Those in Authority

"Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities."  Romans 13:1a

This is not one of my favorite verses in the Bible.  Submission to authority goes against the grain of our humanity.  We want to be in charge.  And, besides, I really don't approve of all those who are in authority nor agree with how they handle the power and responsibilities they have been given.  I think the government wastes a lot of our tax money. It makes some poor laws.  Many government officials have some glaring character flaws.  It is much easier, and, in a way, more satisfying to our human nature to bash the government and all others in authority.

However, God tells us to be subject to the governing authorities.  If I am unwilling to do that--to obey the laws, pay my taxes, and respect and honor those in office no matter how much I may disagree with them personally--I will be disobeying God's command, and disobedience is always a sin.

If I approach this verse positively instead of negatively, I can see some very good reasons to have people in positions of authority and responsibility.  I need to remember that none of them are perfect because all people are flawed, and I need to cut them some slack rather than being super critical.  I should not expect them to be perfect.  Instead, I should be very grateful for the work they do and the services they provide for all the citizens.  Very importantly, we have military and police protection.  We have peace in our nation.  Imagine the chaos that would ensue if we had no government.  We also have such benefits as highways and a postal system.  

Is there anything we can do to enhance our government and our other officials? There certainly is.  First of all, we are instructed to pray for those in authority.  We can respect these people and cooperate with them, perhaps even helping them do their job.  As we spread the good news and more people become Christians, that should make a difference.  A good Christian should be a good citizen, with gratitude for all the things governing people do for us and for the privilege of living in peace in the greatest country in the world.

Father, thank You so much for the United States of America!  May we be good citizens of this great country.  Amen.  

Our Enemy

"Be alert and of sober mind.  Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."  I Peter 5:8

My back yard joins my daughter Weety's back yard.  I have two dogs.  One of my dogs, a Pomeranian named Missy, is a very social animal.  When Weety and her husband Mike have company, Missy trots over to join the crowd.

Weety and Mike have two new puppies, and Missy wants to make friends with them and satisfy her curiosity about these newcomers on the hill.  The puppies stay in a fenced off portion of the yard that is accessible by a screened porch, so Missy goes onto the porch to visit the puppies.  But, there is a problem. The screen door on that side of the porch only opens one way--inward.  Once Missy is on the porch, she can't get out.  She is trapped.  Someone has to let her out.

The puppies are like bait to lure Missy to the porch where she becomes trapped.  We have an enemy who uses bait to trap us into disobeying our Heavenly Father.  Unfortunately, like Missy, we don't seem to understand, or maybe we don't care, what the results of our actions will be.  We join the crowd or try to satisfy our curiosity, and all of a sudden we have taken Satan's bait again.

To what kind of bait do you most readily respond?  Do you find that you fall for the same enticements time after time?  Do you often need someone to help you out of the enemy's trap?  Fortunately there is Someone who will come to our rescue.  1 John 1:9 tells us,  "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

Is there anything we can do to avoid taking the enemy's bait and falling into his traps?  Indeed, there is.  James 4:7 instructs us to "Submit yourselves, then to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."  God is always stronger than the devil, and if we call God into our temptation situations, we will be victorious.

Thank you, Father, for making it possible for us to obey You in every situation.  You know that we don't always do that, but thank You for making a way to cleanse us and give us a new start whenever we ask.  Amen.

Brokenness Mended

"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds."  Psalm 147:3

There are two dogwood trees in my front yard.  One is truly magnificent, the tallest dogwood tree I have ever seen.  It is bell shaped with branches that sweep the ground like eyelashes sweep the cheeks when the eyes are closed.

The other dogwood tree is so small it almost seems insignificant.  Last year the top of the trunk rotted and fell off, taking with it most of the flowering branches and leaving a jagged stump of a trunk bare and exposed.  It was such an eyesore that I considered chopping it down, but I decided to give it a chance to recover and see what would happen.  Today the new leaves and branches almost hide the ugly stump in the middle, and it's well shaped, round and almost symmetrical.  In another year or two it should be a beautiful tree.  

