Titus 1:15-16 – “All is pure to those who are pure. But to those who are corrupt and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their minds and consciences are corrupted. ¹⁶ They profess to know God but with their deeds they deny him, since they are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.”

As I read, prayed, and mused on the Word of God today, genuineness became my focus. Immediately, my thoughts went to numerous places in Scripture that depict genuineness and its lack.

As I read Titus 1, Paul gave instructions and warnings to his son in the faith.   In vv. 15-16, he says, “To the pure, all things are pure…”   We could stop there and find a challenge so great it would consume our focus for a lifetime.   How do we see people and life?   Our view of others, events, and things is filtered through our view of God and the condition of our hearts.

He continued, “But nothing is pure to those who are defiled and faithless; even their mind and conscience is defiled. 16 They profess to know God, but in works, they deny Him, and they are abominable and disobedient, condemning every good work.”

Here is what exploded in my heart and mind: “Profession is not Possession.”    Romans 1:18-25 speaks directly to the idea of genuineness.   In v.22 – “And while they thought within themselves that they were wise, they became fools.”

The Pharisees professed their faith, but their lives revealed a lack of genuineness.   Profession but not possession.  If our actions and attitudes are contrary to the faith we profess, we demonstrate a lack of genuineness. 

Sadly, too many are like those Jesus spoke to in Matthew 25, as He contrasted the genuine, proven by fruit, with the insincere, proven by fruit.  Words without action are like rain on a tin roof, just noise!   Just going to church, being a member, and doing stuff doesn’t make one a Christian any more than being born in a garage makes one a car.   

Love is a verb requiring action to evidence it.   Faith requires action to evidence it.   For the Profession of Christ to be transformational requires a changed heart, and a changed heart changes the actions and attitude.

Profession is not Possession!   It is not those who say, Lord, Lord, that will be received, but those who do God’s will.   Possession is professed in words and deeds.

My prayer for you and me is, “LORD, help us to know You experientially and transformationally. Change us from the inside so that we possess what we profess and that it is evidenced by our fruit!”

I want to possess what I profess!   Help me be quick to hear and quick to respond to You.   Please help me be pure in thought, word, and deed.

Let us live our lives viewing life through the Filter of God’s Word and Love!

Titus 1:15-16 – “All is pure to those who are pure. But to those who are corrupt and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their minds and consciences are corrupted. ¹⁶ They profess to know God but with their deeds they deny him, since they are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.”

As I read, prayed, and mused on the Word of God today, genuineness became my focus. Immediately, my thoughts went to numerous places in Scripture that depict genuineness and its lack.

As I read Titus 1, Paul gave instructions and warnings to his son in the faith.   In vv. 15-16, he says, “To the pure, all things are pure…”   We could stop there and find a challenge so great it would consume our focus for a lifetime.   How do we see people and life?   Our view of others, events, and things is filtered through our view of God and the condition of our hearts.

He continued, “But nothing is pure to those who are defiled and faithless; even their mind and conscience is defiled. 16 They profess to know God, but in works, they deny Him, and they are abominable and disobedient, condemning every good work.”

Here is what exploded in my heart and mind: “Profession is not Possession.”    Romans 1:18-25 speaks directly to the idea of genuineness.   In v.22 – “And while they thought within themselves that they were wise, they became fools.”

The Pharisees professed their faith, but their lives revealed a lack of genuineness.   Profession but not possession.  If our actions and attitudes are contrary to the faith we profess, we demonstrate a lack of genuineness. 

Sadly, too many are like those Jesus spoke to in Matthew 25, as He contrasted the genuine, proven by fruit, with the insincere, proven by fruit.  Words without action are like rain on a tin roof, just noise!   Just going to church, being a member, and doing stuff doesn’t make one a Christian any more than being born in a garage makes one a car.   

Love is a verb requiring action to evidence it.   Faith requires action to evidence it.   For the Profession of Christ to be transformational requires a changed heart, and a changed heart changes the actions and attitude.

