Keeping Promises
Opening Prayer
Lord Most High and yet so near to me, my life can be so perplexing. I claim Your promise that You will guide me into all truth.
Read Titus 1:1–4
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Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
Recall one or two promises from God’s Word. As you ponder these promises, remember that they are unalterable pledges.
Think Further
Sometimes we need to stand back and look at the big picture. We can see our lives as housework, praying, educating kids, filing, negotiating deals, directing companies and so on. In contrast, Paul here takes a high vantage point to view all his travel, beatings, preaching, praying and tent making. From this perspective, the messiness of his life is seen as serving the living God, speaking with the authority of Jesus Christ, engaged with truth that will see people transformed to be like God. He is playing a part in a divine plan that stretches back beyond time and is now being worked out through him and his preaching. All in one sentence! It is breathless writing and breathtaking stuff! Even if we are not the apostle Paul it would benefit us sometimes to lift our heads and see our share in God’s plan. It may seem our part is very limited, but we are partners in this enterprise.
It all starts with a God who makes promises that cannot be threatened by forgetfulness, misjudgment or external hazard. His promise is eternal life: human beings entering into and sharing the very life of God. He calls people to enjoy this unprecedented privilege. The truth transforms them. There is no such thing as a merely academic or head knowledge in the economy of God. Paul’s job is to communicate knowledge, and the only way he can assess the success of the venture is in godliness (1). If you want to know that God’s truth is at work, look at the quality of life—not the quality of prayers or the excellence of Bible knowledge but, as we shall see from the rest of Titus, the quality of relationships and the number of people “doing what is good” (3:1,8,14).
Apply
Today’s reading reminds us that we are heirs of eternal life. What difference will that knowledge make to your work, leisure or responsibilities?
Closing prayer
Father God, it was said of the Lord Jesus that he went about doing good. So often I just go about. As I go about, may Your goodness shine through me.
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