40-Day Devotion, Day 22

PREPARATION: READ TITUS 1:1-3

Stand Firm In The Truth

Clovis Chappell, a minister from a century back, used to tell the story of two paddleboats loaded with cargo that left Memphis about the same time traveling down the Mississippi River to New Orleans. As they travelled side by side, sailors from one vessel made a few remarks about the snail’s pace of the other. Words were exchanged, challenges were made and the race began. Competition became vicious as the two boats roared through the deep South.
Before long, one boat began falling behind. The reason: they did not have enough fuel. They had brought plenty of coal for the trip but not enough for a race. As the boat dropped back, an enterprising young sailor took some of the ship’s cargo and tossed it into the ovens. When the sailors saw that the supplies burned as well as the coal, they fueled their boat with the material they had been assigned to transport. When they finally pulled into the dock, they were startled to find they had burned their entire cargo. They won the race but, in the process, lost everything that had been entrusted to them.
In some ways, that story explains Paul’s mindset in the opening verses of Titus. Pause for a moment and re-read Titus 1:1-3, especially focusing on the last part of the passage. Paul says, in essence, that God has entrusted him with a precious cargo to carry through life. That cargo is called “truth.” It is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is God’s Word to mankind. Paul received truth from God, with the charge to deliver it to the world, and now he had to choose how to fulfill that task.
Believe it or not, Paul’s “cargo” is not much different from that which God has given you. Yes, Paul was a “missionary minister,” specially called by God to plant Churches in dozens of cities throughout the world. His specific ministry was somewhat unique, to say the least, but hasn’t God given us the same message of truth that He gave Paul? Haven’t we all been entrusted with the life-changing and life-saving words of the Gospel? And haven’t we all been charged to go out into the world and share those words of truth? Yes! Yes! Yes! Of course we have!
Even with that awesome responsibility, it is sad to think how many people follow the example of the crew in Clovis Chappell’s story and sacrifice the truth just so they can “win” in life. People who live like that may win “friends” and position, but lose everything that really matters in the process. Christ-followers must reject that temptation. God has entrusted us with truth, which means that we need to guard it and fight to protect it. We are literally the keepers of truth!
So, if that is our mission, how do we keep it? Paul fleshes that out as he continues through the book, but he lays the foundation of that answer in these three verses. Remember, Paul lived in a world that was not much different than our world today. The island of Crete, where Titus ministered, was full of worldly influences and the Church was having a hard time staying strong in the faith—just like Churches all over the world today. That’s why, in the very first verse of today’s key text, Paul calls himself a “servant of God and an Apostle of Jesus Christ.”
• We should be servants, which means we should obey our Master and be obedient to His teachings.
• We should also be apostles of Jesus Christ, which means we should be messengers for Jesus, spreading the Good News for Him.
• We should encourage others to cling to the hope of eternal life which God promised us from the beginning of time.
In our Church today, there is no greater hope than the hope of spending eternity in Paradise with Jesus. God entrusted Paul with this hope and He has entrusted us with the same hope, and the same Truth. We have been charged to preach God’s Word! In other words, our mission is the same as his!
All that to say, God “needs” nothing, but He wants our service! Just like Paul and Titus we are encouraged to be servants of God and the Lord Jesus. God tells us to spread the Good News of Jesus when we are in our own homes, when we go to work or play, when we go to Church and in every aspect of our lives. God has entrusted us with His very words, which makes us missionaries, just like Paul and Titus. We must be obedient to Him, and be guardians of the truth. Be a servant. Spread the Good News of Jesus, and never trade your hope in Him for the temporary treasures of this world.
One of our congregation’s “Timothy’s” is Tyler McKenzie (yeah, he somehow survived his dad’s bad influence and turned out A-OK!). You’ve heard him “co-preach” with Bill several times in the past, so you might remember that Tyler presently serves as the preacher of the Northeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY. He writes a blog (crossshapedstuff.wordpress.com) that I suggest you follow because he regularly shares some worthwhile thoughts.
(To continue reading, go to my comment below.)