Terry Storch

Writing about life, leadership, faith, and anything else I find interesting.

Titus 2 - All In

 

Titus 2 - All In

I accidentally skipped chapter 2 yesterday and rolled right into the conclusion of Titus. Oops. So, today we jump back into chapter 2, and based on my circumstances, this might of been God’s plan. Today’s reading hit home. I am only going to hit on a small subset of the chapter, but it’s gold.

To be honest, every time I read slaves in the Bible, I get uncomfortable. I do not like the sound of it, the concept and the reality of slavery, it just makes me sick. So this morning, I ran right into slavery, and I wanted to just jump right past it and move on. But, God had something else in mind for me, and maybe this will resonate with you as well. 

“Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.” - ‭‭Titus‬ ‭2:9-10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Teach slaves...in other translations, we see that this is like the opening of Titus, using bondservant or bondslave. So as I am processing and reading this, I am putting myself in these shoes, as I am the slave, and I am being taught to be subject to my master. Remember how Paul opened Titus, I talked about this a few days ago.

“From Paul, God’s willing slave and an apostle of Jesus, the Anointed One, to Titus...” - ‭‭Titus‬ ‭1:1a‬ ‭TPT‬‬

God’s willing slave. Or in a few other translations, we read bondservant, bondslave, or slave of God. These words were translated from the original Ancient Greek word doulos. According to a few Greek scholars, they called it “the most abject, servile term in use among the Greeks for a slave”), and it was also the word for a slave by choice. This is to me was critical because Paul was set free in Christ Jesus, but yet chose to remain in “bondage” to God, it was his choice, it was his calling. I loved this opening and these learnings as I process my life and process the reality of so many Christian leaders. We have the freedom to do just about anything we want or desire, could pursue financial wealth, could pursue notoriety or independence, but part of the calling, part of the choice to follow Jesus is being a bondslave to God’s will, and this is a choice, it’s a calling. This calling requires necessary sacrifices but produces limitless fruit and joy that are fulfilled this side of heaven and beyond. 

I am back to where I started in Titus, a willing slave of Jesus Christ. This is pressing into my spirit and challenging what am I a slave to, or what am I a slave for? What is my master?  As Jesus was taking his last few breaths, he again modeled this for us, yet not my will, but yours be done. 

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” - ‭‭Luke‬ ‭22:42‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The critical messaging I am hearing and reading is, who is our master? We are all slaves, every one of us, and uniquely we have a choice of who our master is. We can choose Jesus Christ to be our master, and walk as he did and live a life that says not my will, but yours be done. Or, we can choose a different master, pride, money, the corporate ladder, success, and the list goes on and on. Who is my master? This guides me back again to Jesus, and his response to an essential question:

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” - ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭22:36-37‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Love! The central message of the Gospel. We can not split or divide our love, and it must be directed towards the Lord, our God entirely. This is selfless, period. Paul, right after talking about teaching slaves to be subject to their masters, he goes right into the Gospel. How ironic. 

“For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.” - ‭‭Titus‬ ‭2:11-14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The gospel is transformational, and it does not leave us how it found us. The knowledge of the gospel must continue to transform us and push us closer and closer to Christ. The closer we get to Christ, the more we release our desires and grow eager to do what is good in God's eyes. This transformation doesn't typically look anything like what the world tells us is success, or good, or worthy. That is where the tension lies...not my will Lord, but yours. 

Who is my master? What am I a slave too? Am I zealous for the right things, the things that God has uniquely called me to do? This is my message today, this is what I am profoundly processing. Oh, how great is our God! Lord I am all in, I am yours, the answer is yes...I am just waiting on your question. And God, when I enter the times when I don’t believe this, I ask now that you help me with my unbelief. I am your bondservant, and here to fulfill your calling and your will for my life. 

“Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order to provide for urgent needs and not live unproductive lives.” - ‭‭Titus‬ ‭3:14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

other writing
John 20 - The Gospel

John 20 - The Gospel

The Gospel, the Good News! Jesus, Son of God, was born of Mary, lived as the Son of Man, died, and rose to life to rescue the world and bring about a new life. The central message of the gospel. Jesus, the centerpiece! John 19 & 20 cover the brutal death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

In this scene, I can not imagine how the disciples felt. John describes them as overjoyed...but those words just fall short of what I can imagine this moment was like.

