titus part dos.

mornin y’all. es wednesday. the door of the shop is open. it’s cool and overcast out right now.
it’s a sweet morning. i wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. unless, it was on the front porch of
a farmhouse sitting on a swing watching the sun burn off the fog. when i worked crosspoint sports
camps in college we were at maryville college in the smokies for a couple weeks and i would try
to get down to the tennis courts super early to have that time to simply watch that and read.
weird, i know, but it's really pretty cool. ever since I was a kid I thought that would be the best
way to wake up. anywhose, they made an extra vanilla chai at the shop this morning, so i got one
for free. again, it’s a good morning. and my early meeting was so good. so stinking fun to watch
Jesus work in the lives of my little brothers. and a bunch of our high school gals were gathered in
the other corner of the shop to learn more about jesus. yes. i told you it was a good morning!
the talk tonight is out of titus 2. i don’t do this often, but a rough draft of the talk is below. it’s
the shortened version. in my mind, this may be the best way to go tonight. it may seem long,
but when spouted out, always comes out shorter!

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i’ve recently come to the realization that jimmy john’s is my favorite sandwich place in town.
i. love. it. it’s healthy and I can get out of there for around six bucks or so. not bad. i get the
club lulu. it sounds like a party. it is. get it? club lulu? i'm laughing. anyway, it’s got bacon
and thus, a must. i probably eat there three times a week. seriously. it’s that good. last week,
i picked up the usual sandwich after our usual thursday night pickup bball game. on the way
home, there was a man with a sign that said “war vet who needs help” on the side of the road
at the traffic light. in that moment, i became convinced that Jesus wanted me to give that man
my sandwich. my famed club lulu. the cure for my hunger. the one with all the bacon. if
you’re thinking i’m about to come off conceited or arrogant because i’m telling all four of you
that read this booger that i gave this poor, hungry man my sandwich, I’m not.

i didn’t.

and it broke me.

i was two lanes over and decided I couldn’t get to him in time. in time? what was i gonna do?
go home and eat. what a joke. there was no deadline. i could have gotten it to him if i wanted to. i just didn’t
care that night. i guess i wanted some sort of safety. looking back, i despise safety. c.s. lewis
didn’t describe God as safe did he? no. he said, “He’s not safe, but He’s good.” in that moment
I didn’t love the poor. and as much as I say I love the poor and have a heart for those less fortunate,
my actions thursday showed I love myself. that night exposed a “blind spot” in my life as david
platt would say. after all, holiness is defined by what we do and not what we say. on the way home
i remembered what i read a day or two earlier. platt says, “no matter what we say/sing on sunday
morning, rich people who neglect the poor are not the people of God.”

wow.

take a moment. he's right isn't he?

i was humbled. and at the same time, angry with who i really was in that moment. now let me say,
i’m not rich by my culture's standards. BUT, by our world's standards and compared with that man
who needed help, i had all the wealth this world could ever offer. if i can eat three square meals a
day i'm in the top one percent and thus, i'm rich. and I wanted my wealth more than i wanted to help
him. how selfish. sounds drastic. but, this is Truth.

fast forward. the next day, i got a call from dad and we began to talk. obviously, we’re rugged men
of the outdoors and so we talked about vandy baseball and our three game series in starkville against
state. we talked about the pitching rotation and how we really needed to win on the road to ensure
our place in the sec tourney. we then talked about how we hoped the vols didn’t make it since they
kill us in football and simply because they are everything that's wrong in the world. hahaha...mom...
we love you! it then turned to work and then to the flooding back home. to give a hint of
background, dad’s a photographer who happens to have a rare eye disease that greatly limits his vision
to do some everyday things. like driving. he can’t do it right now. hasn't for years. but he may one day!
the disease is called histoplasmosis. you’ve probably heard me talk about this before. well, the fam lives
in nashville and the whole town is attempting to get back to their feet after the big ‘ole flood. thankfully,
our house was spared but there were tens of thousands of others who weren’t as fortunate.

the next thing he said shocked me. he said that work would be slow on monday and tuesday and
that because of the slowdown he would be helping volunteer in the city. he wasn’t bragging. it’s
not his way. he just loves people. from the rich, to the poor in spirit and in possessions. he just
said there was an opportunity to meet at a church parking lot (he doesn’t even attend this
particular church) at 7:30am and simply head out for the day to help his city with a whole bunch
of people he’s never even met. pretty radical I’d say. dad knows he can’t see well right now at all.
it may be brutally hard for him to drive a nail into a wall because of the veins clouding his retinas.
he may have to ask a random guy on the team for a ride home because he can’t drive. loads of
obstacles it seems. so what? if it means going to lanes over, it means going two lanes over. he
chooses not to let it stop him and thus changes the community. and my heart at the same time.
he sets the example so that I can better do the same.

and I realized this week that it’s the same with paul and titus.

titus is the "true" son. paul is the leader. the dad.
paul looks out for titus. has a heart for titus. leads titus.
titus tries to listen. he may stumble, but wants to be better. soaks in everything dad says.
paul is constantly teaching. titus is watching. maybe even taking notes.
paul picks titus up even when he doesn’t know titus has fallen.

isn't it nifty how God knows and works out everything according to His divine appointment.
the Father is all about the details. your details. my details.
in the second chapter of paul’s letter to titus he simply tells his true son “in everything set them an
example by doing what is good. in your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech
that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing
bad to say about us.”

we could spend a whole talk on those two verses. we have.

paul exhorts titus to set the example. truth is, we don’t even have to speak to set the example. remember,
holiness is defined by what we do and not what we say. don’t miss the strategic pattern of disciple making
here. first, paul is transformed by the power of jesus and that leads him to set the example for titus. in
turn, titus is changed and is now leading the charge for the Gospel in the city of Crete. it’s titus’ turn.
paul is telling him it’s his time. paul’s passionately pursuing jesus in his city, while titus does the same
in his. it’s the Gospel way. set the example. you get the hint here that paul knows leading is a
struggle. he knows there are moments of failure. and moments of great victory. and when he didn’t have
to take the time to write his letter of encouragement to titus, he did. he cared. he acted. and here I am
so many years later being changed by it. paul is passionately pursuing jesus. that propels him to care.
and because he cares, he acts.

setting the example is vital. you may not even know people see you as an example. but we are ALL
called to be the example. we are ALL called to look like Him.
there's not much safe about that. i like that. safety doesn't fit what my heart really loves. it doesn't make
my heart beat fast.

a lack of safety challenges me to be more than i am. to be what only He can be...in me. (read colossians)
in a way, i’m thankful for blind spots. they remind me I’m broken and in desperate need of the great Savior.
they humble me and actually help me hear the Spirit better. they bring me in tune with Him and make me
more like jesus.

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secret songs are 24 oceans and on fire. switchfoot. couldn't pick just one.

g


ps. 1 - "when everything inside me looks like everything i hate, You are the hope i have for change,
You are the only chance i'll take." -jon foreman

ps. three - belize meeting is at 7:15pm tonight y'all!