Titus 2:11-14 "Eager to Do Good"

            “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 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 glorious appearing 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.”

            We are a people set apart from the wickedness of the world. We are Christ’s very own people, set apart and purified so that we might do what is good. His grace He showed us by dying on the cross to redeem us teaches us to refuse to give in to the evil desires of our flesh, guiding us to live godly, upright lives following the Lord instead of lines of passion. We are to live self-controlled lives, free from the whims that govern the sinful nature, instead living loving and serving others instead of ourselves. Then we live our lives in a way that truly matters. Then we become eager to do what is good.

1 Peter 1:13-16 "Be Prepared"

            “Therefore prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given to you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’”

            We must be ready, we must be constantly prepared for our daily battle with sin. When we open our eyes, we must prepare our minds to fight off the evil influences of sin we will encounter that day. As we talk with the first other human we come in contact with, we must remember to excuse self-control in our interactions with others. And we must put all our hope in the grace God has given us so that, even though we fail, we are not condemned for our sins. Because we have the knowledge of Christ we are called to a higher standard than when we lived in ignorance. We are called to be like the One who called us. We are called to be holy in all that we do, in every breath we take and every day we live.

Ephesians 6:5-8 "Our Earthly Masters"

            “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not man, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.”

            In this life we have many people in roles of authority over our lives. Our parents, teachers, bosses, people who rank higher than we do in the workplace, and anyone in a position of leadership over us count as an earthly master. We may not be their slaves, but they are still in power over us. It is these people in our lives, these people that we often groan and complain about having to listen to that we need to respect most. We are told to respect them even when they are not looking, not to win any favor for ourselves, but so that we would do God’s will. We are to serve with all our hearts, giving the job our best efforts as if we are serving the Lord. Really, in the end, when we give our authorities our very best work, we are actually serving God who rewards those who do good.

1 John 3:1-3 "Children of God"

            “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”

            How completely amazing is it that we, sinners, doomed to die both physically and spiritually, can be called children of God? We cannot love the world or anything in the world because the world does not know God. If we desire to know God and to be His child, the world will not know us. The world does not know God, so it does not know us who are becoming more and more like God. The world, however, does not matter. We may not know all that the future holds for us, but we know Him and we know we are His children. When He returns, we shall see Him in His entirety, seated on His throne. Then, as His children, we will be like Him, pure as He desires, in awe and worship of His name.

1 John 2:15-17 "Love of the World"

            “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world –the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes, and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.”

            We cannot be a Christian actively pursuing a strong personal relationship with God cannot love the world. Everything we know to be evil is of the world. When we boast of the things we have, not in the love God has for us we love the world. When we lust after the sinful things of this world instead of searching for God’s desire for our lives we love the world. When we love the world, we cannot love Christ as we should. Everything of this world will perish. This world and its pleasures are only temporary. But when we do God’s will we will live forever in paradise. Our time on this world is short –let us use it for His glory, not ours.

"The Body of Christ" 1 Corinthians 12:4-7, 11-12, 14-19, 29-30, Mark 16: 15

            “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of workings, but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good…

            “All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines. The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ…

            “Now the body is not made up of one part, but of many. If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason cease to be a part of the body. And if the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason cease to be a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be…

            “Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?”

            “He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.’”

            Everyone has their own talents, their own God given talents. Everyone is unique –everyone has their own skills and abilities to offer the world, usually to help themselves. But, what about using those talents to help the church? Each of us is a part of the body of Christ. We do not all play the same role, but each of us is important in our own role. Together the talents we have been given complement each other to accomplish God’s plans and fulfill the needs of those around us. Each of us has gifts, talents, and abilities that can be used to preach the good news. Be open to God’s call on your life, because He calls each and every one of us to, “go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation”. He calls us to use the gifts He has given us to glorify His name.

1 John 2:9-11 "Hate Blinds"

            “Anyone who claims to be in the light, but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded him.”

            Any kind of hate in our lives hinders our ability to walk with God. However, when we hate our brothers, we are still living in darkness. “We love because he first loved us.” If we are not showing the love we were shown, we are not living in the light. When we love our brothers, showing the love we were shown when Jesus died on the cross, taking on the sins we had committed so that we can have a relationship with Him, we will not stumble. When we hate our brother we walk through our life in darkness. We cannot see where we are going because we do not have love to light the way.

1 John 2:1-6 "Walk in the Light"

"My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense --Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for owls, but also for the sins of the whole world. We know we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, 'I know him," but does not follow his commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did."

When we become a Christian, we can no longer measure ourselves by the world's standards because Jesus has given us the standard of perfection. The Bible is God's Word that He gave us so that we might not sin. Because He is Holy and Righteous, He cannot look upon sin, so desiring to have a relationship with us, He desires for us to be sinless. But, because God knows we are not perfect, He gives us one to speak in our defense --Jesus Christ, His Only Son.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 "Sin and Temptations"

            “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

            Sin starts in our minds. It wriggles its way into our lives sneakily, in the dark, when we are not paying close attention. When we are most vulnerable, sin strikes, so we must strike back at temptations and sin before they have a chance to take root. Our weapons,  however, aren’t necessarily what the world calls weapons because we cannot fight our sinful nature on our own. Instead we must, “put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand” (Ephesians 6:130. With these weapons we demolish the strongholds sin has made in our lives. We demolish every argument sin gives for itself and every bit of the false appearance of worth sin claims that wars with the knowledge of God. We stop sin before it even gets started by focusing on Him and making all of our thoughts obedient to Him.

1 John 1:5-10 "Walking in the Light"

            “This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.”

            When we become a Christian, we make a commitment to live our life following God. Since God is light, we know following God will be the path of light, not darkness. However, walking in the light does not mean we will never sin. If we did not ever sin, we would have no need of the salvation He offers us. By claiming to be without sin we reject that gift of grace. Walking on the path of light is to be willing to follow God in every aspect of our life.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 "Love is an Action"

         Valentine’s brings with it all of the declarations of love between two people in a relationship. However, are these declarations what we should be looking for in a relationship? 1 Corinthians gives us a list of the attributes of true love: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” Just stop for a moment and ask yourself, “What am I looking for?” whether it is in a relationship you are currently in, or in a relationship you are looking for. Then ask yourself, “Am I showing these attributes to the people I love?” Love is more than just a lovey-dovey feeling and butterflies in your stomach. Love is an action.

Romans 14:7-8 "God's Plans"

Romans 14:7-8, Jeremiah 29:11, Proverbs 19:21

            “For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.”

            We do not belong to ourselves –our lives are not our own. We owe everything we are to God. Every breath we take, even our very existence is because of what he has done. And though we may not always be able to see it, God has a plan for our life. “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.’” (Jeremiah 29:11) Many times, however, we cling to our own plans and ideas of how things should be done instead of considering God’s plan for our lives. Perry Noble once said, “We need to allow our dreams to die to allow God’s plan to be fully alive.” This life is not our own and it is God’s plans, not our own, that we should focus on. Proverbs 19:21 says, “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”