above reproach

Leading and Teaching Others (Titus 1-3)

2:32 AM


In Titus 1, Paul gives qualities of male elders in the church. An elder must be “ above reproach”. This is a high standard but what Paul is emphasizing is that leaders must set an example to others of Christ-like morals and behaviours. He specifies some of these qualities: “the husband of one wife, not arrogant or quick-tempered, not a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. “ A leader can not be effective if he doesn’t lead by example. A leader or teacher doesn’t have to be perfect or sinless but must show subjection to God’s Word.  “He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.” (1: 9)
As women, we may also have positions of leadership. We may teach a Sunday school class or Bible Study. We may disciple other women individually or in small groups. Even in our own homes, we teach and influence our family by example. As we grow in our knowledge of God’s Word and apply it to our relationships with others, we too can have an important influence in the lives of others. 

In Titus 2, older women are specifically mentioned and their role in teaching other women is an important one indeed. “Older women likewise are to be reverent in behaviour, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. (2:3-5). Imagine how contradictory it would be to teach that you should love others and then nag, berate and gossip about your husband. Your home should be a haven, the place where your spouse, children and grandchildren experience the love of God. Oh, how I love to hear men speak kindly and reverently about their wives. It helps me to be more mindful of how I talk about my husband in the presence of others. 

In Titus 3, Paul reminds us that it is the influence of God and His Spirit that helps us to turn away from our sinful, worldly behaviours. We are encouraged to extend Christ-like love and submission in all facets of our life. Every person we encounter is a potential soul to be won for Christ. Christ-like love should be shown to all people and not just the ones who are nice and helpful to us. 
“Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarrelling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.” (Titus 3:1-2)

Titus is just a few chapters but these chapters are packed with powerful application and reminders that we are God’s ambassadors in this world. Every role we have is important whether it be an important leadership position in an organization or the smaller and more intimate roles of mother, daughter, wife, co-worker, citizen, or friend. In every role, we represent Christ. May we endeavour to represent Him well!

Mercy

12:00 AM



MERCY


Welcome to Scripture Saturday!

Today we are memorizing Titus 3:5…

…He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit…

Here is the amplified version…

…He saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we have done, but because of His own compassion and mercy, by the cleansing of the new birth (spiritual transformation, regeneration) and renewing by the Holy Spirit…

Here is the definition of Mercy:  compassionate or kindly forbearance shown toward an offender, an enemy, or other person in one’s power; compassion, pity, charitableness. 

Paul says in the first part of this verse, “He saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we have done, but because of His own compassion and mercy…” - God saves us not by our works - not by human effort - not by any righteous thing that we have done. He does not give us eternal life based on what we do - there isn’t anything we could ever DO  to save our soul. The way God saves people is by His mercy. Salvation from His view IS mercy. He looks at those whom He can save through the eyes of mercy. He does not take into account who or what we are. He gives mercy regardless of how good or bad we may be. Isn’t that amazing!

And the second part of this verse “…by the cleansing of the new birth (spiritual transformation, regeneration) and renewing by the Holy Spirit.” At the time of our salvation we become something that we were not before. For a person to become a Christian, he needs a second birth-a rebirth. Spiritual birth, not works of righteousness, gives eternal life. “God imparts divine life into our souls at salvation.” A brand new person in the eyes of God and His Son!

“There is no justification for God saving our souls other than His mercy toward the guilty. Acceptance of mercy requires humility on our part. Becoming a Christian this way strikes at the very heart of human pride. Salvation requires spiritual birth by God’s grace and mercy.”

Here is a link to John Piper’s message on this verse…I pray you will be blessed by it.

http://www.desiringgod.org/messages/through-the-washing-of-regeneration

Thank you Father. I am so grateful that You reached down, in your Mercy, with your depthless Love and unending Compassion, and saved my soul. I am a new person, reconciled, and righteous in Your Son!


Have a blessed and precious day everyone!

 ___________________________________
I'd like to personally invite you to join me and a wonderful, eclectic group of women from all over the world on a Facebook site we call, Women in the Word . We are currently traveling through the entire New Testament - one chapter a day! It has been such an incredibly journey which we want to share with you! 
So, if you've ever wanted to know more of what God's Word has to say about everything, and meet and make new friends from all over the world, come join us by clicking on this link . 
There will always be someone there to welcome you! Oh! And please feel free to invite others!

gentleness

Partners in The Transformation Business {Titus 3}

9:00 PM

Have you watched the shows on HGTV where couples take a homes that needs major work done to them and transform them into showplaces any of us would love? I’m a sucker for those before and after photos. I’d love to be able to transform something that no one would want, into something desirable to all! I thought of this while reading this chapter and realized once more that, that is EXACTLY what God did for each of us who walk with Him:

For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, despicable, hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. This Spirit he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:3-7

I grew up a “people pleaser”, who was always worried about what others might think, and never felt I quite measured up to others expectations!  That is, until I realized that God had already settled this issue of acceptance long ago through His Son: “Jesus … made us acceptable to God” (Titus 3:7 CEV). What Jesus did on the cross made each of us completely acceptable to God — no matter if we're a “fixer-upper” or not; each of us have been made precious in His sight, for "God made Him [Jesus] who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God."
 (That’s a treasure to hold onto and share for sure!!)

