Titus... we were created for good works

Titus in the NKJ study Bible is described as a point man, pinch hitter, clutch player and go-getter. He sounds like someone who gets things done. 

Titus 2:14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

We are doers not just hearers of the Word of God.

We were created for good works in Christ Jesus. The more we mature the more we understand that we ARE the hands and feet of God. We show others the same love that He showed us in the Cross. 

1 Timothy 1:14 And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.

Faith, hope and love…and the greatest of these is love.

Titus

God wants His people to devote themselves to doing good works (2:11, 12; 3:1, 8, 14). Older men (2:2), older women (2:3), young women (2:4, 5), young men (2:6–8), and servants (2:9, 10) should “adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things” (2:10). In his letter, Paul exhorts the believers at Crete to display the testimony of good works to outsiders (2:11, 12; 3:1, 8, 14). While good works are a Christian duty, they are also a gift from God. Through justification in Christ (3:7), God declares us righteous. We must have this legal standing in order to qualify before God to do good works. Redemption (2:14) removes us from the jurisdiction of Satan by paying the debt incurred by our sins. At the same time, it places us in the family of God so that we might be “His own special people, zealous for good works” (2:14). The NKJV Study Bible

We grow in understanding with the guidance of Holy Spirit.  Our faith rests in the Cross of Jesus Christ the only begotten Son of God. We were created to show the glory of God to others living out our faith as honest, good citizens for it is the will of God.

1 Corinthians 3:3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?

We should seek the deep things of God growing in knowledge. Envying and strife hinders growth and God wants us to develop spiritually. Christ gives us living waters deep in knowledge of Him as God. He is the stone that crushed mankind's  understanding and He alone is the cornerstone of our faith. He became a stumbling block to religious doctrine but was the beginning of knowledge to those of us who believe. When we choose to believe in Christ we will not be disappointed. 

John 3:19 Jesus is the light that lights the world and this is the condemnation that men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. 

Titus 1:9 holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.

Romans 6:17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered

Scripture applauds seeking God first and foremost to obtain wisdom and knowledge. Wisdom begins with fearing God, as Psalm 25:12 says: "Who is the man who fears the LORD? Him will [the Lord] instruct in the way that he should choose." The New Testament also defines wisdom as recognizing Christ and receiving salvation through belief in Him. The gospel of Jesus is "not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Corinthians 2:13-14). We have access to unfathomable spiritual wisdom through Christ.

The Apostle Paul further teaches that wisdom goes hand in hand with love. He explains, "If I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing" (1 Corinthians 13:2). Our pursuit of wisdom, and God's generous promise to supply it, prompts us to love and seek Him even more. First5

Mr. Rogers is one of my heroes. And I do believe that our world today would be better with Mr. Rogers in it. In one of his commencement addresses, he told those gathered, “Beside my chair in my office is a framed piece of calligraphy with a sentence from Saint Exupery's book, The Little Prince (Le Petit Prince). It reads: "L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux." ("What is essential is invisible to the eye.") I feel the closer we get to knowing and living the truth of that sentence, the closer we get to wisdom. What is essential about you that is invisible to the eye?”

Mr. Rogers continues, “You know, the Greek word for ‘thanks’ is eucharist. The way we say ‘thank you’ to God and to each other is the greatest imaginable form of appreciation. In fact, the reason we are created in God's image—in God's tzelem—is to be God's representatives on this earth—to do here what God would do—to take care of the land and each other as God would take care of us.

You don't ever have to do anything sensational in order to love or to be loved. The real drama of life (that which matters most) is rarely center stage or in the spotlight. In fact, it has nothing to do with IQs and honors and the fancy outsides of life. What really nourishes our souls is the knowing that we can be trusted, that we never have to fear the truth, that the foundation of our very being is good stuff.”

Okay, count me in. Because nourished we pause. And nourished we see, pay attention. It’s all about rewriting the codes. We’ve been wired this way for so long, it’s hard to stop.

The grounding that grace offers us, invites and allows us to say, “I’ve fallen in love with living,” without a grimace or need for further explanation (which takes fortitude and resolve usually not found in our species).

And gratefully, it allows us to say that “it is time to give the internal judges and scorekeepers a day off.”

The good news? All of this lives inside. Today. And can be born in the midst. Enabling us to be present, to be here now. And yes, to rise above, finding value and to taking heart. Sabbath Moments 

In Luke 24:49 (TLB) Jesus said, “And now I will send the Holy Spirit upon you, just as my Father promised.” Who is the Holy Spirit? God as Father? We comprehend that image. God as Jesus, the Son? That idea is manageable as well. But God as Spirit? The word itself is mystical.

One day, I read the words Jesus used to describe the Holy Spirit: comforter and friend. “I know that Person.” That was over three decades ago. I no longer think of the Holy Spirit as the Holy Who? I now call him our Heaven-Sent Helper. He is our champion, our advocate, our guide. He comforts and directs us. He indwells, transforms, sustains, and will someday deliver us into our heavenly home. Max Lucado