For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you. (Titus 1:5)

Any good evangelist knows that repentance and faith is just the start of the Christian life. That beginning must continue into true Christian discipleship. That’s why Paul left Titus on the island of Crete.

After their successful evangelism, there were a lot of young Christians to take care of. Paul left Titus behind to build stable churches with mature, qualified pastors for the people. This was especially needed in Crete, because the people of Crete were a wild bunch, well known as liars and lazy people. Titus had to find and train capable leaders for the Christians of the island of Crete.

When a job is hard, there are basically two kinds of people. With one you say, “The job is really hard, so we can’t send him.” With the other you say, “The job is really hard, so we must send him.” Titus seemed to be of the second kind.

This wasn’t a permanent job for Titus. When Paul wrote, “I left you in Crete,” he used the same phrase as in 2 Timothy 4:13 and 4:20 where he spoke of a cloak and an associate temporarily left behind. The idea is that Paul left Titus in Crete for a limited time to solve these problems, establish godly leadership, and then move on (probably to catch up again with Paul).

His job wasn’t easy, but it was simple to understand. Paul told Titus to set in order the things that are lacking. The churches needed order and leadership. Titus was commanded to set in order the churches, and to do it by appointing godly leaders. The phrase set in order was a medical term – they would use it for the setting of a broken or crooked limb. There were crooked things that had to be set straight among the congregations of Crete.

The order would come through appointed godly leaders, men of character that Titus was to carefully choose. Titus was to appoint elders in every city. This means Paul delegated a lot of authority to Titus. These elders were not chosen by popular vote, and they were not chosen through their own self-promotion. It was Titus’ job to look for men of the kind of character Paul would describe in the following passage and to appoint them as elders in congregations.

This reminds us of an important point. When God has work to do in His church, He usually does it through people. God didn’t send angels to appoint the elders, and angels were not to be appointed as leaders over the church. God looks for His people to rise to the occasion and the opportunity, and in obedience to His word to be about their Father’s business.

How does God want you to serve His people and a needy world? He has a place for you in the work of His kingdom. If the work is hard like it was for Titus, God will give you the wisdom and strength.

Click here for David’s commentary on Titus 1

In hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began, but has in due time manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Savior. (Titus 1:2-3)

Paul wrote a letter to his young associate named Titus, and here we see a few lines from his introduction. Paul here wrote of his work as a servant and apostle of God, how that work was in hope of eternal life. Paul was obviously concerned with the here and now, but his heart and mind were never far from heaven and the hope of eternal life.

This hope of eternal life is much more than a wish. It was promised before time began, and it was promised by the God who cannot lie.

It’s a bit of a fad among some Christians today to say that the Bible doesn’t speak much about personal salvation or the hope of heaven. Some think those ideas should be small and the bigger ideas should be community and the life of the here and now.

God cares about the present age, and He does a big work in community, among God’s people as a whole. But we don’t need to make small the hope of eternal life and how that eternal life is promised to individual people who put their trust in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

It is helpful to consider that eternal life starts right now. Sometimes we think eternal life only applies to heaven and that is true in the sense that it never ends. Still, we don’t have to wait for eternal life. We have that hope right now. The same life and presence of God that will be with us unto all eternity is with the believer right now.

The wonderful message of eternal life waited for the right time in God’s plan. But when the time was right – in due time – God showed everyone His plan, the plan now proclaimed in His word through preaching.

Think about those words: in due time. Christianity came into the world at a time when it was uniquely possible for its message to spread rapidly.

– There was a common language across the entire Roman Empire, a language of trade, business, and literature.

– There were virtually no frontiers because of the vast nature of the Roman Empire.

– Travel was comparatively easy. It was slow, but relatively safe because of the security that the Roman Empire brought to roads and sea routes.

– The world was largely at peace under the “Peace of Rome” (Pax Romana).

– The world was uniquely conscious of its need for a messiah and savior. The historian and Bible commentator William Barclay said, “There was never a time when the hearts of men were more open to receive the message of salvation which the Christian missionaries brought.”

In due time, when the time was right, God sent His message of eternal life through the person and work of Jesus Christ. Thank Him for that, and rest in knowing that His timing is also perfect in your life.

Click here for David’s commentary on Titus 1

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Ephraim has mixed himself among the peoples; Ephraim is a cake unturned. Aliens have devoured his strength, but he does not know it; yes, gray hairs are here and there on him, yet he does not know it. And the pride of Israel testifies to his face, but they do not return to the Lord their God, nor seek Him for all this. (Hosea 7:8-10)

God likes to talk in pictures. All through the Bible, God uses word-pictures to tell us how He sees things. Hosea chapter 7 is filled with word pictures describing the sinful character of ancient Israel in the days of the Prophet Hosea. In this chapter, God says Israel was like:

– A thief, a band of robbers
– An adulterous wife
– A hot oven
– A silly dove

But my favorite word-picture from Hosea 7 is found in verse 8 through 10, where God called Israel a cake unturned. The idea is of a “half-baked” cake. In that day, bread was often prepared as a cake that was cooked on both sides, something like a pancake. In thinking they could serve both the Lord and idols, Israel was like an unturned pancake – burned on one side and uncooked on the other.

This vividly describes the spiritual and moral condition of many people. They are overexposed to some things – perhaps the things of the world, the flesh, and the devil. Yet they are underexposed to other things – the things of God and His Spirit. Therefore, they are like a cake unturned. If you have ever made pancakes, you know what can be done with cakes that are burned on one side and uncooked on the other – nothing. You can’t fix it by flipping it over, because the one side is still burned. In the same way, when someone is overexposed to the world and underexposed to God, God can’t do much with that person.

