Daily Reading March 14 2010 from Titus 1 NIV

Day 63

Titus 1:1-16 NIV
1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God's elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness–2 a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, 3 and at his appointed season he brought his word to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior, 4 To Titus, my true son in our common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. 5 The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.6 An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient.7 Since an overseer is entrusted with God's work, he must be blameless–not overbearing, not quick‑tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain.8 Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self‑controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. 9 He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. 10 For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group.11 They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach–and that for the sake of dishonest gain.12 Even one of their own prophets has said, “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.”13 This testimony is true. Therefore, rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith14 and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of those who reject the truth.15 To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. 16 They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.

Actions speak louder than words -
Today we are beginning the Epistle of Titus. Paul again is writing to one of his proteges and this time it is Titus. Just as Paul sent Timothy to the Ephesians Titus has been sent to Crete to organize the church and to appoint its leaders from city to city. You will notice here that Paul uses the same language in reference to Titus as he did Timothy, "my true son in our common faith". Paul was obviously close to Titus and had entrusted him to go and help complete the work he had begun. Paul warns Titus that false teachers are present in Crete and have been successful in leading entire homes astray with their false teachings. Paul says they are "liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons" and says to rebuke them so they will come to a more sound faith and reject the "Jewish myths." He goes on to describe impure people "their minds and consciences are corrupted. They claim to know God, but by their actions deny Him. They are detestable and unfit for doing anything good." As you can see Paul is being the usual politically correct character we have grown accustomed to in his writings. By this time in our reading we have come to know that this Apostle pulls no punches in speaking his mind. There is so much to be learned from these writings as they are direct letters to the churches and the individuals who have been given the task of further establishment of individuals churches. Paul goes over what to look for in leadership for these fledgling churches that he has entrusted to the care of Titus. We would do well to read these lists of attributes and strive to live a life comparable to the standard Paul is invoking.

Things like:

* being blameless
* not quick-tempered
* not given to drunkeness
* not violent
* not out for dishonest gain
* hospitable
* lovers of good
* self-controlled
* holy and disciplined
* sound in doctrine

This is quite a list and no doubt it would be a daunting task to live up to any such list. While I don't believe in developing lists for individuals to live by I do believe that God can help us to grow in Him as we live in obedience. As we seek His will and come to know His voice we begin to live out His will for our lives. When we hear and know His voice we then begin to please Him because we bear the fruit of obedience. Knowing His voice helps us to become increasingly sensitive to the small nudges of the Holy Spirit. This Spirit within us helps us to know what is acceptable to God and convicts us when we stray from the plan. Notice I used the word convicts and not condemns. Remember, it is satan that accuses and wants to condemn us. We often participate with him in these accusations by not forgiving ourselves. The Spirit of God quietly convicts us and when we act in obedience we are quick to repent and turn to God. Paul wasn't telling Titus to look for perfect individuals just those who knew God and were seeking to be more like Christ. Those concerned about their character who were unhappy when they hurt the name of Jesus with their disobedience. We need more individuals like this in our churches and society today. Jesus made a way for us to be righteous before the Father and a way for us to overcome the flesh! Are you striving for holiness in your daily life? Not condemning yourself when you miss Him but repenting and submitting your all to His care? If so God is pleased with the life you have offered unto Him. After all our life is our reasonable sacrifice! Just as Paul said that some claim to know God but their actions tell a different story I want people to know that I know God through my actions. I want to bear fruit to where there is no question as to whom I serve.

Blessings,

Pastor Larry

Daily Reading February 5 2010 from Colossians 1:1-14 NIV

Day 26

Today we begin the book of Colossians another letter from the Apostle Paul. As always the Apostle begins his letter with an introductory blessing and then begins to reprove, rebuke, and exhort. I hope you are enjoying reading these daily posts. The Bible says to study and show ourselves approved. God is please when we read and understand His Word and we are stronger in our walk of faith. It is a great treat to me to learn more and more about the character of our heavenly Father.

Colossians 1:1-14 NIV
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2 To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colosse: Grace and peace to you from God our Father. 3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints–5 the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel6 that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth.7 You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, 8 and who also told us of your love in the Spirit. 9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.10 And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

A Gospel that Bears Fruit:
Paul begins this letter with a great compliment of the faithfulness of these believers. He says that he has heard of their faith in Christ and love that brings hope. Paul then continues with "all over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since that day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth." Obviously the message of hope was growing and thriving among the churches and Paul was hearing about the fruit of the gospel. The gospel always has an affect when preached in love and truth. We are told to speak the truth in love and apparently that is what was happening in these days. There was more to the Apostle's success than just power and miraculous works. While I fervently believe in the gifts of the Spirit and enjoy operating in them I have found that the fruit that remains is that of love. The fruit of the Spirit needs to be evident in a believers life.

Galatians 5:22-25 NIV
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,23 gentleness and self‑control. Against such things there is no law.24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

So not only should the gospel bear fruit but also those who have heard and received the gospel should bear the fruit of the Spirit. These are the things that set believers and non-believers apart. The bible proclaims that we are a peculiar people, foreigners and aliens. In other words we are different because we have receive the grace of God and His love has been shed abroad in our hearts. Paul says that these believers not only heard of God's grace but they understood it in all its truth. It is nearly impossible for us to truly understand the depth and magnitude of God's grace and it is often even more difficult to extend that love and grace to others. Apparently these people were truly walking in love and because of these fruit bearing believers the gospel was changing their world. This poses a challenging question to us today's believer are we seeing the fruit of the gospel we are preaching? If not we must ask has the gospel message lost its power? Or have we lost our ability to comprehend and extend the grace of God? Are we walking in love, joy, peace, etc... Do we show enough of the love and peace of God that others long to know Him also? We need power and certainly we should ask for gifts but God says the greatest of all the gifts is that of love. Since God hasn't changed then surely the message hasn't changed. We have a promise that if we bear fruit our gospel message will also bear fruit. It is love that drives us to talk to God in prayer about them rather than our neighbors in gossip. It is love that compels us to help others who need us rather than point them to some other organization that offers them help. It is love that challenges us to live godly lives and show the hope to others that are not just listening to our talk but also watching our walk.

Paul ends this section with we are praying that "you may live a life worthy of the Lord and my please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God. Being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience". Paul here spells out the benefits and necessity of bearing fruit and knowing God. The power comes when we walk faithfully and bear fruit. Are you bearing fruit? Do you exhibit the fruit of the Spirit in daily life. It's a challenging word that is making me take inventory of myself.

Blessings,

Pastor Larry