Today’s Verse – Deuteronomy 9:17
[Moses reminded the Israelites of his reaction to seeing the golden calf they had demanded by saying,] “So I took the two tablets and threw them out of my hands, breaking them to pieces before your eyes.” —Deuteronomy 9:17 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… Anger, frustration, disappointment, and loss of self-control have sunk many of God’s most significant leaders — even when what they have seen is horrible and dishonoring to God. Leading can sometimes be an agonizing and disappointing task. Yet God’s people would perish without strong leaders full of godly conviction. Despite the failure of some of our leaders and the perils that can beset those who choose to lead, leadership is as honorable as it is vital! Where would Israel have been without Moses or Joshua or Hezekiah or David…? So if the LORD is calling you to lead, don’t accept his invitation lightly, but please, accept it! If you are not a leader, please remember to pray for your leaders and their families as they seek to honor God through their leadership (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13; Hebrews 13:7-8, 17). My Prayer… Holy LORD, please bless your Church with leaders of great faith, courage, endurance, and integrity. Open my heart to my leaders and use me to bless and encourage them. Bless those you’ve gifted to lead with the courage to answer you when you call them to serve you. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Please Pray
Note from Jesus Dear Beloved, The apostle Paul is known as a great missionary. He is also the writer of many of the letters that you find in your New Testament. However, there is a side of Paul’s ministry that is not emphasized enough in your world. This lack of emphasis inhibits the success of your mission efforts. Paul was powerfully effective in reaching the lost, living out his calling, and blessing new Christians because of his prayer life. His letters include many of his prayers. These letters contain prayers of thanksgiving, prayers of intercession, prayers of blessing, and prayers of focus to help new Christians know what to work on in their lives. The surging power behind the effectiveness of Paul’s mission work and church planting work was his prayer life. Through prayer, he invited the Spirit to take control of his life, his ministry, and the opportunities available to him. You’ve already read several of Paul’s prayers of blessing in previous passages from Romans (Romans 15:13 for example). In addition to Paul’s many prayers for those in My family, he also sought the help of new Christians to pray for him, for his team, for his boldness, for his courage, for open doors, and for his mission efforts. The power of mission always has been tied to the work of the Holy Spirit in response to My people’s passionate prayer! Note from Phil@heartlight.org: To see places around the world that are responding to Jesus in recent years, check out this blog post: The Top 20 Countries where Christianity is Growing the Fastest. For more on the power of prayer for missions, you are encouraged to read Miraculous Movements: How Hundreds of Thousands of Muslims Are Falling in Love with Jesus. Verses to Live Paul made very clear to his brothers and sisters in Rome that there were difficulties, obstacles, and dangers that awaited him during his journey to them. He knew that he could not overcome these problems on his own power, with his own cunning plans, or through his own skill. He needed divine power and supernatural deliverance if his plans were to be fulfilled. So, Paul asked these new believers in Rome to join him in prayer for these plans. Paul’s foresight was correct: great hardships awaited him, great challenges confronted him, and harsh realities met him in Jerusalem and on his way to Rome. But, his anticipation of arriving in Rome and being “refreshed” by their presence proved accurate (Acts 28:14-15). Because of many issues, I [Paul] have not been able to visit you in the city of Rome. But my time to serve those here is coming to an end, there’s no room left for me in this region, and I have longed to come to you for many years. So I plan to visit you on my journey to Spain. I am hoping that I will not only see you face-to-face, but that you will assist me in the journey west after I have enjoyed our time together. But right now I must make the journey to Jerusalem to serve the saints there. Those in Macedonia and Achaia decided it was a good idea to share their funds to help the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. I must tell you that they were thrilled to be able to help. They realize that they are indebted to the believers in Jerusalem. If the nations share in the Jews’ spiritual goods, then it’s only right that they minister back to them in material goods. When this work is complete and the funds we’ve collected are delivered, I will make my way to Spain through your grand city of Rome and enjoy some of your hospitality. I’m sure that when I come to you I will come as a blessing and as one fully blessed by the Anointed One. My brothers and sisters, I urgently plead with you by the name of our Lord Jesus, the Anointed, and by the love of the Spirit to join together with me in your prayers to God for my success in these next endeavors. Pray that I will be rescued from those who