But this passage begins with “For we ourselves were once...” which means there’s a reason why Paul decided to remind us of this truth. We’ll need to back up to the beginning of Titus 3, “Remind the believers to submit to the government and its officers. They should be obedient, always ready to do what is good. They must not slander anyone and must avoid quarreling. Instead, they should be gentle and show true humility to everyone.” Titus 3:1-2

Wow! It sure seems like people could use this reminder today, don’t you think? Which is why I believe gentleness and humility were a great witness to unbelievers then and still are today. People are watching us all the time to see if we’re any different then they are.

If we claim to follow Jesus, we’re not permitted to speak evil of anyone. Any.one! Nor are we allowed to be quarrelsome, but instead we need to be gentle, and demonstrate true humility to everyone, even those we strongly disagree with! Those of different,
  • Political views
  • Faiths
  • Skin color
  • Ethnic backgrounds, etc.

I’ve come to realize over the years that we cannot win our enemies to Christ, therefore we’ve GOT TO TURN them into friends! If they can find anything to hold against us, that might just keep them from coming to Jesus!
Paul knew most people are going to look to us and our lives to see if the Bible is credible. Are we genuine? Are we gentle, loving and compassionate? If they like what they see, they just might listen to what we say.

My husband and I volunteer with World Relief, which is a Christian organization that helps resettle refugees from war-torn countries here in the United States. The family we are currently working with is originally from Syria. They arrived in February of this year in wheelchairs needing medical care. They have been through so much and continue to struggle everyday. I work mostly with the wife/mother. She seems to practice and follow her Muslim faith faithfully and can speak English only a tiny bit better than I speak Arabic, which is none at all, yet we’ve grown to love one another like sisters!

I’ve come to realize there is a common language we both share, that I’m not sure what to call. We speak from the heart and understand completely; both being women, wives, mothers and grandmothers. I believe because language is a barrier our other senses are heightened, especially observation. I know as much about the Muslim faith as she knows about my faith in Jesus, yet they are attending our Sunday School class to find out more. We are actually studying the Book of Genesis; writing our own lessons and then having them translated into Arabic, so that they can follow along. I’m certain people in both faiths would tell us we’re crazy for doing so, but so far it’s working and I pray one day she and I will truly be sisters in Christ. Something, I don’t believe would have ever happened if I hadn’t started loving her first. 
If you would pray for her and her family, I promise I’ll keep you posted.

Thanks!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hi Everyone!
I never know where the Lord will take me when I sit down to write! I had not planned to share about our family we are working with through World Relief this week, but if you'd like to hear more, I'd like to personally invite you to join me and a wonderful, eclectic group of women from all over the world on a Facebook site we call, Women in the Word . We are currently traveling through the entire New Testament - one chapter a day! It has been such an incredibly journey which we want to share with you! 
So, if you've ever wanted to know more of what God's Word has to say about everything, and meet and make new friends from all over the world, come join us by clicking on this link . 
There will always be someone there to welcome you! Oh! And please feel free to invite others!
God bless you,
sue 

Faithfulness

Leading With The Truth {Titus 1}

12:00 AM

  



Leading With The Truth {Titus 1}

Titus was a redeemed Gentile and beloved companion of Paul who referred to him as, “my true child in a common faith”, (v. 4) and “my partner and fellow worker.” (2 Cor. 8:23) He traveled with Paul to Corinth, Antioch, Jerusalem, and the island of Crete, where Titus remained to begin the task entrusted to him. The church at Crete was struggling, so Paul wanted Titus to appoint elders as overseers before eventually rejoining him in Nicopolis. Not an easy job since the church was being heavily influenced by the immorality of the Cretan culture. The men Titus chose were to be spiritual and above reproach. They would have to stand strong against the evil and ungodly influences which surrounded them, thereby leading others with the truth of God’s Word.

Paul begins by describing the character of those chosen. They were not to be, “self-willed, not quick tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of sordid gain, but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, just, devout, self controlled” (vs.7-8) I’m sure that narrowed the list of potential men down quite a bit. For even the strongest of Christians, if not on guard, can find themselves falling prey to the temptation of worldly living. Much like today, the believers at Crete lived in a society which was trying to rid itself of God. The church was being corrupted by false doctrine and the depravity of the day. God called the believers in Crete to stand strong in the truth of His Word. A calling He also gives to us. He wants us to lead godly lives, allowing Christ to work in and and through us, drawing others to Him.

How do we do this? By “holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able to both exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.” To hold fast literally means to hold your position, or to hold tightly onto something. We are to hold on tightly to God and His Word. For His strength is unshakable and His Word is true. When we know what God says and hold it in our hearts, we won't be led astray by false teachers, wrong doctrines, and those “who turn away from the truth” (v. 14). 





The truth of God’s Word is also a protection against “Christians” who, “profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him” (v. 16) As followers of Jesus we are to lead lives set apart from the world and which reflect His character. Being diligent to, “present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” (2 Tim. 2:15) Sadly many who profess to love God instead lead lives of compromise, trying to balance one foot in the world and one foot in the Word. Busy trying to please both. But as Matthew 6:24 tells us, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and hate the other.” When believers don’t practice what they preach, the credibility of their testimony is ruined. And those who live in complete disobedience to God become, “detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.” (v. 16) The world is watching. Is it clear to all who see you who it is you serve? Are your actions speaking louder than your words?