Titus 2:11-14 (New International Version)

¹¹For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. ¹²It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, ¹³while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, ¹⁴who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

Good morning! I just got back from a walk of 2.4 miles, with one good hill on the route. My loving and gracious wife joined me this morning, and we laughed and goofed around as best we could in between gasping for breath. After all these years I can't tell you how glad I am that we are such very good friends. We are both still new to this "exercise" thing, or whatever it's called.. I guess the thing which has kept us from participating for so long is that it happens mostly outdoors. But we are working at it, and so far we have lost 40 pounds combined, that is, between the two of us. Cool!

I want to blog today about something closely related - self control. I have begun a quest for purity in my life, because frankly I have nothing to say in a blog, in person, or in public unless it comes from God. And I find that when I let the stuff of the world junk up my life, the conduit gets clogged. The conduit, that is, through which God can speak to the people around me.

I don't want you to misunderstand, I am not saying that I am anything special, or gifted in any way. Quite the opposite: I am only here to repeat what God says to me first. My pastor has a phrase which he often repeats, and it is absolutely worth repeating: "If God can get it through you, He can get it to you."

So - I get up each day before the sun. I do some time in the word, I do some time in the presence of God. I am working on incorporating worship into my schedule, but I'm going to have to do it in a way which will not wake the rest of the house. So I worship as I drive, or on those occasions when I walk alone. I bet I look perfectly amazing walking down the street yelling and singing with my hands in the air... not going to worry about it. And; I figure if I can remember to feed the dog twice a day, I should be able to remember to feed my spiritual growth every day.

So jump on board with me. Let's learn to live self-controlled, upright and Godly lives, even in this present age. And then let's expect a miracle: God will begin to use us to bless those around us.

Can I count on you? Can God?