BROADCASTS.com

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.\xa0 He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:4-7)

The Spirit renews our hearts and moves us to faith, leads us into truth and helps us to pray, stands by us in our need, and makes our obedience fresh and vibrant. (OWBTG 29)

\xa0

We may not be naturally inclined toward doing the right thing.\xa0 Some of us are.\xa0 But I suspect that many of us have our moments of angry outbursts, judgemental attitudes, and indulgences.\xa0 Here\u2019s the thing though: God saves us anyway.\xa0 Despite who and what we are, we are loved by God in Christ all the same.\xa0 Not because we deserve it, not because we have earned it with a bunch of righteous things we\u2019ve done, but because of his great mercy, kindness, and love.\xa0

And now throughout the rest of our lives, the Holy Spirit is slowly and surely renewing us.\xa0 Like a waterfall pouring and pounding over the stones below, the Spirit is constantly flowing, moving, polishing, and washing us.\xa0

Just like with those stones at the bottom of the cataract though, it can take years and decades before the hard edges get smoothed off.\xa0 Sometimes that slow pace can be discouraging: shouldn\u2019t we be better people and Christians already by this point in our life?

But despite how things might look, we are invited to always keep the end in view.\xa0 We have become heirs with Christ, heirs of hope and eternal life.\xa0 The work will one day be complete.\xa0 We will one day take our place in the kingdom of God as the renewed people we can only now imagine ourselves to be.\xa0

Hopefully that hope does more than give us the courage to endure the slow rate of growth we face now: hopefully it also propels us toward the good we seek.\xa0 That\u2019s Paul\u2019s invitation here in his letter to Titus.\xa0 But this is also the Spirit\u2019s work\u2014to move us toward the good and to make \u201cour obedience fresh and vibrant.\u201d

So, continue praying as the Spirit helps you today for this good work to see it\u2019s way through to completion!\xa0 Remember the breath prayer: \u201cHoly Spirit, come.\u201d

\xa0