deny and persecute the faith in Judea and that my service in Jerusalem will meet the approval of all the saints there. If that happens, then my journey to you will be filled with joy; and, if God wills, I can rest and be refreshed in your presence. I pray the God of all peace will be with you all. Amen. (Romans 15:22-33) Response in Prayer Father, I have several missionaries and ministries on my heart today. I pray that You not only bless and protect them, but that You also empower them to make an eternal impact in the lives of those they seek to reach. Give them courage and boldness. Give them Your sense of timing. I ask this in Jesus’ name and for the triumph of His message of grace. Amen. ‘A Year with Jesus’ is written by Phil Ware. © 1998-2024, Heartlight, Inc. ‘A Year with Jesus‘ is part of the Heartlight Network.All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Voice™. © 2008 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Today’s Verse – Genesis 9:16
[God told Noah,] “Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.” —Genesis 9:16 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… I don’t know about you, but I’m very visual. So, I appreciate how God made the world with all its varied colors, many species, and rich landscapes. I am thankful that our Father in Heaven used key images in our world to remind us of his daily provision and eternal grace. The beauty of a rainbow is not just in its beautiful colors or the aroma of fresh rain that often accompanies it but also in the covenant God made with us and our world after the Great Flood. The eternal and living God chose to link himself to our destiny and to involve himself in our world because of his love and grace. With the rainbow as his symbol, God promised not to destroy all life on our planet with a flood. Each of us is God’s creation from the womb, so we are precious to him (Psalm 139:13-16). So, we commit to living morally and responsibly to God as we seek to honor him and his covenant represented by the rainbow (Genesis 9:4-7) and refuse to dishonor this covenant with wickedness (Genesis 9:22-24). God made the rainbow as a reminder that he loves us and calls us to honor him with our character and care for his creation. My Prayer… Almighty God, thank you for making your great promises when we had no right to expect them, much less to demand them. Thank you for attaching those promises to things in my everyday world that remind me of your constant and watchful care. In Jesus’ name, I ask for strength and wisdom to respond to your grace in holiness and honor. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Beyond the Bucket List
Note from Jesus Dear Beloved, Let me ask you several questions to get you started thinking about today’s verses from Paul’s letter to the Romans: What makes you tick? What drives you? What is the Father’s call for you and your life? What matters most to you but remains undone on your spiritual bucket list? These are the issues that Paul shares from his heart with the Roman believers in the closing words of this letter to them (Romans chapters 15 and 16). Today’s verses focus on Paul’s very clear sense of his call to share the good news, My story, with all the nations. He recognized that he had been specially called to reach the non-Jewish world. His heart was passionately drawn to reach people who had never heard of Me or My story. He recognized that this call, this grace that was given to him by the Father, was what made him who he was. This call was what drove him to do what he did, what made him tick, what mattered most, and what he desperately wanted to accomplish before he died. Rome was the most important city of the Roman Empire during Paul’s time. As badly as Paul wanted to visit Rome, he saw it as his stepping stone to the lands and peoples who lived west of Italy. He wanted the Christians in Rome to help him get to those lands. As you will see over the next several weeks, Paul’s trip to Rome didn’t materialize quite as he had hoped. However, he did get to Rome, and he ministered in Rome as people came to him during his house arrest. Ultimately, Paul was martyred for pursuing his ministry. As he faced the end of his life, he powerfully testified that he had accomplished the work he was given to do (2 Timothy 4:6-8; cf. Acts 20:24). My hope for you is that you will have that same confidence and sense of accomplishment in living your life for Me! Verses to Live Today as you read the verses below, I want you to feel the passion Paul had for his calling. I want you to commit to finding that kind of passion for your calling to serve Me. You may not be a missionary quite like Paul. But please realize this: I placed you in the relationships and with the network of people you have in your life for you to fulfill My calling for you. You are no less a minister, and you do not have less of a Christian calling if your employment is not church-related. In fact, I want you to realize that much of what happened to spread the good news in the first century occurred because business people and traveling families took My message with them wherever they went (Acts 8:1-4). Remember that people like Paul shared My message as they did their work. Paul was a tent maker along with Priscilla and Aquila. Apollos was a traveling businessman. Along with many others whose names you