Teaching Series: “The Bible - Jesus’ Story”
Today’s Topic: “Week 4: Jesus in the Acts & Epistles”

We have been examining the Bible from the perspective that it doesn’t just contain the story of Jesus, it is in fact His story in its entirety.  After the four Gospel accounts of Jesus’ earthly life followed by His ascension into heaven actual sightings and visions of Jesus become far less frequent.  However, we find Jesus alive and well in the lives of the believers.  Today, much of the direction we follow for ‘being the Church’ comes from the letters written by those earliest followers–those who knew Jesus best.  For now, we will focus our discussion on times that Jesus showed up in person and when He showed up through the work of individual believers.

1) Jesus’ Appearances - before the Ascension

• Acts 1:3-4 - “During the forty days after he suffered and died, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God.”  During this time, the Gospels tell us of some of the people  Jesus specifically appeared to–first to Mary Magdalene, two disciples on the Road to Emmaus, the disciples (minus Thomas), the disciples (with Thomas), Peter and those who had gone fishing with him
• 1 Corinthians 15:5-7 - Paul also mentions some of these same people, “Jesus appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve.  After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.”

​“There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:28-29).

Black lives matter. Women’s lives matter. Children’s lives matter. Unborn lives matter. Impoverished lives matter. Persecuted lives matter. Today, I am not making a political statement, but rather a theological one. God has made it clear in His word, the Bible, whose lives matter–ALL lives matter; but as human beings, wherever we tolerate systemic mistreatment of a particular group of people based on the colour of their skin, their ethnicity, their gender, their age, economic status, religion or lifestyle choices (whether ‘sinful’ or not), we deny this truth.

When God created the first two humans, He created them to rule as one. Their disobedience of God and the resulting introduction of sin to God’s very good creation, introduced a shift from ‘very good’ to ‘poisoned.’ And that poison introduced pain, death and ruined relationships. As the Messiah, part of the redemptive work Jesus accomplished on the cross was for the restoration of relationships. We are once again able to enjoy a relationship with God as a result of the forgiveness that can be ours. We are also free to enjoy the ‘oneness’ which was ours as human beings at the Creation. But too often we cling to our sinful desires for power and worship of lesser things. We have set hierarchies in place throughout our history, beginning with God’s warning to the woman, “Your desire will be for your husband, but he will rule over you” (Genesis 3:16). Rather than craving a relationship with God, the woman would shift these feelings to her husband opening the way for his domination of her. But that was never God’s intent for His most special creation–to be treated or to act in the place reserved for God alone.

As human beings we value the wrong things–power, prestige and wealth. God values truth, compassion and ‘oneness’–the recognition that we are all of equal value in the sight of God, a recognition that should be evidenced in our thoughts, words and actions towards all others. The ripple effects of our wrong directed values are staggering. An unborn child is not valued as a person with rights until the moment of its birth. A child’s welfare is disregarded as not having obtained rights of their own. A non-white male is treated with automatic suspicion. The homeless person on the street is treated as a nuisance. Doors of opportunity are closed or opened based solely on the announcement that greets an individual at birth, “It’s a boy!” versus “It’s a girl.” Others can be forcibly silenced or eliminated simply because they do not look, act or believe the same as us.
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And I wish the guilt was simply the world’s, but it’s not. The Church is rife with evidence of having valued the wrong things too. Until we learn to live the message of Galatians 3:28-29, our talk of ‘equality’ and ‘worth’ in God’s sight is just lip-service. Forgive us Lord for our blatant disregard of your values. Help us to view other people the way You do–loved, made with a divine purpose, forgivable and no less valuable in Your eyes than we ourselves are.
~Pastor Jane

“Look here, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.’ How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, ‘If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.’ Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil” (James 4:13-16).

What do you do in the face of the unexpected? Truth be told, James tells us that we should never get comfortable in our expectations–which can all change in a moment’s notice. COVID-19 should have taught us all that, with its seemingly endless reminders. We are not in control. And if we can’t even control a little thing like a virus, it really is nonsensical to think that we truly control anything outside of our ability to determine our emotional response to the ever-changing uncertainties of this life.

