Bible Ballistics: Do You Know Who Your God Is? Vol. 4 #22

How can we serve God, unless we know who He is? Well, obviously the answer is: ‘We can’t’!! I’d like to take a simplistic approach to this question today and hopefully help some to perhaps identify for themselves, who God is and where they stand with Him. I have wonderful people in my life, as you do I’m sure, who are great, moral, kind people, who think they have a right to heaven and God’s approval because they are kind, nice, fair, honest, they don’t kick the dog or practice prejudice…. as they see it. But is that what God expects? Is that enough to gain entrance into heaven?

God makes Himself known throughout scripture. He revealed Himself in the past in a progression of revelation, and even now we can only come to know Him as we seek Him through His Word and His Son. But let’s take a look at a relatively familiar vehicle to search out who God is: the Ten Commandments that God delivered to Moses (Ex. 20). I don’t intend to do an exhaustive study of these but rather to peruse them and see what we can glean in our search to see who God is, and how we can come to know Him.

Basically the 10 commandments are divided into 3 parts: Our relationship to God, the relationship within the family, and our relationships with one another.

In the first segment consisting of commands 1-4, God tells us (summarily) to “not have any gods before Him” (gods with a small ‘g’, as God is the only true God, worthy of worship). We are not to make graven idols and bow down before them (or before any idol we may erect in our hearts). We are not to take His name in vain (meaning using His name in ways other than to address Him, honor Him, acknowledge Him or share the truth about HIM to others). He also tells us to honor the Sabbath (in regard to rest and worship, but we won’t enter the modern debate about that here today).

Without question, God declares that HE alone is God, and He alone is to be worshipped, obeyed and followed. That’s pretty simple—one God and one way to come to HIM. HIS WAY!! John 14:6 declares:

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” He’s not only God in reality but the way as well!!

This parallels what God says in the ‘commandments’, and it is essential that we understand the import of what Jesus is saying here. While Jesus declares in several places in the New Testament that HE IS GOD, here He tells us that not only is He God, but that He is the only way to the Father (remembering that there is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit—tri-unity). This is a watershed statement made by Jesus Christ: ONLY ONE WAY to ONLY ONE GOD!! While Muslims acknowledge Jesus as a ‘good prophet’, they deny His deity. This is impossible!! That Jesus is a ‘good prophet’, a ‘good man’, or a ‘good teacher’ and not God is impossible.   A good man must speak truth! Jesus claimed that He Himself is God, and that as the ‘God-man’, His atoning death is the only way to God the Father, to eternal life!! He cannot be ‘good’ if He is not who He said He was. Either He is God, He is the only way OR he is a liar, a madman and/or a lunatic. HE can’t be both.

And while we’re on the subject. Many claim that God and Allah are the same!! NO, they are NOT!! God is the I AM, the God of Abraham who says, He is the only One, and Jesus also claimed to be “I AM” throughout the Gospel of John.  Also Hebrews 13:8 says: “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” If ‘Allah’ denies that Jesus is God—He is NOT the same as Jehovah God Almighty acknowledged by Jews and Christians!! (See 1 Jn. 2:12+) For our God said “..this is my beloved Son…” on at least two different occasions, referring to JESUS!! (See Mt. 3:17, & 17:5)

Either Jesus always was God and still is, or He never was God and can’t be now? You must decide, there is no middle ground. Either God is God, and He is, so either obey HIM or go do something else with your time. That is, the time you have before you will stand before His exact presence and try to explain why you rejected Him, His truth and His Son. Hard truths, but truth nonetheless. The ‘commandments’ declare that God is God and it’s His way or, not the ‘highway’, but the ‘hell-way’. I didn’t say it, God did in His Word. (See Rev. 20:11-15)

The second segment of the commands deals with the family. ‘Honor thy father and thy mother.’ God created the family in Genesis, and He has never changed the design, regardless of the alterations that man has tried to make through the years. From polygamy, to adultery, to sexual deviance, to any form of ‘marriage’ other than that which God created.

Genesis 2:24, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” And Jesus confirms that ‘God’ said this in the New Testament.

Matthew 19:4-6, “And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, 5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? 6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” (See Mark 10:7 and Ephesians 5:31 for more confirmation)

And man is still trying to ‘put asunder’.

