Galleries

Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.  Titus 1:4

Paul starts thirteen of his letters with ‘grace and peace’.  It’s something I’ve been guilty of reading casually on my way to the ‘real message,’ thinking it was a lightweight greeting.  I was wrong.

Paul was reciting part of the original Aaronic blessing.  It came straight from God’s own heart.  It transcended the period of the Old Testament and entered the Church Age.  It transcended a blessing over the Jewish people to include all Gentiles who placed their faith in Christ.  Today, it transcends the circumstances of our lives to bring us what we need most —- the graciousness of our Father and an otherworldly peace that cannot be explained. 

Can you hear the words of this Aaronic blessing spoken over you?  Stop where you are right now, close your eyes, raise your hands, and open your heart to this deeply personal and heartwarming sentiment. 

 “May the Lord be gracious to you, lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.”

Oh, to be so blessed.  Don’t you know Titus benefitted from these words from Paul.  Titus needed to remember the kindness of God towards him as he prepared to deliver words of correction to his hometown people of Crete.  He needed to be in touch with the peace of God as he prepared to deal with contentious people who would not welcome the truth.  Externally, he would enter a spiritual war zone, but internally, he would center his thoughts on the kindness and peace God offers ~ expressed toward him through Christ and again, through Paul.

Are you feeling the effects of this application?  I am.  Never have we lived in more of a war zone.  People are unhinged and it doesn’t take much to set them off.  Is it possible for you and I to live in the fray with a spirit that is unruffled?  Titus and Paul would assure us that we can. 

I’m taking stock as I start my day.  How have I experienced the kindness of God?  In what specific ways might I ask God to express His kindness today? 

And how have I experienced an otherworldly peace when it couldn’t be explained against the backdrop of my crushing circumstances?   Where do I need to experience God’s peace today?  I can ask my kind and gracious Father for both. 

I close with this blessing over you.  Grace and peace be with you.

Lord, remind me that I don’t need to approach you in suits of armor.  I can expose my soft side.  Amen

To Titus, my true son in our common faith:  Titus 1:4

These are powerful words about Titus, earth shaking descriptors, from a spiritual giant such as Paul.  Paul was a Jew. Titus was a Gentile.  Yet Paul was Titus’ spiritual father.  And Titus was Paul’s true spiritual convert, a son whom he had discipled. 

Why did Paul need to start his letter to the Cretan churches this way?  Perhaps because Titus was the one who would deliver hard truth to them, and the only way they would take his words seriously would be to hear Titus’ spiritual credentials.  They were reminded that he was trustworthy and commissioned by one they respected.

The Gospel blurs racial lines of bigotry.  It did for Paul and Titus, Jew and Gentile, and it did for Ananias and Paul after Saul became a believer.  (Can you imagine how hard it was for Ananias to trust Paul, considering Paul’s history of murderous rages against believers?)  It also blurred the lines between Jews and Samaritans.  Jesus paved the way as he went off his normal route to meet a woman at a well in Samaria. 

And today, the Gospel unites the racially divided, those who would otherwise be enemies.  Blacks and whites.  Muslims and Jews.  Jews and Gentiles.  Those from the Middle East are welcomed by Western believers when Christ is at the center of their relationships.  Is there initial distrust?  Most likely.  There is a history, after all.  Perhaps this was why Ananias was given a vision by God that assured him that Paul could be trusted.  While we may or may not have visions about those with whom we have been ethnically divided, the Holy Spirit is at work to confirm that there is a bond in Christ. 

Oh, the power of the Gospel.  It can even overcome family biases.  Those who once were alienated are brought near through the cross.  Husbands and wives who were on their way to the divorce lawyer can be reconciled through the blood of the Lamb.  Parents and children who will no longer share a meal can once again embrace because of their shared loved for Christ.  A history of hurt can be just history. 

Who are my true brothers today?  My trust sisters in the faith?  Of whom am I still suspicious, a wall of offense that is grieving the Holy Spirit?  Who am I unwilling to pray for with the heart of Jesus?  Am I just as willing to pray for the salvation of an Isis-K member as I am my neighbor down the street?  It should be so. 

Titus and Paul.  Their origins and cultures were night and day.  Give me your heart for those who are not like me.  Amen

[The hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time] and which now at his appointed season he has brought to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior.  Titus 1:3

Whether I’m watching the news or overhearing a conversation, and I hear this ~ “Guess what was just brought to light?” ~ I take notice enough to stop what I’m doing.  I know that something that has been hidden has now been revealed.  Something unknown has become known.  Something concealed can no longer stay concealed.  What is it?  Human nature wants to know. 

