Reflection

 

Titus 2:19

“Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority.  Let no one disregard you.”  Often, I share with my dear friend John that this thing called aging is for the birds.  Both of us are blessed to have good health and both of us enjoy working and fixing the things in the house and in our yards, but both of us run out of gas, so to say, much quicker than when we were in our fifties.  However, this morning I’ve discovered a real blessing of aging it is called reflection, the process of reconsidering previous actions. 

This morning as I read “Declare these things” my thoughts went to some men that I met over my life in Christ that challenged me to declare the sound doctrine of Christ, most were not preachers, they did not attend the church I was part of, but they were faithful men, they were kingdom minded men, who God used to challenge, to rebuke, to encourage my life.  Many of you have had such people in your life, and they were sent by the Holy Spirit to encourage you to also declare sound doctrine.  I was a slow learner, no, that’s not true, I was fearful of what many of you would think of me.  I put your thoughts above what Paul told Titus to proclaim. 

So this is what God did, and I am so thankful that He loved me and kept sending faithful men to encourage and rebuke me in the authority of Christ.  One of the first encouragers was Bob my barber, who was used to introduce me to Christ who I knew all about, but had never known Him in a personal way.  Then there was Johnny Anderson, (Mr. Texas – Mr. Southern U.S.A.) but it was not muscles I saw, but a meek warrior who loved Jesus and was not ashamed to be identified with Him.  Jack Archer was an all American football player; he also played one year with the New York Giants and was a very successful oilman.  Jack was used by God to teach me that Jesus loved a rascal like me and that I could trust him.  Then he sent me a younger man, Greg Hood and I saw faith lived out, and he made an impact on my life.  Another oilman moved down the street from me, Ken Ryan, and he is a teacher of the Bible.   He is a teacher but most of his teaching came from watching him live it out on planet earth, and at age 85 he is still living it out for all who come in contact with him.  I’ve not told you about Carroll Ray Jr., a numbers guy (CPA), but Carroll was used by God in so many ways to teach me that God in me could do anything that the Spirit led me to do.  John Davis was a Vice Chairman of a Fortune 500 company, when we met, I joined his Adult Sunday School class, he later became the CEO of that company, and I became his prayer partner.  We still pray for each other, but God used John to confront me, to encourage and to be my friend.

Each of these men and many others have been used of God to teach me the doctrine in Titus chapter two, but these men were used by the Father in this area; “Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority.  Let no one disregard you.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice