Common Values

Since the Paris attacks, I’ve heard the term "common values" many times from the world’s leaders, media, and politicians. “This was an attack on our common values,” they say. Some quoted the French motto, Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité, meaning Liberty, Equality, and Brotherhood. To be sure, no one would be against those ideals.

I find it interesting that people talk about our common values, when the majority of them don’t believe in firm, foundational values. Some who speak of freedom want to curb individual freedoms. Some who talk about equality are racists. Others are intolerant of other religions and cultures. Some of them are the same ones who loudly protest the pay gap, gender gap, etc., etc. Equality?

Brotherhood takes it several steps further. Do we really believe that everyone in our city is our brother? Do we really want to make that guy over there our brother?

Freedom to go to a heavy metal rock concert. People should have that freedom, if they so choose. (In case you care, I choose not to. To me, the music from the band wasn’t all that different from the sounds coming from the machine guns. Not my cup of tea.) But, I think a free society means that people can choose the music they want to listen to. (Mozart, anyone?)

Freedom to sit at a café and sip a drink. Granted, my choice would be an excellent French café au lait, accompanied by a flaky croissant. But again, we have the right to choose.

Freedom to attend a soccer game, to walk down a Paris street. Freedom to go to church, to pray, to worship. Freedom to choose Christ without fear. Freedom to worship God.

Equality of all people, no matter their background, financial status, or religious persuasion. All people are equal under the law and can expect justice. They are not privileged nor do they suffer prejudice. Equality.

Brotherhood. True brotherhood can only be achieved in Christ. Men and women are adopted into God’s family when they accept Christ as Savior from sin. Oh, how I’d love to see this kind of brotherhood everywhere! One day we will. This verse is speaking to Jesus, for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation (Revelation 5:9b). But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons (Galatians 4:4-5).

So what core values do we share? Between countries, I don’t know. It seems that one country is different from another. One might be talking about one thing and the other means something totally opposite, using the same terms.

As Christians, we do have core values, foundational truths that are the basis of our lives. What are they?

• The Bible is the Word of God. As such, it has authority. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works (2 Timothy 3:16-17). For the word of God is quick (living), and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).  
• People have sinned, breaking the law of God. Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned (Romans 5:12). For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all (James 2:10).
• Jesus gave His life to save sinners, substituting His Holy life for the death sentence that every sinner deserves. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23). Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father (Galatians 1:4) Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works (Titus 2:14).
• We can be saved. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:9, 13).

________________________

In Christ, there’s freedom. And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed (John 8:32, 36).

In Christ, there’s equality. Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all (Colossians 3:11). For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:27-28).

In Christ, there’s brotherhood. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together (Romans 8:14-17).

Find your values in Jesus!

Life

A young man blows himself up in a Paris apartment. Two young men become suicide bombers outside the sports stadium and at least one in the street. They’re rigged to kill themselves and others.

A man with terminal cancer decides to drive to Switzerland and go for “death with dignity,” medically aided suicide, because he thinks death is preferable to living with an awful disease.

A young mother kills her pre-born baby in a “women’s health clinic,” where they later sell her child’s harvested body parts.

In many countries in the world, it seems that life is cheap, that people don’t care whether other people live or die. Whereas in one country a team of surgeons works around the clock to save one life, in another country, a young man encourages other young people to explode themselves.

Life is human existence. It has to do with our souls.

Children are taught in public schools that they’re nothing more than animals and that they evolved over millions of years from some kind of primordial slime. But no one explains what turned the first non-living slime into a living cell.

What is life? Why is human life special?

To answer that, it’s important to know where we came from. According to the Bible, in Genesis, chapters 1 and 2, God created the world. The whole earth was ready when God created Adam, the first man. A few hours later, God created Eve. Everything was created by God’s voice, except for man and woman. God created Adam of the dust of the ground in which God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul (Genesis 2:7). Eve was a separate creation: And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man (Genesis 2:21-23).

When God created those first people, He said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth (Genesis 1: 26-28).

