Morning Musing: Romans 13:5

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“Therefore, you must submit, not only because of wrath but also because of your conscience.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

I have received a speeding ticket on time in my life. It was while I was driving through a small town region in a county that is otherwise pretty sparsely populated. I was actually talking to someone on the phone and had missed a speed limit change. It is a stretch of road where the speed limit changes back and forth between 45 and 55 several times over about 30 miles. I thought I was in the correct zone, but it turns out that I wasn’t. I think the officer posted me as going 9 miles over the limit. He wasn’t even sitting and running radar. He was driving the other way, happened to have his radar on, and flipped around to get me. Ultimately, the judge had me do a round of driving school online and dismissed the case, which was inconvenient, but welcome. While the ticket was pretty irritating given the circumstances (and especially now that as a police chaplain I’ve seen how much leeway some departments give on speed limit infractions), the fact is that I was over the posted limit. I was in the wrong. I deserved the ticket. My conscience still occasionally bothers me about that. Before shifting gears to some other implications of God’s sovereignly assigning authority as He wills, Paul offers one more reason why submitting to the governing authorities over us matters. Let’s take a quick look at what he has to say.

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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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Digging in Deeper: Romans 13:2

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“So then, the one who resists the authority is opposing God’s command, and those who oppose it will bring judgment on themselves.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

What should be the relationship of followers of Jesus to the government? That is not such an easy question to answer. The answer seems like it should depend at least in part on who is running it. On the other hand, though, our basic attitude and approach should be consistent regardless of who exactly is in charge. The answer to the question will also be affected by the form of government we are talking about. Some invite more participation and input than others. The biggest impact on the question, though, comes from our understanding of what government even is in the first place. All of this needs to be in mind as we work through what Paul says next here. Join me as we do that today.

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Seeing Through the Fog

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This week we are kicking off a brand-new teaching series called, “When Life Gets in the Way.” Sometimes when we have gotten in a good groove in our lives, something comes along to completely upset the apple cart. Our plans, our preparations, our entire lives get interrupted, and then we have to figure out what to do next. Over the next six weeks, we are going to be talking about how to handle these times, especially when God seems to be the one behind them. We’ll start today with a glimpse into Abraham’s story and trusting God when that doesn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense. Let’s dig in.

Seeing Through the Fog

Don’t you just hate interruptions? Getting and staying focused is hard. When we finally get there and something comes along to break our concentration, that’s so frustrating. We teach our children not to interrupt, that interrupting is rude. But we live in a world where distractions and interruptions seem to be multiplying all the time. I mean, I don’t know about you, but I am so easily distracted by…well…just about anything that interruptions are really bad for me. Now, don’t get me wrong: it’s not like I can’t focus at all. I’m just really good at focusing really intently for really short amounts of time. And by “really short amounts of time,” I mean that I can focus until something comes along to distract me…squirrel! (And for a quick peak behind the curtain, I think over the course of writing just that one paragraph, I got up about six times to do something else…)

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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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