You're commanded to eagerly desire greater gifts to serve Christ's Church! 1 Corinthians 12:27-31 (NIV) CONTEXT: Paul just introduced the body as an analogy for the Church. Just as a body has multiple parts, and each part has a unique purpose, so the Church has different roles, all of which are important. Since God has created you to be what you are, you should eagerly play that role. 27  Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28  And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. 29  Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30  Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31  Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 31: The Officers of the Church We believe that ministers of the Word of God, elders, and deacons ought to be chosen to their offices by a legitimate election of the church, with prayer in the name of the Lord, and in good order, as the Word of God teaches. So everyone must be careful not to push one’s self forward improperly, but all must wait until called by God, so that they may be assured of their calling and be certain and sure that it is from the Lord. As for the ministers of the Word, they all have the same power and authority, no matter where they may be, since they are all servants of Jesus Christ, the only universal bishop, and the only head of the church. Moreover, to keep God’s holy order from being violated or despised, we say that everyone ought, as much as possible, to hold the ministers of the Word and elders of the church in special esteem, because of the work they do, and be at peace with them, without grumbling, quarreling, or fighting Summary One of the first things that must be understood about the Church is that it always has been and always will be spoken of in corporate terms. In fact, the word corporate means 'body,' which is what Paul is comparing the Church to. Too often people want to think of the Church as multiple single cell organisms in which they can live and act independently, but the Bible never presents it that way. On one hand, all Christians are a part of the body of Christ, and all share in the equal dignity that being part of this body entails. We both literally and figuratively rise and fall together, as one. But on the other hand, bodies have an ordered hierarchy to their parts. Both your pinky toe and the frontal lobes of your brain are important parts of your body, but you're not going to make major decisions based only on your pinky toe's opinion of the matter. In the same way, there is an ordered hierarchy in the Church. God has placed first of all the apostles... These twelve men, who had spent years with Jesus and witnessed His death and resurrection, had the primary authority in the early Church. Then s econd came prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. All of these gifts were unique and useful in their own way, but it's good to know important decisions were not made based only on a utterance of 'tongues' that may or may not have been understood or interpreted correctly! If that list of Church 'body parts' seems odd to you, it's because in a very real sense, the Church has 'evolved' and no longer needs apostles, prophets, miracles, healing or tongues. As the book of Acts unfolds, it tells the story of how church leadership transitioned from supernatural giftings to the offices of pastor, elder and deacon that still lead Christ's body on earth today. Dig Deeper You're likely reading this in the midst of another election season, both politically and in many churches who often elect new elders and deacons near the end of the year. Political candidates can often be described by one word: ambition. Millions of dollars are spent and countless yard signs advocating particular candidates and other ads clog the landscape and airwaves. It's no wonder the American Founding Fathers deplored ambitious politicians who just wanted power. Compare the massively over ambitious political candidates with the 'candidates' who get nominated for office in your church. You go from one unhealthy end of the ambition scale way to the other end! It's almost unheard of for an elder or deacon to campaign for their election! In fact, if there's any campaigning being done, it's done by those who've been nominated trying to get their name off the ballot! Now certainly we don't want to learn lessons from our political counterparts about how to run for church office. We don't want to be met with 'Vote Bob for Elder' signs in the church parking lot or have the after service cookies sponsored by Rick's deacon campaign. But certainly there's room between no ambition and over ambition! After spending several paragraphs instructing individual Christians to be content with their particular gifts and location in the body, Paul counters this message with the very last verse: Now eagerly desire the greater gifts ('desire' literally means to seek for and strive after). In other words, show some ambition to serve the church in increasingly important roles, and then be grateful for however God chooses to use you in His service. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who places in the Church people He's gifted in a myriad of valuable ways; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you would eagerly desire greater gifts and that you'll have the ambition to do the hard work required to attain those gifts; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: John 2

