Paul

December 21

Titus 3:1-8

Doing what is good

Titus was a pastor who served the church on the island of Crete. Paul wrote this letter to Titus to give him advice on how to organize his church and what to teach:

“Remind your people to respect and obey their leaders. They should not say bad things about others, but be peaceful and friendly, having a gentle attitude. For we ourselves were once foolish and disobedient. We were slaves to the sinful pleasures of the world. Our lives were full of bitterness and hatred.

But when God showed us His kindness and love, He saved us, not because of any good we may have done, but because of His undeserved kindness. He saved us by washing away our sins and making us new through the Holy Spirit. And having been made completely good in God’s eyes, we can share in the riches of eternal life.”

What happens to our sin when God forgives us?

Some think that when they no longer feel guilty about a sin, they don’t have to do anything about it because it has somehow faded away. Although you probably know that you should always say sorry when you’ve done wrong, you may not realize that when you ask God to forgive you, He actually has to do something with your sin to get rid of it.

When Jesus died on the cross, God put all our sins on Jesus. Every time we ask God to forgive us, Jesus’ blood washes our sin away and makes us clean. Micah the prophet talks about God actually taking our sin and throwing it in the deepest part of the sea (Micah 7:19). God takes our sin so far away that no one will ever see it again, and even God won’t think about it ever again!

Verse for today

As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:12