Day 30 - Issue 23
Titus 2:11-12 NLT
'For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God…'
I am a serial learner. I’ve moved from my undergraduate degree through a Masters and onto a PhD. I continue to study for various certificates because I love both the learning and being part of a learning community. What this has taught me, apart from my love of learning, is that to achieve anything demands discipline and hard work. The walk of faith is no different.
My PhD is in Syriac, a living language that is a form of Aramaic. While I can struggle through translation with a grammar book and dictionary in hand, if I were to visit a Syriac-speaking community, in, say, Aleppo, I would be lost. I wouldn’t be able to follow the speed of conversation nor apply grammatical rules to decode the sentences, even if I knew the words.
So it is with Christianity. We can, of course, with appropriate notes, sermons and books, grasp the substance of scripture. Yet, unless we immerse ourselves in the principles and practice of a vibrant Christian culture, we might be forgiven for failing to demonstrate the validity of our message. As a new Christian, I still drank too much. Discovering drunkenness was not commended by the Bible, I still drank, only I didn’t show up drunk to church gatherings. Hypocrisy was seeded early in my Christian walk. Deception I found both easy and rather too natural. Then God spoke and I felt uncomfortable about both the extent of my drinking and the degree to which I controlled the number of drinks I consumed, or if the drink was starting to control me, which I think it was.
So I came seeking support. I spoke out my questions. I was not condemned but supported, and others wiser than me helped be develop a means to manage my drinking. And it worked. So with the Christian life; we need to be convinced we want to live as God instructs, seek advice when needed and develop a disciplined approach that helps replace godless living with godly living.
QUESTION: How well have you succeeded in turning your back on godless living?
PRAYER: Lord, help me live a godly life not to earn your grace but to display it.