The hope of eternal life, promised before time, had been ‘brought to light’ somehow.  Certainly, Paul knew that Jesus promised the hope of eternal life.  It was a historical, biblical truth.  Certainly, Paul knew that God had promised this dating back to the time He began revealing Himself to Abraham.  Yet, there was something about all this that caused him to say that ‘it’ had been brought to light.

Isn’t this our collective experience as well?  The hope of eternal life is just a fact, not extremely personal, until someone we love dies.  The need to know that death is not the end is urgent to our soul.  Eternal life takes on such importance.  We find ourselves thinking of heaven far more often.  We wonder what our loved one felt when they stepped over the threshold.  We wonder if they look as they did in their prime – only better.  We wonder what their reaction was when they saw Jesus.  Would we not say, “Eternal life, and everything it means, has been brought to light.”

Nothing of the kingdom, or of Jesus, becomes precious to us until it is life-saving.  Until then, it’s only interesting and heartwarming.  This is one reason to rejoice in our trials today.  Things of heaven can be ‘brought to light’ by the Spirit of God.  Our eyes can see nuances formerly unseen to our distracted souls.  Promises made long ago by a God who spoke them liberally jump off the page and we cling to them as lifelines.  Their relevance is ‘brought to light.’

What dark moment are you going through today that could offer you new spiritual eyesight?  What might be in the dark that God would allow you to see today because your great need opens the doorway to deeper truth?  May it be.

Let there be light, Lord. Amen

. . in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time.  Titus 1:2

My hope is a certainty.  I don’t just ‘hope that things will work out.’  I know they will.  The One who promises it is holy and incapable of lying.  He has all power to bring it about.

Is not this hope, planted in our hearts through the entrance of the Gospel, everything?  The darker things are here, the tighter we cling to hope. We can see the beauty of it with our spirit eyes, even now.

• Pandemics ~ There will be an end to unseen viruses and variants.
• Earthquakes ~ There will be an end to this shaking. 
• Fires ~ There will be an end to all consuming flames.
• Taliban ~ There will be a reckoning and a judgement for oppressors.
• Corruption ~ There will be accountability for evildoers who believe they are beyond the law.
• Conspiracies ~ There will be an end to falsehoods.  Truth will reign.
• Uncertainty ~ There will be an end to fear of the future.  The perfection we wake up to will last forever.

What part of the global news haunts you the most?  If in Christ, you live in the hope of eternal life.  Whatever that disturbing piece of news is, it’s temporary. 

When did Christ promise this hope?  Not when things began to deteriorate.  Not when He began to see human suffering.  He promised it before the beginning of time.  Before the Garden.  Before the Fall. Before He was unwanted by His creation.  Our Father, God, conceived of an eternity that He would share with loved ones.  He knew He wouldn’t hoard it for Himself.  He didn’t envision a table set for one.  There would be a banquet table reserved for those with whom He had a relationship. 

All things bright and beautiful are coming.  It is being prepared, still.  God spoke the promise long ago and it is just as much His passion today as it was the moment He first uttered the words.

Though the beauty will defy words, my spirit already senses the hope of perfection.  The earth is groaning and my soul is longing.  Amen

Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness.  Titus 1:1

Any of us who teach, mentor, or pastor could begin our resume exactly like Paul did.  Christine, a servant of God and a disciple of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness. 

Yes, it’s a mouthful but it sums up the mission of every teaching disciple.  Teaching a knowledge of the truth is not an end to itself.  It must culminate in furthering the faith of the listener.  The first is an intellectual endeavor.  The second is one of application, one where truth can be experienced and transformative. 

Truth must lead to faith.  If I know ‘in whom I have believed’, I have the choice to trust the One ‘in whom I have believed.’  I’ll never trust someone I don’t know, and I may not always choose to trust someone I do know.  

I’ve had many things rock my world in my 60+ years of life.  Many deaths, including the suicide of our son, financial hardship, losses, and betrayals.  My list may not look all that dis-similar to yours.  When each storm arrived, emotions were all over the place and the pain was disorienting.  The truth of what I’d been taught about God was in my heart, but the chaos and shock begged me to distrust it.  Faith was on the line.  The question in each trial was this ~ would I seek God so that my faith could be strengthened, or would I hold Him accountable for the pain and assassinate His character?  Faith led to life and godliness.  Distrust led me elsewhere to painful detours.  Sometimes it took a good long time for me to sort through it all.  But in the wrestling, knowledge of the truth was at the foundation of my decision to trust or to not trust Abba, Father.  Without solid teaching, there would have been nothing for faith to build upon. 

Paul’s letter to Titus about the state of the churches on Crete was not an easy one to write, nor was it easy for Titus to teach the contents.  Paul put the foundational pieces in place right at the opening.  Teach the truth so that faith of the people could be furthered.  Without that as the overarching mission, the rest of the letter would have been a waste of ink. 