How often has it happened, that just when we get comfortable, the proverbial rug is ripped out from under our feet. Many things should caution us against getting overly confident in our plans, aside from pandemics–illness, change in financial situation, natural disaster, unexpected pregnancy and even death...obviously this list could be far bigger! So what’s to be done–no one can live in a state of never-ending uncertainty? We’d go crazy! The answer is to find your certainty, purpose and direction in the only stability that this universe offers–a relationship with God.

The Bible assures us that we can “Trust the Lord with our whole being; don’t rely on your own limited understanding and resources. In all aspects of your life recognize His authority, and He will show you which paths are best to follow” (Proverbs 3:5-6, my paraphrase). There’s nothing God doesn’t know, nothing He is powerless to change, no place that He is not permitted to go...but best of all, as the source of love, His plans are set for our good and for the betterment of this entire world and the people who call it home. We need to remember that our plans and expectations are never foolproof and are therefore, unreliable. God is wholly trustworthy–so place your confidence in Him–and discover the only source of assurance that is available to us in this life!
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I realize that for those who have never experienced a relationship with God this may sound like complete rubbish–I’m just using the idea of God as an emotional ‘crutch.’ However, I know that I don’t stand alone in my experience. We can talk about how wonderful it is, but only those who have experienced a relationship with Jesus can understand and attest to the truth of what I say. I would challenge anyone reading this devotional to not reject it out of hand; the truth is there for anyone who asks for it.
~ Pastor Jane

“All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great blessing was upon them all. There were no needy people among them, because those who owned land or houses would sell them and bring the money to the apostles to give to those in need.” (Acts 4:32-35).

As I read these words again this morning, I couldn’t help but note the contrast between the early Church and the Church that exists today. The church of the apostles’ day is difficult to find in our modern day sense of entitlement. Not just ‘united in heart and mind,’ but fully owning the need to care for others. Can anyone reading these words today honestly say with the early members of the Church, “What I own, is not my own?” There are times when we are reminded that ‘our’ possessions are simply on loan and as easily as God can give, He can also take away. As I reflect on this idea, I am able to think of a handful of people amongst the many that I have known who I can honestly say have embraced this truth, but they are few compared to the many.

As human beings we can become so easily entangled in the pursuit of money and things–for many these items provide a false sense of security. And while God has brought me a long way along this road of learning to rely solely on Him and not stuff, I too recognize that I am not immune. It’s easy to talk the talk of trusting God, but the proof is in our attitude towards the things that we sometimes claim as ours. Does God have our permission to ‘touch our stuff?’ Or are there some things that we withhold and assume rights over?
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So how did the believers in the early church overcome this natural human propensity? For one thing, they believed Jesus’ return was imminent! What was the use of stockpiling stuff? We know from our vantage point, 2000 years later, that Jesus has yet to return and while we acknowledge that He could come back any time, we live as though we don’t expect His return for another 2000 years. We prove by the way we hang onto our stuff that the words we speak do not match up with the beliefs of our hearts. I am not encouraging everyone to go out and give everything they own away, but I would suggest a good hard look at our perspective. Do we really believe that Jesus could come back any day as the early believers did and live accordingly or have we settled into a worldly rut with our eyes focused on the ground and never an upwards glance toward heaven?
~ Pastor Jane

“Therefore, angels are only servants—spirits sent to care for people who will inherit salvation” (Hebrews 1:14).
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In the beginning of the letter of Hebrews, the writer begins by comparing the infinite greatness of Christ as God to that of God’s servants, the angels. There is no comparison really. While Jesus was invited to sit and rule at God the Father’s right hand, the angels are constantly at God’s command, ready to obey. They do not resent their position, but are ready to serve. And I am so glad for that! I am not always cognizant of the fact that God’s angels are providing support and protection as instructed by God, but there are times I am reminded...this morning was one of those times.

