Titus 2:2

Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance. - Titus 2:2

Dear Jesus,

It's hard to admit, but I no longer can view this passage as your injunction to me as a young pastor to teach older men how to live. It seems that in almost no time I have become one of the "older men." Now these six attributes of a mature Christian man are directly applicable to me. You want me to be temperate, that is calm and gentle. You want me to live worthy of respect, to curb my passions and resist the temptation to be lazy or crazy in my ways. You want me trusting firmly in your word and not wavering with doubt. You want me to love people deeply instead of withdrawing into myself. And you want me to endure hardship with a reliant hope in your deliverance. That is; you want me to recognize that my anxieties are often self inflicted. I get what you want and it helps me some. But without your presence I will utterly fail. I need you to give me the strength to live above my sinful nature. Help me Lord Jesus to live the godly life you call for. Be my Savior and my sanctifier.

Amen

Pastor Don Patterson

Only God can call us godly people.