This whole message is for children, for that is what we are.  Will I be a truth-seeker and will I trust You?  The stuff of spiritual childhood.  Amen

Titus was born into a well to do, educated family on the Grecian Island of Crete.  He grew up studying Hellenism, reading the poetry of the day, and learning about the many gods his people worshipped.  Cretans believed that all their deities were born on their island, each one starting out as a mere man but over time, becoming a god.  Zeus, the most famous, was worshipped as an immoral, lying entity, who seduced women through any means possible. His deviant nature was not a put-off but was celebrated and emulated. 

When Titus came to faith under Paul’s ministry, it was a miraculous, divine work of grace.  Think of it ~ He saw the glory of Jesus, loved Him, and gave his life to One who was holy instead of defiled, so opposite was our Lord to the gods who once held such allure.  Jesus didn’t begin as a man on an island.  Jesus was God, the one and only God, who became a man. What Titus once thought was divine was turned upside down as the Spirit of God illumined his mind and turned darkness to light.

Crete was not only the place of Titus’ birth, but it was also the place where Paul commissioned him to serve his native people as a bishop to Cretan churches.  He never moved anywhere else and died on the island of Crete at the age of 96.  He was faithful to love and serve the people who had so much to learn.  As we will see in this book, they still lived much of the time like pagans. 

The letter Paul wrote to Titus is understandable in its direct language.  Paul makes it clear that righteous living comes out of right doctrine.  Pagan behavior would only be transformed into righteous deeds of faith as theology was gently confronted and then corrected.  The people had a long way to go to think ‘right’.

Titus was commissioned to clean house and establish new shepherds who could protect these young churches from apostasy.  Not an easy task for anyone and certainly not a cinch for Titus who was called to lead people in the place he had always called home.  They were not an easy audience.  His was an upward climb and we will walk alongside him in the days ahead as he brings truth to churches in crisis. 

For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.  Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.  Romans 8:7-8

I once witnessed a live panel discussion in Minneapolis where the theologian, John Piper, was asked, “Is it possible for an unbeliever to do anything that pleases God?”  John thought a minute and started enumerating wonderful things that people can often do; people even outside of Christ.  Charitable acts of compassion and kindness, sacrifices a parent makes for his children, and generous philanthropic outreaches.  Many are given with an open heart, are not  self-serving, and are even costly to the person who gave them.

So, does God see any of them as good?  Is He moved by them?  Does He acknowledge that we were created in His image  and, therefore, we are capable of genuinely demonstrating love for others?  And finally, isn’t there really such a thing as a good person and would God let someone like this really go to hell?

There are two inherent problems in this kind of thinking.  1.) The only thing that matters to God is what we do for His glory, with Him at the center of our motivation.  2.) And, a life comprised of many stellar gestures towards humankind does not fix the sinful nature that person inherited from Adam at his birth.  The curse must be reversed.  His sins must be  forgiven at the cross. He must acknowledge God as his personal Lamb, the One who takes His sins and promises to give back undeserved righteousness.  What ushers in this event?  Repentance and an admission of sinfulness, not goodness.

The best of people still sin and fall short of the glory of God. Consider the nicest unbeliever you know.  Put his wonderful deeds for others aside for a moment.  Try to picture how he might handle the rest of God’s precepts.  Would the ways of the kingdom even appeal to him?  Would living by the Spirit make sense to him?  Would he find joy in submitting to what is, to him, upside down?  To live, I must die to self.  To lead, I must first be a servant.  To get back at my enemy, I must love him and pray for him.  This is why Paul says that those who live by the flesh can not submit to God’s law.  That person is repelled by what his sinful nature cannot understand.  The nicest person will still live by his flesh and will perish eternally because of it.

The cause for such blindness is revealed by Paul.  2 Corinthians 4:4  The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.   

 Give us all eyes to see what’s behind Satan’s clever arguments, the ones that make us see you as one not worthy of our trust.  Amen

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.  Romans 8:5

Many believe that a person is in one of three spiritual conditions; he is an unbeliever, he is a committed follower of Christ, or he is backslidden. I have always followed this line of thinking but after wrestling with Romans, perhaps there are only two categories; believers and unbelievers.  Those who live according to the flesh are unbelievers.  And, those who live according to the Spirit are believers. 

Could it be that simple?  We either follow Christ or we don’t.  The notion of God’s church being largely comprised of lukewarm, backslidden people could mean that we will all be surprised one day to witness ‘too whom’ Jesus says, “Depart from me.  I never knew you.”  It is worth asking the question ~ “Are we either followers of Jesus (with our minds set on the things of the Spirit) or are we hostile to Christ (having our minds set on the things of the flesh?) In just a few verses past today’s scripture, Paul will say that those who have their minds set on the flesh are hostile to God. He doesn’t call them backslidden.

