At one point in his ministry, Jim Cymbala, author of Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, sensed that God had a message for him:

If you and your wife will lead my people to pray and call upon my name, you will never lack for something fresh to preach. I will supply all… that’s needed, both for the church and for your family, and you will never have a building large enough to contain the crowds I will send in response.

As the people’s prayers were answered, the Cymbalas saw a wider application to the truths they were learning:

Prayer is the source of the Christian life, a Christian’s lifeline… Pastors and churches have to get uncomfortable enough to say, “We are not New Testament Christians if we don’t have a prayer life.”

If you make that kind of commitment to prayer this very day, you too can connect to the source of Christian life and watch God supply all that’s needed for you and your family.

P.R.A.Y. for Today

Praise God for being a Shepherd to your church; repent of any failure to seek His power; ask God for a breakthrough in your church’s ministry; yield by praying for this with others.

In Fellowship, his devotional study of John’s epistles, John G. Mitchell examines the fellowship with God that is ours through Jesus:

The great yearning of the heart of God is that we should have fellowship with Him. The purpose of redemption is not just to free us from sin nor simply get us to heaven, but rather fit us for eternal, unbroken, wonderful, personal, intimate fellowship with the living God Himself… Some people are waiting for fellowship, with its joy and peace, until they get to heaven. My friend, God wants us to have it now… It is not that we are waiting to have fellowship with God, but God is waiting for us to have fellowship with Him!

You can have that kind of incredible, intimate fellowship with God right now by falling to your knees in prayer.

P.R.A.Y. for Today

Praise God for the warmth of His fellowship; repent of any ways in which you’ve turned your back on Him; ask that others will experience His fellowship today; yield to Him by talking to others about the value of fellowship with God.

In The Master Plan of Evangelism, Robert E. Coleman explains how Jesus showed through His prayer life how His disciples should live:

Surely it was no accident that Jesus often let His disciples see Him conversing with the Father. They could see the strength which it gave to His life, and though they could not understand fully what it was all about, they must have realized that this was part of His secret of life. Note that Jesus did not force the lesson upon them, but rather He just kept praying until at last the disciples got so hungry that they asked Him to teach them... (Luke 11:1).

Don’t you long for that hunger yourself? As you study the life of Christ, try to experience Him as the disciples did, and then let His example lead you to a life of holiness and strength.

P.R.A.Y. for Today

Praise God for Jesus’ example of prayer; repent of any dullness in learning from Jesus; ask Him to continue teaching you; yield to Him today by praying through His model prayer (Luke 11:2-4), expanding each part with your own words.

I can split nearly any church in less than two minutes. So, how can I do that? By asking which of the following items are sinful (or at best unspiritual):

• Drinking alcohol
• Smoking cigarettes or cigars
• Gambling
• Dancing
• Watching R-rated movies
• Listening to secular music
• Watching MMA (Mixed Martial Arts)
• Using birth control
• Sporting tattoos or piercings
• Sending your kids to public school
• Owning a luxury car or other extravagant possessions
• Working on Sunday
• Observing Halloween

Many Christians have practically come to blows over these issues! This should not be! Of course, I tend to filter life by things that give God glory vs. that which glorifies the world. If it is evil – the Bible says to flee from it (2 Tim 2:22, 1 Thess. 5:22). It is pretty simple really.

Perhaps you’ve seen or heard the slogan, “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” This is fantastic advice. But I would also add this, “The second thing is to keep second things second.” Indeed, it isn’t possible to keep the main thing main if we aren’t careful to keep second things second.” When Christians trivialize significant issues and hyper-focus on insignificant issues we must own the label “judgmental.”

We will read about those who create divisions in the church in Romans 16 so this is the build-up where Paul is addressing the issues that can create division.

