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Show Myself Trustworthy and Good
Tim Savage33I will sing to theLordas long as I live. I will praise my God to my last breath! 34May all my thoughts be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in theLord. Psalm 104
9Slaves must always obey their masters and do their best to please them. They must not talk back10or steal, but must show themselves to be entirely trustworthy and good. Then they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive in every way. Titus 2
Psalms 104 is a beautiful poem of the creation and power of God; a reminder of all that He has done and does now. Titus 2 lays out the important basic beliefs and behaviors of Christians. Titus 2:9 especially caught my attention this morning explaining the responsibilities of slaves to their master and I thought it applied to me as a slave of Christ. I must do my best to please Jesus and show myself entirely trustworthy and good. My whole life should attract others to Him. When I work with people I want them to notice that there is something different about me. I hope they notice a peace and calmness, strength, integrity and high level of skill. I want to be a reflection of God on earth; an example of what it means to follow Him. There are so many bad examples of religion in the world. Just yesterday another high Catholic leader was accused of sexual abuse and a well-known Christian athlete accused of cheating. It’s hard for non-believers to see any difference between us and rest of the world. In fact, we’re worse because we’re hypocrites, saying we believe one thing, but living differently.
With so many failures at such high levels, what chance do us normal people have in showing ourselves to be trustworthy and good? Pastor Wayne has said that many times we haven’t sinned because we haven’t had the opportunity to sin. People with money, power or fame have many opportunities. But the enemy will try his best to get us to fall, he will tempt us where we are most vulnerable – that could be in our weakness, but more likely, it will be in our strength. It’s in my gift, in my expertise, in my success, that I will be most likely to take the bait and bite on the hook. When I see pictures of big game fish on the boat or the dock, part of me is sad to see these magnificent creatures caught, the other part of me wants poke.
As a slave of the Most High, I need to live with integrity. My actions need to match my beliefs. I want those around me to be attracted to God because they see something in my life that they want for themselves; something beyond money and success, a peace and contentment that comes from a relationship with my Heavenly Father.
Dear Lord,
Help me resist temptation and live a life that attracts others to, and pleases, You. May my actions match my beliefs because I don’t want to be a hypocrite. Please help me to be a light that shines and guides people to You.
In Jesus name,
Amen
