Leave A Light On

Again we see that the excellent wife is a hard worker and a careful planner. I am reminded of the parable of the virgins waiting for the bridegroom. Some of them don't have enough oil for their lamps and they miss the arrival of the bridegroom because they ran out of oil and had to go buy more. The excellent wife is like those virgins who were prepared and had enough oil. Are you prepared for the Bridegroom's coming?

She Prepares Herself

The excellent wife prepares herself for life. She gets herself ready so that nothing will hold her back from doing what needs to be done. She takes care of herself physically so that she will be able to accomplish the tasks before her. She works hard to complete them.

What do you do to prepare yourself for the day? Do your exercise and prepare yourself physically? Do you go before the Lord and prepare yourself spiritually? When you work, do you do enough to get by or are you a workaholic? Do you work as unto the Lord?

You cannot be a woman of noble character and just coast through life. Every day, you must prepare,yourself and work hard at it. You go girl!

On Your Own

The excellent wife is always thinking and planning for the future. She does not sit idly by and just let things happen, she makes things happen. As a rule, she doesn't buy things on impulse. She thinks things through. She starts something knowing that she needs to keep working at it to receive the reward. This doesn't sound like me all the time. Does it sound like you? What changes do we need to make to be more like this?

Good Morning

How early do you roll out of bed? What do you do when you get up? The excellent wife is an early riser. In the da park of the early morning hours she knows that she can get things done. She probably takes care of herself first and then she starts to prepare for the day. She makes sure that her household's needs are taken care of - before they need it. When the rest of the household awakens, she is ready for them. How excellent is that?

Free To Sail

Are you tied down, never leaving the house? Chances are that you are not. If you are like me, there are probably several different grocery stores within an easy drive of where you live. Not only do I have several traditional American groceries nearby, but there are also several international and ethnic grocers to choose from. And if that's not enough, Amazon and other websites would love to sell me some food.

The excellent wife has this freedom to. She doesn't subsist on the same old same old every day. She has the freedom to try new and exotic things. So be a good wife and go shopping'

She Is Pleased To Work With Her Hands

This excellent wife that Proverbs 31 is talking about is a worker. She doesn't just sit around all day long. She's not wasting away her entire day sipping coffee at Starbucks with her friends. She's not lounging by the pool. No, she is getting things done not because she has to but because she wants to. She can't let her hands be idle. Maybe it's just housework and chores. Maybe it's a hobby that she works at. Or maybe she has a job that helps pay the bills. Regardless of what it is, she keeps busy and it brings her pleasure. What do you do?

She Brings Good

What a blessing a good wife can be. Good flows out of her every day. Her husband is richly blessed because of her.

What is flowing out of you day in and day out? Is it good or evil? Yes, we all,sin. But are we seeking to do good? Are we seeking to bless others by the good that we are doing? Do the good works God has designed you to do. As you do them, bless your husband. He will be better off because of it.

He Trusts In Her

Does your husband trust in you? Does he have confidence in you? Does he know that he can always depend on you? He's worth it.

Does he have all the riches he needs in you or is he looking elsewhere to gain spoil? Give all of yourself to him. Bless him. Let him know you love him and you are all he needs. 

I want to be that kind of woman that he knows the rich treasure he has in me and trusts in me and doesn't have to look elsewhere.  He's worth it to me.

Noble Character

Who can find a wife of noble character? Just by asking the question, it would seem to imply that she is hard to find.

Who is even looking for a wife of noble character? What in fact are they looking for? Is it the beautiful women on the cover of the Sports Illustratated swimsuit edition? Is it the conniving woman of one the Real Housewives shows? Is it the young woman twerking up a storm in a music video? Is it the actress taking off all her clothes in the movie that is almost soft-core pornography? What kind of character do these women have?

The men looking for a wife of noble character are the treasure seekers? “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure, hidden in a field, that a person found and hid. Then because of joy he went and sold all that he had and bought that field. (Matthew 13:44 NET) When these men find a women of noble character, they should drop everything and marry her for she is like the kingdom of heaven. Would one look at me and see the kingdom of heaven? Would one look at me and see noble character? That's what I want to be seen in me. May God in His Grace make it so.

You're Not Alone

Everyone with me... Greet those... With you all... Paul wasn't alone Nor was Titus. They were surrounded by other believers in Christ who walked with them on their faith journey and helped them on their mission.

