<html><head></head><body><div><div><div><div><br></div>Romans 13;1&amp;2<div><br></div><div><b>1. &nbsp;Let 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.</b></div><div><b>2. &nbsp;Therefore, he who resists the authorities, resist what God has appointed, and those who resist will encourage judgment.</b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div>Luther teaches that all earthly&nbsp;authority is founded upon the Fourth Commandment. <i>“Honor your father and your mother.”</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div>To honor parents is to honor God who gave them to us for good. &nbsp;In the same way, to honor other earthly&nbsp;authorities, is to recognize they also are gifts from God for our good.</div><div><br></div><div>Much of the lawlessness and&nbsp;societal breakdown we see about us today may be traced back to fatherless children. &nbsp;Single parent households are statistically proven to result in greater incidence of criminality and incarceration. &nbsp;The presence of a father&nbsp;in the nuclear family, serves to make a child more mindful of the right of authority to exercise limits on behavior. &nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Scripture commands, <i>“ fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” &nbsp;</i>(Ephesians 6;4)</div><div><br></div><div>When we rightly fear the power of earthly authority to punish bad behavior, we are actually worshiping God,&nbsp;who establishes all earthly authority for our blessing. &nbsp;To disrespect earthly authority, is to sin against God who gave it to us.</div><div><br></div><div>Even kings (who claim the divine right to rule) may be deposed by a nation of fathers who rise united&nbsp;&nbsp;against an ungodly ruler. &nbsp;Fathers, not presidents, governors, or kings are the real seat of power from God.<br>Authorities are to be obeyed, so long as they do not command us to disobey God.</div><div>(see, Acts 5;17-29)</div><div><br></div><div>In the matter of our government attempting to make it unlawful to gather in person as an assembly of Believers for worship, claiming&nbsp;the government is ‘protecting us from death’ (as we recently witnessed during Covid); the&nbsp;<span>Churches of all true Believers must decline, just as Peter did in Acts 5.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><i>“ Let us hold fast&nbsp;the confession of our hope, without wavering, for He&nbsp;who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stir one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” </i>(Hebrews 10;23-25)</div><div><br></div><div>The Church does not fear physical death. &nbsp;We have been given the Life which can never be taken from us.</div><div>This Life is seen by the world as we faithfully assemble to partake of the true Body, and the true Blood of Jesus, given and shed for the Life of the world, the forgiveness of sins.</div><div><br></div><div><i>“ For I received from the Lord, what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “ This is my body, which is &nbsp;for you.&nbsp;<u>Do this</u>&nbsp;in remembrance of me.” &nbsp;In the same way, also the cup, after supper, saying, “ This cup is the new covenant in my blood. <u>Do this</u>&nbsp;as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”</i></div><div><i><u>For as often as you eat this Bread and drink the Cup, you proclaimed the Lord‘s death until he comes.</u></i></div><div>(1 Corinthians 11;23-26)</div><div><br></div><div>Our public gathering allows our Lord to Divinely Serve us, forgiving our sin and giving Himself into us&nbsp;for the Life of the world. &nbsp;This Holy Meal delivers from death. &nbsp;Our reception of the Lord’s Supper is evangelistic, as we assemble and receive it, we <i>“proclaim” </i>the atoning sacrifice of<i>&nbsp;</i><span>Christ, our deliverance from the powers of sin and death. &nbsp;This witness the Church must never cease to give, not for any reason. &nbsp;If the governing authorities command us to stop worshipping together, faithful Believer will refuse. &nbsp;We are willing to suffer the condemnation of the state and of this increasingly lawless society, rather than cease to proclaim Christ.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Note: It is impossible to celebrate the Lord’s Supper in isolation apart from the rest of the Body of Christ, the consecrated Bread and Wine is the very thing which makes us one with Jesus and one another. &nbsp;There is no such thing as electronic Communion, the TV cannot&nbsp;unite us. &nbsp;Where is the public&nbsp;<i>“proclamation”?</i></span></div><div><span><i><br></i></span></div><div><span>Prayer: &nbsp;Merciful Father in heaven, forgive us for our failures to be subject to the governing authorities.</span></div><div><span>Make us bold to never cease to be subject to Your most holy will and Word. &nbsp;Grant us courage to ever <i>“Seek first the Kingdom of God” &nbsp;</i>(Matthew 6:33) no matter the cost. &nbsp;In Jesus we pray, Amen.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Love,</span></div><div><span>Dad/Baba/Eric/Grandpa Pickle Pastor</span></div><div><span><i>“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word. &nbsp;God’s Word is our habitation, and we are His.”</i></span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><i></i></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><div><a href="https://mail.onelink.me/107872968?pid=nativeplacement&amp;c=Global_Acquisition_YMktg_315_Internal_EmailSignature&amp;af_sub1=Acquisition&amp;af_sub2=Global_YMktg&amp;af_sub3=&amp;af_sub4=100000604&amp;af_sub5=EmailSignature__Static_" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a><br></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>


Romans 13;1&2
1.  Let 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.2.  Therefore, he who resists the authorities, resist what God has appointed, and those who resist will encourage judgment.
