Tuesday, November 8<\/p>\n
Pray for Our Rulers, Part II \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity<\/em>. 2 Timothy 2:2<\/strong><\/p>\n Many passages and examples in the Bible clarify our responsibilities as citizens, on such is found in Paul\u2019s letter to the Romans, where he writes \u201cLet every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment\u201d (Romans 13:1\u20132).<\/p>\n Two observations come to mind regarding this. First of all, the\u00a0government is God\u2019s design. The sinful predicament of man necessitates oversight (an earthly ruler), and the government is God\u2019s way of providing for the well-being of human society. This doesn\u2019t mean that all governments are good, nor do all governments recognize God\u2019s supreme authority. We should be encouraged by the book of Daniel which teaches that God \u201cremoves kings and sets up kings\u201d within His sovereign will and purpose. It\u2019s no doubt challenging to understand God\u2019s purpose when we watch the news or read the newspaper and see so much that is upside down\u2014yet even in this, we must remember that nothing is unfolding outside the sovereign will of God.<\/p>\n Secondly, obedience to the government is not optional based on our views or affiliations but rather is God\u2019s command. We\u2019re accountable to God to obey the rule of law so that we contribute to an orderly, civil society. With this comes our duty and privilege as citizens to participate in the electoral process. Let me encourage you to make your voice heard on Tuesday. But not just at the polls.<\/p>\n Take heed the directive given by Paul to Timothy: \u201cFirst of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way<\/em>\u201d (1 Tim. 2:1\u20132). We dare not be negligent in this, because our leaders need our prayers as much as ever. Prayers for our nation will not go unheard.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Tuesday, November 8 Pray for Our Rulers, Part II \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. 2 Timothy 2:2 Many passages and examples in the Bible clarify our responsibilities as citizens, on such is found in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cornerstonecem.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cornerstonecem.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cornerstonecem.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cornerstonecem.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cornerstonecem.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2208"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cornerstonecem.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2208\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2216,"href":"https:\/\/cornerstonecem.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2208\/revisions\/2216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cornerstonecem.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cornerstonecem.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cornerstonecem.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}