Before coming into the church, I had to make a run over to a neighbouring town. On my way back, I was witness to an incident that took place on the roadway that could have had far different outcomes than what I witnessed. I was following a transport that was loaded down with wood. As I followed, I noticed the driver quickly tap on the brakes a couple of times, then signal to pass a truck it was following and move into the oncoming traffic’s lane. I remember immediately being surprised that the way was clear for a vehicle to pass another–the stretch of road we were on is busy enough going both ways, that passing isn’t usually an option. I quickly realized, however, in the next seconds, that this time was in fact no different.

I have no idea what was going through the mind of the trucker who had decided to choose this moment to make a pass by going into the opposing traffic’s lane. Maybe he wasn’t paying close attention. Maybe his brakes weren’t working properly. I really don’t know, but it was quickly obvious he had not chosen a good time to pass. While his transport took up the lane of the oncoming traffic, I saw no less than three vehicles forced to quickly move out of their lane and onto the gravel in order to avoid a collision. The driver being passed, realizing the danger, also pulled out of his lane and onto the gravel. Everyone on either side of the road, recognizing the imminent danger, slowed right down myself included.

In this particular incident I was able to shake my head. So many lives had needlessly been put at risk because of one person’s very poor decision. Thankfully, everyone was able to get out of the way in time and though some may have been quite shaken by the incident, we all were able to continue on our way. Some having witnessed this event may have been quick to thank their lucky stars, karma or coincidence. I am far more inclined to thank God and the angels He sent to intervene and protect us all from what could have been a tragedy.
~ Pastor Jane

Teaching Series: “The Bible - Jesus’ Story”
Today’s Topic: “Week 3: Jesus in the Gospels - the Unexpected Messiah”

For further study (retrieved on Thursday, August 20, 2020):
“Man or Messiah: The Role of Jesus in Judaism” - a Jewish perspective on Jesus as a false Messiah
https://www.learnreligions.com/jewish-view-of-jesus-2076763

Today, we are going to look at the story of Jesus contained in the Gospels, but possibly in a different way then you have before.  As Christians we believe, based on the Gospel accounts, that Jesus was the long ago promised Messiah, come to save the world from sin.  He’s also promised to return and we look forward to that day.

The Jewish people, for the most part, continue to look for the coming of the Jewish Messiah.  They do not acknowledge Jesus as Christ; the ‘prophetic proofs’ from the Old Testament that Christians claim apply to Him, are denied as revisionist by nature.  Jesus is rejected as a fraud on a number of issues–He just didn’t meet the criteria.  He was not what the Jewish nation had been looking forward to.  The Gospels tell us of an entirely unexpected Messiah–they tell us the story of Jesus!

Expectation #1 - The Messiah would be a human. God, or YHVH, in the Old Testament was understood as a singular being.  The Jews of Jesus’ day held firmly to a faith that was Monotheistic–a belief in the existence of One God.  They believed that the coming Messiah would be sent by God, but would be entirely human.  Jesus’ claim to be the Messiah and the Son of God would have been as ridiculous a notion to them as if someone claimed to be the fourth person of God in today’s Christian churches.  Because of that, every time Jesus affirmed His deity–His Oneness with God–those around Him accused Him of blasphemy.

“He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care” (Isaiah 53:3).

Many people have great difficulty dealing with rejection. In fact, for many, rejection often creates crisis. Not everyone’s criticism stings equally; a stranger’s harsh words can be most easily disregarded, but those closest to us can wound us deeply. But should this be the case? While we should be open to criticism–we don’t always get things right or best–some negative input should be entirely disregarded. How can we know the difference? How should we respond to rejection. We might find it helpful to contemplate how Jesus dealt with rejection. There may have been crowds that followed Him relentlessly–wanting to hear His teaching, to witness His miracles or even partake in a miraculous meal–but many in the crowd were also quick to misunderstand, criticize and condemn.

