Today's Passage - 1 Timothy 5:22-25

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english 1 Timothy 5:22-25      Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, and do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure. ... 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.           The "laying on of hands" mentioned here is not the same as the normal praying by the laying on of hands. Here it is specifically referring to the laying on of hands in the ordination of elders. It is a continuation from the previous verses which are addressed to the elders and ministers. We must not be hasty in ordaining elders and ministers. We need to seek God's will and find the most suitable person. In the church there have been too many examples in the matter of ordaining elder where they were too hasty and it later brought big problems to the church. That's why we need to be very careful and cautious in this matter.       In the normal praying for brothers and sisters by the laying on of hands, we should be proactive and bold. Before the Lord was taken up to heaven, he gave us in the Great Commission the authority to lay hands on others and pray for them. Mark 16 mentions, "And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well." What we need to do is by faith pray for blessings on the people who are in our lives. Actually we don't need to exaggerate by saying, "The Lord healed you now", but we can simply ask the Lord to bless, heal the person, and make the person's situation get better. When by faith and a loving heart you go to pray for others, you will discover amazing results.              When I was doing evangelistic ministry in the past, a sister brought a student to meet me. It took a great effort for this sister to bring her classmate, but the student seemed not able to receive anything she was hearing. Afterwards, I discovered that the student has final exams in 2 days so she was totally unable to listen to the preaching. I lay hands and pray for blessings on her finals and ask the Lord to give her wisdom to understand what she studied, give her good memory to remember what she read, and give her a peaceful heart to take the test. After I prayed, I discovered her face was filled with tears. She was very touched and said, "no one has ever prayed like this to bless my final exams." The Lord has already started a good work in her and I was just an instrument God used to bless her. Brothers and sisters, the Lord is also using you in this way in your everyday lives. May the Lord give us a willing heart to co-work with him.      Pray with Pastor Tong           Dear Lord, I thank you because when you gave us the Great Commission, you also gave us the authority to lay hands and pray for others. I ask the Holy Spirit to open my eyes to see the needs of the people around me and to boldly lay hands and pray for the people around me. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!