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7 Good Bible Verses For Our Government and Politicians To Reflect On

Here are 7 Bible verses that governmental employees and politicians can reflect on.

First Timothy 2:1-2 “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.”

We may not feel it or we may not believe that they are doing the best that they can but we are commanded to pray for those who are in “high positions” and that most certainly means praying for governmental leaders and politicians. As bad as they may seem or as corrupt as we might believe they are, this does not relieve us of our responsibility to pray for those who are over us.

Romans 13:1 “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.”

We are subjects of the government of the land. This means that we are to be under their authority and this means that we should obey those who rule over us, no matter what we feel about them. God has established those in positions of authority as it pleases him and so we ought always to “be subject to the governing authorities.”

Daniel 2:21 “He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.”

We might think that we have control over who runs the government but actually God is the One Who plucks up and puts down leaders. He is the One Who removes and sets up kings and kingdoms, including those who have authority over us. Their day of justice will come so we must trust God to execute His righteousness in time and not take it into our own hands.

Romans 13:7 “Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.”

Those governmental employees with the IRS deserve the same respect as those in the judicial system, in congress, and in the White House. We should give them the honor to which they are due. If respect, then give respect, if honor, then give honor, and if taxes are due, pay them and by doing so, we are living in obedience to God.

Psalm 75:7 “but it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another.”

God does use men and women to help establish governmental powers but in the end, God is the One Who will execute the final judgment on all who have been given much responsibility. It might even be us. He is the One Who sets up kingdoms and tears them down, He exalts one and brings others down…always according to His will.

Proverbs 8:15-15 “By me kings reign and rulers issue decrees that are just; by me princes govern, and nobles—all who rule on earth.”

Whoever is in power in a nation, it is by no accident. Even issued decrees are under God’s rule. It is by God that princes govern, nobles rule, king’s reign, and issues are decreed. Our job is to simply obey.

Romans 13:4 “For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.”

If you pay your taxes, obey the laws, and give respect to those in authority, you have nothing at all to worry about but if you do not, then be afraid says Paul. God’s servants don’t bear the sword (authority) for nothing but are God’s agents doing His bidding.

Conclusion

I hope these verses have helped you see that the governmental authorities are decreed by God for our own good and not for our harm and even though it is hard to trust any politician or even government employees, we are commanded to show them respect and live a life of obedience that is pleasing to Him because “whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment” (Rom 13:2).

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.

Источник: //www.patheos.com/blogs/christiancrier/2015/09/28/7-good-bible-verses-for-our-government-and-politicians-to-reflect-on/

Help From Above – Помощь Cвыше

Evangelism 101, May 3, 2019

No one-size-fits-all Gospel, May 4, AM, 2019

You have done in to Me. Jo-D Hogan. May 4, 2019, PM

Corbin Hogan, July 15, 2018. Testimony – Video

MP3. Audio:

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Jo-D Hogan, November 12, 2017. Let Us Love One Another

Continue reading Jo-D and Corbin Hogan. Freedom Ministries



Sovereign God

I knew I was called to the jungles of Peru. I came to a place. There was a girl who was called to Peru. She was asking God, how will it work? She knew that a single girl is not going to go to the jungles alone.

God gave her the answer, “pimienta”, which is “pepper”, my name in Spanish. We were the same age, single, had same doctrinal beliefs from the Bible, the same vision of God, called to the same place – to the jungles of Peru. What are the odds? It was the only address in Lima I had.

I did not know this girl existed… Young people, marry the will of God!

Continue reading Bill Pepper

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. (Rom 8:2)

January 20, 2019

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 Vision

KJV  1 Chronicles 12:32 And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment.

Continue reading Pastor Jake Riehl

Эта книга – не свод правил… Это послание о  восстановлении. Это Божий взгляд. Это откровение о Его изначальном плане. Правила, страх, контроль никогда не принесут нам свободы и безопасности. Только истина способна освободить нас, – она сильнее лжи, окружающей нас сегодня. Истина, – как утренний рассвет после мрачной и долгой ночи, наполненной темнотой, страшным разочарованием и отчаянием.

Эта книга посвящена женщинам, молодым и пожилым, которые хотели бы мечтать, но разучились. Поцелуи не должны доводить до слез… если только это не слезы радости.