So, we see that God calls us to acknowledge that HE is God, and we are to esteem the family also. The God- established form of the family unit–one man and one woman till death do them part. We could get far afield and discuss the many invasions of modern culture into the ‘family unit’, but suffice to say, our homes are to be God-honoring, God-like and respectful of the sanctity that God originally established for the unit that would produce and shape the future generations that would build-up or destroy society. Our record speaks for itself, and the results are grievous—to God Himself, and we who follow HIM and His Word.

The last, concluding segment is the 6th-10^th commands, and they deal with our interactions with one another. When we violate these principles, culture will eventually collapse. Let’s look at the last 5 commands:

Don’t kill –take a life–murder

Don’t commit adultery—to be sexually impure in any way

(Sexually pure being sex only inside of marriage)

Don’t steal—to take what isn’t yours, no matter the reason

Don’t lie—depart from the truth, directly or by implication

Don’t covet—want what others have for your own—greed

(Or more simply put to be discontented–

See 1 Timothy 6:6 & Colossians 3:5)

Pretty simple commands, aren’t they? God says if we have broken even one of these commands we have sinned and that means we must pay the penalty for sin.

Scripture clearly reveals that we all have missed the mark and what the penalty is:

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” Romans 3:23

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Ro. 6:23

“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9

So, what have we seen? God is God. Man is man, NOT God, and lost in his sin at that. Only when we recognize that God is God and we are not, will we have any hope of finding HIM.

Proverbs 8:17, “I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.”

Jeremiah 29:13, “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”

The key? We must stop being satisfied with our “own deity”! The root of all sin is ‘self’, wanting my way not God’s!! May we see truth, and the dear ones that I love, that you love, that we pray for and care about daily, come to realize that just ‘being good’ isn’t what it’s all about. You must know the God of the universe personally!! And be known by HIM. And you can only do that through HIS Word, His Son, and His salvation. It’s not in yourself, nor in idols of stone, metal, or of your own making. It’s not in ‘Allah’!! Jesus declared that HE IS GOD!! Not simply a good man, a good prophet or a good teacher—HE IS GOD. Only in accepting that and believing that HE died for you, will or can change come to any life. I’ll leave you with 2 passages to ponder.

John 8:24, (Jesus speaking)

“I said therefore unto you, that

ye shall die in your sins:

for if ye believe not that I am he,

ye shall die in your sins.”

John 1:12-13,

“But as many as received him,

to them gave he power to become the sons of God,

even to them that believe on his name:

13 Which were born,

not of blood,

nor of the will of the flesh,

nor of the will of man,

but of God.”

He is God!! Have you bowed before Him?

Bible Ballistics: BBs #99 Working For Jesus or IN Him???

1 Corinthians 15:57-58 says, “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”

Paul tells us here that because of what Christ has done for us, we can have confidence in Jesus to do His work in and through us. My job and yours is to ‘keep our eyes on Jesus’—if you would, to ‘keep your eyes on the prize’. Paul talks about that prize in Philippians 3:13-15:

“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

Our goal is to pursue our Lord’s will and way in all that we do. But there’s a right way and a wrong way. What’s the difference? Many don’t realize that there is a difference. I can work in the flesh or in the Spirit? Which one do you think is the right one?

Galatians 5:16, “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”

Colossians 1:27, “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:” Not our glory but HIS Glory— seen in our pursuits –which are under His control.

So??? Here’s our shot for today. The days and times are drawing near for our Lord’s return, are you trying to work ‘for’ Him, or are you allowing Him to work “in” you that others may see Him in what you do?

Matt 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

James 2:18, “Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.”

Works won’t save, but they do reflect on the outside, what’s really on the inside.

 

 

Bible Ballistics: BBs #98 Open Door or Closed???

Jesus wrote 7 letters to 7 individual churches in the Book of the Revelation. In the last 2 we see about as much of a contrast in situations as could be possible for a “church”.

Revelation 3:8, “I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.”

To the church of Philadelphia (not Pennsylvania) Jesus wrote that He had provided them with an open door. While there strength was ‘little’, they were faithful, and Jesus was placing before them an open door that ‘no man’ could close. I believe for some 200 years, America has had the privilege of an ‘open door’ of missionary opportunity to the whole world; an opportunity that a relatively new and ‘little’ nation (at that time) was able to step up to and pursue. God blessed those pursuits for many years, and is still blessing those that go to do HIS work and preach HIS gospel throughout our world. But for much of America, it is now the mission field!!

