Tag: Authority

About your spiritual / psychological toolbox.

Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the wil of God — what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Where are your thoughts falling short of God’s life-giving truth? Here are four tools to help you:

  1. remove the lie and replace it with truth. …an enemy who is seeking to destroy us. His weapon is the lie…
  2. create new trenches of truth. Our brains have neural pathways—mental ruts we created through repeatedly thinking the same thoughts—which trigger our automatic response to external stimuli. To stop a behavior, we need to remove the lie behind it and replace the neural pathway.
  3. reframe. You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control how you receive it and react to it. We all have cognitive biases that cause us to see things in ways that do not reflect reality. you have the power to reframe…
  4. change your perspective through prayer and praise. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by everything that is happening, but when we’ve had enough, God is enough. Not only is God enough, God is near. We stay mindful of His presence. When we do, it leads us to pray. Praying changes our brain, as does praising God. We praise Him for the who of who He is, even if the what is not what we want. As we praise God, we feel warming peace of mind.

Decide today that you will not think like the rest of the world. You will let God renew your mind… fix your thoughts on Jesus. He made you. He will sustain you. He can carry you, strengthen you, and empower you to do what He’s called you to do. You are more than a conqueror through Christ.

A blend of my thoughts and “excerpts from today’s Bible App Devotional called ‘Winning the War in your mind’”

Jesus as Shepherd

A lesson paraphrased from Ministry Matters:
To understand this passage, it helps to learn that multiple shepherds often kept all the sheep of their village in one fold (fenced area). When it was time to separate the flocks, each shepherd called their own sheep, using a unique call. The sheep from each flock recognized their own shepherd’s call and left the sheepfold only with that shepherd.

John 10:23-30
Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”
Jesus answered, “I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.
What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”

Called to Spiritual Leadership

On behalf of your clergypersons, and other spiritual leaders:
“You yourselves know, brothers and sisters, that our coming to you was not in vain, but though we had already suffered and been shamefully mistreated at Philippi, as you know, we had courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in spite of great opposition. For our appeal does not spring from deceit or impure motives or trickery, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the message of the gospel, even so we speak, not to please mortals, but to please God who tests our hearts. So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us.”
1 Thessalonians 2:1-4, 8

Government System

Our government system was designed to consist of three branches, legislative, judicial, administrative. This matters, and intends to keep each branch in check. No matter how they disagree, it’s crucial to keep checks and balances. I certainly don’t want to live under a dictatorship where opposition is squashed or reputations are destroyed.

I recently read about Britain’s King Charles I who disbanded the British Parliament more than once in order to do away with opposition and be a dictator. He eventually was declared a traitor and beheaded in 1649. https://www.history.com/…/king-charles-i-executed-for…

I am most definitely not in favor of beheadings. Why did I share this? Because human power should never be absolute, nor fueled by selfish ambition.

2019 UMC General Conference

This is my personal response to some who asked for my take on things.

We knew that however it ended up, a large number of people would feel hurt, scarred, betrayed and disillusioned.  Another large group would feel those exact same things, and relieved.  Everyone involved feels war torn.  A sad state of affairs.  It is not yet over.

As God is my witness, I try to surrender to God and not my own will, compulsions, nor changing societies, values, and trends.  Jesus said He only did the Father’s will, and I want to be like Jesus, unashamed of the gospel.

My favorite uncle was gay, I have parishioners who are lesbian, and friends with other lifestyles and I love them as friends.  We mutually understand that love does not always mean agreement in all matters.

Scripture says, “As far as it is up to you, be at peace with all.”  We all need God.  We all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory.

My foundation and continuing guidance must be God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as revealed in scripture, illuminated by the Holy Spirit, discerned in study and groups of faithful Christians.  For those among us who feel compelled to answer to God above all else, our hearts and minds must align with God.

My friends, even though I love you, I cannot agree with attitudes and actions of unrepentant, open disobedience and intentional disruption as experienced in public spaces, conferences, and social media.

