6/28/12

Your tax is......


Monday's are the toughest day of the week for me; weigh in at weight watchers.  I suppose its good for me to regularly be thinking about my weight, but it is a pain sometimes.  However, as of last Monday, I am down 27lbs, so this cartoon is more cute than serious.  On a serious note, I awoke today with the news that the Supreme Court of our land upheld Obamacare.  Honestly, I am quite upset today, because I perceive this as just being one more intrusion in my personal liberty.  This country is gradually becoming socialist and that is not what the framers of our constitution had in mind.  As I look at this picture, normally I would think that this man is just going for a regular physical, but what if it were something else?  Suppose this is a weight tax checkup.  All those over a certain weight could be forced to pay a tax for their physical condition.  Think the government couldn't do this?  Think again!!!  There is already talk of limiting how much popcorn a person can buy in New York City!!!!!  Honestly, the topic of overbearing government really pushes my buttons!!!!!  When it does, I go back to the Bible for a little sanity.....

 Romans, chapter 13

 1 Let every soul be in subjection to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those who exist are ordained by God.  2 Therefore he who resists the authority, withstands the ordinance of God; and those who withstand will receive to themselves judgment.  3 For rulers are not a terror to the good work, but to the evil. Do you desire to have no fear of the authority? Do that which is good, and you will have praise from the same,  4 for he is a servant of God to you for good. But if you do that which is evil, be afraid, for he doesn’t bear the sword in vain; for he is a servant of God, an avenger for wrath to him who does evil.  5 Therefore you need to be in subjection, not only because of the wrath, but also for conscience’ sake.  6 For this reason you also pay taxes, for they are servants of God’s service, attending continually on this very thing.  7 Give therefore to everyone what you owe: taxes to whom taxes are due; customs to whom customs; respect to whom respect; honor to whom honor.  8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.

Today's post is not for those who read this; it is for me.  I have the problem of submission.  May God grant me the power to listen to these words and obey.  Even if everything in my being tells me to rebel, I must submit, for that is the will of God; and I will!  But, for the time being I can still vote and from this day forward I will NEVER VOTE FOR ANY DEMOCRAT CANDIDATE EVER!!!
May God bless America; if America blesses GOD!!!!!!
 

