Past Devotions

I was reading a Spurgeon daily devotional for January 14. One sentence stopped me in my tracks. “The life of a believer is a series of miracles wrought by ‘the Mighty God.’”

We love miracles, all of us do. Nothing better than to hear about a miracle. Maybe it’s a tumor that was there and after prayer suddenly isn’t. Or perhaps it’s an accident that should have happened while we were driving to work but somehow didn’t (that’s my most recent miracle!). Miracles do come in all shapes and sizes and to many different people.

But when I read Spurgeon’s comment that the life of a believer is a series of miracles, it truly made me stop and think. I came from a family whereby all indications I should be in therapy today! But God called me, me! He gave me an invitation to become His child. Then He provided the grace I needed to respond positively to that invitation. He did away with the old man inside me that had a dark, corrupted heart and made a new creation in me. He turned my hard heart into one that was tender before Him.

If that was not enough, He sent His Spirit to dwell in me, to lead, convict, guide, teach, enable me to become more like His Son, Jesus, my Savior. He speaks to me – God speaks to me! He speaks of His love for me – for me!

He has provided a miracle healing for a child of mine; He has kept a marriage going for almost 52 years; He has opened doors I needed to walk through and closed others.

He has promised me an inheritance kept for me in heaven. He’s promised rewards and crowns and the wonder of an eternity spent in His presence.

This is not limited to “me” – every believer can write a story like this of the miracles that have flowed into their lives from the Mighty God. What’s your story?

Titus 3:1-2: “Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.”

Slander no one. Be peaceable. Be considerate. Show true humility toward all men. When we disagree or oppose someone or something our society today is big into slander (vilifying, maligning, reviling or speaking evil of), however, men and women of God are to display a totally different approach.

Our approach is to be first peaceable and considerate. Anger gets us nowhere in advancing the Kingdom. James reminds us to “let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath [anger]; for the wrath [anger] of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” [1:19-20 NKJV]

We are also to show true humility toward all. That word in the original language comes from a root word (praus) that is sometimes translated as meek or mild. It is a description that Jesus applied to Himself. “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek (praus) and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”  [Matt 11:29 KJV]

Meekness has nothing to do with a lack of power. It is not synonymous with weak. We need but look at our LORD and Savior, Christ Jesus, in the Book of Revelation to know that when Jesus said that all authority and power in heaven and earth had been given to Him, He was speaking the truth. But in this age of God’s grace and mercy, our LORD chose to deal with mankind by speaking and displaying the truth in humility and meekness. He expects us to model the same.

Father, may we always model the meekness of Christ in this life. Amen.

I am enjoying these lessons Paul gave Titus—lessons about teaching others, instructions for our own example to others, learning to say “no” to ungodliness and worldly passions.  I was going to go on to something else but decided to stay with Titus for just a little longer.

Titus 3:1-2: “Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.”

Boy, Paul said a mouthful with that reminder.  We could spend weeks on that sentence alone. First, just the word “remind.” It means to remind quietly, and to bring back into remembrance. To remember something, means we must have already heard it. This was not new instruction, it was something that had probably already been taught but the people had forgotten.

Titus was to remind them to: 1) be subject to rulers and authorities; 2) be obedient; 3) be ready, prepared, to do good; 4) slander no one; 5) be peaceable and considerate; and 6) show true humility to all people.

As I read that verse this morning the one reminder that was most noticeable to me was number 4, “slander no one.” The word for “slander” is blasphemeo (blas-fay-meh’-o) in the Greek. It is obviously the word from which we get our word, blaspheme. It means to vilify or malign; specially, to speak impiously.  According to Strong’s Concordance it has been translated as blaspheme, defame, rail on, revile, speak evil of.

That word practically defines the attitude of our society. It isn’t enough to disagree, or even to oppose, we must slander, defame, revile and speak evil of in order to get our point across. It doesn’t seem to matter in what arena that plays out. It is, however, not to be the way of the men and women of God. Paul had a different approach for us – tomorrow.

Titus 2:11-12:  “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions ….”

What is so hard about that little word “no?” I remember doing a lesson decades ago from a program called “Stephen’s Ministries” that we were incorporating in the church. It was a lesson on simply saying “no.” Not adding excuses or rationalizations or anything else, just using that little word “no.”

Part of the lesson incorporated role-playing. One person was to be a bad driver asking another to use their car. The second person was simply to decline the request. We picked a tiny woman to ask, and a big guy to say “no.” Before the role playing was done, he not only didn’t say “no” to loaning his car, he was practically begging her to take it!

Simply saying “no” is not so simple. Especially when we are saying “no” to ungodliness and worldly passions. We talked about our flesh on Sunday at church, that awful sin nature with which each of us was born. We have become new creations in Christ; Scripture reminds us that the old man of sin that dwells in each of us is dead. The problem is that the old man of sin doesn’t realize he’s dead. He keeps making noise and urging us toward ungodliness and inflaming our worldly passions.

We must learn to say “no” to our sin nature. We must learn to listen instead to the Spirit of God within us. Maybe we should practice saying “no,” do a little role-playing on our own and get used to hearing that simple word.  We certainly don’t want to give away the strides we have made in being conformed to the image of God’s Dear Son, Jesus.

I love to encourage. I love to do that through teaching. I believe those are my main motivational gifts from God. Whether writing a devotion, planning a Bible Study or developing a message series, it will always revolve around encouragement. I pray that encouragement is not just pumping people up or giving someone false hope. I pray that it is based soundly in the Word of God, knowing full well that encouragement often requires discipline, difficult changes and high expectations. Encouragement through sound teaching should enable us to grow and be better.

