Journal Matt 7 (all references are from the ESV; changes in punctuation are mine)

Scripture: “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.

 

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” Matt 7:6-7

 

Observation: Is this a call for the prudent, the wise, the discerning and how to deal with the public?

 

Analysis: Anybody else have issues with this verse?  I do.  How do I put this verse into action and stay true to the preaching of the Gospel?

 

In my past I have presented certain aspects of the Gospel and gotten into knockdown, drag out arguments—devoid of love and mercy—just wanting to be right.  And then I retreat and fight with the resulting condemnation of being a coward in the battle for the Kingdom.

 

Or I fight with the internal condemnation of thinking my “opponents” are dogs and pigs and I am somehow exalted over them—a better breed of dog and pig, I guess.

 

What I am pretty sure Jesus is saying is to “practice discernment”; not everyone has “ears to hear or eyes to see.”

 

I wonder though, what am I to do with this?  I know I have bypassed folks who I immediately thought, “Not this person—I sense no return for my effort.”  And immediately thought: “Am I God; am I prejudging based on what?  External appearances or anything else?”

 

And yet…the Scripture is, must be true.  There must be a point to apply verse 6.  Even Proverbs indicates a similar thought: “Leave the presence of a fool, for there you do not meet words of knowledge.” (Prov 14:7)

 

But, how do I know, really know to abandon a conversation or to stick with it and plow ahead?  The very next verse of Asking, Seeking, Knocking is the results driven answer—and I notice that it isn’t Time defined.  Is this because the Holy Spirit is refining me throughout?  I have to think and consider that.

 

Prayer:  Father, I don’t know about this verse.  I am not inclined to be like a bull in a china shop with my testimony, nor assume the mantle of a car salesman about the Gospel.  The one time I am most proud of is when the Jehovah Witnesses came to the door and, in conversation, I recited the Gospel from Eden to the Cross and asked them to repent from the false gospel they were presenting.

I know I have conviction about not throwing newbies to the Way out to witness immediately, like sending cannon fodder to “charge the hill.”  I have less understanding of “what do you do then?”

 

Refine me, O Lord.  Have me walk in your ways always.  Help me not to walk in my own understanding alone but draw near to you every day.

 

Why did I dream about recommending Tozer to a group last night?

 

AMEN

Rick Sutton

Journal Matt 6 (all references are from the ESV; changes in punctuation are mine)

Scripture: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matt 6:21

 

Observation: Reading this chapter, I wonder if this statement should have been a “stand alone” verse.

 

Analysis: I think I see a pattern from the beginning of this chapter:

• Matt 6:1-7 Not what is being done, but the motivation behind it.  “I want to be noticed, seen, and admired.”
• V 14: “I want the liberty to hold my decision until I think that enough penance has passed— “I don’t think (he) is really sorry; I am not satisfied.””
• V 16-18: Again “look how spiritual I am; Look upon me and be filled with wonder!”  Ok, over the top, but we can imagine the picture…
• V 19-20: Money and possessions.  Ok, that one is easy.
• V 25-31: Anxiousness—this one is not having faith in God; thinking that wringing my hands isn’t a sign of unbelief— “Of course, God knows I am weak…” is not an excuse for anxiousness, it should be a signal of indwelling sin that needs to be rooted out.

 

I think that all five of these can (and does) represent my treasure.  Treasure isn’t what is in a bank account, property, bitcoin, cars, stuff, and even family in general.  Treasure is just that: what do I hold dear?  Or “what do I hold in my thoughts, mind, and heart before God?”  These are the idols of my heart…

 

Isn’t it true that I don’t see into myself as clearly as I see into others?  I find that true on a regular basis.  It is always easier to see into others.  And yet, those aren’t the eyes that the Holy Spirit wants to open: “Examine yourself…” writes Paul to the Church at Corinth.

 

Where is my heart?  Candidly, I wrestle with this stuff every day, even to the smallest detail.  Even as I make the “good confession”, it is not far underneath that sin wars with my soul—as it does with everyone.

 

How to do battle, then?  One way is to be transparent, not only with ourselves but with clear confession to and with others.  Find a friend (a godly one, mind you) that you can bear your soul with.

