Daily Devotion

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english 1Timothy 5:9-16     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.....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.                   Paul refers to the principle of charity, the church is indeed facing all sorts of social needs; the broken-hearted, the homeless, the alcoholic, the domestic abuse; there also are the impoverished, even famished. These needs exist not only in the Third World, they also are in the United States; we may exhaust our human and financial resources if we intervene every social problem, while caring for only a few would put us in danger of nepotism. Among the many widows of the church, who should receive priority in our help? Here it mentions several principles:                   First, they must be church members registered on the church list. These people are the priorities of our help because the Lord's commandment states, if we love one another, the world will recognize we are His disciples through our love. Second, they must have a good testimony in their daily lives. This is a very important criterion among the many selections, otherwise anyone can ask for help and the church will have a hard time fulfilling them. We should first care for those who in the past eagerly helped the others, because they sacrificed themselves for the Lord, and now they have needs, the church should take care of them. Third, there are age restrictions. At that time sixty was the retirement age; if under sixty, they can still be self-sufficient, or consider entering another marriage, or try other means to make a living, such that it will not deplete the church resources.                   The church must involve in charity work, otherwise the "false religions" will take away our rightful crown. On the other hand, charity must follow established principles; otherwise if you give these people but not the others, it will result in inequities in the church. Ask God for the wisdom to let us know how to do benevolent work in the church.      Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, thank you, for you know our needs. Give love, wisdom enough for us to offer help according to the needs, let your love show in fullness, that the world will see Christ in our testimonies. With thanks we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

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