Titus 2:13-15

Passage

… while looking ahead to the blessed hope and the appearance of glory of the great God and our savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself on our behalf, in order that He should redeem us from every lawlessness  and He should purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous of good works.  Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority.  Let no one invalidate your authority.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

As we focus on living righteously, we are to look forward to the hope of the future.  We know that those of us who are in Christ have been promised eternal life.  That is an incredible promise!  We also know that Jesus will come again in glory.  What an incredible day that will be.  Both of these incredible days are still to come in the future.  We have reason to believe indeed and anticipate what the future will bring.

How can the hope of the future help you live today?  What do you look forward to the most when the glory of the Lord is revealed in Jesus Christ?

Second Thought:

Not only do we have a great hope to come, but we also have an incredible testimony in the past.  Jesus Christ came.  He died for our sake.  But, notice why He died.  He desires to purify for Himself a people.  He wants us to be redeemed and pure.  But He also wants us to be zealous for doing good things.  Being redeemed, we should look for ways to live that reality out.

How does it make you feel to know that Jesus wants you to be a part of His people?  How does it make you feel knowing that you are a part of the possession of Jesus?

Third Thought:

Paul then challenges Titus to teach, exhort, and rebuke.  But there’s more to it than that.  Paul tells Titus to not let anyone invalidate his authority.  Titus was called by God.  He was trained by Paul.  Yes, he had a huge responsibility in managing the development of faith on the whole island of Crete.  But he was trained and equipped through God’s power.  He has every reason to feel confidence in spite of the task at hand.

How confident are you in your spiritual training?  How has God trained you?  Where might God be increasing your training?  Why can it be easy to lose our confidence?

Passage for Tomorrow: Titus 3:1-2