 

Prayer:  Lord God, thank you that I can talk with my wife about these things, expound upon You and your Character and Attributes, to crank up the implications of your Word—not just memorize scripture, but to peel it down and see what You mean with other parts of Your Word.

 

Knowing You is the Treasure to be sought all my days.

AMEN Rick Sutton

Journal Matt 5 (all references are from the ESV; changes in punctuation are mine)

Scripture: “Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven…

 

But whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”  Matt 5:19

 

Observation: Is this reference associated with the concept of “greasy grace?”

 

Analysis: I thought the word “relaxes” was interesting here.

 

I wonder how many “believers” think that the “Rest in Christ” corresponds with not taking Christianity seriously and inadvertently “relaxes” against conforming to the image of Jesus with increasing godliness (Ro 8:29)?

 

“How hard do I have to work to become a Believer?”  “Oh, you don’t have to work hard at all.  After all, “works” will not work; it is all Grace.”  “Does that mean I don’t HAVE TO follow the commandments?  Do I have to be SERIOUS about the Faith? Is it ok if I just believe?”

 

Conversing with my wife and bouncing ideas off each other, the end result was we don’t know what is the “right” position to take PRACTICALLY (ardently proclaiming adherence to the Law or expounding and preaching Mercy and Grace) —except for one thing we ended up agreeing upon: If we are not doing this fiercely with the “face in the mirror”, we should not be condemning anybody else.

 

Remember, this is not just the 10 Commandments, but all the “call to godliness” commandments found in the Old Testament.  Just taking the easy way for evaluation, how often do I “relax” any of the 10 Commandments for myself?  Probably way more than I can bring to mind.

 

The concept of “greasy Grace” is found in Chapter 3 of Bonhoeffer’s “Cost of Discipleship”. (Note: I am pretty sure that I don’t align completely with Bonhoeffer’s views, but Chapter 3 is worth reading.)  “Greasy Grace” starts off with the premise that “once in the Kingdom, I can take my ease from there on out: I don’t have to “pursue” God, seek Him all my days, be a fierce disciple, etc.  From there “greasy Grace” can take a number of forms in a Christian’s daily life and in the local Church—and in the way the Gospel is presented.

 

In our conversation, we explored if this was an “either or” message: John’s preaching of “You brood of vipers” or Jesus’ “Let not your heart be troubled…”  My contention is that it is both: Not two sides of the same coin, but totally the same coin.  If one side of the message lays the other side for someone to think as non-important in the Word of God, and the total Word of God is true and totally reliable, then, I think, that somehow both sides MUST be true.  How?  It is a mystery that needs to be individually searched.

 

Prayer:  Father, I appreciate going through this Reading Plan.  You bring up stuff that I have never paid attention to before—and you make me think.

 

I know you see my heart in this: Please never let me be complacent with only the “top skimming’s” of the Scripture but to read and consider deeply, searching for the hidden treasures that makes and fleshes out those main points; to ask “why” and wait upon You, Holy Spirit, for guidance and illumination.

 

Maybe this is a start of “Praying unceasingly”, huh?

 

AMEN

Rick Sutton

Matt 4

 

Scripture

 

2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.

3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God …”

4 But he answered, “It is written …”

 

5 Then the devil …6 said to him, “If you are the Son of God … for it is written …”

7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written …”

 

8 Again, the devil took him …

8 Again, the devil took him …

9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”

10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written …

“‘You shall worship the Lord your God
and him only shall you serve.’”

 

11 Then the devil left him …

 

Observation

 

The devil is tempting Jesus after a time of fasting.

The devil tries to tempt Jesus in his “hungry” state.

He even tries to use the word of God against the purposes of God.

 

The devil repeatedly uses a conditional and doubting and questioning approach …

“If you are the Son of God …”

 

This questioning tactic reminds me of the first time the devil appears in the Bible …

“Did God really say that?”

 

Application

 

How often do I make my faith about theological knowledge?

 

I’ve often noticed that Jesus responds to the temptations with the word of God.

But this morning it stands out to me that the devil himself even uses the word of God in His temptation.

 

In other words, theological knowledge is NOT sufficient!

