Thursday Devotional - Courageously Consistent

Have you ever been frustrated to tell the same story over and over? Have you had to tell your symptoms to the front desk person at your doctor’s office, then to the nurse and then again to the doctor? Or maybe it was a computer problem to the help desk, or instructions to a child/spouse, etc.

Paul had to tell his story over and over again. He didn’t get frustrated, though, and saw it as an opportunity to share God’s truths over and over to different people!

After Paul was seized in the temple, he spoke his defense to the crowd about meeting Jesus and told them Jesus gave him a mission to be a witness to the Gentiles (Acts 22). Then, the next day he spoke before the Sanhedrin regarding the same charges (Acts 23). As we saw last week, he was then secretly escorted to Caesarea. A few days later, his case was heard by Governor Felix. He calmly, courageously, and consistently continued to speak truth.

Acts 24:12-16           ¹² My accusers did not find me arguing with anyone at the temple, or stirring up a crowd in the synagogues or anywhere else in the city. ¹³ And they cannot prove to you the charges they are now making against me. ¹⁴ However, I admit that I worship the God of our ancestors as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets, ¹⁵ and I have the same hope in God as these men themselves have, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. ¹⁶ So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.

Paul was never ashamed of who he was, what he believed, or what God said. He consistently and courageously took opportunities to speak the truth. With whom do you and I need to be courageously consistent to speak the truth, even if it’s the same thing over and over?

Alice

Have A Heart

And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. 10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you.”

But Moses implored the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people.  Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’”  Exodus 32:9-13

Loretta, my wife, is wonderful in so many ways.  She loves me despite my flaws, and is a great mother and grandmother.  One of those things that has driven me crazy all these years is how she advocates for our children when they have done something wrong.  She knows that I come from a family of disciplinarians (my Dad was in the military, and my mom should have been 😊), and as such, they had very little tolerance when I did anything wrong.  So, as my children failed to meet an expectation or did something clearly out of the guidelines of what they were supposed to do, I was ready to come down with an iron hand.  Then, here comes that artist known as my wife.  “Kent, you can’t be so hard on him all the time,” or, “You have to see things from her perspective,” she would say.  “Seriously?!?!?” I responded.  After a lengthy back and forth, I often relented to her sound advice.  It’s not that I did not have strong conviction.  Trust me.  She will tell you that.  Nonetheless, it is her heart for our children that has always won me over.  In fact, it is how she won me over for when people tell me how big of a heart I have, I humbly deflect their kind words saying, “If you think I have a heart, you should get to know my wife.”

God has a heart for us.  My focus today is on the relationship between Moses and God.  The Israelites had grown restless from Moses being in the mountains talking with God and assumed that he must be gone.  Thus, they needed a new god to worship.  Aaron built a Golden Calf from gold jewelry they had given him, and the people worshipped it as if it were God.  If you question how bad a sin this was, remember I wrote about how God set the stage telling Moses, “Remember, you must not make any idols of silver or gold to rival me.” (Exodus 20:23) (see https://trdailydevotional.blogspot.com/2020/03/you-dont-want-none-of-this.html).  It is a bit funny because one can see God having this ‘I told you so’ moment with Moses.  Now, God is ready to dare I say ‘go nuclear’ on the Israelites ((T)hat my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them).  But like Loretta strolling up to me when our son got suspended for fighting, Moses pleaded his case to spare the Israelites.  It is pretty amazing to hear as we have watched Moses grow from this soft spoken man who claimed to be a poor speaker and asking God, “Who am I,” to a man who actively petitioned God to spare the Israelites from His rightful wrath.  Moses knew God was right to be angry and righteous to punish His people with death.  But Moses’s heart for them and the journey they had gone pushed him to advocate for them and remind God of His promises to them.  There are a couple of things we can take from this.  First, remember the promises the Lord has made to us.  The appeal Moses made had a logic through the prior promises He made.  And second, love onto others.  We can’t go to God on behalf of others without loving them.  Many Christians will say the heart is bad noting Jeremiah 17:9 (The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?).  However, David was a man after God’s own heart (see 1 Samuel 13:14), and Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” This implies that if your heart seeks God, all good will flow from it.

God wants not only our minds but also our hearts.  Paul summarized this so well saying, “If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing (1 Corinthians 13:3).  When James said, “Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works,” (James 2:26) the ‘good works’ is defined as action through love for Christ.  This is what it means to have a heart for God, and Moses had a huge heart for God and His people.  Therefore, let us be inspired to have a heart for God to serve Him and others.  How can you keep your heart focused on Him?  What practice will you keep ensuring your heart is for God?  My prayer is when we look at others and their struggles, we put on a Godly lens and have a heart.  Amen.

