Live a life of righteousness

In The book Titus, Paul explains what teaching he wants Titus to teach. He encourages him to show how to live. He explains what is expected in Christian living. I think we can sometimes forget that as Christians we should live a certain way, that we are called to live a life of righteousness.
I know that we will never be perfect this side of eternity, however that is what we should be striving towards. We should be aiming to live a life that glorifies God.
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.
It teaches us to say No to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self- controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope— the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

We have been saved by the grace of God, therefore, we need to lead lives that show Jesus that we honour Him and want to live only for Him. We need to make sure that our day to day lives include Jesus. We need to make sure that what we do and what we say are righteous before God, which will lead others to come to know Him.

Fear not - God wins!

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline
In 2 Timothy, Paul gives this advice to Timothy. It's something that we need to take hold of today. We are called to be disciples and make disciples. How can we accomplish this if we are afraid? How can  we be bold enough to tell others the truth, if we are fearful of what they might say or think about us?

If Joshua hadn't been bold and courageous then the Israelites would've ended up wandering in the wilderness for a lot longer than they did. I don't want to wander in the wilderness, I want to be part of a Kingdom building team that shows people that Jesus is real, that Jesus is Lord and that Jesus is the only way to the Father! 
I believe that God is telling us to rise up and be bold. We need to realise that God is on our side and that He has the victory! Forget fear and live in the truth of the cross! The battle is won!

Think big - think Kingdom!

Paul finishes his first letter to Timothy with sound advice. He says,  
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs
In our world of consumerism, everything is about what we've got, what we want, and whether we've got something that someone else has. I believe that this verse isn't just about the love of money, I believe its about the love of anything that is not of God. If we are busy wanting STUFF then we no longer have our eye on the Kingdom.
Even back in the Old Testament the Ten Commandments that God gives to Moses talks about this very problem. God puts things into perspective in the Commandments even in the very first two, There is only one God, and only worship God. He then finishes the Commandments with don't want what others have!
We need to make sure that we only worship the Lord. Whatever we yearn for, whatever we think about, whatever we do compulsively is the thing we worship.
Let's make sure that we get it right. I know that I don't always get it right. I want God to be my all in all and not the stuff of this life. Let's face it in the very same passage Paul says this, For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it .
Let's remember that the things of this world are but a blink of an eye. This world is not our home - we need to remember that! Think big - think KINGDOM! 

Children of the King!

1 Timothy 4:12 - Don't let anyone make fun of you, just because you are young. Set an example for other followers by what you say and do, as well as by your love, faith, and purity.
This is a really important verse to me. I'm employed at my church to pastor children and to tell them about Jesus, and so this verse shows me how important young people are to God. We need to nurture them, we need to encourage our children and young people, so that they can be all that they are called to be. We need to make sure that they are fully equipped and ready for all the world will put in their path.  
So often children and young people are not taken seriously. They are not listened to and are made to feel less important. I don't think this is the case in the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom way of looking at children is to say that, Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me.
We must remember to value our young people and to encourage them at all times in the Lord. Who knows they might even show us a thing or two after all Jesus says, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven 
Let's make sure we look after our young people. Let's make sure that we show them the love of Jesus. Let's equip them in the ways of the Lord, so that they can be ready for the battle, so that they can show us the way. 

There is freedom in the cross!

For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men
This verse comes from chapter 2 of 1 Timothy. What a great verse to think about. What an amazing truth we have hope in.
Jesus paid the price for us all. He gave up the splendour of Heaven to pay the ransom for a lost world, a debt that He didn't owe. We owe nothing, the debt is paid. Jesus paid our loan off, we are no longer debtors and the price was paid once and for all at the cross. How amazing to know that our sin is forgiven because Jesus paid the price for it. 
We are no longer condemned, but instead we are free. 
Thank you Lord for your sacrifice. Thank you Lord for taking my place. Thank you Lord that the ransom is paid and I am free! Praise God for the freedom of the cross!  

Grace

I've started to read 1 Timothy today. This once again is a letter of Paul, although this time its not to a church but instead its to a person, his friend, and son in Christ, Timothy.
Paul writes these words,
I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 
Paul wrote these words about himself, however they are just as relevant to us today. God pours out His grace and mercy on us daily even though we don't deserve it. We are sinners saved by God's grace. The salvation that we have is not earned, its freely given, all we have to do is receive it. I just want to thank God today and everyday, for the grace that He has given me. 
I'm reminded of a song that we sing at church which goes, 

When I was lost you came and rescued me
Reached down into the pit and lifted me
O Lord, such love: I was as far from you as I could be
You know all the things I've ever done
But Jesus' blood has cancelled every one
O Lord, such grace, to qualify me as your own 

What an amazing God I serve. He came and rescued me from my life of nothingness. He took a life that was meaningless and gave me grace, hope, love and salvation - and all for free! 

Encourage and pray!

I've started Paul's letter to the Thessalonians today. I guess the thing that jumped out at me was how he begins his letter. In each of the previous letters he starts exactly the same. He thanks God for them and tells them that he remembers them in his prayers. I know this is so obvious, but I've never really joined the dots on this one before.  
Anyway, it got me thinking about prayer. How often do we tell those that we are praying for that we are praying for them? How often do we encourage them by telling them that they are in our thoughts and our prayers?
I pray for my family and friends, but I don't always tell them that they are in my prayers. I thank God for my family and friends, but I can't remember ever telling them that I do thank God for them. I guess its the Britishness within me. There are things that we do that are given as done, maybe we should encourage those that we care about and tell them that we are holding them in prayer before the Lord.
There is another scripture that I love that is in Revelation 5:8. It tells of the prayers of the saints being taken into God's presence in golden bowls carried by angels. Lets pray for those that we care about and fill the bowls of angels with the prayers of the saints.