December 19 - Titus: Paul Pushes Titus to Instruct in Life-Giving Practices

Today’s Reading: Titus

The Message

English Standard Version

Thought to Guide Your Reading

Paul wants Titus to lead the congregation into a group that sets things right, not one that argues over religion.

Summary in 100 Words or Less

Paul to Titus:
I point the way to God's Life.
Appoint worthy leaders in Crete, not rebellious people who add unnecessary rules but break God's Rules.
Show people a disciplined life—young and old, men and women—so enemies become friends.
Slaves, show God through your character.
God shows everyone how to live a godly life, getting us ready for Jesus' Return.
Be firm on directing everyone's thoughts to essential doctrines, not the fine print. Cut off dividers.
Help everyone learn to work well so they will have enough for themselves and the needy.
Greetings and grace to everyone there.

How Today’s Reading Contributes to the Gospel: God is Setting All Things Right

Titus, like Timothy, had to deal with people teaching religion instead of God's
Way.

Paul's insistence that he taught God's Life at the beginning of the letter is not by accident. He compares it to those who add rules upon rules, increasing sin. Paul wants Titus to model, teach, and force the churches in Crete to observe God's Life. He even wanted Titus to cut off people who would not stop nitpicking doctrine. He has very many things to call them and none of them are good. Stay away from people who want to argue over religion!

"Solid doctrine" is not about worshiping right.

All of the things listed are character traits, not actions. Sound doctrine is about lives that set things right, not doing the religion right.

Older women should mentor younger women to be good wives. Older men should mentor younger men to be better men.

Paul wanted the older women to mentor younger women in how to love their husbands and be good wives. Older men should help younger men develop discipline. We have often split ministries and classes into age groups. I believe that split—provided there is not a separate time dedicated for mentoring—hinders older and younger men from gaining an equal respect for each other and helping each other set things right. Although class time is not sufficient on its own to mentor, it does send a message that we should stay with only people our age who are going through similar issues. It also cuts off access for younger and older people to mingle and get to know each other more. Mentor younger people one-on-one to live godly lives. Many of our teenage dropout rates could improve if we simply took the time to give them sufficient time to develop godly practices. Paul mentions one extra side-effect—our enemies will get to know us and see we're not as bad as they thought.

God's "readiness to give and forgive" provides the foundation for our courage.

Who could argue with a god who loved His Creation so much that He would call us when we were unwanted and mentor us into living His Life so that we could easily transition into His Kingdom? This god sacrificed Himself to set our relationships right. That god gives us courage! That god provides us with enough assurance to withstand uncomfortable situations and help others set their relationships right.

What mentoring have you seen/experienced?

December 16 - Ephesians: God's Adopted People Walking Down God's Way

Today’s Reading: Ephesians

The Message

English Standard Version

Thought to Guide Your Reading

Jesus broke down the barrier between God and the Gentiles. The appropriate answer is walking in faith down God's Way.

Summary in 100 Words or Less

Paul to the believers in Ephesus:
Long ago God decided to adopt us through Jesus. God embraced us when we wanted the world. Through Jesus' Sacrifice everyone has an equal claim on "Christian"—which angers some Jews. God can do anything!
Run God's Road as one. Live honest, temperate, and forgiving lives. Love like Jesus. Expose the darkness. Sing loudly because of the Spirit, not alcohol. Treat each other well, especially wives, husbands, children, parents, servants, and masters.
Be God-Strong in this life-and-death struggle over our souls. Use all of God's Equipment. Help each other.
Jesus' Grace be with everyone.

How Today’s Reading Contributes to the Gospel: God is Setting All Things Right

God's Plan to set all things right was set before Adam and Eve brought death into the world.

How awesome to serve a God who wanted to set things right even before they needed to be set right! God's Plan is awesome because God knew He would die because of our mistakes and yet created everything anyway.

The Church is Christ's Body on Earth.

Our purpose is to show Jesus to the world. We want to help them set their relationship right with God by being ambassadors of God.

God brought outsiders in—which angered His Chosen People.

Paul is in prison because the Jews were angry that he taught God's Message through Jesus to Gentiles. They wanted an exclusive claim on God and would not share. Yet Jesus treats everyone as equals. There is now one group.
We love splitting everyone into two groups—the church and the world. However, there is no difference between the two. The world can be part of the church. This is why Paul mentioned that the church is central to the world. There may be many who do not want anything to do with God but it is their decision, not God's.

The answer for being sought by God is to walk down His Road.

In chapter four Paul transitions from theoretical to practical. Since we are all included, we should be unified as we walk down God's Way—in the same direction, not looking and acting alike. We must mature or be left behind. This means we must get rid of the old life. The truth is, we already know what we need to do to set things right. We must choose to do it.

Wives must respect husbands like the church respects Jesus. Husbands must love wives as Jesus loves the church.

A few weeks ago we read how husbands have authority, not priority. Adam was created first but men now are born to women. We are interdependent. Today Paul uses the church's relationship with Jesus as a template for marriage. Jesus gave Himself for the church, His Body, to set its relationship with God right. The church, in return, respects and submits to Jesus. No husband should beat his wife because Jesus would not beat Himself. No woman should disrespect her husband because the church would not disrespect Jesus. We cannot argue against the first without also arguing against the second.

