This Ought to Be the Catechism of Every Local Church

"Remind them to subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men.  For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.  But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.  This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works.  These things are good and profitable to men.  But avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and useless.  Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned.  When I send Artemas to you, or Tychicus, be diligent to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there.  Send Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey with haste, that they may lack nothing.  And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful.  All who are with me greet you. Greet those who love us in the faith.  Grace be with you all.  Amen. (Titus 3)

This is from yesterday's latter New Testament reading.  This is normal Christianity, normal Church life and Church discipline. In this chapter is command, The Gospel encapsulated, rebuke, and revelation on how you and I as members of the Church should relate with one another. 

This is why Biblical preaching is no option in the Church.  Preaching and teaching the Bible is the, "whole counsel of God."  Anything other is the "whole counsel" of me.  I cannot encourage you enough to just read this chapter and "meditate," think your way, and open your heart through it.  These are "God-Breathed" Words.  These are the Breath of Jesus, serving, encouraging, rebuking, and reminding you and me from where we came, our present life in Jesus, and where and to Whom we are going. 

The whole passage "pivots" around, "....not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us...."  Remembering this always will keep pride at bay, will keep us rightly related to one another as His Church, and walking victorious in Jesus Christ.

Father, in Jesus' Name, nothing, but nothing can improve on Your Words.  Thank You.  Amen.
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I am sending a related article separately. 

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2

"Watch!"-- Does Not Mean 'Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay Watchin'"

"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come." (Matthew 24:42) "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour." (Matthew 25:13)

Mark 13 says, "Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back-- whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn.  If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping.  What I say to you, I say to everyone: 'Watch!'"  The word for, "watch," in these passages is not someone "sittin' on the dock of the bay watchin' the tide roll away....wastin' time."  The word means, "stay awake, be alert, be vigilant."  Webster gives "related words" as, "alive, aware, conscious, sensitive; heedful, observing, sharp-eyed, sleepless, wary, prepared."  I have never lived in such an hour as the present, an hour which is loudly demanding, "be 'sharp-eyed, sensitive, observing,' be 'prepared.'" 

I share with you what I observe in the, "God-Breathed," Word.  I write about what I observe of life, local, national and global; I cannot see a disconnect between the two.  Jesus' words were not just for the Jews, the religious, nor were they for the touchy-feely, nirvana-seeking of the world.  Jesus came, "to seek and to save that which was lost," and those who knew they were lost.  Jesus came, "to seek and to save," those who are the "seeking ones."  Jesus came to save you and me, to deliver you and me from the Evil One, and from the world system which had deceived and still does deceive so many "watch-less" humans.  "Watch!"-ful, and "observing, aware, sensitive; heedful, sharp-eyed" ones will be the victorious ones.   

Followers of Jesus Christ are not those who wear "rose-colored glasses;" we are not pollyannas.  We can look at life and see reality--------------- and still be victorious!  We can see in the Words of God promise and warning, promise to all who, "take heed," and warning to all who ignore.  Yet no matter how "bad" is the situation around us, you and I can walk in confident victory in Jesus Christ, while we, "Watch!"  Jesus Christ is Perfect Comfort, Perfect Peace.  We can "watch" things as they are in the world, and never be discouraged nor defeated.  While we, "Watch!" while we are "observing," we are also they who are, "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ...." 

Father, Jesus' Name, if I ever do not, "Watch!" please awaken me.  Amen.
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Below is a confirmation of what I wrote yesterday.  Remember, Glick is an American Jew who made aliyah years ago, and is now an Israeli Citizen.
 

http://www.jpost.com/LandedPages/PrintArticle.aspx?id=339546

"The Fire Must...Never Go Out"

"The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out." (NIV)  "A fire shall always be burning on the altar; it shall never go out." (NKJV).

Every quarter when I read our text, I think of my spiritual roots, and the wonderful call of the Church to continuous prayer. 

The "Unitas Fratrum," literally, "Unity of Brothers," or "United Brethren," later called "Moravians," found in our text the basis for their 24/7/365 prayer watch which began with a Communion Supper on August 13, 1727, and lasted for almost 120 years.  They began sending missionaries to various parts of the globe long before William Carey, who is incorrectly referred to as "The father of modern missions," went to India.  I do not think the continuous prayer watch and their missionary zeal were unrelated.

In 2005, the United Nations designated January 27 as "International Holocaust Remembrance Day"; Israel endorsed this.  The irony is that the United Nations is a major seat of international antisemitism.  Days, remembrances, etc., mean little or nothing.  They are sort of like "The National Day of Prayer."  Really?-- one day a year to call the nation to pray, to remember "prayer" and its place in our culture?  Ironically, 10 years after its official designation in 1952, the American Church allowed the United States of America's Supreme Court to outlaw the Prayer of Jesus in the state ("public") schools of America; a year later the Bible was "gone."  Holocaust Remembrance, National Day of Prayer--- what do they mean?  Antisemitism is on the rise and prayer is on the decline.

Any designation, yearly, monthly, even weekly is not to be found in the teachings of Jesus.  In the Old Testament we read of, "three times a year," and other periodic memorials, gatherings, remembrances, the sanctity of the Sabbath, etc.  But the principle of "first mention" reveals that man was created to walk with God in "the Garden," no coming to God and leaving Him, no "quiet times," no evening "vespers," just continual, nonstop fellowship.  Our text is primordial, fundamental Biblical Theology, fundamental to our life in Jesus Christ, His Church, His Kingdom, "The fire must...not go out."

How this "plays out" I don't know.  There are many 24/7/365 prayer watches worldwide.  Now while life in Jesus may be "more," there is something in our text which speaks to man's greatest need, the need to, "Abide and Me and My Words abide in you...."  Or, "The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out."

Father, in Jesus' Name, may it ever be.  Amen.

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2