and provides the instruction I need when I need it. Not a minute before or after but right when I need it. Hallelujah! I have been pondering as of late the plight of many young women and their children that I care for. These young women are from multi-generations of single women family head of households, who have relied on welfare and Medicaid to sustain their lives. These young women often have children by different men and spend their productive time in idleness as opposed to productive living. I often wonder about their future and the future of these children I provide medical care to and wonder what measure of spiritual intervention I can provide. The one thing I know I can do is pray for each of them and also the society that preys on them. We have developed an entire economy based on Poverty and Welfare. It sustains a large portion of the middle and upper class that publicly trade on programs for the poor among us. So do we sustain poverty just to maintain the livelihood of the rich? Well it wouldn't be the first time and as Christians we really should be about ensuring that the lives of God's people are positively affected by our knowledge and belief in the Word of God. I believe we need to collectively pray for our society daily and that God will use this time to make a change in how America uses its resources. Pray for the effective education of our children and leaders who have a heart for the less fortunate. Prayer changes things and the belief in its Power can only help you and this nation.
On another note, I have been evaluating my own life and whether it has made a difference. My husband is puzzled as to why I would even entertain such thinking as he feels it is obvious that I have positively affected the lives of many people. I am not sure why I am having these thoughts but trust that when I ponder them in in the Spirit, I am again being transformed by the renewing of my mind to reach greater heights for the purpose that God intended. 1st Timothy 5:25 indicates that YOUR GOOD DEEDS WILL NOT BE HIDDEN FOREVER so if you need affirmation that the seeds of "good deeds" that you involve yourself in will bloom, this is the only scripture you need. Likewise, the deeds of those who engage in sin and mayhem will also come to light not only here on earth but for eternity. So take heart. When you are with those that do not know the love of Jesus, you need only pray for them--that prayer will do more good than anything you can say or do. People in sin do not recognize the good that you are providing. When you are speaking to people living in SIN, you are speaking a "foregin" language to them. The only "translator" that will work is the Love of Jesus the Christ, who has created the only bridge that they can cross. You just have to love them up in Christ Jesus, so take heart! On this day know that God is an On Time God, and He loves YOU!
Now may the LORD bless you and keep you; may the LORD make His face to shine on you and be gracious to you; may the LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace. Amen.
Stephanie
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