Category Archives: Sovereignty of God

For Such A Time As This

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“And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14

You and I have a small part to play in God’s Orchestral Piece called “History.” Our time here is short… But God makes no mistakes. He has placed us right here, right now for His purpose! Will we step up and play our part?

We can look at the events of our world and become VERY afraid, or we can accept our call.

Let us not cower in the corner with fear or live our lives with indifference. We have our part to play. We are not our own. We are God’s. He wants us to shine His light into ever dark corner of our communities and our world!
He is not done! He has not abandoned His plan.

“For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”
‭‭Habakkuk‬ ‭2‬:‭14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The Romans Challenge: Authorities— God’s Servant for Your Good

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“For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭13‬:‭4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

God establishes authorities. He has placed them over us “for your good” As a Christian citizen, we are to respect those that God has placed in authority over us. Those who serve us in governmental offices are placed in those positions to promote good and restrain evil. They are working for the welfare of our society.

If we are doing what is good, “you will receive his {the authority’s }approval.” (Verse 3 ESV) BUT, if you do what is wrong, you should be afraid because God has placed these authorities in position to “bring punishment on the wrongdoer.”

Simply put, God has placed those who govern over us in that position. We are to respect and honor them for the service they provide. 

“Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭13‬:‭7‬ ‭NIV

May we resolve to pray for those who serve as governmental authorities over us. They hold an important role and service to us. This is our first and foremost civic duty! 

“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior,”
‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The Romans Challenge: Governing Authorities

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“Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭13‬:‭1‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Years ago I was consumed with Talk Radio. I listened to it every day for hours. I talked about what I heard to my family. I was very concerned about the “Governing authorities.” I was so concerned that I would worry about the world I was raising my kids in. I lived in an uneasy state. I felt like it was up to me to do something to change things and I knew the problems were bigger than me…After a huge election loss of the party that I supported, I was in great dismay. It was then that I came to the conclusion that I needed to look to Someone bigger than the situations that I was seeing around me — God.

God is sovereign. This means He is supreme in power. He is King over all! Daniel 2:21 says:

“He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.”
‭‭Daniel‬ ‭2‬:‭21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

We can be confident knowing that “There is no authority except that which God has established.” God is in control! Whether the authorities over us follow God wholeheartedly or refuse to acknowledge Him, God is working in our Nation and the nations of the world. We can take courage that God has a plan. This plan is not one of a political bent. It is the advancement of His Kingdom! He is King of Kings! Ultimately, it does not matter what the earthly rulers choose, God’s purposes for our world will prevail!

God instructs us to pray for those who are in authority over us. But ours is not to worry about who is sitting in the Oval Office, the Kremlin, or any other governing office. God is in control of that. As citizens of Heaven FIRST, our allegiance is King Jesus!

We can rest in the assurance that “The authorities that exist have been established by God.” God is always at work, and He is in control!

The Romans Challenge: The Plan

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“But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring!”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭11‬:‭12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

God always has a plan! We may not see where all the things in our lives are going, but He does. He is sovereign. He is over all. He is in control.

Everything this happened to Jesus when He walked here on earth was no surprise to God at all. The reaction of the Jewish leaders and the rejection of Jesus were all a part of God’s plan. We know this because there is prophecy after prophecy in the Old Testament that told us exactly what would happen. In fact the Jewish people of Jesus’s time “transgression (sin of rejecting Jesus) means riches for the world…” heavenly ones for us! Had Jesus not been rejected and crucified, resurrection would not have occurred and salvation would not have been provided for us all!

Although I do not understand the full impact of this statement, I know a time is coming that God will do a great work in His people the Jews. And we will all be blessed by the “greater riches … their full inclusion (will) bring!” In Jesus, we will all be one!

God is at work in all things according to His plan!

This is a source of comfort to me in my life. When everything seems to be going sideways in my own personal life, I can know God has been, is now, and forever will be in control! He is working all things according to His will. He started His plan before the creation of the world. He knew how it would go and will go. He cares about the smallest of details. I can trust Him!

The Romans Challenge: The Remnant

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“So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.” Romans 11:5-6 ESV

Have you ever felt alone in your faith? There are times that we all feel that way. Paul writes regarding his people, the Jews of his time, that it may seem that God had rejected them when He called out to the non Jewish — Gentiles — to receive His salvation. But God had not rejected His people at all. He has always had a chosen people, a remnant. This remnant was a small, faithful group, that remained true to God.

Throughout history, God has always preserved His people. There have been very dark hours of persecution of His church and His chosen people Israel. But He has always had someone who was faithful to Him.

In our world today, there are so many things going on. It can be frightening to watch. At times, it seems God’s Church is so small against the onslaught. But we too can take comfort that “there is a remnant…” We have those around us that have responded to God’s grace and received salvation through faith in Jesus. We are able to stand together for our LORD.

I would be negligent to not say that God is also at work in Israel of today. He has a remnant there as well. Though we do not see all the details of what God is working, we can be assured He is not finished yet! He is faithful to us (the non Jewish believers of our time). He is faithful to His chosen people. What He has promised He will fulfill!

For now, we can be assured that there is “a remnant, chosen by grace.” We are not alone. We are a part of God’s family. His church!

