TITUS: VERSE BY VERSE - Man’s religion is man’s way to establish his own righteousness. Fallen man uses religion, not to find God, but to escape the terms of God’s salvation. Paul warns that if Jesus is left out, nothing else good can come out of someone's life. By good, Paul doesn’t mean morally good. people can do some good things. But there can be no eternal good. Our righteousness is still just filthy rags by God’s standards. Only Jesus Christ can save the soul.

ORDINARY PEOPLE MEETING AN AMAZING GOD - Satan certainly entered Judas' life and led him into this terrible sin. But was Judas' will uninvolved? Was Judas forced to do this against his own judgment and choice? True, Satan entered Judas' heart, but Judas opened up the door. Judas clearly opened up his life to a world of wickedness by not honestly hearing and continuing in Jesus. God in His all-wise foreknowledge knew what Judas was going to do. In His wisdom He worked all those things together for good in the eternal plan for the redemption of mankind.

ORDINARY PEOPLE MEETING AN AMAZING GOD - Everyone will bump into times when friends and circumstances will make continued trust in Jesus frustrating. This is a very important point. Faith is not automatically self-sustaining. It must be exercised regularly. Above all, the Christian must take great care to feed his mind and spirit, especially during times of trial, doubt, and confusion.

TITUS: VERSE BY VERSE - God could take every trial away right here and now. Just like you could spend all your savings on bubble gum if you wanted to. But then you would loose the greater gain down the road. Every affliction, and they can seem very painful, is light when compared with what they will produce through patient, loyal faith in future reward.

ORDINARY PEOPLE MEETING AN AMAZING GOD - Some things just can't be had instantly. They require time before God Himself. By saturating your mind with God's Word, we can see God is faithful even during trials. Habakkuk knew God's people, whether by death or life would not cease to be objects of God’s covenant and that facing overwhelming odds God would bring to pass everything in the perfect time.

TITUS: VERSE BY VERSE - Jesus’ advice on how to find yourself is don’t start with yourself at all. Don’t measure out conservative pieces of your life for the religious section of your existence. Spill your life out recklessly as a slave at Jesus’ feet. Your heart will start to overflow with a loving found-ness you could have never imagined.

ORDINARY PEOPLE MEETING AN AMAZING GOD - God tells Hosea to marry an ungodly woman to illustrate His relationship with Israel and in the process teaches us all about the grace God has in our lives when we turn from Him and still His love is steadfast. This lets us into the heart of God, full of divine judgement and tremendous compassion.

LOVING GOD WITH YOUR MIND - I can receive God's grace and easily go on my way, but won't receive all the benefits of knowing the Lord with a life of grateful thankfulness and that makes all the difference. We aren’t just consumers, we are mindful worshippers and the fuel for a renewed mind is holy remembrance of God's mercies in our lives.

ORDINARY PEOPLE MEETING AN AMAZING GOD - How important it is to deal with the root issue rather than outward symptoms of strain or discomfort. Make sure you have God’s perspective on your situation before you rush to fix it. Never talk about your sins or problems with the devil. Speak of them only to Jesus. The fight against despair and discouragement in any kingdom issue is never just a psychological battle - there is spiritual opposition. And that opposition only arises because the enemy knows the great potential in the reconstruction of any life for explosive fruit in the kingdom of God.

ABORTION: THE CHANGING FACE OF THE BATTLE FOR LIFE - While some abortionists may now recognize the pre-born as a child rather than a "bunch of cells", it's not enough for them to recognize the child's right to live. The life of the weak gets exploited by the life of the strong in many tragic historic cases of those who have had their voice taken away by those in power. In abortion's case, the child's voice is still silenced by law that protects the strong but not the weak from having equal rights to life.