don’t know, they shared My message and forever changed the world. I will share more with you about this type of ministering in a couple of days as we look at how Paul mentioned all the people he loved and knew in Rome, a place he had not visited when he mentioned these people. Today, however, I want you to focus on Paul’s passion for living out his calling! My brothers and sisters, I am ultimately confident that you are full of goodness, knowledge, and the ability to help and instruct one another. I have written to you with unflinching honesty on many topics because I do not want you to ever lose sight of the tremendous grace God has given me. His grace makes me who I am, a minister of the Anointed One, Jesus, called to serve the nations. The good news of God is the focus of my priestly work. In effect, these nations have become an offering to God, totally acceptable, indeed made holy by the work of the Holy Spirit. So in Jesus, the Anointed One, I have reason to celebrate the things I do for God. I don’t want to be presumptuous, so I will restrict myself to what the Anointed has accomplished through my words and actions, which has culminated in the obedience of the nations. My words and actions have been rooted in Spirit-empowered signs and miracles. The upshot is this: I have been able to preach the good news of the Anointed One in city after city from Jerusalem all the way around the Mediterranean to Illyricum. I have dreamed of preaching the gospel in places where no one has ever heard of the Anointed so that I do not build on a foundation laid by anyone else. But as the Scriptures say, They will see Him even though they’ve never been told about Him; they will understand even though they never heard of Him. Because of many issues, I have not been able to visit you in the city of Rome. But my time to serve those here is coming to an end, there’s no room left for me in this region, and I have longed to come to you for many years. So I plan to visit you on my journey to Spain. I am hoping that I will not only see you face-to-face, but that you will assist me in the journey west after I have enjoyed our time together (Romans 15:14-24) Response in Prayer O Father, help me know in my heart what You have called me to do to live for Jesus. I ask that the Spirit help me know what this calling is. I ask, O Holy Spirit, that You will also fill my heart with a burning flame of passion like Paul demonstrated in today’s verses. I want to be fully responsive, dear Father, to Your calling and mission in my life. I ask for this grace
Today’s Verse – 1 Corinthians 9:15
[In talking about others having the right to be supported in their ministry, the apostle Paul says of himself,] “But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me. I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of this boast [of being self-supporting].” —1 Corinthians 9:15 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… Paul was careful not to take support from the Corinthians even though it was his right as a minister of the Gospel. Instead, he knew their problems with generosity and showed them a greater example of living for Jesus without obvious and instant rewards. Often, we must show our values before others share them with us. Paul was a master at reading the needs around him and living in a way that was an example. He then would call them to follow his example as he followed the example of Christ (1 Corinthians 4:16, 11:1). By not receiving support for his ministry, Paul demonstrated to them that they needed to make a living with their own hands and be responsible (1 Corinthians 4:12; 1 Thessalonians 4:11). Let’s commit to following Paul’s example and live with integrity before others. My Prayer… Father God and Almighty LORD, please give me the courage and integrity to live my principles in a way that is a blessing and an example to others. Bless me, dear Father, with a life that makes a mark on others for your glory. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Giving Grace
Note from Jesus Dear Beloved, Part of the challenge of being in a multi-cultural fellowship, is that people who are different from you are… different! Their background experiences are different. Their cultures are different. Their customs are different. Their foods are different. Their manners and matters of courtesy are different. Their language can be different. Some things that you may have been trained from the crib to reject as crude or unsavory may be common practice and treasured by another culture. So in a multi-cultural congregation, learn to appreciate your differences as long as I AM Lord, the Father is exalted, and the Holy Spirit lives in you. Also, remember this “two-sided” principle: In light of this, we must resolve never to judge others and never to place an obstacle or impediment in their paths that could cause them to trip and fall. It is your responsibility not to judge your fellow brother or sister on cultural issues. This duty is true even if those issues are offensive to your sense of what is proper. On the other hand, just because you are free to practice something in your culture because you have an understanding of grace, doesn’t mean you should use that freedom. You do not want to cause a brother or sister to stumble so that you can celebrate your freedom (1 Corinthians 8:9; Galatians 