By Name Only

There are jokes we know so well, only the punchline is needed to get us laughing. They're not that funny, honestly, it's the memory of the laughter and fun they brought. And then there are those who had never heard the joke, but, often from peer pressure, laughed anyway. Over time, the joke was lost, but the punchline is remembered, and funny, but nobody can remember why. "Rectum? Dang near killed 'em!", will usually bring a smile, but no one remembers the joke (although you can look it up).

In the same way, we can remember stories of characters simply by naming them. And yet, often, we can't remember the story, only that the name is important for some reason. It's like history: it happened, and we remember the names, but the details of what they did are fuzzy, and we can never remember the dates. Again, we can look it up if we like.

The writer of Hebrews, toward the end of the "Role Call of Faith" stops telling stories, and begins listing names. And it is supremely ironic to me that most of the names are from a book which most disciples of Jesus consider a collection of faithless mistakes of Israel.

And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. (Hebrews 11:32-34 NASB)

Four of the six names are from the book of Judges. And of the Judges listed, the writer seems to have chosen the ones we consider the worst examples of faith. Gideon needed to test God three times, Barak wouldn't go into battle without a woman present, Samson is simply famous for his mistakes, and few people remember Jephthah because he's so embarrassing pastor's don't teach on him. And yet, there they are, considered paragons of faith to God, held up as examples to follow.

Is it possible that we've become so jaded by what we have been told about these men that we have missed the perspective of their Savior? Oh wait, you don't think they were saved, you say? Samson and Jephthah clearly didn't get it, and can't possibly be saved?

Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection; and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground. And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect. Hebrews 11:35-40 NASB

These were looking for a better resurrection. Why look forward to disaster? They were looking forward to the Savior, as we do. Yet, their names made the list. Maybe just their names, maybe not their stories, but I wish their stories were told. I want to know how the writer of Hebrews understands their stories. We are ashamed of them, and our Savior isn't. That should tell us something. That should shout loudly to us. A man who sacrificed his only daughter to Yahweh made the list. How is that? Perhaps we miss something in their stories.

Are we missing something in other stories? What about the stories in the lives around us? Is it possible that we have become so judgmental that we consider common what our Savior has sanctified (Acts 10:15)? The context of Acts 10 should scream at us that we, as Gentiles, would have no part in the Kingdom unless those in the Kingdom followed whatever God deemed holy.

These listed here in this collection of failures were considered holy by our Savior. Maybe we should revisit their stories to discover what we missed. It seems the punchline isn't enough, we need the whole joke to truly get it. And once we have a better grasp of our Creator's perspective, perhaps we will understand those around us better as well.

Just a thought.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Copyright by The Lockman Foundation

Now and Then

“For God so loved the word that He gave

His only begotten Son, that whoever

believes in Him should not perish but have

everlasting life.” 

     John 3:16 (NKJV)

“He who believes in the Son has everlasting

life; and he who does not believe the Son

shall not see life, but the wrath of God

abides on him.”

     John 3:36 (NKJV)

This virus seems to have highlighted people's natural fear of death.  As believers, we don’t look forward to death but we should not fear it because death is merely the portal to heaven.  We should live with our spiritual suitcases packed and ready because we know where we’re going when our earthly lives are finished.  It's important to be prepared every day for our last day, when we will stand before our Lord and give an account for how we lived. This should cause us to fear God but not fear death as long as we are in Christ, because we have the glorious promise of eternal life with Him.

God's word promises that whoever believes in the Lord Jesus “has” everlasting life.  Not that we “will have” eternal life but that we "have" it when we believe. If we’ve accepted Jesus as our Savior and Lord, then we are “partakers” of His divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). Because Christ is eternal, we share in His eternal life when we become children of God through His salvation. From what I've read, this is a now and then reality—we experience the divine quality of eternal life now when our new life begins and we abide in Christ, and then we will possess the full manifestation of eternal life at our death.

Let's make sure we're prepared every day and live in light of the eternity we share now and will enjoy in the future with our great God.

Thursday Devotional - Trust the results to God

There are a lot of unknowns these days. We don’t know if we and our loved ones will remain healthy, we don’t know what plans we can make for the summer, we don’t even know what groceries we’ll be able to get in our next pick-up order!

