Jesus Christ wants us to be generous enough in giving to the needy. We, being godly, cannot withhold anything from the people who are in need. Today many believers are in chain; they are detained by authorities of the world; they lack facilities and they are poor for the sake of the gospel of Christ. It is our privilege to give our wealth for the spread of the gospel through a local church we are part of it. We should know for sure that our local church is biblically designed to keep the the Lord’s ordinances.
Proverbs 10:9 ESV “Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.”
Solomon’s practical advice is our life lesson in this wrong gone world. He throws light on two essential elements of godly life: integrity and crookedness. The godly and righteous should have a sense of integrity in all dealings. People in the world should glorify Jesus by seeing this virtue in us. And it is one of the ways to preach the gospel of Christ. The world and the worldly are known for the works of the flesh which are “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, [20] idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, [21] envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these” (Gal. 5:10-21 ESV). Paul warns that the people who are involved in these vile acts will not be part of the glorious kingdom of God. It is clear that when we are entangled by any of these ungodly and unholy dead habits, we are far away from the presence of God and we have lost our integrity in Christ.
Revelation 4:11 ESV “”Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.””
Our Lord Jesus is worthy to be praised and honoured for eternity, because He is the centre of the gospel. The Lord Jesus is the way, the truth and the life to the world. No man gets saved from sin without Jesus Christ. Therefore, “NO JESUS, NO SALVATION” is an absolute truth and there is no second thought about this proposition.
Psalm 29:11 NASB “The LORD will give strength to His people; The LORD will bless His people with peace.”
The Psalmist assures God’s people two essential blessings: the LORD’S strength and the LORD’S peace. This statement has the future time phrases; “will give” and “will bless”. What makes the psalmist go so confident to confess such an expression in regards to ‘assertive faith’ in the Lord Jesus Christ? What drove him to declare such a genuine desire for the Lord?
Ephesians 2:13 ESV “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
Had there been no cross and bloodshed of the Lord Jesus Christ, we would have been in the kingdom of Satan and his dominion all through our life. It is His blood that has opened up a great way eternally to seek the kingdom of God. The death of Christ marked an essential purpose for the entire world so that God would be pleased with the participation of His people in worshipping Him in spirit and truth.
Paul in Acts 20:28 tells “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood” (ESV). Jesus Christ has redeemed us from the clutch hold of eternal damnation and brought to eternal life by His substitutionary death. Thus our redemption has come through Jesus’s death.
Nahum 1:7 ESV “The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.”
It is well proven fact that our Lord God is good, fair and just. There is no evil in Him. He is holy. There is sin in him and He cannot sin. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” The greatest trouble in the world is to live in sin. When we wallow in our transgression, we cannot recognise the reality around us. When we are dead in sin, God alone can make us alive or revive us back to life from such a peril. Therefore, the Lord Jesus is such a stronghold or strong tower in times of trouble. He is mighty to save us from darkness so that we may glorify Him holy name.
Romans 1:20 ESV “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”
Psalm 33:6 ESV “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.”
What stands out for us in our life is God’s word. Creations including all the heavenly and earthly bodies are great and beyond our imagination. We become awestruck when we encounter such magnificent things. Do you know what created all these awesome things? It is His Word alone. The Psalmist says, “ I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word “ (Psalm 138:2 ESV).
Titus 2:7-8 ESV “Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, [8] and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.”
It is a pure instruction for a younger person involved with God’s ministry. Anybody committed to the work of the gospel of Christ is bound to listen to this piece of time tested advice. If we have denied ourselves…taking up his cross and following the Lord Jesus, we need to show these qualities …
Paul motivates Titus to be a model of good works in the Assembly of God and his elect. In 1 Timothy 4:12, Timothy is intructed to be a person who should not be despised of his youth, but should set the members an example in speech, conduct, love, faith and in purity. Thus we can only reach out our own brothers and sisters in Christ and preach the gospel of Christ when we maintain our words, deeds and thoughts in a Christ-centered fashion.
Paul emphasises on Titus’ godly teaching that stems from his life that clearly demonstrates his cent percent devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is clear that we should live out our gospel-entered faith in the society so that God may be glorified. Our quiet and calm life coupled with the Word driven decision making life style can draw many closer to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Proverbs 17:27 ESV “Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.”
King Solomon, the wisest of all humans ever lived with God’s grace on the earth talks about restraining our spoken and written words. There are four important words or phrases here: “restrains, knowledge, cool spirit and understanding.” All these four expressions bear the mark of god fearing attitude and outlook.
Eugene H. Peterson in The Message translation states like this: “The one who knows much says little; an understanding person remains calm” (Proverbs 17:27 MSG). Solomon’s words may seem common and secular; however, we can learn a great truth about it considering the fear of the Lord. The same author says, “… Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight” (Proverbs 9:9-10). If we are not righteous or godly saved by the atonement of Christ, we will end up saying a lot in words that are worldy and ungodly. And those words will lack God’s insight. As a result, these empty words reveal our nature that we are not god fearing. What else can you expect from the ungodly except …“the works of the flesh: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, …“(Galatians 5:19-21 ESV).
It is His mere grace that we live under the Lord’s guidance and we are so privileged to have His written words in the form of the Bible. Let’s spend our days in meditating upon the Scriptures.