5:13-14). In other words, on cultural issues, go out of your way to make sure there are no unnecessary barriers and no stumbling blocks to interfere with your fellowship with others. Why is this two-sided principle so important? It is important because you will stand before the Father in judgment. Either He will use the grace with which you have treated, accepted, and lived for others to judge you, or He will use the harsh and condemning standard you have used on others (Matthew 7:1-2). I don’t think I have to tell you which one of those you will need! But even more than just trying to avoid the Father’s harsh judgment if you have judged others harshly, I want you to follow My example of grace. I want you to follow My example of giving grace regarding cultural differences. I also want you to follow My example of giving grace in all interactions with others. Treat people in your day in the way I treated them in my day (Luke 7:1-50; John 8:1-11; John 4:1-26; Philippians 2:5-11; Romans 5:6-11). Recognize how I welcomed all sorts of different people. Remind yourself of who you were before I welcomed you. And finally, remember what Paul taught in the verses below about not judging others and not causing others to sin. The theme of today’s verses will continue into tomorrow when you will read these words: So accept one another in the same way the Anointed has accepted you so that God will get the praise He is due. (Romans 15:7) That’s the point! Verses to Live Your goal in multi-cultural settings must not be to prove yourself right. You are called to welcome others as I have welcomed you. In My family, the overriding issue is whether or not you treat your Christian brothers and sisters who are different from you in the same way that I treated people. Will you welcome them, differences and all, into My fellowship as I did? Paul was emphatic about this point: [I]f God has accepted them, you have no reason to reject them. How could you think for a moment that you have the right to judge another person’s servant? That, My dear disciple, is very clear! So carefully read what Paul has to say about all this and I know you will be blessed and challenged. It’s high time that you welcome all people weak in the faith without debating and disputing their opinions. Here’s the issue: One person believes that nothing’s off the menu; he’ll eat any food put before him. But there’s another believer — we’ll call him the weaker — who eats only vegetables because the meat is tainted through contact with an idol. If you are an eater of all things, do not be condescending to your vegetarian brother or sister. In turn, those who abstain from certain foods on religious principles should not judge your brothers and sisters who eat meat — if God has accepted them, you have no reason to reject them. How could you think for a moment that you have the right to judge another person’s servant? Each servant answers to his own Master, and he will either stand or fall in His presence. The good news is that he will stand because the Master is able to make it so. There may be a believer who regards one day as more sacred than any other, while another views every day as sacred as the next. In these matters, all must reach their own conclusions and satisfy their own minds. If someone observes a day as holy, he observes it in honor of the Lord. If another eats a particular diet, he eats in honor of the Lord since he begins by giving thanks! If yet another abstains from that same food, he abstains out of respect for the Lord and begins his meal by thanking God too. The truth is that none of us live for ourselves, and none die for ourselves. For if we live, we live for the Lord. If we die, we die for the Lord. So in both life and death, we belong to the Lord. The Anointed One, the Liberating King, died and returned to life to make this a reality: through His death and resurrection, He became Lord of the living and the dead. So how is it that you continue to judge your brother? How is it possible for you to look down on a sister? We will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written, “As I live, so I promise,” says the
Today’s Verse – 1 Corinthians 9:14
In the same way [as God commanded farm animals to be fed for their work], the LORD has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel. —1 Corinthians 9:14 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… One of the great tragedies of our modern world is that while some who preach and teach the gospel are charlatans and cheats, the vast majority of God’s servants work hard and barely scrape by financially. Why not find some underpaid and forgotten Kingdom servant and share some blessings God has given you? A note of kindness, a specific comment of praise and thanksgiving, or a surprising financial gift can do amazing things to lift one of God’s servants and empower them to ever greater service. My Prayer… Holy Father, I thank you for your servants who share the message of Jesus wherever they are. Father, I want to especially thank you for these people: ______ Please bless them with good health, a faithful and loving family, and the proper support to do your work in a way worthy of your cause and their commitment. Please use me to bless and encourage your ministers of grace. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Know What Time It Is!