 

Jesus said I could search the scripture and not find Him if I have a wrong heart.

And James said even the demons believe there is one God!

 

This is a matter of worship

I cannot get into a battle of wits with the devil.

 

I just fight the good fight of faith.

This is about Who I worship.

 

It is then that the devil fled from Jesus.

 

Prayer

 

Thank you, God, for the gift of your Word

But especially for the gift of faith

Help me to not abuse your Word

Help me know and trust it as Truth

Help me fend off temptation with it

In Jesus name

Amen

Scripture

Matthew 3:15 – But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”  Then he consented.

Observation –

Jesus is responding to John the Baptist saying that Jesus should baptize him.  John knows that Jesus is sinless and doesn’t need to be baptized as he had no need of repentance. Jesus tells John that it needs to be done now as a sign and John agrees.

Application –

Recognizing my sin and repenting is heart change that then leads to changed behavior in response to the love of Christ.  Jesus was baptized as a sign of submission to God that was pleasing to Him and Jesus received the Holy Spirit.  Being baptized is an outward sign of surrender to the Lordship of Jesus as we follow His example of baptism to receive the Spirit and become a child of God.

 

 

 

Prayer –

Father,

Thank you for your love, grace and mercy in sending Jesus so we can repent to have a relationship where we can know you and live to make you known.  Thank you for Jesus modeling the outward submission of faith in baptism and your indwelling Spirit to guide us in wisdom, discernment and love.

​

Journal Matt 2 (all references are from the ESV; changes in punctuation are mine)

Scripture: “And (the Wise Men) being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way…(v12)

 

Now when they (the Wise Men) had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said… (v13)

 

But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt…(v19)

 

But when he (Joseph) heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he (Joseph) was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. (v22)

 

Observation:  Is the Bible accurate for teaching, reproof, correction and for training in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16)?  If so, when was the last time a teaching and/or training about dreams showed up?

 

Analysis: Answer: In my estimation, next to hardly never.  I wonder why that is?  Probably because the supernatural side of Christian practice is ceded to the Charismatic weirdo’s and is not talked about in what might be considered “mainstream” Christianity.  In fact, there are a lot of folks that would say it isn’t valid and should be avoided.

 

Every time I read the Scriptures and come across stuff like this, it brings me to wonder?  What if I should pay attention to dreams?

 

Another answer: I should CONSIDER paying attention to them but training myself on how to validate them and their accuracy.  It is like earnestly desiring to prophesy (not a suggestion, but an instruction: “Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts—especially that you may prophesy.” (1 Cor 14:2)) Dreams are not necessarily prophecy, but do they fall in the same category?  Yeah, I think so, too.

 

Something else: Acts 2:17 – “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams…” and; Jude 8 – “Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones.”  So, the Scripture indicates that “dreams” can go both ways: True and False.  The Scripture also indicates that False guys can preach the Gospel and twist it to something it is not.  Therefore, the onus is on us to assure that it is done in godliness and righteousness according to the Word of God…and just not abandoned as “too risky a practice.”

 

Where would we be if Joseph neglected his dreams?  My thought is that he did not shoulder this alone and that he conferred with Mary before deciding upon a decision. Note that I did not write “making a decision together”; the decision (according to the Scriptures) rested upon Joseph alone, with an assumption that Mary said her piece and then trusted God to submit to Joseph.

 

These are the kind of observations and questions a journaling believer should come to eventually.  To study and unravel and unpack this stuff is a Believer’s privilege, duty, and yes, pleasure.

 

It is easy to affirm the broad stuff that isn’t controversial and mysterious.  Consider the Trinity: what besides everything about the Trinity isn’t controversial and mysterious?  And yet, the Doctrine (concept) of the Trinity has to be true because rationally and functionally the Gospel doesn’t work.

 

So, the next time a section of Scripture is run into that doesn’t make immediate sense, ask: “What do you mean by this God?”

 

He will answer…

 

Prayer: Father, a little rambling never hurt anybody; just bouncing thoughts on a piece of electronic paper which is not a bad practice for my personal journal.

 

Straighten out my thoughts, O God.  Take as much time as You need, Holy Spirit.

