God's Grace for Us (Titus 2:11-12)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10-25-02

 

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  God’s grace to us

                                                                                                                       

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Titus 2:11-12

 

            Message of the verse:  “11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, 12 instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age,” (NAS95) “For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people.  And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures.  We should live in this evil world with self-control, right conduct, and devotion to God,” (NLT)

            The grace of God spoken of in this passage is the Lord Jesus Christ, for it was by grace that He came to die for the sins of the world.  Only the ones who accept this grace that God has provided for us through His Son will be saved.  When the phrase “all men or all people” is used it does not teach that there is universal salvation, only those who accept the gift of salvation are saved.  This grace of God not only saves us but it also instructs us to live a godly life, it changes us so we have the power, thought the Holy Spirit, to do things that please the Lord.  It instructs us to live in this sinful world doing things that will please our Savior.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  To think about God’s grace is a wonderful thing to think of and study about, for without it I would not be a born-again child of God.  God’s grace gives me salvation, something that I could never earn or deserve.  God’s grace makes me humble, for it shows me that I could do nothing to redeem myself from the sin that I was born into.

 

The word of God was comforting to me today as it reminded me of God’s wonderful grace.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  To fear the Lord and not anything else as the Bible instructs me.  God can do all things, and has my best interest at heart.

 

Memory verse for the week:  Romans 11:33

 

Oh, the debt of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!

Healthy doctrine for slaves and Workers (Titus 2:9-10)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10-24-02

 

My Worship Time                              Focus:  Healthy doctrine for slaves & workers.

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  Titus 2:9-10

 

            Message of the verse:  “9 Urge bondslaves to be subject to their own masters in everything, to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, 10 not pilfering, but showing all good faith so that they will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect.”  (NAS95)  “Slaves must obey their masters and do their best to please them.  They must not talk back or steal, but they must show themselves to be entirely trustworthy and good. Then they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive in every way.”  (NLT)

            In all of Paul’s letters he never condoned or condemned slavery, what he did do was let both slaves and those who owned them know how they should live in respect which other.  The word bondslaves was used to either a slave or one who was employed by another so this surely has reference in all societies and all times.  He says that these bondslaves should must obey their masters, and do all in their power to please them.  They should not talk back to them neither steal nor embezzle from them.  They should show respect and be trustworthy while in they’re in their service.  (A good example of this was Joseph the son of Jacob whose story is found in Genesis.)  By doing all of these things that Paul is talking about they will bring glory to the Lord Jesus Christ and show their love for the doctrines of the Word of God.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Even though I have no job outside of the home at this time I still need to be subject to those who are over me.  This would include Wade Green who is the head of our WEBBS team, our Pastors and deacons, and the government.

 

The Word of God was enlighting to me today.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  Not to fear anything but the Lord and to trust the Lord in all that I do and not to lean on my own understanding.

 

Memory verse of the week:  Romans 11:33

 

Oh, the debt of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!

 

Healthy Doctrine for Young Men (Titus 2:6-7)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10-23-02

 

My Worship Time                              Reference:  Healthy doctrine for young men.

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  Titus 2:6-7

 

            Message of the verse:  “6 Likewise urge the young men to be sensible;

7 in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us.”  (NAS95)  “6. In the same way, encourage the young men to live wisely in all they do.  7.  And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good deeds of every kind.  Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching.”  (NLT)

            Paul now turns his attention to the young men, which would be 12 years or older, to give them sound and healthy doctrine to live by.  He says likewise or in the same way that he taught the older men and women.  He wants Titus to encourage them to live a wise life in all that they do.  In that he is speaking about living a life that would be pleasing to the Lord Jesus Christ.  Paul goes on to say that Titus must be the one to set the example for them to follow by doing good deeds of every kind.  Paul says that in order for the enemy not to have anything to say about Titus’ life he must live a life of integrity and be serious about his teaching so that those he is teaching will be able to learn and follow his example.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I must say that there are times when I do not practice what I preach, and because of that those whom I have authority over do not take seriously the things that I talk about.  If I do not do them then why should they take them seriously?

 

The Word of God was convicting to me today.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  I do not want to fear the situations that I am going to do, but trust the Lord to get me through them by the Holy Spirit.

 

Memory verse for the week:  Romans 11:33

Oh, the debt of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!

 

Healthy Doctrine for Women Continued (Titus 2:5)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10-22-02

 

My Worship Time                                          Focus:  Healthy doctrine for women cont.