Jesus faced rejection and being misunderstood, not only by strangers, but by those closest to Him. His family rejected His behaviour and were convinced that He was suffering some kind of mental breakdown. Which is why they attempted to “take charge of him, for they said, ‘He is out of his mind’” (Mark 3:21). In response, He chose to identify those who did the work of His Father as His brothers, sisters and mother.

After speaking in His hometown synagogue, those whom He had grown up around rejected His claim to be the Messiah. “They scoffed, ‘He’s just a carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us.’ They were deeply offended and refused to believe in him” (Mark 6:3). They even tried to toss Him off the escarpment the town was built on. He simply left and traveled to other towns that were more receptive to His teaching.

Every where He went doing good, He aroused the ire of those who opposed Him and His teaching. Luke tells the story of Jesus’ redemption of Zacchaeus (Luke 19). He’s a short man who is attempting to catch a glimpse of Jesus. But the crowd is in no mood to make room for this cheat, this pawn of Rome, this tax collector. So he climbs a tree–a full grown man on a desperate mission. Jesus stops below the tree and invites Zacchaeus to come down and then invites Himself and His disciples to Zacchaeus’ home for dinner. You might expect some resistance from Zacchaeus–imagine the nerve? Being informed you are going to host an unexpected dinner for a bunch of strangers. But the rejection Jesus faced in this interaction was not from Zacchaeus, who was entirely overjoyed by the prospect. This tax collector who had received such rejection and scorn from others, that had forced him into a tree, is magnanimous in his next decision, “Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, ‘Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount’” (Luke 19:8).

Jesus absolutely knew that this was Zacchaeus’ moment to make a change and encouraged him to do so. Because of Jesus’ centering out Zacchaeus for this honour, and his heartfelt response, Jesus announces, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:9). But the crowd could have cared less. Rather than recognizing the spiritual renewal and rebirth happening right before their very eyes, they quickly condemned Jesus–“He’s gone to go eat with a sinner” (19:7).
Jesus knew what people were thinking whether He heard their muttering or not, but it didn’t deter Him in the least. He was steadfast in His purpose, unapologetic, courageously fulfilling His mission to ‘seek and save the lost.”

The rejection of others could not dissuade Jesus from living out the Will of God. He was single-minded in His purpose to fulfill God’s plans through His life and to bring His Father glory. He never forgot what He was to be doing and why. Maybe if we could begin living with that level of intentionality–to serve God wholly and to love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength, as well as loving others as ourselves–the rejection of people would find no mark in our hearts because we are fully sold out for God and our hearts now beat for Him alone!
~ Pastor Jane

“Jesus, Master, have mercy on us” (Luke 17:13).

We all want to receive mercy from God, but I was challenged this morning with an idea that appears in Luke 17-18 not once, not even twice, but three times in quick succession–do we ever play the role of hindering others from receiving the mercy of God that we so desperately want for ourselves?

Lepers of Jesus’ day were considered untouchable. Once a person was diagnosed with this skin disease they were forced out of the community. They had to stay a distance from people and if others came near they were to yell the warning, “Unclean! Unclean!” They were stripped of their humanity and were treated as a threat carrying a disease that could contaminate everything they came near to. In the Gospel of Luke, we read of an occasion where Jesus was spotted by ten of these men who had joined together for support. Jesus had just entered a town and the men shouted out from a distance for Jesus’ help. They dared not come close. Jesus instructs them to show themselves to the priests and as they are on their way each is miraculously healed. Society had told them to stay away, but Jesus had healed them and made a way for them to once again regain their humanity. They had received His mercy.

A short time later, we are introduced to another group who is being refused access to Jesus. This time it is parents with their children. These parents wanted to have Jesus bless their children, but the disciples saw this a frivolous intrusion on their Master’s time and scolded them. The Messiah doesn’t have time for a bunch of kids!...or does He? Jesus sees what is happening and His disciples are soundly rebuked, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it” (Luke 18:16-17). Jesus validates the parents’ desire, elevates the worth of children and provides a new perspective for His followers concerning who is worthy of His attention.

