Titus 1:12:
"One of Crete’s own prophets has said it: 'Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.'”
BarbTalk:
When Paul wrote that to Titus, who was the main pastor on the island of Crete, he agreed with the prophet's assessment, from his own experience. Titus must have been going crazy with all the inconsistencies and deceptions that were surrounding him.
One thing that my mother could not stand was a liar. A cheat would have a higher rank, but liars, that was the worst of the worst. Her strongest words came forth if she had an inkling that you were lying.
When a person begins searching, and starts walking the road to faith, one of the most difficult quality to develop is trust. Most people are not totally trustworthy. We all fall short of perfection and, knowing ourselves, it is hard to trust others with our deepest need or secret. Sometimes we put a facade out in front of us so others can never really see what is inside of us. Unfortunately, or fortunately, when stress rises, our real self starts to leak out at the most inappropriate times.
Making the decision to live in truth and by truth is a scary proposition. To bear our soul, to not clean ourselves up before approaching others or God, takes some time, practice and patience on our part. It is necessary to forgive ourselves of our short comings, and to keep trying to do what we have determined, no matter how many times we make a mistake and do the old 'cover up' routine.
Our couples group is reading a book called, The Power of Full Engagement (Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz.) It speaks about 4 areas of our lives (mental, emotional, physical and spiritual {as in living according to your deepest beliefs}), and how if one of these areas is neglected or underdeveloped, we cannot fully engage with others or in what we are trying to accomplish. Right now our group is working through the "muscles" of emotional and mental. One of the things that I became even more aware of, is the fact that I have a lovely shield all around me, and am very good at directing conversations away from myself. That makes me a good listener, but it never let's people 'in'. I am working on that. I find others far more interesting than me. I write and talk a lot, and seem to be allowing others to see me, but I think I hide a LOT.
So to live in the truth and walk in the truth are a goal for me. How might that affect my relationship with God? I love how Paul told Titus in Titus 1: 1-3: "Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness — in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, and which now at His appointed season He has brought to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God, our Savior."
God cannot and does not lie. How can we be sure of that?
My friend, Gloria, came into my life 13 years ago, when she was 72. I was introduced to her because another friend knew her, and came to me saying: "I don't know what to do with her. She is interested in Christianity, but she is way beyond my ability." I told her that nothing scared me and I would love to meet her. Gloria could hardly look at me when I met her that first day. In her recollections, she now tells me, "I never saw anyone who looked like you! Pink hair, and a little red car, you were too much for me!" At the end of our first meeting, I asked if I could see her again, and, without looking at me, she said yes. We became great friends and still are. Al and I adopted her 13 years ago and haven't looked back. We are the only family she has.
One September, I invited her to come to BSF with me, a year when we studied the Old Testament. Her faith in Christ grew as she read, because, as she put it, the consistency of the story, from beginning to end, and how the truth is like a thread that goes through the entire book, created understanding which led to faith and belief.
God does not lie. What He says will happen, happens. When we get that truth down in our souls, we begin to trust Him. We know if things look terrible that He has a plan. We can trust that no matter what is going on, no one can separate us from Him once we have asked Him to enter our lives through Jesus 'stamp of approval'. To acknowledge that, I usually end prayers with: Thank You God, that You sent Jesus to open the doors of Paradise for us, so that we can come to You in His Name, Amen (so let it be).
This trust that I have developed, in a God who cannot lie, has led me to see things in eternal terms rather than temporal. All things are temporary, I remind myself. The only thing permanent is God and heaven and hell. I have a choice. Do I worry and fret about what isn't, or do I trust God, who cannot lie, that He has it all in His hands? Often times, I would speak to young mothers in my styling chair, and ask them to work with their young children, helping them notice that maybe yesterday was a bad day, and you felt really bad, but look at today - today you are happy and things look good! I worry about so many teens like myself, who want to end their lives because they don't understand the temporary nature of everything. Perspective, perspective, perspective. That is what I preach way too often.
I have rambled on for quite a bit. I am praying that you will come to know God, who cannot lie, has a plan for you, and that plan will be beyond anything you can imagine. I trust Him to do it!