June 28 1 Kings 1-3


June 28
1 Kings 1-3

1Ki 1:1 Now king David was old and stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he got no heat.
1Ki 1:2 Therefore his servants said to him, Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin: and let her stand before the king, and cherish him; and let her lie in your bosom, that my lord the king may keep warm.
1Ki 1:3 So they sought for a beautiful young lady throughout all the borders of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king.
1Ki 1:4 The young lady was very beautiful; and she cherished the king, and ministered to him; but the king didn't know her intimately.
1Ki 1:5 Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.
1Ki 1:6 His father had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why have you done so? and he was also a very goodly man; and he was born after Absalom.
1Ki 1:7 He conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest: and they following Adonijah helped him.
1Ki 1:8 But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty men who belonged to David, were not with Adonijah.
1Ki 1:9 Adonijah killed sheep and cattle and fatlings by the stone of Zoheleth, which is beside En Rogel; and he called all his brothers, the king's sons, and all the men of Judah, the king's servants:
1Ki 1:10 but Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty men, and Solomon his brother, he didn't call.
1Ki 1:11 Then Nathan spoke to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, Haven't you heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith reigns, and David our lord doesn't know it?
1Ki 1:12 Now therefore come, please let me give you counsel, that you may save your own life, and the life of your son Solomon.
1Ki 1:13 Go in to king David, and tell him, Didn't you, my lord, king, swear to your handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne? why then does Adonijah reign?
1Ki 1:14 Behold, while you yet talk there with the king, I also will come in after you, and confirm your words.
1Ki 1:15 Bathsheba went in to the king into the chamber: and the king was very old; and Abishag the Shunammite was ministering to the king.
1Ki 1:16 Bathsheba bowed, and did obeisance to the king. The king said, What would you like?
1Ki 1:17 She said to him, My lord, you swore by Yahweh your God to your handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne.
1Ki 1:18 Now, behold, Adonijah reigns; and you, my lord the king, don't know it:
1Ki 1:19 and he has slain cattle and fatlings and sheep in abundance, and has called all the sons of the king, and Abiathar the priest, and Joab the captain of the army; but he hasn't called Solomon your servant.
1Ki 1:20 You, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, that you should tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.
1Ki 1:21 Otherwise it will happen, when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon shall be counted offenders.
1Ki 1:22 Behold, while she yet talked with the king, Nathan the prophet came in.
1Ki 1:23 They told the king, saying, Behold, Nathan the prophet. When he was come in before the king, he bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground.
1Ki 1:24 Nathan said, My lord, king, have you said, Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne?
1Ki 1:25 For he is gone down this day, and has slain cattle and fatlings and sheep in abundance, and has called all the king's sons, and the captains of the army, and Abiathar the priest; and behold, they are eating and drinking before him, and say, Long live king Adonijah.
1Ki 1:26 But he hasn't called me, even me your servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and your servant Solomon.
1Ki 1:27 Is this thing done by my lord the king, and you haven't shown to your servants who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?
1Ki 1:28 Then king David answered, Call to me Bathsheba. She came into the king's presence, and stood before the king.
1Ki 1:29 The king swore, and said, As Yahweh lives, who has redeemed my soul out of all adversity,
1Ki 1:30 most certainly as I swore to you by Yahweh, the God of Israel, saying, Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place; most certainly so will I do this day.
1Ki 1:31 Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did obeisance to the king, and said, Let my lord king David live forever.
1Ki 1:32 King David said, Call to me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. They came before the king.
1Ki 1:33 The king said to them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride on my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon:
1Ki 1:34 and let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel; and blow the trumpet, and say, Long live king Solomon.
1Ki 1:35 Then you shall come up after him, and he shall come and sit on my throne; for he shall be king in my place; and I have appointed him to be prince over Israel and over Judah.
1Ki 1:36 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king, and said, Amen: Yahweh, the God of my lord the king, say so too.
1Ki 1:37 As Yahweh has been with my lord the king, even so be he with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord king David.
1Ki 1:38 So Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites, went down, and caused Solomon to ride on king David's mule, and brought him to Gihon.
1Ki 1:39 Zadok the priest took the horn of oil out of the Tent, and anointed Solomon. They blew the trumpet; and all the people said, Long live king Solomon.
1Ki 1:40 All the people came up after him, and the people piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth shook with the sound of them.
1Ki 1:41 Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they had made an end of eating. When Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, Why is this noise of the city being in an uproar?
1Ki 1:42 While he yet spoke, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came: and Adonijah said, Come in; for you are a worthy man, and bring good news.
1Ki 1:43 Jonathan answered Adonijah, Most certainly our lord king David has made Solomon king:
1Ki 1:44 and the king has sent with him Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and they have caused him to ride on the king's mule;
1Ki 1:45 and Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king in Gihon; and they are come up from there rejoicing, so that the city rang again. This is the noise that you have heard.
1Ki 1:46 Also Solomon sits on the throne of the kingdom.
1Ki 1:47 Moreover the king's servants came to bless our lord king David, saying, Your God make the name of Solomon better than your name, and make his throne greater than your throne: and the king bowed himself on the bed.
1Ki 1:48 Also thus said the king, Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, who has given one to sit on my throne this day, my eyes even seeing it.
1Ki 1:49 All the guests of Adonijah were afraid, and rose up, and went every man his way.
1Ki 1:50 Adonijah feared because of Solomon; and he arose, and went, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.
1Ki 1:51 It was told Solomon, saying, Behold, Adonijah fears king Solomon; for, behold, he has laid hold on the horns of the altar, saying, Let king Solomon swear to me first that he will not kill his servant with the sword.
1Ki 1:52 Solomon said, If he shall show himself a worthy man, there shall not a hair of him fall to the earth; but if wickedness be found in him, he shall die.
1Ki 1:53 So king Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. He came and did obeisance to king Solomon; and Solomon said to him, Go to your house.
1Ki 2:1 Now the days of David drew near that he should die; and he commanded Solomon his son, saying,
1Ki 2:2 I am going the way of all the earth: you be strong therefore, and show yourself a man;
1Ki 2:3 and keep the instruction of Yahweh your God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his ordinances, and his testimonies, according to that which is written in the law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do, and wherever you turn yourself.
1Ki 2:4 That Yahweh may establish his word which he spoke concerning me, saying, If your children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail you, said he, a man on the throne of Israel.
1Ki 2:5 Moreover you know also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, even what he did to the two captains of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner, and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war on his sash that was about his waist, and in his shoes that were on his feet.
1Ki 2:6 Do therefore according to your wisdom, and don't let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace.
1Ki 2:7 But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those who eat at your table; for so they came to me when I fled from Absalom your brother.
1Ki 2:8 Behold, there is with you Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite, of Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim; but he came down to meet me at the Jordan, and I swore to him by Yahweh, saying, I will not put you to death with the sword.
1Ki 2:9 Now therefore don't hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man; and you will know what you ought to do to him, and you shall bring his gray head down to Sheol with blood.
1Ki 2:10 David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David.
1Ki 2:11 The days that David reigned over Israel were forty years; seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty-three years reigned he in Jerusalem.
