Hi @diane1, thanks for sharing what God has been teaching you in Titus!
Your quote here was a powerful reminder to me of how God is working in us.
The healing and cleansing that comes from Christ is truly incredible! What you shared from Titus reminds me of David’s cry, not only for cleansing (Ps 51:7), but even to be given a new heart altogether (Ps 51:10)! It’s so wonderful how God has made a new creation in Christ!
Thank you also, @Carson, for sharing Titus 2:11-14! I missed this reading on my own, but it is so helpful to see how God’s transformative grace is at work in us through Christ. The way you said it put it together so well for me.
While He has made us a new creation in Christ, He is also actively transforming us. We have to learn what it is like to live in this new life He has given us.
As for your other questions @diane1,
Lately I’ve been reading and studying through 1 & 2 Samuel. One thing that frequently astounds me is the way that David doesn’t take things into his own hands but trusts the Lord to bring justice and to fulfill His promises.
Though he does have times of failure, time and time again he has the chance to take vengeance on Saul or others who have wronged him or to try and take the kingdom by his own might. Yet, instead, time and time again he trusts the Lord! God constantly delivers him. And in the end, He fulfills his promise to David and brings justice.
Your question,
is probably one David asked quite a lot as he ran for his life and hid from Saul through no fault of his own. Yet, his trust in God through it all brought him into the kingdom without him ever rising against Saul. So, he was able to stay faithful to Saul and honestly say, “Why is my lord pursuing his servant? What have I done, and what wrong am I guilty of?” when Saul came out against him (1 Sam 26:18).
Reading through Samuel has been a good challenge for me to trust God even when things seem overwhelming and injustice is prevailing.
God has already brought our salvation in Christ, He has cleansed and healed us, He is working for our good, and He will move, bring justice, and fulfill his promises in His timing! So, we can trust him even in the middle of hardship, suffering, and injustice.