Sometimes, through illnesses or accidents or other kinds of damage, people appear to be like that old jagged stump of a trunk.  They may seem to be beyond repair.  Our bodies and minds and hearts and souls may reveal the ugly results of all kinds of hardships in life.  But God, the Great Physician, will go to work and begin to repair us.  Often He uses people to help cover up our broken places and hide our scars.  Many times it takes willingness and patience and love to heal bodies, minds, hearts, and souls.

Do you need the healing touch of the Great Physician?  Will you place yourself in His hands and trust Him patiently as He works in your life?  Do you know anybody who might need another chance and your helping hands?  May we look beyond the ugly scars in our lives and the lives of others and visualize what we can become if we are mended.

Father, thank You for Your healing touch in my life.  May I be Your hands and Your heart to help as You heal the broken places in the lives of others.  Amen.

     

The Reunion

"So they went up out of Egypt and came to their father, Jacob, in the land of Canaan.  They told him, 'Joseph is still alive.  In fact he is ruler of all Egypt!'  Jacob was stunned."  Genesis 45:25-26a

Jacob could hardly believe the news his sons brought him--that Joseph was alive and a ruler in Egypt and that he wanted his family to join him so he could take care of them during the famine.  So the whole family of seventy packed up and set out for Egypt.  However, as eager as Jacob was to see his son Joseph, he stopped at Beersheba and offered sacrifices to God.  And God gave him reassurance for the journey.

When Joseph got word that his family was close, he went to meet his father.  Genesis 46:29b says,  "As soon as Joseph appeared before him, he threw his arms around his father and wept for a long time."  I bet there wasn't a dry eye in the whole crowd as they witnessed this tender reunion.  

The reunion of Joseph and Jacob is a picture of the reunions we will experience as we join our loved ones in heaven.  Gibran, in his book The Prophet, wrote,  "The deeper sorrow carves into our being, the more joy we can contain."  Both Jacob and Joseph had endured years of sorrow and grief at the separation between them.  Neither one had expected to see the other one again in their lifetimes.  But we can expect to not only see those who have died in Christ again, but we will have all of eternity to rejoice at their presence with us.

When my precious mother died, I wrote a little poem in anticipation of our reunion.  It is called The Hundred Year Hug, and it makes me think of Jacob and Joseph and all who are separated at this time from those they love the most.  One day our sorrows will be replaced with great joy.

The Hundred Year Hug

When I get up to heaven and Mother meets me at the gate

I'll throw my arms around her, and all else will have to wait.

I'll hug and hug and hug her, 'mid many smiles and tears,

And then I'll hug and squeeze some more, for about a hundred years.

As that beautiful song, Because He Lives, says, "Because He lives, we too shall live."  Rejoice, Christian, for the joy that is coming.

Father, thank You for the joy that we will one day experience in Your presence and the presence of those we have loved on earth.  Amen.

Sacrifice

"This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."  I John 4:10

The word that comes to my mind on Memorial Day is sacrifice. One definition for the word "sacrifice" in Webster's Dictionary is: the surrender or destruction of something valued for the sake of something else."  

    

Mothers sacrifice time, energy, and good nights of unbroken sleep for the sake of their children.  Daddies sacrifice their time and energy and things they would like to do for themselves in order to provide financially for their families or toss a football or baseball with their kids.  Soldiers, sailors, marines, and members of the Air Force sacrifice time at home with their families and put themselves in danger.  They may be wounded or killed for our freedom.  

Of course, Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice.  Imagine leaving the glory and splendor of heaven where He was omniscient, all powerful, sovereign, worshiped by angels, and adored by all in the heavenly realm, and coming to this old earth as a helpless baby.  Imagine rubbing elbows with sinful people all around.  Imagine having no home, walking dusty roads, and being tired, hungry, and thirsty for the sake of others.  Imagine being stripped of clothes, being whipped, mocked, and crowned with thorns.  And imagine being nailed to a cross and being left there until death eased His intense pain and humiliation.  Imagine choosing to do this for all of us.  That's what love does.  It sacrifices.

Father, thank You for all the people who have sacrificed for us.  Thank You for Your sacrifice in giving Your Son.  Thank You, Lord Jesus, for coming to earth and dying for us.  May we be willing to sacrifice with love for others.  Amen.

