Again this Sunday, I'm sharing from the Made for Community reading plan from Love God Greatly that I worked on back in 2015. With this study, as I have often done, I used the SOAP method of Bible study. Just a quick reminder that the S is for Scripture, O is for Observation, A is for Application and P is for Prayer. The third section is Made for Community with Family. So here we go with the Scripture for the first day of that section.
S= "But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel." (1 Timothy 5:8)
O= 1 Timothy is a letter written by Paul to the young pastor Timothy. C.I. Scofield explains that "As the first-century churches increased in number, questions of church order, soundness in the church, and discipline arose." Teaching about faith and order for the future guidance of the churches became necessary, and the Pastoral Epistles of 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus were written to answer that need.
Here in chapter 5 of 1 Timothy, Paul is giving instruction as to how the church should care for widows. Society in that day had no organized means of caring for widows. Family care from the widow's relatives was ideal, of course, but when that was not possible, the church would help. What Paul is addressing here in verse 8 is when relatives are unwilling to help their loved ones. Paul states that if they refuse to help, they have denied the faith and are worse than infidels -- unbelievers!
A= Even though I have no widows in my immediate family (and those in my extended family have children of their own who can, and do, care for them), I do need to extend love and care to the widows in my life. I do pray for the widows of my acquaintance, many of them here in blogland, several times a week.
At the time I did this study, both my mother-in-law and my dad were still living. Concerning this, I wrote: And then there is my widowed mother-in-law, who has several other children to assist her -- and most particularly, my elderly and somewhat helpless widowed father. The responsibility to care for him, especially as his only surviving child, is very real and very heavy. I am so thankful for my wonderful husband who is such a huge help with this responsibility.
P= "Lord, I pray that You will help me to be faithful in extending love and care to the widows in my life. I praise You for the added strength You gave me in caring for my dad until his passing. I'm very thankful that my mother-in-law had a number of local children and even some grandchildren who helped with her care until she died in May. I thank You for my wonderful husband, who was such a great help to both my dad and his mother. I praise You for the wisdom, guidance, and discernment You gave to both of us over the years of helping to care for our widowed parents. I thank You in Jesus' name, Amen."
There is the simple study for this Sunday!
We helped care for my widowed MIL for quite a few years until she finally had to go to a nursing home because we could no longer physically take care of her needs when she kept falling. But she thrived in the nursing home and told us she loved it there and to never take her out! That was a blessing. She lived to be 95. We also cared for my widowed father for several years...a cooperative effort between my sister and me and my son also helped. Daddy was able to remain in his home that he built until he died at age almost 93. That was a wonderful blessing as well. My heart goes out to our widowed friends, especially those whose mates have died so prematurely. It's never an easy thing and I can't begin to imagine how hard it would be to live alone. I pray I never have to find that out. But I know God is in control and no matter what, He will always be there. Wow, this post led me down a trail. Sorry to take up so much space!
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