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Living in Light of God's Will

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God’s Purpose for Us Titus 2:11-15 “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age.”                   We often struggle to understand and know God’s will. It is estimated that the average adult makes 33,000 to 35,000 decisions every day regarding what to do, what we will say, where we will go, and the list goes on. Often our life changes on the decisions we make that at the time seem unimportant. Yet these decisions set in motion a chain of events that radically shift the direction of our lives.  While we carefully consider a few of the significant decisions we make, most decisions are just a reaction rather than a carefully thought-out response.  This confronts us with the question, how do we live in light of God’s will when we do not know what decisions will change our lives and what will be irrelevant?                   In this passage, Paul gives
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The Basis for Leadership

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The Qualities of a Leader Titus 1:5-9 “For this reason I left you in Crete, that you might set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you.”                   What do we look for today in our leaders? We look for leaders who possess specific qualifications.  These qualifications are usually centered upon certain skill sets they have to get things accomplished, run the organization successfully, and organize programs.  We judge our leaders by their performance. Are they successful in growing the church?  The larger the church, the more we admire them.  We want leaders who are dynamic speakers and can hold our attention with their eloquence and preach positive messages that make us feel good.                    As Paul writes to Titus, Paul sets forth a different standard. Titus had been sent to Crete to help the newly established churches gain organizational and spiritual footing. For a church to grow, it needed to have the correct type of leadership. Howeve
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The Basis of Our Hoops

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The Basis of Our Hope Titus 1:1-4 “In the hope of eternal life, which   God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago, but at the proper time manifested, even His words, in the proclamation with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior.”                   In his introduction, Paul reminds us of several important truths that serve to determine our identity and destiny and provide the foundation for our hope in Christ.  Paul begins by describing himself as a bondservant of God.  Throughout his letters, the designation of a bond-servant of God was Paul’s most common description of himself.  The word “bond-servant” refers to one who was a slave who was owned by someone else and whose entire livelihood and purpose was determined by their master.  For Paul, being a follower of Christ meant that we belonged to God, for “we are bought with a price; therefore, glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 7:20).  For Paul, everything we have in life, including our physical
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The Truthfulness and Sufficiency of the Bible

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The Inspiration and Sufficiency of Scripture. 2 Timothy3:16-17 “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”                   How do we determine what is true in a world of confusion and spiritual ambiguity?  Today, there are many conflicting beliefs, not just about public policy but about truth itself.  When it comes to morality and ethics, from abortion to sexuality to social issues, there are many different views held by people. As a result, we are in the midst of a civil war.  It is not a war of bullets and weapons but a conflict of our understanding of right and wrong and the basis by which we determine what is morally true. The differences in our country go far beyond political ideology but go to the very foundation of our views of morality.  In a world of conflicting opinions, how do we know what is right and wrong?                 
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Following the Right Compass

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Following the Right Compass 2 Timothy 3:1-12. “Now you followed my teaching conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance.”                   We live in confusing times when it seems there are many views regarding moral truth.  We live in a world where Alice’s  (i.e., Alice in Wonderland) dream has become a reality. Alice describes her world in the story: “If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense.  Nothing would be what it is because everything would be what it isn’t.  And contrary-wise, what it is wouldn’t be, and what it wouldn’t be, it would.”  We live in a world where what used to be wrong has become right, and what formerly was right is not condemned as wrong.  How do we determine direction and perspective in a confused world?                   In verses 1-5, Paul describes the world that we are living in.  It is a world where people not only embrace sin but “hold to a form of godliness although they have denied its power.”  In other words, they maintain a
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Reading Scripture Rightly

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Reading Scripture Rightly 2 Timothy 1:14-19 “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.”                   Just as important as reading the Bible is interpreting and reading it correctly. From the original words penned by the authors under the inspiration of God to our modern translations, there are very few errors or distortions, so when we read our English Bible, we can have absolute confidence that it remains the word of God.  Most error comes in not from the process of transmitting the text from the hand of Paul to our hands today.  Where the gregarious errors enter is in our handling and reading of the Bible, when we change the meaning of the words to fit our own bias and to justify our actions and opinions.  In this passage, Paul reminds Timothy that his most important task as a pastor and communicator of the Scripture is correctly communicating the word of truth.  To illustrate his point, P
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The Gospel and Suffering

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Advancing the Gospel even in Suffering 2 Timothy 2:1-13 “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel, for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal; but the word of God is not imprisoned.”                   As Paul was writing his final letter to Timothy, he was writing when the church faced severe persecution and opposition. Nero had already descended into madness and brutality.  He would become known for his cruelty and his persecution of Christians, whom he would use as human torches in his gardens to provide light for his parties.  It was a time when Christians would face intense persecution throughout the Roman Empire.  Paul himself likely became a victim of Nero’s persecution and hatred of Christians.                      In light of the intensity of the persecution facing Christians, Paul writes to Timothy to encourage him to remain faithful to the task regardless of the opposition he will face. To encourage Timothy, h
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