But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men." - Acts 5:29, ESV
Everybody knows that if you accidentally catch fire, you should stop, drop and roll.
That's the best way to minimize the damage. You learned to stop, drop and roll when you were very young. Now here's another one you should also have learned. What three things should you do before you cross a street?
Do you need a hint? Okay, you are supposed to: stop, ________ and listen. That's it. We are supposed to stop, look and listen.
From what I've seen lately, that is good advice for a lot of things. Right now that is especially true in regard to the news media. When we hear a report, we need to stop, look and listen.
Here's an example why: last month Washington, D.C. had two major marches. One of them was the Women's March and the other was the ______________. If you can't fill in the blank, you can be forgiven. The March for Life got less than a third of the coverage on the networks.
But there's more. Generally speaking, the newscasters referred to the Life March as being "anti-abortion" rather than "pro-life." My friends, there are some big differences between those two titles. If we stopped, looked and listened, we would have realized
1. anti-abortion is against something; pro-life is for something;
2. anti-abortion deals with man's changing laws; pro-life speaks to the Lord's gift of life;
3. anti-abortion deals with bodies and birth; pro-life speaks to the soul and the spiritual.
Stop, look and listen.
Now this devotion is not about women's rights or the lack of them, nor is it about abortion. I could have, just as easily, pointed to the lack of reporting in regard to the persecution of Christians around the world. Indeed, any number of subjects would have served equally well.
No, this devotion serves as a reminder that we who have been brought into the Lord's family of faith through the Savior's sacrifice are citizens of two kingdoms: the kingdoms of power and of grace.
In the kingdom of power, we live in a land where a human government should promote justice and order. As members of the kingdom of grace, we have a perfect Ruler, a new allegiance, and a higher set of directives. In the best of times, God's people are able to serve both without major conflict. Most of the time God's people are presented with choices on whom we will follow.
This is why we encourage you to stop, look and listen.
See the differences between what the world is asking of us and what the Lord expects. Then, having stopped, looked and listened -- like Peter and the other apostles -- you can say, "We must obey God rather than men."
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, I give thanks for the Savior whose sacrifice has forgiven my sins and adopted me into the family of faith. May I be a good citizen of the kingdom of grace and, whenever possible, the kingdom of power as well. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Use these devotions in your newsletter and bulletin! Used by permission; all rights reserved by the Int'l LLL (LHM). The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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