Scripture: Titus 2.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Titus 2:3-5 (NLT)
³ Similarly, teach the older women to live in a way that honors God. They must not slander others or be heavy drinkers. Instead, they should teach others what is good.
⁴ These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children,
⁵ to live wisely and be pure, to work in their homes, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands. Then they will not bring shame on the word of God.

APPLICATION
(How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

In this second chapter of Titus it is loaded with instructions that Titus has been given to help him in his ministry. There are instruction that would help older men, young men, slaves, and of course women. In many of my devotionals I have highlighted teachings towards how men should be guided and subsequently live. Knowing that there are women who might also read this devotional, I didn’t want to bypass the opportunity to share with them what the Word teaches about how they should live. I saw a job description in the above verses for women:

• Live in a way that honors God – wow, that’s a loaded point, for God was perfect. Perhaps it is being suggested that women should strive to be perfect, as their Master is perfect. In other words, do your very best to be obedient to the laws of God and strive in every way to be an example of Him.
  
• Must not slander – lifting up another Christian lady is one thing, but often when one or more ladies get together they tend to talk about other ladies in a way that is opposite to lifting up. God made us all, so find ways to lift each other up instead of tearing down.
  
• Must not be heavy drinkers – often heavy drinkers are ones looking for something to cover up the stress or troubles that bear on their minds. God expects us to bring those troubles to Him. Cast every care upon Him, the Word declares.
  
• Teach others what is good – This can be through actual teaching of the Word, as in Sunday School, and in your everyday living.
  
• Train younger women to love their husbands and their children – Of course this means that you must already be loving your husband and children, in order for you to help others do the same. Yes, you can always share with the younger women what the Word of God says, but for you to really teach that with meaning and impact, it really should be something that is already evident in your own life.
  
• Live wisely – make wise decisions. Always seek God first before making important decisions.
  
• Be pure – Don’t be a fake. Be pure in what you do versus what you say.
  
• Work in your home – Your home is your castle. Always be proud to allow someone into your home, knowing that you have nothing to be ashamed of, because you are proud of your accomplishments in the home. Let it be a priority in your life.
  
• Be submissive to your husband – this may be a sore subject to some because you feel like you are an equal with your husband. Friend, I didn’t make this one up because I am a man and a husband, I am merely quoting God’s Word. This is what God teaches in His Word. Your husband has an even greater responsibility to God, so don’t feel like all the emphasis is on your responsibility.
  

The results of doing all this and being obedient to God’s commands, is that you will please God because of your obedience. In fact, the last part of verse 5 says that as you do this you will not bring shame to the Word of God. The positive way of saying that is that you will please God. Wouldn’t this be a different world in which we live, if we were obedient to the commands of God? I will be the first to say “yes, and Amen”!

PRAYER
(With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Dear God, thank You for our ladies. Thank You for blessing us with companionship, with great mothers, with caring homemakers, with women who are determined to serve You and be obedient to You in all they do. We have a younger generation of girls coming up that need to see the example of their mothers, their teachers, their co-workers and their older female friends. Please bless the women in my life with wisdom from above, with power to overcome evil and worldly temptations, and with a deep yearning to live godly lives before their children and/or younger women that they are blessed to mentor. May these younger ones see Jesus very evident in the lives of those that are older than they are.

 

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
nuggetsfromgodsword@yahoo.com
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