To the last church to which Jesus wrote, the church of Laodicea, the message was different. Jesus said to this church:

Revelation 3:17, “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:”

Here we have a church that ‘thought’ they were rich, and prosperous and needed nothing. Apparently that included the Lord Jesus they claimed to serve! His message to them was much different than the Philadelphian message; Jesus revealed to them that while they thought they were so ‘strong’, they had a deceived view of themselves. Jesus description of them is very different from how they saw themselves. He said they were, “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked”. What a contradiction of perceptions! His call to Laodicea was not an open door—but a closed one. And the Lord they claimed to ‘serve’ was on the outside. His plea is still the same today to those who have excluded HIM, ignored HIM, or just never given HIM any place in their lives or churches.

Revelation 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and sup with him, and he with me.”

Without getting into the end-times debate over the church identity that applies to us today, let me simply ask a couple of questions.

Are we being faithful and pursuing the open doors that the Savior places before us? Or are you claiming something that you’ve never possessed? Are you part of a group that sees themselves as ‘A-OK’, while Jesus is standing and knocking at your hearts door to let Him in, and believe in HIM alone for Salvation? Let Him give you HIS abundant life—so that you can possess His gold, be clothed with His Righteousness, and have eyes that He has opened to see.

So??? Here’s our shot for today. Are you standing before an open door that Jesus Christ has called you to pursue and go through? Go; step out in obedient faith!! Or are you behind the closed door with the Savior knocking to get in? Only you can answer the question. If you’re unsure, ask God. He will answer if you truly ask Him to reveal where you stand with HIM!! He may have been there knocking for a long time!! (See Isaiah 55:1-6)

Bible Ballistics: Render Unto Caesar?? Pt. 2, Vol 4 #21

Since I wrote the article for Friday’s BBs post, a lot has happened. As most of you know, we live in Oklahoma and we had ‘terror’ almost in our backyard. Some may not have heard, but a woman was beheaded by an apparently self-avowed Muslim man in Moore, OK at their workplace!! We must realize that our time is short and we must be ‘about my Father’s business’. I feel even more compelled to finish these thoughts on “Render to Caesar” than I was on Friday.

If you missed that article you can request it by e-mail, check it out on one of the links bibleballistics.org and/or facebook.com/bibleballistics. Please check it out and it will put you in context. We talked about Mark 12:17 where Jesus told those of His day and culture (including the zealots and the religious leaders), to ‘render to Caesar’ and ‘to God’ the appropriate ‘allegiance’. If we claim to serve God, then we need to understand what HE has called us to be. Even more importantly we need to understand that He hasn’t just ‘called’ us to these things, He has enabled us to ‘be’ doing them only through HIS power, which comes through Jesus’ ‘atonement’ for our sin, and HIS indwelling Holy Spirit.

We also looked at part of a passage in 1 Peter 2, which we will springboard from today. This letter was sent to a group of believers that were being persecuted for their faith. This passage doesn’t call them to hold rallies, to gather like-minded people to help them protest or any such political activity (although each of those activities may be appropriate in individual times and circumstances—please understand that I am not calling people to avoid civic activity but to see what route should be the believers banner and standard of first response) but it calls them to a different mind-set. Let’s examine it.

1 Peter 2:19-25, “ For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. 20 For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently: but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. 21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps: 22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: 23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: 24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness, by whose strips ye are healed. 25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your soul.”

First and foremost we see in this passage that our Lord Jesus left us an example of ‘behavior’ during times of suffering, persecution and/or political upheaval. Peter tells us here that we are to be people of righteous character and not to suffer as ‘wrong doers’. He calls us to take suffering ‘patiently’—ouch!! Patience is a much missing virtue in the life of most Americans, especially believers.   We are accustomed to ‘instant’ juice, grits, coffee, everything!!! We forget that God in His Word calls us to maintain our faith by patient endurance (See James 1:1-6).

Peter goes on to tell us that Christ Jesus left us the ultimate example of patient endurance for righteousness. Think for just a minute with me—Jesus is the perfect, sinless, holy Son of God. He thought right, spoke right, did right, and went right!! Yet when the time came for Him to suffer ‘wrongfully’, HE did it. He was suffering for crimes that He had not committed, but I did, I have and still do!! Yet He went that road to Calvary just as Peter describes for us here.