Note from Jesus Dear Follower, Wake up. It’s nearly dawn. Put on your clothes. It’s time for living in the daylight. Paul chose powerful images for today’s passage from his letter to the Roman Christians. It’s as if someone is trying to rouse a sleeping friend who can’t quite “come awake” at the beginning of the day. But it’s time to wake up, get up, and get dressed because the new day is starting. Paul’s message was written about My return and the sense of urgency needed by the Christians in Rome. This verse captures Paul’s sentiment well: The darkness of night is dissolving as dawn’s light draws near, so walk out on your old dark life and put on the armor of light. Also, notice this glorious promise in another truth Paul wrote for those early Christians: [S]alvation is nearer to us than when we first believed. Here’s the point: if you are truly My disciple, you must live like it. Walk your talk. Practice what you preach. Reach for what you pray. Remember that life is fragile and transient. Expect that I could return at any moment. My return will be joyous for those who are Mine and already living in eager expectation of My return. For those who are not, this passage is a wake-up call, a sounding alarm clock, and a powerful reminder that I AM coming. You want to be ready when I arrive. Be a living sacrifice offering yourself to God (Romans 12:1-2). Live as a person whose heart and mind have been remade by your conversion. Live as a person whose heart is captured by the amazing grace of the Father. Stay away from “dark living” and do not fuel your “sinful imagination” with thoughts of depraved rebellion. Wrap yourself in Me! Verses to Live In the section in his Roman letter on practical Christian living, Paul used various metaphors. He began this last section of his letter urging the Roman Christians and you to live as sacrifices and to be transformed (Romans 12:1-2). He then talked about you Christians being My body (Romans 12:4-5; 1 Corinthians 12:27). In today’s verses, he used the familiar images of darkness representing evil while light represents things that are good and holy. The call is to wake up and live in the light. And now consider this. You know well the times you are living in. It is time for you to wake up and see what is right before your eyes: for salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The darkness of night is dissolving as dawn’s light draws near, so walk out on your old dark life and put on the armor of light. May we all act as good and respectable people, living today the same way as we will in the day of His coming. Do not fall into patterns of dark living: wild partying, drunkenness, sexual depravity, decadent gratification, quarreling, and jealousy. Instead, wrap yourselves in the Lord Jesus, God’s Anointed, and do not fuel your sinful imagination by indulging your self-seeking desire for the pleasures of the flesh. (Romans 13:11-14) Response in Prayer Almighty God, forgive me for piddling around with my life of faith and procrastinating about living with holy devotion. I commit to living with urgency and anticipation of Jesus’ return and pray for Your forgiveness for the times when I have not done so. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. ‘A Year with Jesus’ is written by Phil Ware. © 1998-2024, Heartlight, Inc. ‘A Year with Jesus‘ is part of the Heartlight Network.All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Voice™. © 2008 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Today’s Verse – Luke 9:13
[When his disciples wondered how to feed the huge crowd who had been with them several days and were famished, Jesus] replied, “You give them something to eat.” They answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish — unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.” —Luke 9:13 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… I love the way Jesus got his disciples’ attention in this situation. He challenged them “to do immeasurably more than all [they] ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20-21). Basically, Jesus told them, “You feed them, boys!” Of course, they knew that they couldn’t! Yet Jesus showed them they could do amazing things if they brought their meager resources to him. When the big picnic was over, each of those limited disciples got to pick up a basket full of leftovers from the table of Jesus’ grace (Luke 9:17). Let’s remember our challenge is the limited resources we see but our unwillingness to bring what we have to Jesus and trust that he will do something with us, and those resources, to bless others in ways we couldn’t have dreamed! Video Commentary… ToGather Worship Guide | More ToGather Videos My Prayer… All praise to you, Abba Father, for your extravagant help and mercy in times of need, your loving and generous provision in times of want, and your surprising and exciting use of my limited resources as I seek to do your will. I know that you have entrusted me with what I have to accomplish the work you have called me to do as I serve to bless others. Forgive me, Father, for not trusting you to make what I think are my meager resources more than enough to do your work in my world! In Jesus’ name, I ask for your grace fully confident and praising you for your sufficiency. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
My Disciples Are Good Citizens
