Day 10

I missed another day. I can't let it be a habit. Today I read Philemon. In this book Paul is asking for forgiveness of someone he has led to God. He was a slave and ran away. Paul knew his owner and knew he was a good man and a Godly man. So he wrote for him to forgive his slave. Paul sends the slave back to serve his old master.

I would love to know more about this story. It teaches both forgiveness and living under those above you when you have to. We may not always agree with those in authority over us but we should follow their rules if they don't go against God. And we should forgive all even when we don't want to. Neither one of these are easy principles to live by. But both are very important to strive for.


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Day 9

Today is kinda late. But better late than not at all. Today focused on Titus 3:8-3:11. In these verses Paul tells Titus that the trachoma so far are good and good to be followed but then follows with saying that no teachings should be argued over. And it seems harsh but if someone keeps on trying to argue over religious fluff then to have nothing to do with them.

I think this is something that has become an issue in today's church. Everyone is so worried about who is right about silly stuff when the only thing that really matters is that Jesus came down to earth, lived a sinless life, died on the cross, took on all our sins and then beat death and rose again. Everything else is fluff. God will deal with the rest if we focus on the main point of Jesus.


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Day 8

I know I missed yesterday but I'm gonna keep trucking.
Uh
Today was Titus 3:3-3:


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Day 7

Today's verses are Titus 3:1-3:2. So much packed into two tiny little verses. Paul urges believers to submit to authority. Follow the rules of the authority. And be humble. Live a life of humbleness.

I don't think this means to let people walk over you or mistreat you. It's just saying that we should obey those put in authority over us. Our parents, our bosses, our law enforcement officers, and even the government and the president. That doesn't mean we have to agree with everything they do. We just follow the laws and rules they set in place. So what do we do when someone in authority asks us to do something against God? Well that's a tough one. I think we follow our beliefs and do what's right based off of those beliefs and deal with the consequences. Paul was put in jail so many times but he always was respectful and didn't go against them. He trusted in God to watch over and protect him. It's not easy to do but something to strive for.


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Day 6

Today's verses are Titus 2:11-2:15. In these verses Paul is reminding Titus that we have been called to turn from sin and live in Christ. He tells Titus that he has the authority to tell Christians they are doing wrong and correcting them.

There is so much about the bible I find confusing. I think it's because of how vast it is. It's hard to remember everybody's of it. So when something that seems contradictory comes up we can't see the whole picture.

In these verses I'm turning over the idea of sinful living in my head. Paul says elsewhere in the bible that each man deals with his sin as he searches after God earnestly because God starts dealing with him. And at first glance I see Paul contradicting himself here by saying to Titus to turn people away from their sins. But by thinking deeper on it I think it simply means that Titus is teaching others what is right. It doesn't necessarily mean that the people will instantly turn from it. How can we learn the right way to do something with out being shown in some way. Especially when we aren't getting it right on our own.


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Day 5

Today I focused on Titus 2:1-2:10. In these verses Paul is urging Titus to encourage the older members of the church to be good examples of Christ and to teach the younger ones to be the same. Paul specifically encourages Titus to go above and beyond what is expected of him to have no room for anyone to talk bad about him.

Our lives should be above reproach. Its not easy but it is important. If we as Christians. Could attempt to live our lives in a way that is blameless it would definitely make God look better.


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Day 4

Today I'm looking back over Titus 1:13-1:16. In these verses Paul is urging Titus to correct the people who have heard false teaching and fallen astray and not in a gentle manner but sternly.

This says to me that correction can be stern and sometimes needs to be. My trouble with that is knowing If what I believe is better than what someone else believes.

Paul also mentions that people who's hearts are pure will have pure actions. And that people with corrupt hearts will live in a detestable way that is displeasing to God.

I can see this verse in a few ways. I'm going to try to focus on the way I think it is meant. To me this means that we can be pure of heart. Our actions will show it if we are or not. I know there are people of pure heart outside of church or religion. This leads me into thinking about the verse that says that no good thing can come unless it comes from God. So the question this brings to me is are people with pure hearted actions following God even if they don't realize they are? And then the next question is do they get to go to heaven too? Because they are following God they just don't know it's God.

I can't give answer to either but I sort of lean towards yes on both. I may be completely wrong but I it feels right.

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Day 3

Today my focus is on Titus 1:10-1:12. In these verses Paul is warning of false teachers.

I think today fits into this because in my experience there are church leaders out there who have stopped relying on Gods wisdom and power and are trying to do the next big thing. The more people in the church means they were right. I don't think it's about numbers but the actions of the ones in the church.

I believe every person should study for themselves to check and see if their leaders teachings are matching up with what the person believes. Don't follow anyone blindly.


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Day 2

Today's study is focused on Titus 1:5-1:9.  In this section Paul is laying out the guidelines to be an elder in the church of Crete.  Going through these guidelines it seems almost impossible to follow, but what most people expect their church leaders to be today.  In the commentary I was reading it said that it isn't known if this is a universal compliance, or a specific set of rules for Crete.  The commentary said that Crete had very low moral standards as a culture. 

My thinking is that most of American culture today has met that standard of very low morals.  So I truly think that these verses could be said about our churches today.  A church leader must meet these guidelines in order to properly teach people about God in a low moral culture.  Our churches are falling apart because our leaders and their families are not holding themselves to these guidelines in a culture that is quickly spiraling downwards. 

I'm no different.  I don't hold myself to this moral standard.  I'm no church leader but have thought in the past I should be one.  What is my calling in life?  If God wants me to be a leader in His church, then I really have to look at my life and see what I need to change.  I really wish today's church leaders could match up to these standards.  It would mean a lot less people looking at us and thinking God is a lie because of how we act.

90 days

I have continually said I planned on getting back on track with my relationship with God. I have continually slacked off about it. So I have challenged myself to 90 days. This is nothing special. It's just me agreeing to do a quiet time every day for the next 90 days. I plan to blog about what I read about each day and my thoughts on what I read.


Today I was looking at the index of my Bible and trying to think what to start with. I thought I would start small and picked Titus. Although one of the smallest books of the Bible I think I may have hit onto something that is by no means small. I read the entire book today and what I read made me want to go in depth with this book. I'll take as long a it takes for me to mine these verses for their wisdom.


My immediate thoughts are that Paul is showing what the church should be modeled after and I'm not sure that today's church matches up at all. And I feel maybe that's why so many people claim to be Christian but don't really know what that means. Maybe I'll understand better myself as I study further.


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Take up your cross

Jesus said to take up your cross and to follow him. What does that mean. I have a few thoughts. First off I think that cross was a symbol of the biggest burden Christ ever had to bear. He was up there and every sin that any person who claims His name from start to finish were lain upon His shoulders. And He never did anything to deserve that. I have my own sins that I refuse to carry most of the time. I don't even own up to most of them either. So what does it mean to take up my cross?


I think for me it's owning up to the fact I do wrong when I do it. I need to learn how to recognize when I am doing wrong and stop myself. If I can own my own actions and not pass the blame then I'll be on the right track.

What about the following Him part? How am I supposed to do that. He lived His life as a living sacrifice to His father. I don't really listen to what He tells me to do at all. I havn't even prayed in a really long time much less open my Bible to hear Him speak. So how can I begin to know what path I should be on when I stopped listening and praying a long time ago. I am the worlds worst procrastinator. I always put off doing what is right just one more day. I can't promise this time will be any different because I never intend it to be that way. But I am truly desiring to have a better walk with my God. Thats my hope.

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