How To Impress Your Boss!

Have you ever wanted to impress your boss?  Here's one, sure fire, way to make sure your boss knows your serious about your work.  Here it is: Serve with excellence.

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In his letter to Titus, the Apostle Paul gives some very important instructions to those who find themselves subject to masters. If you're an employee, you have a master—your boss. If you're a boss, you have a master—God. So here's what Paul says:

9 Slaves must always obey their masters and do their best to please them. They must not talk back 10 or steal, but must show themselves to be entirely trustworthy and good. Then they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive in every way. -Titus 2:9-10

If you want to impress your boss, do what he/she asks of you! (Unless it is outside Biblical boundaries.)  Serve without getting angry or gossipping, don't steal from the office, and show yourself trustworthy. Then you'll be a person that's pretty hard to come by these days. More than that, by doing these things, you demonstrate your faithfulness to God because, ultimately, you're serving Him! And people will see Him working through you. Be aware, doing things with excellence makes those who don't, angry. You will probably undergo some persecution for honoring God in your work. Don't worry, your blessed. Jesus says so in Matthew 5:11-12.

Do everything with excellence, without complaining, and do what your asked, that will impress any boss! And God honors that!

Understanding Our Roles In Church Community: Young Men

Young men have a great responsibility when it comes to leading in the church community. Notice this isn't just for "pastors" or "leaders" in the church. This is for all young men who believe and are part of the Church. Here's what the Apostle Paul says in his letter to Titus:

6 Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled.7 In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness8 and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us. -Titus 2:6-8 NLT

Photo by Rennett Stowe

Paul knows that young men have a tendency to react quickly, courageously, and often maliciously to certain situations. That's why he begins with the exhortation for young men to be self-controlled. Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit. Therefore, in order to become more self-controlled, we must live in the power of the Spirit. When we live in the power of the Spirit the next part comes naturally (or supernaturally, rather!)

Young men are called to be an example of good. Not worldly good, rather, the goodness of God.  That is, the grace of God demonstrated on the cross.  We're called to demonstrate God's goodness to others by the way we live! We are to teach with integrity, seriousness (seriousness is a lacking attribute that plagues young men), and soundness of speech that can't be condemned.

Why so serious?  Because the decisions we make, reflect the gods or God we serve. The small "g" gods are the gods that send us to Hell—selfishness, pride, and greed. The capital "G" God is our great God who saves us from Hell through faith in His son Jesus. Therefore, if our decisions look like Hell, we'll drive people away from the one true God and they may never experience the grace of God through faith. At the end of the day, the only thing we're taking to heaven is people.

As young men in today's world, we're facing more selfishness, pride, and greed than we've ever faced in all of human history. They take the form of distractions, unfaithfulness, and consumerism. Today, between video games, the internet, and wal-mart, young men face a slew of "easy" decisions. Easy decisions are not necessarily (actually, hardly ever) good decisions. Paul encourages us to be examples of goodness and truth.  We are to be Jesus to a world that is lost in selfishness, pride, and greed! We must live out truth (God's Word) and live in the Spirit so the Gospel we preach—Jesus and Him crucified—is realized in all its power!

Many young men are trading the truth of God for a lie.  Don't fall into the temptations of more, infidelity, and laziness.  Instead, let's rise up and stand for Jesus with all that we have.  Let's take Him at His Word and serve Him faithfully so those who oppose us may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us!

Young men, let's reject passivity and accept responsibility!

Understanding Our Roles In Church Community: Older Women

Older women have a great responsibility in the church community!  See what Paul writes to Titus below:

3 Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good.4 Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children,5 to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. -Titus 2:3-5 NIV

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Older women have the honor to teach the word of God through serving.  This is not to be taken lightly.  Our savior, Jesus, came not be served but to serve.  Just like Him, all people are called to serve.  Older women, however, have a special calling to serve younger women by urging or teaching them to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands.

Being "subject" to a husband does not mean the wife becomes a slave to the husband, it simply means a wife honors her husband by serving when and where she can, and in the day of Titus it was at home!  In Titus' day,as well as today, women who stay home have a powerful impact on their children and on their spouse.  They are able to care for the home—the place of safety and provision for the family, instruct children in godly ways, and spend time with God and lead others to do the same.   Today, older women who work do so to honor their family and are busy, as Paul states, to help provide for the needs of their family.