1Ki 2:12 Solomon sat on the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was established greatly.
1Ki 2:13 Then Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. She said, Do you come peaceably? He said, Peaceably.
1Ki 2:14 He said moreover, I have something to tell you. She said, Say on.
1Ki 2:15 He said, You know that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign: however the kingdom is turned about, and is become my brother's; for it was his from Yahweh.
1Ki 2:16 Now I ask one petition of you; don't deny me. She said to him, Say on.
1Ki 2:17 He said, "Please speak to Solomon the king (for he will not tell you 'no'), that he give me Abishag the Shunammite as wife."
1Ki 2:18 Bathsheba said, Well; I will speak for you to the king.
1Ki 2:19 Bathsheba therefore went to king Solomon, to speak to him for Adonijah. The king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself to her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a throne to be set for the king's mother; and she sat on his right hand.
1Ki 2:20 Then she said, I ask one small petition of you; don't deny me. The king said to her, Ask on, my mother; for I will not deny you.
1Ki 2:21 She said, Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as wife.
1Ki 2:22 King Solomon answered his mother, Why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? ask for him the kingdom also; for he is my elder brother; even for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah.
1Ki 2:23 Then king Solomon swore by Yahweh, saying, God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life.
1Ki 2:24 Now therefore as Yahweh lives, who has established me, and set me on the throne of David my father, and who has made me a house, as he promised, surely Adonijah shall be put to death this day.
1Ki 2:25 King Solomon sent by Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he fell on him, so that he died.
1Ki 2:26 To Abiathar the priest said the king, Go to Anathoth, to your own fields; for you are worthy of death: but I will not at this time put you to death, because you bore the ark of the Lord Yahweh before David my father, and because you were afflicted in all in which my father was afflicted.
1Ki 2:27 So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest to Yahweh, that he might fulfill the word of Yahweh, which he spoke concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.
1Ki 2:28 The news came to Joab; for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he didn't turn after Absalom. Joab fled to the Tent of Yahweh, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.
1Ki 2:29 It was told king Solomon, Joab is fled to the Tent of Yahweh, and behold, he is by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall on him.
1Ki 2:30 Benaiah came to the Tent of Yahweh, and said to him, Thus says the king, Come forth. He said, No; but I will die here. Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.
1Ki 2:31 The king said to him, Do as he has said, and fall on him, and bury him; that you may take away the blood, which Joab shed without cause, from me and from my father's house.
1Ki 2:32 Yahweh will return his blood on his own head, because he fell on two men more righteous and better than he, and killed them with the sword, and my father David didn't know it, to wit, Abner the son of Ner, captain of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the army of Judah.
1Ki 2:33 So shall their blood return on the head of Joab, and on the head of his seed forever: but to David, and to his seed, and to his house, and to his throne, shall there be peace for ever from Yahweh.
1Ki 2:34 Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up, and fell on him, and killed him; and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.
1Ki 2:35 The king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his room over the army; and Zadok the priest did the king put in the room of Abiathar.
1Ki 2:36 The king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, Build yourself a house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and don't go forth from there any where.
1Ki 2:37 For on the day you go out, and pass over the brook Kidron, know for certain that you shall surely die: your blood shall be on your own head.
1Ki 2:38 Shimei said to the king, The saying is good: as my lord the king has said, so will your servant do. Shimei lived in Jerusalem many days.
1Ki 2:39 It happened at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away to Achish, son of Maacah, king of Gath. They told Shimei, saying, Behold, your servants are in Gath.
1Ki 2:40 Shimei arose, and saddled his donkey, and went to Gath to Achish, to seek his servants; and Shimei went, and brought his servants from Gath.
1Ki 2:41 It was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and was come again.
1Ki 2:42 The king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, Didn't I adjure you by Yahweh, and protest to you, saying, Know for certain, that on the day you go out, and walk abroad any where, you shall surely die? and you said to me, The saying that I have heard is good.
1Ki 2:43 Why then have you not kept the oath of Yahweh, and the commandment that I have instructed you with?
1Ki 2:44 The king said moreover to Shimei, You know all the wickedness which your heart is privy to, that you did to David my father: therefore Yahweh shall return your wickedness on your own head.
1Ki 2:45 But king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before Yahweh forever.
1Ki 2:46 So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he went out, and fell on him, so that he died. The kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.
1Ki 3:1 Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of Yahweh, and the wall of Jerusalem all around.
1Ki 3:2 Only the people sacrificed in the high places, because there was no house built for the name of Yahweh until those days.
1Ki 3:3 Solomon loved Yahweh, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.
1Ki 3:4 The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer on that altar.
1Ki 3:5 In Gibeon Yahweh appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, Ask what I shall give you.
1Ki 3:6 Solomon said, You have shown to your servant David my father great loving kindness, according as he walked before you in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with you; and you have kept for him this great loving kindness, that you have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.
1Ki 3:7 Now, Yahweh my God, you have made your servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child; I don't know how to go out or come in.
1Ki 3:8 Your servant is in the midst of your people which you have chosen, a great people, that can't be numbered nor counted for multitude.
1Ki 3:9 Give your servant therefore an understanding heart to judge your people, that I may discern between good and evil; for who is able to judge this your great people?
1Ki 3:10 The speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.
1Ki 3:11 God said to him, Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked for yourself long life, neither have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice;
1Ki 3:12 behold, I have done according to your word: behold, I have given you a wise and an understanding heart; so that there has been none like you before you, neither after you shall any arise like you.
1Ki 3:13 I have also given you that which you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that there shall not be any among the kings like you, all your days.
1Ki 3:14 If you will walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.
1Ki 3:15 Solomon awoke; and behold, it was a dream: and he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.
1Ki 3:16 Then there came two women who were prostitutes, to the king, and stood before him.
1Ki 3:17 The one woman said, Oh, my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the house.
1Ki 3:18 It happened the third day after I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also; and we were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, save we two in the house.
1Ki 3:19 This woman's child died in the night, because she lay on it.
1Ki 3:20 She arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while your handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.
1Ki 3:21 When I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead; but when I had looked at it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, whom I bore.
1Ki 3:22 The other woman said, No; but the living is my son, and the dead is your son. This said, No; but the dead is your son, and the living is my son. Thus they spoke before the king.
1Ki 3:23 Then said the king, The one says, This is my son who lives, and your son is the dead: and the other says, No; but your son is the dead, and my son is the living.
1Ki 3:24 The king said, Get me a sword. They brought a sword before the king.
1Ki 3:25 The king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.
1Ki 3:26 Then spoke the woman whose the living child was to the king, for her heart yearned over her son, and she said, Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and in no way kill it. But the other said, It shall be neither mine nor yours; divide it.
1Ki 3:27 Then the king answered, Give her the living child, and in no way kill it: she is its mother.
1Ki 3:28 All Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do justice.

