Introduction to Titus

February 1, 2010 - 7:11 AM

February 2010

Dear Sisters,

I have a friend who, in her search to know God, found that her church leader didn't believe that all the "stories" in the Bible were true. Her alarmed response was "How can I trust the Bible at all if it's not ALL true?" She left that church quickly and found another where the Bible was proclaimed as God's revealed Word to the world.

That leader's example definitely dishonored the Word. My friend's experience reminded me of the awesome responsibility we have as Christian women and pastors' wives to believe the whole Bible and to show by our behavior that we honor it as God's Word.

God warns us to not live according to the world's values. I like the paraphrase of Romans 12:1,2 in The Message: "Take your everyday, ordinary life-your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life-and place it before God as an offering.... Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out."

So how do we as women avoid living by the standards of today's world? How do we lift up the Word of God, and prevent it from being "maligned" or dishonored? God's Word gives the clear answer in Titus 2:3-5:

"Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored."

As women, we can either honor His Word or dishonor His Word. It all depends on our behavior. If we live out Titus 2:3-5, we can have confidence that God's Word will not be dishonored.

So why don't we start with a "clean slate" and go right to the source of godly wisdom? Let's put aside any of our own ideas and start fresh!

Dear sisters, here is our plan for the rest of the year. Each newsletter we will focus on one of the qualities in Titus 2:3-5. A pastor's wife will write on that quality, sharing her insight on what God desires for godly women. Here are our topics:

March: Reverent in their behavior

April: Not malicious gossips (Speech)

May: Not enslaved to much wine (Self-control)

June: Teaching what is good

July: Encourage young women to love their husbands

August: Encourage young women to love their children

September: Encourage young women to be sensible

October: Encourage young women to be pure

November: Encourage young women to be workers at home

December: Encourage young women to be kind

January 2011: Encourage young women to be subject to their own husbands

I am excited about these newsletters. My expectation is that these articles will give us a deeper understanding of God's desires and standards of an excellent wife, a woman who fears the Lord. Let's pray for these writers, that the Lord brings His grace and understanding into their lives as they seek the Lord on their topics.

Let's also humbly seek the Lord for our own lives as He conforms us to the image of His Son. As we follow Titus 2:3-5, we will become more like Christ--excellent wives, who are "the crowns" of our husbands (Proverbs 12:4).

So, this year, may the Word of God be honored in our lives, and in the lives of others as we study and follow the teaching in Titus 2:3-5. When God's Word is believed and obeyed, God will get all the glory!

United with you in Him,

Sandy Hopler