Older women hold a powerful tool—their testimony.  Paul encourages them to use their testimony to teach the importance of purity and honor by not slandering other people.  Our world teaches women to slander one another and gossip about each other and certain situations in which others find themselves.  Paul encourages the older women to set the example and use their testimony to teach about the grace of God by abstaining from gossip and helping others through tough times.

When there are no godly, older women to teach the younger women, the family, and eventually society, crumbles.  Older women are so important to the family of the Church.  Older women serve by teaching and demonstrating how to love their families and those within the Church by teaching from their testimony and serving with the gifts God has given them.

Older women are the teachers of the testimony of the cross!

Understanding Our Roles In Church Community: Older Men

It's interesting that the Apostle Paul writes to Titus about the different roles people play in the church family or community.  The first group Paul mentions is the older men.  Here's what he says:

Teach the older men to exercise self-control, to be worthy of respect, and to live wisely. They must have sound faith and be filled with love and patience. -Titus 2:2

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It's interesting that Paul tells Titus to teach older men to exercise self-control and to be filled with love and patience. The other characteristics of being worthy of respect, living wisely, and having sound faith make sense. But self-control, love and patience?

Paul knew that men (no matter what age) have an issue with being self-controlled period.  That's why he explains to Titus that it is extremely important that the older men be taught (not reminded) to be self-controlled, filled with love and patience.

Think about this:  If you're a guy, when someone cuts you off in traffic, what's your natural response?  It's probably not thinking "Oh, he/she must have an important place to be in a short time..."  Usually it's flip them the bird and tailgate them until you or they exit the highway, right?  Some women are that way but not too many.  Women are more naturally caring and concerned.  Men react first and ask questions later.

That's why Paul stressed that older men, especially, must practice self-control because it's so easy to lose our witness for Jesus when we're in the middle of cussing someone out on the highway.  (Or more importantly our witness to the little ears that may be in our cars with us...)

Throughout a lifetime, older men are taught by the world to react first and ask questions later.  Paul reminds and implores older men to practice self-control by living out our responses in love and patience. All of which are the Spirit's working in our lives.

Essentially, Paul is saying, "Older men, live by the Spirit! Other's spiritual lives depend on it!"

Lying With Our Lives...

Ok, guys, I didn't say lying with our wives so don't get so worked up...  In Titus the Apostle Paul gives a good warning to believers who don't really believe.  Check this out:

15 Everything is pure to those whose hearts are pure. But nothing is pure to those who are corrupt and unbelieving, because their minds and consciences are corrupted. 16 Such people claim they know God, but they deny him by the way they live. They are detestable and disobedient, worthless for doing anything good.  -Titus 1:15-16 NLT

Have you ever found yourself saying one thing and doing another?  Yeah, that's the whole struggle with the Christian life.  Jesus says one thing and we really, really want to pursue the exact opposite.  The Apostle Paul also struggled with that...  Check out Romans 7:14-25.  That's the danger in saying we believe in something or in our case someone.

If we say we believe something our lives should reflect what we believe. For instance, if we believe that debt is bad, we'll do everything in our power to get rid of debt. That means getting another job, selling the stuff that put us in debt, and deciding ahead of time to live within our means. Often times, though, this doesn't translate in our faith.  We say we believe in Jesus but we do the exact opposite of what he calls us to do.

Even worse, we put hidden expectations on those around us to act a certain way even when we ourselves aren't living out the very thing we expect of others.  That's what Paul was warning against in his letter to Titus.

Paul makes it clear that those who claim they know God, but they deny him by the way they live are detestable, disobedient, and worthless.  Ouch!  That hurts because we've all been there.

Are you there today?  If so, what do you need to do to allow God to make your heart pure?  Repent? Ask forgiveness from someone? Ask Jesus to take full control?

If you've been there, what have you done to get past this hypocritical position? (Encourage us by commenting below!)

It's time for us to stop lying with our lives and start living in the power of the Spirit!

How To Become A Solid Rock In Times Of Trouble!

In Romans 5, the Apostle Paul gives us guidance and encouragment when it comes to handling problems in our lives.  In fact, the Apostle Paul tells us to rejoice in these times...

3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.  -Romans 5:3-5 NLT

It seems out of touch that we should rejoice in times of trouble.  However, Paul is right.  When we rejoice, we trust that God is working out something in our lives that will bring about good.  If you've ever experienced a troubling time, and approached it from this biblical view, you know that Paul's words are true.