And the third interaction involves a blind beggar. Jesus is traveling to Jericho with a large enough retinue that it gets this blind beggar’s attention. When he discovers that it’s Jesus, he calls out to Him, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me” (18:38). Others, attempting to listen to Jesus, tell the man in no uncertain terms, “Be quiet!” Their desire to hear was more highly valued than this man’s desire for help. But rather than being cowed, he shouts all the louder. When Jesus hears him, he stops and orders that the man be brought to him. If it had been left up to the crowd–those that were following Jesus–this man would have never met Jesus despite his having just passed by. Jesus intentionally makes these others bring the man to Him in order to demonstrate His great mercy–the man is healed and receives his sight.
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In each of these three cases, it was Jesus’ followers who proved to be the greatest barriers to others’ access to Jesus. While the crowds and disciples feared the lepers, had no time for children and were impatient with the blind beggar’s intrusion, Jesus responds very differently. As current disciples of Jesus, do we notice those around us looking for a touch from the Saviour or have we, too, become overly focused on having Jesus meet our needs? Are we guilty of turning a blind eye and even refusing access to the One who wants us to extend His mercy to others? Something to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to us...
~ Pastor Jane

“In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears” (Psalm 18:6).

What do you do when faced with a problem? Not just a little inconvenience, but an apparently insurmountable dilemma? Some of us cower in fear and despair, while others of us go into problem solving mode ready to force a solution. Neither guarantees a desirable outcome and we often make things worse rather than better. Our best plan is to make prayer our first step. Today, I want to take a look at a time from the life of King Hezekiah to examine what this can look like in our lives.

God had allowed the Assyrians to effectively annihilate the people of Israel under King Shalmaneser. The nation of Israel had turned their backs on God and He had removed His protection; after a three year siege of the city of Samaria, the nation of Israel crumbled under the pressure and the city was destroyed and the remaining inhabitants were exiled to other lands by their conquerors. Eight years later the Assyrians came back under their new king, Sennacherib, this time for Judah.

Unlike the nation of Israel, the nation of Judah, under King Hezekiah, was living in obedience to God. In fact, after the reign of King David, 2 Kings 18:5-7 tells us that, “Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before or after his time. He remained faithful to the Lord in everything, and he carefully obeyed all the commands the Lord had given Moses. So the Lord was with him, and Hezekiah was successful in everything he did.” Successful...but not without difficulties! Fourteen years into his reign, at the age of 39, King Hezekiah is faced with the biggest challenge of his life to date. The Assyrian army has parked itself outside the walls of Jerusalem and is intent on waiting as long as is necessary to be able to add the nation of Judah to its list of conquests.

King Hezekiah sends out a delegation to speak with the Assyrian chief of staff. It is apparent they aren’t interested in any sort of negotiation. In his distress, King Hezekiah knows there is only one thing for him to do; he goes to the Temple to pray. He also sends his delegation to the prophet Isaiah for any direction he may have received from the Lord. Isaiah sends back this message, “This is what the Lord says: Do not be disturbed by this blasphemous speech against me from the Assyrian king’s messengers. Listen! I myself will move against him, and the king will receive a message that he is needed at home. So he will return to his land, where I will have him killed with a sword” (2 Kings 19:6-7).

But, the siege did not magically disappear. However, within a short time, the king of Assyria got word that the Ethiopians were mounting an attack and some of the army left to shore up this new military front. But even still, Jerusalem remained under siege. In fact, King Sennacherib sent a note to King Hezekiah warning him not to consider this brief reprieve as anything other than a slight change of plans. He had every intention of coming back with his full army to finish the job. With letter in hand, King Hezekiah once again visited the Temple to pray and lay out the impossible situation he was facing again before God.