Sometimes God commands us to do exciting work in boring ways. Acts 1:21-26 (NIV) CONTEXT: The very first thing the brand new Church did once Jesus ascended into heaven was to call a meeting so that another apostle could be appointed to replace Judas, who betrayed Christ and later killed himself. We join into this meeting as Peter speaks to the group: 21  Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, 22  beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.” 23  So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24  Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen 25  to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” 26  Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles. -- Acts 6:3-6 (NIV) CONTEXT: This is a portion of the text we read last week in which the office of deacon was added to the Church. 3  Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4  and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” 5  This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6  They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 31: The Officers of the Church We believe that ministers of the Word of God, elders, and deacons ought to be chosen to their offices by a legitimate election of the church, with prayer in the name of the Lord, and in good order, as the Word of God teaches. So everyone must be careful not to push one’s self forward improperly, but all must wait until called by God, so that they may be assured of their calling and be certain and sure that it is from the Lord. As for the ministers of the Word, they all have the same power and authority, no matter where they may be, since they are all servants of Jesus Christ, the only universal bishop, and the only head of the church. Moreover, to keep God’s holy order from being violated or despised, we say that everyone ought, as much as possible, to hold the ministers of the Word and elders of the church in special esteem, because of the work they do, and be at peace with them, without grumbling, quarreling, or fighting Summary The first chapter of Acts doesn't unfold the way the disciples would have liked. In their minds, after conquering death, Jesus would rise up and restore Israel to earthly greatness and glory.  But instead, He suddenly and surprisingly ascended into heaven. But He didn't leave them empty handed; He promised them that the Holy Spirit would be given to them, and two men dressed in white promised them that Jesus would some day return the same way He had just left. The disciples had certainly heard of the Holy Spirit, but so much of what they'd learned about Him came in those last few hours before Jesus' arrest and crucifixion, and they really didn't yet understand what it meant. But it did involve power of some sort, so perhaps they'd be endowed with super-human abilities and Spiritual armor before being sent out to rescue God's people. But that's not what happened either. Instead, they did the most boring thing possible. They called a meeting. Jesus had appointed twelve disciples, and at this point in history, that number was important to maintain. Judas needed to be replaced. But Peter, who's never been afraid to take bold steps, and who certainly asserts that Jesus gave him authority, doesn't grab the power but instead opens the floor to nominations of qualified men to join the apostles. Then instead of making the pick himself, he led in prayer and then the group cast lots to determine who would fill the open position. Dig Deeper One of the tricky things about interpreting the book of Acts is determining whether a passage is descriptive or prescriptive . In other words, does Luke merely describe the event as it occured, or are we being given binding instruction here to always determine leaders by casting lots? We don't need to read far in Acts to see that casting lots isn't the only way leaders were appointed. Notice that when the first group of deacons were named, the exact mechanism the church employed isn't mentioned. Was it just the first seven guys they found who were full of the Spirit and wisdom, or were those seven somehow whittled down from a larger group? Luke doesn't say. But what is clear in each passage is that both decisions were made through some sort of broad deliberative process. It wasn't just a supreme leader or exclusive council who made appointments on a whim. The whole church was involved. One of our biggest distinctives as Reformed churches is that we seek to do all things Biblically. Sometimes the Biblical instruction is clear and defined, such as the words we use while baptizing in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Other times we're given more discretion. One church might appoint elders and deacons by lifting qualified names out of a hat, while others utilize a congregational election, yet both methods would be considered Biblical. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who calls His church to do its work in an orderly fashion; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray for your church, which is called to do the exciting work of the Kingdom of God through sometimes boring means like meetings; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: John 1

What are the boys & young men in your life aspiring to? 1 Timothy 3:1-13 - (NIV) Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer [elder] desires a noble task. 2  Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3  not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4  He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. 5  (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) 6  He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7  He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap. 8  In the same way, deacons are to be worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. 9  They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. 10  They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons. 11  In the same way, the women [the wives of deacons] are to be worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything. 