He Put Our Lives Together

Many Faces of Wisdom Faith and Wisdom in James Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5)    Faith Without Works Is Dead Titus 3:1-11 The Message He Put Our Lives Together 3 1-2 Remind the people to respect the government and be law-abiding, always ready to lend a helping hand. No insults, no fights. God’s people should be bighearted and courteous. 3-8 It wasn’t so long ago that we ourselves were stupid and stubborn, dupes of sin, ordered every which way by our glands, going around with a chip on our shoulder, hated and hating back. But when God, our kind and loving Savior God, stepped in, he saved us from all that. It was all his doing; we had nothing to do with it. He gave us a good bath, and we came out of it new people, washed inside and out by the Holy Spirit. Our Savior Jesus poured out new life so generously. God’s gift has restored our relationship with him and given us back our lives. And there’s more life to come—an eternity of life! You can count on this. 8-11 I want you to put your foot down. Take a firm stand on these matters so that those who have put their trust in God will concentrate on the essentials that are good for everyone. Stay away from mindless, pointless quarreling over genealogies and fine print in the law code. That gets you nowhere. Warn a quarrelsome person once or twice, but then be done with him. Such a person is out of line, rebellious against God. By persisting in divisiveness, he cuts himself off. For Reflection I am finding that these days of smothering chaos, have thinned my skin.  I have a short fuse that can be lit by anyone who I consider to be spouting irrationality; the result, fireworks! In those moments of ignited rage, my piety degenerates into vitriol. My glands are winning! I have left the Kingdom. In his letter to Titus, Paul warns us of the potential for knee jerk reactions and drowning in one's spittle. Paul shows me how not to react to the world outside my point of view. Unfortunately, it describes precisely what I have done in those moments of lapses. Paul also advises on what to do when surrounded by powder kegs.  He reminds me of who I am becoming. He raises a colossal placard saying, "Come on man, you're supposed to preserve the dignity of people, not destroy it." By contributing to divisiveness, I, too, cut my self off. Pray Pray and live in the moment as a child in the household of God. Contemplate your lapses into glandular dominance. Pray and remember your sacred relationship to the living God. Pray and let God's wisdom reveal divine insight. Forward to a friend