When Paul left Titus on the Isle of Crete, he left him with a difficult task and with words of instruction for various groups in the church.  But he also left Titus with personal instructions for his own ministry. “In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.” [Titus 2:7-8]

Read that instruction again. Two things stood out for me.  The first is that Titus is to teach, and that teaching is to be with integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that is without error.  Paul knew that people would observe the character of the teacher as well as the soundness of the lesson being taught.  He urged Titus to do or say nothing for which others could find fault.

But Paul understood another thing … that what Titus did reflected on all. Do these things Paul urged so that those who oppose you “have nothing bad to say about us.”

The Church is the body of Christ. What one member does, what one teacher does, reflects on all of us. We must be so careful that we truly reflect Christ with integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech. People watch, let’s not arm the opposition.

“Everyone in life has a purpose, even if it’s to serve as a bad example” ― Carroll Bryant

Paul sent a letter to Titus; a young disciple Paul called his true son.  He had left Titus on the island of Crete so that Titus could finish the work, straighten out what was wrong, and appoint elders in each town to oversee the church.  Paul then lists different groups in the church, elders, young men, older women, etc., and gives instructions for each group.

One group Paul identified was young men and instructed Titus to encourage them to be self-controlled. Then he says, “In everything set them an example by doing what is good.” [Titus 2:7]

Set an example by doing what is good. There are examples all around us, some are good, and some are not. It’s a given that people will watch us to see what we do, to see if our actions match our words. If we talk about loving others, do we do so? If we talk about giving, are we stingy or generous? If we encourage others to sacrifice, are we also willing to follow that same path?

Perhaps no one watches us more than our children and grandchildren. They will learn more from our example than our instructions. Neither Bob nor I had very good examples to follow. We tried to change that for our children. It wasn’t easy to go from homes of severe dysfunction to creating homes of love and encouragement. Sometimes we succeeded, sometimes we failed. I pray our children followed our good examples and learned from our bad ones.

My 4 ½ month temporary assignment was completed yesterday.  I probably won’t truly appreciate that fact until Monday morning when I don’t have to wake up at 4:30 AM and be ready to leave for work by 6. It will be delightful to miss the Monday morning commute and even more so to miss the Monday evening one!  I will miss the people with which I worked, however, I enjoyed those relationships.

I think it will be weeks, however, before my body and mind recover from their tiredness. These last weeks have been hard on the body, but even more so, my mind has grown tired. It’s been difficult to write, and to prepare sermons. My mind doesn’t want to focus. It wants to zone out. Every so often I will find myself just staring blankly.

“I am too old to do a 40-hour work week in addition to pastoring, writing, and everything else I do.” I said that same statement at this time last year when I completed the first 4 ½ month temporary assignment. I guess I didn’t learn that lesson very well then because I did the same thing this year and got the same result. Maybe this time I’ve learned my lesson?

Learning lessons never comes easy. I often repeat the same mistake a couple times (always with the same result). As a preacher I’ve used the Israelites and their Exodus from Egypt as object lessons. God proved Himself strong in their behalf repeatedly, and they never learned. I could just as easily have used my own life. I’m not all that different from them!

Paul reminded the Corinthians that Israel’s problems in the wilderness “happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us.”  [1 Cor 10:11]

Maybe I’ll go back this week and re-read the Book of Exodus. Hopefully, I’ve learned my lesson better this time.  😊

Living hope.  There are some words that just say something in their simplicity. They don’t need a detailed explanation; you just know the minute you hear them how important they are.

Living hope are two words that speak volumes.  You find these words in the opening thoughts of Peter’s first letter.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade-kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” [1 Peter 1:3-5]

Our hope is alive because it is anchored in Jesus Christ who through the power of God was raised from the dead and is forever alive!  Our living hope isn’t wishful thinking – the kind of wishful thinking that prompts some people to buy lottery tickets. Our living hope isn’t just for one person whose numbers are picked over the numbers of millions of others.

Our living hope is for everyone who accepts God’s great mercy. It is alive now in Christ Jesus. It will be translated into a sure inheritance when we see Jesus. It can never perish, spoil or fade away. It will never leave you bankrupt or worse off than before you obtained it.

When we surrendered our lives to Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior, we were birthed into that living hope. We are alive in it. We flourish in it. We find God’s power operating in it for our good.

Living hope. How grand those two simple little words are.

(Beginning Saturday the 12th, devotions will once again be posted in the AM rather than the night before.)

I was driving home from work last week in Black Bart, my wonderful new car. I was keeping a safe distance from the car in front of me, traveling at a safe speed. Then “BANG!” A rock came flying off the tire of the car in the lane next to me as it passed me and hit my windshield. My new car’s windshield!

It looked as if it left a ding that needed to be repaired by one of those windshield guys in the kiosks in the store parking lots. Bob took it in Saturday and found that the rock left a “residue” on the windshield, but thankfully didn’t actually “ding” it.

Dings in the windshields are a common occurrence around here. Big snow tires with big treads kick up the rocks on the highways and send them flying in all directions. You can be doing everything right and still get dinged.

You can be doing everything right and still get dinged. Somehow that has a spiritual connotation as well, doesn’t it? You can be doing everything right the way God intends and still have something come flying at you from a direction you did not expect. The government shuts down and you lose your paycheck. You lose your job. You are forced out of your rental because it has become more profitable for the owner to simply sell it. Someone makes a wrong choice that impacts your life. “Stage 4” suddenly becomes part of your vocabulary.  Big life-changing rocks come flying at you fast and furious and demand your attention.

I always remember that nothing takes God by surprise.  You will never see God smack His forehead and says, “Boy, didn’t see that coming!” Nothing throws God off His game plan. Even rocks that come flying at us from every angle!

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD.  Thank you, LORD!  [Jeremiah 29:11]