Dean William R. Inge is credited with saying, “A good government remains the greatest of human blessings, and no nation has ever enjoyed it.” Just to clarify, the human blessings he refers to are of human origin and therefore flawed. Flawed people devise flawed governments that we, the citizenry, are the beneficiaries thereof. What should be our attitude and posture toward the civil authorities that occupy public office above us? Only about 20% of Americans, according to Pew Research Center, … [Read more...] about God’s Governmental Requirement
Law
True Character
One take away we could observe from the recent U.S. mid-term elections is that character was a major factor. To clarify, there are two types of character. One is the way the world looks at character, and the other is from God’s point of view. We need to be clear about the difference.The world looks at character more in the realm of personality which means that character has no real boundaries. It is just the way someone is. The Britannica Dictionary defines character as: The way someone thinks, … [Read more...] about True Character
The Purpose of Righteousness
Even within Christian churches that look fairly homogeneous doctrinally-speaking, we can find diverse attitudes. For example, there are currents of more liberal or fundamentalist approaches to religious practice. One such current that can be problematic within churches is self-rightness. I don’t mean the arrogant presumption that one is perfect. I mean the tendency to let “righteousness” become an idol. It’s an easy trap for any of us to fall into so we need to examine our motives … [Read more...] about The Purpose of Righteousness
Purpose Of Law: The Image of God
Proverbs 29:18: "Where there is no vision, the people perish." The word “vision” in this scripture is used in a prophetic sense, a revealed understanding of a future reality. It says that if we lack a purpose and a clear direction of where we are going, and how to get there, we are not going to "get there". Knowing where we are going and our purpose, our intent, is important. God gives us purpose, He gives a destination, and He gives us a way to get there. The Bible is a complete system in … [Read more...] about Purpose Of Law: The Image of God
God’s Law Has Consequences
How are you processing the unfolding events – both worldwide and locally? By processing, I mean taking the individual components and analyzing them to reach a wise conclusion. It is important that God’s people use the “sound mind” He has given us to assess the developments around us which impact us by degrees. We would do well to keep in mind that God’s law has consequences. Those consequences can be good or bad depending on whether the law is applied or rejected. Sin is the cause of our … [Read more...] about God’s Law Has Consequences
Choose Life
As God prepared Israel for its occupation of the land of Canaan – the land He had promised them – He firmly reminded them of the centrality of His law to their existence. He told them that His commandments were near to them – in their hearts (Deuteronomy 30:11-14). God’s law set two clear and distinct ways of life before them. On the one hand was life and good, while on the other was death and evil. The law defined these two ways, so they were clearly discernable. The assault on God’s law … [Read more...] about Choose Life