Profession is not Possession!   It is not those who say, Lord, Lord, that will be received, but those who do God’s will.   Possession is professed in words and deeds.

My prayer for you and me is, “LORD, help us to know You experientially and transformationally. Change us from the inside so that we possess what we profess and that it is evidenced by our fruit!”

I want to possess what I profess!   Help me be quick to hear and quick to respond to You. Please help me be pure in thought, word, and deed.

Let us live our lives viewing life through the Filter of God’s Word and Love!

Genesis 39:2 – “And the LORD was with Joseph…”

As I read, prayed, and meditated on the Word of God today, my focus was drawn to the story of Joseph. His life can be viewed as a progression of faith and maturity. God revealed Joseph’s destiny while he was a teenager. His dream became a thorn in his brother’s side.

He was sold by his brothers as a slave.  His dream appeared dead.  He had been treated treacherously by his own brothers.   He was purchased like an inanimate object or a subhuman creature.  He was suffering the ultimate devaluation.  His dream seemed impossible.

Then, in Genesis 39:2, we read, “And the LORD was with Joseph…”   That is ironic!  He had been abandoned by his family, sold into slavery, his dream was dead, and we hear, “And the LORD was with Joseph…”   You could have fooled me.  If we consider his visible situation, it would appear that God had abandoned him, rather than being with him.

The evidence of God’s presence became visible.   He was promoted by his owner.   THEN, the owner’s wife tried to seduce him, then lied about him.   He was imprisoned for a crime he did not commit.

In Genesis 39:21, we read again, “But the LORD was with Joseph…”   Wow!   On the surface, it would appear that he might want to say, “LORD, if this is being with me, please stop.”   But he was elevated to a position of favor in prison.   Favor, but the dream was nowhere in sight. His situation has worsened.   He was farther from fulfillment than ever as far as the natural mind could comprehend.

Then, he interpreted Pharaoh’s dream and was elevated to a position equivalent to Prime Minister.  He saved his family and preserved the Messianic line. The LORD was with him!

In life, we progress through obstacles and difficulties, wrestle with God as Jacob, and overcome hate and the thirst for retaliation. If we embrace God with us, we become who we must become to fulfill our destiny.    We would never have heard from him again if Joseph failed any of those trials or tests.  The devil would have won a significant victory.

Each of us has a divine destiny.   To reach that destiny, we have to navigate the troubled waters of tests, trials, and temptations.   Fail, and we either make another lap around the mountain or relinquish our dream and embrace the misery of failure.

Joseph embraced the truth, “God is with me.”   He believed the dream, trusted God’s promises, and persevered. He fulfilled his purpose, and we can, too!   An old preacher said, “God can pull you through anything, if you can stand the pull.”

When the LORD is with you, you succeed!  

Genesis 22:1-2  – “Some time after these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am!” Abraham replied. ² God said, “Take your son—your only son, whom you love, Isaac—and go to the land of Moriah! Offer him up there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I will indicate to you.”

I believe that Isaac is a type of Christ.   When the angel directed Abraham to offer Isaac, the angel said in Genesis 22:2, “Take your son, your ONLY son Isaac…”   He was directed to go to the mountain to sacrifice him.    Preparation was made, and on the third day, he saw the mountain and said to his servants, in verse 5, “The boy and I will go there and worship and return to you.”

In Genesis 25:5, we read that Abraham gave everything to Isaac.   The Father has put all in the hands of Jesus.    Later, when Isaac obeyed God and stayed the course God had chosen, he was blessed.   But something leaped out at me as I read the account.

The Philistines had polluted the wells of Abraham.  The Pharisees had polluted the wells (teachings) of Abraham.   Isaac’s servants dug new wells, and the herdsmen of Gadar quarreled with them, claiming the wells.

The well was named Aska (difficulty).   They dug another well, and the same thing occurred.    They called the well Satana (adversary).   They moved on and dug another well, and there was no quarrel.   The name of the well was Rehoboth (to enlarge).

