Titus 2
Grace teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age. while we wait for the blessed hope--the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
Today we will all face various temptations. What is your strategy in overcoming your animal passions and living according to your heavenly calling? Paul says that "grace" is the key to that victory. Godliness must have the proper motivation to be successful. We don't become godly to earn God's approval; we become godly because we already have God's approval. His grace and salvation are what inspire us to want to do this. When we think of what Jesus went through because he loves us, his incarnation, his suffering, his death, all of these motivate us. He gave his all for us, how can we give anything less than our all for him.
A second motivation is that we believe that Jesus is coming again. Just like there is excitement in children when the relatives come over for Thanksgiving dinner, so we have excitement with the thought that Jesus is coming again. We want to be ready and waiting for him, so we clean the house and put on our best clothes.
Prayer: Almighty and eternal God, remind us today that your goal for our lives is godliness. You have called us to rise above our petty selfishness and our animal passions. Your calling is for us to be Christ-like in all of our actions and attitudes today. Help us to live in expectation that you will be returning soon, that your hand could already be on the doorknob of heaven. Incline our hearts today to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives.
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