Please don’t misunderstand me. I am not saying that if I sin today, I am not God’s child.  I am going to sin – and I have already sinned even though it’s yet early in the day.  The question I must ask myself is this ~ “Did I sin with no regard whatsoever to the heart of God?  Did I sin without a conscience?  Will future sins follow today for which I will feel no tinge of remorse?”  The reason King David was called a ‘man after God’s own heart’ was not that he never sinned. It was because, when he did, his heart was pierced with remorse.

If I am a disciple, I will be ever conscious of the One I embraced as LORD.  If He never crosses my mind, then how, by definition, can I say that I gave my life to Christ?

God, please make things clear. If your child sins, He will think of you and be miserable. If someone else sins and does not think of you at all, is he simply lost? Bring me understanding. Teach me. I am your child. Amen

‘Build the bridge of friendship strong enough to support the truth.’

Jesus said, “The world will know you are my disciples if you have love one for another.” When unbelievers see us loving each other when it’s costly, when there is little appreciation, when the journey is long and complicated, they sit up and take notice. We become aware of what it meant when Jesus spoke of being ‘salt’ and ‘light’. It’s more than saying the right words. While that’s important, our speech has to lay against the backdrop of love.

Those who watch us love others like Jesus have to admit that this kind of love is unnatural. Who loves like that? They reason, most likely, that God may be alive and well after all. They simply can not explain the consistency and grace as someone being a really nice person. Especially if they see example after example and it’s coming from within a community of believers. And if they are the ones receiving our supernatural love and care, what an open door to lead them to the perfect love of Jesus! Love constrains. It is not God’s power and might that draw sinners, it’s His love. God could easily force people to worship Him, and one day He will, but for now ~ it is His love that reaches and draws us close. If we prioritize the spiritual skills we intend to strengthen this year, learning to love others well would yield the highest return for our labor. With our acts of love, we build a bridge that will support the truth. When it comes to loving unbelievers, they are never more open than when they are broken. The window of opportunity may be short. Which of the twelve skills might be the right one for today? Personalize. Apply. And always pray first.

* Would you like a PDF of this entire series? Perhaps you’d like to have it for a printout – to share with others. Here is a link.

VALIDATE!  DON’T HUMOR!

Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken in right circumstances.  Like an earring of gold and an ornament of fine gold is a wise reprover to a listening ear.  Proverbs 25:11-12

Jesus was a truth teller and Jesus didn’t sugar coat it.  He told it the way it needed to be told.  But He was Truth and He was also Grace so He knew perfectly how to marry the two.  I can call myself a lover of truth but, then in situations where my gift of mercy goes askew, I sometimes tone the truth down so that it isn’t more painful than it has to be.  In some cases, like in the following story with my mother, I could have easily invalidated what was true.

My mother had been battling cancer for more than a year.  She was painfully thin.  Nonetheless, on a weekend when our family was able to visit, she insisted on making the effort to go to church with us.  My mother, not a complainer about anything and prone to suffer silently to a fault, surprised me when she blurted out in frustration.  She had put on her favorite dress, looked at herself in the mirror and then said to me, “Look at me!  I’m a bag of bones in this dress.”  I wanted so much to protest.  “No, no, Mom.  You look beautiful in the dress.”  I caught myself before answering poorly.  I said, “I’m sorry you don’t look like you want to look in the dress.  These changes have to be horribly painful and I’m so sorry.”  

A believer in the midst of a very painful journey usually has a clear vision of this world.  What was once murky gray has become black and white.  What is frivolous doesn’t appeal.  What is most important becomes most precious.  And in the process of seeing life more clearly than most everyone else, they make truthful statements about life, Christianity, people, and religion that are usually true.  Their statements sound blunt and stark. Our first reaction is to protest, to soften it, thinking we are lessening the pain of what they’re vocalizing.  However, in protesting, we are not helping.  We are making it worse by accentuating their feelings of isolation.  Even if the truth was said in anger, there are ways we can validate them without matching their angst.  Not without prayerful wisdom though.  Jesus will give us words that smooth their ragged edges with grace.

God values truth and I should value truth and affirm it when it is spoken.  At times it will make me squirm.  It will challenge the common everyday deception that stares me in the face that I don’t see yet because I haven’t walked in their shoes.  Their statements will most often depict the hopelessness of this world, the futility of living life poorly, and can sound like the ‘last word’ of the day.  But after listening, after offering empathy first before words, after giving a creative gift, and laying a foundation of true friendship, there will be a time for me to frame their truthful words with the ‘hope that lies before us.’

Lord, I don’t want to fill the air with my words.  I want apples of gold to come forth – truth with grace, truth with mercy.  Amen