In Christ, we face difficulty; we have to battle with the adversary before coming to the place of enlargement.   We do not get to Rehoboth without difficulty and battle.  But if we persist, we reach the place of promise.

Jacob, a picture of the victorious Church, received the blessing of Isaac. But to obtain, inherit, and possess that promise, he faced difficulty battling the adversary.   He wrestled with God, changing his nature to obtain His promise and be Israel (a prince with God) rather than Jacob (a flesh-driven man).

Stay the course, persist, and you will receive your inheritance promise from God. It is more than getting to heaven someday; it is Victory now!  1 Thessalonians 5:15-24 gives a pattern and a key to victorious living.     Pursue sound doctrine (truth). Bear one another’s burdens, strengthening the weak, encouraging, and patient.

Do not retaliate and give tit for tat.   Let Joy flow from deep inside.   Pray continuously with thankfulness.   Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit, listen to the prophetic voice, proving or testing everything by the Word.   Stand unwaveringly for truth and good, avoiding all appearance of evil.

The result is that God’s sanctification and peace will preserve you until Jesus returns.  Life is not easy, but on the other side of difficulty is enlargement (the place of promise).   1 Thessalonians 5:24 – “Faithful is He who has called you, and He will keep His Word.”   Difficulty, Adversity, and Enlargement.   Don’t stop short of the victory.

May your day be one of perfect peace because you are fully trusting in Jesus and rolling all your care on Him!

Genesis 18:20-21 –  “So the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so blatant ²¹ that I must go down and see if they are as wicked as the outcry suggests. If not, I want to know.”

The question came from Genesis 19, in the account of Lot.  The New Testament says that Lot’s righteous spirit was vexed by what was transpiring in Sodom, yet he chose to stay there.   The possible whys are numerous.

Lot knew the promise to Abraham from Abraham’s testimony.    Second-hand knowledge is not transformational revelation; it is information (head knowledge). 

• Abraham had an encounter with God that was transformational.  
• Abraham believed God and God’s promise.  
• Lot believed in God; Abraham believed God.   
• Lot believed theoretically, and Abraham believed experientially.

The question was, “Why was Lot in Sodom?”   That is akin to the question God asked Elijah, “Why are you here?”  Elijah was hiding from Jezebel; Lot was enjoying the material prosperity of the land.

As the angels led Lot and his family out of Sodom, Lot lingered (hesitated).  That suggests a divided heart.   His wife looked back.    The implication is that she looked back longingly or favorably at what she had.  It seems her confidence was in what she had, rather than in God.

I sense the Holy Spirit asking, “What is your reason for being where you are and doing what you are doing. “

Paul prayed for the Colossians to be filled with the knowledge of God’s will.  (Their why).  He prayed for their spiritual understanding.  (Revelation and motivation)

In Colossians 2:6, he says something intriguing and revealing.   “Just as you have therefore accepted Jesus Christ our Lord, so you must be led by Him.”  That is a clear revelation that He must become LORD after He has become Savior.

Then Paul gives a valuable revelation in the next verse.  “Rooted and built up in Him, and established in the faith…”   Rooted is being born again (planted).  You can’t be built up until you have been planted or rooted.  Then, established, grow in Grace into spiritual maturity.

The process moves us from believing theoretically to experiential knowledge and faith.  That faith builds up and establishes.   When we embrace what Jesus did as depicted in Colossians 2:13-15, we enter a new realm of freedom and faith.

In Colossians 3, Paul makes it practical.  “IF,” that’s the key.  If we are saved, we must and will shift our focus from self, things, etc., to Christ and His Kingdom.  We put off the things of the flesh and replace them with the things of God.

Colossians 3:16 – “Let (permit by participation) His Word dwell in you ABUNDANTLY in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to God.”

• Why are we where we are doing what we are doing? 
• What is our motivation? 