Пусть главы этой книги пробудят ваше сердце от спячки, вернут способность мечтать.

Лиза молится о том, чтобы вы сделали изложенные здесь истины своими, прогнали прочь все тени прошлого, все страхи и кошмары, которые мешают вам обрести совершенную радость. Бегите в объятия своего Принца! Сделайте шаг навстречу мечте!

Глава 1. Истории на сон грядущий

Телефонный звонок нарушил привычный хаос, создаваемый в доме четырьмя мальчишками, на все лето свободными от школы.

– Алло?

– Лиза, это пастор Тед. Я подумал, не будет ли у тебя сегодня вечером возможности выступить с проповедью на тему секса перед старшеклассницами нашей молодежной группы?

Я застыла от удивления. В моей памяти вдруг всплыл эпизод, произошедший во время ток-шоу на местном телевидении. Я случайно увидела его, когда складывала высушенное чистое белье.

Если услышанное мной по телевизору было правдой, то с тех пор, как я сама была старшеклассницей, многое изменилось в этом мире.

– Сегодня вечером? – спросила я, испытывая необычное для себя волнение.

– Да, – ответил Тед, – и вот какой у нас план: мы соберем парней и девушек отдельно. Я займусь ребятами, а ты останешься с девочками в зале для молодежных собраний.

– Сегодня вечером домой прилетает Джон. Ты не против, если я сначала посоветуюсь с ним? – спросила я неуверенно, пытаясь оттянуть время.

– Конечно, я не против. Когда определишься, позвони мне или молодежному пастору.

Пребывая в состоянии легкого шока, я повесила трубку. Что это такое? Я путешествую по всей стране и выступаю перед большими аудиториями женщин самого разного возраста.

Почему же я испытываю такое волнение при мысли о группе старшеклассниц? Нужно взять себя в руки. В конце концов, я ведь жена проповедника, когда-то работавшего молодежным пастором. Те два года служения Джона не принесли мне никакого вреда.

Рассуждая так, я вдруг поняла, что вовсе не возраст аудитории вызывал у меня беспокойство, а тема выступления.

Я набрала номер мобильного телефона Джона. Звонок застал его в аэропорту. Он возвращался домой и как раз ждал, когда объявят его рейс.

– Дорогой, – начала я, – пастор Тед интересуется, не смогу ли я выступить перед группой школьниц на тему секса. Я не уверена, хочу ли этого… Просто, ты ведь возвращаешься домой сегодня вечером. Они не сообщили мне заранее, и я даже не уверена, о чем говорить. Знаешь ли ты, например, что многие девочки старших классов занимаются оральным сексом?

Источник: //noelrt.com/

Five Marks of a Servant Leader

All professing Christians agree that a Christian leader should be a servant leader. Jesus couldn’t be clearer:

“The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves.” (Luke 22:25–26)

Where there’s not always agreement is how servant leadership should look in a given situation. Sometimes servant leaders wash others’ feet, so to speak (John 13:1–17), but other times they rebuke (Matthew 16:23), and even discipline (Matthew 18:15–20). Sometimes they serve at their own expense (1 Corinthians 9:7), but other times they issue strong imperatives (1 Corinthians 5:2; 11:16).

Wading into Muddy Waters

Other factors muddy the waters even more for us. To begin with, all Christian leaders have indwelling sin, which means even at the height of their maturity, they will still be defective servants. Add to this the fact that most leaders have not yet reached their height of maturity.

Add to this the fact that all Christian followers also have indwelling sin and most haven’t reached our height of maturity either.

Add to this the fact that different temperaments, experiences, giftings, and callings influence both how certain leaders tend to serve, and how certain followers tend to perceive that leadership — a leader’s genuine attempt to serve might be interpreted by a genuine follower as an attempt to “lord it over” them (2 Corinthians 1:24). And then there are wolfish, self-serving leaders who, while deceiving their followers, appear for a time to behave in ways similar to servant leaders.

“A servant leader sacrificially seeks the highest joy of those he serves.” So, determining whether or not a leader is acting from a heart of Christ service requires charitable, patient, humble discernment. It’s not simple. There’s no one-size-fits-all servant leader description.

The needs and contexts in the wider church are vast and varied, and require many different kinds of leaders and gifts. We must guard against our own unique biases when assessing leaders’ hearts.

