[1]
1 Timothy 2:1-2
Good News Translation
2 First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, requests, and
thanksgivings be offered to God for all people; 2 for
kings and all others who are in authority, that we may live a quiet and
peaceful life with all reverence toward God and with proper conduct.
First of all, I want to thank God that we are living a quiet
and peaceful life. This past summer we left our home for over two months and
had no fear that anyone would break in and steal. We parked in Walmart parking
lots all over this country, climbed into the bed of our pickup, and slept soundly
in the full knowledge that God would look after us. I walk my dog, Katie up and
down our streets near home at all hours of the night and day and fear no evil.
We have been spoiled because we have done this all our lives. I remember
walking from Nyamuswa to Ikizu in “the heart of darkness” of Africa at about 2:00
in the morning without fear.
We had a blatant liar as our president for four years. I followed
him on Twitter and was stunned by the out and out lies he told. The first thing
our Jesuit president did when he went to the climate conference in Europe this
month was to visit the Pope. Now is indeed the time for every Christian, no
matter what your denomination is, to pray for our government that we may
continue to live a quiet and peaceful life.
We had our governor ban all meetings in churches in 2020.
Our church responded without a murmur, shutting us out of the church and
adjacent schools. I was stunned again. We have been championing religious
liberty and yet knuckled under without so much as a whimper? There were several
churches in our area, however, who continued to meet in defiance to the governor’s
command. They filed a lawsuit against the governor that went all the way to the
Supreme Court. Praise the Lord! The Supreme Court ruled that the governor had
breached the separation of church and state clause of our constitution and
exonerated the churches. The governor never apologized, but he quit mentioning
churches in his lockdowns.
Again, it is getting more and more urgent that we do pray
for our rulers “and those who are in authority that we may live a quiet and
peaceful life with all reverence toward God.”
O Lord, in
the face of global crime and corruption, grant us continued peace and quiet
that we may share Your love with others and live with reverence for You.
[1]
https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/2021/10/29/video-pope-biden-meeting-2021-241750
No comments:
Post a Comment