Am I a Brawler?

brawl: vi. [ME braulen, to cry out, quarrel; prob. akin to Du brallen, to boast] 1 to quarrel or fight noisily  2 to flow noisily over rapids, falls, etc.: said of water --n. 1 a rough, noisy quarrel or fight; row 2 [Slang] a noisy party, with much drinking of liquor -- brawler n.

One of the reasons I love the King James Version of the bible is because of the old English used and the fact that through that old English language we are blessed with its specificity. Admittedly, the KJV is a little harder to understand at times, but for study purposes, I love the payoff.  Which brings me to Titus 3:2.  Paul is advising Titus to teach others "To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing meekness unto all men."

So my question to you, dear readers, and to myself, is "Are we brawlers?"  I have a feeling that today, like the day I decided to meditate on Psalm 19:14, might give me plenty of opportunities to practice what I preach.  Yikes.   What have I done?  So back to my real thoughts rather than my imaginations about what my day is going to be like...

When I typically think of the word "brawler", I think of a bar fight.  Not that I've ever seen one except on TV, but I think of a bar fight.  The bible tells us not to be brawlers, but what does that mean?  In the context of this passage and verse, to put it simply in Janna's paraphrase:

We need to be kind and loving to everyone around us all of the time, putting the pride aside.

We don't need to be lawyer "wannabes" by always having to take a stand for everything we know is right.  (Funny thing, I just had a conversation about this very thing with a friend yesterday afternoon.-Thank you, God, for bringing this up in my daily reading).  We may be right a lot of the time, but endlessly correcting other people is not profitable.  We need to pick our battles for which we stand.  Maybe, just maybe, correcting someone about the winner of a particular ball game isn't the best battle to fight.

That is all for now, because I find that I'm rushing here.   Stay tuned tomorrow for my thoughts on the meek and gentle spirit.

Promises, Promises

Have you ever made a promise that you failed to keep?  I'm sure that most, if not all of us have at one time or another.  Maybe we've promised something to someone as a "reward" for services performed, or maybe just promised a friend going through a tough time that we would always be there for them.  Unfortunately, we too often fall short of our promises to ourselves, to others and to God.

I am grateful however, that there is one person whose promises never fail me.  Can we really call God a person?  Yes and no to that one, but let's not get technical here.  I keep pressing in this life through good time and bad "In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;" (Titus 1:2).  Isn't it amazing that God's promises stand the test of time?  Not just a few days or years, but thousands of years! 

What kind of promise are you seeking today?  God has it for you in His word. 

• Financial trouble? Matthew 6:31-33
• Worried? Isaiah 26:3
• Lonely? Hebrews 13:5, John 14:18
• Depressed? Psalm 30:5, 1 Peter 4:12-13
• Suffering? Psalm 138:7,  Isaiah 43:2

Obviously, these are just a few of God's promises in just a handful of circumstances.  Whatever your issue, God has an answer - a promise that will never fail.  All we have to do is hang on to that promise for dear life.  What are some of your favorite promises from God?

Helpful Tip:

If you don't have a book of bible promises, you can buy one very inexpensively at any Christian bookstore.  They come in handy for quick reference for yourself personally as well as for helping someone else in need.