12  A deacon must be faithful to his wife and must manage his children and his household well. 13  Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 30: The Government of the Church We believe that this true church ought to be governed according to the spiritual order that our Lord has taught us in his Word. There should be ministers or pastors to preach the Word of God and administer the sacraments. There should also be elders and deacons, along with the pastors, to make up the council of the church. By this means true religion is preserved; true doctrine is able to take its course; and evil men are corrected spiritually and held in check, so that also the poor and all the afflicted may be helped and comforted according to their need. By this means everything will be done well and in good order in the church, when such persons are elected who are faithful and are chosen according to the rule that Paul gave to Timothy. Summary Paul sets the bar high for those who serve the church: they must be above reproach . Chances are you haven't used the word 'reproach' lately, so take a moment and let its impact sink in a bit. It means that nobody anywhere can bring any sort of criticism and make it stick. Paul then goes on to list a few examples of what an un-reproachable life looks like: marital faithfulness and good family management, level headedness, respected by the community, not a heavy drinker, gentle and generous, just to name a few. Notice that almost all of the attributes Paul lists for elders and deacons are character based. He only lists two skills. First, an elder must be able to teach . Teaching isn't just limited to standing before a group of people and presenting facts. Teaching also includes living in a close relationship with church members where one to one discipling happens regularly. The other skill Paul lists is for deacons: they must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience . Just like we learned yesterday , deacons must have a strong theological understanding so that they can apply gospel truth to the physical needs church members have. Dig Deeper Two things jump out at me from today's passage that have immediate application in our day and age. First, notice that all of the pronouns listed are masculine (even in the NIV text we read, which is known for neutralizing gender as much as possible in its translations). I know that not all of our readers are fully complementarian (the view that men and women are equal image bearers of God, but have been given complementary roles in which men are called to lead in the home and church), but passages like today's show how difficult it is from a Biblical standpoint to make a case for women in church office. Secondly, Paul matter of factly indicates that there will be (or at least ought to be) men aspiring to be elders and deacons in the church. Unfortunately, that aspiration doesn't seem to be very prevalent in our churches. Rather than aspiring to serve on council, men often merely acquiesce to a term. It's not that our boys and young men today don't aspire to things; their dedication to sports and their careers show just how strongly they aspire to be at the top of the field athletically and professionally. Certainly these are not sinful desires in and of themselves. The Bible clearly teaches that we must strive to glorify God in every endeavor of life (1 Corinthians 10:31), but it reserves language like aspire and eagerly desire (1 Corinthians 12:31) for those who seek to serve Christ's Church. Our church (and Christian school) communities need to start channeling boys' natural inclination to aspire to greatness away from the fleeting passions of the world and towards the leadership positions that God calls them to in their families and the Church. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who calls all people, especially elders who shepherd His Church, to be above reproach; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that in whatever relationship you have to boys and young men, you can encourage them to aspire to greatness in Christ's church as godly leaders; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: 1 Peter 5

Deacons must be "men known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom." Acts 6:1-7 - (NIV) In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2  So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3  Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4  and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” 5  This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6  They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. 7  So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 30: The Government of the Church We believe that this true church ought to be governed according to the spiritual order that our Lord has taught us in his Word. There should be ministers or pastors to preach the Word of God and administer the sacraments. There should also be elders and deacons, along with the pastors, to make up the council of the church. By this means true religion is preserved; true doctrine is able to take its course; and evil men are corrected spiritually and held in check, so that also the poor and all the afflicted may be helped and comforted according to their need. By this means everything will be done well and in good order in the church, when such persons are elected who are faithful and are chosen according to the rule that Paul gave to Timothy. Summary It didn't take long in the early church for problems to crop up. In this case, the challenge of caring for widows was exasperated by the underlying racial tension: the Hellenists (Greek) vs. the Hebrews. You can imagine the tension present as the Apostles were often interrupted from times of prayer, preaching and teaching in order to figure out the logistics of making sure everyone got the same amount of supper. Often times fast growing organizations - whether churches, schools or businesses - become victims of their own success. The rapid growth often turns otherwise solvable problems into overwhelming issues. When the distractions end up causing