We do know God is Sovereign, in control, sees all and is active. Last week we saw Paul demonstrate his active and courageous faith by sending his nephew to the commander to tell him about the plots to kill him. Paul did what he could with the information provided and trusted God with the outcome.

God had the commander act quickly to protect Paul.

Acts 23:23-24, ²³ Then he called two of his centurions and ordered them, “Get ready a detachment of two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at nine tonight. ²⁴ Provide horses for Paul so that he may be taken safely to Governor Felix.”

470 armed men protected Paul all the way to Caesarea! God was going to fulfill His plan to have him testify in Rome (Acts 23:11)!  

We can trust God with our lives, too, as we actively follow His commands and direction. I think right now that means wisely using the information we know to protect ourselves our family and those around us from the virus. If we must go somewhere, we can follow the laws of wearing masks and keeping the recommended social distance.

My sister and her family were planning to come for a visit in June. However, we are all praying for direction to make a wise decision. We want to be like Paul, wisely using the information we have and then trusting God with the result.

Where do you need to trust God for provision or direction? How will you be like Paul? Let’s not react in fear nor sit back and do nothing, but respond in active faith and then trust the results to God!   

Alice

Details ... Hello?

“And I have personally appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, to be his assistant. Moreover, I have given special skill to all the gifted craftsmen so they can make all the things I have commanded you to make:
the Tabernacle;
the Ark of the Covenant;
the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement;
all the furnishings of the Tabernacle;
the table and its utensils;
the pure gold lampstand with all its accessories;
the incense altar;
the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils;
the washbasin with its stand;
the beautifully stitched garments—the sacred garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments for his sons to wear as they minister as priests;
the anointing oil;
the fragrant incense for the Holy Place.
The craftsmen must make everything as I have commanded you.”  Exodus 31:6-11

I was born again when I was given the humbled opportunity to write devotions over fifteen years ago.  However, God has intentionally been with me all my life.  I’m aware of this now, and while I marvel at the plans He has for my life, I love to look back to recognize the level of detail He instructed me with even when I did not even know.  One of those moments is His introducing me to a man who I realize now was my first spiritual mentor.

Rev. Dr. Frederick G. Sampson was a pastor of one of the largest churches in Detroit, and he took an interest in me because my mother had attended there shortly after I started college and a decade before I gave my life to Christ.  He had a gift of simplifying who God was, and while never a member of his church, I would often go to hear him speak.  He was indeed a scholar of God’s word, and his sermons were both meticulously delivered and never boring.  Imagine listening to someone for well over an hour as a teenager and never being bored.  The one thing that I loved about his sermons was the way he ensured a point was not missed by doing this subtle 3-5 second pause after a statement and then saying, “Hello?”  Then he would repeat it again as the congregation roared its approval confirming they did not lose sight of the details being said in the lesson.

God’s attention to detail ensures we can see His path for us.  In the journey of Moses, today’s scripture is from the middle of the 31^st chapter, which is seven chapters past my last devotion.  Why?  The entire 25^th through 30^th chapters is devoted to specific instructions on building the Ark of the Covenant between God and Israel and additional construction.  It is fascinating reading because of the depth and detail of what God wanted.  From types of offerings for the Tabernacle (Side note: my mentor’s church was Tabernacle Missionary Baptist), the materials and measurements of the Ark, the clothing to be worn by priest and its material, and even to the ingredients of the anointing oil, God made clear His intention not only for what was to happen then but also to foretell the future mentioning Joshua and his children prominently in His plans.  Needless to say, this was not haphazard production.  It was God showing His wealth of knowledge and dominion over His Kingdom and people.  The verses today are the culmination of those instructions noting He even blessed individuals with the talents to be used for His will to be done.  Details.  Tons of details.  I can appreciate that thinking how it took me a full day to build an entertainment center the first time.  I thought I knew where something fit without reading the instructions carefully only to find I needed to disassemble it because I missed a detail.  God often gives us instruction through His word, and we might have to correct ourselves because we missed a detail and God taps us on the shoulder saying, “No.  This way.”  As a person who focuses on the big picture, I’m grateful to His level of detail that keeps me focused on Him and His plans as well.

