Titus 2 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: TRUST AND OBEY

Jesus told the blind man, “Go, and wash in the pool of Siloam (which is translated sent)” (John 9:7). Access to the pool of Siloam involved the descent of three sets of stone-hewn steps, five steps each—no casual stroll for anyone, much less a blind man. But he did it, and he leaned over the edge of the pool and began to wash his eyes. And, from one moment to the next, he could see.

The question is often asked, “What does a person need to know to become a follower of Christ?” This story provides an answer. The man knew nothing of the virgin birth or the Beatitudes. He received sight, not because he deserved it, earned it, or found it. He received sight because he trusted and obeyed the One who was sent to “open eyes that are blind” (Isaiah 42:7). Remember friends, you are never alone.

Titus 2

A God-Filled Life

Your job is to speak out on the things that make for solid doctrine. Guide older men into lives of temperance, dignity, and wisdom, into healthy faith, love, and endurance. Guide older women into lives of reverence so they end up as neither gossips nor drunks, but models of goodness. By looking at them, the younger women will know how to love their husbands and children, be virtuous and pure, keep a good house, be good wives. We don’t want anyone looking down on God’s Message because of their behavior. Also, guide the young men to live disciplined lives.

7-8 But mostly, show them all this by doing it yourself, incorruptible in your teaching, your words solid and sane. Then anyone who is dead set against us, when he finds nothing weird or misguided, might eventually come around.

9-10 Guide slaves into being loyal workers, a bonus to their masters—no back talk, no petty thievery. Then their good character will shine through their actions, adding luster to the teaching of our Savior God.

11-14 God’s readiness to give and forgive is now public. Salvation’s available for everyone! We’re being shown how to turn our backs on a godless, indulgent life, and how to take on a God-filled, God-honoring life. This new life is starting right now, and is whetting our appetites for the glorious day when our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, appears. He offered himself as a sacrifice to free us from a dark, rebellious life into this good, pure life, making us a people he can be proud of, energetic in goodness.

15 Tell them all this. Build up their courage, and discipline them if they get out of line. You’re in charge. Don’t let anyone put you down.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Thursday, October 29, 2020
Today's Scripture & Insight:

Romans 12:3–8

Humble Service in the Body of Christ
3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your[a] faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

Insight
Romans 12:2 instructs believers to be transformed by the renewing of their minds. It’s striking that the first thing Paul addresses regarding renewed minds is humility (v. 3). Humility is pleasing to God, but He hates pride (Isaiah 2:11; Daniel 4:37; Amos 6:8). It’s with such humility that we’re able to assess soberly what our gifts are (and what they aren’t) so that all may contribute to the body of Christ as needed (Romans 12:6–8). Whatever our gifts may be, we’re to use them cheerfully in the spirit of love and humility.

A Truck Driver’s Hands
We have different gifts, . . . if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. Romans 12:6, 8

The news came as a shock. Having already survived prostate cancer, my father had now been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. To complicate matters, my father is my mother’s full-time caregiver, attending to her own chronic illnesses. With both parents needing care, there would be some difficult days ahead.

After flying home to be with them, I visited my parents’ church one Sunday. There, a man named Helmut approached me, saying he’d like to help. Two days later, Helmut visited our home with a checklist. “You’ll need some meals when the chemotherapy starts,” he said. “I’ll arrange a cooking roster. What about the mowing? I can do that. And what day is your rubbish collected?” Helmut was a retired truck driver, but to us he became an angel. We discovered he often helped others—single mothers, the homeless, the elderly.

While believers in Jesus are called to help others (Luke 10:25–37), some have a special capacity to do so. The apostle Paul calls it the gift of mercy (Romans 12:8). People with this gift spot needs, rally practical assistance, and can serve over time without getting overwhelmed. Moved by the Holy Spirit, they’re the hands of the body of Christ, reaching out to touch our wounds (vv. 4–5).

Dad recently had his first day of chemotherapy. Helmut drove him to the hospital. That night my parents’ fridge was full of meals.

God’s mercy through a truck driver’s hands. By:  Sheridan Voysey

Reflect & Pray
What spiritual gifts do you have? (If unsure, check out Romans 12:3–8; 1 Corinthians 12; and Ephesians 4:7–13.) How are you using them to serve others?

