Today Our Daily Bread 1 Tim 5

Mt 13:23
But the one sown on the good ground -- this is one who hears and understands the word, who does bear fruit and yields: some 100, some 60, some 30 times [what was sown]." Do we hear the word? How do we hear it? Selectively? Of course. At what level ? 30, 60 or 100?
1 Tim 5
1Never speak harshly to an older man, F14 but appeal to him respectfully as though he were your own father. Talk to the younger men as you would to your own brothers. 2Treat the older women as you would your mother, and treat the younger women with all purity as your own sisters.
Advice about Widows, Elders, and Slaves
3The church should care for any widow who has no one else to care for her. 4But if she has children or grandchildren, their first responsibility is to show godliness at home and repay their parents by taking care of them. This is something that pleases God very much.
5But a woman who is a true widow, one who is truly alone in this world, has placed her hope in God. Night and day she asks God for help and spends much time in prayer. 6But the widow who lives only for pleasure is spiritually dead. 7Give these instructions to the church so that the widows you support F15 will not be criticized.
8But those who won't care for their own relatives, especially those living in the same household, have denied what we believe. Such people are worse than unbelievers.
9A widow who is put on the list for support must be a woman who is at least sixty years old and was faithful to her husband. F16 10She must be well respected by everyone because of the good she has done. Has she brought up her children well? Has she been kind to strangers? Has she served other Christians humbly? F17 Has she helped those who are in trouble? Has she always been ready to do good?
11The younger widows should not be on the list, because their physical desires will overpower their devotion to Christ and they will want to remarry. 12Then they would be guilty of breaking their previous pledge. 13Besides, they are likely to become lazy and spend their time gossiping from house to house, getting into other people's business and saying things they shouldn't. 14So I advise these younger widows to marry again, have children, and take care of their own homes. Then the enemy will not be able to say anything against them. 15For I am afraid that some of them have already gone astray and now follow Satan.
16If a Christian woman has relatives who are widows, she must take care of them and not put the responsibility on the church. Then the church can care for widows who are truly alone.
17Elders who do their work well should be paid well, F18 especially those who work hard at both preaching and teaching. 18For the Scripture says, "Do not keep an ox from eating as it treads out the grain." And in another place, "Those who work deserve their pay!" F19
19Do not listen to complaints against an elder unless there are two or three witnesses to accuse him. 20Anyone who sins should be rebuked in front of the whole church so that others will have a proper fear of God.
21I solemnly command you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus and the holy angels to obey these instructions without taking sides or showing special favor to anyone. 22Never be in a hurry about appointing an elder. Do not participate in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.
23Don't drink only water. You ought to drink a little wine for the sake of your stomach because you are sick so often.
24Remember that some people lead sinful lives, and everyone knows they will be judged. But there are others whose sin will not be revealed until later. 25In the same way, everyone knows how much good some people do, but there are others whose good deeds won't be known until later.
FOOTNOTES:F14: Or an elder. F15: Or so the church; Greek reads so they. F16: Greek was the wife of one man. F17: Greek Has she washed the feet of saints? F18: Greek should be worthy of double honor. F19: Deut 25:4; Luke 10:7.
~ Lena’s Journalin’~
It amazes me that we have to be told how to communicate. Aren’t we born communicators? Yes, but born in sin and by continual example of evil speech we’ve been taught to speak against God and in so doing we’ve also learned to speak against His creation. In being Born Again by His Spirit, our minds have got to be taught about the reasoning behind correct speech and the spiritual power of words. God won’t turn up the power of our words unless our words match with His words. It is an act of grace that our words do not hold much power, if they did, we’d have destroyed a whole lot of God’s creation already. It even takes a tremendous amount of effort to speak as God would, that is so indicative of how powerful words are made to be. I find it noteworthy that this section starts off with communication and an order of honorable communication, then leads into relational responsibility. If we communicate well with thoise God has given us relationally, we will be caring for their needs, we will even know of their needs. Why does the state or federal government care for our elderly? Because of poor relational communication which has caused all sorts of sin, such as, divorce and separation. Families do not properly care for one another, because divisions in communication have happened and been continually entertained. It is the same divisive spirit that comes between man and God, it also comes between man and man. Its breakdown causes the spirit of division. This again takes us way back to God before he ever created a human being and what happened in the heavenly realm. There was a communication breakdown then. The One became 2, God is now calling for the 2 to be made 1 in the manifestation of the flesh nature, in spite of who we think we are or have been told we are relationally. He calls for 2 in the flesh to be made one with Him in the spirit, here on earth. Communicate! Isn’t that amazing that the God of this whole universe (1 word), chooses to speak with me, wants to be one with me? I’m literally a speck of dust and even smaller than that in the spiritual perspective, yet when I become one with Him, choose Him, I change atmospheric "pressures". That is amazing!