This is Authority From God?!?!

I have been thinking a lot about our government and how it operates. Personally, I think it could be run a lot better. I have said before that I could do it better. Really though, it takes one heck of a strong person to sit in that office and take all that criticism and not lash out at the country; along with all the other pressures they have on them. They have an ENTIRE country to run! You think running that store or office is tough, try the country. So people talk all this junk about how they could do better and just what they would do...that's fine (you'll never understand) but what about all the people saying they are going to stop paying taxes because the government is robbing us blind. (Keep in mind we let these people get elected or we voted for...just saying) Well here's thing, do you know how much money it cost to run a government?? I don't.


My REAL question is...What does the Bible say about paying taxes and how we should react towards our government?


I looked at Romans 13:1-7 and Mark 12:1-17


Romans 13:1-7 says:

Submission to the Authorities

1 Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. 4 For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. 6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. 7 Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.


Mark 12:1-17 says: 

The Parable of the Tenants

12:1-12pp -- Mt 21:33-46; Lk 20:9-19

1 He then began to speak to them in parables: "A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey. 2 At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3 But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. 5 He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed. 6 "He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, 'They will respect my son.' 7 "But the tenants said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.' 8 So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. 9 "What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10 Haven't you read this scripture: " 'The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; 11 the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes' ?" 12 Then they looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away.

Paying Taxes to Caesar

12:13-17pp -- Mt 22:15-22; Lk 20:20-26

13 Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. 14 They came to him and said, "Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? 15Should we pay or shouldn't we?" But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. "Why are you trying to trap me?" he asked. "Bring me a denarius and let me look at it." 16 They brought the coin, and he asked them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?" "Caesar's," they replied. 17Then Jesus said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's." And they were amazed at him.


I am unsure how literally we are suppose to take this considering our government's history in the last several years. However, I know that Jesus NEVER changes and His Word still stands firm today. With that being said, I believe that when it states we are subject to the governing authorities, I take it literally. We may not fully agree with what our government is doing but we have ways to change that. When was the last time you really prayed for our government and the people actively running it? I mean really prayed, for their wisdom, their heart, their salvation, or their safety? We just expect that the government is going to do what is best for me....I...all 311 millions of us. Like that is going to happen. The fact of the matter is that we should be wanting the government to make decisions in the best interest of God and His will. Then maybe we wouldn't find it so hard to be subject to the government and to pay our taxes. The Bible clearly states that we are not to resist authority and that we should give Caesar (the government) what is his and God what is God's (which is everything we are!!) 


The parable in Mark is the perfect example. The man set up the vineyard, he did all the initial things and asked other to look after it. But the tenants did not want to give that made what was due to him...sound familiar?? In the end the tenants will be destroyed an others will take their place.


Even if we choose not to be subject to our government, there will be someone that will. If many of us do not, we will end up like all the other civilizations in the past...destroyed and read about in history books.


The same goes for our faith in God. Even if we choose not to follow God, others will. They will give the glory that is due to God. We should want to be a part of that...glorifying God for the things He has created for us and given us. 

The TRUTH

God sent an awesome message to 2Springs today. It's hard to top what was said. That being said I am going to put the notes I took in red and put my thoughts on it in black.

The message was the final sermon in the Encounter Series; titled 'The man in search of truth' John 18:28-38. Everyone in life is looking for something. Have you ever felt like there is something missing in your life but you haven't been able to find it? Maybe you are looking for something to believe, some truth and standard to life.  Our culture is so focus on telling us we have the right to be happy and we are entitled to 'stuff.' Whether that 'stuff' is the newest technology, newest in-fashion clothes, or the right to received love without having to return it. Yet this is not biblical. God does not say we deserve these things that we desire.

 We also seem to think these things will fill a void or an emptiness in our life. In fact, they won't, at least not forever. Take for example the last newest technology you bought. How long did that happiness last?  Are you still overjoyed and excited when you use it or see it. I know I am not. Jesus provides us lasting fulfillment, which warms my heart daily and anytime I need a uplifting.  This is the TRUTH. Jesus is this TRUTH.

 First let's look at how the TRUTH fits in our post-modern culture.


1.What is the stature of TRUTH? Where does it stand in our culture?