Note from Jesus Dear Beloved, You are reading from a letter the apostle Paul wrote to believers in Rome. They lived in the seat of the Roman Empire’s government and power. A period of about two hundred years became known as the Pax Romana. It was relatively peaceful and included the early New Testament times. The Roman government offered great blessings: a stable legal system, relatively safe travel on highways and the seas, mail service, oversight of regional and city governments, and stability for commerce to thrive. The Father had worked in history to bring about this time so that history was ready for My coming (Galatians 4:4-7). The things that Paul wrote in today’s passage about honoring the government spoke to their political situation in a time of a relatively stable government. As you read the New Testament, you will also find very good teaching about how to live as My disciple when the government is growing more hostile. (Both the early chapters of Acts and the whole letter of 1 Peter reflect this kind of situation.) You will also learn how to live faithfully when the government becomes aggressively hostile to your faith (the Revelation to John). During the last years of Paul’s life and ministry, he used all the legal tools available to him to protect himself and his ministry from an increasingly hostile government that would eventually execute him (Philippians 1:19-23; 2 Timothy 4:6-8; In addition, don’t forget the Old Testament resources of Daniel and Esther as examples of faith when faced with hostile government officials!). I promised My disciples the Holy Spirit as their Comforter, Advocate, and Helper. Chapters 14-16 of the gospel of John record this extended conversation with My closest disciples. The Holy Spirit was sent both to them and to you to help “guide you in all truth” (John 16:13). As Paul told the Corinthians, the Holy Spirit will help you understand both the times and My will for you in these times (1 Corinthians 2:6-16). I share this with you so that you will understand that the things Paul said here are principles of how My disciples are to live in submission to government. The context was a government that was not openly hostile to the Roman Christians, but this context would soon change. Even as a government grows more hostile, I want you to realize that there are other resources in the Scriptures to help you know how to live faithfully. And by living faithfully, you will be able to honor your commitments to love the Father with all that you are and to love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:36-40). The specifics of honoring the government for each changing circumstance addressed in scripture can be a little different. However, basic underlying themes are found throughout the New Testament such as: Be a good citizen. Do not be a person of violence. Make sure any suffering you face is not because of your own bad behavior. Be a person of peace. Live at peace with all people. Be a peacemaker. Be a blessing to others. In addition to these themes, the Holy Spirit within you, My example lived before you, and your brothers and sisters of faith around you can help you know the best way to follow Me faithfully through all kinds of different political climates. Paul’s words today focus on honoring a political government. Your Father in heaven is the God of order and peace, not chaos and lawlessness. So governments are put into place with the divine intention to help and to bless people. When the governments become ruthless and tyrannical, the Father will work behind the scenes of history to bring them down (Psalm 2:1-12; the Revelation to John), although there is no way for you to know the Father’s timing. You must honor the government and obey its laws as a good citizen when these laws do not contradict My calling to you. “Do the right thing” and “live with a clear conscience.” “Pay your taxes” and don’t “owe anyone anything” as you show “love to one another.” Once again, what Paul wrote the Romans brings you back to My second great love command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” This principle will make you a good citizen, because when you live this principle, “love achieves everything the law requires.” Verses to Live In the last third of Romans (chapters 12-16), Paul repeatedly gives practical applications on how to love your neighbor as you love yourself and especially how to love your brothers and sisters in faith. Today’s verses focus on this responsibility as a good citizen. It is important that all of us submit to the authorities who have charge over us because God establishes all authority in heaven and on the earth. Therefore, a person who rebels against authority rebels against the order He established, and people like that can expect to face certain judgment. You see, if you do the right thing, you have nothing to be worried about from the rulers; but if you do what you know is wrong, the rulers will make sure you pay a price. Would you not rather live with a clear conscience than always have to be looking over your shoulder? Then keep doing what you know to be good and right, and they will publicly honor you. Look at it this way: The ruler is a servant of God called to serve and benefit you. But he is also a servant of God executing wrath upon those who practice evil. If you do what is wrong, then you’d better be afraid because he wields the power of the sword and doesn’t make empty threats. So submission is not optional; it’s required. But don’t just submit for the sake of avoiding punishment; submit and abide by the laws because your conscience leads you to do the right thing. Pay your taxes for the same reason because the authorities are servants of God, giving their full