Tag: Obey government leaders

Obey God, By Obeying The Government

On By Ed AlgreenIn Government Leaders, Honor, Humility, Obedience, ObedientLeave a comment

Saturday, 2016-10-22

Scripture

Bible Reference: Romans 13:1–2

Bible Text: 1 Obey the government, for God is the one who has put it there. There is no government anywhere that God has not placed in power. 2 So those who refuse to obey the laws of the land are refusing to obey God, and punishment will follow.

Bible Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)

My Take

During this heated/sensitive time in America, with our general elections at hand, this subject may almost seem like provocation towards how we are to look at our government leaders. However, friends I believe I would be wrong to overlook my responsibility if I skip over regularly scheduled portions of the Bible where God has a word for me, and hopefully for all reading this devotional. In fact, I believe that our most worthy God is pointing out to us through His Word, that our elections are all about Him, and not about our ideals, or our wishes, or the platform of the candidates. It appears to me that God has a plan for us and our respective countries. Yes, our assumptions may be correct in saying that if a particular person is elected, we project that there are great times ahead for us, or perhaps to the contrary, that there are very challenging times ahead for us. The point is, when Christians look to God for His perfect plan for us, and submit ourselves to the leader that He would have us choose to fulfill His mission, God’s mission, then we will be at peace with God and with the results of our elections. God is the only one who could steer us towards choosing the right leaders so that He (God) might accomplish His will for His people over the next number of years. In looking for excuses, we may doubt this process because we don’t see godliness in any of our candidates. To reread the scripture is to remind ourselves that this is not one of the conditions. In fact, if the recent statistic is true that only 9% are followers of Christ, wouldn’t it be easy to conclude that our people will not vote in a proclaimed Christian? I believe that God is teaching us that in this life, there will be steering currents that will point us towards the cross, and some that will lead us to the depths of Hell. In this scripture today, God is teaching us about who’s in charge, even in our government, and how we are to be obedient to the fact that He will direct our paths, even through a corrupt government. Friends, the bottom line is that God said it, and our responsibility is to believe and obey His Word without analyzing it to pieces and trying to find a way to make it irrelevant to us, in this day and time. So I repeat the Word of God, our government leaders are put in place by God, and if we choose to dishonor or disobey our leaders, we are disobeying God Himself. I believe He will judge us for that friend!

Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank You for pointing out to us through Your Word how we are to be obedient to You in all aspects of our lives, even through the election, and leadership of, our government leaders. We easily see, and praise You for the good things done by our respective governments, but then we fail by assuming Satan has taken control when things are done that impact us negatively. Throughout Your Word You have shown us where various methods have been used by You when it became necessary to get the attention of Your people. We are probably more stubborn today than ever before, about wanting things our way, and wanting our lives coated with nothing but good, so I dare not question how You will get our attention, but learn to trust in You for all things. Traditionally bad things have brought out the best in Your children, but Lord we hope that You could teach us to honor all those that You have placed in authority over us, without asking why You’ve put them there. May our hearts and minds be fixed on You, and not the leaders or government that may prod us towards the path You have set out for us to travel. We are Your children Lord, bless us and make us usable by You to a lost world. For I humble ask these things in the precious name of Jesus, AMEN!

Footnote

If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

Respecting Authority

On By Ed AlgreenIn Authority, Government Leaders, Obedience, Our Character, RespectLeave a comment

May I encourage you to get your spiritual ‘Nuggets’ to start your day off right? Pretty amazing that our awesome God would consider feeding even us with His Word! May I encourage you to read the whole devotional, and look for a blessing, friend!………

Today’s Bible Reference: 1 Peter 2:13–17
Today’s Bible Text: 13 For the Lord’s sake, obey every law of your government: those of the king as head of the state, 14 and those of the king’s officers, for he has sent them to punish all who do wrong, and to honor those who do right. 15 It is God’s will that your good lives should silence those who foolishly condemn the Gospel without knowing what it can do for them, having never experienced its power. 16 You are free from the law, but that doesn’t mean you are free to do wrong. Live as those who are free to do only God’s will at all times. 17 Show respect for everyone. Love Christians everywhere. Fear God and honor the government.
The Bible Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)

My Take Away: This is a very challenging topic for us today, for we have been taught to be independent thinkers; stand up for what you feel is right; speak out against things that appear to you to be wrong; no one is greater than you, so stand tall for your beliefs. Friends, do you see either of these things in the above verses today? I would dare say that God’s Word teaches pretty much just the opposite to what the world will teach you is the right thing to do. Many of us are caught up in a lot more political talk right now than we would ever care to acknowledge. We hear so much about how awful our government leaders are, and how we need to replace them with more honest politicians. Please don’t misunderstand me, I firmly believe that the Word of God teaches that we should vote, and that we should vote out dishonest politicians, but friends, we must be careful that we always live out these verses taken straight from the pages of God’s Word. Our lives should be such that even if the world felt hateful towards us, or Christianity as a whole, that they would look at our consistent behavior – that aligns with every thing we preach, and they would be silenced realizing that we are living – acting and talking, exactly what we have preached in the best of times. It is clear in God’s Word that He ordains our government leaders, and puts them in place as His representatives, for such a time as this. How dare us disrespect them, disobey them, speak badly about them and not pray for their success. If we ever lean towards such action as the latter, are we not then worse than the world in acknowledging our disillusion about the authority and will of God? We are told in these verses about how important governments are to our earthly structure, and we are told what our role is. I would encourage you to keep this foremost in your minds, and the instructions given to us in Romans 13, especially during this year for elections for many of us. We have an awesome God to serve and obey, let’s be especially careful to not afford the ways of the world to distract our obedience to our God.

Prayer: Father, we are often distracted, tempted and taunted in our Christian walk, especially through our earthly process of electing new government officials. Such an important part of our earthly walk, yet Satan uses it at every opportunity to bring out the worse in Your children. Based on the verses in today’s scripture reading, I believe You have made it clear that this is an area where Your children can be a shining example of whose we are. For how can the ungodly possibly keep a consistent, honest respect for the very authority that is often corrupt from a worldly perspective? Lord Jesus, these are times where we can shine as Your ambassadors here on earth. Please give us the boldness to do just that. May we represent You well, and may our actions and our words align as a witness to what we have claimed before You and before our church family. I ask these things knowing that my readers and I need a special touch from You to always stay committed to You and Your Word, regardless of what we may hear expressed by worldly politicians. It’s all about You Jesus – even in our views about those who lead us. May this remain evident through our very character, AMEN!

Footnote: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

2016