Once foolish...but...God our Saviour...appeared

My all time favourite verses in the bible are in Titus 3.3-7.

"For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life."

The verses give in basic, easy to understand language, the condition of humanity before God, and shows us the greatness of the salvation given to us in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Before Christ, we were typical humans.

1. Foolish - Constantly making stupid decisions and choices,
2. Disobedient - Rebellious (come on, none of us can deny that when we're told not to do something we want to do it even more!)
3. Deceived - Believing every negative untruth ever said about us (you know the type; you're so ugly, you're not good enough, you're a failure, nobody wants you around etc.)
4. Serving various lusts and pleasures - Being addicted and trapped by things (thinking we know true freedom because we do 'what we like'; think about some typical addictions and the sentences that follow them, 'I couldn't help myself', 'then I just thought, one more won't hurt', 'I mean who's going to know anyway?', 'I had an itch I needed to scratch, so I itched it' - any of these sounding familiar?)
5. Living in malice and envy - Being full of unhelpful intentions and selfish desires, getting jealous when others do better or have more
6. Being hated and hating others - This is pretty self-explanatory.

This is the picture of humanity that is painted in the New Testament, and if we look at the world around us I'd say it is startlingly accurate. By nature, this is human.

"But when the kindness and the love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us..."

But when you grasp even a little of what God is and what He has done for you, when you begin to understand what it is to live in true freedom, with God the Holy Spirit as your guide through life, you no longer find yourself acting the way you did before. Knowing God transforms you. As you understand more and more of who God is, as you see how much He loves you, not because you deserve it but because it's His nature, you become more and more like Him. It's not a conscious thing, you aren't 'trying to be Christ like' but in knowing God more and more, you find your human nature no longer dictates how you work, it's as if you've thrown it off and taken on the nature of God, and you can't help but live in a way that says, 'I've finally found God and He has changed me'.

Salvation is so beautiful because it's not about us trying to be better, it 's not about us doing things in order to make us good, it's about letting go of everything we cannot control (this means us ourselves too!!) and letting God lead and guide us, and ultimately transform us.

Try it, I PROMISE you won't be disappointed. If you think life is great now, in the words of Eliza Dolittle from My Fair Lady, 'just you wait'.

My Vision - "Your Kingdom come... on Earth as it is in Heaven"

Have you ever thought about what the last part of the prayer in Matthew 6 is all about?

"Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven."

-Matthew 6.10

It's about bringing heaven to Earth. It's about doing things on Earth, the way God does them in heaven. As I move abroad to start a church with others, here are some of the ways I would really love to see heaven come to Earth:

1. SELF SUFFICIENCY WITHIN THE CHURCH - Acts 4.32: "Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common"; Acts 4.34-35: "Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need."
2. LOVE DEMONSTRATED, ALWAYS - John 13.34: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another"; John 15.12: "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you"; John 15.17: "These things I command you, that you love one another."
3. GRACE OVERFLOWING - Colossians 4.6: " Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one"; Proverbs 16.24: "Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body."
4. MARRIAGE AS GOD INTENDED - Ephesians 5.25: "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her"; Ephesians 5.28: "So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself"; Colossians 3.19: "Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them"; Ephesians 5.22: " Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord"; 1 Peter 3.1: "Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives"; Titus 2.4: "...admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children..."
5. MERCY AND FORGIVENESS - Matthew 6.14: "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you"; Luke 6.37: "Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven."
6. SELF-DISCIPLINE, RATHER THAN OVER-INDULGENCE - Proverbs 25.28: "Whoever has no rule over his own spirit Is like a city broken down, without walls"; 1 Peter 1.13: "So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world"; 2 Peter 1.5-6: "And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;"
7. HONESTY - Ephesians 4.25: "Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,”for we are members of one another"; Proverbs 12.17: "He who speaks truth declares righteousness, But a false witness, deceit."
8. DEDICATION AND COMMITMENT - Deuteronomy 6.6: "And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today"; Deuteronomy 11.18: "So commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these words of mine. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders."
9. LIVES TRANSFORMED - Romans 12.2: "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what isthat good and acceptable and perfect will of God"; 2 Corinthians 3.18: "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord."