And they came and said to him, “Teacher… is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”… Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.”
--Mark 12:14-17
I heard about a fellow who wrote the IRS one day and said, “I’ve been having trouble sleeping lately and I think it’s because I haven’t paid my taxes. So enclosed with this letter is a check for $200.” Then, at the bottom of his letter, he wrote, “P.S., If I still can’t sleep tomorrow night, I’ll send you the rest of what I owe.”
Now if anyone could’ve thought himself exempt from paying taxes, it would’ve been the Lord Jesus. But He paid His taxes because He knew the importance of fulfilling His earthly obligations. He owned the world and everything in it, yet knew He had a responsibility to fulfill with the government.
As Christians, we aren’t exempt from meeting our earthly obligations. Whether it’s your taxes, settling your debt, or tipping your waiter at dinner, each of us has the responsibility of giving to others what is due to them, regardless of whether we think they deserve it or not!
Part of being a good witness for Christ is being a good citizen. So represent Christ well by submitting to the proper authorities and meeting all your earthly obligations. In the end, the reward will be yours and God will get the glory!
BE A GOOD WITNESS FOR CHRIST BY MEETING YOUR EARTHLY OBLIGATIONS!
The Devil’s Attempt to Divide
Wednesday, October 30, 2019
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?”
Romans 8:33–35
Ever since the Garden of Eden, Satan has been working to separate people from God. He knows that the closer we are to the Lord, the less power he has in our lives. That is one reason so many Christians endure tribulation, distress, and persecution. The devil is trying to do to them the same thing that he tried to do to Job—to separate them from God, undermine their faith, and render them ineffective in service to Him.
These possibilities are very real. I have talked to people who have been put in jail for their faith. I have talked to widowed spouses of those who were killed for their faith. I have seen the pain and sorrow these attacks bring. They are not figments of the imagination. They are not easy to face, but they are utterly incapable of changing God’s love for us. We can allow them to defeat us, but that is not a failure on God’s part.
When trouble comes, it should drive us closer to God rather than further away from Him. David wrote, “In the LORD put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?” (Psalm 11:1). No human refuge can sustain in trials. There is no fortress that can defend us. Only God can overcome the power of the devil. Our responsibility is to maintain our relationship with Him, trusting in His love just as much when things go wrong as when they go right.
Today's Growth Principle:
Do not let anything that happens shake your faith in God’s unfailing love for you.
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