Titus 3:9-10

But avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and useless. Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self- condemned.

Personal Challenge

Am I being told here to never engage in a dispute? Absolutely not! I am being told that there are those things that are foolish to get in a dispute over. This list is fitting for the time that it was written, but for our day and age there are still issues that are foolish to argue over. One that we are always to be willing to dispute over is the divisive person. Today there are so many ways that divisiveness has become acceptable. I mus first look at my own heart and both the words that come out of my mouth and how they come out to make sure that I am not being divisive. Sarcasm, put-downs, gossip, back-biting, etc., are all ways that I can be divisive, so I must always keep my tongue in check. However, when I encounter someone else who is being divisive, especially in the body of Christ, I am told to reject them after admonishing them a couple of times. It is clear hear that they are responsible for their own divisiveness and are being self-condemning. It is not only acceptable for me to separate myself from them after properly admonishing them, but also it is expected of me to do this so that I myself do not become divisive like them. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Psalm 73:26-27 (72:26-27 LXX)

My heart and my flesh fail,
O God of my heart; and God is my portion forever.
For behold, those who keep themselves far away from You shall perish;
You destroy away from You all who act unfaithfully.

Personal Challenge

Is it possible to be near to God and yet far from Him at the same time? I believe it is. It is possible to know much about God, His kingdom, His Church, and yet not embrace what we know about Him and let it change our lives. This is the difference between knowledge and wisdom. For if I really “know” God, I will be less worldly and more godly. If Wisdom has permeated my heart and mind then I will be humble before my God and fellow man and live my life in a spirit of love. If my heart of flesh has been replaced with the heart that only God can put in me then I will cease living a life of this world and live a life for Christ. Glory be to God! 

Psalm 73:24 (72:24 LXX)

With Your counsel You guide me,
And with glory You take hold of me.

Encouraging Words

We live in an age where people believe that they have all of the authority that is needed to interpret the scriptures and the teachings of the fathers. However, the Church has taught that the interpretation belongs to the community and the true interpretation comes from decades, centuries, and even millennia of trying and testing the interpretations for validity and truth. This does not mean that I cannot read the scriptures and early church fathers and apply their truths to my life. Isn’t this the purpose of searching the scripture…so that I might be changed and my thoughts, desires, and actions be centered on Christ? If I am reading the scriptures to tell everyone else what they need to do then I have missed the point Guide me, O Lord, guide me!

James 4:1-7

Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?

But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:

“God resists the proud,

But gives grace to the humble.”

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Personal Challenge

Why is it aht the modern, western church is so ridden with divisions and splits. Maybe it is because of allowing so much of the world into our churches. We demand that the music sound the way that we like to hear it. We expect that the teaching will tickle our ears and when it doesn’t we threaten to leave or worse yet stay and make everyone miserable. Are we not becoming the warring and sinful people that this passage is talking about? How is it that the Eastern church has been able to survive for 2000 years and not be divided and changed by the demanding people? Maybe because at the heart of true orthodoxy is humility, the willingness to accept that the Church is not mine to control and manipulate, the willingness to accept that I belong to the Church and should change to become one of Her faithful. It is not that our church is perfect, for it is filled with imperfect people who are on journeys toward theosis. The Church is an ark that provides us shelter in this broken and fallen world. It is my responsibility to serve Her and yield to Her. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Psalm 143:1 (142:1 LXX)

O Lord, hear my prayer; Give ear to my supplication in Your truth;
Answer me in Your righteousness;

Encouraging Words

Only one is truly righteous, and that is our Lord. However, we can go to Him in prayer and supplication knowing that He hears our prayers and answers them in truth and righteousness. As I draw closer to Him He helps me to see these answers and accept them as the answers that I need. Glory be to God!

Psalm 61:8 (60:9 LXX)

So I will sing praise to Your name unto ages of ages,
That I may pay my vows day to day.

Personal Challenge

What a wonderful reminder that no matter what is going on in my life, whether good or bad, I should be singing praises to my Lord! Glor to God in all things!

James 3:14-16

But if you have bitter envy and self- seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self- seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.

Personal Challenge

There is a wisdom that does not come from God. It is based on the things of this earth and essentially demonic. It is so easy to fall into the trap of purporting wisdom without seeking wise counsel or guidance from the godly first. This warning is sandwiched between verse 13, which reminds me to seek counsel from those whose works are done in meekness and humility, and verses 17-18, which teaches me that godly wisdom is pure, peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, and without partiality and hypocrisy. It ends with a reminder that righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. As I observe so much of what is going on in the churches around the world with divisions and bickering, it appears that these actions are based on verses 14-16 and not the other verses. I am moved to look at my own heart and make sure that the wisdom that I desire and pursue, and eventually speak, only comes from above. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!

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

Contrary to modern, American Christian belief, God is not a Democrat, a Republican, or an Independent, or any other political party. He is not a conservative or a liberal, a capitalist or a socialist. He is the God of the heavens and the earth. He is the Lord over all of the nations whether they acknowledge Him or not. We, as His children and followers are supposed to be His means by which all peoples of the earth hear about Him. His agenda is the one that I am called to embrace. His platform is the one that I am called to share. I cannot truly represent Him and His kingdom if I put my earthly affiliations before His. This does not mean that I do not participate in the politics of the place that He has placed me, but I do not define Him by that choice. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!