Daily Bread 6-23-17

Titus 1:6-10

6 If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly.

7 For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre;

8 But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate:

9 Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.

10 For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision.

ref. - Mt 24:45 - Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom the Lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?

Lv 10:9 - Do not drink wine nor strong drink, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation,lest ye die: it shall be a statute forever through your generations:

Acts 15:1 - And certain men which came down from Judea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.

Paul was instructing Titus on what type of man to leave in charge over the Churches when he was establishing them. We look at these qualifications and ask, who is worthy to step into these shoes? Truth be told there are few that are worthy and many that are sitting in seats they are not qualified to sit in. So, shall we gather the lynch mobs and burn them at the stake? No, quite the contrary. You see, God didn't make a mistake when he chose these men. The men who are in trouble were overcome with the world or by the enemy. Some will not accept God's help, but many will. So, what we need to do, as if we were in their seats we would wish the same, is earnestly pray for them. A wise man once said, you only have two eyes looking out over that pulpit, but there are two hundred looking back at you. If you want to remain there you must keep a clean testimony. Some have already tarnished their testimony you say? Well, do they not have the same benefits that everyone else has when it comes to redemption? Can they not receive forgiveness and retain their calling? That is up to God. But rather than try to hinder what God has put in order why don't we join together in prayer for them. The ones who howl the loudest about the minister or the government are usually the ones with the most to hide. Just as in the days of the circumcision. But we all can agree that there are more leaders needed in the kingdom and our goal should be not only to prepare ourselves for whatever God has for us, but to pray for those whom he has already chosen. They have many qualifications to fill to remain and not one, no, not one, is completely qualified and doesn't need help except Christ himself. So if you feel called to the position of minister, seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness, it will be given. And when you receive it, keep it. And don't forget that you will need prayer throughout your service to the Lord. The same prayer that you will need is needed right now with the men that are already called and chosen. Some will stay and some will have to go, but if you pray for all of them at least you will know that you did not hinder what God put in order. Men don't run other men out of the Church as no man can take away what God has given, they run themselves out of Church through disobedience and unbelief. Have a great day!!!