For the LORD's sake, submit...

October 29, 2021

I am thinking thoughts that I have NEVER thought before, and I want to record what is happening.
I think it started several years ago when God delivered me from judgment and delivered me into honor. (Go to my website for more on that.) Then a few months ago, God gave me 1 Timothy 21-4: "I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth."

Since I have started doing what God says in these verses, my heart has changed. It has changed for our king, Joe Biden. It has changed for those who have done and are doing awful, awful things. I am now looking at all people through God's eyes. We are all fearfully and wonderfully made in His image. God loves us. He wants all of us to be saved and to know the truth. Who am I to pick the winners and the losers? We are all sinners. We all deserve death, but God in His mercy and His grace reaches His loving hand out to us all. It is then up to us to take that hand and let Him save us and set us free. So I am thinking and doing things I have never done before. WOW!

Then yesterday I picked up a page off of the pickup floor that had fallen out of my Bible - my Bible is falling apart. It was a page out fo 1 Peter 2, and it said, "For the LORD's sake, submit to all human authority - whether to the king as head of state, or the officials he has appointed. For the king has sent them to punish those who do wrong and to honor those who do right. It is God's will that your honorable lives should silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against you. For you are free, yet you are God's slaves, so don't use your freedom as an excuse to do evil. Respect everyone, and love the brotherhood. Fear God, and respect the king." (1 Peter 2:13-17)

Then I got to thinking about this and what it was actually saying. How do we become obedient to this word? And I thought of Braveheart. There was a king, and he had appointed officials. There was a law in the land that said that this officials had the right to take a new bride on her wedding night and sleep with her before her husband did. Now in my mind, I am trying to make this play out. Wicked king. Wicked officials. Wicked law. Yet, God is asking His people to submit to all human authority FOR THE LORD'S SAKE.  OK. This goes against everything we have ever thought or done, even in the best of circumstances.

Then I thought of the 1 Timothy 2 scripture. If we pray for, intercede for, help, and give thanks for all people - the murderers, the rapists, the people who do so many horrible, horrible things, we will live quiet, peaceable lives marked with godliness and dignity. It is all about the heart, not what happens to the body. So I went back to Braveheart and played it out in my mind. On the wedding day the law demanded something that neither the bride nor the groom wanted to do. But what if FOR THE LORD'S SAKE, they submitted to the authorities. What if they then prayed for, interceded for, helped, and gave thanks for this guy/these guys who did this? What if they were obedient to what the LORD was asking them to do, and they left the rest in the hands of God, who always judges fairly? Think about what is happening in the heart of the young bride and groom if they are obedient. Think about what happens in the heart of the young couple if they are not.

Oh my goodness! In the natural none of this makes sense. What? Do we just roll over and let anyone do whatever they want to us? Do we not fight back? Do we not stand up for what is right? Then on top of all of that, God is asking us to respect them? Respect everyone, love the brotherhood, fear God, respect the king.

I am just talking here. I am thinking thoughts I have never thought before.

Then it goes on to say, "You who are slaves (employees, wives, children - anyone who is under authority) must submit to your masters WITH ALL RESPECT. DO WHAT THEY TELL YOU - not only if they are kind and reasonable, but even if they are cruel. (Can you hear what this is saying?) For God is pleased when, conscious of His will, you patiently endure unjust treatment. (Think of Braveheart.) Of course, you get no credit for being patient if you are beaten for doing wrong. (Fighting back?) But if you suffer for doing good and endure it patiently, God is pleased with you." (1 Peter 2:18-20) Say What?

"For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in His steps. He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone. He did not retaliate when He was insulted, nor threaten revenge when He suffered. He left His case in the hands of God who always judges fairly." (1 Peter 2:21-23

I am thinking thoughts I have never thought before. Then my husband asked me, "What if they made you get the shot." This is bringing it home. If there is a choice: you can have a job if you get the shot; you can travel if you get the shot; you can buy or sell if you get the shot, I will say, "I don't want the shot." But if our government says, "Everyone will get the shot," I will line up and take it - I think. In my heart, I am seeking to become obedient to God's word - FOR THE LORD'S SAKE submit to all human authority. Oh my goodness! I am thinking things I have never thought before.

Submission. What does that mean? We have put stipulations on what we will do and what we will not do. I don't think we know what submission means. I don't think we know what respect means.

In the coming days, I think we are all going to have to make choices - hard choices, choices that will have serious consequences. The LORD is telling me in my heart, "I am giving you a different choice." He is telling me that He will keep our heart safe, if we will let Him. We have to become obedient to do what He is asking us to do, though.

This is new word, and it is hard. May the LORD give us all eyes to see and ears to hear and a heart to understand what He is saying. May He give us all wisdom and understanding about how the coming days are going to play out.

"But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness." (James 3:17-18)

Blessings my friends. May the LORD hold us all close to His heart in the coming days and keep us safe.  May He teach us all how to submit to authority and to respect it.
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Terri