Titus 2:1-3:15

But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and strife and disputes about the Law, for they are useless and worthless. Reject a divisive person after a first and second warning… (vv. 3:9-10) I have been in many small group discussions and Bible studies. Occasionally these groups have included some people who were strongly antagonistic toward the Catholic Church, for whatever reason. Having been raised Catholic and feeling that I had gained substantially from that background, there were times when I felt it necessary to defend that Church or its teachings. Mostly these “antagonists” would back off a bit, but not always – sometimes coming back in a really argumentative fashion. And with that I would have to be the one to back off, not wanting to engage this divisive (factious) person on that topic. Paul offers good advice in those verses cited above – our Bible study groups and discussions should be about learning and building up the body. It’s OK to disagree – we’ve learned that in our Men’s Group discussions – but that disagreement needs to be gentle. There is much that I have learned when someone offers a second opinion to something I have said – when it’s offered gently!

See also:

• October 3 (2020) / Titus 2:1-10
• October 4 (2020) / Titus 2:11-15
• October 5 (2020) / Titus 3:1-8
• October 6 (2020) / Titus 3:9-15

Titus 1:1-16

[An overseer must] … be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict it. (v. 9b) I find that I am able to “preach the gospel” (when the occasion arises), but I’ve never been good at responding to negative responses. I’ve heard that the best testimony that we can offer in that situation is to ask questions instead of trying to argue for the truth. But I find difficulties in that approach, in that the more a person responds with what they believe, the more committed they might be to that wrong teaching or wrong doctrine. I’m thinking here of Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses. If you let them talk you’ll just get an endless repetition of what they believe – or more specifically, where they find fault with our doctrine. I have found it best to just be polite, commend them for their commitment, but remind them of who Jesus is and what He has done and where they are wrong, then dismiss them and shut the door. Then I am confident that “…the word that went out of my mouth would not return void, but would accomplish that which the Lord intended.”(Isaiah 55:11, edited)

See also:

• October 1 (2020) / Titus 1:1-9
• October 2 (2020) / Titus 1:10-16

I Timothy 6:1-21

In Ben’s first sermon at St. Andrew’s he said something like “Jesus is so much more than anything we can imagine.” Paul is saying the same thing here: [Jesus] is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen. (vv. 15b-16) What struck me most here were the phrases, “…who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see …” I’m remembering when Moses asked God to show him His glory and God covered Moses face until He had passed by; then God said, “…you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen.” (Exodus 33:18-23) I’m also thinking of “near death” experiences where so many people report seeing a great light in the distance and coming closer. I believe Ben: “Jesus is so much more than anything we can imagine.”

See also:

• September 28 (2020) / I Timothy 6:1-10
• September 29 (2020) / I Timothy 6:11-16
• September 30 (2020) / I Timothy 6:17-21

I Timothy 5:1-25

I have learned to share Jesus in small ways as often as it is reasonable. One such time is when someone performs a service for me/us, like a plumber or a mechanic. For those folks it’s reasonable to offer a tip – an add-on to a bill or a $5 or a $10 or even a $20, like we do in restaurants. Then when I do that, I often say, “Scripture says, … ‘The laborer is worthy of his wages.’”(v. 18) It’s a small item, but it tells people that I’m a believer and occasionally leads to a longer conversation. It’s not unlike my departure to the cashier at the grocery store, “The Lord bless you.” While it’s common to say “God bless you”, that small substitution makes a lot of people take notice and they often will reply with a “Thank you” or a “God bless you, too.” And if there’s no one behind me in line and I’ve gotten a nice reply, it’s a simple step further to ask, “Are you part of a local church?” You never know where that small conversation will go! Another reason to use the cashier instead of the self-checkout at the grocery store…!

See also:

• September 25 (2020) / I Timothy 5:1-10
• September 26 (2020) / I Timothy 5:11-16
• September 27 / I Timothy 5:17-25

I Timothy 4:1-16

Keep a close watch on yourself…(v. 16a). I think Paul is talking here about responsibility and accountability. We are responsible to ourselves to keep that “close watch”, which is, in effect, our self-control. One way to keep that close watch on ourselves is to allow ourselves to be accountable to another individual or to a group of people. Having an accountability to others helps us in a big way with our own self-control. I have mentioned Freedom Road a number of times and my own interaction with that group. I have seen how they (we) personally hold them/ourselves accountable to each other. Each week the person leading the group that week asks for reports of “recovery threatening or recovery enhancing” issue(s) in the past week (or longer). And this is that time for members of the group to be accountable to each other. Occasionally it is a time for confessing shortcomings (as I had to acknowledge this past week); other times it is a time for offering praise for continuing down a road to recovery. Not everyone in this group is an alcoholic or drug addict. But we are all addicted to something (gambling, sex, food, work, shopping, etc.) and we need each other. Our “General Confession” in our Sunday service is a great time for personal reflection, but too often (for me anyhow) it’s just words that I speak. To really confess (again, for me, at least) is to speak to someone else as to where you are. We can take comfort in Scripture as to the truth of that statement: …confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. (James 5:16a) I don’t know any better way to heed Paul’s words to Timothy: Keep a close watch on yourself…

See also:

• September 22 (2020) / I Timothy 4:1-5
• September 23 (2020) / I Timothy 4:6-11
• September 24 (2020) / I Timothy 4:12-16

I Timothy 3:1-16

There are a couple of items that stand out for me in Paul’s qualifications for the office of overseer. First, He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive… (v. 4b) This …keeping his children submissive… I remember that when I was growing up I learned the term “preacher’s kid” – and that term seldom implied anything good of that kid! The thought was that PKs would naturally be rebellious. My sense now is that it was in the stricter denominations that these kids tended to be more rebellious – feeling hemmed in by their father’s teachings and rules, but seeing “freedom” in the outside world. And I often wonder how we raise godly children in today’s ungodly world, with so much temptation so prevalent and so near – even just fingertips away! As we chat with Mark Bruner during his stay with us he reports on some of the kids that we knew from our English Camps in Czechia, how so many of these kids have abandoned the faith that we had shared with them, being drawn away by the “glamour” of that outside world. So sad…!