The Romans Challenge: Chosen

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“For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭9‬:‭15‬-‭16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I was not a very athletic kid. When I went out to play at recess, I was always the last one chosen for the kickball team. I can still hear the other kids as they picked their players. I was always one of the last few not chosen, “…ok (sigh) I’ll take Janet.”

God is not that way. It is not as if He was picking His team and then thought, “I have no other option… I’ll pick you.”

God deliberately chooses to have mercy on us. He knows all our shortcomings. He knows all our wrong choices… Still He has a tender heart towards us and calls to us to come to Him so we can be made new. God deliberately chooses to have compassion on us. He sees us in our broken mess and desires to heal and restore. Whatever our lives look like, He never says, “Go away! Your mess is too much for Me…”

What a beautiful truth! Our salvation/ relationship to God does not “depend on human desire or effort.” It is all dependent upon “God’s mercy.”

Thank You Father that You have chosen us to have mercy and compassion upon. You love us! That is enough! We do not have to do anything to earn Your love, mercy, or compassion. You chose to send Jesus. Jesus, You chose to die. And You have chosen to show us mercy and compassion in drawing us to Your side and saving us. There is nothing we have done, can do, or will do in the future to earn such a great gift! We love You! In Jesus name!

The Romans Challenge: Reconciled!

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“For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭5‬:‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Reconciled- “Brought into friendship from a state of disagreement or enmity” (Webster’s 1828)

Today is Romans 5!

We were created for connection to God! Relationship is connection. Back in the Garden of Eden, God’s intent for mankind was to have relationship. When Adam and Eve chose to sin, separation from God came. This separation is all we have really known and understood in our lives. It is the norm. But God desires for us to experience something radically different than that. He wants us to be united to Him in a close and intimate relationship!

This is why Jesus came. His death, burial and resurrection provides the way for us to experience His salvation from sin. When we accept Him as our Savior, we are justified by His blood. His blood cleanses us from the sin that has separated us from God. Then we experience the most beautiful thing — reconciliation. We are brought back into the relationship that God originally desired for us to have way back at the beginning, in the Garden of Eden.

This relationship we now have with God is closely connected to Him. He gives us the Holy Spirit to live inside of us. We now live our lives literally walking and talking with God.

We go from being enemies of God, pursuing sin, to a friend of God, pursuing Him and His righteousness! We can now live our lives reconciled to God!

The Romans Challenge: Rejoice in Hope

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“Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭5‬:‭2‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Today we start Romans 5!

Hope is the confident expectation of good.

Glory is the sum of all God’s characteristics. It is all of His perfections or excellence.

When we come to know God for who He is and all of His greatness, we know that we will experience good from Him. No matter what our circumstances are we know God is at work for our good. This is because He is completely good and He is completely love. All this love and goodness is poured out upon us.

When life is hard, we have reason to rejoice! Because whatever hardship that God has allowed into our lives is working in us perseverance, character, and hope. More than all of this, we will experience God’s love, which is defined as His will to good for us!

When we trust God in impossible circumstances, we will find out that He is faithful! He never leaves us or abandons us. Each and every circumstance will deepen our understanding of God and grow our relationship with Him, if we will determine that our eyes will be fixed on Him.

We will “rejoice in hope!” We have hope that He is working here and now on our behalf. Romans 8:28 says He is working all things for our good.

We also have hope that when all is said and done, we will experience the ultimate good, eternity with Him!

Rejoice! No matter what God is for us!

James: It’s Not About Me

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(Today is James 4) 

“Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.””
‭‭James‬ ‭4‬:‭13‬-‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

A “me-centered” life is empty and foolish. But our natural inclination is to live that way.

We make our plans: I will do this today. I will do this tomorrow. Ten years from now I will be here. But do we consider God? Do we ask Him what His plan is?

The truth is we are only here for a little while. The only thing that will be of any significance in our lives is the Eternal. Eternal life is only found in God.

James tells us “If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.” (Verse 17) The “Good” we ought to do is living our lives surrendered to the only One who will take our lives and give them meaning far beyond the short time we have here on earth.

If we do not “do” the good of a surrendered life, a God-centered life, we live our lives in sin.

Instead of making our plans, we should be asking:

Today or tomorrow, where do You want me to go God? How long would You want me to do this or that? What do You want me to be about?

My life is not my own. It is not about me! It is about God and glorifying Him in all I do!

Show Us The Father — Unchanging

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Today is Mark 13.

Jesus and His disciples came out of the temple. One of the disciples commented on the beauty of what he was seeing. Jesus spoke of how all that seemed so certain and indestructible would be destroyed, the Temple.

They went to the Mount of Olive opposite the Temple. As they sat at there Jesus began to tell of what was to come. In all the disturbing events Jesus spoke of, One Thing stood out as unshakeable and unchanging — His Word!

Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” (Verse 31)

In all the changes we experience in our daily lives, Jesus tells us His Word will not change. It will endure.

The Word is God! It is His Divine Expression of Himself. You cannot separate God from His Word. They are one. Jesus shows us that His Word is unchanging, so is His Heavenly Father. Nothing in the future will change the character of our God. He will always be love, goodness, our peace, our strength, etc.

Of all the events that we will face in our lives, there is one certain person to run to that will withstand the storm, God. He and His Word are unchanging!