Daily Devotion for March 19 - Titus 2:11 - 14

Verse

Titus 2:11-14 – “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession who are zealous for good works.”

Meditation

God’s grace is not merely a concept but a person—Jesus Christ—who has come bringing salvation. His grace does not leave us unchanged; it trains us, shaping our lives away from sin and toward righteousness. The Christian life is not one of passive waiting but of active striving, empowered by God’s Spirit. We live in the tension between Christ’s first coming, where He redeemed us from all lawlessness, and His second coming, our blessed hope. This hope is not uncertain but sure, grounded in the work of our great God and Savior. As His redeemed people, we are set apart, not for complacency but for zeal in doing His will. The cross has made us His own, and His Spirit moves us to live as those who belong to Him.

Old Testament

Malachi 3:17 – “They shall be Mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up My treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.”

The Lord claims His people as His own, purifying and preserving them for His purpose.

Collect

O Lord of grace and salvation, who has called us out of darkness and made us Your own possession, grant that, being purified by Christ’s redeeming work, we may renounce all ungodliness and live in joyful expectation of His return, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Hymn Verse

"Come, Thou long-expected Jesus,
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel’s strength and consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art,
Dear desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart." (LSB 338:1)