Frank's Bible Blog

Titus 3-- An Amazing Contrast

Here in the state of Texas, the summers can get pretty hot. You especially notice this when you leave an air conditioned building and get into a car that has been sitting out in the sun for hours. The contrast in temperature between the two is amazing. Titus 3 talks about an amazing, even radical contrast. It is the contrast between the old and new lives. Before coming to Christ, our lives are characterized by foolishness, disobedience to God, being misled by others, slavery to our wicked desires and evil pleasures, and with being consumed with envy and hatred towards others. But praise God, He reached down to our level because we could not reach up to His, and He washed us clean! He gave us a new start. He gives us eternal life! Now there should be a stark contrast in our lives as a result of receiving Christ as our Savior. This is especially true of what comes out of our mouths. We should not be divisive and speak evil of others (vv2, 10). Instead of tarring others down, we should focus on doing good works--things that help everybody (vv8-9). Is there an amazing contrast in your life from where you were before Christ and where you are now? Has that change permeated your speech? Or do you find yourself being divisive and negative? Remember that "those who believed in God should be careful to maintain good works" (v8). This is something we all should work at so that our lives continue to be a stark contrast to a world without Christ.

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Frank Banfill is an author, international speaker, and president of MaxPoint Ministries, whose purpose is to help individuals, churches and ministries reach their full potential. Please forward this blog to your family & friends. Not a subscriber? Sign up now at www.FranksBibleBlog.com. If you would like to share a comment about today's blog, you may do so at www.maxpoint.org/message_board.

Titus 2-- Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way

I don't know who first said it, but I like the saying: "If you think you are leading and you look back and no one is following, then you are just taking a walk." Leaders need to lead! God-ordained leaders have a God-given authority and they need to exercise that with boldness, especially when it comes to teaching the truth and correcting those who fall into sin. Titus 2 is about leadership. The chapter begins and ends with "speak these things..." (vv1,15). There are certain things that God expects leaders to speak into the lives of those they are supposed to be leading. Those things concern how the person is to appropriately live for their particular life stage. Paul, in challenging Titus to lead, passes on instructions for older men (v2), older women (v3), younger women (vv4-5), younger men (vv6-8), employees (vv9-10) and everyone (vv11-14). It is important to note that as people move through different life stages they have different challenges. There are different temptations that come at various ages. There are also different kinds of opportunities. Good leaders do not take a cookie-cutter approach to leadership. They note where their followers are at in terms of their life stage, spiritual development, giftedness, etc. They then speak into those lives with exhortations and, at times, rebukes (v15) that are tailored to the follower's situation. So, if you are in leadership, pause today and take a look behind you. Are people really following you or are you just taking a walk? If it is the latter, then maybe the problem is you are not following the leadership principles outlined in Titus 2.

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Frank Banfill is an author, international speaker, and president of MaxPoint Ministries, whose purpose is to help individuals, churches and ministries reach their full potential. Please forward this blog to your family & friends. Not a subscriber? Sign up now at www.FranksBibleBlog.com. If you would like to share a comment about today's blog, you may do so at www.maxpoint.org/message_board.

Titus 1-- To Protect and to Serve

One of my favorite TV shows when I was a kid was Adam 12, which followed the adventures of a couple patrol officers from the Los Angeles police department. Many camera shots would show the LAPD's motto that was painted on their police car door--"to protect and to serve." In many ways, Titus 1 is a call to believers, especially mature believers, to protect and to serve. We are to protect those who are young in the faith from falling into false teachings. We should serve God's kingdom by developing new leaders. That means discipling young believers, mentoring growing believers in ministry, and so on. Today, if you consider yourself a mature believer, I want to challenge you to take up the "protect and serve" motto for your life. I want to encourage you to pro-actively look for others with whom you can invest your life and help them become great and godly leaders.

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Frank Banfill is an author, international speaker, and president of MaxPoint Ministries, whose purpose is to help individuals, churches and ministries reach their full potential. Please forward this blog to your family & friends. Not a subscriber? Sign up now at www.FranksBibleBlog.com. If you would like to share a comment about today's blog, you may do so at www.maxpoint.org/message_board.