“Buzzin”
What life does your life reveal?
‘They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him.’ Titus 1:16.
Paul was spot on when he was writing this letter to Titus. He knew the context (that Titus was to straighten out the church) and how that would happen (by appointing elders and correct teaching). It may seem then that the book of Titus has a lot to say to our church leaders and preachers, but maybe not so much to the pew warming Christ follower.
If such a view is yours I apologize, but you’re wrong.
You see we have much to learn from Titus. Let me put it very simply. Titus 1:16 challenges us as to what we are living for. What does your life reveal?If your life was a movie what might we learn from your character?
Paul is clear. ‘A knowledge of the truth leads to godliness (Titus 1:1).’
So to put it in different terms, knowing God will make you more like Him. The foundation of our life is where correct living stems from. If we get the heart right our footsteps wont betray us, and more importantly Christ. Christ followers must root themselves in Christ, and the best place to start is in the Bible.
Come thou fount
Come thou fount of every blessing,
Teach our hearts to sing Thy Grace;
Floods of Mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise!
Teach us some melodious sonnet,
Sung by angels high above.
Praise the Cross! We’re fixed upon it,
Cross of Thy redeeming love.
All Your blessings Lord we treasure,
Only by Thy Grace we come;
And we know, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus came when we were strangers,
Wandering far away from God;
And to rescue us from danger,
Shed for us His precious blood.
To Your Grace in full dependence,
Lord, we know ourselves to be
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind our wandering hearts to Thee.
Prone to wander Lord we feel it,
Prone to leave the God we love.
Take our hearts Lord, take and seal them,
Seal them for Thy courts above.
On that day when freed from sinning,
We will see Thy lovely face;
Full arrayed in blood washed linen
How we’ll sing Thy sovereign Grace;
Come, our Lord, no longer tarry,
Bring Thy promises to pass
For we know Thy pow’r will keep us
Till we’re home with You at last.
This has to be one of the greatest songs, period. The tune is great and the words even better. This version is not the original, it is a tampered version re-written by Sammy Davies. I think I prefer it because it’s more accessible in its language, which can only be a good thing.
Why do I love this song?
Simple. It takes us on a journey. It begins with a kind of prayer. The singer cries out to God for help in singing praises to Him. Worthy praise. Daily praise.
The second verse highlights and reminds us of how great the gospel is. It shows us the richness we gain through Jesus and the circumstances we receive it in …as sinners.
The third is my favourite. It tells us you are going to fail. You will wander. You wont give enough to God. That’s the point. We need grace. We wont suddenly forget sin and live for Jesus, we need Jesus to teach us and empower us to live for him daily.
The final verse here celebrates what we are looking forward to. The day of glory when we will be with Jesus. And it is precisely this that will encourage us to live for Jesus now.
