Hi there. I pray that you are experiencing God’s favor in the New Year.
I plan to do several posts to challenge us as we move on into the New Year and the new administration in Washington.
To start with, I believe that Donald J. Trump is God’s man for the Day and I support his presidency. However, as you will likely learn in upcoming posts, that doesn’t mean exactly the same thing to me that it does to some.
A WORD FROM THE WORD
In that light, God recently brought Titus 2:11-15 into focus for me in a new way and it is so consistent with Jesus’ many strong words for the Church. It reads:
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, 12 instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, 14 who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. 15 These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you.” NASB 1995
Read that, phrase by phrase, and consider how seriously you and your faith community take it. Would your Sunday School class or small group dare to discuss it?
SO WHAT IF YOUR PASTOR – -?
So, what if your pastor was obedient to v15 there, boldly and authoritatively declaring to your local body that these are God’s requirements for us. And saying that if we took them seriously, they would profoundly reshape our lives and separate us from the culture and even much of the Church around us? How would typical American church-goers respond? How would you?
WHAT THEN?
And what if I, also in response to v15, wrote some strong words of warning to the Church about vulnerabilities that we are facing in American politics – possibly saying things that seemed “un-American” to some earth-bound patriots? What then?
More to come.
Ken Stoltzfus
www.10minas.net
Kidron, Ohio USA
January 13, 2025
For a printable pdf see: https://www.10minas.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/25-1-What-Then.pdf