• It is relative. Truth is what you make it, whatever you want to believe and as long as you truly believe it then others cannot hold you at fault for you acting on it. For example, Hitler cannot be criticized for his actions because he truly believed that what he was doing was right. How twisted is that? Even though this is an extreme example it's how we operate in relation to religion. You can believe that the cat is holy and that is fine. What?!!?! 
• It is being weakened. This because of the 'keep everybody happy' theory that we have in our culture. When was the last time you went to a restaurant, had a complaint and the person just said 'Oh well'....umm never. Some place apologize profusely and/or replace your food.  Our society tells us that we should never be offended (or at least the majority). People are also so use to being catered to. We do not want to be hurt or told what we are doing wrong. People will quit going to church if the preacher or Sunday school teacher tells them (through the TRUTH of course) that what they are doing is wrong, they are very likely going to quit going to that church. How childish! Church is not for entertainment (even though my preacher is pretty entertaining!!). We are suppose to be instructed and taught (and build upon what we are studying at home) so that we can imitate Christ and spread the Good News!! The Truth is what it is, neglecting to hear it  won't change the fact that it is the Truth.
• It's optional. We want to pick and choose what we want to believe. God offers salvation and grace and mercy, but he who never punish me! Ummm yes he would. That's the amazing thing about God's love. He disciples us when we need it, and for our own good!! This stems from the fact that we do not like for someone else to call the shots in "our" lives. The fact of the matter is, it is not our life. God is the one that gives us life therefore He is the ONLY one that has the authority to take is way from us or direct our life. We are blessed because he did give us freewill but for those that say they are in Christ, we should be surrendering to God our live.  This is by far the hardest thing to do. I struggle every minute with this. I have matured a lot in my life, but this is by far the one thing I really struggle with.  I don't like the feeling of not know what is next.  Blessed are we that God sees our true hearts, and knows what we struggle with and what we would like to be.

Now that we see our culture's stance on TRUTH what is it really like?

2. What is the nature of TRUTH?

• It has a leader /a source. Jesus. God. Lord. Heavenly Father. Call Him what you want, He is where the Truth begins. There is no other source. All Scripture is God breathed. From Him and Him alone.(Timothy 3:16) Enough said on that!!
• It has a standard. This standard is unchanging regardless of the changes that go on around us. No matter how much technology advances or the standard of living changes, the standard is still the same. How awesome is it that we don't have to keep up with amendments or alterations to the Truth God gives us. One can believe what they want, say what they want, or be part of the majority, but that does not change the Truth.  Just think of how hard it is to keep up with the law changing in our government. "This bill is going through Congress. Oh, and this one was rejected. Or was it the other way?"
• It is unending. The Truth does not stop. There is no point to where it does not apply anymore. There is great comfort knowing there is no end to Truth. There is not going to come a time where it won't be applicable in my life.

3. What is the sufficiency of TRUTH?

• The Truth is sufficient for us and our lives. Jesus is the final authoritative complete revelation of God to His Truth. Does this matter? Of course it does! Our emotions are flaky. Something may feel right but that doesn't mean it is. If our feelings go against what the Scripture says, it's an automatic red flag. You can pray all you want about something but if the result of that prayer, you feel "God" telling you to do something that is against Scripture, it is not really God. It is your feelings, or maybe even Satan. Our opinions and our ideas are not sufficient either.

Later :)

God's Plan...

It's been forever since I posted..I have had a lot going on...good stuff though! The main thing is that I got a new job, that I enjoy so I finally quit McDonald's!! I am so ecstatic right now! God has blessed me so much. Words cannot describe how much he had. When I finally felt like I was at rock bottom, God showed me the light at the end of the tunnel. God tells us in His Word that He knows the plans He has for us. I know that and I have known that but when all things seem to be folding in on me I wonder " what are you thinkg God??' Don't you see my pain and struggling? Of course He did. It all taught me a lesson. I am not strong if He is not there with me. Also that I cannot do EVERYTHING! It's impossible. I think I finally got that...like REALLY got it. Maybe that is why God let me move on.

The funny thing about this job is the 'reason' I got it. My boss told me in the interview that in her experience people with fast food experience do better in this position. At first I was just like 'hmmm ok.' Then I got to thinking..so I just went to school for 4 years for nothing? I am getting this job because of my fast food experience?? What the crap. How pointless." This had me down for a few days. So I pondered on it for a little while, because I believe there is a reason for everything. God gives us meaning in everything. So, what if I hadn't gone to school, where would I be? Well I would have never started working at Bountyland...and probably not stayed at McDonald's as long as I did. Maybe I would have never broke up with my ex. If those are the case, then I would have never met Eli (who by the way, I will be married to for a year today!!). Ironically, if I had never met Eli then I wouldn't be at Double Springs. Double Springs is where I met a wonderful lady name Glenda!!! Who talked to my boss about me, who interviewed me. :) Wonderful chain of events huh? God's miraculous plan. Me, I would have NEVER thought things would work out like this. Makes me all the happier and more secure in my relationship with my Savior and Lord. IT could only work according to His plan!!