Dear Church

See Purity [Titus 1.15-16]

See Purity [Titus 1.15-16]

There is no shortage of bad in this fallen world. In spite of all that sin, brokenness, and death--in fact because of it--God is at work in the world. This is evident to those who are saved and look for it. May the word of God train us to see His goodness at work and see the sin only as something to be conquered by Christ Jesus' sacrifice on the cross and the power that raised Him from the dead.

Luke Harbaugh

We are Family [Titus 1.10-14]

We are Family [Titus 1.10-14]

God is building a new family in Christ. Paul is concerned that there are agitators to the faith that have the potential to break up this newly formed family in Crete. We ought to be mindful of the things we hear and how they might affect our view of God’s family: the church. Be reminded that we are brothers and sisters in Christ. May the scriptures pull us together as being part of God’s family.

Right Makes Might [Titus 1.8-9]

Right Makes Might [Titus 1.8-9]

You have probably heard it said that “might makes right”, or that because something (bad) can happen, it will happen. Yet Paul inverts this phrase and breathes new life into it. In our culture, might, force, brute strength, cunning, and all such advantages you might have over anyone are taken to give you right against them. “I am better at this, therefore I ought (by right!) to have authority”. Yet Paul in Titus 1.8-9 offers an opposite image, whereby our righteousness is founded upon the message of the gospel, and it is the Holy Spirit which moves us to speak, not our own understanding. At the same, Paul is calling us to pursue a deepness of this understanding of the gospel. This reinforces the understanding of righteousness God has called us towards. Might is God’s, and he makes us Righteous. Righteousness is God’s, and through it, he makes us mighty to do his will!

Joseph Padgett