Titus

Titus is written by Paul to Titus. Titus is mentioned a number of times in the New Testament and is one of Paul's sons in the faith. This is one of the Pastoral Epistles. Paul writes it to Titus to give encouragement and counsel. I'm not very familiar with it, but I've heard people referring to Titus 2 women. It is fairly short and straightforward, but as with anything in the bible, it is good.

James 5:19-20

Coming to the end of James, he talks about a brother who wanders from the truth. This tends to happen in a number of different ways, and I think we can all agree or attest to this happening. You may have seen brothers lead astray who stop going to church. They may even still go to church, but are lead astray in their lifestyle regardless of their attendance to church. They may outright denounce God and their faith, or they may denounce it by an action or the way that they live. Either way, the case James talks about in particular is one who brings this wandering brother back. What is said is that the one who brings his brother back saves their soul from death and covers a multitude of sins. Wandering from the truth means that their headed towards death. Therefore, bringing him back to the truth will save their soul from death. In addition, they cover a multitude of sins. It's assumed that wandering will involve sinning. It's not as if you wander from the truth in order to not sin. Sin is yet another hindrance in coming back to the truth. One may be ashamed to come back knowing what he or she has done while he was away. I am reminded of the prodigal son, who squandered his property in reckless living. It must have been tough to finally admit and come crawling back to his father after what he had done. However, he was greeted with open arms. Perhaps a return back to the truth always involves a covering of sin. If it does not, then it is not a return to the truth. Cover their sins and save their soul from death.

James 5:16-18

There is great power in the prayer of a righteous person. Perhaps this is why people are called to confess their sins and pray for one another. Confession of sins gives need for prayer, and those who confess their sins are those who are cleansed from unrighteousness. An example of the great power of prayer is in Elijah. Though he was a prophet and mightily used by God, he is described as someone with a nature like ours. He isn't some mighty super-human who is far greater than us, but he had a nature like ours. He prayed for the rains to cease, and it ceased for three years and six months. Afterwards, he prayed again and it began to rain again. There is power in the prayer of a righteous man, and yet, this man was just a man who had a nature just like ours. Therefore, there is great power in the prayer of a righteous man, and not because we are powerful, but because the one who we pray to is powerful.

James 5:15-16

It is the prayer of faith that will heal the person. James adds to this that the Lord will raise him up. Though the prayer of faith is important, it is the Lord who does the raising of the person. What may seem weird is that this person's sins will be forgiven. The forgiveness of sins doesn't seem to connect with praying for the sick to be healed. However, if you recall, when the paralytic was brought before Jesus through the roof, Jesus didn't heal him right away. Instead, he told him that his sins were forgiven. When Jesus said it, it was a surprise as well. Either way, there is now talk about the forgiveness of sins for this person who's being prayed for. As a result, the readers are called to confess their sins to one another. They are also called to pray for one another, which is in line with praying for the sick. However, these seem to be dependent or requirements for healing. I guess sin may be a hindrance to physical healing. In addition, if you don't ask God, that may keep you from being healed as well. Who is better than God? He is the great healer, and we should ask him. Either way, there seems to be two main things: confession of sins to one another and prayer for one another.

James 5:14-15

What do we do when we are sick? Well, sometimes we take medicine or we eat chicken noodle soup. Perhaps we'll take a day off work and try to rest. These things are perhaps good things to do for those who are sick, but what James instructs is different. Instead, you are to call the elders of the church to pray over the sick, anointing this person with oil. This is all to be done in the name of the Lord; this is not to be confused with praying in the name of Mohamed or Gandhi. The reason for doing these things is not so that they'll get worse, but so that they get better. More specifically, a prayer of faith will save this person. This sounds similar to what was mentioned in chapter one, where one is instructed to ask in faith without doubting. This is the kind of asking we are to ask to God for one who is sick.

1 Corinthians 7:17-24

This is for yesterday. I was on a retreat and didn't have access to the internet, but I wrote it down yesterday anyways.

Paul's instruction to the church in Corinth is that you are to remain in the condition in which you were called. The examples given are with respect to being free or a slave or circumcised or uncircumcised. It is also with respect to leading the life assigned to them by the Lord. Really, the living one or the other doesn't really matter in the sense that they don't count for points, so why would you desire to change? However, freedom is still something you should get if you can, so there are exceptions. But you shouldn't desire for wrong reasons, such as thinking it necessary for salvation. Either way, he calls for them to remain, most importantly to remain with God.