The second item that I noticed was verse 7a: Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders… My sense is that most non-believers hold ministers in high esteem. I’ve heard that ministers are often grouped with teachers and coaches as people who are highly thought of for their service, in particular for their service to the younger people in our society. But there are others in the outside world who see the hypocrisy in Christians they know, and that notion becomes more verified when news stories reveal televangelists whose wrongful deeds have come to light and priests who are charged with molesting young children. Christian leaders do need to be held to a higher standard; they are more prominent as the image of Christ to the outside world.

See also:

• September 19 (2020) / I Timothy 3:1-7
• September 20 (2020) / I Timothy 3:8-13
• September 21 (2020) / I Timothy 3:14-16

I Timothy 2:1-15

Although the second paragraph in today’s reading (vv. 8-15) is mostly about women, I was struck by verse 8: I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling… I wondered what it was about Ephesus (Timothy’s church at that time) that made for anger and quarreling. You may recall from Acts 19 that Paul had spent 2-3 years preaching and teaching in Ephesus, so the church there should have had a good foundation. But Ephesus was also where a near-riot formed when Demetrius, the silversmith galvanized the people against Paul and his followers (also Acts 19). Or maybe Paul was just making a general comment about churches anywhere. I’m taken back to our own church in 2019 when we saw a number of our friends leave St. Andrew’s. Surely there was anger and quarreling back then – a really sad situation. There’s probably no getting around anger and quarreling in churches today, except for that the beginning of that same verse precedes the anger and quarreling: I desire then that in every place the men should pray…

See also:

• September 17 (2020) / I Timothy 2:1-7
• September 18 (2020) / I Timothy 2:8-15

I Timothy 1:1-20

Paul often refers to himself (specifically or in general terms) as an “apostle to the Gentiles”. But in the following verse I see him very much as an apostle to the Jews also. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me … Jesus Christ might display His perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in Him for eternal life. (v. 16) That is, in previous verses (vv. 13-15) Paul spoke of his former life as …a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. (v. 13b) Many Jews had to have seen his reversal from persecutor to preacher. I think Paul is saying that it was his former way of life that became a major source of belief for many who turned to Jesus, both Gentiles and Jews. A few days ago I commented that Archbishop Beach has said the same thing about us on a number of occasions, especially as we face these difficult times in our nation, that we Christians must let the world see Jesus in us. We, with the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, are the only hope for the world today.

See also:

• September 15 (2020) / I Timothy 1:1-11
• September 16 (2020) / I Timothy 1:12-20

Ephesians 6:1-24

Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling … [and] … render service, as to the Lord, and not to people, (vv. 5, 7) Kathy H. gave me a book to read a few weeks back, Jesus and the Disinherited, by Howard Thurman. The back cover notes that this book was first published in 1949 and was “an important and influential book whose message helped shape the civil rights movement and changed our nation’s history forever.” In one small section of this book Thurman recalls his grandmother (a slave at the time) telling him of their white masters occasionally holding a religious service and the minister almost always quoting these verses. Based on these few verses she swore that if she ever learned to read and write that she would never read any of Paul’s epistles. Funny how a particular context can change one’s understanding of Scripture…!

So today we end Paul’s letters to the churches. We’ll spend the next two weeks in his “pastoral epistles” – letters written to individuals, Timothy and Titus.

See also:

• September 13 (2020) / Ephesians 6:1-9
• September 14 (2020) / Ephesians 6:10-23

Ephesians 5:1-33

…and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. (v. 10) I left this verse as a question last year and still have it as a question this year: How to discern what is pleasing to the Lord? I think we all have it as a basic question in our lives. We do what we do, hoping and praying that what we do is, in fact, pleasing to the Lord. But we also have those bigger questions in mind – what more should I be doing, or what should I be doing differently, or where does God want to take me from here (metaphorically or geographically or both!)?

Look carefully then how you walk … making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. (vv. 15-16) Two thoughts here… First, using our time wisely… Ben pointed out in his sermon yesterday how much he valued his time, especially his alone-morning time! I am no different; in fact, one of my greatest treasures in life is my time – I daresay, almost to the point of idolatry. And anytime someone suggests doing something that cuts into my time, my first reaction is often a defense or a rejection of that suggestion. Not good. Second, the days are indeed evil! Need I say more?

Finally, I added some numbers to what I posted below: “Look at what Paul says about Christ and His church: (1) He loved her; (2) He gave Himself up for her; (3) He sanctified her (set her apart); (4) He cleansed her; (5) He presented her to Himself in splendor; and (6) He made her holy and without blemish.” Adding those numbers makes each activity stand out from the rest all the more. Look again at what Jesus has done for His church. Then ask, what is our (global) church doing for Jesus? That’s a good question!

See also:

• September 9 (2020) / Ephesians 5:1-7
• September 10 (2020) / Ephesians 5:8-14
• September 11 (2020) / Ephesians 5:15-21
• September 12 (2020) / Ephesians 5:22-33