Given Responsibility

Given Responsibility

Titus 1: ⁵ I left you in Crete, so that you could put in order the things that still needed doing and appoint church elders in every town. Remember my instructions: ⁶ an elder must be without fault; he must have only one wife, and his children must be believers and not have the reputation of being wild or disobedient. 

 

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When a person left the company, suddenly my coworkers were asking me for direction. I was used to someone else telling me what to do! The confusion and direction had to be handled, so I took a deep breath and dove in.

 

• I was scared of having responsibility.
• I was not ready for leadership
• I did not know what I was supposed to be doing.

 

Paul gives Titus specific responsibility so there would be no confusion. In case Titus was wondering, Paul tells him the reason for leaving him in Crete. Maybe Titus was wondering what he was supposed to be doing or why he was in Crete in the first place. That is a question for us all.

 

My Observations

• GOD has given humans the responsibility for spreading the Gospel.
• It us up to me to take that responsibility seriously.
• GOD wants HIS SON known throughout the world.

 

Spreading the Gospel seems passe these days. I mean, during times of turmoil where it seems like humans are ready to tear each other apart, GOD’s ultimate plan still holds strong. HE wants each of us to simply mention HIS SON as the living Savior. Why is this so hard?

 

Personally it is sometimes scary to be responsible for the task of telling a world about JESUS who seems to want to fight against HIM at every turn. Fighting is tiring! GOD wants me to see HIS plan as spreading love versus fighting. I gladly take on the responsibility of spreading GOD’s love and lay aside my fears to do so.

 

Challenge

• What is the purpose of the writer?
• What is your purpose in life?
• Will you take a deep breath and participate in seeking GOD’s Kingdom today?

Putting Gifts to Use

Putting Gifts to Use

Ephesians 4: ¹¹ It was he who “gave gifts to people”; he appointed some to be apostles, others to be prophets, others to be evangelists, others to be pastors and teachers. ¹² He did this to prepare all God's people for the work of Christian service, in order to build up the body of Christ. ¹³ And so we shall all come together to that oneness in our faith and in our knowledge of the Son of God; we shall become mature people, reaching to the very height of Christ's full stature.

 

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Seeing the mural, I was amazed! Someone had illustrated major events of the Bible in a way I could understand. Another person I ran into was very talented in growing gardens. She mentioned how it reminded her of bearing fruit and had many analogies.

 

• I thought gifts were only limited to being used in church.
• I limited gifts to churchy tests and certain language used only in churches.
• I wondered if I had any gifts because the church did not seem to value what I had to offer.

 

JESUS “gave gifts to people” according to the scripture. Paul explains that each gift given would be put to use for the work of the Christian service. The list he gives can sometimes be confused by activities defined in many churches. GOD’s appointment is sovereign and is above human definitions.

 

My Observations

• GOD wants me to build up the body of CHRIST
• GOD wants me to come together in oneness in faith and knowledge of the SON of GOD.
• GOD wants me to mature and someday reach the height of JESUS.

 

Overlooked talents cause many people to become disenchanted with churches. I mean, a person who is gifted in welding may want to use his or her talents, but is asked to work in children’s church instead. People who have many gifts may be apostles or prophets or evangelists or pastors or teachers and they do not even know it.

 

A writer may, in fact, be using her talents to glorify GOD in many ways. Some people who smile may be evangelizing as he walks down the street. A woman lying in a bed may invoke prayer. Limiting GOD has caused people to think their talent is useless. Quite the opposite. The gift HE gave each person is customized to reach others in HIS defined way. I am glad HE provided me with gifts that do not need to be compared to, or evaluated by other people’s gifts.

 

Challenge

• What is a mature response to what the writer wrote?
• Do you have gifts and talents that seem to be overlooked by people?
• Will you put your gifts and talents to use for the service of building up the body of CHRIST, knowing your gift is extremely important to GOD today?