If God leads us out, do we linger or hesitate, looking back?  What truly holds our hearts?  What holds our hearts defines and determines our lives and fruit.  It is the foundation upon which our legacy is built. 

Lord, help us to be filled with the knowledge of Your will and believe You!  Help us see the temporariness of this life and the eternality of forever!

Have a Victorious Day in Jesus!   Be Where He Has Planted You and You Will Realize Your Purpose Fulfilled!

Genesis 2:16-17 – “Then the Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat fruit from every tree of the orchard, ¹⁷ but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will surely die.”

As I began another journey through the Word of God, something in Genesis 3 prompted me to reflect on the encounter between Eve and the crafty serpent.

In Genesis 2:16-17, God instructed Adam (before Eve’s creation) about the trees in the Garden.  The only prohibition was regarding the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. He said, “You shall not eat its fruit. On the day you eat it, you will surely die.” Simple and clear.

Adam had never seen death, so I can only speculate what that prohibition meant to him.  He knew unconditional love, and in that knowing, he knew that God’s prohibition was for his best good.

Eve had heard from Adam the prohibition.  The subtle, sneaky snake used her ability to reason against her.   He came with a question to cause Eve to question God—not overtly question Him, but use the human ability (gift) of reason to crave something prohibited without holding to the confidence that God’s decree was for her best good.

Eve’s response revealed a flaw in second-hand information.   God said to Adam, “Do not eat.” Eve said God’s decree was, “Do not eat or touch.”  Maybe Adam expanded it to that, and perhaps he didn’t, but it was the first crack in the wall of trust. The snake used it.

Eve rightly related God’s warning, “Disobey and die.”   The snake used the Words of God filtered through human reason to sway or entice her to disobey. He said, “You will not surely die.”  Two thoughts enter my mind. What is death to Eve? Doubt opens the door to disobedience, which leads to separation and death.

The moment Adam and Eve disobeyed, death entered the human family. Death was not God’s plan for humans, but now the seed is sown and bears fruit in humans.   Death is twofold: Spiritual and Physical.

The thought in my heart was not so much about the event in the Garden of Eden and when death occurred, but in the subtlety of deception leading to disobedience, which produces rebellion.    If we viewed our disobedience as rebellion, we would be extremely cautious about how we live our lives.

The snake deceived Eve and, ultimately, Adam, motivating them to shift their focus from God, God’s directive, unconditional love, and complete trustworthiness.  It became “What Do I Desire?”   If we question God’s truthfulness in any area, we will question it in other areas.  If we allow what we want to supersede His protective guidance, rebellion is at the door.

Sin is disobedience and rebellion.  The serpent beguiled Eve and got her to fill her mind with self. Paul’s plea to the Philippians in 4:4-8 is our safeguard. Focus on God’s goodness and faithfulness.  Be grateful for His love and grace.  Trust Him completely, even in what He prohibits.

Then, fill your heart with (v.8) – truth, honesty, justice, purity, beauty, good report, virtue, and reasons to praise Him.   That was the cause of his confidence in (v.13) – “I can do all things through Christ…” That includes obedience. And His confidence in (v.19) – God’s total care!

We must guard against deception because the sneaky snake will bring partial truths to entice us to rely on human reason, leading to rebellion. It is deception to think that sin (disobedience) is not rebellion against God.

I tremble when I realize that my disobedience is not only a slap in the face of God’s goodness and love but also open rebellion. It is amazing that He would be merciful to us and forgive our blatant disregard for His careful provisions and prohibitions, which are designed to keep us safe.

Jesus said, “It is My Father’s desire to give you the kingdom.” He cannot give it to the disobedient rebels we have been.  In repentance and obedience, He can entrust us with the stewardship of the kingdom.  It is grace through faith. Obedience is better than sacrifice.   Lord, help us to recognize that disobedience is a form of rebellion. Help us to trust you enough to obey you completely all the time.

May the Lord help us to hear Him for ourselves rather than rely on secondhand information!