HE:

Suffered FOR US (not His own sin)–

did not sin (ever or while the suffering was taking place)

       no guile was in Him (no cunning to escape it)

reviled not again (didn’t give tit for tat!!)

threatened not (and HE had the might, the right and the power to not only threaten but to escape this torture).

BUT instead, HE:

“committed himself to him that judgeth righteously”

He bore the suffering to purchase our salvation that we could have life through His death, burial and resurrection. He healed our sin-sick souls and gave us new ‘birth’!! That we could live for Him by “being dead to sins,” we “should live unto righteousness”!!!! Being ‘born again’ to new life in HIM!! His strips heal from the disease of SIN!!! I may suffer in the body but my soul is healed forever by HIS blood!!!

I am now empowered to endure the ‘wrongful’ accusations and persecution, the slander, slight and mistreatment: knowing that my GOD has equipped me to do that in HIS power and strength and TO PLEASE AND GLORIFY HIM!! (See verse 21 & 22 above).

So am I saying that we are not to stand for God in the public arena? NO!! I am saying that we are to rely on and be in allegiance to God first and be prepared to suffer for Him. But living in a free (relatively speaking) and democratic society we have a privilege, opportunity and obligation to stand for righteous causes publicly but in a godly way.

 In God’s timing!!

In God’s way!! (Righteously and in holiness)

 In obedience to His call on me personally!!

 In an appropriate fashion!!

Galatians 5:22-26, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.”

I must say that much of what I see and hear from professing Christians, especially in public venues, is a far cry from these 9 values. What is my measuring stick of appropriate words, books, entertainment, posts, and comments??? We will give an account of every word!!

Another good reason that we should have a different measuring stick from the world is addressed by our Lord in Matthew 5. I call this the “BE–attitudes”, supernatural ability to live and respond to the world supernaturally!!

Blessed are the

Poor in Spirit (those who rely on God’s Spirit)

Mourners (those who grieve over SIN-all sin)

              Meek (those who submit to God’s control)

Hungry (for & seek first His Kingdom-see 6:33)

Merciful (extend care and forgiveness as received)

Pure in Heart (let God tune their heart to His)

Peacemakers (those who share the gospel so others can have peace with God –see Romans 5:1)

Persecuted for HIS sake (those who follow Him to Calvary—see Galatians 2:20)

Reviled for His sake (and respond as HE did).

Are we ready to follow Him to Calvary, no matter the cost? Peter boasted of His ability to do that, but he failed in the flesh. But even greater is the restoration that Jesus gave to Peter, and after the indwelling of the Holy Spirit came—He did do just that!!!

Without getting too far afield I would like us to understand that God established governments/nations. You can go back to Genesis 10-11 and see the beginnings of nations. We also see in Romans 13 that we are called to be subject to those powers (governments) over us as that which is established by God, for order. I would suggest that you read this entire chapter, but for our purposes here, I’ll only quote verse 7.

Romans 13:7, “Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.”

Let me simply state that there are times when individuals and peoples have valid grievances and causes for ‘civil disobedience’; mainly when the laws or orders come in direct conflict to the Word of God, or are blatantly unjust. Without getting to deep into a tough subject, suffice it to say, that unless I personally or a group to which I belong (i.e.. Church) is commanded to directly disobey the commands of scripture; I am to submit to the governing authorities. But even in cases of ‘civil disobedience’, we are still expected by God to fulfill and exhibit the ‘fruit of the Sprit’ in all our ways.

As Israel of old was punished for their sin and refusal to obey God, America stands on the brink of God’s judgment. I’d like to share just a few scriptures for thought along with the others that we have looked at, as we close for today. I know this has been a bit lengthy but I feel urgently compelled to call us to return to our ‘first love’.

Isaiah 59:2, “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.“

 Colossians 1:27, “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:“        (Not America the hope of glory, or fill in the blank)

1 Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” HIS WORK!!

1 Corinthians 1:31, “That according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.” (Not plans or programs)

Matthew 26:52, “Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.” (Or as often paraphrased, ”they that live by the sword will die by the sword”-worthy of more time than we have left here, try replacing sword with ‘gun’?)

And as a final note to close on, Jesus gave a most stern warning to the church of Ephesus, that if they didn’t return to their first love—JESUS himself—he would remove them from service. To me, the sternest of all the warnings to the 5 churches that he rebuked, of the 7 mentioned. May it touch your heart?

Revelation 2:5, “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.”

We, the church of Jesus Christ (especially in America) need to examine ourselves, repent and “do the first works…” or we will have our ‘candlestick’ removed. Strong words I know, but the message that God gave me to share with you. Please take these things before the Lord. May we all look to HIM, hear His counsel, repent as appropriate and PRAY, PRAY, PRAY for our beloved nation, for the entire world, and for one another!!!!

I pray that we are ready, as believers in America to return to the preaching of the gospel. To once again be willing to preach that ‘all have sinned’, that ‘the wages of sin is death’, and that ‘the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord’? Are we ready to stand and preach, teach and truly obey Christ’s command to “teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you”? (Ro 3:23, Ro 6:23, Matt 28:19-20) Are we truly ready to stop relying on our plans, programs, gimmicks, and tricks to make Jesus palatable to the world? May God have mercy on us and bring us to our knees that with Paul we may truly proclaim:

1 Corinthians 2:2, “For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” (How many things do I/we preach? Comfort, Entertainment, Prosperity, Fun…..?)

Galatians 6:14, “ But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.”

Galatians 6:7-9, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. 9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”

Please hear my heart!! I believe God is calling us to once again return to dependence on HIS Gospel, HIS cross, His salvation and wait for HIM to bring conviction, repentance and belief into the hearts and lives of people. Perhaps, if we will once again preach ‘CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED’, trust God, and ‘sow to the Spirit’, God would please grant us to once again ‘reap life everlasting’. May our churches once again be filled with those who have truly been converted, those who long to “know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death.”? (Phil 3:10) Oh, dear Father may it even now be so, as you flame the fires of conviction, revive your people—‘that the world may know’—(Whether they are in the church or outside of it!)

“He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”

Would you prayerfully read through Romans 8 and 1 Cor. 3, and let God speak to you through them and this article? God bless you as you seek HIS face! You are Beloved!!!

Render unto__________________????? It’s your choice!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bible Ballistics: BBs #97 Render Unto Caesar???

I’ve been hearing and seeing a lot of things lately about political issues. Some from Christians, some not, but the thing that has been bothering me came from a cartoon depicting a Christian complaining to Jesus about the hard things that were going on politically and questioning the merit of ‘turning the other cheek’, and ‘going the second mile’, ‘love your enemies’,while Jesus seemed to be puzzled at the question.

Well, whoever drew that cartoon, shot the arrow that has pricked my heart. I’d like to share some things today that have been brought to bear on my heart by my Lord.  While I plan to continue this vein of thought on Sunday, I couldn’t delay sharing what’s on my heart. I hope you will stay with me. I am a ‘red, white and blue’ American, but first and foremost I belong to Jesus!!

While we live in the ‘land of the free and the home of the brave’, I question whether we don’t often shift our allegiance to ‘America the Beautiful’, rather than “The Old Rugged Cross” and the Christ crucified for our ‘sin’, for the ‘sin’ of the world.

Jesus called us to be fishers of men, not assailants of our enemies. Please don’t misunderstand; I believe we are to stand for ‘righteousness’, but how are we to do that? Jesus was God in the flesh, born into a cruel, hostile, over-lording Roman empire. Yet He spoke about spiritual things contrary to the mindset of the zealots of His day. When asked by the religious leaders about ‘allegiances’, His answer shocked the crowd.

Mark 12:17, “And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. And they marveled at him.”

What are we to render unto Caesar? Jesus, the perfect Son of God rendered unto Caesar. Peter speaking of Christ wrote this about our Lord and Savior—

1 Peter 2:22-23, “Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: 23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:….”

So??? Here’s our shot for today.

Jesus the perfect Son of God didn’t squawk about the wicked, unfair trails he endured!!

He didn’t scoff about the taxes that were levied!

He ‘committed himself to him that judgeth righteously”.

So my question today is: Can people tell by our words, our writings, our postings, and our jokes, that we are committing ourselves to the one that ‘judgeth righteously’? Or do our words and deeds declare that we believe that we must protect, defend and retaliate in our own strength. I’m all for defending our freedoms, but how are we doing it? In Christ’s strength with righteous integrity, relying on God as our source, or through self-reliant ridicule and scoffing of those we disapprove of. Please join me Sunday for the ‘rest of this story’.