James 5:13

What James says next seems fairly practical. Those who are suffering should pray. In addition, those who are cheerful should sing praise. It only seems natural, but why would this need to be said? I guess sometimes, people do not act this way. Perhaps their mindset is to not pray when they are suffering and to not sing praise when cheerful. If you think about it, I guess it is what actually happens. When we are suffering, it isn't always our natural reaction to ask God for help. Perhaps when things get really tough and we're at our wit's end, we will finally go and ask God for help. But for the little things, we aren't always so quick to ask God. In addition, sometimes when we are cheerful, things are going so well that we don't even bother to give God a thought. Instead, we continue about our day not even giving him glory for the joy that is occurring in our life. It seems like fair simple instructions, but it is something we still need a reminder for.

James 5:12

Sometimes people say things like "I promise" by way of validating what they say. But would you need to say “I promise” if your word was true regardless of whether you said "I promise" or not? I guess it gives extra assurance that you will try extra hard to ensure the validity of your statement. Sometimes, people even swear by things, like "I swear by my mother's grave" or something like that. That's quite a grave statement to make, and it seems to add a level of seriousness to what you are swearing by. However, we are not supposed to do this. James instructs us not to swear by things or make certain oaths. So, if you do that sort of thing, you should stop doing it. If you don't do that sort of thing, don't even start doing it. Instead, your word should simply be your word. When people try to add validity to their statements, it's as if their word does not hold ground by itself. The point is not to add validity to your statements but to say what you say and be true to your word. You don't want to be a flimsy guy who never holds true to his word. James says to let your "yes" be yes and your "no" be no. Don't say "yes" and really mean no, or don't say "no" and really mean yes. Or, don't say one thing and go back on it later; this would not be true to your word. Sure, we are all fallible human beings who make mistakes all the time. But don't treat your words as something that can be tossed around carelessly, only to later need reinforcement through swearing or oaths.

James 5:10-11

Perhaps people wish to complain because they are suffering. James instructs them not to complain, but it doesn't mean that the suffering will cease. With regards to suffering and patience, James directs the attention of his readers towards the prophets. It's not as if the prophets had it easy; they had their fair share of troubles. One example in particular is that of Job. Job certainly endured a lot, and we know from the story of Job about his steadfastness. Those who remain steadfast are considered blessed. Through Job and the prophets, we see God working and how he works even in the midst of trials. We should continue to remain patient for the coming of the Lord even while we are experiencing difficult tribulations.

James 5:9

You are to be patient for the coming of the Lord. What may happen as you get impatient is that you may begin to complain or grumble against one another. It can certainly happen because there are a number of different people and they can be annoying at times. Being patient for the coming of the Lord does not include grumbling against one another. Rather, you should just be patient. Complaining about others means your attention is focused on them and not on the coming of the Lord. Therefore, don't worry about them and simply focus on the Lord, waiting for his return.

1 Timothy 1:15-16

What's interesting is that Paul refers to himself as the worst sinner. He persecuted and murdered Christians; you can't get much worse than that. However, even though he was the foremost of sinners, Jesus Christ came into the world to save him. Paul was not heading in that direction and the only explanation for the change is God. Sometimes we may feel unworthy to come to God, but it's not as if you're too dirty to come to him. We can look at Paul and see that there are some who are much worse. Now, the point isn't to make yourself out to be a "good person" with respect to others. We are all bad people. However, what I mean to say is that we shouldn't need to clean ourselves up before we come before God. Rather, going to God is the bath that is required. It's not what we do, but it's about what he does. Our coming to him saves us, but it's not about us. When we are saved he gets praise and we should praise him for the great love with which he loved us.

James 5:7-8

So, planning to go into a town for a year to make a profit is bad for several reasons. In addition, being rich is not a good thing to be. This leads to an urge to be patient for the day of the Lord. Instead of caring about riches and making money, we should eagerly wait for the Lord's return. This patience is compared to that of a farmer. A farmer plants his crops and waits for them to be fully grown. As they are growing, he tends to the garden, but he is also at the mercy of the weather. Nowadays with a more advanced civilization, we may not necessarily need to wait for the weather, but can simply water the plants ourselves. Though times have changed, there are still societies that are at the mercy of the weather for the success of their crops. Even with the advances in technology, they can't always be relied upon. Either way, the truth of the way of the farmer can still be applied and understood. The farmer patiently waits for the fruit. The fruit is described as the precious fruit. It is important to him because he probably needs it to live and support his family. We are to be patient for the coming of the Lord as the farmer is patient for the crop. It's coming, and we need to prepare our hearts. Our hearts may in fact not be prepared, not even ready for the coming of the Lord.

James 5:6

What type of people are victims to the treachery of rich people? These victims are innocent men or righteous men. What's more is that they aren't even opposing or resisting these rich men who condemn and murder them. Whenever I hear Christians aspire to wealth, it always seems with the intent to give and serve with their riches. However, it is extremely rare to find such a person. Sure, they may donate a bit and serve in some capacity, but I feel as if their efforts could be done without being rich. The description James gives here should give little incentive to aspire to being rich. Yet, we think we can beat the odds in spite of what is written in the Word of God.

