When you do a search on the word politics or political in the Bible (ESV) you get zero matches. The Bible doesn’t use those words, but the Bible does, however, have some things to say about government and a Christian’s behavior.
There are many verses on government and the life of a believer, but the passage that keeps jumping out at me is Romans 13:1-7 (ESV).
Verse 1 “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.”
Isn’t that powerful? God has instituted the governments that exist and we are to obey them (provided, of course, that the government is not issuing orders that are in direct violation of God’s Word).
Think about it, God is telling us (through Paul, the inspired writer of Romans) that we are to obey and respect (verse 7) every position of authority in our lives. This involves the government over its citizens, the Church over its members, parents over their children, and even bosses over their workers.
Governments are here to reward or promote good and restrain and discipline evil. The question is: what is good and what is evil. Christians should be able to answer that with ease.
God expects us to speak out against the evils of society, but we need to do it in a godly and law abiding manner. Two great examples of this life are Daniel and Paul.
As Christians, we are to proclaim the Gospel to the world. We are given that commission in Matthew. Many Christians are politically active and there if nothing wrong with that in itself. The problem arises when a Christian is more concerned with politics than with the Gospel.
We know there are problems with our government and our leaders. They are not perfect. However, we are to hate the sin, not the sinner. Too often, Christians turn people away from the Gospel rather than turn them to it.
Instead of focusing our time and attention on changing or influencing laws, let’s spend our time on changing lives with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
We need to remember to consistently pray for our leaders so that they may have the will of God revealed in their life. Does your life show the transforming power of the Gospel?
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Saturday, October 11, 2008
What Happened to John-Mark?
As I was reading Acts a while ago, I started wondering what happened to (John) Mark.
Here is the scene:
Barnabas and Paul take Mark with them on their first missionary journey. They traveled from town to town proclaiming the Good News.
But then they arrive at Perga and something happened. Scripture tells us that Mark left and returned to Jerusalem.
A while later, Barnabas and Paul are ready to make another missionary trip. Barnabas was adamant about taking Mark with them, but Paul refused. Consequently, Barnabas and Paul split up and went their separate ways.
Barnabas takes Mark and Paul takes Silas. Whatever happened, Paul takes a tough stance toward Mark, whereas Barnabas takes a more comforting approach to Mark’s desertion of them.
Mark’s desertion really hit Paul hard and personally. Doesn’t this happen to us sometimes in our life and our church?
We have a good friend, a strong supporter, or a faithful church member, but then something happens. It seems like they desert us or maybe we desert them.
It is difficult to deal with. Feelings get hurt. People hold on to their pride, but for what? Isn’t it usually over trivial matters that really won’t matter for eternity?
Well, what happened to John Mark?
I don’t know for sure, but I do know that he was reconciled with Paul and became a strong, godly man. No doubt Peter guided Mark into the godly man Paul saw. After all, Peter was no stranger to failure either.
Paul confirms this near the end of his life in 2 Timothy 4:11. Paul tells Timothy to bring Mark since he is profitable for ministry.
What can we learn from this? We need to seek out those people that deserted us in our lives or church and restore that relationship. The same holds true if we were the ones that deserted them. Let’s not wait until the end of our lives or the end of their life before seeking that restoration.
The relationship is more important than who was “right” or “wrong” on the trivial things of life.
Nowhere in the New Testament gospels will you find Jesus saying that the first order of things is always to be right. But He does have a great deal to say about forgiveness, about relationships, about reconciliation, about service and humility and vulnerability.
Let us remember that and restore those broken or strained relationships in our lives.
Here is the scene:
Barnabas and Paul take Mark with them on their first missionary journey. They traveled from town to town proclaiming the Good News.
But then they arrive at Perga and something happened. Scripture tells us that Mark left and returned to Jerusalem.
A while later, Barnabas and Paul are ready to make another missionary trip. Barnabas was adamant about taking Mark with them, but Paul refused. Consequently, Barnabas and Paul split up and went their separate ways.
Barnabas takes Mark and Paul takes Silas. Whatever happened, Paul takes a tough stance toward Mark, whereas Barnabas takes a more comforting approach to Mark’s desertion of them.
Mark’s desertion really hit Paul hard and personally. Doesn’t this happen to us sometimes in our life and our church?
We have a good friend, a strong supporter, or a faithful church member, but then something happens. It seems like they desert us or maybe we desert them.
It is difficult to deal with. Feelings get hurt. People hold on to their pride, but for what? Isn’t it usually over trivial matters that really won’t matter for eternity?
Well, what happened to John Mark?
I don’t know for sure, but I do know that he was reconciled with Paul and became a strong, godly man. No doubt Peter guided Mark into the godly man Paul saw. After all, Peter was no stranger to failure either.
Paul confirms this near the end of his life in 2 Timothy 4:11. Paul tells Timothy to bring Mark since he is profitable for ministry.
What can we learn from this? We need to seek out those people that deserted us in our lives or church and restore that relationship. The same holds true if we were the ones that deserted them. Let’s not wait until the end of our lives or the end of their life before seeking that restoration.
The relationship is more important than who was “right” or “wrong” on the trivial things of life.
Nowhere in the New Testament gospels will you find Jesus saying that the first order of things is always to be right. But He does have a great deal to say about forgiveness, about relationships, about reconciliation, about service and humility and vulnerability.