Heavenly Father, help me to be filled with Your mercy, so that I might serve those in need powerfully and cheerfully, revealing who You are.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, October 29, 2020
Substitution

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. —2 Corinthians 5:21

The modern view of the death of Jesus is that He died for our sins out of sympathy for us. Yet the New Testament view is that He took our sin on Himself not because of sympathy, but because of His identification with us. He was “made…to be sin….” Our sins are removed because of the death of Jesus, and the only explanation for His death is His obedience to His Father, not His sympathy for us. We are acceptable to God not because we have obeyed, nor because we have promised to give up things, but because of the death of Christ, and for no other reason. We say that Jesus Christ came to reveal the fatherhood and the lovingkindness of God, but the New Testament says that He came to take “away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). And the revealing of the fatherhood of God is only to those to whom Jesus has been introduced as Savior. In speaking to the world, Jesus Christ never referred to Himself as One who revealed the Father, but He spoke instead of being a stumbling block (see John 15:22-24). John 14:9, where Jesus said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father,” was spoken to His disciples.

That Christ died for me, and therefore I am completely free from penalty, is never taught in the New Testament. What is taught in the New Testament is that “He died for all” (2 Corinthians 5:15)— not, “He died my death”— and that through identification with His death I can be freed from sin, and have His very righteousness imparted as a gift to me. The substitution which is taught in the New Testament is twofold— “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” The teaching is not Christ for me unless I am determined to have Christ formed in me (see Galatians 4:19).

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

No one could have had a more sensitive love in human relationship than Jesus; and yet He says there are times when love to father and mother must be hatred in comparison to our love for Him.   So Send I You, 1301 L

Bible in a Year: Jeremiah 18-19; 2 Timothy 3

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, October 29, 2020
Banged Up But Running Well - #8819

We had two weeks in our area that I call "The Ice Age." And a car actually slid into our vehicle in a parking lot. So the right side looked pretty ugly. Interestingly enough, that damage didn't affect the performance of our car at all. Like so many older cars we've had over the years, the outside was banged up but the engine was running fine.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Banged Up But Running Well."

It's possible for you and me to run that way, too. Did you know that? Hit hard and dented on the outside, but still running strong on the inside. A hit to the chassis doesn't have to mean a hit to the engine, and that's what keeps you going.

This "banged up but running well" phenomenon is explained in our word for today from the Word of God. In 2 Corinthians 4, beginning in verse 16, Paul says, "We do not lose heart." Now, that's pretty significant in light of the fact that earlier in the chapter he tells us about their being "hard pressed on every side, perplexed, persecuted, struck down." But in spite of all those hits, they are not "crushed," he says, or "in despair" or "abandoned" or "destroyed." If you've taken some hits lately, you might be interested in how Paul keeps his engine running so smoothly.

2 Corinthians 4:16 - "Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

Just because you're battered on the outside doesn't mean you have to be battered on the inside. Just because you're running down on the outside doesn't mean you have to run down on the inside. Just because your body is sick doesn't mean your spirit has to be sick. You can lose your job, you could lose your health, you can lose your loved one, you can lose your stuff, but you don't have to lose heart! That's a choice you make!

Paul has come to know his Lord as the Renewer; the One who refuels and refreshes his spirit each new day. Remember, God has promised that those who are weary and weak but wait on Him will "renew their strength" and "soar on wings like eagles" (Isaiah 40:31). How does that happen? Well, first of all, you get God's perspective. That perspective recognizes the difference between what about this situation is "temporary" and what about this situation is "eternal." We can say of any earth-burden what my wife and I used to say when our kids were going through the roller coaster junior high years, "TTSP" - "This too shall pass." That perspective makes burdens bearable. They're heavy, they hurt, but they're only hurt for a little while.

Secondly, you have to focus on God's payoff. Paul refuses to get mired in the present troubles; they're temporary. He focuses instead on the "eternal glory" that's going to be his for being victorious through these troubles. He tells us to "fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen...what is eternal." At that point, your troubles seem relatively "light and momentary," as Paul says.

A car can be hit hard and it can be all banged up, but that doesn't have to affect its performance. It's the condition of the engine that counts. You can be hit hard and all banged up, but it doesn't have to affect your performance. It's the condition of your spirit that counts. And God stands ready to jump start your spirit each new day if you'll focus on your Lord and not on your load.