John 19 - The Magnitude of the Cross

John 19 - The Magnitude of the Cross

The day of Jesus' crucifixion fulfilled 28 Old Testament prophecies. Scripture was fulfilled! Beyond that, trying to wrap my mind around what happened this day, on the cross, and fully grabbing the magnitude of the cross is mind-boggling.

Sure, we can dumb this down or simplify it to a place where I just don’t believe it is anywhere near accurate. We can get into penal substitution and argue over was God full of love or was God full of wrath and hate that he killed his son. To me, John 3:16 is pretty clear on the love part.

John 18 - Jesus levels an army

John 18 - Jesus levels an army

In John 18, we come to the great betrayal. Judas came with the soldiers, officials, and chief priest and Pharisees. We know the scene. But this morning, I saw something I don’t remember reading and surly don’t remember learning about.

“So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons. Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭18:3-6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John 17 - The Lords Prayer

John 17 - The Lords Prayer

John 17 is Jesus looking heavenward and praying to God the Father. So much beauty and mystery in this prayer. One thing that jumps out to me is that Jesus, fully God, and fully man prayed. Jesus is God fully. Why did he need to pray, He was One with the Father, He was God...and yet he prayed. This is so powerful;

“And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭17:5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John 16 - What does it take to believe?

John 16 - What does it take to believe?

By the end of John 16, Jesus had done countless miracles, preached some amazing sermons, transformed so many lives, and developed a close and personal relationship with his disciples. So, when reading these verses, I am just utterly confused on so many levels.

“I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.” “Do you now believe?” Jesus replied.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭16:28-31‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John 16 - Undervaluing God in Spirit

John 16 - Undervaluing God in Spirit

Jesus’ time on earth is quickly coming to a close, and he finishes up his last sermon or teaching to his disciples as they walk to Gethsemane. This final teaching was a heavy one that no doubt left his disciples with a heavy heart. Jesus said it this way;

“...None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭16:5-6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus goes on to say;

John 15 - Constant Growth

John 15 - Constant Growth

We were built for growth, constant growth. From birth, all the way until our death, we were designed by God for constant growth. The problem is, we often can find ourselves stuck in a belief, a phase, or a part of life where we stop growing.

One of the most brilliant investors embodies this understanding. Charlie Munger, at 96 years old, is still learning and growing as a person. I love this quote:

“Knowing what you don’t know is more useful than being brilliant.”
- Charlie Munger

John 14 - The Gift of Peace

John 14 - The Gift of Peace

John 14 opens with Jesus, saying, Don’t let your hearts be troubled. And the chapter closed down with Jesus saying Don’t be troubled or afraid.

A message that needs to resonate with our spirit and our inner self. This was such a good reminder, reading through John 14 over and over. This passage lifted off the screen.

“But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart…

John 14 - Troubled Hearts

John 14 - Troubled Hearts

The world today seems so volatile and chaotic. Everywhere you look, whatever we read and see on TV just seems to be troubling. Last night, I noticed my lovely wife Tweeted this;

“I can’t be the only one who watches the news and is simply embarrassed right now, right? (Dear Jesus, we tap out. Come on back.)”

I find this first humorous, but then I also find it sad. It’s true, watching the news as a Christ-follower is pretty embarrassing. In John 14, we see Jesus…

John 13 - Unselfish Concern

John 13 - Unselfish Concern

Summarizing John, chapter 13, looks like this. The Lords Supper takes place. Jesus washes the disciple's feet. Jesus calls out Judas, and Satan enters him. Night comes, Judas leaves, and Jesus says he must go, and where I am going, you can not come. To cap it all off, Jesus also calls out Simon Peter and tells him that he will deny and completely disown Jesus three times. Whoa, a really full chapter, and historical day.

Nestled in the wrap up of the day is the parting message Jesus leaves his disciples, a message Jesus is sharing with us right now.

 
thoughtsTerry Storch