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Titus 1:1

Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness,

Personal Challenge

Paul did everything he did, wrote everything that he wrote, and bore every hardship that came his way out of his love for, and commitment to, his Lord Jesus Christ. If we desire to be godly followers of Christ, then we must do the same. God has no use for people who only claim His name, but do not do His works, His way. Lord have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Sirach 39:33-35

All the works of the Lord are good.
And He will supply every need in its hour.
No one can say, “This is worse than that,”
For all things will be well pleasing in their time.
So now sing praise with all your heart and voice,
And bless the name of the Lord.

Encouraging Words

Our God is good. His works are good. He supplies our every need. He cares for us and carries us through life. We can sing praises to Him and bless His name. Glory be to God!

Sirach 39:1-3

How different is the man who devotes himself
To the study of the law of the Most High.
He will seek out the wisdom of all the ancients
And be occupied with their prophecies.
He will preserve the discourse of notable men
And penetrate the subtleties of parables.
He will seek out the hidden meanings of proverbs
And be engaged in the riddles of parables.

Personal Challenge

Years ago, I went to Thailand five different times to help rebuild after the tsunami of 2004. One of the things that I observed was that nearly all Thai’s proclamed to be Buddhist because they were Thai. Many had never stepped foot into a Buddhist temple or ever practiced Buddhism, and yet they call themselves Buddhists because the were Thais. We are seeing this same behavior here in the United States. Many believe that because they are American, they are Christians. Many do not attend church regularly if ever at all. Most have not read the Bible. Is it any wonder that we are seeing so many things being done in our society the name of Christianity that would be considered heresy or evil by Jesus Christ. How do we fix this? Sirach tells us how. Study the scriptures, which is much more than just listening to a sermon every once in a while. Seek out the wisdom of the ancients, the early church fathers, and their teachings. Study what they taught us. Listen to, and preserve, the discourses of noble men and women. Take time to penetrate these teachings and discourses of the Scriptures and teachings of those who have gone before us. Being a follower of Christ is so much more than just proclaiming to be a Christian. It means giving our lives to Him, loving Him, loving our neighbor, devoting outselves to Christ and being like Him. Glory be to God!

2 Timothy 4:7-8

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.

Personal Challenge

Living a life that focuses on following in the footsteps of Christ is not an easy life. It is indeed rewarding but not in the way that the world or prosperity gospel people expect. As Paul reminds Timothy, we are fighting a fight for the good of God and our neighbor. We want to be able to look back at our lives and say that we fought the fight good. We are running a race to the end. This not a sprint, it is a lifelong marathon. We only finish the race when we repose in our Lord’s arms. Our goal, our desire, is to keep the faith in our Lord through to the end. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me the sinner!

Sirach 37:13-15

Stand firm on the counsel of your heart,
For no one is more faithful to you than it.
For a man’s soul sometimes tells him more
Than seven watchmen sitting high on a watchtower.
And in all matters, pray to the Most High
That He may direct your way in truth.

Personal Challenge

Complacency is a serious illness that can easily affect us all. We have all been given a conscience to know the difference between right and wrong. Unfortunately, if we have continually supressed that conscience, we will no longer hear it speaking to us. Being complacent about what is going on around us is one way of supressing that conscience. Complaceny is a dangerous thing in our lives and will lead us to accept those things that are harmful to us and others. If we will stay alert and seek our God, He will help us in ways to fight complacency and do the right things. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

2 Timothy 4:1-4

I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.

Personal Challenge

What time is now? Read the second half of the above passage. Paul warned Timothy, a young leader in the Church, that a time was coming when people would not endure sound, Christ-centered doctrine. He warned that they would seek, or create, variations of the doctrine of Christ that fit their own desires because they had itching ears for the commentary that would align with their personal beliefs and desires. They would heap up teachers and leaders that would shore them up. Worst of all, they would turn their ears away from the truth, and treat these fables that support them as the truth. This has happened before in the last 2,000 years and is happening in force today with things like Project 2025, Christian nationality and the gutting of the American government and systems as we have known them, all in the name of God. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Sirach 36:1-4

Have mercy on us, O Lord, the God of all, and look upon us,
And put Your fear on all the nations.
Raise Your hand against foreign nations
And let them see Your power.
As in us You have been sanctified before them,
So in them may You be made great before us.
Let them know You as we also have known You,
For there is no God but You, O Lord.

Personal Challenge

This prayer from Sirach was that God would let the rest of the world know Him as Israel did. God’s intention when He entered into a covenant with Israel was that they would be His light to the world for the salvation of all. They failed miserably by becoming nationalistically focused and exclusive of anyone that did not match their definition of being God’s chosen. Jesus fulfilled the law and created a new covenant for His followers to share His Gospel throughout the world and be His light to all. Today we see people using the label Christian to support nationalistic rhetoric and excluding anyone who does not match their definition of being Christian Americans. Here we go again. Lord, have mercy on us!