All great love stories have a common theme. Once you know you are loved, all you can do is love back. That's the premise of this study. Our ability to insist is built on the love we have received and the love we give.

I Insist was birthed out of three words that leaped off the page to me as I read Titus 3:4. The words, he saved us, awoke a deep passion in me. I will never earn the grace given by God through the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. He did indeed save us without any action on our part to merit salvation. One cannot grasp the mercy of his grace without falling head-over-heels in love with him.

The seven values every Christian must insist upon are based on teachings that Paul the Apostle delivered to Titus, his spiritual son and devoted disciple. As a young Pastor of a fledgling congregation, Titus had the ominous task of setting the new Christian churches of Crete in order. The foundation stones taught herein apply to all Christian churches, regardless of location, ethnicity, or size. Whether you gather in your homes, multipurpose buildings, or designated churches, the teachings that made the churches of Crete sustainable remain applicable in our day.

Today there are more than 300 active Christian churches on the 3263-mile stretch of the island of Crete. Crete is an ideal destination for religious tourism, which is one of the reasons we chose it for the media launch of this study. The other reason is apparent. The Letter from Paul to Titus is the 12th book of Paul's contribution to the New Testament and the 17th book of the New Testament canon. Written to the fledgling churches in Crete established through Paul's missionary journeys, it establishes order for authenticity and sustainability. The letters Paul wrote to his two spiritual sons, Titus and Timothy, are often referred to as Pastoral Epistles because they deal principally with heresies and church discipline. These two concerns have plagued the church since its inception and are the reason for much dispute in post-modern Christianity.

I Insist goes to the core values of faith and creates a roadmap for establishing principles worthy of our insistence. The theme of this devotional guide is taken from Titus 3: 4-7 "But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life."

If the words "he saved us" interest you, the rest of the verse will rock your world, or at least I hope it does. One word of caution, if you've been a Christian for more than a decade, you may be inclined to tilt your head to one side, raise an eyebrow, shrug your shoulders, and give a "duh" sigh. If so, you are in for a treat. There is so much more than meets the eye to all of this.

Jesus took the penalty of my sin to free me from the bondage of my earthbound nature because he wanted an heir! You see, God doesn't look at the family I was born into, their financial status, my ethnicity, or my gender. He saved me because he was the only one who could. Because he did, I am now an heir, a Daughter of God.

I am privileged to insist on wearing the gemstones outlined in this study. As you dive into this teaching, there is one thing I want to make clear about the things that we insist upon. They are not devices that will earn us position, power, or fame. They are gemstones in the treasure chest of God's grace that we are privileged to wear as ambassadors of our King.

Completing this study will earn you an imaginary crown as a symbol of your alignment, servanthood, integrity, calling, model, discipleship, and good works.