leadership to lose its focus on the core mission, the growth loses its momentum and the organization quickly implodes under its own weight. The Apostles, guided in wisdom by the Holy Spirit, realized the danger this sort of distraction posed and moved quickly to solve the problem. They knew that that the ministry of the Word of God must not be compromised, but they also wanted all of the widows to be properly cared for. The decided to delegate the task, and in doing so they added a new 'office' to the new church. They appointed diakonos (deacons), a word that literally means servants for the congregation. Dig Deeper Often times in our own contexts, we tend to think of the office of deacon as sort of the JV team of elders. They're often younger men who are tasked with the church's more practical issues like benevolence, budgeting and bill paying. The truly spiritual issues seem to be reserved for the more seasoned elders. But that's not how the Apostles understood it. They weren't looking for men with a business background who knew how to organize and get things done, they were looking for men who were known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. And it would be one of these seven deacons, Stephen, who would become the Church's first martyr when he was stoned by the Establishment after eloquently showing them how the entire Old Testament points to Christ. The Church will always face challenges until the Lord returns, both internal issues and external persecution. But one of the lessons we learn from the early Church as we read about in Acts is that when she stays focused on the ministry of the Word , God carries her through the challenges so that His Word spreads and more and more become obedient to the faith. Certainly elders and deacons have different responsibilities in carrying out their call, but they have one big thing in common: both must be men known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who calls His Church to remain faithful to her task despite ongoing challenges; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you'll faithfully serve the Church in the calling God has given you and that your church will not be distracted from the ministry of the Word; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: 1 Peter 4

It's good to be cynical regarding political leaders, but not towards faithful leaders in the Church. Hebrews 13:17 - (NIV) 17  Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 30: The Government of the Church We believe that this true church ought to be governed according to the spiritual order that our Lord has taught us in his Word. There should be ministers or pastors to preach the Word of God and administer the sacraments. There should also be elders and deacons, along with the pastors, to make up the council of the church. By this means true religion is preserved; true doctrine is able to take its course; and evil men are corrected spiritually and held in check, so that also the poor and all the afflicted may be helped and comforted according to their need. By this means everything will be done well and in good order in the church, when such persons are elected who are faithful and are chosen according to the rule that Paul gave to Timothy. Summary I often encourage people to use multiple different translations while reading the Bible, and today's passage is a great example as to why. The NIV begins the verse with an command for you to have confidence in your leaders. Yet most of the other English translations use the words obey your leaders . Yet, as is often the case when translations pick totally different words, both renderings are valid. Whereas cults and authoritarian styled organizations demand blind allegiance and obedience to their leaders, you here are called to obey your leaders not just because they said so, but because you have confidence in the Biblical truth they convey. The Greek word literally means to be persuaded by them. Remember, one of the first callings of a Christian is to be a good thinker, and to always carefully evaluate what your leaders say. Obedience is only required when their leadership is consistent with Biblical truth. Your leaders keep watch over you. Literally, they go without sleep or rest in their effort to guide, guard and protect your very soul . Certainly they make this effort because they love and care for you, but here we're reminded they have an additional motivation: Your church leaders must give an account. If they let you slip into sin, not only will you face judgment for it, but they will too! Finally, you're commanded here to make your leaders' efforts enjoyable and not burdensome. Doing this is beneficial for both them and you. Dig Deeper This might be a bad time to ask, in the midst of election season, but in general, would you say you have confidence in your leaders? Are you ready and willing to offer full obedience to whoever happens to win the elections? Probably not. If you're like most, you're quite cynical about our political leaders. The days in which everybody threw their support behind the winners after the election are long gone. Now jockeying and political gamesmanship begin the moment the previous election is over and we find ourselves in a never ending election cycle. Rather than submit to leadership that seems contrary to our principles, we immediately begin campaigning for a change. In the political sphere, a cynical response to leadership isn't always a bad thing, especially as more and more the political process is used to define society's morals rather than to govern society according timeless morals derived from Biblical truth. The point here is simply that even if you seethe with cynicism regarding your political leaders, you must not let that seep into your relationship with the leaders you've been placed under in your local church. Yes, hold them accountable to God's Word for sure, but when they act faithfully, you have an obligation to submit and obey because of the confidence you have in them. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who will call our church leaders to account for our actions; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray for your church's leaders, and pray that you will make their work a joy and not a burden; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: 1 Peter 3