 

AMEN

Rick Sutton

Mat 1
Scripture:

[19]Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
[20]But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
[24]When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.

Observation:
Joseph was stressed.
Joseph listened to the Lord – through the angel.
Joseph believed the Lord.
Joseph was obedient.

I’m sure with much angst, he considered divorcing Mary quietly so that he could follow the law with as much compassion for Mary as possible. But through being still and listening for God, and then obeying the Lord ahead of the law, he was obedient.

Application
It kind of is that simple sometimes. No matter how stressful things seem, we need to be still and listen to the Lord. Then, when we hear from the Lord we need to believe and be obedient.

This has to be among the ten most stressful things – to know that you have not been with the woman you are about to marry, and see her pregnant. I’m not sure where this formula came from but it goes like this.. e + r = o, which is Event + Reaction = Outcome. Meaning, a person’s reaction to any event will help determine the outcome. I’d say that through the Lord, Joseph’s Reaction to the Event in front of him definitely created an Outcome that may have been entirely different had he reacted in another way. Personally, this is a challenge I face many times a day.. how to react to a situation that doesn’t seem right.  How to honor God in my reaction. Pray about it, listen for the Lord, and be guided by the Holy Spirit and His will will be done.

Prayer:

Lord I love you. Thank you for sending Jesus to die for my sins. Thank you for giving me wisdom and yes, even patience when I really need it. I pray I listen, believe, and glorify you in obedience as I trek through this life. In Jesus’ mighty name I pray. Amen.

Journal Ps 131-132 (all references are from the ESV; changes in punctuation are mine)

Scripture: “O Lord, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high.

 

I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me.

 

But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.” Ps 131:1-2

 

Observation:  How do I know the difference between selfish, worldly ambition and godly ambition?  When do I stop “being all that I can be” and being all what God wants me to be? When is “peace” enough?

 

Analysis:  Punch line: I don’t know when to stop chasing thoughts and things.  And I don’t know how to advise folks to recognize what “too far” is and stop.

 

There is a part of the “American dream” that anyone can be what they want as long as you work hard for it; dream big!!  I talk myself into being aggressive.

 

There is the other part of “not living up to your potential.”  Young adults get that from an encouraging POV (probably parents, but certainly from American culture), prodding them to have a high vision; older folks get that heard sometimes as a description of failure—“I could have been a contender!!!”

 

If I ask God, many times there is silence.  I don’t know, really know, what He wants me to hear.  I have always been told to “hear” His Word from the written Scriptures—but most times I fail to analyze and discern what is important.  Candidly, I have a hope, a desire, a want.  It is not for stuff, but I have had a particular hope for 50 years now—and I will suppose that hope will follow me to my grave.  At times, this “hope” has turned into “agitation”—agitation that I have not received my “hope.”  Maybe others can identify with me here.

 

This is where I am turned into “calming my soul; quieting my soul.”  Examining myself, if I am looking at things too “wonderful”, too high…things further than God has given me reach for, then maybe, just maybe I need to roll things back for a bit.

 

And find peace in Him…

 

Prayer: Father, the mystery of holy dichotomy…Pursuing You and finding Rest in You.  Please wipe the fog away in my perception and make it happen in my heart.  I want You and You alone.

 

AMEN

Rick Sutton

Journal Ps 128-130 (all references are from the ESV; changes in punctuation are mine)

Scripture: “Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord!

 

O Lord, hear my voice!  Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy!  If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who would stand?  But with you there is forgiveness that you may be feared.

 

I wait for the Lord; my soul waits, and, in his word, I have hope more than watchmen in the morning…more than watchmen in the morning.” Ps 130:1-6

 

Observation: Do I pray like this?  Or do I pray perfunctorily, no emotion, no thought, finding contentment in forgiveness but no Fear?

 

Analysis:  Right up front, and to be clear: I am writing to the man in the mirror here—no casting stones to anybody.

 

I am finding myself praying lightly these days.  No “out of the depths” crying here.  In fact, I find a certain “hardening of the heart” creeping up; a creep that moves with unrelenting slowness but is advancing and overcoming my resistance just the same—kind of like plaque on my teeth that just makes my prayers less filling.

