Not a lot going on today, Carla had the day off, so we ran some errands and are just puttering around the house.  

2 Chronicles 20:5-7 And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court,

⁶ And said, O Lord God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?

⁷ Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever?

God created the heavens and earth and all within.  He set up the nations, He has also torn down nations. 

He didn’t want to setup a government that didn’t include Him as the head – yet, He agreed to do so as the Jewish people clamored for it.

He has ordained government in both the secular world and in the religious world.

The problem, of course, is that a nation without God at the head is a nation ruled by man who is subject to the wiles of satan.  Even honest people can be overcome with the power given to them in government.

We see the results of man’s condemnation of the ways of our Lord everyday – the headlines blast it out for all of us to see.  We lament over what is going on in the world, how nations are destroying nations.

But it still comes down to the individual(s) in charge.  People think they know better than God as to how to run a government.

Some nations have a dictator that rules with an iron fist and destroys all that come against him.  Is he truly acting under the authority of God?

What about Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin between the three of them tens of millions of innocent people were killed.  In addition millions of young soldiers were killed on both sides.

How about the current dictators, Kim Jong-Il in North Korea, Chavez in Venezuela, Castrol in Cuba, Ayatollah Ali Kha in Iran, are their governments in power under the authority of God? How can God allow such governments to exist?

We sometimes forget that Jesus was under Roman Rule when He said:
 

Mark 12:16-17 And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar's.

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 marvelled at him.

As was Paul when He said:

Romans 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

The Roman Empire was much like other countries that are run by empirical powers, they expected strict adherence to whatever they said, and were willing to torture and kill those that didn’t obey.

As a Nation were we right in going to war in 1941?  How about Korea, Viet Nam, or the middle east where we are right now? 

What would have happened if we had not fought against Germany, Italy and Japan?  What would have happened?

We don’t know, of course, because we did go to war.  But we saw what these countries were doing to other nations and the people in them.  We felt we had no choice, to not only defend ourselves but those that were being killed by these countries.

In my mind, I believe that we did the right thing.  I believe that one of the reasons we are is our moral compass.  We didn’t go into these later wars as invaders to take over the country and make it one of our satellites, we did so because the people were being killed.  – At least that is the main reason.

Unfortunately, man is not perfect and the farther man is from God the less perfect he is.  In America we have been less than perfect, and we still are.  The government makes mistakes because the government is made up of people.  People who have their own agendas, their own biases, and are given the power to increase their own worth – then take advantage of it.

We are fortunate in our country because the citizens still have some say in what goes on – we may feel we are being forced into situations that we detest and have no desire for, but we have the right to voice our opinions and elect those that believe as close to the way we believe as possible. 

Do we have to obey all the laws of the land, including those handed down by religious leaders? 

Acts 4:18-21 And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.

¹⁹ But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye.

²⁰ For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.

²¹ So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done.

These of course were religious leaders, and Peter and John disobeyed them.

Daniel 6:7-9  All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.

⁸ Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.

⁹ Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree.

But the King made an order that Daniel defied, because He knew that His first responsibility was to God. 

There are many laws being passed and confirmed through the courts that are diametrically opposed to the Word of God. 

Many people are losing money and their livelihood for not obeying those laws on the basis that it goes against God’s Laws.  We are not sure how far this is going to go, nor do we know if God is going to allow America to be destroyed by its un-Godly leaders as so many nations have been destroyed in the past.

But we do know that God can and will intervene if the people will pray and then stand up for Him.  We have an opportunity in this country that doesn’t exist in much of the world, the ability to pray in public, agree in public and support and vote for those men and women who place God first in their lives.

We don’t know if our country is lost, we may feel it is going to be lost, but we do know that God will assist us if we show we want Him to do so.  He intervened on behalf of the people of Nineveh, and of course in the countries of Israel and Judah, many times; He can do so now if we truly ask and believe.

The world will not always be in such turmoil – there will come a day when God says it is enough and things will change.

Revelations 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

My prayer today is that I show respect to those in authority, but do not hesitate to speak up for God and HIS authority – which is greater than man’s.

Later, Art :-)

From the ColumbiaRiverGorgeous
May Our Good Lord Bless and Keep YOU....’til we meet again