It's easier to stay alert when you see & recognize the threat. Acts 20:25-32, 36-38 (NIV) CONTEXT: Paul is bidding farewell to the elders of the church in Ephesus, a church he loved dearly. He leaves them with this charge: 25  “Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. 26  Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you. 27  For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. 28  Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, y which he bought with his own blood.  29  I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30  Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31  So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears. 32  “Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. -- 36  When Paul had finished speaking, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. 37  They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him. 38  What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 30: The Government of the Church We believe that this true church ought to be governed according to the spiritual order that our Lord has taught us in his Word. There should be ministers or pastors to preach the Word of God and administer the sacraments. There should also be elders and deacons, along with the pastors, to make up the council of the church. By this means true religion is preserved; true doctrine is able to take its course; and evil men are corrected spiritually and held in check, so that also the poor and all the afflicted may be helped and comforted according to their need. By this means everything will be done well and in good order in the church, when such persons are elected who are faithful and are chosen according to the rule that Paul gave to Timothy. Summary It's always hard to say goodbye, especially when, as is the case in today's passage, there will never be another reunion. People cling to these moments and replay them in their memory for years to come. The 'famous last words' of influential people fill history books. So the air there in that sea side meeting was thick with emotion and dialed in ears. What good word would this preacher of good news leave with these men who would be left to lead the church Paul had planted? But Paul's prediction wasn't a happy one. Savage wolves were on the way, he said, and they would endanger the flock. But they'd have to defend from more than just an external wolf attack; even some from within their own would turn on them with deceptive, misleading words that would draw others away. So stay awake, Paul warned them; "Be on your guard." But the Ephesian flock wasn't left defenseless. They'd been given shepherds in the form of overseers to look out for them, a word we now translate as 'elders.' We know from Paul's letters to Timothy, who pastored the church in Ephesus, and from the letters that Jesus wrote to the seven churches, including Ephesus, in Revelation 2-3, that Paul's prediction of the attacking wolves came true. But we also know from extra-biblical church history that the Ephesian church would survive these attacks and go on to serve as beacon of hope for many years to come. The appointment of humble, fallible elders doesn't seem like it would be an adequate defense against the devil's savagery, but God blesses that which He ordains. Dig Deeper If you somehow discovered that tonight, at precisely 11:38 PM, a robber would arrive on your yard, you'd be ready for him in one way or the other. But if you were told that sometime over the next decade a robber would show up, he'd probably have a much better chance of catching you off guard. Likewise, if a church knew that wolves would tear off their sheep's clothing and attack the flock two Sunday's from now, I'm sure they'd be ready for it and thwart the attack. But that's not the way church wolves work. Just like their natural counterparts, these predators patiently bide their time, looking for opportunities to separate the weak from the protection of the flock. And too often, churches forget about the threat and let down their guard. Paul doesn't really give these Ephesian elders any specific tactics they can use to defend themselves with. He just tells them to keep watch, and then commits them to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance . But then again, that is the tactic for elders: to keep their sheep connected to God and His Word. The threat Paul warned these Ephesian elders of two millennia ago still exists today. Certainly it's taken all sort of different forms throughout the years, and sometimes it's much easier to see than others. Through it all, the tactic remains the same. If you're an elder, be on guard and keep watch lest your sheep wander from the Word. If you're a sheep, thank God for the overseers He's given to protect you and keep you safe. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, whose word builds us up and gives us an inheritance; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray for your church's elders as they keep watch and guard your church from the ever present wolves; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: 1 Peter 2