You, dear reader, are not alone. These words of encouragement that Paul wrote long before you were born are words of encouragement for you too. The Grace of God is for you. You are part of the body of Christ. There are many around you that can encourage you. There are also many around you whom you can encourage. Rejoice in this!

Grace be to you!

Being Confident

What are you confident in? Are you confident that you can provide for yourself? Are you confident that you will live a long life, a full life, a healthy life? Are you confident that you will always love your husband and he will always love you? What is your confidence based on?

Paul reminds us here that we can have confident expectation of eternal life. Why? Because we are heirs. It is something that belongs to us because it is being given to us. It is not being given to us because we've earned it, but because we've been justified by God's grace. Jesus' death on the cross made the way for us to be justified, to become heirs, to be confidence.

Having confidence in ourselves is wonderful but at times it can be unfounded. Having confidence in Jesus' finished work on the cross is wonderful and unshakeable. What are you confident in?

Being Ready

Being subject to rulers and authorities may not be something that it attractive to you. Maybe you don't like your current leader. Perhaps you also don't care much for the opposition. Maybe it's the president's policies you don't like. Or maybe it's you think that your local government is out of touch with your wants and needs. Or even you feel frustrated that your HOA won't let you make changes to your property. Regardless, you are subject to them. 

Why should this matter. Because we were created to do good works. Paul wants Titus to be ready to do good works. We should be ready also. The rulers and the authorities are the ones that have the power to allow us to do good. How much good would we do if we got thrown in jail before doing that good? Doing good is our purpose and goal. The rulers and authorities,provide the system in which we should work. Is the system not good enough? Perhaps, perhaps not. If not, what good can you do to help change the system? 

We may want to rail against the government and authorities, but we must keep in mind our end goal of doing good. God wants us to do good. God created us to do good. So be ready to do good. Be subject to the rulers and authorities so that you can be ready.

Be Eager To Do Good

Jesus gave himself. He was willing. He gave all that He had to give - himself. He gave himself do us - not to us. We are the beneficiaries of Jesus giving himself. To set us free. We were in bondage and unable to do what we wanted or needed. To set us free from every kind of lawlessness - completely entangled in sin, subject to every kind of temptation, we were not free. But He has set us free. And He has purified us. He has cleansed us from all unrighteousness. He purified us for himself - it may have been for our benefit, but He alone is the reason that He purified us. We are His people. We belong to Him. He will never leave us or deny us or let us go. As a result of all that He did, we should be eager to do good. Good is not the lawlessness we were bound to. Good is the will of Him who bought us and set us free and purified us. What good does He want you to do today? Do it joyfully. Make opportunities for yourself to do it.

Not Talking Back

We are all servants to something. We may have been born in to it or we may have entered in to it voluntarily. We might be daughters in need of obeying our parents or wives in relationship with our husbands or employees working for "the man." We should joyfully do what is wanted of us because we are obeying God. We should not complain or talk back. Our words belie our hearts. Steve God and serve those he has placed us under. Let your obedience be complete and your words sweet.

To Have A Head Start

In a race, it is sometimes advantageous to have a head start. If the distance is lessened, it becomes easier for you to finish the race. The older women are to give such an advantage to the younger women. Paul is encouraging the older women to train the younger women - even the young girls - to not make the same mistakes they may have made. Nip it in the bud. Don't even let them go ther in the first place. Shape the young girls so that there is no room for slander and drunkenness in their lives. Then the loving of their husbands and the loving of their children will flow naturally. Older women, are you willing to be this kind of influence on the young? Young women, are you willing to follow?

Act Like It

Do you really want to admit that you are getting older. When you're a young child, it is exciting to hold up your fingers and say "I'm this many!" But as age catches up with you, the thrill abates. Do you boast "Woohoo! Another senior discount kicks in with this birthday!"?

God has set us apart for Him. He sent His son to die on the cross so that we could be made holy. We need to live in such a way that we demonstrate that we have been made holy. Our lives should be a witness to what God has done for us. If you've got catty remarks about the woman who spent the whole meeting texting, bite your tongue. Stop it with the drunken selfies that you're posting on Instagram. By the blood of Christ, you've been set apart and made holy. Act like it'

Don't Deny It

You know the type. They brag about how they know God, but when you watch them, they sure don't act it. Maybe they've got a fish on the back of their car and you see them driving aggressively down your street. Maybe they're your daughter's Sunday school teacher and you see them drunk at the ballgame. Maybe she's the one who sits next to you in women's Bible study and she's had a long day, her kids have been disobedient and her husband is away on a business trip and she got angry at you for seemingly no reason.