Human life is in the image of God. Human beings were given God’s breath of life, which gave them souls. Humans are higher than animals, different from animals, and superior to animals and plants. God created humans to have a special relationship with Him.

God provided that relationship through Jesus Christ.

• In him was life; and the life was the light of men. (1:4. All verses in this section are from the Gospel of John.)
• But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life (4:14).
• Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life (5:24).
• For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven (Jesus), and giveth life unto the world (6:33).
• Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me (14:6).
• And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent (17:3).

Do you have eternal life? Have you been born again? Jesus said, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again (John 3:3b, 5-7).

You can know. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself  (1 John 5:10a). These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God (1 John 5:13).

Living for God is the best life. Knowing you have eternal life brings peace. 

  

Fiction Review: Soon

Photo courtesy of samuiblue, Free Digital Photos

Soon, by Jerry B. Jenkins, is the first book in the Underground Zealot Series. Jerry B. Jenkins, as many people will recognize, is the co-author with Tim LaHaye of the very popular Left Behind Series.

This new series goes much further. It’s about America in a new calendar, after great parts of the world have been nuclear bombed away in World War III, and with suspicions about any Christian activities. Strange occurrences are always blamed on the Christian community, and the Christians are labeled a threat to the country. This justifies going after Christians and mass murders of Christians. Is this far fetched? I’m not sure.

I’ll admit that it took me a while to get into this book. Some of the phenomena failed to convince me. I totally believe in God’s power to manifest wonders. I have no problems with that. I also believe that any supernatural acts that God does will point someone to Christ and actually glorify Himself. I’m on the fence about some of them in the book.

The protagonist, Paul, is a man who thinks he’s a gift to the women of the world. The problem is that he’s married with kids. Needless to say, his marriage has major issues.

There are a lot of sci-fi effects, gadgets, cars, chases, weapons, and excitement. The Christian communities are interesting—each different from the next in how they live, move, and reach out to unbelievers. Some of their methods of evangelism are not what I would have expected!

Paul works for the NPO, an organization against any Christian “subversives.” His father-in-law is one of his superiors. His father-in-law is a ruthless man who takes his job very seriously and isn’t above teaching Christians a lesson by making examples of them. One of his “examples” was Andy Pass, burned to death in a drum full of gel gasoline, his body charred.

Once I got into the story and past the sci-fi elements of the post World War III world, I enjoyed this book. I was so into it when, all of a sudden, it ended. There’s no wrap-up, no real ending. Chop! Done. Read the sequel—which I probably will, because the story is compelling and the writing is good.

If you like some fantasy and a good story, and you have an open mind to the possibilities if Jesus doesn’t rapture the saints in the near future, this is an interesting read.

I would recommend it for adults and young people in their late teens. There’s no bad language or sexual content. There is some violence. Paul’s flirtations and some of the themes are definitely for a more adult audience.

Thanksgiving Reminiscences

My father is an only child, and his father was the only married sibling in his family. So, we had very few relatives on his side. It made it easy at holidays. We got together with my mother’s family. Take a walk down memory lane as I describe what Thanksgivings were like when I was a child.

My grandparents lived in a two-story farmhouse, built by my great grandfather. It’s a frame house, painted white, and set on a foundation of large stones here and there. The open crawl space under the house is maybe a foot or so high—perfect for an adventurous child. (I only remember crawling under it once. Too many spiders!) There’s a double porch on the back side of the house and a double porch across the front. The top front porch was rickety when I was a child, so we were encouraged not to play out there. The old homestead is set on a little hill surrounded by higher hills and mountains. There’s a creek in front of the house and a root cellar built into the hill behind it. In the valley, one can spot deer, groundhogs, raccoons, and squirrels. Behind the house was a barn, used as a garage for black, vintage cars. There were several out houses . . . including an outside toilet. The others were a smoke house/wash house, a barn for cattle, a hog house, a chicken house on the hill, and a corn crib. We played in all of these except the cow barn.