Mercy, Forgiveness, and Grace

"I am Joseph." from Genesis 45:3

The revelation of Joseph's identity to his brothers is one of the most exciting and dramatic stories in all of literature.  

When it was about time for Joseph's brothers to return to buy more grain, I can imagine Joseph looking for them every day and wondering if this would be the day they would return.  Jacob hesitated about sending his sons back to Egypt for as long as he could because they had to take Benjamin with them if they were going to get any more grain.  Jacob was very much afraid that something would happen to Benjamin as it had to Joseph.  But, he finally gave permission for them to go, and the brothers traveled back to Egypt and faced Joseph again.  Joseph released Simeon from prison and sent him to meet his brothers for lunch at Joseph's house.  The brothers were seated in order of their ages, from oldest to youngest.  They were astonished at this.

The brothers received their grain and started on their journey home.  Shortly after they left, Joseph sent his steward to intercept them and accuse them of stealing a special cup of Joseph's.  The steward said that whoever had the cup would become a slave in Egypt, but the rest were free to go home.  The cup was found in Benjamin's sack, where the steward had put it earlier.  All the brothers returned and stood before Joseph once again.  Joseph reiterated what the steward had told them, that the one who had the cup in his sack--Benjamin--would remain in Egypt as a slave, but the others could go free.  Then Judah spoke up and begged Joseph to allow him to take Benjamin's place as a slave and allow Benjamin to return to their father with the other brothers.  Joseph could see by Judah's willingness to sacrifice for Benjamin that the brothers had changed.

Joseph was so touched that he went aside and wept.  Then he sent all of his servants out of the room.  When they left, he announced to his brothers,  "I am Joseph."  

The brothers who had ignored Joseph's pleas for mercy and sold him into Egypt were terrified, and well they might have been.  Joseph had a great opportunity to get even with his brothers, to have revenge.  Instead, he responded with mercy, forgiveness, and grace.  He told his brothers to go home and bring their families to Egypt, where he would care for them during the famine.

How do you think you would have responded if you had been Joseph?  Is there anyone in your life who needs to receive the mercy, grace, and forgiveness that God has given you?

Father, thank You for the way You have treated us with love.  May we do likewise to others.  Amen.

Unconfessed Sin

"Joseph stored up huge quantities of grain, like the sand of the sea; it was so much that he stopped keeping records because it was beyond measure."  Genesis 41:49

     God had told Pharaoh in two dreams that there would be seven years of plenty and then seven years of famine.  Pharaoh made Joseph second in command in the land of Egypt and put him in charge of storing up grain in the years of abundance.  A huge amount of grain was put away that first seven year period.

     The famine which followed was widespread and included the land of Canaan. When Jacob heard that there was grain for sale in Egypt, he sent his ten oldest sons to buy food.  In order to purchase grain, the brothers had to appear before Joseph.  Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. That's not too surprising.  He had gone into Egypt as a seventeen year old lad, and now he was approximately thirty-seven years old.  He was dressed as an Egyptian and spoke the language of Egypt.  And the last thing the brothers expected to see was Joseph, especially in the position of a ruler.

     Joseph tested his brothers to see if they had changed since they sold him.  He spoke harshly to them and accused them of being spies.  He put them in prison for three days.  He kept Simeon in jail but allowed the others to return home.  Keeping Simeon would almost guarantee the brothers' return to Egypt. He told the brothers not to come back without bringing their youngest brother. How the other brothers would treat Benjamin was a crucial test as to whether their hearts had changed.  The brothers obviously felt guilty over what they had done to Joseph because they said to each other,  "Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that's why this distress has come upon us." Genesis 42:21b.  One wrong act can cause guilt which lasts many years, or cause even a lifetime of regret, stealing our joy and peace.  How precious is God's forgiveness when we confess and repent, and He forgives our sin and wipes the slate clean.  Actually, Joseph's treatment of his brothers eventually helped his brothers confess and repent.

    The final test was to secretly return the brothers' money in their sacks of grain before they headed home.  Then Joseph began to wait for their return to Egypt.

Father, You test us many times to show what is in our hearts.  May we pass each test.  And when we sin, as we all do, may we confess, repent, receive Your forgiveness, and have our joy restored.  Amen.