1 Peter 2:13-17 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: As free, and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.
For a season, I worked in Washington, D.C., for one of America’s largest Christian political organizations. Sometimes I saw how politics could get ugly and, more often than not, how it changed people — not for the better…but usually for the worse!
As I observed the network and social media coverage over the weekend regarding the attempted assassination of former U.S. President Donald Trump, I was struck by the highly charged political atmosphere—it’s the worst I’ve ever seen. The level of outrageous attacks happening across the country feels almost surreal. Sadly, I believe these attacks will likely intensify in the days to come. Despite this, I find reasons to be encouraged. Often, what is meant for destruction can be transformed into opportunities for testimony and victorious proclamation!
Let me give you an example: during the period of history known as “the Enlightenment,” the “enlightened” philosopher Voltaire proclaimed that within twenty-five years, the Bible would be forgotten and Christianity would be a thing of the past. Forty years after he died in 1778, Voltaire’s house was purchased and used to print Bibles and other Christian literature. Such is the irony of one man’s prophetic folly. His own house became God’s platform for proclaiming the message that Voltaire despised. Watching the current election process in America, without mentioning names, I suggest we may again witness such an irony.
Don’t let the political season shape you for the worse, with bitterness, mockery, sarcasm, rancor, etc… — but rather, transform the political landscape by who you are — a king and a priest of the Most High! Be a confident, respectful, and quietly shining beacon of light in this dark (political) world, and continue to pray for the Lord’s guiding hand upon the leaders who face the tremendous responsibilities and challenges ahead!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]A recent study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and University of California Los Angeles wanted to find out, “if you had to choose between more time and more money, what would it be?” While they found most respondents answered, “more money”, they also found that those who preferred “more time” were generally happier! When I read this article, it reminded me of a story, that I’d like to share.
The Lord spoke to Moses, who led the children of Israel out of Egypt to be desperately cornered with the Red sea before them and Pharaoh’s chariots advancing upon them from behind. Overwhelmed with terror they cry out to Moses, “It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” Having just miraculously escaped from the miserable life of slavery, and only beginning their new life of freedom, the children of Israel were faced with the most dire threat to their existence.
Over the past few weeks, we’ve begun a series of devotions based on the Exodus wanderings of the Children of Israel, and their tragic mistakes which we can learn from and avoid. One powerful influence common to their failures was fear.
For the past two weeks we have examined lessons from the OT account of Israel’s Exodus from Egypt in hope of avoiding the errors and attitudes of the children of Israel. This week we will draw connections between the Exodus and the prophecies in the book of Revelation.
For the past two weeks we’ve been building life lessons derived from the Exodus wanderings and from Paul’s exhortations to the church in Corinth. Notice carefully that Paul says, “these were written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the ages have come”…
…that is, written for us today! – admonitions from Paul to learn lessons from the history of the children of Israel.
Paul exhorts the church at Corinth about grumbling and complaining. He reminds the believers of the judgments that befell the 10 spies who brought a bad report of the land – and were struck down by a plague, and terrible fate of Korah and those aligned with him that came against Moses and Aaron and were swallowed up by the ground under them.
Here we have a stark word. Here we see the Lord testing Israel: “He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you.” [Deuteronomy 8:16]. Yet Paul says that they put Him to the test. A great irony occurs when God is testing us, and we despise His discipline, thereby testing Him.