 

I noticed two things in today’s reading:

1. The Gospel.  Even here I can see part of the Gospel: No one can stand before God in their iniquities.  It is why we need a Redeemer, a Savior.
2. And from that, with forgiveness of Redemption, we are grateful?  Yes, but I look at the verse and I find an expectation that as a result of God’s forgiveness, there should be fear.

 

I have been working on talking about the Fear of God for a while now.  One definition that I found in another book could describe the function of Fearing God as being Awestruck.

 

When I think of God’s Redemption of my Sin through Jesus, am I even close to being awestruck?  Do I fear God, not that He would take away what They did, but that They did it anyway?

 

AMEN

Rick Sutton

Journal Ps 126-127 (all references are from the ESV; changes in punctuation are mine)

Scripture: “When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream…

 

Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations:

 

“The Lord has done great things for them!”

 

The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad.”  Ps 126:1-3

 

Observation:  The Bible is more than a philosophical, moralistic textbook.  It is the testament of the Living God.  Sometimes I have to put a little thought, imagination, and talking through the Scriptures out loud to get the flavor, the timing, and the inflections right.

 

Don’t read the Scriptures flat.  I will miss a ton of the Holy Spirit that way.

 

Analysis: It took a while turning the Psalm over and over in my mind and speaking it out loud to myself to get to a point of kind of understanding.  At the end, I am convinced of what and how God would like us to react to his Goodness.

 

I see in myself a certain stoic-ness, a flatness, in responding to the Goodness of God.  Maybe I will acknowledge things by nodding my head, whispering “thank you, Lord”, giving a little fist pump or something like that.  I am losing my sense of expressive wonder of God.  That is not what the Psalmist describes above.

 

Here’s how I filled in the blanks: “When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion…(something astounding, out of the ordinary, came out of left field)..we were like those who dream…(caught off guard, struck like in a vision, a dream, an imagination)…  Think of it as being dumbfounded, stopped in my tracks, overwhelmed with what I saw, heard, and perceived—total silence…jaw dropped.

 

And then “…our mouth was filled with laughter, shouts of joy, and declarations of what God has done to the nations…” the folks around us.  It describes an irresistible reaction, an eruption of celebration, a “0 to 60” moment in a flash of an eyeblink; an “I can’t believe what just happened” response.

 

I cannot help but think this is a description of being AWESTRUCK at the Goodness of God.

 

Why don’t I have a reaction like that?

 

Prayer:  Father, I remember when I did have reactions like what the Psalmist describes.  I am depressed that I don’t—it makes me think that I have a hardening, an atrophied heart being developed.  Stirring my heart into flame (or even smoldering) seems so difficult.

 

Fan my heart into flame, O God.

 

AMEN

Rick Sutton

Scripture

 

1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,

which cannot be moved, but abides forever.

 

2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,

so the Lord surrounds his people,

from this time forth and forevermore.

 

Observation

 

The psalmist is inspired by the most obvious feature is his view :

The mountains

The psalmists has two metaphors for mountains

One for the people:

The people who trust the lord are like Mt Zion … they are permanent

 

The other is for the Lord:

He is all encompassing and also permanent … forever

 

So, the similarity is that both are permanent … forever

What’s destined uniquely is that the people abide while the lord surrounds

 

Application

 

There is a single prominent characteristic to describe the people who are abiding and unmovable like Mt Zion :

TRUST

 

Those who trust in the lord are like Mt Zion

 

I will trust in something

Myself, my circumstances, my knowledge, my abilities, etc. …

These things, however, are actually anything but permanent or abiding!

 

I must just trust in the lord …

 

Abide in Him.

 

The word makes me think of Jesus telling me to abide in Him.

 

Few things are more different than a mountain and a vine.

But I abide all the same.

 

He is trustworthy.

He gives life … forevermore.

 

 

Prayer

 

Thank you lord for your word

Thank you that you are trustworthy

Help me abide

In Jesus name

Amen

Journal Ps 120-121 (all references are from the ESV; changes in punctuation are mine)

Scripture: “Deliver me, O Lord, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue.