It could be anyone. It could be you. Strive to know God. But, remember at all times, He is watching. Let your actions display your love for God, not deny it.

Instead

Instead can be such a powerful word. Contrasting bad choices and good choices. Contrasting wrong and right.

We've seen some things in the previous verses that an elder should be but most recently we've seen some things an elder definitely should not be. Here we see a few traits that an elder should have. We can't all be elders, but these are characteristics worthy for us all to pursue.

Are you hospitable? Do you welcome people into your home? Do people feel at home and comfortable when they are with you? This is to be admired.

Are you devoted to what is good? Or are you consumed by the next project that needs to get done around the house? Do people know you by what show you're currently binge watching? Be devoted to what is good. Let it be evident in your life.

Are you sensible or are you known for making outlandish choices? Do you do things and instantly regret it or do you you look back on your day and smile because of a job well done? Do your feet ache at the end of the day because you've dashing about in your fashionable heels or de you feel like you can go another mile in your sensible shoes? Common sense seems uncommon these days, but it should be common to you.

Are you upright or are you down and dirty? Are you righteous or are you known as a sinner? We all know that we are sinners. But we also know that if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Don't be down and dirty, dear reader, be clean!

Are you devout? It should be obvious where your loyalties lie. You cannot serve both God and money. Your pursuit of holiness should show in your life. Let there not be any hint of unfaithfulness in you.

Self-controlled. Sometimes self-control is hard to maintain. But self-control comes from God. That may seem paradoxical, but it's not. The closer we come to God, the more Christlike we become, the less influence other things have in our lives. The more we see Jesus, the less we see distractions. The more we become focussed on our Father, the easier it is to maintain our peace when temptation comes our way. Seek ye first the kingdom of God... and self-control will follow.

God wants all of this for you. Seek Him and He will provide.

To Further The Faith

How is your faith in Christ? Is it strong? Is it growing? Do you seek to share it with those around you?

If you have faith in Christ, you should want it to be growing. You should be doing things to cause it to grow. You should be reading His Word. You should be meditating on it. You should be praying. You should be loving others. You should be serving Christ.

A faith like that should love in such a way that you want to see others grow closer to God. Are you in fellowship with other believers? Are you in close relationship with others that they know of your faith and how it guides you through life? Are you close enough to others that you know their struggles and do you desire to see them get through them? Do you care enough of others that you know of their hopes and dreams? Are you praying for them? What are you doing to help them accomplish them?

This takes vulnerability. This takes being open and close to fellow believers. To further the faith of God's chosen ones,you must have faith and you must know God's chosen ones.

Pray that God would use you to help grow the faith of those that you know.

Grace Be With You

Paul closes this letter with an admonition he has used elsewhere. Grace be with you. It is also my wish for those I love and for you my dear reader. May God's unmerited favor be with you. May it walk with you. May it come after you and be extended to others as you encounter them. May it come behind you and soothe you and heal you as you deal with the challenges of life. May you know that God has given it to you as a gift and it is truly yours.

Comfort

Paul had a few like-minded friends who brought him comfort. They encouraged him. They comforted him. They gave him solace. They brought him relief. They alleviated him of his burdens. They provided him consolation.

Do you have friends like this?

Are you a friend like this?

Bring comfort to those who need it.

Sweet and Salty

Let your speech always... Not just some of the time, but always. Not just with some people you speak with but with everyone 

Be gracious... Affording joy, pleasure, sweetness, and favor to those to whom you are speaking.

Seasoned with salt... Not bland, but bringing out and enhancing the flavor of what you are saying. Not words that will blow away and be forgotten, but words that will last.

So that you may know how you should answer everyone... Know that people will question you and your faith. Know that people may attack you verbally. Also know that people will have questions and come to you. You need to be prepared. Speaking the truth in love, speaking graciously words full of lasting flavor, will help you to respond.

Our words affect those who hear them. Let us make sure to speak words that guide those around us to the Truth.