Luther teaches that all earthly authority is founded upon the Fourth Commandment. “Honor your father and your mother.”
To honor parents is to honor God who gave them to us for good.  In the same way, to honor other earthly authorities, is to recognize they also are gifts from God for our good.
Much of the lawlessness and societal breakdown we see about us today may be traced back to fatherless children.  Single parent households are statistically proven to result in greater incidence of criminality and incarceration.  The presence of a father in the nuclear family, serves to make a child more mindful of the right of authority to exercise limits on behavior.  
Scripture commands, “ fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”  (Ephesians 6;4)
When we rightly fear the power of earthly authority to punish bad behavior, we are actually worshiping God, who establishes all earthly authority for our blessing.  To disrespect earthly authority, is to sin against God who gave it to us.
Even kings (who claim the divine right to rule) may be deposed by a nation of fathers who rise united  against an ungodly ruler.  Fathers, not presidents, governors, or kings are the real seat of power from God.
Authorities are to be obeyed, so long as they do not command us to disobey God.(see, Acts 5;17-29)
In the matter of our government attempting to make it unlawful to gather in person as an assembly of Believers for worship, claiming the government is ‘protecting us from death’ (as we recently witnessed during Covid); the Churches of all true Believers must decline, just as Peter did in Acts 5.
“ Let us hold fast the confession of our hope, without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stir one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10;23-25)
The Church does not fear physical death.  We have been given the Life which can never be taken from us.This Life is seen by the world as we faithfully assemble to partake of the true Body, and the true Blood of Jesus, given and shed for the Life of the world, the forgiveness of sins.
“ For I received from the Lord, what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “ This is my body, which is  for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”  In the same way, also the cup, after supper, saying, “ This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”For as often as you eat this Bread and drink the Cup, you proclaimed the Lord‘s death until he comes.(1 Corinthians 11;23-26)
Our public gathering allows our Lord to Divinely Serve us, forgiving our sin and giving Himself into us for the Life of the world.  This Holy Meal delivers from death.  Our reception of the Lord’s Supper is evangelistic, as we assemble and receive it, we “proclaim” the atoning sacrifice of Christ, our deliverance from the powers of sin and death.  This witness the Church must never cease to give, not for any reason.  If the governing authorities command us to stop worshipping together, faithful Believer will refuse.  We are willing to suffer the condemnation of the state and of this increasingly lawless society, rather than cease to proclaim Christ.
Note: It is impossible to celebrate the Lord’s Supper in isolation apart from the rest of the Body of Christ, the consecrated Bread and Wine is the very thing which makes us one with Jesus and one another.  There is no such thing as electronic Communion, the TV cannot unite us.  Where is the public “proclamation”?
Prayer:  Merciful Father in heaven, forgive us for our failures to be subject to the governing authorities.Make us bold to never cease to be subject to Your most holy will and Word.  Grant us courage to ever “Seek first the Kingdom of God”  (Matthew 6:33) no matter the cost.  In Jesus we pray, Amen.
Love,Dad/Baba/Eric/Grandpa Pickle Pastor“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word.  God’s Word is our habitation, and we are His.”






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