My brother and I are close in age, and so are two of our cousins, who are close in age to us. The second “batch” of cousins arrived with my little sister in between them. Sometimes, we were joined by the neighbors’ grandchildren, all boys, and sometimes not. We always had an amazing time!

Thanksgivings were family gatherings. I don’t remember anything but fun and food, and food and fun. It was amazing! My aunts can cook up a storm, and we had food, food, and more food! One of my aunts would make pancakes for everyone in the morning, while the other one would fry bacon or sausage and eggs. I still remember the irony taste of everything made in those big, black skillets. For Thanksgiving dinner and all the weekend, we feasted on ham, turkey, venison, and sometimes squirrel. Jello salads abounded. My Aunt P. made “frogeye salad,” and my Aunt A. made “ambrosia.” My mother usually contributed with a lime and pineapple mixture that’s out of this world. Our great aunt brought out her homemade applesauce, cottage cheese, pickles, pickled beets, and chow-chow. Oh my! Add mashed potatoes, scalloped potatoes, gravy, green beans from the garden, sweet potatoes covered with marshmallows, and you have an idea of what it was like. It was all-day eating, talking, visiting, and for us kids, playing.

I left out the desserts: pies—apple, pumpkin, and venison mincemeat, cakes—my mothers Hershey swirl pound cake, a strawberry cake my Aunt P. used to make, and usually a chocolate cake with chocolate or caramel frosting.

There was always enough food to feed an army. We tried to do it justice.

Our cousins joined us on all kinds of escapades. We had freedom to run all over the hillsides. Two of us would hide from the other two, and we would all play games like touch football, softball, and board games. We’d run and play and laugh and enjoy being together. Most of our play was made-up fun. When the littler ones were born, they did the same—playing, laughing, and running around.

As we got into our teens, the boys went deer hunting with the men. Sometimes, they’d come back with a doe or two. I actually went hunting one afternoon with my aunt. It sleeted on us as we tried not to move, and the only “wild life” we saw were other hunters. I only ever went hunting one other time, one of the most memorable nights of my life. We (several families together and a few neighbors) went raccoon hunting with dogs. It was a gorgeous, clear night, and we followed the baying of the dogs. We treed a coon but never found it. I remember scrambling all over the hills and listening to the dogs, while being outside in beautiful nature, the black sky spangled with stars. It was so much fun!

My Granddad’s farmhouse had little gas heaters in each room. They didn’t smell too nice. We’d watch the blue flames dance over the front grates. The farmhouse had a hand water pump in the kitchen and a gas range. There was electricity, so we had naked bulb ceiling lights as well as a few strategically placed lamps. I remember my Granddad trying to get a picture on the television. Let’s just say it “snowed.”

We’ve slept all over that house. When you have dozens of people and only two bedrooms, you do what you can. Many times, my family shared the “front room.” I remember our cousins and us sleeping upstairs and in the bedroom on other occasions. During the day, it was all play, talking, and eating, and we loved it.

On Sunday, we went to the little church my parents were married in. It’s basically one room upstairs. I remember when I was little having Sunday school up there, with the sanctuary divided with a curtain into three classes. In other years, some of the children’s classes were held downstairs in the basement.

Our Thanksgivings were full of family, food, and outdoorsy fun. There would be prayers of thanks at every meal and much thankfulness all the time for being together.

Since those days, some have gone to be with the Lord. And some of us remain. Some have become Christians since those Thanksgivings I remember. We’ve all grown up, and even our littlest cousin is a grandpa today. I always wish we could recreate those times for our kids and grandkids . . . maybe with a little less food.

Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD;
for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever (Psalm 106:1).

Have a Happy, Memorable Thanksgiving!

Ten Ideas for Improving Your Family Devotions

I grew up with family devotions. My parents read Egermeier’s Bible Story Book to us in the evenings when we were small. We learned the little prayer, “Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep.” As we grew, so did family devotions time, and I confess I was a very impatient girl. Why spend so much time with prayer requests, if you had to start all over later and pray for those things? Why not just do the praying and get it over with?

