Daily Scripture
“Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior; To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you— if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.”
Titus 1:1-9
Daily Devotion
In this passage, Titus was in Crete and had the responsibility of helping the church and establishing leadership. By getting them into a place of health, the church would be able to carry out its purpose. Titus faced a lot of opposition inside and outside the church. This letter was to instruct Titus on how to lead and to encourage him while dealing with difficult people. The letter was also to help the church to understand their purpose.
More often than not, silly and unimportant things easily get us off track. We lose sight of what we are made to do: share the gospel and win the lost to Jesus. A healthy church stays committed to this assignment from God and doesn’t let any of the extra nonsense get in the way. It is essential that people in the church keep an eternal perspective.
A congregation is also built up when a church is hungry for God’s truth. A church will struggle if they are not completely devoted to God’s Word and biblical teaching.
What does leadership look like in a healthy church? We see there are qualifications that should not be ignored. A pastor of the church is called to be an overseer, which means a moral leader or guardian of the church. He also must pursue purity, not be self-willed, not be quick-tempered, be a lover of all things good and godly, be just, have sound doctrine, along with many other things we see in verses 6-9.
Through these verses, we see how everyone in the church plays a part in order for it to be healthy. When we stay focused on our ultimate purpose and encourage each other to do the same, we will see life change throughout our community and the world.
Elise Williams