The LORD is... my... portion?

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;

his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
"The LORD is my portion," says my soul,
"therefore I will hope in him."

The LORD is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul who seeks him.
It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the LORD.

-Lamentations 3:22-26

Didn't I mention this in the first post? The LORD is my portion? Hmmm?

No, no He's not. Because I'm a sinner.

This is REALLY hard to remain faithful to, I gotta tell ya. I'm glad that Christ did it for me, cause it's pretty ridiculously (insertchoicecursewordhere)-ing difficult sometimes. God, please give me the strength to hope in you, because I have none of my own...

Joy of the Kingdom

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field."
- Matthew 13:44

I was kind of hoping Mike would cover this one in his sermon, since I'm not sure. But there are two things that stick out to me about the man in this passage:

1. He's completely sold out for the Kingdom. To him, the treasure is worth more than all of his possessions combined. It is truly the most important thing to him on this earth.

2. He acts in his joy. Not only does he give everything up to inherit the Kingdom, but he does it joyfully.

How often do I put the Kingdom of Heaven ahead of worldly possessions? And how often do I do it joyfully, with no sense of remorse or longing for what I've given up? This man models the viewpoint we should have about the Kingdom, and I need to be praying that it would be my only joy on this earth.

Titus 2:6

Titus 2:6 Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled.

So, of all the possible things for Paul to mention concerning young men, self-control is all he writes. That this is all may indicate that self-control is a major issue for younger men. Lust, anger, spiritual discipline, the stuff he's about to write to slaves -- all relate to self-control. The definition (Webster's, not inspired) I used above was "restraint exercised over one's own impulses, emotions, or desires."

Restraint: careful, well-thought out; not foolishly passionate
Over: The self-controlled will wins over more short-lived passions
Impulses: take a back-seat to the will empowered by the Holy Spirit
Emotions: Certainly important, but again, the true self controls even the emotions (see Neh 8:9).
Desires: Desires, like emotions, can be God-given or sinful. The self-controlled man submits his desires to the word to test and form them.

May I be in the word and in fellowship with God so that I have the power to be self-controlled - submitting all my desires, emotions and impulses to what I know is true. May these flow, more and more, from my communion with God so that less self-control is necessary to restrain sinful impulses, etc. Instead, my impulses, emotions and desires will already be what is pleasing to God.

Rejoicing Exceedingly with Great Joy

I was reading through Matt 2 this morning about the wise men's journey to see the baby Jesus. When they saw the star had stopped and they had reached their destination, the text describes their reaction:

"When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy."
Matt 2:10

It's easy in this culture to get complacent with the Christmas message, but let's learn something about the magnificence and awesomeness of what happened on Christmas from the wise men. I definitely want to rejoice exceedingly with great joy this Christmas.

Disgrace for Christ > Treasures of World

I was reading this passage in Hebrews the other day:

"By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward."
Hebrews 11:24-26

It made me think about how often I choose disgrace for the sake of Christ over the treasures that the world has to offer. Especially in this time leading up to the celebration of our Lord's birth, I ask God to keep me focused on Him and His Son instead of the gifts I'll get for Christmas.

The key to keeping this mindset, I believe, lies in the last clause: "because he was looking ahead to his reward." It would be impossible to remain strong and choose the disgrace of Christ without looking ahead and realizing the gift of what's to come is infinitely greater than what we have here on Earth.

Titus 2:3

Titus 2:3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4 and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.

I'm going to breeze through this as it is specifically not addressed to me... Again, I think the list here is exemplary, but not exhaustive. The clarifying phrase is "that the word of God may not be reviled." A nice concept for contextualizing right behavior - "consider what this action communicates to people about the word of God." Very similar to upcoming texts: "that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us" and "so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior."

Also clear here... that older women should teach... they have some responsibility to care for and train the younger women for the purpose of adorning the word of God.

Clearly, these principles are applicable to me. I should be asking "how do my actions make people think about God and what he has communicated to the world?". I am always testifying about God, is it true testimony or false? Clearly sin happens - but even the response to it gives testimony of the whole counsel of God (obey the law of Christ, and when you don't, confess and trust God's forgiveness).

Praise God for forgiveness and his word!!

Titus2:2

Titus2:2 Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness.

Of all the things that a Christian man should aspire to, this is an interestingly short list. There are six things here - among all the hundreds of characteristics that could be possible... I wonder if these incorporate the hundreds, or if some Createan context is relevant... Hmmm. A little help from Webster's:

• Sober-minded. (Sober: 1 a : sparing in the use of food and drink : abstemious b : not addicted to intoxicating drink c : not drunk; 2 : marked by sedate or gravely or earnestly thoughtful character or demeanor; 3 : unhurried, calm; 4 : marked by temperance, moderation, or seriousness ; 5 : subdued in tone or color; 6 : showing no excessive or extreme qualities of fancy, emotion, or prejudice)-minded
• Dignity: 1 : the quality or state of being worthy, honored, or esteemed; 2 a : high rank, office, or position b : a legal title of nobility or honor; 3 archaic : dignitary; 4 : formal reserve or seriousness of manner, appearance, or language
• Self-controlled: restraint exercised over one's own impulses, emotions, or desires
• Sound in Faith, Love: ((I think those are pretty clear))
  
• Steadfastness: 1 a : firmly fixed in place : immovable b : not subject to change; 2 : firm in belief, determination, or adherence : loyal

This paints a pretty firm picture of someone who knows what they believe and is serious about it. Obviously, to be sound in faith assumes orthodoxy (around which all this firmness and dignity is focused. Soundness in love adds a gentleness and other-focus as well... these are not jerks, but godly men, who love people. Growing in sanctification. (Do we make anything out of what's missing here? For instance, "missions-minded" isn't here... is that included in "sound in faith and in love"? Is that what Paul implies, or not? All people are included in the gospel-purpose of all this in v. 11. Also, v. 14 implies the saving/purifying of some out of a larger group. Not sure I could say missions is a focal point here - but clearly isn't left out. Hmmm). Although it's not all clear, there are definitely things here for me to desire and pursue. Strength of character, growing in God, love for others...