Not a good attitude, but maybe I was typical. Maybe—make that certainly—my heart attitude wasn’t where it needed to be. I felt rebellious about the whole idea of family devotions.

So, when our kids were little, we tried not to let devotions drag on, get long, and cause impatience. Let me share a few ideas. (Most of these we tried on our own guinea pigs.)

1. Have devotions at the table after dinner. This is a win-win. The kids are with you at the table. (You don’t have to call them to come; everyone is already together, plus everyone’s fed and happy.) Take time to talk and pray and read the Bible. Keep the Bible reading time proportionate to the ages of your children.

2. Change it up. Sometimes, my husband would read a devotional from Charles Spurgeon's Morning and Evening. Sometimes, it would be a page from Our Daily Bread. On other days, it would be a passage straight from Scripture. We tried not to get in too much of a routine.

3. Do Deuteronomy 6:5-7. And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 

Notice two important points:

1. It starts with you. Love God with all your heart, soul, and might. Know the Bible and take it to heart.
2. Teach Bible precepts to your children all day long. (I loved homeschooling, since it gave us the opportunity to be with our kids all day. But, even if you send your children to school, you can teach biblical principles in a flowing natural way when you are with them. This means you need to understand practical applications of God’s Word, first.)

4. Make prayer an integral part of your daily life. Children learn to rely on God when they watch Mother and Daddy pray. Pray about every situation of life. Pray for a parking spot. Pray for something to turn out well. Pray for strength. Pray for sick people. Pray for help in a task. Do it openly and out loud. Let your kids watch you pray, and ask them to join you in prayer. When children see praying, answers to prayer, and praise for answered prayer, they learn to pray effectively. 

5. Let kids participate. As soon as Suzy and Johnny can read, they can read a Bible verse or two. Talk about the verse(s) afterwards. Discuss how to make the verse practical for them. Sing hymns together.

6. Even before they can read, they can memorize Scripture. Memorize key verses that will help them learn to honor and obey God. Ephesians 6:1, Psalm 23; Psalm 100; Psalm 1, and John 3:16 are good passages for starters. Does your child get anxious? Philippians 4:6-7. Is your child a scaredy cat? Psalm 56:3. Does your son or daughter always ask “why”? (I’m not talking about three-year-olds, here—older children who need to know why.) Proverbs 3:5-6. There are many more that will help your child form a biblical understanding. Memorize Scripture together as a family. You can do this while working together in the kitchen or as part of your devotional time just after dinner. You can go over Bible verses in the car. It’s amazing how easy it is for very small children (three and four year-olds) to memorize portions of Scripture.

7. Apply the Bible. While I’m not at all opposed to Bible quiz teams, Bible trivia contests, games, and other Bible knowledge efforts, I’ve observed that many young people can quote a passage and know the numbers and facts, but they have no grasp on the practical applications of what they’ve spent hours learning. I firmly believe that it’s way more important to understand the practical applications of the Bible than only the facts. They need to know their Bible stories and certain facts, yes! But, they also need to understand what Jesus was teaching when He said, of such is the kingdom of God. Why does every person need to go to Jesus like a child? What does that mean? It’s important to know! People need to know how to live what they know. Application is important for all your family.

8. Share the gospel. The whole message of the Bible is the gospel. From before the foundation of the earth, God planned to save sinful man. 1 Corinthians 15:3b-4 defines the gospel like this: how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. Help your children know what Jesus did, why His death was necessary, and how to repent of their sins and place their faith in Him for salvation. Do not push them. Just make sure they hear the gospel. When the Holy Spirit opens their understanding, they can respond. After your children have accepted Christ as their Savior, make sure the gospel is always in their minds, so they can share Jesus with their friends.

9. Be creative. Especially when your children are small, think of interesting ways to teach the Bible. Will they enjoy a game? Will they learn by acting out the story? Maybe use some coloring pages? Do different things along the way. Make the learning fun.

