“For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain. One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, not giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of men who turn from the truth. To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled. They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.” Titus 1:10-16

Whenever you see the word “for” at the beginning of a sentence, it is super important to go read the verse or verses that came before it. The word “for” indicates that what is coming after it is qualifying something that was just said. It’s like saying “because”.

Yesterday we looked at the qualifications for spiritual leadership (Titus 1:5-9), in the following verses 10-16 Paul explains the importance of a leader meeting those specific qualifications.

In Titus 1:10-11, Paul brings to attention the presence of certain “Christians” in Crete who are stirring up trouble among the churches and causing division. “[O]f the circumcision” implies that these were Jewish Christians. This was not at all uncommon during those days. These troublemaking “believers” were teaching things that they ought not to teach. By Jewish standards, the native Cretans were unclean and the Jews openly condemned the Cretans for it. (I wonder if that’s where we get our slang word).

Paul charges Titus and the appointed Godly leaders to correct these people causing division and misrepresenting the gospel. The truth of the matter is that some Jews still felt obligated by the Mosaic law to observe certain traditions and regulations (verses 14,15). However, Jesus’ sacrifice had freed them from bondage to the law and gave them salvation by grace. This was the true doctrine that needed to be taught and is the reason that godly leaders MUST be grounded in the Word in order to recognize false teaching and to lovingly correct those who are spreading fallacies.

Finally in verse 16, “They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.”. To know God is to know that he is love. He is not condemning, in fact he WANTS to save. The condemning attitudes of the Jewish Christians were not indicative of true faith. Paul calls them “abominable, disobedient, and disqualified.”

It has been said that Mahatma Gandhi studied Christianity and valued many of its principles, but he said, “I would be a Christian, if it were not for Christians.”

I was street witnessing one day downtown, and a Hare Krishna person told me “Christians are selfish hypocrites who care for no one but themselves and their own salvation.” I sadly had to agree with him to a certain degree. There are many who profess to be Christians but their lifestyles don’t reflect it.

I have an athiest friend who rejects Christianity simply based on the fact that many “Christians” he knows are condemning, immoral, and not worth associating with. Even though he’s a non-Christian, he’s one of the most genuine people I know. I’d even dare say that in his choices and attitudes he is more Christ-like than some who profess to be Christians.

Even if you are not slandering and condemning people with your mouth and imposing laws and rules on people like the Jewish Christians in Crete, your lifestyle, your vocabulary, your pasttimes are all indicative of your spiritual state.

Again, I ask. If you were accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to prove it?

“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” John 15:13

A few months ago, a prayer request was sent from our church in South Bay. A 19-year-old girl named Brandy, who attends the church there, was suffering from cystic fibrosis and was told she didn’t have much longer to live unless she got a transplant.

Our high school principal, Laura, heard about this need and began praying for Brandy to find a donor. Somewhere along the way, Laura heard the Lord saying to her “what about you?”. In obedience, she submitted an application to be a possible donor. As months past, her name slowly began climbing the list of possible candidates. Recently, she learned that she was a positive match and she went in for surgery last week to donate one of the lobes in her lungs.

The transplant was a success and Brandy is breathing much better now and is going to be fine! How amazing, and how great a sacrifice on Laura’s part, especially for someone she didn’t even know. What’s even more extraordinary is that even from her hospital bed, Laura calls into the church from time to time to check on how things are going on at the school.

What a sweet reality check. Today’s been kinda rough for me. Lots of unexpected things popped up adding to my already heavy load. My head is throbbing, and I’ve gone into leave-me-alone-I’m-busy mode. But hey, at least I’m fully intact. What a great reminder to just chill out and not get so caught up in the worries of the day.

Anyway, this whole thing came to mind because I noticed a get well card for Laura in the copy room as I was getting a drink of water. I’m thankful that despite my tendency toward tunnel vision, the Lord has kept my eyes open enough to catch his subtle hints, reminding me that He’s called us all to a life of self-sacrifice.

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. James 4:8

The last few weeks have been hectic. Between the fires, the Week of Prayer and Fasting, Thanksgiving outreach prep, and all the other million-and-one needs to be met, it gets hard sometimes to spend adequate time in the Word and just spending time with the Lord.

We’ve all heard this verse before to some extent. It’s a nice pithy statement that gets thrown around quite a bit. As I was praying and reflecting on what God’s been showing me lately, this verse popped into my head. Let’s look at it in context:

“Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”? But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:
“God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” James 4:1-10

I dunno about you, but when I slack in being in the Word, I tend to go back to my old character: critical, irritable, short-tempered, etc.

What that inevitably boils down to is “Pride”.

You know what I’ve discovered that is absolutely scary? You can pour your entire life into serving the Lord and STILL be completely far away from Him.

I’ve found that when I neglect to take time with the Lord, pride and self-focus can set in and cause all sorts of problems. I can begin to get critical of the people I’m serving with. Or my sense of compassion goes out the window and the things I’m doing become merely tasks to get out of the way. The “pleasure” I seek becomes relief that comes with simply “getting it over with”. The “war and fights” that result become an inner struggle between doing what’s in the best interest of other, and the desire to seek my own devices. Rather than ministering through His spirit, I begin to operate as a worldly person in my own strength.

Love goes down the toilet.

God’s commandments are simple: Love Him, and love people.

When you become too busy to pray or too busy for people. You’re busier than God ever intended for you to be. You’re busier than God!

When people go from being opportunities to share God’s love to mere annoyances, you’re in a a dangerous place.

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Come to him with humility. Experience and be filled with His grace. You can’t give what you don’t have.

“Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.” 2 Corinthians 13:5

This past Sunday, I was in the usher’s closet at church and I saw a bumper sticker on the front of a metal cabinet that I’d never noticed before. It said,

“If you were accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to prove it?”

I’ll tell you one thing, I’d probably never be accused of being a Christian when I’m driving! That’s a weak point for me.

Anyway, I’ve been chewing on that all week, and I started recognizing areas in my life that could definitely use some work.

How ’bout you? Which of these verses best describes you? Galatians 5:19-21 or Galatians 5:22-25

If you tend toward the former rather than the latter, there IS hope! Paul exhorts us in the second half of today’s verse:

“Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?”

Paul is alluding to something he mentions earlier in this epistle:

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

Some of you are probably thinking, “Okay, so why am I still the way I am?”

The truth is that we don’t all mature as Christians at the same rate. I know of some people who were drug addicts one day, then committed their lives to the Lord and never did drugs again. When I became a Christian, I all of a sudden, without really thinking about it, stopped cussing. Certain things stopped being appealing to me. There are other things (like driving) that I still struggle with.

The truth is that we’re human. We WILL make mistakes. In Galatians 5, Paul encourages us to walk in the Spirit. You can’t tell me you’ve been walking your entire life and have never slipped and fallen before. The point is to keep walking. I gave up a ton of times in college thinking that it was ME who needed to change. It wasn’t until I understood that it was the other way around that I really started to grow in my relationship with Jesus.

Let me leave you with this encouragement from Paul’s epistle to the Philippians:

“being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” Philippians 2:6

HE does the work. Just be willing and available and let Him work. YOU are the only thing that can limit God’s work in your life.