 

What shall be given to you, and what more shall be done to you, you deceitful tongue?” Ps 120:2-3

 

Observation: There are times reading through the Scriptures (like the Bible Reading Plan this exercise is based upon) I must stop and think (or wonder) about what I am reading…

 

Analysis: I am sure that in the past I have read the above and thought it was talking about other folks, folks that oppose or are antagonistic to me, i.e., THEIR lying tongue, not mine.

 

Today, I wonder whether I got that right.

 

What has popped in my memory is James:

 

• “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds…” James 1:2
• “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart (lies to himself), this person’s religion is worthless…” James 1:26
• “…but no human being can tame the tongue.  It is a restless evil…”  James 2: 8

 

Why is David affirming in Ps 120:1 that he can call out to God and can be confident of an answer?  “In my distress I called to the Lord and He answered me…” and then berates himself, identifying “deceitful lips and a lying tongue…”

 

I think that David can affirm God’s lovingkindness because if there is one guy that understands sin before God and it stops with the face in the mirror, it is David.

 

I am sure that someone can find a reference in the Bible that “blames” other people—but I will also bet that they are few and have a particular context to overcome.  However, the Bible will also indicate that these “blamers” are short-sighted and not truthful: “…he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.  For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.” (James 1:23b-24)

 

People are like that.  It is someone else’s fault things are like they are with me.  “If it wasn’t for (insert name(s) here), walking in righteousness would be easy.”  I have a friend, a brother in the Lord, who introduced me to the chiding comment, “You made me sin, Rick.”

 

I think the references above means that David isn’t falling for that, that some outside influence made him sin.  “Keep me from lying lips (mine) and a deceitful tongue (mine)—don’t let me lie to myself or to engage in deceitful self-speech.”

At least, that thinking makes sense to me and I don’t think I am reaching too far.  It is, folks, what a personal journal is good for.

 

Prayer:  Father, bring men into my life that I can bounce these thoughts off of.  In a multitude of counselors there is safety, but in discussing God’s Word it can go hours and hours of bouncing back and forth.  How long did it take for the Gospel to be coherent and become a doctrine?  If I look at Paul alone, 17 years.

 

In any case, keep me from lying lips and a deceitful tongue.  When I sin, it is me alone and that is against YOU first, O God.

 

AMEN

Rick Sutton

Scripture:
[15] Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever— [16]no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord.

Observation:
Paul is imploring Philemon to accept  Onesimus back with love as a brother and new creation as follower of Jesus, forgetting his past.

Application:
We are not defined by our pasts. With our repentance, Jesus has washed away our sins. we are new creations in Him with new hearts and a desire to please and glorify Him. Our future and our hope is in Jesus Christ alone.

Prayer:
Thank you for my salvation in spite of my faults and my past. I did nothing to earn it or deserve it and yet you gave me a future with You and bless me every day with your goodness. I know I will never be sinless or without fault this side of heaven, but I pray I am able to continually grow to be more and more like you. Help me glorify you and to be loving, forgiving and accepting of those who I find hard to love. In Jesus holy name I pray, amen.

Journal Titus 3 (all references are from the ESV; changes in punctuation are mine)

Scripture: “Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work…

 

to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentile, and to show perfect courtesy to all people.”  Titus 3:1-2

 

Observation:  I am good with the first part of this selection and am aligned.  The second part?  Arghh!!! Stabbed in the heart…

 

Analysis: First thing that came to mind was our current political climate.  Second thing that came to mind was how easy it is to speak evil, to be quarrelsome, to not be gentile, and how hard it is to show perfect courtesy.

 

It is easy to be everything these 2 verses say if the surrounding circumstances are conducive to peace the way I want peace.  What about what Jesus said:

 

Matthew 10:34 – “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.

 

Jesus is very clear here, no hidden meaning or agenda.  The Gospel is radical and is antithetical to worldly relations, practice, and…religion.  The accurate presentation of the Gospel separates the sheep from the goats, the wheat from the chaff, self-serving religious moralists from the surrendered sinner.

 

What Paul is instructing Titus to do is to encourage the local church to evaluate themselves, to be preaching to the face in the mirror.  Peace on the outside of the Church is to be prayed for diligently, it is not the peace of Jesus in the church:

 

John 14:27 – Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

John 16:33 – I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

 

Acts 9:31 – So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.