So last week, we made it through the first 3 verses of Romans 13. I know – 55 minutes on 3 verses – that is some kind of record for me. But, it will be necessary for those of you who missed last week (and you know who you are) – to go back and listen online because this is one of the most important sections of Scripture for addressing some of the issues we are addressing today in our culture. You can also read the sermon notes online as well.

Let’s re-read the first 3 verses once again and then get right into this -  (Read Romans 13:1-3)

Colossians 1:16 “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.” 

Christianity was not well embraced in Rome at the time of Paul’s letter to the Romans. So, the irony is that Paul is teaching the Roman Church to submit to authority while encouraging them in their civil disobedience.

For centuries, Rome was a republic, with proud citizens and limits on the power of any individual. Then came Julius Caesar, across the Rubicon, civil war, and the age of the emperor. A dynasty. Five dictators in the House of Caesar: Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero. Their names still bespeak power and excess. They came with the language of the Republic, but the reality of dictatorship.

• Augustus – ruled from 27 BC – 14 AD – poisoned by wife, Livia
• Tiberius – ruled from 14 AD – 37 AD – assassinated by Caligula (ruled during ministry of Christ)
• Caligula – ruled from 37 AD – 41 AD – assassinated in conspiracy by the senators
• Claudius – ruled from 41 AD – 54 AD – poisoned by wife Agrippina the Younger
• Nero – ruled from 54 AD – 68 AD – committed suicide

Like Pastor Saeed Abedini who went back to Iran to teach the gospel, he was violating the law of the Iranian government that said to not spread Christianity. It is strictly forbidden. But in this case, the words of Christ to go into all the world and preach the gospel supersede those of the government of men. Pastor Saeed didn’t go back to lead a revolt – rather he went back to spread the truth of Jesus. So, as dual citizens, we are instructed to follow the government authorities but we must also hold it to the filter of God’s law. For example, we must not bow down before idols. You will see that in Revelation 13-14 – there will be a government that tells the people to build a giant statue and then to worship it and to receive a mark on their foreheads and hands. Revelation 14 then says, anyone who does this will not receive eternal life and will be thrown into the lake of fire.

So, what is that saying? Commit Civil Disobedience – do not obey when instructed to specifically defy the laws of God. However, it doesn’t say to revolt. Rather we refuse to subject our minds or bodies to directives of evil.

Dual Citizenship (Romans 13:1-14) – Part I

What is dual citizenship? Dual citizenship means that an individual is a citizen of two countries at the same time. In America, dual citizenship is not something that can be applied for. It occurs automatically for some individuals. For example, if a child is born in the U.S. to foreign parents, the child automatically has U.S. citizenship as well as citizenship of the parents’ home country. Similarly, the Bible calls you to dual citizenship. If you were born in the U.S. you are an American citizen, but when you were born again you became heaven’s citizen. You are responsible to live out both citizenships and Paul argues that both citizenships are essential since you have dual citizenship. In Rom 13:1-14 Paul instructs you in your obligations as an earthly and heavenly citizen.

1. Submit To Government (13:1-7)

God is glorified and His will is fulfilled when you submit to His governing authorities. In 13:1a Paul writes: “Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities.” The command begins with the words, “Every person” (pasa psuche lit. “every soul”). This includes believers and unbelievers, rich and poor, great and small, without exception. But Paul’s primary concern is that believers “submit” to governing authorities. The verb “submit” (hupotasso) means “to place oneself under.” After reading this blanket command, some look for exceptions. However, here Paul provides the general rule, not the exceptions. Of course, there are at least three areas in which a Christian should resist authority:

(1) If he or she is asked to violate a command of God.

(2) If he or she is asked to commit an immoral or unethical act.

(3) If he or she is asked to go against his/her conscience. But when a believer resists authority he/she must be willing to accept the consequences (see 13:2). Submission is never easy and frequently there are grave ethical dilemmas.