God's stewards act & speak with His full authority. We call them elders. Titus 1:5-9 (NIV) CONTEXT: Paul's letters to Timothy and Titus are referred to as the 'pastoral epistles.' Both men were ordained by Paul to serve the churches, Timothy in Ephesus and Titus in Crete. 5  The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint elders ( presbyteros ) in every town, as I directed you. 6  An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. 7  Since an overseer ( episkopos ) manages God’s household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. 8  Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. 9  He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 30: The Government of the Church We believe that this true church ought to be governed according to the spiritual order that our Lord has taught us in his Word. There should be ministers or pastors to preach the Word of God and administer the sacraments. There should also be elders and deacons, along with the pastors, to make up the council of the church. By this means true religion is preserved; true doctrine is able to take its course; and evil men are corrected spiritually and held in check, so that also the poor and all the afflicted may be helped and comforted according to their need. By this means everything will be done well and in good order in the church, when such persons are elected who are faithful and are chosen according to the rule that Paul gave to Timothy. Summary The question probably crossed Titus' mind often - 'Paul, why on earth did you leave me in Crete of all places?!?' The Cretans described themselves as being " liars, evil brutes, and lazy gluttons," and still today a good way to insult a person is to call him a Cretan. What a place to plant a church, especially when there were not a load of church planting books and consultants to strategize with as there is today! Paul could likely sense his young protégé's angst, so he gets right to the point. "I left you there in Crete, Titus, that you might put in order what was left unfinished ." Churches had been planted and people were joining, but there was unfinished business that needed completion, and Titus was to see that it got finished. Paul's design for these Cretan churches filled with liars, evil brutes and lazy gluttons remains the same strategy today for developing a strong, healthy church. He instructed Titus to appoint elders in every town . Paul uses two different terms to describe these men which we still use today. He first calls them presbyteros , from which it's not hard to see we get the word presbyterian from. In our Reformed churches, we utilize a presbyterian style of governance in which elders and deacons have authority in their local congregations. Paul also uses the word episkopos , from which we derive the word bishop. Other denominations, like Methodists and Roman Catholics, have an episcopalian type of government in which regional bishops exercise authority. Although Paul used two different words to describe elders, it seems most likely that he used them synonymously and didn't intend there to be a distinction. Dig Deeper Although Paul uses two different terms - elder & bishop - to describe these men, he uses just one word to describe their primary job: they were to manage God's household. In the Roman Empire, rich landowners would appoint stewards to manage their far flung properties. These stewards spoke and acted with the full authority of the owner in all matters, and their primary objective was to promote and defend the owner's interests. So it is with the elders in your own congregation. God appointed these men, not because He doesn't have the time or energy to manage it Himself or can't be present everywhere, but because as we've consistently seen, God ordinarily uses ordinary means to accomplish His will. So one of the highest priorities for each congregation is to appoint these stewards to manage God's household (the Church). We'll dig deeper into the qualifications for these men at a later time, since we see similar lists elsewhere in scripture as well, but let's not end without understanding how a steward is to accomplish his task. "He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it." AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who owns all things, and appoints stewards to oversee His most precious possession: His Church; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray for your church's elders, that they would hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: 1 Peter 1

True Christians must be lifelong fighters. Proverbs 28:13-14 (NIV) 13  Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy. 14  Blessed is the man ( ʾā·ḏām ) who always trembles before God, but whoever hardens their heart falls into trouble. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 29: The Marks of the True Church The true church can be recognized if it has the following marks: The church engages in the pure preaching of the gospel; it makes use of the pure administration of the sacraments as Christ instituted them; it practices church discipline for correcting faults. As for those who can belong to the church, we can recognize them by the distinguishing marks of Christians: namely by faith, and by their fleeing from sin and pursuing righteousness, once they have received the one and only Savior, Jesus Christ. They love the true God and their neighbors, without turning to the right or left, and they crucify the flesh and its works. Though great weakness remains in them, they fight against it by the Spirit all the days of their lives, appealing constantly to the blood, suffering, death, and obedience of the Lord Jesus, in whom they have forgiveness of their sins, through faith in him. Summary Most people aren't proud of their sins. Sure, in our day and age, it certainly seems like so many people revel in their sin, but in a sense these folks who seem the wickedest have become so blind to the truth (remember, our primary urge as sinners is to suppress the truth) that they don't even realize that their actions are wrong. Shame is a powerful motivation in us, and so for most of us, especially us church goers, our instinct is to conceal