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  Titus 2:5

 

            Message of the verse:  “5 to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.”  (NAS95)  “to live wisely and be pure, to take care of their homes, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands.  Then they will not bring shame on the word of God.”  (NLT)

            Paul is continuing his thoughts as to how the older women should be ministering to the younger women.  He says they must teach the younger women to live wisely and be pure.  These women would have been coming out of a pagan culture and therefore it would be important to have them taught the things of the Word of God.  They were to teach them how to take care of their homes, and this is the function of the woman in the home as the Scripture teaches in other places like Proverbs thirty-one.  As in some of Paul’s letters he mentions be submissive to their husbands, and when there is love in the home it is not hard for the wife to submit to her husband.  By doing all the things that Paul has written the wives will not bring shame to the Word of God.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  In order for my wife to want to submit to me I must learn how to love her in the way that the Bible speaks about.  I must do a better job of this.

 

The Word of God brought conviction to me today.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  To get my devotions done in the morning so that I will not have to do them in the evening when I am tired from the days activities.  To Trust the Lord with all of my heart and not lean on my own understanding.

 

Memory verse for the week:  Romans 11:33

 

Oh, the debts of the riches of both the wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!

             

Healthy Doctrine for Women PT-2 (Titus 2:4)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10-21-02

 

My Worship Time                                          Focus:  Healthy doctrine for women cont.

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  Titus 2:4

 

            Message of the verse:  “4 so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,” (NAS95) “4. These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children, “(NLT)

            Paul goes on to say that these older women must train the younger women how to love their husbands and also how to love their children.  The older women have had the experience on how to do these things and what goes on and they are to pass this on to the younger women so they know how to do this and also how to pass it on to the younger women when they get older, therefore this can get passed on from one generation to the next.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  This is a wonderful concept from the Word of God, and if I would have known something about this when I was growing up then I would not have run into some of the problems that I ran into.  Maybe I was not receptive to the teaching. It is good to learn from older believers about things of life.  Wade has been a wonderful influence doing this.

 

The Word of God has brought wonderful information to me today.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  I pray that I will get a good night sleep tonight, something that has been hard to do lately.

 

Memory verse for the week:  Romans 11:33

 

Oh, the dept of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!

 

 

Healthy Doctrine for Women (Titus 2:3)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10-20-02

 

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  Healthy doctrine for women

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Titus 2:3

 

            Message of the verse:  “3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good,”  (NAS95)  “Similarly, teach the older women to live in a way that is appropriate for someone serving the Lord.  They must not go around speaking evil of others and must not be heavy drinkers.  Instead, they should teach others what is good.”  (NLT)

            Paul now turns his attention to the teaching of the women, and in this case the women who are older who have no children at home to raise.  They are to be reverent, and this does not mean only to God, but to others as well.  They are not to be gossips, or slanderers, a word that is used of Satan thirty-four times in the Scriptures.  When women get older they are to do something that is constructive for the cause of Christ.  They are not to be heavy drinkers for this will cloud their good senses.  Instead of this they should teach the others what is good, those things that will be pleasing to God.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Not to be a gossip is not just something that is a problem with women, for many men have the same problem.  To be able to teach things that are pleasing to God is also something that I need to do more of.

 

The Word of God was instructive to me today.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  If I would have been doing this earlier this morning like I should have been doing it then I would have said that I need to step out on faith to be able to get to Sunday school.  I did not make it because of a lack of faith and fear in my life.

 

Memory verse for the week:  Micah 6:8

 

He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

Healthy Doctrine for Older Men (Titus 2:1)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10-19-02

 

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  Healthy doctrine for older men

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Titus 2:1

 

            Message of the verse:  “2 Older men are to be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance.”  (NAS95)  “Teach the older men to exercise self-control, to be worthy of respect, and to live wisely.  They must have strong faith and be filled with love and patience.”  (NLT)

            In this verse Paul is not writing of men who serve as an official capacity in the Church, but just older men who are members in the church.  These men are to exercise self-control in their walk with the Lord.  I am sure that this was something that was and is not evident in the older men of the world, but should be a character of those who claim Christ as Savior and Lord.  They were to be worthy of respect, in other words the younger men in the Church should look up to them and want to be like them.  They should live wisely, and I am sure that he is speaking of the way they use their money and not given over to drinking too much.  The last thing that he mentions is to have a strong faith to be filled with love and patience.  These are all good spiritual qualities for an older or any believer.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Seeing how I am close to being qualified as and “older man” (for that was someone over sixty in Paul’s view), I need to pay closer attention to these qualities that are mentioned in this verse.  To have a strong faith seems most important to me in this list, although as said before all are important.

 

The Word of God was challenging to me today.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  To continue to trust the Lord about not having fear in my life.  To trust the Lord to continue to honor are covenant with Him.  To trust the Lord to get us home safely to our house.

 

Memory verse for the week:  Micah 6:8

 

He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord requires of you but to do justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly with your God?