Titus - Godly Character

The Book of Titus was written by Paul (in about A. D. 64) to his Greek disciple, Titus. Titus was in Crete at the time. Crete was a corrupt seaport where cargo ships stopped off as they traversed the Mediterranean. It had been socially backward for 1400 years. This letter was intended to help Titus as he instructed the Cretans in holy living. Titus was sent to Crete to oversee the churches and leaders, and to bring them into Godly order (Titus 1:5 NIV The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.) These Cretan Believers were living in a society where the people were known for being lazy, liars, and gluttons. Titus showcases Paul’s strategy for leadership and points the way for all Believers to live as lights in the midst of unprecedented evil.

One of the striking features of this book are the lists of character traits that show what a true Godly life looks like, and what an ungodly life looks like. I have attempted to put these into some sort of order, and pair them with character traits that show the Godly and ungodly sides of our heart. I have used several translations (particularly NKJV, NIV, NLT, AMP and NLV) in order to get a greater understanding of each of these character traits. Different translations use different words to describe what the Holy Spirit is saying through these verses.

The Lord is more interested in our character than our gifts or talents. I use lists such as these to take inventory of where I stand with the Lord, and how I can move forward – away from ungodly behavior, and towards His holiness:

Key verse: Titus 2:14

He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin,

to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people,

totally committed to doing good deeds.

Godly Character For Elders (Leaders of the Church)

Godly Character	Ungodly Character	Fruit of the Spirit Needed to Grow this Character
Husband of one wife; faithful to his wife, blameless 1:6	Wild and disobedient; immoral; rebellious 1:6	Patience—Gal. 5:22
Faithful children - Believers 1:6	Overbearing 1:7	Gentleness—Gal. 5:23
Hospitable; a servant; enjoy having guests 1:8	Unable to manage the household 1:7	Joy—Gal. 5:22
Lover of what is good 1:8	Violent; Quick-tempered; gets angry over little things  1:7	Goodness—Gal. 5:22
Sober-minded; wise 1:8	Self-willed; arrogant 1:7	Peace—Gal. 5:22
Just; financially ethical 1:7-8	Greedy; dishonest with money 1:7	Faithfulness—Gal. 5:22
Holy 1:8	Sinful 1:15	Love—Gal. 5:22
Self-controlled; disciplined 1:8	Given to (much) wine; heavy drinker 1:7; 2:3	Self-control—Gal. 5:23
Trusting in the Word and able to teach the truth 1:9	Opposing the Word; stands against the truth 1:9-10	Kindness—Gal. 5:22

G

Godly Character For all Believers – Men and Women

Godly Character	Ungodly Character
Sober; self-control; dignified 2:2; 2:12	Addicted to wine; insubordinate; rebellious 1:10; 2:3
Reverent; sound in faith 2:2-3; 2:7	Idle (useless, empty) talkers 1:10
Temperate; wise 2:2; 2:6; 2:12	Deceivers – false teachers 1:10
Sound in Faith 2:2	Unbelieving 1:15
Loving 2:2	Defiled 1:15
Patient; steadfast; endurance 2:2	Deny God; Detestable; disobedient and unfit for doing anything good 1:16
Teachers of good things that encourage younger Christian women to tenderly love their husbands and children 2:4-5	Deceived 3:3
Discreet; wise 2:5; 2:6	Slanderers; malicious gossips 2:3
Chaste; pure 2:5	Impure 2:15
Kind; good-natured; do good works of every kind; have homes where God is honored 2:3; 2:5-7	Living in malice; malicious gossips 3:3
Teach the truth 2:8	Dishonest; 1:11; Turned away from the truth 3:11
Obedient (submissive) to their husbands 2:5	Disobedient 1:16; 3:2
Strict regard for integrity; beyond reproach 2:7-8	Disqualified; worthless for anything good 1:16
Incorruptible; self-control; seriousness 2:6-7	Corrupt mind; conscience and heart 1:15
Sound speech; teach truth; wisdom 2:8; 2:12	Foolish 3:2
Righteous; upright 2:12	Lustful; worldly immoral desires & passions; enslaved to various sinful desires 2:12; 3:3
Godly; devotion to God 2:12	Ungodliness 2:12
Looking for the appearing of Jesus with confident expectation 2:13	Unbelieving, deny and disown God 1:15
Submit (subject) to rulers and authorities 3:1	Strivings about the law 3:9
Obedient 3:1	Foolish and disobedient; Hateful 3:3
Ready for every good work; Always ready to do what is good 3:1	Foolish, ill-informed disputes; controversies 3:9
Speak evil (slander) of no one 3:2	Quarrels and fights 3:9
Peaceable; kind 3:2	Contentions; foolish discussions 3:9
Gentle 3:2	Envious; malice; evil; hatred; hateful 3:3
Humble towards all; show consideration to all 3:2	Divisive 3:10
Participate in good and honorable things – things that are excellent and profitable for all people 3:8	Heresies that cause divisions and confusion

Godly Character For Slaves

Godly Character	Ungodly Character
Obedient; subject to masters; pleasing 2:9	Answering back 2:9
Showing good faith; trustworthy; good, do credit to the teachings of the Lord 2:10	Stealing (pilfering) 2:10

Key verse: Titus 3:4-7

But—

When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love,

5 he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.

He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit

6 He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior.

7 Because of his grace he declared us righteous and gave us confidence

that we will inherit eternal life

10 Commandments of Great Worship Team members - Mark Cole

Thank you Mark Cole for this great article:

The 10 Commandments of Great Worship Team Members

Posted on January 12, 2015 by Mark Cole

https://www.facebook.com/mmcole

Sometimes I lead the worship band and sometimes I play in the band. Both are important roles and have specific responsibilities to do them well. As both a leader and a player/singer, here are my ten most important rules as a team member:

1. I will be available at least twice per month and answer worship department emails within 24 hrs

• I find that players need to play a minimum of twice per month to stay in the flow of the worship and maintain good relationships with the leader(s) and team members.