Each of us is more or less drawn to certain kinds of leaders, but our preferences can be unreliable and even uncharitable standards.

Marks of a Servant Leader

Still, the New Testament instructs us to exercise due diligence in discerning a Christian leader’s fitness (see, for instance, 1 Timothy 3:1–13). What traits do we look for in a leader that suggest his fundamental orientation is Christ servanthood? This list is by no means exhaustive, but here are five fundamental indicators.

1. A servant leader seeks the glory of his Master

And his Master is not his reputation or his ministry constituency; it is God.

Jesus said, “The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood” (John 7:18).

A Christ leader is a bondservant of Christ (Ephesians 6:6), and demonstrates over time that Christ — not public approval, position, or financial security — has his primary loyalty. In this he “swears to his own hurt and does not change” (Psalm 15:4).

2. A servant leader sacrificially seeks the highest joy of those he serves

This does not conflict with seeking the glory of his Master. Jesus said, “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant . . .

even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:26, 28).

Whatever his temperament, gift mix, capacities, or sphere of influence, he will make necessary sacrifices in order to pursue people’s “progress and joy in the faith,” which results in the greater glory of God (Philippians 1:25; 2:9–11).

3. A servant leader will forgo his rights rather than obscure the gospel

“A servant leader’s identity and trust are not in his calling, but in his Christ.”

Paul said it this way: “I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them” (1 Corinthians 9:19).

What did this mean for him? It meant sometimes he abstained from certain foods and drinks, or refused financial support from those he served, or worked with his own hands to provide for himself, or went hungry, or dressed poorly, or was beaten, or was homeless, or endured disrespect inside and outside the church (1 Corinthians 4:11–13; 9:4–7). And he decided not to marry (1 Corinthians 9:5).

This all before he was martyred. Paul’s servant bar may have been set extraordinarily high, but all servant leaders will yield their rights if they believe more will be won to Christ as a result.

4. A servant leader is not preoccupied with personal visibility and recognition

John the Baptist, a servant leader sees himself as a “friend of the Bridegroom” (John 3:29), and is not preoccupied with the visibility of his own role.

He doesn’t view those with less visible roles as less significant, nor does he covet more visible roles as more significant (1 Corinthians 12:12–26).

He seeks to steward the role he’s received as best he can, and gladly leaves the role assignments to God (John 3:27).

5. A servant leader anticipates and graciously accepts the time for his decrease

All leaders serve only for a season. Some seasons are long, some short; some are abundant, some lean; some are recorded and recalled, most are not. But all seasons end. When John the Baptist recognized the ending of his season, he said, “Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:29–30).

Sometimes a leader is the first to recognize his season’s end, sometimes others recognize it first, and sometimes God lets a season end unjustly for purposes a leader can’t understand at the time. But a servant leader graciously yields his role for the good of Christ’s cause, because his identity and trust are not in his calling, but in his Christ.

Be Gracious with Your Leaders

No earthly Christian leader is the perfect incarnation of these five fundamental marks of servanthood. Jesus alone bears that distinction. The vast majority of our leaders are imperfect servants trying to be faithful.

So, some of the greatest gifts we can give our leaders are 1) our explicit encouragement when we see any of these graces in them (loose our tongues), 2) our quiet patience with their stumbling (hold our tongues), and 3) our charitable judgment and gracious feedback regarding decisions that raise questions and concerns (bridle our tongues). And all three can be as easily applied in speaking about our leaders as in speaking to them.

“The vast majority of our leaders are imperfect servants trying to be faithful.”

If a leader needs help recognizing the ending of his season, let his faithful friends bring a loving, gracious, gentle, and patient encouragement, and if necessary, reproof.

But sometimes, Diotrephes (3 John 9), a leader’s sinful defects are too damaging, or Judas (Luke 6:16), they prove to be a wolf.

At that point a gracious response looks appropriate, godly, mature followers taking the servant initiative to rebuke (Matthew 16:23), and even discipline (Matthew 18:15–20).

We’ll know we’ve reached that point because, after a season of observation, it will become clear that these five marks are conspicuously missing in that leader.

Источник: //www.desiringgod.org/articles/five-marks-of-a-servant-leader