sin to escape the corresponding shame. But Solomon points out here the counterproductive nature of our instinct to keep sin covered up. "Whoever conceals sin," Solomon writes, "does not prosper." In other words, when you keep sin hidden, you end up making things worse, not better. You end up missing out on experiencing God's blessings in your life. But to truly prosper , a Christian must do more than just make his sins evident. Solomon gives two steps to do what Paul would later describe as "putting to death" your old sinful self (Colossians 3:5). First, you must confess your sin, which is a remorseful admission of guilt. This confession must be followed with a renunciation . The Hebrew word Solomon uses here literally means to leave something behind. To renounce your sin means that you commit to completely changing direction in this area of your life. But Solomon, inspired by the Holy Spirit, holds out great promise for you when you confess and renounce your sins: you will find mercy. Literally translated, you will experience God's blessing and forgiving love. This in turn leads to the prosperity God intends for your life. Dig Deeper Our Confession helps explain that a true Christian is not marked by a life of perfect holiness. Such a goal is unattainable on this side of glory. Rather, a true Christian is one who fights against their weakness every day of their life . Or, as Solomon puts it in v15, a true Christian is one who "trembles before God." It's only as you realize the perfect holiness and righteousness of your creator that you come to recognize the sin and weakness in your life, and it's only then that you can, trembling before God , come to confess and renounce the sin you've recognized. That's the problem with the unashamed sinners in the world: they've suppressed the truth so much that rather than tremble before God , they simply continue to "harden their heart" all the more. Solomon uses a key word to describe true Christians who tremble before God as they confess and renounce their sin: He says they are blessed, which is of course the same word that Jesus, the new ʾā·ḏām uses to describe those who fully trust in Him. We often push back against propagators of the 'Prosperity Gospel,' who pedal following God's commands as simply a tool for gaining worldly riches, and rightfully so. But don't miss the true prosperity gospel that Solomon here calls you to: a life of prosperous blessedness, marked not by fleeting riches, but rather by full inclusion in the Kingdom of God through our Savior, Jesus Christ. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who gives prosperity and blessedness to those who tremble before Him; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Confess and renounce your sins, so that you will find God's abundant mercy; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: 1 John 2

Will you spend half the day today doing the ugly task the Bible commands you to do? Galatians 5:19-26 (NIV) 19  The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20  idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21  and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23  gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24  Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25  Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26  Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 29: The Marks of the True Church The true church can be recognized if it has the following marks: The church engages in the pure preaching of the gospel; it makes use of the pure administration of the sacraments as Christ instituted them; it practices church discipline for correcting faults. As for those who can belong to the church, we can recognize them by the distinguishing marks of Christians: namely by faith, and by their fleeing from sin and pursuing righteousness, once they have received the one and only Savior, Jesus Christ. They love the true God and their neighbors, without turning to the right or left, and they crucify the flesh and its works. Though great weakness remains in them, they fight against it by the Spirit all the days of their lives, appealing constantly to the blood, suffering, death, and obedience of the Lord Jesus, in whom they have forgiveness of their sins, through faith in him. Summary Today's summary is a repost from July 24 These verses from Galatians are memorable and well loved because of the beautiful metaphor it presents: the Spirit filled life as one bearing sweet, nutritious fruit. But this passage also both begins and ends with a warning based in cold, hard logic. Since the beauty of this passage is so easy to see, working through it backwards will help us see the logic a bit easier. The final verse warns of what happens to people who've experienced a taste of salvation, but who continue to be guided by their own sinful nature ( sarx ). Such people become conceited and consumed with envy and self promotion. This is our natural state as sinners, the condition we default to unless the Spirit regenerates  us. Instead of trying to stay a step ahead of everyone else, a true Christian "keeps in step" with the Spirit (v25). This keeps your eyes focused on the Spirit, and not so full of yourself or worried about how you compare to others. Our natural inclination towards conceitedness and envy doesn't go away easily; it requires a painful separation. You must crucify  your flesh - not physically, of course; the Bible uses the word flesh - literally the Greek word sarx  - to refer to the residual sin that's woven into our fallen human nature, samples of which Paul catalogs at the beginning of our passage. Sarx is like a zombie: you put it to death one day, and it comes right back to life the next. This means this painful crucifixion process never ends for those who are in Christ, that is, until Christ returns and makes all things new. Dig Deeper It's