Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a video of Phillips, Craig, and Dean singing their poignant and pertinent Your Grace Still Amazes Me, … declaring the grace we experience from our God which should be shared with others through our words and deeds.
Highlight Passage: 1st Peter 2: 22-23 [NKJV] …
22 “Who committed no sin, … Nor was deceit found in His mouth”; [Is. 53: 9] … 23 Who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; …
… Jesus, our model of restraint when persecuted or pressured by worldly authority …
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Highlight Context – 1st Peter 2: 13-25 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… God, thru Peter, exhorts us to do all we can to submit to our government authority.
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Reference Passage #1 - Proverbs 12: 18, 15: 1 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Godly wisdom, thru Solomon, on our use of words
Reference Passage #2 - Romans, Chapter 13 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Another Pauline exhortation for Christians to follow the dictates/laws of a God-installed government, … yes, even when those dictates seem oppressive.
Reference Passage #3 - Ephesians 4: 29 [NKJV] …
29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.
… Our criteria for speaking only grace-filled and edifying words.
My Journal for Today: Today’s Our Daily Bread author, Jennifer Benson Schuldt, uses a teaching illustration which many parents have encountered. She writes, … I had been driving for almost half an hour when my daughter suddenly wailed from the backseat. When I asked, “What happened?” she said her brother had grabbed her arm. He claimed he had grabbed her arm because she had pinched him. She said she pinched him because he had said something mean.
As a parent, I’ve been there and have that T-shirt, … for sure. When young siblings encounter mutual conflict, their words are predictably caustic, maybe even toxic, with anger, blame, and - quite often - distortion. And I’m afraid that’s the common pattern when we, so-called “mature,” adults are confronted with interpersonal conflict and/or when we perceive governmental ineptitude or injustice. All one has to do is listen to call-in talk-radio these days to hear, supposedly mature adults railing against the powers that be, often with loud and caustic tones of anger … just like our kids from the back seat on a long trip.
But how are we Christian adults suppose to be using our words in conjunction with interpersonal conflict or when we perceive our government perpetuating oppression … or even injustice? Well, God’s word, thru the Apostles Peter and Paul as well as through the wisdom of Solomon [see Scriptures above], is pretty clear with guidance on such matters.
I’ll let you deal with the enlightenment of today’s ODB devotional as well as my added words; but I’m duly convicted that I need to display so-much more of God’s grace and love when I speak forth to others or in public about our government, speaking with more muted and loving tones of grace.
My Prayer Today: Oh, … Help me, Lord, to speak only when I’m edifying others or giving them Your grace in what I say. … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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