Prayer, Share and Pure

VERSE:               1 Timothy 5:22

    Do not lay hands on anyone hastily, nor share in other people's sins, keep yourself pure.

REFLECTION:

    This verse has three important suggestions for Christians.  First, the laying on of hands is something that should not be taken lightly. You cannot go around just laying hands on people, expecting God to move in their lives.  The laying on of hands needs to be done only when a person comes to you and asks for help, i.e. healing.  God also wants Christians to have the right mindset when laying hands, and this is where the next two components of this verse come in.

    Don't share in other people's sin.  For example, compromising your faith and going to a bar with people just to make them happy is like enabling them to sin.  You cannot profess to have true faith in God if you willingly participate in sinning with others.  Drinking just to make them happy is wrong.  Using foul language just because your friends do is wrong.  Stand firm on your faith, let God guide your heart, and then you will be able to follow the third key, keeping yourself pure.  The only way to do that is to flee from sin and keep your eyes on Jesus.

    If you can keep yourself pure and avoid sharing in other people's sins, God will give you the ability to lay hands on someone.  That is the perfect time for that person to need it, for God will have compelled

them to ask.

PRAYER:

    Pray for God to lead you not into temptation, so you can avoid other's sins.  Pray for discernment when you are asked to lay hands on someone.

In The Mire

VERSE:                                                            Jeremiah 38:6

So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the king’s son, which was in the court of the prison, and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire. So Jeremiah sank in the mire.

REFLECTION:

At church on Sunday our Pastor used this passage as well as those around it for his sermon. I found it interesting because this verse really struck me. Each of us from time to time are stuck and sinking in the mire of sin.

It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do there are times in your life that you might feel trapped. You might feel trapped in a dungeon that has no way out and no way to quench your thirst. All that is in there with you is a bunch of muck and mire. When you are at those times in your life you know that that mire is all your sin or even your problems. When you feel burdened with those problems of sin you feel there is no way out.

For Jeremiah there was no way out of that dungeon. They had to lower him down into that dungeon. In some texts it is referred to a cistern. The only way out for Jeremiah was for ropes to be lowered to bring him out of that cistern. When we are sitting in the mire of sin and there is no way out we only need to look up. God the Father lowered his Son Jesus Christ down to earth to die for our sins so we could be lifted up out of the mire. We need to drink of that Living Water that is Jesus and then we will be lifted out of the mire of sin.

Have you accepted Jesus as your Savior? Do you want to come out of the mire of sin? Then grab a hold of Jesus.

PRAYER:

Pray that God will help you out of the mire of sin. Pray for a way out of the problems you face. Pray for a heart for God.

The Plowing of The Wicked

VERSE:                                  Proverbs 21:4

A haughty look, a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked are sin.

REFLECTION:

I am very intrigued by this verse. If we have too much pride in ourselves, thinking that by our hand alone we accomplished the goal, then we have sinned. How many of you take pride in the work you do? This is okay. It is not acknowledging God's role that pride is a sin. If we accomplish something and take all of the credit instead of acknowledging who blessed us with the gift in the first place then we have sinned. But if we accomplish something and praise God for His wonderful works then it is okay to accept pride as long as it is pride for the Lord.

The whole of this verse really indicates to us that God doesn't want us walking around thinking we are better then the next person. All of us are sinners and all of us need a Savior. But if we walk around with pride, looking down on others as if they are worthless or less privileged then we have sinned. Plowing in this context means to basically plow them under with the spiritual pride. When you plow you till up the soil and over turn the dirt. God doesn't want us taking our faith and trying to turn over the soil or the dirt of the unbeliever's heart. By coming across to unbelievers that we are better then them we have sinned against God. We will also turn the unbelievers off to God. God created each one of us as equal heirs to His kingdom and regardless of a person's faith each of us are no better than the next person. God doesn't want us puffing our chests out and walking around in pride. Turning our noses up to unbelievers and trying to tell them what is wrong with them. Instead God wants us to humbly show others the truth of Jesus Christ. Share the gospel with them and then once they have given their life to Jesus watch Jesus work wonders in their life. I know that God changed many things about me after I gave my life to Him. I know He will do the same for you or the next person. Don't let the pride get in the way of sharing the gospel with others. Let Jesus guide you daily and avoid the pratfalls of pride.

PRAYER:

Pray for a humble spirit. Pray for others who are lost. Pray for Pride in Jesus but not pride in self.

Purity Loves Company

VERSE:                                          1 Timothy 5:22

Do not lay hands on anyone hastily, nor share in other people's sins, keep yourself pure.

REFLECTION:

This verse has three important suggestions for Christians.

First, the laying on of hands is something that should not be taken lightly. You cannot go around just laying hands on people, expecting God to move in their lives. The laying on of hands needs to be done only when a person comes to you and asks for help, i.e. healing. God also wants Christians to have the right mindset when laying hands, and this is where the next two components of this verse come in.

Don't share in other people's sin. For example, compromising your faith and going to a bar with people just to make them happy is like enabling them to sin. You cannot profess to have true faith in God if you willingly participate in sinning with others. Drinking just to make them happy is wrong. Using foul language just because your friends do is wrong. Stand firm on your faith, let God guide your heart, and then you will be able to follow the third key, keeping yourself pure. The only way to do that is to flee from sin and keep your eyes on Jesus.

If you can keep yourself pure and avoid sharing in other people's sins, God will give you the ability to lay hands on someone. That is the perfect time for that person to need it, for God will have compelled them to ask.
PRAYER:

Pray for God to lead you not into temptation, so you can avoid other's sins. Pray for discernment when you are asked to lay hands on someone. Pray for a pure heart so you can commit yourself to God's work.