Obey the rulers who have authority over you. Only God can give authority to anyone, and he puts these rulers in their places of power. People who oppose the authorities are opposing what God has done, and they will be punished. Rulers are a threat to evil people, not to good people. There is no need to be afraid of the authorities. Just do right, and they will praise you for it. After all, they are God’s servants, and it is their duty to help you.   Romans 13:1-4 (CEV)
Teach these things and tell everyone to do what you say. Don’t let anyone make fun of you, just because you are young. Set an example for other followers by what you say and do, as well as by your love, faith, and purity.   1 Timothy 4:11-12 (CEV)
For those of you who have been with me in these devotions for a few years or more, you know that I rarely “get political.†It’s not that I don’t have an opinion – I have plenty of those! But I do not believe that a devotion or Bible study should be about political rhetoric. As a disciple of Jesus Christ, I believe that my primary task when it comes to politics and world events is to obey Jesus by keeping those areas pretty compartmentalized – render to the governments their due and render to God – wait, God says it all belongs to Him, doesn’t He?
I’m going to refer you now to a blogpost that just came out yesterday from J. Lee Grady, former editor of Charisma and the director of The Mordecai Project. I hope you will take the Scriptures that I posted and Rev. Grady’s words and, with the Holy Spirit, give it some prayer time. May we all be hearers and doers of God’s Word. The post is The Word for 2013: Cry Out for a Youth Awakening.