James 5:5

James has more to say about these rich people. Not only are their miseries that are coming upon them, and not only are their riches rotting. Not only are their stolen wages crying out against them, but they are being described as being fattened for the slaughter. They have spent their earthly life in luxury and self-indulgence, filling themselves with temporal things that pass away. It's as if they're like an animal that is being fattened to be eventually killed. However, it's worse because they are doing this to themselves. They are fattening themselves so that they can be slaughtered. Specifically, their hearts are being fattened, but either way, it still paints the same kind of picture. When you stop to think about it, it seems quite idiotic and crazy to do such things that are described in the bible. Yet, these things are written for a reason, and we (myself included) still walk blindly into these snares.

James 5:4

James doesn't really say anything good about these rich people. What's more is that these rich people are those who have committed fraud. You may wonder why someone so rich would cut corners to gain even more wealth. Perhaps that is how this person becomes wealthy in the first place. However, I recently heard about a number of different stories of high ranked managers cutting corners to gain even more money. It opened my eyes to what really goes on in the business world. I'm sure not everybody is like that, but I guess it happens more than you'd think. Even with so much money, I guess some people can't be satisfied even with the riches that they have. Perhaps "enough" is always "a little bit more". These wages that were kept back from what this rich person owed his workers is crying out against him. It's as if the stolen money has a voice and is voicing itself against the injustice that was done to the workers. Not only that, but these cries are heard by the Lord. It's like having your injustice being made known to the governing authorities; you'd be in big trouble. Yet, God is so much more than just earthly governing authorities. I do not envy those in that position.

James 5:1-3

Earlier, James calls his readers to weep and mourn. Here he is addressing the rich and telling them to weep and howl for their coming miseries. They are rich and their wealth is in earthly things. James makes reference to their riches, their garments, their gold and their silver. These things are described as being rotted, moth-eaten and corroded. Earthly things will eventually perish, and it is these very things that the rich have much of. Nowadays, I find many people are striving to be rich. Some believe that being wealthy will bring happiness. However, the statistics show that lottery winners aren't any happier after winning. In fact, lottery winners are typically more miserable after striking it rich. Not only that, but climbing the corporate ladder and rising to success in the working world doesn't promise happiness. Doing such a thing means laying up treasure in the last days. However, this treasure is victim to all earthly possessions; they all eventually rot and perish. There's nothing good here about earthly wealth, so I must remember to not be enticed by its lure. The question is, "what's important?" I should hope that God is more important to me than these earthly things.

Furious Love

Has been awhile.

One of the most remarkable file ever seen: Furious Love. Here's the credit song that really touched my heart.

Credit to The Least of These band.

Thanks youtube user Gigs247 for tracking the song down from the movie.

James 4:17

The problems with this plan presented at the beginning of this section are the underestimation of life and the absence of God. James goes further to say that a person sins when they know what is right and fail to do it. Now we know that boasting in arrogance is evil. Therefore, knowing all these things, we must do them, otherwise we will be sinning. We can no longer claim ignorance and so we must do what is right.

James 4:16

Why is God not even in the picture? Perhaps this is the heart of the problem: boasting in arrogance. These people who plan to spend a year in a city to make money are arrogant and are boasting in that. They aren't boasting in God, but are only relying on themselves; they're even proud in their self reliance. Why do people do such a thing? It certainly feels good to boast and to feel good about yourself. However, it's also sometimes made out to be a positive thing in this society. Self-confidence is not viewed as a bad thing, but it is viewed as a good thing typically. However, if this leads to boasting in arrogance, such boasting is evil.

James 4:13-15

James is still talking about this case where a man plans to spend a year in some town to make money. The first problem with this was the underestimation of how short life really is. The second problem is the absence of God in this thinking. Instead, this person should speak with regard to God's will, knowing that it is only if God allows this to happen that it will happen. The original statement was void of God and clearly that was wrong.

James 4:13-14

Now James addresses those who make plans to spend a year in a city to make money. With regards to this, there is much uncertainty. We don't know what's going to happen tomorrow or in the future. It is quite possible for you to die tomorrow. Addressing this matter, James describes life as a mist that appears for a little while then vanishes. Sometimes mist is like that, you can see it for a few seconds and then it disappears. Some may think that their lives are long, but in reality is it quite short. Our lives are short and though we are alive now, it will vanish quickly like a mist that appears for a bit and then disappears. There is an error in this thinking for planning for the future, and one problem is underestimating the uncertainty of life.

James 4:11-12

It seems as if those who judge others are those who want to be a lawgiver. James, speaking against those who judge others, responds to those who judge by saying that God is the only lawgiver. So, those who judge others are trying to be lawgivers themselves. It's as if they are specifying and criticizing other people's lives through their interpretation of the law, pronouncing laws on them. Do not do this, for God is the only lawgiver. More importantly, he is the one who is able to save or destroy you, not this random person who judges you.