Jun. 28, 29 Acts 2


Jun. 28, 29
Acts 2

Act 2:1 Now when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all with one accord in one place.
Act 2:2 Suddenly there came from the sky a sound like the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
Act 2:3 Tongues like fire appeared and were distributed to them, and one sat on each of them.
Act 2:4 They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them the ability to speak.
Act 2:5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under the sky.
Act 2:6 When this sound was heard, the multitude came together, and were bewildered, because everyone heard them speaking in his own language.
Act 2:7 They were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, "Behold, aren't all these who speak Galileans?
Act 2:8 How do we hear, everyone in our own native language?
Act 2:9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia,
Act 2:10 Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, the parts of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,
Act 2:11 Cretans and Arabians: we hear them speaking in our languages the mighty works of God!"
Act 2:12 They were all amazed, and were perplexed, saying one to another, "What does this mean?"
Act 2:13 Others, mocking, said, "They are filled with new wine."
Act 2:14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spoke out to them, "You men of Judea, and all you who dwell at Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to my words.
Act 2:15 For these aren't drunken, as you suppose, seeing it is only the third hour of the day.
Act 2:16 But this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel:
Act 2:17 'It will be in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh. Your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions. Your old men will dream dreams.
Act 2:18 Yes, and on my servants and on my handmaidens in those days, I will pour out my Spirit, and they will prophesy.
Act 2:19 I will show wonders in the sky above, and signs on the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and billows of smoke.
Act 2:20 The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes.
Act 2:21 It will be, that whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.'
Act 2:22 "Men of Israel, hear these words! Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved by God to you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him in the midst of you, even as you yourselves know,
Act 2:23 him, being delivered up by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by the hand of lawless men, crucified and killed;
Act 2:24 whom God raised up, having freed him from the agony of death, because it was not possible that he should be held by it.
Act 2:25 For David says concerning him, 'I saw the Lord always before my face, For he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved.
Act 2:26 Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced. Moreover my flesh also will dwell in hope;
Act 2:27 because you will not leave my soul in Hades, neither will you allow your Holy One to see decay.
Act 2:28 You made known to me the ways of life. You will make me full of gladness with your presence.'
Act 2:29 "Brothers, I may tell you freely of the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
Act 2:30 Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne,
Act 2:31 he foreseeing this spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was his soul left in Hades, nor did his flesh see decay.
Act 2:32 This Jesus God raised up, to which we all are witnesses.
Act 2:33 Being therefore exalted by the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this, which you now see and hear.
Act 2:34 For David didn't ascend into the heavens, but he says himself, 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit by my right hand,
Act 2:35 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet." '
Act 2:36 "Let all the house of Israel therefore know certainly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified."
Act 2:37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"
Act 2:38 Peter said to them, "Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Act 2:39 For the promise is to you, and to your children, and to all who are far off, even as many as the Lord our God will call to himself."
Act 2:40 With many other words he testified, and exhorted them, saying, "Save yourselves from this crooked generation!"
Act 2:41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized. There were added that day about three thousand souls.
Act 2:42 They continued steadfastly in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and prayer.
Act 2:43 Fear came on every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.
Act 2:44 All who believed were together, and had all things in common.
Act 2:45 They sold their possessions and goods, and distributed them to all, according as anyone had need.
Act 2:46 Day by day, continuing steadfastly with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread at home, they took their food with gladness and singleness of heart,
Act 2:47 praising God, and having favor with all the people. The Lord added to the assembly day by day those who were being saved.

"THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS" Chapter Thirteen by Mark Copeland




                      "THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS"

                           Chapter Thirteen

OBJECTIVES IN STUDYING THIS CHAPTER

1) To understand our relationship to the government

2) To appreciate the importance of love and moral purity

SUMMARY

Continuing to instruct concerning the "transformed life,"  Paul now
discusses the Christian's responsibilities to governmental authorities.
Understanding that all governments are in power due to the providence
of God, and that they serve as ministers of God to avenge the evil 
doer, Christians are admonished to submit to "the powers that be" 
(1-5).  This submission involves payment of taxes and having respect 
for those in authority (6-7).

Paul's next exhortation deals with the importance of love and moral 
purity.  Christians are to be indebted to no one, save to love one 
another.  When love is properly demonstrated, even the requirements of 
the Law are adequately met (8-10).  This admonition to love, however, 
is carefully balanced with the reminder that time is short and it is 
imperative that Christians maintain moral purity.  This is done by 
Christians putting on the Lord Jesus and not making provision for the 
fulfilling of the lusts of the flesh (11-14).

OUTLINE

I. RESPONSIBILITIES TO THE GOVERNMENT (1-7)

   A. BE IN SUBJECTION (1-5)
      1. For governing authorities are appointed by God (1-2)
      2. For governing authorities are God's ministers to avenge evil
         (3-4)
      3. To avoid wrath and maintain good conscience (5)

   B. FULFILL WHAT IS DUE (6-7)
      1. Taxes, customs (6-7a)
      2. Fear (respect), honor (7b)

II. EXHORTATION TO LOVE AND MORAL PURITY (8-14)

   A. THE VALUE OF LOVE (8-10)
      1. Owe no one anything but love (8a)
      2. For love does no harm, and fulfills the Law (8b-10)

   B. CONCERNING MORAL PURITY (11-14)
      1. The time is short, we need to cast off the works of darkness 
         and put on the armor of light (11-12)
      2. Walk properly by putting on the Lord Jesus and making no
         provision to fulfill fleshly lusts (13-14)

WORDS TO PONDER

the governing authorities - the political powers which govern society

he does not bear the sword in vain - an implied reference to the
                                     approved use of capital punishment

put on the Lord Jesus Christ - a process begun in baptism (Ga 3:27),
                               continued as we develop Christ-like
                               qualities (Col 3:9-17)

make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts - avoid 
        situations where unlawful fleshly desires might be aroused and
        acted upon

REVIEW QUESTIONS FOR THE CHAPTER

1) List the main points of this chapter
   - Responsibilities To The Government (1-7)
   - Exhortations To Love And Moral Purity (8-14)

2) What one word summarizes the Christian's responsibility to the
   government? (1)
   - submit

3) From where do governments get their authority? (1)
   - God

4) What happens if we resist governing authorities? (2)
   - We resist God and bring judgment upon ourselves

5) What is a major responsibility of government? (4)
   - To avenge the evil doer

6) What should serve as motivation for Christians' submission to the
   government? (5)
   - Wrath, and conscience

7) What else is required of Christians in regards to government? (7)
   - Payment of taxes, and respect for those in authority

8) What one thing should we owe to others? (8)
   - Love

9) What are we to put on? (12,14)
   - The "armor of light", the Lord Jesus Christ

10) What are we not to provide opportunities for? (14)
    - The fulfillment of fleshly lusts