In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they watch over your souls as those who are accountable. Let them do it with joy and not with whining, because it would not benefit you. God`s laws are negative in nature. Most of God`s commandments begin with “Thou shalt not!” Although they are negative in nature, they are the bulwark of freedom. It is the embankments that allow the circulation of freedom to circulate properly. Remove the embankments and freedom becomes license, which inevitably leads to tyranny. Self-government under God remains the key to freedom. But a man named Ananias sold a piece of property with his wife Saphira, and with the knowledge of his wife, he kept part of the product for himself and brought only part of it and laid it at the feet of the apostles. But Peter said, “Ananias, why did Satan fill your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and withhold some of the earth`s revenue for you? Although it remained unsold, did it not remain yours? And after it was sold, wasn`t it available to you? Why did you invent this act in your heart? You didn`t lie to people, but to God. When Ananias heard these words, he fell and breathed his last.
And a great fear took hold of all who heard of it. This does not necessarily mean that Christians often have to ignore civil law. If we cannot flee, as our ancestors did when they sought religious freedom in the New World, we can work for change. In America, fortunately, citizens can still challenge unjust laws. But when all roads are exhausted, when the state still commands us to violate our conscience, we must obey God. This premise is at the heart of the Manhattan Declaration, which defends three overarching themes in our culture: life, marriage, and religious freedom. These are non-negotiable. If you haven`t already, read and sign the Manhattan Declaration in www.manhattandeclaration.org. “You heard them say to the elders, Thou shalt not kill; and whoever murders will be brought to justice. But I tell you that whoever is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment; Anyone who insults his brother will be held accountable to the Council; and whoever says, “You fool!” will be subjected to the hell of fire. OSA has Bible reading times 2015 available.
We are working to publish them on our websites: www.operationsaveamerica.org, elijahmin.com and statesofrefuge.org. If you would like a printed copy, contact me with your address and I will send it by mail. Setting up the family altar and guiding your family daily in God`s Word will be a great way to start and end 2015. Daniel 1:8 King Nebuchadnezzar asked, among other things, that Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah be put into his service. You will receive wine and fancy food to eat. Daniel and Co. refused to contaminate themselves with royal food and asked to be allowed to eat only fruits and vegetables for ten days. Therefore, be wise, kings; Let yourselves be taught, judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice trembling. Embrace the Son so that He does not get angry and you perish along the way if His wrath is kindled even a little.
Blessed are all those who put their trust in him. Thus, you have rendered God`s commandment ineffective by your tradition. Hypocrite! Now Isaiah prophesied about you by saying, “These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. And in vain they worship me, and teach as teachings the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:6–9). As a result, she is called adultery if she lives with another man during her husband`s lifetime. But when her husband dies, she is freed from this law, and if she marries another man, she is not an adulterer. Where do the wars and struggles between you come from? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure, which wage war on your members? You lie and you don`t lie. They murder and covet and cannot receive. You fight and you get. But you didn`t do it because you didn`t ask for it. You don`t ask and don`t take because you wrongly ask that you can spend it on your pleasures. Adulterers and adulterers! Don`t you know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Thus, anyone who wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God (James 4:1-4).
Slaves, obey in all things those who are your earthly masters, not as a service in the eyes, as friends of mankind, but with a sincere heart, fearing the Lord. From this, we can clearly see that when governments, as they often do, conflict with God`s direct commandments, we must obey God, not men, if we are to be saved. Doing a little less means that we fear people more than we fear God. Let us pray for one another for the courage and faith to persevere in these difficult times. Christians are commanded to be good citizens, but the Bible is also clear that God`s law trumps man`s law every time. In both the Old and New Testaments, God blessed His people when they defied man-made laws and refused to compromise their faithfulness to Him.