easy to think we can outproduce our problems; in other words, if we're bearing a satisfactory amount of fruit in our lives (that is, just a bit more than the average Christian), then we don't need to worry so much about this nasty business of crucifying our flesh. We think that by cranking up the love, joy and peace just a bit, we can produce enough fruit to mask the sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery mentioned in the verses that precede this passage that so often hide in the shadows of our lives. It's interesting to look at the four marks our Confession says identifies true Christians: Faith Flee from sin and embrace righteousness Love God & neighbors Crucify the flesh and its works We often associate the Christian life with doing good deeds and bearing Spiritual fruit. Certainly you must do these things, and as our Confession puts it, "embrace righteousness." But notice that half of the list has to do with ridding yourself of sin! Remember, the Confession is a summary of all of scripture, and here it captures the full counsel of God's Word in reminding you that you must spend at least half of your life - half of each day - identifying and killing off sin. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who calls us to keep in step with His Spirit; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will be more and more aware of the sin in your life, and that in the strength the Spirit grants, you will be able to kill it each day; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: 1 John 1

You're commanded to love those around you. Does this mean you must tolerate everything they do? 1 John 4:19-21 (NIV) 19  We love because he first loved us. 20  Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21  And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 29: The Marks of the True Church The true church can be recognized if it has the following marks: The church engages in the pure preaching of the gospel; it makes use of the pure administration of the sacraments as Christ instituted them; it practices church discipline for correcting faults. As for those who can belong to the church, we can recognize them by the distinguishing marks of Christians: namely by faith, and by their fleeing from sin and pursuing righteousness, once they have received the one and only Savior, Jesus Christ. They love the true God and their neighbors, without turning to the right or left, and they crucify the flesh and its works. Though great weakness remains in them, they fight against it by the Spirit all the days of their lives, appealing constantly to the blood, suffering, death, and obedience of the Lord Jesus, in whom they have forgiveness of their sins, through faith in him. Summary This is now the fourth time we've turned to 1 John 4 this year ( including two days ago ), so these verses we're reading today culminate a very important chapter in the Bible. Today's passage begins with what could seem to be a waste of ink. Of course we love God because He first loved us, right? After all, He knew us before He created anything else, chose us to belong to Him, formed us in our mother's wombs and gave us breath, and is in the process of working all things for the good on our behalf. But we have a way of pushing this fundamental knowledge out of the way of our own egos, so John has good reasons to include this basic reminder. We must be humbled lest we think God owes us a favor for us choosing to serve Him. So if you claim to love God - which John just reminded us is only possible because God initiated that love - but you do not love the people around you, you're lying; you're lying not just about your love for God, but your status as one who belongs to God. Not loving the people around you is a really big deal! It means that God's love isn't really in you. Loving the people around you isn't just an option or something that just the 'super Christians' do. It comes to you as a command, with the same full force that the ten commandments have. If you love God, you must love the people around you. Dig Deeper The big question here from a practical standpoint is understanding what it means to love the people around you. If you were to go to a busy street corner and ask the first 100 people you came across (which might take some time in our smaller towns!), you'd likely hear people explain that loving a person means to fully accept them as they are without judgment, and to tolerate any behavior or ideas they may have regardless of how different or even wrong they may be. After all, people would say, God loves us unconditionally, doesn't He? Unfortunately, while such an answer would be very popular, it's not very Biblical. Paul beautifully sets forth the Biblical concept of love in 1 Corinthians 13. "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs" (v4-5). So far this definition isn't too different from the world's. But things quickly change in v6-7: " Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth . It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." This means that it's never loving to tolerate the sin of somebody you love. In fact, tolerating sin and 'delighting in evil' is the opposite of what it means to love someone! Notice how beautifully our Confession frames this. We are to love God and our neighbors "without turning to the right or left." In other words, stay firmly planted on solid Biblical ground as you fulfill God's command to love your brother and sister. The best way to love your brothers and sisters is to patiently, kindly and humbly encourage them in God's perfect Truth. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who first loved us; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray for the wisdom and desire to share the love that God showed you in a way consistent with God's revealed Word; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Titus 3