God perfects the imperfections in our lives to ensure His instructions are followed.  We are not always great in following them, but we have someone who intercedes for us in Jesus Christ to straighten things out.  When speaking of the coming of Christ, John The Baptist said:

Every valley shall be filled
And every mountain and hill brought low;
The crooked places shall be made straight
And the rough ways smooth;
And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.  Luke 3:5-6 (NKJV)

Thus, while we may make mistakes, we trust in Christ for he is the perfecter of our faith.  Let us focus more on God, His word, and walking closer to Him in our faith.  What instruction might you be ignoring today?  Who can mentor you when God’s instruction doesn’t make sense?  My prayer is we are both sensitive and aware of God’s attention to detail in guiding us righteously.  Hello?  Amen.  😊

Faith of the Fathers

The three Patriarchs of the people of Israel were amazing examples of faith. Yet, it's difficult to beat the example of Abraham offering Isaac in obedience to the One promising him children. This event is recorded in detail in Genesis 22. God tested Abraham. In the Hebrew, this word for "test" can refer to temptations as well as qualitative tests.

The word used in the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures (Septuagint) is also used by the writer of Hebrews in 11:17 for "test". It refers to testing to determine quality, and sometimes originates from ill will (temptation). God does this sort of thing with us, but we are not to do such things with Him (Luke 4:12, quoting Deuteronomy 6:16). The Pharisees did this sort of testing of Jesus constantly.

So, here's the way the writer of Hebrews uses it:

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; it was he to whom it was said, “IN ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS SHALL BE CALLED.” He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type. (Hebrews 11:17-19 NASB)

Think through this test for a second. In Genesis 21, God has had Abraham send away Hagar and Abraham's son Ishmael, telling Abraham that Isaac would be the "child of promise". Now, "some time later", this same Yahweh calls on Abraham to kill Isaac, specifically calling out both Isaac, and the special relationship between he and Abraham. Think about that for a second. It should give you chills. It should give you some pause for a moment, possibly even doubt. Because behind this story is the reader's reaction of "what might my Savior ask of me?" And that's a very good question.

The test of Abraham is of his quality of belief. God had promised that He would fulfill Abraham's promise through Isaac. So, Abraham had to decide whether he would believe this God even when He seemed capricious. Did Abraham believe that this God would make good on a promise even when He seemed to be reneging? Do you?

When things aren't going well, do you still believe in the goodness of our Savior? When it's no longer "fun", when it's taking too long, when you are actually being persecuted and suffering, will you persist in your belief of the goodness of your Creator? Is Jesus still on His throne interceding for you? Is the Father still caring for you? Is the Spirit of the Living God still residing within you? Do you still believe, even when it's not convenient, popular, fun, or even safe? What if persisting in belief and being obedient actually costs you something precious?

It's easy to answer "yes" in the abstract imagination of "what might be". I suspect that I have a limit to my faith. I don't know where it is, exactly, but I suspect it wouldn't be very difficult to find. I have spent time doubting my Savior. I have spent time behaving as if He was't real, His promises weren't sure, and as if He didn't truly love me. For some peculiar reason, He still forgives me. I can't answer the above questions with absolute confidence because I haven't been tested to the extremes of my faith, not yet, but my day is coming.

How about you?

Storms

"Then He [Jesus] arose and rebuked the wind

and said to the sea, 'Peace, be still!' And the

wind ceased and there was a great calm."

     Mark 4:39 (NKJV)

"For He commands and raises the stormy wind,

which lifts the waves of the sea. . .He calms the 

storm, so that its waves are still."

    Psalm 107:25, 29 (NKJV)

 Now that spring is here in Minnesota, we encounter wind and rain, thunderstorms, hail and even tornadoes.  To increase my knowledge of what to look for in stormy weather, I watched a webinar by the National Weather Service.  It was interesting and informative, but not surprisingly, there was no acknowledgement that God is behind the weather.  We know that the Lord Jesus is Creator and Master of heaven and earth, and that even the wind and the storms obey Him.

When I was growing up, there were a lot of tornadoes in our area and they really scared me. (That's one reason I never liked the Wizard of Oz movie.)  I didn't know Jesus then so I had no good way to calm my fears. I'd heard about Him but it wasn't until decades later that I accepted Jesus as my Savior and Lord. I still get uneasy when the skies get dark and tornadoes are threatened, but now I know to turn to my Rock and my Fortress.  Jesus can speak peace into our hearts during all kinds of storms.  We read His word and find comfort, strength; we seek His face in prayer and are quieted.

 Jesus is God of the storm and God in the storm. If you're trusting Christ as your Savior and Lord, that should bring peace to your heart. 

For those who are interested, a song link: Master of the Wind by Candy Hemphill Christmas.

Thursday Devotional - Courage to do Nothing?