Fortunately, in 13:1b Paul gives the first reason you must submit to government. He writes, “For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.” This is the first of four uses of the word “authority” (exousia), which means “delegated authority.” Paul’s entire argument is based upon a fundamental premise: God is sovereign and He possesses ultimate authority. However, no one has authority independent of God. (Underline the word “no” in 13:1b). He alone delegates human authority to people. This means that every government is to be acknowledged and obeyed by virtue of its existence, not because it meets your preferences. The term that is translated “established” or “ordained” (tetagmenai from tasso) is in the perfect tense, referring to a past action with continuous results. Paul means that all governments (past, present, and future) that exist are ordained by God, whether good or bad.

There were two trees in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:9):

The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and the other was the Tree of Life.

What was the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil?

Well, it could have been an apple tree, but it probably wasn't. The apple idea stems back to a Latin pun, where the Latin word malum means both evil and apple. (The actual phrase for good and evil is boni et mali.) It's a pun that is lost in other languages, and as Genesis was written in Hebrew we should not place any reliability on a Latin pun.

Some believe it was a fig tree, but the tree is not identified.

The Hebrew word here translated tree is the same word used for ordinary trees in all 25 uses in the book of Genesis. There is no exception. So the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” was clearly an actual type of tree.

Similarly, the Hebrew word for knowledge is the ordinary word for knowledge or awareness. There is not the slightest indication that we should look for another meaning for knowledge.

What about the words for good and evil? Well, the word for good is the same one used throughout Genesis chapter 1 when God pronounced His creation “good” and “very good.” The meaning may at times be extended to mean beautiful, joyful, bountiful, or pleasurable. Again, there is nothing to indicate we should look for an unusual meaning of good.

The Hebrew word for evil that is used in the tree's description — ra‘ — has the sense of misery, woe, grief, or harm. The word means evil, and perhaps more. It points to something extremely sorrowful — so we can rightly understand that eating the fruit of this tree would reveal knowledge of good and misery.

So was giving knowledge of good and evil a bad thing? One might naturally assume that a source of knowledge would be a good thing so was the tree actually bad or was God somehow trying to suppress knowledge from us? This couldn’t be further from the truth.

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you." Psalm 32:8

The prospect of a new year could be both disquieting and exciting. It could be exciting because it could be a year filled with new possibilities and opportunities and, at the same time, disquieting if you face the unknown future with anxiety, wondering whether the problems and disasters of the past will repeat themselves.

When we reflect on the future, it is a rather common mistake to allow the events of the past to cloud our vision. International crises, financial setbacks, droughts, floods, as well as personal problems and disappointments tend to dictate our pattern of thought when we ponder the possible consequences for us.

Today, more so than ever before, the moment has come to place your unwavering trust in the omniscience of God. He truly cares about you and He loves you profoundly: But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ (Eph. 2:4). Everyone has a need for love: true, profound, and sincere love. Various personal and social factors indicate that mankind lost this love due to the Fall. It is small wonder then that there are so many instances of suicide, divorce, family conflict, stresses and strains, and even war. Therefore, you will have to rediscover, without delay, the fact that in this loveless world there is still Somebody who has a special interest in you: a God in heaven who is Love and who loves you tenderly.

Believe in the promises of Jesus and approach the new year in the presence of the living Christ. He will guide you through the labyrinth of life because He knows what is best for you. Your duty lies in obeying Him. Then your anxiety will be replaced with self-awareness born of the love of God!

We trust you had a blessed time as we celebrated the birth of our Savior last week. With the New Year fast approaching, we wanted to share a few helpful insights from our friend, Nancy Leigh DeMoss:

I am so thankful for the many valuable lessons my father, Arthur S. DeMoss, taught me about a Biblical perspective on money and material possessions. As both a successful businessman and an earnest follower of Jesus Christ, he was a living illustration of those principles. As I look back on my dad’s life, I see several reasons for the blessing of God on his life:

Here are the top 5 most searched and shared Bible verses in 2015:

Proverbs 3:5-6: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."

Philippians 4:6-7: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."