Latest / A Chapter a Day Bible Reading / October 22 - Romans 13

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October 22 - Romans 13 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends, it's Sean here. It's Wednesday, it's the 22nd of
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  October and Happy Nut Day to you.
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  This, this is the day that that we remember nuts and we
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  celebrate nuts. And I'm not talking about that
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  person who lives 2 doors down from you who's a little bit
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  eccentric and you go, what a nut.
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  No, this is the salted snacks that we throw into our mouths
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  when we have a beverage and we enjoy them.
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  Or you might sprinkle them on your cereal.
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  That's how a lot of nuts get eaten at my place.
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  But here's the thing that's going to blow your mind because
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  it blew my mind. What is the most common nut of
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  all that we would eat? Yeah, that's right.
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  The lowly peanut. Do you know the peanut is not
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  even a nut? It's actually a legume?
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  It is more closely related to broad beans and black beans and
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  kidney beans and lentils and chickpeas and peas than it is to
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  an almond or a or a cashew. How mad is that?
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  So next time you go to woollies and you buy a bag of mixed nuts
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  and it's filled with 2/3 peanuts, you can take it back
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  and say I'm sorry, there seems to be something wrong with my
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  mixed nuts. It's filled with legumes instead
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  of nuts. And see what the poor person,
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  the cashier, says to you. Or maybe don't do that.
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  That wouldn't be very kind with it.
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  But there you go, It's the day of nuts.
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  You can interpret that however you like, but more than that, it
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  is the day where you have paused your life and you've come before
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  the glorious God of the universe to hear some truth distilled by
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  his followers, canonised by His church, ready for you to hear
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  today. Oh, that is awesome.
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  Let's get down to it, shall we? This reading is a short one, but
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  it's a beauty. Let's read together Romans
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  chapter 13. Everyone must submit to
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  governing authorities, for all authority comes from God, and
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  those in positions of authority have been placed there by God.
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  So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against
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  what God has instituted, and they will be punished for the
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  authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right,
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  but in those who are doing wrong.
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  Would you like to live without fear of the authorities?
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  Do what is right and they will honour you.
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  The authorities are God's servants, sent for your good.
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  But if you are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for
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  they have the power to punish you.
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  They are God's servants, sent for the very purpose of
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  punishing those who do what is wrong.
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  So you must submit to them, not only to avoid punishment but
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  also to keep a clear conscience. Pay your taxes too, for these
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  same reasons, for government workers need to be paid.
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  They are serving God in what they do.
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  Give to everyone what you owe them.
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  Pay your taxes and government fees to those who collect them,
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  and give respect and honour to those who are in authority.
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  Owe nothing to anyone except for your obligation to love one
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  another. If you love your neighbour, you
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  will fulfil the requirements of God's law.
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  For the commandments say you must not commit adultery, you
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  must not murder, you must not steal, you must not covet.
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  These and other such commandments are summed up in
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  this one commandment. Love your neighbour as yourself.
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  Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfils the requirements of
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  God's law. This is all the more urgent, for
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  you know how late it is. Time is running out.
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  Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first
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  believed. The night is almost gone, the
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  day of salvation will soon be here.
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  So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the
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  shining armour of right living. Because we belong to the day, we
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  must live decent lives for all to see.
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  Don't participate in the darkness of wild parties and
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  drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living,
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  or in quarrelling in jealousy. Instead, clothe yourselves with
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  the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ and don't let yourself
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  think about ways to indulge your evil desires.
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  It sounds so simple, doesn't it? Lord, we just pray that you
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  shape our hearts so that we do have love for our neighbours,
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  love for the people around us in our lives.
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  And as we think about those around us and as you continue to
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  do that transforming work of love in our hearts, Lord, I pray
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  that that love would extend to those in authority over us.
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  We live in an age where it's all too easy and cool to criticise
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  those who lead, to see their weaknesses and their faults, of
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  which there are many, and to pull them down.
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  But Lord, I pray that we would be your Kingdom people who would
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  see the authority as something that you have given and that we
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  would pray for our leaders. So Lord, we do that right now.
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  We pray for those decision makers who shape our societies.
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  Lord, they don't get it right every time.
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  So I pray that you would give them your wisdom, that you would
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  shape the way that they rule, the way that they govern, that
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  you would soften their hearts with your compassion and love,
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  and that you would surround them with good people who speak truth
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  and wisdom to them. Thank you for giving us a world
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  of structure and order that we can live in this place with the
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  freedom to love you and worship you, our good, good God.
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  We pray all of this in your wonderful name, Jesus, Amen.