"One of Crete’s own prophets has said it: 'Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.'”
BarbTalk:
When Paul wrote that to Titus, who was the main pastor on the island of Crete, he agreed with the prophet's assessment, from his own experience. Titus must have been going crazy with all the inconsistencies and deceptions that were surrounding him.
One thing that my mother could not stand was a liar. A cheat would have a higher rank, but liars, that was the worst of the worst. Her strongest words came forth if she had an inkling that you were lying.
When a person begins searching, and starts walking the road to faith, one of the most difficult quality to develop is trust. Most people are not totally trustworthy. We all fall short of perfection and, knowing ourselves, it is hard to trust others with our deepest need or secret. Sometimes we put a facade out in front of us so others can never really see what is inside of us. Unfortunately, or fortunately, when stress rises, our real self starts to leak out at the most inappropriate times.
Making the decision to live in truth and by truth is a scary proposition. To bear our soul, to not clean ourselves up before approaching others or God, takes some time, practice and patience on our part. It is necessary to forgive ourselves of our short comings, and to keep trying to do what we have determined, no matter how many times we make a mistake and do the old 'cover up' routine.
Our couples group is reading a book called, The Power of Full Engagement (Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz.) It speaks about 4 areas of our lives (mental, emotional, physical and spiritual {as in living according to your deepest beliefs}), and how if one of these areas is neglected or underdeveloped, we cannot fully engage with others or in what we are trying to accomplish. Right now our group is working through the "muscles" of emotional and mental. One of the things that I became even more aware of, is the fact that I have a lovely shield all around me, and am very good at directing conversations away from myself. That makes me a good listener, but it never let's people 'in'. I am working on that. I find others far more interesting than me. I write and talk a lot, and seem to be allowing others to see me, but I think I hide a LOT.
So to live in the truth and walk in the truth are a goal for me. How might that affect my relationship with God? I love how Paul told Titus in Titus 1: 1-3: "Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness — in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, and which now at His appointed season He has brought to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God, our Savior."
God cannot and does not lie. How can we be sure of that?
My friend, Gloria, came into my life 13 years ago, when she was 72. I was introduced to her because another friend knew her, and came to me saying: "I don't know what to do with her. She is interested in Christianity, but she is way beyond my ability." I told her that nothing scared me and I would love to meet her. Gloria could hardly look at me when I met her that first day. In her recollections, she now tells me, "I never saw anyone who looked like you! Pink hair, and a little red car, you were too much for me!" At the end of our first meeting, I asked if I could see her again, and, without looking at me, she said yes. We became great friends and still are. Al and I adopted her 13 years ago and haven't looked back. We are the only family she has.
One September, I invited her to come to BSF with me, a year when we studied the Old Testament. Her faith in Christ grew as she read, because, as she put it, the consistency of the story, from beginning to end, and how the truth is like a thread that goes through the entire book, created understanding which led to faith and belief.
God does not lie. What He says will happen, happens. When we get that truth down in our souls, we begin to trust Him. We know if things look terrible that He has a plan. We can trust that no matter what is going on, no one can separate us from Him once we have asked Him to enter our lives through Jesus 'stamp of approval'. To acknowledge that, I usually end prayers with: Thank You God, that You sent Jesus to open the doors of Paradise for us, so that we can come to You in His Name, Amen (so let it be).
This trust that I have developed, in a God who cannot lie, has led me to see things in eternal terms rather than temporal. All things are temporary, I remind myself. The only thing permanent is God and heaven and hell. I have a choice. Do I worry and fret about what isn't, or do I trust God, who cannot lie, that He has it all in His hands? Often times, I would speak to young mothers in my styling chair, and ask them to work with their young children, helping them notice that maybe yesterday was a bad day, and you felt really bad, but look at today - today you are happy and things look good! I worry about so many teens like myself, who want to end their lives because they don't understand the temporary nature of everything. Perspective, perspective, perspective. That is what I preach way too often.
I have rambled on for quite a bit. I am praying that you will come to know God, who cannot lie, has a plan for you, and that plan will be beyond anything you can imagine. I trust Him to do it!
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