He Will Not

He will not always accuse,

   nor will he harbor his anger forever;

he does not treat us as our sins deserve     
   or repay us according to our iniquities.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

   so great is his love for those who fear him;

as far as the east is from the west,

   so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

Psalms 103:9-12 NIV

God will not always accuse, the enemy does that. 

He will not harbor his anger forever because although he is just, in Christ he is also forgiving.

God does not treat us as our sins deserve. In Christ, we are forgiven. 

Because we are forgiven in Christ he is no seeking to repay us what we deserve. 

Think about that... the depths and riches of his love, can not be understood until we realize, what God does not do. Yes he's forgiving, but don't forget what God does not do...

JUST SAY "NO"/ Titus 2:11-14

"For the grace that bring 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 Savior, 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." Titus 2:11-14

The Bible often puts things very simply. Just say "No". Notice it doesn't talk about how you will feel or what you might think, it just says to say "No". It reminds me of when my students sometimes want to "discuss" anything with me when they have been given a task. I will just repeat, "Get on task." Our sinful nature wants to do anything but be godly because godliness involves dying to self. 

The grace of God teaches us to rely upon the righteousness of Christ in us. We are righteous because Jesus died on the cross in place of our unrighteousness, our sin. When it comes to being tempted, and we will, we just have to learn to say "No". When opportunities for ungodliness and worldly passions arise, and they will, we need to learn to say "No". 

The mission for today: Say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions.

Father, teaches us to say "No". Praise be to you in us today!

THE GOSPEL ON TWITTER/ Titus 2:11

"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men." Titus 2:11

I was engaged with someone on Twitter the other day concerning God and why there is evil in the world. The guy was sort of arguing that evil in the world is really God, if you believe in God, so therefore how can one believe in a God who allows or commits evil. I just think that if a person is an atheist, who by definition doesn't believe in God, can't bring up something they don't believe exists. So, if someone ia an atheist and God is out of the equation, how do they explain evil, or good for that matter? 

Here's the deal: to this atheist, whom I do pray God reveals himself to, the grace of God is revealed to him, even on Twitter. I also Tweeted to him that my belief in God leads me to value him, even if he disagrees with me, because he (in my world view as a Christian) is created in the image of God, and was worth dying for. 

He of course avoided that and wanted to dialogue about why someone would believe in such a "fantastical" book. 

The grace of God that brings salvation appears to all men. Sometimes through some odd ways, but, God ordained nonetheless. I just pray that my interactions, however they may appear, will bring grace and salvation to all men.

Father, help us to always be ready to give a reason for the hope within us and give us wisdom at the moment we need it to know what to say and how to say it with grace. Praise be to you in us today!

SELF-CONTROL, YES YOU CAN: Titus 2:2

"Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance." Titus 2:2

Society tells people and men in particular that they have very little control over their most base instincts. People are animals. Men are dogs. Some desires are just products of the evolutionary process that allows us to survive as a species. The problem for me is that is not what the Bible, God's Word teaches. 

Everyone, men and women, have fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). We are all born in sin. We all have a sinful nature.  We all need the grace of God. 

Paul instructs Titus of the grace of God that brings salvation and that it teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled lives (Titus 2:11-14). This is in complete contrast to the message of the world, which is a lie and will only lead to death. 

The bottom line: If God tells me to be self-controlled, I can control myself. I can control myself when I am living by faith in Christ Jesus who died for my sins and ever lives to intercede for me. Thank you, Lord Jesus Christ!

Father, teaches us to live by faith and be self-controlled, resting in the love of Christ! Praise be to you in us today!