Again, the prophet Isaiah had some encouraging words, ““His armies will not enter Jerusalem. They will not even shoot an arrow at it. They will not march outside its gates with their shields nor build banks of earth against its walls. The king will return to his own country by the same road on which he came. He will not enter this city, says the Lord” (2 Kings 19:32-33). And that very night, after King Hezekiah had received Isaiah’s message, “the angel of the Lord went out to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. When the surviving Assyrians woke up the next morning, they found corpses everywhere. Then King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and returned to his own land. He went home to his capital of Nineveh and stayed there” (19:35-36). God had not only responded to King Hezekiah’s prayer, He had decisively moved against King Sennacherib who had to admit defeat. And while King Hezekiah went on to continue to reign in Jerusalem for another fifteen years, Sennacherib was murdered shortly thereafter by two of his own sons (19:37).

What can we learn from Hezekiah’s story? How did he deal with insurmountable situations? His response was always the same. Go to the place of prayer. Meet with God. Seek His solution! Might I suggest we do the same.
~ Pastor Jane

“Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God” (Psalm 146:5).

At the risk of offending some, in today’s devotional I am going to mix politics and religion, though maybe not in a way you’d expect. I have noticed a disturbing trend among Christians these days and I am feeling impelled to speak to it. The world is becoming entirely too divisive. As Christ’s disciples, we have been called to strap on the sandals of the Good News which brings peace; but instead, too many have become consumed with fighting the enemy’s distraction skirmishes rather than fight the enemy himself. I have noted the bitter condemnation and demonization of groups of people due to political affiliations and the attempts to deify others. Dear Christian brother and sister...wake-up! People are not the enemy; neither do they bring salvation. Read what David, one of Israel’s greatest kings, had to say about putting our trust in manmade political systems: “Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing” (Psalm 146:3-4). David makes it very clear, even in his role as king, that we are mistaken to place our trust in people...no matter their rank or, dare I say, political persuasion.

I would also dare say, having witnessed the fierceness and even hatred directed toward opposing factions, that we have lost sight of whose side we are to be on and what the ‘battle’ is even about. I am reminded of the story of Joshua and his encounter with the Captain of the Lord’s Host. The Israelites had finished wandering in the wilderness for forty years, had crossed over the Jordan River and were poised to begin taking over the land. Joshua takes a walk toward Jericho, the first city on the list, but comes upon an individual with a drawn sword. Joshua wants to know what all of us would want to know, whose side is this stranger on. Has he just discovered another ally or does he need to prepare to defend himself? The stranger’s response drops Joshua to his knees, “‘Neither one,’ he replied. ‘I am the commander of the Lord’s army’” (Joshua 5:14). God had shown up, not to declare His allegiance to any particular side, but to provide directions that if obeyed would ensure success. And what crazy directions they are–involving marching in silence for a full six days, then another day of marching followed by a loud shout of acclamation to the Lord–to cause the mighty walls of Jericho to collapse. This encounter was not about God being on anyone’s side, it was Joshua’s moment to prove that he was on God’s side!

At this point some of you will undoubtedly want to argue that your support of a particular political persuasion is proof of your being on God’s side. A word of caution. The things that we want our political leaders to provide–justice, impartiality and wise leadership–are next to impossible without God. Psalm 146 is clear concerning who we need to trust, “God is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—he remains faithful forever. He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free, the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked” 146:6-9). A leader on God’s side, and anyone who claims the name of Christ, should be busily about the work of our Father in heaven...not jumping on political band wagons.

My advice during these times of division is to start being the light (Matthew 5:16), the salt (Matthew 5:13), the branches (John 15:5) that we have been called to be. Stop judging, “Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God” (1 Corinthians 4:5). Pray for those in leadership, “Pray for all people, including for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness” (1 Timothy 2:1-2). Put your faith in the only One who is trustworthy, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God” (Psalm 20:7).
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Rather than take a political side, I choose to take God’s side, because the only side God takes is the side of righteousness–not defined by blind allegiance to systems of the world–but obedience to our Lord God Almighty! And His royal decree is to love Him and love others.
​~ Pastor Jane