 

I like peace—let me redefine that: I like absence of conflict and/or disagreement.  I like it when everyone is happy and kind and well-mannered.  I like it when everyone is on the same page of music and singing in harmony.  However, that doesn’t always happen…even in the church.  That is why the directive from Paul was given to Titus: teach these things.

 

All of these instructions (references above) seem to be simple and no-brainers.  Yet, take a poll, a survey about your own actions.  I did, and I didn’t like what I saw.  “Speaking evil of no one?”  Even murmuring and complaining about them?  I did those things and still do in my heart.  How about just simple courtesy, certainly not “perfect courtesy.”  I must work at this every day.

 

Here’s a suggestion to implement these practices: Take them one at a time and focus training on them for 30 days.  Take another thing…and another…hammer on them and make these reflexes your own.

 

Transparency: A week ago, writing this, I fell—and it was the goodness of God for me to fall.  I responded to my wife in a manner that was NOT courteous, was NOT seeking peace (as long as it depended upon me), did not honor God in good works.  I served myself and my outburst of anger.  Like a light switch, I flipped from gentleness to very much the absence of in a second.

 

The Holy Spirit used what I was writing about in my Journal to reveal sin dancing in my heart.  I was ashamed and used this to apologize (both to God and to my wife), confess to the local church, repent, and start to create “spiritual circuit breakers” to put to death the sin in my heart.

 

Humbly, I submit to the readers that this is the way of radical Christianity, step by step, biblical conviction grown and practiced.

 

Prayer: Father, drive actual humility in my life.  Make these words that I write true in You.

 

AMEN

Rick Sutton

Scripture: “But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.

 

Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, SO THAT an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.

 

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age; waiting for our 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 lawlessness AND to purify for himself a people for his own possession (who are zealous for good works).  Titus 2:1, 7-8 and 11-14

 

Observation:  There’s that pesky phrase again, “sound doctrine.” What does that even mean, and what does it have to do with the way I lead my life?

 

Analysis: As a new Christian (a length of time that advanced into a decade or more–(might have grown older, but certainly not smarter or more mature) –I employed the “shotgun”

method of learning about the Scriptures: “What suits my fancy to read about today?”  In a practical manner, I did the “let me just drop my Bible on the table, stick my finger in wherever, and that’s what I will read about today” method of “study.”  A “spiritual person” would define it as being led by the Spirit, a slightly more cynical person would call it “chance” or even “laziness”.

 

I called it then “being led by the Spirit”, I now recognize it now as lazy chance, not disciplined.

 

Why, though? I think that there wasn’t a disciplined approach to the Bible in the local churches I attended—no mission that I could get behind and give my life to.  “Without vision, the people perish.”  But planting sound doctrine in my mind and heart is what prepares me for vision and the mission that results from it.

 

Sports analogy: Doctrine is like practicing the fundamentals; the basic moves, physical and mental reactions, that allows for analysis and corrections when things go wrong.  Without fundamentals, things get ugly on the field.  Preaching the Gospel to yourself, preaching sound doctrine (all of them) are the fundamentals that lead to “renouncing ungodliness, etc.”  It is preparing for the practice of integrity, dignity, and sound speech so that when we are in any kind of public, we don’t look ugly and dumb — having no clue to be drawn from any sort of sound doctrine that has already been trained in us.

 

The three references I began with today are not just directed toward leadership or aspiring leadership but are also applicable to us (me).  I am not an appointed leader in the local church, but I am a leader of my household and to my extended circle of family, friends, work acquaintances, and neighbors—even to (in a minor extent) strangers.

 

Prayer: Lord Jesus, it has taken a long time (and I am still working through this) to know that Leadership is not “positional”; that is, a selection or nomination by an outside authority.  I was not promoted to “manager” in anything.  Leadership is what anyone does during their normal everyday life that God anoints and supports.  It is suggestive and many times lonely because no one has to follow me.  That is especially true with my wife and children.

 

Help me walk in You; support all my attempts at being worthy of the Gospel.

 

AMEN

Rick Sutton