Jesus timely encouraged Paul in prison, giving him assurance he would go to Rome to testify. Jesus is trustworthy and Paul didn’t have anything to worry about, but did that mean he sat back and did nothing?  

Paul was in prison, so there wasn’t much he could do besides pray. Although he was already in prison, the Jews’ continued plots to kill him. God had Paul’s nephew find out about the plots, though, and he told Paul.

Paul could have told his nephew “Just trust God. Don’t worry about it!” since Jesus told Paul he would testify in Rome. However, Paul wisely (and prayerfully, I’m sure) did what he could do by sending his nephew to the commander.

Acts 23:17-22 ¹⁷ Then Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the commander; he has something to tell him.” ¹⁸ So he took him to the commander.

The centurion said, “Paul, the prisoner, sent for me and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you.”

 ¹⁹ The commander took the young man by the hand, drew him aside and asked, “What is it you want to tell me?”

²⁰ He said: “Some Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul before the Sanhedrin tomorrow on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about him. ²¹ Don’t give in to them, because more than forty of them are waiting in ambush for him. They have taken an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him. They are ready now, waiting for your consent to their request.”

²² The commander dismissed the young man with this warning: “Don’t tell anyone that you have reported this to me.”

Paul had active faith. He also had the Holy Spirit and godly wisdom.

With the COVID-19 pandemic, we can fully trust God as Sovereign and in control of everything. That doesn’t mean we sit back and do nothing. We are to have active faith. We can pray for wisdom to listen to the Holy Spirit’s direction on how to use the information available in a way that glorifies God and accomplishes His will. How will you and I do that today?  

Alice

When To Follow, When To Lead

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain. Stay there, and I will give you the tablets of stone on which I have inscribed the instructions and commands so you can teach the people.”  So Moses and his assistant Joshua set out, and Moses climbed up the mountain of God.

Moses told the elders, “Stay here and wait for us until we come back. Aaron and Hur are here with you. If anyone has a dispute while I am gone, consult with them.”  Exodus 24:12-14

Leading is hard.  I find this out every time my daughter decides to push a boundary, and each time my wife and I disagree on something.  My challenges to help people grow and to work with those who may struggle while still managing to achieve the goals of the business at work is nothing short of an undaunted task.  Some might say ‘undaunted’ is a strong word for the simple day to day task and compared to a soldier in the Alamo when it was under siege, it is not that undaunted at all.  But if you have a family and perhaps others that depends on you and your successes, the weight on one’s mind can make it seem that way.  Don’t believe me?  Ask Abraham Lincoln.  Him being a man of faith once said, “I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had no where else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day.”  And yet, he was arguably the greatest President of this nation.  How do you go from ‘my own wisdom and that of all about me’ being ‘insufficient’ to greatness?  It really depends on who you follow and what you learn when you lead.

God provides for us a shining example how to follow Him, and in kind, instructs us on how to lead others.  In reading through this portion of Moses and the journey to The Promised Land, he and several of his leaders and elders are climbing the mountain to God.  In today’s verses, the Lord instructs Moses to carry out His plans for Israel, and two key words shape the narrative here.  The first word ‘come’ was a command that Moses was to follow.  The saying is those who are great leaders must first become great followers.  They are willing to take instruction and commands, and Moses proved his willingness to follow the Lord’s commands at multiple turns.  Second was the word ‘teach.’  This implied to help others.  God could have just as easily come down from the clouds and spoken with fire and brimstone, but Moses was His guy!  Through trials and doubts (remember Moses considered himself not the most eloquent of speakers), he had grown to become the trusted leader of Israel.  And as such, God entrusted him to teach the others.  This principle is not to say everyone must lead.  God gives us all an opportunity to come to Him and learn of His goodness and grace.  In doing so, we are given additional opportunities to teach others these things as well.

God’s plan is always multiple steps ahead of our own.  Our goal is not attempting to outwit Him.  It is to prepare and act on what is needed when called upon.  Sometimes it is to come closer to Him.  Others, it is to teach.  Lincoln understood this as well.  In the middle of the Civil War, he wrote a proclamation for a day of National Humiliation, Fasting, and Prayer saying:

We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us.

It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.  Presidential Proclamation 97, March 30, 1863

Lincoln was humble enough to fall to his knees understanding he didn’t have all the answers, and wise enough to remind a nation where grace, sufficiency, humility, and forgiveness come from.  That is why Paul wrote to Timothy, “I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them.  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.” (1 Timothy 2:1-2)  I pray we are so humble as to know when to follow, and when chosen, to lead.  Amen.