• As someone who has scheduled worship teams for years, prompt replies by the team members is greatly appreciated. Also, it is a good habit to be prompt in all your communication. It is a form of discipline and respect.

2. I will listen to, practice and memorize the songs for Sunday

• Most musicians learn by listening. I always spend the .99 cents to $1.29 to download the songs on iTunes and make a playlist to listen in my house and car. Listening will teach you things that charts never will.

• I always take time to practice the new songs for the team and briefly review the older songs. I want to be excellent in my service to the Lord. God rewards faithfulness and excellence.

• Memorizing songs allows me to get past the music and worship God freely. Most worship songs are not hard to memorize.

3. I will show up prepared and on time for rehearsal

• Leaders and other team members really appreciate when all the team has done their homework. When the drummer knows the grooves, tempos and breaks, it makes the rehearsal go so much smoother. When the lead guitar and keyboard players have learned the introductions and lead lines, it saves so much time for the rest of the group.

• When team members all show up on time, it shows respect and value for the whole team. It promotes unity and makes the rehearsals go much smoother.

4. I will show respect and love for my fellow team members and leader

• The second greatest commandment is to ‘love your neighbour as yourself’. When team members show love and respect for each other, rehearsals, worship and life in general is much better.

• Being a leader can be tough. When you respect and are patient with your leader, God sees and rewards that attitude and heart.

5. I will not doodle on my instrument when the leader is speaking

• Having great rehearsal habits is important. The time to practise your individual part is when you are on your own.

• You show respect for the leader and the rest of the team when you learn to listen at the appropriate times.

6. I will worship as I play my instrument and endeavour to be a great worshipper on and off the stage

• The purpose of a worship band is to worship God and lead the congregation to do the same. If you are just playing or singing then you are not fulfilling your responsibilities. Get past the music and worship God and lead by example.

• A sign that you are an authentic worshipper is that you are the same on and off the stage. People see you on and off the stage. Be authentic!

7. I will attend church and give whether I am playing or not

• Great team worship team members know the importance of regular church attendance. We all need to be great congregational members before we can become great worship team members.

• Supporting your local church means more than playing your instrument. Giving of your time and finances really shows where your heart is.

8. I will practice my singing and/or instrument regularly

• Great worship team members are better this year than they were last year.

• Great team members work on growing by practicing regularly, taking lessons and watching and learning from great worship videos.

9. I will wear the appropriate clothes for the dress code

• I never want my clothes to be a distraction to our worship times.

• My general advice is to develop a dress code that is modest and culturally relevant to your congregation.

10. I will grow in my walk with the Lord and live a godly lifestyle

• This is the last commandment but it is the most important. Loving God with your whole heart and life is the core of worship.

• Living a life that is pleasing to God opens up the door for God’s blessing on your life. Don’t allow sin to ruin that. Repent and get back on track!

Question: What points have I missed? Are you a great worship team member? What areas can you improve on?

Helping the Broken

A dear friend of mine is at the end of her rope - trying to help a person in trouble. I wrote this to help and encourage her today:

You can only do so much for people in situations like this. You cannot save them - they HAVE TO RISE UP ON THE INSIDE FOR THEMSELVES. I know you know this, but so many fail in the healing process because they want others to do the hard work for them. ...And it is very hard work to break bondages. No one can win these victories for us - we must find the strength of God and character inside ourselves, or the victory will never "stick." We go round and around the same pole.

Broken people are always looking for "saviors," or "messiahs." Stronger people who will "save" them when they don't want to do the hard work of overcoming for themselves. Kind friends can be sucked into the losing battle of trying to help - in the end they get worn out and abused.

There is only one Savior - He has done it all, and His victory is more than enough for every sin and brokenness. His Salvation is free...but it will still cost us our lives to change from our pathetic and broken wee selves into champions of His grace.

Victory can only come from daily decisions to walk in wholeness and holiness despite the cost - these are moment-by-moment, day-by-day, year-by-year choices that arise out of the seemingly ordinary situations we find ourselves in. Slowly we build pathways of grace - out of our darkness and into His light...but the old self is lost in the process and all that He has intended for us to become - our destiny - comes into view. We can no longer hold on to those lies, addictions and habits that framed our former selves. We are, indeed, made new.

What your friend needs is a vision to hold onto of their true destiny and identity in Christ; a Church that will be patient with them - all the while, not putting up with all the games that go along with this struggle to become whole; a strong commitment to this war and its many battles - this includes a commitment to Christ, His Word and the relationship of life that only He can give; Grace.

The love you want to show to your friend must be filled with these things - full of grace...yet grounded in uncompromising truth. An honest seeker will thank you for it and be changed by it.

God bless you as you serve her as Christ would serve her. Wash her pain, but hold her to the enduring and unyielding holiness of God. None of this means that we cannot falter at times...but He makes it possible for us to stand up again and again in the face of every mistake, injustice and suffering. NOTHING is strong enough to negate the power of His blood or the supremacy of his grace in anyone who has the audacity to fling themselves upon Him.

Rugby World Champions

New Zealand won the Rugby World Cup last Saturday - beating Australia 34 - 17. Here they are - doing the Haka (war dance) celebrating with the Webb Ellis Trophy and paraded through the streets of New Zealand's largest cities:

Congratulations All Blacks!!!

Thank you for all the memories!!!

How sweet it is!

Back-to-Back World Champions!