NOVEMBER 13 - EXHORTATION IN LOVE
READ 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 a new song to him;
Play skillfully on the strings, with a joyful shout.
For the word of the Lord is right,
And all his work is trustworthy.
He loves righteousness and justice;
The earth is full of the Lord’s unfailing love
(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:
Yet he himself bore our sicknesses,
And he carried our pains;
But we in turn regarded him stricken,
Struck down by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced because of our rebellion,
Crushed because of our iniquities;
Punishment for our peace was on him,
And we are healed by his wounds
(Isaiah 53:4-5).
Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind, and pray this affirmation to the Lord:
Jesus told 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:
Finally, offer this prayer to the Lord:
Satisfy us in the morning with your faithful love
So that we may shout with joy and be glad all our days.
Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us;
Establish for us the work of our hands —
Establish the work of our hands!
(Psalm 90:14, 17).
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 a new song to him;
Play skillfully on the strings, with a joyful shout.
For the word of the Lord is right,
And all his work is trustworthy.
He loves righteousness and justice;
The earth is full of the Lord’s unfailing love
(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:
Yet he himself bore our sicknesses,
And he carried our pains;
But we in turn regarded him stricken,
Struck down by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced because of our rebellion,
Crushed because of our iniquities;
Punishment for our peace was on him,
And we are healed by his wounds
(Isaiah 53:4-5).
Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind, and pray this affirmation to the Lord:
Jesus told 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:
Satisfy us in the morning with your faithful love
So that we may shout with joy and be glad all our days.
Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us;
Establish for us the work of our hands —
Establish the work of our hands!
(Psalm 90:14, 17).