Today’s Reading:
Titus 2: 1-8

Paul in this passage admonishes the older men and women in the church to be a role model to younger ones coming behind them. Today, this teaching is truly relevant to all believers - who teach in schools, who are community leaders, family friends, parents, grandparents, and even retired people. Especially those who today are referred to as ‘old school’ or ‘old cargo’, who are made to feel that their lives are spent, or that their purposes are over and done with, or who feel they have nothing more to contribute to the society. This category of people carry within them, wealth of wisdom than they ever lived. They only need to harness the power to channel this wisdom into younger minds. Today, these younger minds live and operate at the mercy of pollution from the media, the morally cheap novels and movies, the foolish and misleading counsel of our world’s vain system. The support ministry of these older Christians would need the reliance on the Holy Spirit before their messages about life could lay credence in the hearing of the younger generation.
A true but hard fact today is to admit that the community of faith lacks integrity and credibility. Our reputation as Christians have been severally wounded and bruised by selfish and self-centred people who tell others what to do and they deceitfully refused to practise what they teach with the knowledge that nobody can see. They have failed to ‘walk what they talk’ putting it in words of Joyce Meyer.
Just as Paul sees the believer on the island of Crete - as struggling to live out their faith and having the tendencies of being lazy (1:12-13), the same goes with many believers today. Many today are mixing the Scriptures with the world’s systems, their intelligence, and experiences. There is need for teachers to teach sound doctrine and teach people to live right so that we all might be identified as true followers of Christ (v. 1). This is where the wisdom and spiritual experience of the older generation comes in; to serve as example also to the new converts, thereby silencing those who are opposing the faith.
It is time for all, individuals, family, society, and community to stop apportioning blames as the deeds have been done by all and sundry and start to correct our mistakes in order to move the Christian faith forward in harmony and love of Christ. When we think of happenings in the past months, we will all agree that we are all alive today by the mercies of God. We that are alive are not better in any way than those that have died or are devastated by ugly events. It is time to gear up the opportunity and determination to correct and repair the damage done to our Christian faith. The Holy Spirit will take care of the rest.
What do we do?
We must be convinced in our hearts that we need transformation and revival, and that we want to be a good model to others, new converts, and younger generations.
Be determined to live an excellent lifestyle worth emulating, that will display the true attributes of Christ and be pleasing to God.
Ask for mercy and forgiveness for our sins and that of our forefathers and surrender our lives to the lordship of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Deliberately and continuously seek the face of God and ask God to repair our prayer altar.
Ask for daily infilling of the Holy Spirit, purifying of our souls and spirit man.
Allow God to use us as he wills, to bring a good reformation in our family, and environment.
OLUFUNMILAYO TITILOLA ADEKUSIBE
Prayer:
1. Father, in all that I do, let my lifestyle be a model, a testimony, a witness and good example to younger generations around me in Jesus name.
2. Battle s assigned to render my life and destiny empty and desolate, die, in Jesus name.
3. Finger of God, pull down the empire of the strongman assigned against my life and destiny, in Jesus Name.
4. Thou power of family destruction, die, in Jesus name.
5. O God send Your angels to every State in Nigeria to restore peace and prosperity and shorten these days of evil, in the name of Jesus.
6. The glory of our nation, where are you? Appear, in the name of Jesus.
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