James 4:11

We are not to speak evil against one another. In saying this, James adds the notion of not judging others. This seems a bit odd because 1 Corinthians 5 provides a situation in which we are to judge those within the church. However, in this context, it is somewhat different. This notion of speaking evil or judging another is the same as speaking evil or judging the law. Do you really want to do such a thing against the law? What becomes of this person is that he is no longer a doer of the law, but a judge of the law. It seems that one cannot be both, but being a judge of the law deems him unfit to be a doer of the law. One way that this may happen is that the person judges another in such a way that he thinks himself above the law and thus a judge of it. This is different from the type of judgment that takes place is 1 Corinthians 5, which is a casting out of evil from the church, which probably happens after repentance and reconciliation has been attempted.

James 4:10

We are reminded once again of what James said earlier. He was talking about being humble, and how God gives grace to the humble. He brings it back again to remind his readers to be humble. Not only that, but if you are humble to the Lord, he will exalt you. If it wasn't clear enough already, you should know and want to be humble by now. However, it is understandably a difficult thing to do.

James 4:9

Why does James say this? He writes to them, telling them to weep and mourn. Apparently, they are to have this attitude towards their sin. It's not as if we're to simply ignore our sin. We aren't to go about being happy about our sin. We must ensure we have the correct response to our sin, and that is to weep and mourn. Too often perhaps we're happy or joyful over our sin, but let it not be so.

James 4:8b

This other thing that is added by James is for them to cleanse their hands and to purify their hearts. He doesn't just tell those who are clean to clean their hands. It wouldn't make sense for you to be asked to clean your room if it's already clean. Instead, he's talking to sinners, telling them to clean their hands. In addition, those who are double-minded are asked to purify their hearts. Instead of wanting both friendship with the world and friendship with God, hopefully they would have hearts only for God.

James 4:8

Not only does the devil flee from us when we resist him, but God will draw near to us when we draw near to him. Sometimes when we draw near to people, they don't draw near to us. You may want to become good friends with this one person, but they may not share the same desire. This may be more obvious for the case of a guy asking out a girl and she rejects him. Fortunately, when we draw near to God, he will draw near to us.

James 4:7

Apparently, if you resist the devil, he will flee from you. It almost seems too simple or easy to believe. But, it is true that if you resist the devil, he will flee from you. Perhaps we're confused because far too often, we simply go along with him, not even showing a hint of resistance. If we even bothered to resist, we'd learn the truth that he will flee from us. This also comes along with submission to God. It's not only that we resist the devil, but we must also submit to God. The devil doesn't flee from you because you alone are resisting him. Submitting to God, and thus having God on your side, is what scares the devil into fleeing from you. It isn't really you who he's scared of, but he flees because you who resist him are in submission to God. I am reminded of Romans 8:31, which somewhat fits in. Who can be against us if God is for us? Nobody.

James 4:6-7

God yearns jealously over the spirit he has made to live in us. As much as he is jealous, he is even more gracious. James states it here that he gives more grace in contrast. This quote is even added, which says that God gives grace to the humble. If you are proud instead of humble, then you are someone who God opposes. So, if God gives grace to the humble, then we should be humble. As a result, we should submit to God. The opposite of this would be not submitting to God and being proud. However, as mentioned before, God opposes the proud.

James 4:5

God is jealous of us. We may do different things like go and be friends with the world. However, choosing to give our best and primary efforts towards things other than God is bad. This results in not putting God first. This kind of thing is bad and we end up not giving God our all. As a result, God is jealous of the praise he rightfully deserves. God is a jealous God, and it may seem like a bad thing. Jealousy is certainly a bad thing for us, but it isn't the same for God. When we are jealous, we are jealous for that which we do not deserve. However, God is worthy and is jealous for that which he deserves. Perhaps it's like a husband who is jealous for the love of his wife. They are to love one another, are they not? That kind of jealousy would not be wrong, would it? Sure, maybe you can think up some exceptions, but for the most part it wouldn't be wrong. God yearns jealously over us. More specifically, it is the spirit dwelling in us. Not only that, but this spirit was made to dwell in us because of God. Either way, we are not to go after the world and befriend them, leaving God in the dust.

James 4:4

So fights break out among them who have their passions waging war within them. Their desires are not fulfilled, so they resort to murder and fighting. They don't have because they don't ask, and they don't receive because they ask incorrectly. Attempts to spend these things on their passions mean friendship with the world. Instead of being a friend of God and asking it from him and not desiring to spend it on passions, befriending the world is what people resort to. This is so bad that James calls them adulterous. It is adultery because the bible describes us as being wed to Christ, and by renouncing that and going to be with the world is adultery. You can't be both friend of God and friend of the world; you are either one or the other. As a result, choosing friendship with the world means being an enemy of God.