LogosWalk Word Journal
Hearing God Speak through His Word

"But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word
in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance."
-- Luke 8:15 (NASB)

Archive for June, 2011

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Titus 2:7-8 • Beyond Reproach

Thursday, June 30th, 2011
"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."
    —Titus 2:7-8 (NASB)

Now we all know, of course, that people will find fault with us no matter what we do or say, no matter if we're 100% innocent of anything they purport or concoct. Paul isn't providing some kind of formula guaranteeing protection against unwarranted criticism or even outright persecution, but is speaking to the fact that true believers are held to a higher standard. The term "beyond reproach" is a standard which, according to God's judgment, no one can legitimately accuse us of living a double life, of allowing sin to live side-by-side with our Christianity.
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Titus 3:9 • Sometimes It’s Best to RUN!

Wednesday, June 29th, 2011
"But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and strife and disputes about the Law, for they are unprofitable and worthless."
       —Titus 3:9 (NASB)

We are not supposed to automatically engage in each and every battle that comes along. A sound military strategist will tell you that often the best approach is to run away after assessing the probability of the outcome of a fight on difficult terrain for an objective you don't really want any way. To win the overall war, one has to pick carefully the time and place of individual battles. As Christians, we have to make a reasonable assessment as to whether the outcome will inevitably be "unprofitable and worthless". But how?

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Titus 2:11-14 • Redemption AND Purification

Tuesday, June 28th, 2011
"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds."
       —Titus 2:11-14 (NASB)

We probably all get that Christ "gave Himself for us to redeem us"—that is, to save us from our sin, but do we fully understand and therefore live in the knowledge that this is only the beginning of the work? It begins with justification but His work morphs into sanctification—"to purify for Himself a people for His own possession". It's the lesson we should learn from the Old Testament laws of sacrifice that not only was something needed to die in my place for my sin, but its blood was used to then cleanse—to purify—to make something fit for God's own presence.

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Titus 1:15-16 • Pure for the Pure

Monday, June 27th, 2011
"To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed."
       —Titus 1:15-16 (NASB)

Ever know or come across someone that seemed to be able to come up with an exception to just about anything? These people believe that if you can find even the smallest crack in something that it excuses their own behavior. It's a bizarre line of reasoning that goes something like, "Since you're wrong on that one point then everything you say is invalid whether it is ultimately right or not." As long as they can argue away any standard, they can justify never having to change their behavior and can continue to live as they want. To them, "nothing is pure".

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Titus 1:1-3 • How Does “Knowledge” Fit In?

Sunday, June 26th, 2011
"Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago, but at the proper time manifested, even His word, in the proclamation with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior,"
       —Titus 1:1-3 (NASB)

"Faith"…"knowledge"…"hope". What is "knowledge" doing in this list, sandwiched between two "arbitrary" qualities such as "faith" and "hope"? Doesn't "knowledge" drive away such ambiguous pursuits such as "faith" and "hope" and replace them with rational, grounded reasons for living instead of the hard-to-measure intangible qualities of "faith" and "hope"?

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1 Timothy 6:17-19 • Be Rich in Good Works

Saturday, June 25th, 2011
"Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed."
    —1 Timothy 6:17-19 (NASB)

You say you've done everything proper and according to God's Word and ways, and somehow you've STILL managed to accumulate personal wealth? Friend, have you become deceived and lost your way? No, as I've stated previously, there's no biblical edict against wealth, just many like the ones quoted above detailing how you're supposed to handle it if it does come your way. That's the whole point of the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) and the Parable of the Minas (Luke 19:1-27) — we're responsible for that with which we've been entrusted.
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1 Timothy 6:11-12 • Fight the Good Fight

Friday, June 24th, 2011
"But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses."
    —1 Timothy 6:11-12 (NASB)

For those of us schooled in the military arts, one of the best strategies when factors aren't perfectly aligned in your favor is to run away. Get out of there. The formal term is "tactical withdrawal", the description of keeping a superior force at bay while you make an organized escape in order to fight from a better position and/or at a better time, preferably one that's most favorable to winning. In this case, Paul is advocating that to "fight the good fight of faith" and win, it's most advisable to run as fast and hard as you can from the pursuit of earthly wealth for the superior attainment of spiritual riches.
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