Parts of scripture may be difficult to accept and apply in this time of socio-political upheavals.  Still, it is disrespectful to God to misuse verses out of context to support popular ever changing opinion.  Even Jesus set boundaries, and as the prime demonstration of love, He said, “Go and sin no more.”

Grace, truth, and peace be yours.  RevDonnaH

National Flags at Church

Greetings and peace in the name of the Lord.  (see scriptural references at the end of this essay.)per

I respect the enthusiasm many people have for displaying their patriotic flags.  In this article, I am only focusing on the issue of whether or not it’s appropriate to fly any national flags inside or outside a church.

I have prayed, studied the scriptures, and sought God’s guidance on the issue of flying a national flag at a house of worship.  I share here some points that speak to my heart.  I love my country and I’m grateful that God chose for me to be born here, it’s given me advantages I wouldn’t have elsewhere – especially freedom of religion.  Our current socio-political climate is such that we are in serious danger of even losing that freedom now.

We Christ-followers need to bear the blame for some of this shift, we have not always done well at loving our “enemies” (however that word is defined), or loving those we believe to be sinners, even within our own congregations.  We can do better, with God’s help and a big helping of humility “…they will know we are Christian by our love…”   [see John 13:35, below]

This essay is not about patriotism; it’s about the purpose of church, the people of God, gathered to honor and worship and learn and grow in God.  Installing a national flag at church, where the focus is supposed to be undivided, only for the worship of God, means mixing nationalism with Christianity.  How many times have you heard someone refer to “God and country” as if they were inseparably intertwined?

Scripture shows over and over that the Lord was both saddened and angered when the Israelites lost focus on their first love, and started mixing loyalties by including secular or pagan practices (and icons) in their worship places and times.  The house of the Lord is sanctuary, holy, set apart from all other things.

America’s founding fathers followed scriptural principles when they put in writing that there should be separation of church and state.  The state cannot run the churches, nor establish a national religion, as in some other countries.  We who follow Christ, would certainly love if everyone felt like we do and worship God, but we follow His example and do not coerce anyone to faith, nor force them to stay.

As Christians, we have taken His name as our own, and we follow the great commission, representing Him to the world.  God loves all His people, not just one country, ethnicity, political persuasion, or people-group.  How strong is our commitment to Christ’s great commission for His followers?  Perhaps a truly missions-minded church could consider flying many nations’ flags, to remind everyone that the world is full of God’s people and we are to love them all, like God does.

A final note about National flags at churches who also fly the “Christian” flag.  Is the Church “under America” or is America “one nation under God”?  To follow American flag protocol, It implies that country is more important than God, when the national flag is flown higher than the so-called Christian flag.  How does God view our agreement to hold “flag protocol” as an authority higher than God.

If you disagree, I bear you no ill will for holding a different position from mine.  I pledge myself to seek the Lord’s will and live counter-culturally when the culture is in opposition to scripture.  Jesus was radically counter-cultural and He asks for the same from us, sisters and brothers.

Peace, RevDonnaH

SOME OF THE SEVERAL SCRIPTURAL RESOURCES FOR THIS TOPIC:

Exodus 20:3  “Thou shall have no other gods before me.”  [MY NOTE:  I wonder if God would consider the flag to be an idol? Even if He approved of having just one nation’s flag flown at His house of worship, how would He most likely feel about the national flag being larger and higher than the one that is supposed to represent the Christian faith?]

John 13:35    “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Acts 5:29   “We must obey God rather than men!”  [MY NOTE:  We pledge allegiance only to him.]

Romans 2:11   “For God does not show favoritism.”

Romans 12:2    “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Colossians 3:10-12     “10and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him– 11a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all. 12So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;”

Galatians 3:28    “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

2 Timothy 2:3-4     3 Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer.     [MY NOTE:  Paul is telling Christians to please God, our Commanding Officer, rather than people.]

1 Peter 1:17     17 Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.

1 Peter 2:13-17     13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15 For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. 16 Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. 17 Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.   [MY NOTE:  We are instructed to submit to the governing authorities where we live, but we are not instructed to hold them as above God.]