g[See ver. 7 above]
Psa 102
 
bl[See ver. 1 above]

Psalms 42:4

4These things I remember,
as I apour out my soul:
bhow I would go cwith the throng
and lead them in procession to the house of God
with glad shouts and songs of praise,
da multitude keeping festival.

Psalms 62:8

8 eTrust in him at all times, O people;
fpour out your heart before him;
God is ga refuge for us.  Selah

Psalms 102:1

Do Not Hide Your Face from Me

A Prayer of one afflicted, when he is hfaint and ipours out his complaint before the Lord.

1 jHear my prayer, O Lord;
let my cry kcome to you!

This pastoral letter from Paul to Titus was intended to offer encouragement and wisdom as Titus endured ongoing opposition from the ungodly and from legalists within his congregations. Paul instructed Titus to complete his assigned job of establishing overseers (elders) for the churches under his care. He described what sort of people these leaders should be, and how all believers should live in relation to each other as well as in their interactions with nonbelievers. Proper Christian behavior is based on the fact that “the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,” and therefore those who believe in Christ are to “live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives” as they await his return (2:11-13). Paul probably wrote this letter in the 60s a.d.

Titus 1

Greeting

1Paul, a servant
Or slave (for the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface)
of God and man apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and ntheir knowledge of the truth, owhich accords with godliness,
2 pin hope of eternal life, which God, qwho never lies, rpromised sbefore the ages began
Greek before times eternal
3and uat the proper time manifested in his word vthrough the preaching wwith which I have been entrusted xby the command of God our Savior;

4To Titus, ymy true child in za common faith:

aaGrace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

Qualifications for Elders

5 abThis is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and acappoint elders in every town as I directed you 6 adif anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife,
Or a man of one woman
and his children are believers
Or  are faithful
and not open to the charge of agdebauchery or insubordination.
7For an overseer,
Or bishop; Greek episkopos
aias God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not ajbe arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent akor greedy for gain,
8but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, aland disciplined. 9He must amhold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in ansound
Or healthy; also verse 13
doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

10For there are many who are insubordinate, apempty talkers and deceivers, especially those of aqthe circumcision party.
Or  especially those of the circumcision
11They must be silenced, since asthey are upsetting whole families by teaching atfor shameful gain what they ought not to teach. 12 auOne of the Cretans,
Greek  One of them
a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”
Probably from Epimenides of Crete
13This testimony is true. Therefore axrebuke them aysharply, that they azmay be sound in the faith, 14 banot devoting themselves to Jewish myths and bbthe commands of people bcwho turn away from the truth. 15 bdTo the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and beunbelieving, nothing is pure; but both bftheir minds and their consciences are defiled. 16 bgThey profess to know God, but they bhdeny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, biunfit for any good work.

Titus 2

Teach Sound Doctrine

1But as for you, teach what accords with bjsound
Or healthy; also verses 2, 8
doctrine.
2Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, blsound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. 3 bmOlder women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, bnnot slanderers boor slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5to be self-controlled, bppure, bqworking at home, kind, and brsubmissive to their own husbands, bsthat the word of God may not be reviled. 6Likewise, urge btthe younger men to be self-controlled. 7Show yourself in all respects to be bua model of good works, and in your teaching bvshow integrity, bwdignity, 8and bxsound speech that cannot be condemned, byso that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. 9 bzBondservants
Or Slaves (for the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface)
are to be submissive to their own masters cbin everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative,
10not pilfering, ccbut showing all good faith, cdso that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.

11For cethe grace of God cfhas appeared, bringing salvation cgfor all people, 12training us to renounce ungodliness and chworldly passions, and cito live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in cjthe present age, 13 ckwaiting for our blessed clhope, the cmappearing of the glory of our great cnGod and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 cowho gave himself for us to cpredeem us from all lawlessness and cqto purify for himself cra people for his own possession who are cszealous for good works.

15Declare these things; exhort and ctrebuke with all authority. cuLet no one disregard you.

Titus 3

Be Ready for Every Good Work

1Remind them cvto be submissive to rulers and authorities, cwto be obedient, to be ready for every good work, 2 cxto speak evil of no one, cyto avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and czto show perfect courtesy toward all people. 3For dawe ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4But when dbthe goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5he saved us, dcnot because of works done by us in righteousness, but ddaccording to his own mercy, by dethe washing of regeneration and dfrenewal of the Holy Spirit, 6whom he dgpoured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7so that dhbeing justified by his grace we might become diheirs djaccording to the hope of eternal life. 8The saying is dktrustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful dlto devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people. 9But dmavoid foolish dncontroversies, dogenealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for dpthey are unprofitable and worthless. 10As for a person who stirs up division, dqafter warning him once and then twice, drhave nothing more to do with him, 11knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.

Final Instructions and Greetings

12When I send Artemas or dsTychicus to you, do your best to come to me dtat Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. 13Do your best to speed Zenas the lawyer and duApollos on their way; see that they lack nothing. 14And let our people learn dvto devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not dwbe unfruitful.

15All who are with me send greetings to you. Greet those who love us in the faith.

dxGrace be with you all.

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