A Word from the Apostle Paul - Part One

 

For the grace of God has appeared …

—from Titus 2:11

Everyone likes to receive letters, or emails, or Facebook posts, or Tweets, or Instagram posts, or by whatever means one receives communications from their loved ones today. Certainly, the young minister, Titus, always looked forward to such communications, just like we do today.

Titus particularly perked up when he received communication from his mentor, the Apostle Paul. In fact, the words that Paul wrote to Titus—along with the two letters we still have of Paul’s correspondence with Timothy—remain cherished today by God’s choice servants. We often refer to these three books in the New Testament as the “Pastoral Epistles.” Paul is teaching Titus and Timothy how to be the best possible pastors they can be.

Today’s blog post consists of the first part of a crucially important paragraph that Paul wrote to Titus. And, these are words that we should revere and welcome in our own lives this day. The passage is found in Titus 2:11-12, where Paul writes these words:

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age…

Here, Paul distills in these few words the very essence of the gospel—the good news—of the life-transforming power of the living Lord Jesus Christ. This is why we call ourselves “Christ’s-ones” or “Christians.” We do so because of the change that God has brought into our lives through His precious Son. Furthermore, God has given us His Holy Spirit to dwell in our hearts and minds, and to lead us along the pathway that God has laid out before us.

As we begin a new day, let’s celebrate the fact that God has given us the ability to bend our selfish human wills to His divine and perfect will. We can truly say: “No!”—to all ungodliness and choose to follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Kick Sin Off the Throne

 

… count yourselves dead to sin …

—from Romans 6:11

One of the great blessings of receiving God’s gift of salvation, through His precious Son, Jesus, is the fact that the Holy Spirit comes to live within the depths of our being. The Holy Spirit willingly grants us His guidance for all four of our human modalities: emotional, spiritual, intellectual, and physical. We only need to bend our selfish and flawed natural human wills to His divine, perfect, and loving will.

By consistently bending our wills to God’s will, we place God on the throne of our lives. When he occupies this critical place in us, there is no room for anything, or anyone else, to have that special place. Notice what the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 6:11-12:

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.

By yielding to the leading of the Holy Spirit, and by obediently following God’s will for us, we can kick sin off the throne of our lives. We can live in such a way that we will consistently honor God’s love and His Presence in us, through us, with us, and around us.

As we begin another new day, we can rejoice that, with God’s help, we can significantly reduce the sin that naturally occurs in our lives. Will we ever be perfectly free from sin while we remain alive on this earth? Sadly, no. But, we can consistently overcome besetting sins by allowing God to give us His strength, His courage, and His persistence. After all, our obedience to God’s written Word, and thus our obedience to His will, is the only thing He asks of us to demonstrate our love for Him.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Straight Ahead

 

The person of integrity walks securely …

—from Proverbs 10:9

No building in the United States has as complicated a pattern of corridors as does the Pentagon building in Arlington, Virginia, just across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. If ever a person could become lost for hours, it would be when trying to navigate from one place in the Pentagon building to another. I’ve experienced that trauma first hand. According to that secular “fountain of knowledge,” Wikipedia:

The Pentagon is one of the world’s largest office buildings, with about 6,500,000 sq ft, of which 3,700,000 sq ft are used as offices. Approximately 23,000 military and civilian employees and about 3,000 non-defense support personnel work in the Pentagon. It has five sides, five floors above ground, two basement levels, and five ring corridors per floor with a total of 17.5 miles of corridors.

Of course, most people who work in this building get to know the general area within which they work. However, if they have to navigate to an unfamiliar portion of the building, they too, find themselves stopping frequently to study diagrams in order to find their way.

Sometimes, life reminds me of the Pentagon building. It’s easy, oh so easy, to get lost along the pathway of life. It’s important to find the right pathway and, then, to keep moving forward straight ahead. In that regard, King Solomon offered these wise words, as recorded in Proverbs 10:9:

The person of integrity walks securely, but the one who takes crooked paths will be found out.

Part of moving straight ahead involves an individual applying the personal integrity to choose the straight path. Every day we face choices. A few times, the “right” choice is completely obvious. Most other times, we need the help of the Holy Spirit to make certain we stay on the right path and keep moving straight ahead.

As we begin another new day, let’s pray and ask God to give us clear direction for this day. He will surely help us, by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, to make exactly the proper choices for each new day. How grateful we can feel, knowing that God’s love includes making certain we have the opportunity to make proper choices, day after day after day.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

In Close Proximity

 

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous …

—from Joshua 1:9

When firefighters enter a burning building wearing self-contained breathing apparatus, we teach them to stay in close proximity to one another by keeping their hand on the shoulder of the firefighter walking ahead of them. They might also pull with them a rescue rope tied around the waist of each firefighter. Why do we take these steps? Because we know that keeping in close proximity is a key to safety when entering an unknown space. Often the smoke and hot gases in the building on fire have made it nearly impossible to see clearly what dangers might exist ahead.

The truth is that every day we “Christ’s-ones” walk into unknown, potentially dangerous spaces. We call these danger-filled spaces: “another new day.” We never know what lies just around the next corner of our lives. We truly need to step forward boldly and courageously. To do so, we need to feel the close proximity of the Holy Spirit. He holds the safety rope wrapped around our hearts. Please note these words from God, as recorded in Joshua 1:9:

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

As we begin yet another new day, let us take these words of God, spoken to His servant, Joshua, and appropriate them for our own lives. For surely we know that God is the same today as He was in the days of Joshua. He will give us courage. He will give us strength. He will be with us wherever we go. We simply need to stay in close proximity to Him.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

The Living and Active Word

 

For the word of God is living and active. …

—from Hebrews 4:12

By now, most Christians should recognize the wisdom of taking time each day to read God’s written Word, the Bible, to meditate on what is read, and to also spend time speaking with God in prayer. These daily times of “devotions” can prepare us for whatever the day ahead may bring our way.

There is enormous power in God’s written Word. In the Old Testament, we find many times where someone discovered a scroll of Scripture, opened it, and ultimately gathered the people of Israel together to hear the reading of the written Word of God. Even today, in synagogues across the world, the time of reading from the Jewish Scriptures is a moment of great solemnity within the Sabbath worship.

So it is with many Evangelical Christian churches, too. In fact, some churches have the tradition of always standing when Scripture is read in a worship service. Yes, there is enormous power in God’s written Word. Notice what the correspondent with the Hebrew Christians wrote, as recorded in Hebrews 4:12:

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

As we begin a new day, we should embrace the power of Scripture and do our best to apply it to our own lives. Reading, studying, and meditating on a passage of Scripture from the Bible will make our pathway straight and well-lighted. We will never wonder where we should go. And, we will never falter when we have God’s written truth on our side.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

The Goodness of God Revealed

 

For he satisfies the thirsty …

—from Psalm 107:9

Have you ever read Psalm 107? This Psalm is a song of praise to God for who He is. It is always a wise idea to recognize that the person of God, to the extent that He has revealed Himself to us, is worthy of praise simply because of who He is. In fact, you will find several Psalms that do just that—they offer praise to God because of who He is.

Yes, we most certainly should thank God for what He has done for us, what He is doing for us, and what He has promised that He will do for us. That kind of praise is certainly most worthy, as well. But, there is just something very special about taking time to praise God for who He is. Thus, Psalm 107 lists many reasons to praise God, including this one found in Psalm 107:9:

For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

God is the provider of whatever it is we need to sustain us. In all four modalities of human life—emotional, spiritual, intellectual, and physical—God provides everything that we need. And, He does so out of His great love for us.

As we begin a new day, it is appropriate for us to read through all the verses of Psalm 107. As we do so, let’s give praise to God for each of the reasons listed in this Psalm that celebrate His goodness.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

He Restores Us

 

He makes me lie down in green pastures …

—from Psalm 23:2

King David had known the power of God in his life from the time he was a relatively young teenager. He had experienced the overwhelming Presence of the Holy Spirit flood into his life at the time Samuel anointed him as the chosen King of Israel. While it would still be many years before David ascended the throne, in a way unique to the time in which he lived, David knew an intimacy with God that was almost unparalleled. No wonder David penned these familiar words found in Psalm 23:2-3:

He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

God insisted that David find time in his life to rest and recharge. And, God provided that rest and recharging. That is good advice for us, even as we begin a new day.

God longs for us to rely on Him as a source of rest, restoration, and recharging in our terribly busy lives. If we will bend our selfish human wills to His perfect will, God will lead us beside still waters and make us lie down in green pastures. Having experienced His restorative touch on our lives, we will better be able to go out and continue to serve God faithfully.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}