Wednesday Reading: Titus 1:1-4
Key Verse: Titus 1:2
2 on hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before the eternal times,
Devotion:
Paul had a wonderful way of addressing the people that he was writing to and this is just one of them. Paul allowed his love for Christ to shine through not just after knowing someone for a while but rather as a first impression. Yes he had to know these people that he was writing to but the first impression they got from starting to read their letter from him was that he loved God and wanted the world to know it! Nowadays many a Christian will hide their love for Christ from others until they have got to know them first; this is done for various reasons but probably the main reason is to avoid persecution.
When Christ told the disciples that they would have to face persecution it was not just a casual warning that might or might not happen but rather a stark warning for all of us in our walk with Christ. We live in a world that is against Christ, a world that works against Him because they do not want to have to admit that they are breaking His Law. Paul, on the other hand, wanted to remind everyone that they did break the law but that Christ had already done everything to allow them to be forgiven as well. He wanted everyone to know the truth, the live in the truth and to be encouraged by the truth; the world simply wants to hide from the truth.
God has given us the commandment through Christ that we need to be more like Paul and to go out proudly proclaiming the Gospel wherever we go. Why would He give us that commandment unless He really did mean it? Why would He promise us such things unless He wanted us to keep that promise too? Through our common faith we are all God’s children which means that He is going to be looking out for us whatever we do. If we are going to be bold enough to take His name before us then I’m sure that He is going to be watching us more carefully – how many parents would ignore their child if they saw them doing something that they were proud of? I believe Christ lifts us up even more when we go forward in His name!
Points to Ponder:
What sort of thing makes you proud?
Do you think Christ would be proud of you?