Children and parents have a responsibility to make sure children become mature Christians.

Paul does not put the onus on children or parents alone. They share responsibility. Children must honor their parents. Parents must guide their children with gentleness.

We are in a battle for our soul.

Paul uses warfare imagery at the end of the letter. He wants to make sure we understand that this is not a pleasant, intellectual discussion. This is war. We must be prepared with both defensive armor and offensive weapons. Both come from God.

Behold the awesome mystery of God!

December 15 - Colossians; Philemon: Religious Rules Distract from Oneness with God

Today’s Reading: Colossians; Philemon

The Message

English Standard Version

Thought to Guide Your Reading

Paul warns the Colossian Christians not to be led by people who make things off-limits.

Summary in 100 Words or Less

Colossians

Paul and Timothy to the Christians in Colosse:
We thank God for your steadfast faith. The Message never weakens or changes! We pray you won't, either.
We see in Jesus God setting everyone's relationship right. Be confident in Christ. Stay away from human traditions and spiritual superstitions. Baptism is ritual enough. If you are serious about Christ's Resurrected Life, live it! Focusing on labels misses Christ.
Set things right. Help each other live the Resurrected Life—wives, husbands, children, parents, servants, and masters alike.
Pray. Help outsiders set things right.
Many with me send greetings. Echo our greetings to Laodicea.

Philemon

Paul and Timothy to Philemon, Apphia, Archippus, and the church in your house:
I pray your faith continues.
I have a favor to ask. I realize I have God's Authority to command you to do it, but I prefer to ask. Onesimus is no longer the runaway slave you once had. I have sent him to you at a great pain to my work because it is right. Please accept him as our brother. I will pay for any damages he caused—but remember the debt you owe me!
I hope to see you again.
People with me greet you.

How Today’s Reading Contributes to the Gospel: God is Setting All Things Right

Our work is directly tied to God's Work.

In Colossians, Paul wants to make sure they realize that their focus should be on God's Work, not on religion. As they focus more and more on God's Work they will be closer and closer to God's Life. As they set things right as God sets things right they will be set free from darkness and death and live a rich life with God. Until we recognize and join God's Work, we will never have a truly righteous life. The great thing about God's Work is that the entire world fits His Way. We can understand the world by understanding God.

We preach Christ, not religion.

It is Jesus that set all things right through His Death. Humans are incapable of setting things right because we are easily distracted by physical things—either for selfish reasons or for "pious" reasons. We focus on doing or not doing things instead of God's Work. When we focus on what we should or should not do or touch or when we focus on spirits, angels, and horoscopes we add to the message we send. The Message is simple—all things are set right though Jesus!
Reading from The Message helped me realize that Paul is not mentioning some unnamed group of Gnostics who are troubling these Christians. He is talking about the Jews who are trying to get the Gentile Christians to go along with the Law of Moses. Growing up, I never put the two together. Now I realize the things I was taught were important—baptism, no musical instruments in worship, no alcohol, etc.—were simply distractions from the Message of Jesus. They are not helpful in growing intimacy with God and Christ. They are, as Paul put it, "pretentious and infantile religion" (2:20). They may sound impressive but in the end only make ourselves look important. Baptism is tolerated because it helps tie us to God. It is a ritual which is not magical, but is important because it gives us a physical tie to God—similar to circumcision for Jews.

Our old life is dead and our new Life focuses on setting things right.

As mentioned earlier, the freedom we receive in Christ is not meant to be a blank check to do whatever we wish. Paul wants God's Chosen People to remember that we have a new Life, one that does not sin. We have a life shaped by God, not by physical urges. Some may consider these comments distractions based on the previous point, but in reality our old life takes us away from God and our new Life brings us closer to Him. The exact way I pray/sing/take communion does not necessarily bring me closer or farther from God. If I lie to my brothers I am going away from God. That is why God wants to make sure we do not lie. We want God's Clothing. To do that we must take off our old, dirty clothes and put on His new, holy Clothes. We sing to help push each other to clothe ourselves in Christ.

The story of Onesimus is the story of his relationship with God being set right.

Onesimus ran away from Philemon, most likely with stolen money or property. Yet he has changed to the point that Paul does not want to send him back. Onesimus is too valuable to Paul to allow him to leave. But Paul must do what is right. What a grand transformation—from fugitive slave to essential worker for God. When God sets our relationship right, we can overcome any problem we had.

Paul tells Philemon to no longer see Onesimus as a physical being anymore but as a spiritual brother.

Paul's letter to Philemon is very interesting. In it he does not advocate for the abolition of slavery but instead Paul advocates for the abolition of seeing our brothers and sisters in Christ as physical beings. Paul reminds Philemon that he owes his spiritual life to Paul and should take that into consideration before punishing Onesimus. Onesimus deserves justice. He should receive mercy because everyone deserves justice but God gives us mercy.

Do you distract others by teaching them religion instead of how to set things right?