Category: Morning Musings

Morning Musing: Romans 13:3-4

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“For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority? Do what is good, and you will have its approval. For it is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, because it does not carry the sword for no reason. For it is God’s servant, an avenger that brings wrath on the one who does wrong.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

What is the government for? That’s a much bigger question than we are going to try to answer today, but in thinking about our role with respect to the government as followers of Jesus, it is an important question to answer. While Paul doesn’t give us anything like a thorough answer to the question here, he does give us some insight on one of its primary duties. Let’s talk about what he has to say.

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Morning Musing: Lamentations 3:19-24

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“Remember my affliction and my homelessness, the wormwood and the poison. I continually remember them and have become depressed. Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for his mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness! I say, ‘The Lord is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in him.’” (CSB – Read the chapter)

One of my absolute favorite hymns is the great classic, It Is Well with My Soul, by Horatio Spafford. He wrote it while reflecting on his grief over losing all four of his daughters when they ship they were taking from the U.S. to Europe sank on the voyage. It is a powerful expression of faithfulness in the face of pain and tragedy. A new musical series from Angel Studios offers up a take on the classic that captures the same heart of faithfulness but with a bit of modern flair. Let’s talk about why a series that’s really cheesy is still completely worth watching.

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Morning Musing: Romans 12:21

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“Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Our culture has a fascination with evil. Through our stories we often wonder exactly what it is, how it works, what it can accomplish, where and how we experience it, and so on and so forth. While the various authors who contribute to the Scriptures do touch on the nature of evil from time to time, there’s a stronger theme across the narrative: as the people of a God who is good, we are to overcome evil. How? Paul tells us right here at the end of his list of characteristics of life in God’s kingdom. Let’s take a look.

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Morning Musing: Romans 12:18

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“If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

There are some people who thrive in situations of conflict. I am not one of those people. I tend to shut down in conflict. And God made me a pastor. Go figure. Actually it works out really well as I have an incredible church that is peace-loving and remarkably unified. Yet while there is undoubtedly a time for conflict, as followers of Jesus, peace should always be our aim. And, as it would happen, peace is the goal of the next command Paul gives to give us helpful guardrails around our pursuit of Christ. Let’s see what he has to say.

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Morning Musing: Romans 12:16

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“Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud; instead, associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own estimation.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

A friend of mine pastors a church that’s hard. The congregation has a reputation for being a church that chews up pastors and spits them out. There constantly seems to be discord among the members. Someone is always upset about something. My friend spends a fair bit of his time putting out fires. From the outside looking in, the people there do no live in harmony with one another. It makes accomplishing effective ministry a great deal more difficult than it might otherwise be. A church wracked by disharmony is going to have a much harder time proclaiming and advancing the Gospel than one that isn’t. This is why Paul gave us this next series of commands for living the Christian life well. Let’s continue our exploration of his practical list of how what it looks like to follow Jesus.

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