authorities

17 Respect everyone, and love the family of believers. Fear God, and respect the king.– 1 Peter 2:17 NLT

As Christians, we are to follow all the laws of our land as long as they are not immoral or cause us to deny our faith. When we are speeding down the expressway and we see a cop, we get a little nervous, and we should. The law enforcement officers are agents of the government to punish us when we do wrong. But that same action should cause us, as Christians, to be ashamed because we have dishonored our Father. We should live the kind of lifestyle that pleases our Father and then we won’t need to be fearful or ashamed. Outsiders will not be able to speak evil of our Lord because of what we have done. The world watches us closely to see if our walk is up to our talk. If it isn’t, we cause others to shy away from Christianity instead of wanting to be a part of God’s family. We should never use our liberty and freedom in Christ to hurt others. We must respect and love others. If we fear God, we will respect all those He has raised up in authority over us. For us, as Christians, it is completely possible to value all human beings without embracing their values.

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 01-16-2020

God is waiting to show you the way.

6 So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.–1 Thessalonians 5:6-11 (ESV)
Paul is not saying that our physical bodies don’t need rest. He is saying that we need to be Spiritually alert at all times. We are to be alert, sober, and dressed in our battle armor each moment of every day. There is a Spiritual battle being waged for the control of our minds 24/7/365. We may not see the combatants but we can know from Scripture that the battle is being waged continuously. There are examples of this in the following texts as well as other places:
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.–Ephesians 6:12 (ESV)
The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia,–Daniel 10:12 (ESV)
We just need to remember that if God is for us, who can defeat us? So, we encourage each other with these words.
Post 05-26-14

Morning Meds (Take 1 each Morning with all the Prayer You Need)

Lifestyle and Encouragement

“Fear God”

Living For Him So We Can Live With Him