"Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers [i.e. authorities/government]. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation."

                            -Romans 13:1, 2 

The Word of God clearly states that it is the obligation of every child of God to be submissive to the laws of our government, as well as to have a respect for those that make and enforce them. Why? Because, as Paul says, those powers have been ordained of God. No, that doesn't mean they are all godly leaders, but the Lord is the one Who "removeth kings, and setteth up kings" (Daniel 2:21), and we must therefore honor them.

"Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme;
Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.
For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:"

                            -I Peter 2:13-15

I often hear people justify their disobedience to the law of the land by saying, "Well, that's not a good law." Whether it be only taking the legal limit of game during hunting season, or honoring anti-piracy laws on copyrighted material, we must obey the law. In fact, the dictionary defines the word rebellion as, "an act of defiance...toward an authority."* That means that by knowingly breaking the law, we are rebelling against our government, and thus against God Himself (see Romans 13:2).

"For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft..."

                            -I Samuel 15:23

So we see that obedience to the laws of our government is very important; however, I don't want to leave out the fact that our first responsibility is to God. If we are in a position where we must choose between obeying God's Word and obeying the law, we must always choose God.

"Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men." 

                            -Acts 5:29

*The American Heritage Dictionary 

"...the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness..."

                            -Joel 2:3 

Wow! What a verse! I came across this about a week and half ago and I have been wanting to blog about it for a while now. As Christians, God has placed before us something as great and as beautiful as the Garden of Eden: heaven itself. Now that we've seen what's behind door #1, lets take a look at the other end of the spectrum:

"What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death."

                            -Romans 6:21

"...I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not;" 

                            -Job 33:27

It looks to me like we have everything to gain, and yet nothing to lose. It's heaven versus hell; life versus death; grace versus wrath; the Garden of Eden versus a desolate wilderness. Now that's not to say it will always be easy, but is life ever easy? We'll have hardship in this life no matter who we serve, but Christ is the only one that can give us eternal life. Will you come?

"Be Thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort...for Thou art my rock and my fortress."

                            -Psalms 71:3 

There are many reasons why I love this passage of Scripture, but one thing that really sticks out to me is the two words, "continually resort".  Many people tend to think of God as a last resort; Someone to turn to when everything else fails, instead of a  continual resort that we can go to in the good times as well as in the bad.

I don't know about you, but if I knew somebody that was only interested in being my friend when it was convenient for them - say, when they needed to borrow money - I probably wouldn't stay friends with that person very long. Could it be that God is the same way? I would say that He probably gets tired of prayers like this: "Dear God, please meet my needs, supply my wants, and satisfy all my desires. Amen." It's not that He doesn't want to bless us, but if we're only "serving" Him in order to get blessed, then something is wrong somewhere.

"...shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?..."
                            -Job 2:10

Job understood that serving God is about more than just getting blessed, and we would do well to follow his example.

Nobody likes pain. That's simply the way things are. But, even though we would rather not have any, if it wasn't for hardships in this life we probably wouldn't have that much motivation to make heaven our eternal home, would we?

Yesterday was one of the hardest and most painful days that I've had in a long time. I began to call out to God, and when I did, the words to an old song came to my mind: "Tears will never stain the streets of that city; no wreaths of death on my mansion door. Teardrops aren't welcome beyond the gates of Glory, for the heart will never break anymore."*  Think about it. In heaven, there will be no tears, no disappointments, no broken hearts, no bad days; only peace, and joy, and love.

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."

                            -Revelation 21:4

This world isn't our home. Sometimes, the only way for the Lord to remind us of that is for Him to send us through a valley or two.



*Tears Will Never Stain the Streets of That City - Dottie Rambo 

It fills me with sadness to think of all the people I've known that, at one time in their life, were serving the Lord zealously, but have since then gone astray. Some are in jail, some are divorced, others involved with drugs and alcohol, while others are too blind to even see how far away they've drifted. No, I'm not talking about those who visit church once or twice and then forsake the Lord. I've seen people that sat on a church pew nearly ever Sunday for more than eight years turn their backs on God.

When I think about all those I know that have left God, I realize that they were no less saved than I am. Why should I think that I am incapable of backsliding? I like the way the old song, Come Thou Fount, puts it:

Prone to wander, Lord I feel it

Prone to leave the God I love

Here's my heart Lord, take and seal it,

Seal if for Thy Courts above. 

 We must do as the apostle Paul admonished us and examine ourselves, seeing whether we are in the faith. Where are we at? Are we serving Christ as earnestly as we once were, or have we slacked off somewhat? Is the fire burning low, or is it burning brightly? These are questions we should ask ourself from time to time, lest we find ourself making the same detour that many others have throughout the years.

"Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. "

                                -II Corinthians 13:5

Hey. I thought you guys might like this song by one of my new favorite artists, Phil Wickham. I really like the way he takes the whole gospel and fits it into a simple, yet beautiful, song. Enjoy!

"I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes..."

-Psalms 101:3

It was at least 2,400 years ago when the Psalmist, David, penned these words. I find it amazing that this was long before the days of R-rated movies and dirty magazines, but yet he realized the importance of "setting no wicked thing before our eyes." If it was that important 2,400 years ago, then how much more important it must be today!

Jesus said in Matthew 6:22-23, "The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!" We cannot expect to set evil things before our eyes, and yet retain a pure heart and soul before the Lord.

"For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world."

-I John 2:16

Let us guard our souls, and make sure that what we set before our eyes is pleasing to the Lord.

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Just an idea!