To describe the self-deception of Israel, Hosea used another word-picture: “Yes, gray hairs are here and there on him, yet he does not know it.” In Hosea’s day, Israel was as foolish as an old man who thought and acted like he was still young. If you have ever seen the type, you know what Hosea meant. We think it is a joke when an old, gray-headed man dresses in the most modern fashions and uses the slang of young people. We wonder, “Who does this old guy think he is fooling?” God thinks the same thing about us when we deceive ourselves about our spiritual condition.

Considering how easily we deceive our self, and how our sin can be apparent to everyone but us, Israel’s condition wasn’t unusual. It was said of Samson after Delilah cut his hair: “But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him” (Judges 16:20). This is where the people of Israel were and where some followers of God are today. They are far from God and already suffering the effects, but they can’t see it. Ask God to open your eyes today – not only to see Him, but also to see your true spiritual condition. Seeing both clearly make the path to true spiritual health.

Click here for David’s commentary on Hosea 7

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“In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam the son of Nebat, Abijam became king over Judah. He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Maachah the granddaughter of Abishalom. And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him; his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David.” (1 Kings 15:1-3)

The line of kings over Israel began with Saul, but he disqualified himself, so the dynasty of Saul ended with Saul – he was a one-king-dynasty. Then came David, who was perhaps Israel’s greatest ancient king. Next was Solomon, the son of David and the one who built the glorious temple.

Yet after Solomon came a disaster in the name of Rehoboam. He sunk the kingdom into carnality and civil war, and because of the division soon there were two kingdoms from the twelve tribes of Israel. The king described in 1 Kings 15:1-3 was the son of Rehoboam and he sat on the throne of the southern kingdom, called Judah. That is why we read “Abijam became king over Judah.” This son of Rehoboam only reigned three years, showing that God did not bless his reign.

From the comparing this account with 2 Chronicles 13 we learn that Abijam knew something of the Lord, and he knew how to preach – but he did not uproot the idolatry and sexual immorality that was introduced by Rehoboam. The successor of Abijam (Asa) removed the centers of the sexually-charged idolatry that were so common in the land (1 Kings 15:12-13).

“His heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David.” This was the real problem with Abijam’s reign – his lack of a real life or relationship with God. King David sinned during his reign, but his heart stayed “loyal to the Lord his God.” The same could not be said of Abijam.

2 Chronicles 13 fills in more interesting details about the reign of Abijam (called Abijah in 2 Chronicles). It tells us how there was war between Jeroboam of Israel and Abijam of Judah, and how Abijam challenged Jeroboam on the basis of righteousness and faithfulness to God. Jeroboam responded with a surprise attack, and victory seemed certain for Israel over Judah – but Abjiam cried out to the Lord, and God won a victory for Judah that day. 2 Chronicles 13:18 says of that war, “Thus the children of Israel were subdued at that time; and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied on the Lord God of their fathers.” God blessed Abijam’s reign even when it seemed that he didn’t deserve it.

Yet Chronicles also tells us his standing at the end of his brief reign: “But Abijah grew mighty, married fourteen wives, and begot twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters” (2 Chronicles 13:21). In the midst of his victory and good leadership for Judah, he never had the relationship with the Lord he should have had.

We could say that Abijam is a classic example of something more and more common today: the successful failure. He both succeeded and failed at the same time. You might say that he climbed the ladder of success and got to the top – only to find that that ladder leaned against the wrong building. Abijam thought that the most important thing in life was being a good king; he missed what really mattered most: his personal life with God. Don’t make the same mistake in your own life.

Click here for David’s commentary on 1 Kings 15

With their flocks and herds they shall go to seek the LORD, but they will not find Him; He has withdrawn Himself from them. (Hosea 5:6)

In the days of Hosea, ancient Israel knew they were expected to bring animal sacrifice to Yahweh, both for atonement of sin and for fellowship with God. Yet it was possible to perform the action of sacrifice without a heart or life sacrificed to God – to make sacrifice an empty ritual. When Hosea spoke to Israel, their worship was mainly empty rituals.

We see this in the words, They shall go to seek the Lord, but they will not find Him.

A few verses before this, God described their superficial repentance: they do not direct their deeds toward turning to their God (Hosea 5:4). When they made such superficial gestures of repentance, they will not find Him.

There is a big difference between superficial religious gestures and a genuine turning of the heart towards God. In a moment of crisis someone may turn to God for relief – but have no real intention of surrendering their life to Him.

In many ways today, people think they are seeking God when they really only make a superficial investigation. For example, a man might say, “I grew up in the Baptist church and couldn’t find God there. So, I went to the Methodist church and couldn’t find God there. Then I went to the Pentecostal church, but couldn’t find God there. Now I’m at the Presbyterian church and can’t find God.”

This man may imagine that he searched hard after God, but that could well be an illusion. The truth could be that he is running away from God. When God started to get close at the Baptist church, he left it and became a Methodist. When God started to get close at the Methodist church, he became a Pentecostal. This man followed the same pattern in each place – a superficial search for God that backed away when he really began to get close to God. Our sinful, fleshly nature doesn’t mind religion and religious ritual – but it does whatever it can to keep us from really drawing close to God.

God does not reward this kind of superficial seeking. It might fool everyone else, but it doesn’t fool God. Therefore, Hosea announced the sad verdict: He has withdrawn Himself from them. It can happen. We can be so set in our sin and rebellion that God just leaves us to ourselves. Usually we don’t even notice at first, but when we call upon the Lord and do not find Him, then we start to see the result of pushing God away.

Apart from a real relationship with God based on faith, religious traditions and works can’t make us right with God. You may be frustrated because you seem to do so much for God, yet it seems that you not find Him. Stop relying on empty rituals and come in faith. Let the promise of Jeremiah 29:14 be true for you: I will be found by you, says the LORD.

Click here for David’s commentary on Hosea 5