Corona Devo 1823

Do everything you can to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos with their trip. See that they are given everything they need. 

(14) Our people must learn to do good by meeting the urgent needs of others; then they will not be unproductive.   

(15) Everybody here sends greetings. Please give my greetings to the believers—all who love us.   May God’s grace be with you all.  ~Titus 3:12-15

~~~

Our people must learn to do good by meeting the urgent needs of others; then they will not be unproductive.  ~Titus 3:14

Wow.  I am amazed lately at how productive our people have been.  

Who are "our" people?  

Well, for Paul, they were the people he was teaching about following God.  They were the new Believers of "the Way".  They were people who had come to realize/know/and accept that God was much more than rote religious exercises carried out in compulsion.  

The "our people" that Paul was addressing in the Book of Titus were family.  They had become family with one another because they understood that God had given His Son (Jesus) for their sins, and that Jesus had opened the door for the Holy Spirit to come and live within them.  And they understood that knowing this and embracing this connected them and made them family.  

Paul called them "our people" because they were all in the family of God.  ("Our people" are us--if we know and love God.)

But do we sometimes wonder how to do good for God, now that we are His footmen and women?  Of course we do.  For this reason, Paul was teaching them what to do and how to love others with their changed hearts-for-the-Lord.  

Our people must learn to do good by meeting the urgent needs of others; then they will not be unproductive.   ~Titus 3:12

Are we learning to do good by meeting the urgent needs of others?  

Are we actively engaged in the lives of others?  Do we see/sense/perceive the needs of others?  Do we "get outside" of our own needs and desires long enough to do so?  

We must.

We must learn.

We must learn to do good.

We must learn to do good by meeting the urgent needs of others.

Then we will not be unproductive.   ~Titus 3:12


We must learn this.  

Have we?  

ARE we learning to do good by meeting the urgent needs of others?  

Do we know others well enough and are we involved-enough and invested-enough in them and their lives to even know if they have an urgent need?  

Let's get involved.  Let's invest.  Let's learn to do good by meeting the urgent needs of others today.

~~~

Our people must learn to do good by meeting the urgent needs of others; then they will not be unproductive.   ~Titus 3:12

If "unproductive" is not meeting the urgent needs of others, then (Paul's definition) of "productive" is when we DO meet the urgent needs of others.  

And I am amazed lately at how productive our people have been.  

Our people meaning my people.  The ones that live close to me, live far from me, love me, know me, and pray for me.  In a word: You!  You are our people.  And I am amazed lately at how productive our people have been meeting the urgent needs of others, namely...me.

Urgent might be a tad strong..but this was God's Word, and not mine.  Our family has had needs though: a (second) leg surgery for our middle child has stopped-our-world for a few days, but it hasn't stopped our people from doing good by meeting our needs.  

Meals delivered, flowers sent, care packages in the mail, visits, and prayer, prayer, prayer.  

Thank you, Lord, for YOUR people doing good by meeting our needs.  Amen.

If Paul cautioned against people being unproductive by not doing good (in) meeting the urgent needs of others, then (Wow!) would he be impressed with the many ways that our people have done well in meeting our needs.

Balloons, muffins, bbq, dumplings, lasagna, paint-by-numbers, cookies, cards, and prayer, prayer, prayer.  

No, there is no unproductivity here....just our people (and our God) meeting exceeding our needs.

Thank you to our people.  You must have already read this verse from Titus 3:12.  In fact you must have memorized it.  We thank you for all the good you do.  (Amen.)

~~~

Our people must learn to do good by meeting the urgent needs of others; then they will not be unproductive.   

(15) Everybody here sends greetings. Please give my greetings to the believers—all who love us.   May God’s grace be with you all.  ~Titus 3:14-15


Sometimes, we are the ones doing good by meeting the urgent needs of others.  And other times, we have urgent needs and we are blessed by others meeting them.  And always, we are family in Christ as believers.  All who love us...and we love all.  May God’s grace be with you all.  Amen.  (Titus 3:14-15).  

Blessings,

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Corona Devo 1156

Image
At work, we provide Trainings for customers, so that they can be updated and educated on all of the latest features (and how to use them) within our product.  Many companies do this--sharing "Best Practices" are a way to ensure positive outcomes on the customer and vendor sides of things. My kids often offer me "life hacks" that they have learned from watching an online video promising to "save time" and "make your life easier".  And just this week, my husband enlightened me about the "tear-away" feature built into most plastic rings holding cans/bottles of pop or Gatorade together.  When separated, the plastic rips open easily, releasing the bottle--saving wildlife that might be caught if it is discarded as trash, and saving me  frustration or angst because I no longer have to pull with all my might to get a bottle out of the plastic rings.  ( Who knew? )  Life hacks do save time and make your life easier! Who couldn't benefit from...
Read more

Corona Devo 1217

Image
The unanswered “why’s” of life, the disorder of our days, and even the unfairness of our struggles can cause us to question ourselves and also to question our God. But the order-of-Creation and the systems that God has set in place are undeniable answers that swing back and forth like God’s pendulum-reminder that He set the world in motion, and He continues to keep order, even when it seems as if we and our world are in dis- order.   Job was a man going through some heavy and hard stuff.   Maybe we are too.   Job’s trials had caused him to question the order of life, and possibly God’s dominion over it.   We can relate.   The “Why’s?” and the “Why Me’s” can stack up in our minds and hearts, but like a parent exercising loving-authority over a child, God reminds Job and us--of His power, omniscience and of His ultimate authority over everything: Creation… and us today .   Then the  Lord  answered Job from the whirlwind: (2) “Who i...
Read more

Corona Devo 991

Running low on " good things " today?  Doesn't it (sometimes) seem like/trend like/read like/tweet like/water-cooler-chat or backyard-fence-visit like/intimidate like/depress like... there are no  good things in the land? . I know. It's no secret that many have abandoned  the Law of the  Lord,  and at times, that's us .   It is evident all around us that people have  followed each other  in this sin.  When we look around...or when we live our days...we can wonder: Are there  any  good things  left in the land? There are still some good things in the land ...and no matter how bleak we feel the "forecast" for today is...there will always  be  some good things in the land, because God is in the land.   T he Bible reminds us of that today.   ~~~ The Israelites (and their king, Rehoboam ) were God's people, but like all of us at times/seasons of our lives...they wandered from Lord and His ways....
Read more