Titus: It is Not Our Righteousness

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.
At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, -Titus 3:1-5 NIV

When we realize that it is only because of God's mercy that we have been saved, it changes our lives and how we respond to others.  We can no longer be judgmental, because we know the judgment from which we escaped.  We can no longer be disobedient beapcause we have seen the obedience of Christ.  We can no longer be filled with strife, because we have met the Prince of Peace.  We can no longer be proud, because we have met the one who humbly offered his life for us; one who had every reason to be proud and puffed up because he was after all the Son of God.  We can no longer be filled with the lusts and desires of the world because we have been washed clean.  When we realize that if it were left to our works, we would never be able to enter the Kingdom of God, when we let the Holy Spirit renew our hearts and minds, we become the light we were created to be.

2 Timothy: He Will Keep Me

For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. - 2 Tim. 4:6-8 NIV

I have finished the race, Paul says, I have fought a good fight.  In spite of persecutions and imprisonment, in spite of being deserted by those who I thought were brothers in the faith, I have not given up on the gospel.  The gospel that was revealed to me on the road to Damascus.  The gospel that changed my life from one of trying to destroy those who believed to one defending those same believers. And now, as this earthly life winds down, I can look forward to seeing the one who called me.  Whatever I have gone through is unimportant.  My circumstances are not the criteria that will be used to determine whether or not my life has been productive.  That lies in the hands of the one to whom I have entrusted my life, my being.  God has called me, he has kept me, he will keep me.

That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day. -  Tim. 2:12 NIV

1 Timothy: The Gospel in a Nutshell

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen. -1 Tim. 1:15-17 NIV

This is the gospel in a nutshell, at least as far as I am concerned.  Others may have found the truth and never strayed from that path, but it was never that simple for me.  Not only did I have to be shown, but I had to experience the depth to which one is able to sink in order to recognize my need for a savior.  Jesus came for those chief sinners, of whom, like the apostle Paul, I was one.  What I have difficulty accepting sometimes is that he also came for those who never felt the powerful draw of sin, those for whom living a pure life was never an issue.  I may never be able to understand how they could live such blameless lives without succumbing to temptation as I was, and always have been, prone to do, but I know they are no closer to salvation than I am.  We all sin, we all fall short.  Some of us are more outlandish than others, but we all sin and we all require God's mercy and grace.  What a mighty Savior we have, what a mighty God we serve.  One who as Paul says has shown unlimited patience with us.  Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

2 Thessalonians: A Strong Footing

Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.  He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God. - 2 Thess.  2:3-4 NIV

The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness. - 2 Thess. 2:9-12 NIV

We must always remember that, along with the promise of Christ'a return in 1st Thessalonians, there is a promise of destruction as well.   Paul seems to say that, Christ's appearing will be preceded by a rebellion towards all that the gospel stands for.  The rebellion will not necessarily be overt, but one of deception with counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders.

You can see the signs of how that will happen even now.  People are desperate for solutions to the worlds problems, yet refuse to accept the truth that would be the solution, the truth that would set them free.  So when the lie comes along that promises they can have all their needs met without the need for God or his son, they will rush to believe the imposter and as a result, rush to their doom.

We need to take to heart Paul' s admonition to the church at Thessalonica, "stand firm".  That is  all we can do when surrounded by evil, by importers, by those who would twist the truth, stand firm.  We have a strong footing as the world rushes to it's doom.  Hold to the truth.  Stand firm!

1 Thessalonians: Forever and Ever

Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words. - 1 Thess. 4:13-18 NIV

Can you see that reunion?  With a loud command, the  Lord Jesus himself will lead the great cloud of witnesses, with the trumpet blaring and the voice of the archangel.  The graves will be thrown open to demonstrate how little power death has, and the heavenly throng will be joined by those who have gone on before.  Then those so are still here, on this earthly sphere, will rise into the heavenly clouds, leaving these shattered temporal bodies behind.  All the artificiality will be abandoned.  There will be no need for crutches, wheelchairs, contact lenses, hearing aids, heart stints, or artificial hips.  They will be left behind along with our checkbooks, credit cards, iPads, and iPhones.  All the designer handbags and shoes, sporty cars and utility vehicles will be abandoned.  If anyone left behind wants them, they can have them.  We, all of us either dead or still alive, who have accepted the testimony of Jesus Christ as being true, will be with the Lord forever. Forever and ever, forever and ever, Amen!

Colossians: The Experience of Grace

 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. -Col. 2:8 NIV

Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: "Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self–imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence. -Col. 2:20-23 NIV

 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. -Col. 4:6-6 NIV

Paul had never been to Colossae, but he writes to the church there as if he knew them intimately.  In the same sense, these scriptures seem to know me as well.  I was raised in a very legalistic environment:  "Don't do this, don't do that." My aunt once told me that my parents believed they were raising the perfect Christians.  We turned out to be perfect all right, perfect sinners.  As if our adherence to the rules would draw anyone to the truth of the gospel.  In fact the very opposite occurred.  My attempts at perfection took me in the opposite direction.  When I realized that one of the rules did to make sense, that by observing that rule, I did not become a better person, all of the rest of the regulations became suspect.

It was years before I realized that I had to allow grace in my life.  I could regret all of those years when I was estranged from God, but he brought me through.  He kept me safe until I could see the truth of the gospel message for what it was:  freedom, freedom from my sins and the burden of those sins.  As Romans 8:20 says, "But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound."  I thank God now for those years.  They have given me the right perspective with which to witness to a hurt and dying world.  A perspective that many Christians, who have never wandered away, do not have.  Like Paul, I truly know what grace is, grace and mercy, because I have experienced it in my own life.

Philippians 3: Do We Really Want to Know Christ?

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, - Philippians 3:10 NIV

We say we want to know Christ, we ask for him to be revealed, but do we really want that?  Years ago, during my devotional time, I told the Lord that I wanted to be like Jesus and ask for him to show me what that would look like.  Immediately, I saw a silhouette of Jesus carrying the cross up a hill.  I'm afraid that's as close as most of us get or even desire to be; a silhouette, or perhaps a bas relief of Jesus' suffering, but nothing more clearly defined.  We don't mind suffering, but don't want to do it that much.  We don't want it to become a habit. 

Few of us have come as close as the Apostle Paul as far as suffering is concerned.  Few of us have been ridiculed, beaten, shipwrecked, jailed, and finally put to death for the gospel.  At the most, we might have our reputation or political affiliation questioned while we continue to live our lives of comfort and downright affluence compared to what Paul endured.  When Paul says, becoming like him in his death, he means being willing to be crucified, to lose our life, when we are not willing to even be crucified on the cross of popular opinion. 

Yes, there are a few martyrs for the faith, even in this day; people who are willing to give their own lives for the truth of the gospel, but I question whether most of us, myself included, have that courage.  No matter how much we say it is our hearts desire, it may not be possible to fully know Christ and the power of his resurrection without sharing in his sufferings.