Let us remember that and restore those broken or strained relationships in our lives.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Contentment
We often complain about the everyday annoyances of life. “It is too hot or too crowded to be out.” “I have a stupid meaningless job or I am not paid enough for the work I do.”
These are comments I have heard many times and quite honestly probably said a few times myself!
How can we be content in this world today? We see the people around us continue to want and get more and more that it is easy for us to get caught up in the worldly excitement of it ourselves.
Big screen TV’s with 150 channels. Cars that go from 0-60 in 4 seconds. Clothing that is so stylish you just gotta have it. We always seem to want more and it seems that we learn this at a very young age today.
But, the Bible tells us that believers should demonstrate contentment in their lives. We find this in Old Testament passages like Psalm 37:16 “A little that a righteous man has is better than the riches of many wicked.” and New Testament passages like 1 Timothy 6:8 “And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content”.
Do you realize that there are indeed many people around the world that would be content to simply have food and clothing? Most of us can probably go to our closet and find clothing that we don’t even wear or to the pantry and find plenty of food.
We are also to be content with our wages and with the things that we have. Paul learned this lesson. He wrote to the church in Philippi that he learned to be content with whatever the situation he was in. (When Paul wrote the letter he was probably in a Roman prison.)
We know people who love money and will not be satisfied with more money. Money is not the secret. In fact, there really isn’t a secret to contentment.
Being content is simply trusting in the fact that God is watching over you and taking care of you.
In whatever our situation, we need to constantly remember that Christ will never leave us nor forsake us.
God may not always get us out of trouble, but He will always see us through it. (Think of Daniel and his friends.)
As we go back to our Fall/Winter routines, we need to remember that God is in control of this world. He allows things to happen for reasons that we cannot understand.
We need to simply trust and obey. Be content with whatever situation you are in and realize God has His hands in it and is playing a part in your life.
Need some inspiration and evidence of God at work in people’s lives?
Read the story of Joseph in Genesis. As I am sure you are aware, Joseph goes from slave to prime minister.
“Bad” things can and do happen to us, but God is always there. Remember that and you should have no problems being content in your situation.
These are comments I have heard many times and quite honestly probably said a few times myself!
How can we be content in this world today? We see the people around us continue to want and get more and more that it is easy for us to get caught up in the worldly excitement of it ourselves.
Big screen TV’s with 150 channels. Cars that go from 0-60 in 4 seconds. Clothing that is so stylish you just gotta have it. We always seem to want more and it seems that we learn this at a very young age today.
But, the Bible tells us that believers should demonstrate contentment in their lives. We find this in Old Testament passages like Psalm 37:16 “A little that a righteous man has is better than the riches of many wicked.” and New Testament passages like 1 Timothy 6:8 “And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content”.
Do you realize that there are indeed many people around the world that would be content to simply have food and clothing? Most of us can probably go to our closet and find clothing that we don’t even wear or to the pantry and find plenty of food.
We are also to be content with our wages and with the things that we have. Paul learned this lesson. He wrote to the church in Philippi that he learned to be content with whatever the situation he was in. (When Paul wrote the letter he was probably in a Roman prison.)
We know people who love money and will not be satisfied with more money. Money is not the secret. In fact, there really isn’t a secret to contentment.
Being content is simply trusting in the fact that God is watching over you and taking care of you.
In whatever our situation, we need to constantly remember that Christ will never leave us nor forsake us.
God may not always get us out of trouble, but He will always see us through it. (Think of Daniel and his friends.)
As we go back to our Fall/Winter routines, we need to remember that God is in control of this world. He allows things to happen for reasons that we cannot understand.
We need to simply trust and obey. Be content with whatever situation you are in and realize God has His hands in it and is playing a part in your life.
Need some inspiration and evidence of God at work in people’s lives?
Read the story of Joseph in Genesis. As I am sure you are aware, Joseph goes from slave to prime minister.
“Bad” things can and do happen to us, but God is always there. Remember that and you should have no problems being content in your situation.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
I’ll Do It Tomorrow!
Procrastination can be described as putting off or postponing something you can and should do today until tomorrow. There are many causes of procrastination, such as, misplaced priorities, self-interest, and mistaken assumptions, like there will be a tomorrow for you.
We all realize the need to trust and obey God each and everyday. You need to spend enough time in conversation with God to get a sense of the direction your life should be moving in.
One great habit to start this year is to be consciously aware of God’s presence and your dependence on Him. James 4:8, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”
Another is to get into the habit of immediate obedience to what you know to be God’s will for you. Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.”
If you want to get more involved in your church, do it today. If you feel drawn to a particular ministry (homeless, prison, shut-in, or whatever) get involved today.
If you want to live a more faithful Christian life, read through the Epistle of James this month. In it you will find many wise and direct statements about Christian living with a practical emphasis. Do it today!
We all realize the need to trust and obey God each and everyday. You need to spend enough time in conversation with God to get a sense of the direction your life should be moving in.
One great habit to start this year is to be consciously aware of God’s presence and your dependence on Him. James 4:8, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”
Another is to get into the habit of immediate obedience to what you know to be God’s will for you. Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.”
If you want to get more involved in your church, do it today. If you feel drawn to a particular ministry (homeless, prison, shut-in, or whatever) get involved today.
If you want to live a more faithful Christian life, read through the Epistle of James this month. In it you will find many wise and direct statements about Christian living with a practical emphasis. Do it today!
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