When we approach life's struggles with rejoicing and faith in God (He'll never leave us nor forsake us), the result is rock solid lives laid on the foundation of Jesus, built with the tools of endurance, character, and hope!  So that when the winds of life's troubles beat against our lives, we won't be swayed, rather, we'll outlast the storms and deliver the hope we have to those whose live's have been destroyed.

So how do we become a solid rock in times of trouble?  Rejoice!

Hey God, Do What We Want!

Since Genesis chapter 3, it's been tough for us to give God the honor he deserves.  Actually, let me re-phrase that—It's been impossible to honor God rightly.  Sin has certainly tainted every aspect of our humanity.  God has been laying on my heart, one area, in particular, where we usually don't honor God rightly—prayer.

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Prayer is simply communication with God.  Through Jesus' sacrifice for us on the cross, we are able to pray directly to God by the Spirit of God.  In fact, it is the Spirit who speaks for us when we don't know what to say!

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. -Romans 8:26 NIV

Sometimes, though, our prayer times can become more self-focused than God focused.  Actually, I would say most of the time our prayers are self focused rather than God focused.  For instance, how many times have we prayed for God to reveal His will to us?  How many times have been consumed by begging God to meet our financial needs?  How many times have we asked God to deliver us from a situation of stress and give us his blessing?

All of those things are good and fine to ask and God cares about those things, but when they become the sole focus of our prayers, then our prayers become self-focused and God is left to do our bidding.

There's a situation like this in the Old Testament in 1 Samuel 8.  Grab your Bible and open it to 1 Samuel 8 and read that chapter.  I'll be here when you get back.

Notice the Israelites want a new form of Government.  They want what everyone else has—a King.  Israel wanted to be just like their neighbors; to experience what their neighbors experienced. (Sound familiar?)  Up until this point Israel was ruled by judges.  Many judges were corrupt, but Samuel was one true judge that God hand-picked to serve Him.  The people went directly to Samuel and demanded he anoint a King to rule them because of the corruption of other judges (Two of which happened to be Samuel's sons.) The people used the excuse of a bad government to overthrow God's plan.  The people didn't trust that God would hold His own judges accountable.  In other words, the people used this opportunity to ask God for something they wanted.  Under worldly influence, they became self-focused.

It's interesting what God says in response to Samuel bringing this petition before Him.

"Do everything they say to you," the Lord replied, "for it is me they are rejecting, not you.  They don't want me to be their king any longer.  Ever since I brought them from Egypt they have continually abandoned me and followed other gods.  And now they are giving you the same treatment.  Do as they ask, but solemnly warn them about the way a  king will reign over them." -1 Samuel 8:7-9 NLT

God is willing to give the people what they want; however, He warns the people of the experience of a human King's rule.  (1 Samuel 8:10-18)  Amazingly, the people refuse God's warning with this statement: "Even so, we still want a king.  We want to be like the nations around us.  Our king will judge us and lead us into battle."  Little did they know that God's warning would prove powerfully true.  In fact, if time travel were possible, their grandchildren would probably travel back and smack sense into them.  Evil kings plagued the people of Israel and quenched the blessing of God.  There were some good kings, but most were greedy.

So why do I share this story?  Because we often ask for things that are outside of God's plan, blessing, and purpose for our lives.  They are often driven by the question, "Why me, God?"  "Why am I experiencing this financial burden?  Why am I stressed out to the point of depression?"  Whatever the "why" question is, most of the time, it drives our prayers.  Essentially we say, "Hey God!  Do what we want!"

Instead, we should pray with God at the center.  When we focus on Him and His Word and listen to His Spirit, He is responsible to lead us.  When God is leading, he will always provide.  It won't always be easy or comfortable or nice but the sense of peace he will give us through His Spirit will abound much.

When our prayers are self-focused, God might just give us what we ask and let us experience the pain of the consequence.  God won't leave us, but He will certainly use those situations to grow us!  Instead let's pray asking, "Dear God, how can I serve you?"  The question is dangerous, but a Christian can't live life without asking it daily.  The result might be as simple as saying goodbye to a habit or as radical as departing a job, a community, or best friends for the sake of the Gospel.

The experience of following God is one that few people have enjoyed.  Most people reject God and exchange his blessing for a human, self-focused curse.  God wants us to walk in His will, he wants us to tell him our needs, but it must come from a heart of humility and honor.  Not a heart clouded by false gods and idolatry.

How will you pray differently today?