10. Show love. Time around the Word of God and in prayer should be a special time with family love. Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him (1 John 3:7-9).

 _________________________________

When you see impatience in your children at family devotions, try to find out what’s causing it.

• Does your child have something he needs to do, and he thinks he won’t have time?
• Is it true that family devotions are dragging? (Too many prayer requests, very long Bible passage for little children, an obscure passage to understand—like the begats in Genesis or 1 Chronicles.) Can we act something out to make the Bible passage come alive? Do we have a book with pictures? Can we mention a prayer request or two and immediately pray? Can we choose Bible or devotional readings that will be practical for your children?
• Let everyone in the family discuss biblical truths. Listen, and make sure everyone has a part.

Sharing Jesus with our children, reading the Word together as a family, and praying together is fundamental to training our children. God help us make family devotions a delight.

What ideas can you share? What worked in your family?

  

The Real Problem

Everyone has seen the news from Paris. Atrocities committed against normal people in normal, everyday settings. They were soft targets. If the attackers could have killed more of them, they would have. Many of the survivors have life-changing injuries. Horrible!

Just days before, 44 people were killed and 230 injured in a suicide attack in Beirut.

At the end of October, 224 tourists lost their lives when their plane exploded over Egypt.

All were terrorist attacks.

The responses are on both sides.

Some say, “Bomb them out of existence.” Others say, “That’s not Christian. We should have compassion. Innocent people will lose their lives while the bombs fall on targets.”

“Close the borders. Don’t let any refugees in.” “We need to have compassion and take in those who have suffered so much in their home countries.”

“Don’t trust any Muslim.” “There are good Muslims and bad Muslims. We’re only talking about the bad guys.”

“They’re trying to take over the world, and before you know it, they’ll be in our neighborhood.” “The status quo is fine. We’ll trust the government to protect us. They can screen those who are coming in.”

You hear the rumblings and counter rumblings.

The truth is, there has always been evil in this world. Ever since Lucifer fell,* there has been evil. Even before the first people stepped on earth, the devil was lurking in order to lie, deceive, tempt, and disturb. He’s against God and against anything that is good. He would like to destroy people’s bodies and souls.

When we see evil manifested, as we saw it in Paris last Friday, it shakes us to our very core. We could have been sitting at the café, sharing a pleasant hour with friends. We could have been in the stadium, watching our national team play soccer. We could have been on that back street. We could have been there.

Let me share four biblical facts that might calm our spirits in these uncertain times.

1. The devil—the force of evil in this world—will be completely defeated by the Lord Jesus Christ. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41). And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever (Revelation 20:10).
2. We do not need to live in fear. Jesus is the way of salvation. And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (Matthew 10:28). For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them (Luke 9:56a). Jesus said, The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly (John 10:10).
3. God is the Judge. God knows each heart and loves every person in the world. He is the only One Who can judge a person’s heart. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved (John 3:16-17). I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick (living) and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom (2 Timothy 4:1). Jesus said, He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day (John 12:48).
4. We can and should pray for those in authority. I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty (1 Timothy 2:1-2).

So, what’s the real problem?

It’s sin. Sinful hearts manifest themselves in sinful acts. Sinful hearts are behind those actions that grieve God. Read this passage, which explains the difference between sinful actions and godly actions. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:19-25).

How can Christians have a lasting effect on the world’s situation?

• Share Christ with everyone.
• Obey the Great Commission and make disciples.
• Put away sin in our lives.
• Manifest the fruit of the Spirit.
• Walk in the Spirit.
• Pray.

And, leave our fears, judgment, and vengeance to God.**

___________________

* It’s a saying based on biblical Truth. The beautiful angel Lucifer was cast out of heaven for rebelling against God. Jesus Himself described his fall. (Isaiah 14:12; Ezekiel 28:12-19; Luke 10:18)

** God gives authority to governments to act on the behalf of their citizens. (Romans 13:1-5) I’m speaking of an individual Christian in this post.