Titus

Timeless Truth: V. 3:3-5 “We were formerly slaves but now we are free because of Christ."

I, Like the Cretans, was once lost and in bondage to my own desires and evils, but now Christ has come and rescued me. This produces in me a strong sense of gratitude and indebtedness for it was His work that set me free, nothing I have done. I am thankful that I am no longer enslaved to such destructive things, for there was no joy or peace in them. Now I have been saved, and seeing how that very truth brings so much joy and rest I feel free to want the same freedom and joy for others.

One thing that I tend to do is be hard on myself when I sin but now I see that I am no longer a slave to sin. I can forgive myself because I have already been forgiven, I can walk away from self-condemnation because I have no condemner. As I see the joy in my being set free I also see my appetite for the things I used to desire waning. If Christ loved me enough to save me then I want to see what other good things He has for me.

Specifically I am seeing that the real thing He is calling me into is love for others… which I will apply by not holding on to my desires. I plan on letting this play itself out in the way I interact with others and live on the base, an example being my housekeeping duties, picking up the slack for others and cleaning more than required so that others would benefit. I also want to offer my car to anyone who needs rides or anything, which I have been blessed by doing thus far. I just see that there is an imperative for me to love and sacrifice in light of the sacrifice that Christ has made for me, my needs are met, I just want to bless others now that their needs might be met. Another specific way I want to apply this truth to my life is to question my motives and desires, to find the things I am still living enslaved by. I will be obedient to the teachers and my friends, I will not be envious and forgive those who offend me. I find myself jealous sometimes that I am new here and so many people have made such good friends through YWAM already. Rather than live in that bondage though, I will rejoice in my being rescued and rejoice in the opportunity to love the people God has put in my life right now. Tonight some of the students are going to have some worship time too and I am going to go and just simply rest in the reality that I have been set free, I am no longer enslaved and never will be again.

- so just a follow up since I wrote this a few days ago and didn’t get a chance to put it online until just now,… at the worship night I was so blessed because this book fried me a bit and I really needed to just sit and rest and let Jesus have a chance to comfort me. This reality was very true in my life but at the time I had to turn this in I hadn’t had time to reflect and meditate on this truth…

the reason I share this with you is because while just sitting and meditating on this truth I felt like Jesus was asking me to pray for a new brother I have met and really enjoy, Jeff. I am typically pessimistic about the whole “I am God, and I am telling you to do this so stop sitting there and do it.” thing. I had felt like God was saying this earlier, and I had prayed that God would give me the right time and right opportunity to and here it was. So I went and just prayed for him… yeah, just prayed what was on my mind (which I honestly felt at the time was just a bunch of jibberish that wouldn’t bless him). The thing I prayed for Jeff was that God would help him see just this… that he is forgiven… that he once was lost but now is redeemed, no longer a slave but a son… that God loves him as a good father… that His love for him was not contingent on anything less than Christ’s work… that Jeff is a son, that he is loved and will be provided for.

Funny thing, Jeff had been praying for just that… that God would touch him in a real way and let him know that he is His son. Kinda trippy, but I am so thankful for it.