My youngest son learned these two Bible verses in his Wednesday night youth group class at our church. He (and his older brother) wrote them down on our dry erase board which hangs above the kitchen sink.
Some pretty good advice in these words. Hope this encourages you today.
Have a great day!
Romans 13
1 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. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. 4 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. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.
6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7 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.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/29/us/colorado-shooting-alex-teves/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
From the article:
“If you want to describe Alex in one word, he was just good,” says his father, Tom Teves. “He wasn’t a standout in anything, but he cared about people.”
It is the goodness of humanity that Teves wants the world to know and remember: the virtues of his son — and the 11 others killed at a midnight premiere of the latest Batman movie, “The Dark Knight Rises,” in a cinema in Aurora, Colorado.
That desire has taken shape as a crusade. In the midst of mourning his first born, Tom Teves has wrested purpose from his grief — the Alex Teves Challenge, he calls it. He demands that the media stop naming and showing images of the gunmen in mass murders.
If you continue reading the article, you will see that the father of Alex Teves wants everyone to remember the heroic acts of those who perished at that movie theater in Colorado, and not the act of cowardice that took so many lives.
His message is geared toward the news media but it carries a broader meaning that can be put into practice by all of us.
Focus on the good, not the bad. Let good triumph over evil.
Bad things will happen and our lives will not be void of hard times, sometimes extremely hard times. The world is not a perfect place.
But, no matter what it might be…even something as horrific as someone walking into a crowded movie theater and shooting innocent men, women, and children…we don’t have to dwell on the evil act, nor do we have to let evil win.
I don’t know if Mr. Teves had this in mind when he came up with his challenge, but I’m going to offer it here anyway:
Romans 12:21
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Let’s keep the good in the forefront, whether it’s in the aftermath of this tragic event, or just the every day doings of our lives.
Let’s live our lives in a way that promotes good, not evil.
Let’s be positives, not negatives.
Let’s accept this challenge and overcome evil with good.
God bless.
Here’s to the strong, thanks to the brave. Don’t give up hope, some people change. Against all odds, against the grain. Love finds a way, some people change.
I’ve always liked this song. I believe that anyone can change, no matter who they’ve been and what they’ve done in their life. Not everyone does, and I recognize that. But anyone can…and some people do, just like the chorus of that song says.
positively second 