I was reading in Acts where Paul gets pulled in before the Sanhedrin.

You know, the Jewish leaders didn’t like his testimony of Jesus.

Here’s the skinny from Acts 23 verse 1- 5.

“Paul, looking intently at the Council, said, “Brethren, I have lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day.” 2 The high priest Ananias commanded those standing beside him to trike him on the mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Do you sit to try me according to the Law, and in violation of the Law order me to be struck?” 4 But the bystanders said, “Do you revile God’s high priest?” 5 And Paul said, “I was not aware, brethren, that he was high priest; for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’”

This is great. We see the humanity of Paul and the leaders of his day.

Apparently they were more accustom to violence in deal with things that we are in America today.

Anyway, Paul states his case, the high priest doesn’t like it, orders him to be struck, and Paul rebukes him.

Then a bystander has the guts to say, “Hey, you just reviled the High Priest.”

Paul immediately repents and submits. He had control of his emotions. Even more, he had a command of the Word.

“Oh, I didn’t realize. Sorry. It’s written not to speak evil of your rulers.”

Wow… Can you imagine that floating in America today?

I really think we have to get a handle on our emotions and what we say about our leaders. What if how we pray and what we say about our leaders, and how we say it, is the key to the course of this nation?

What if God’s sovereign will is to partner with His Church as they honor their authorities and pray for them?

“Oh, so you mean we have a part to play?”

Yep.

Look, I know what some of you are thinking, “But Rachel, our leaders stand for things scripture calls sin.”

I know that but beloved, honoring our leaders and praying for them does not equate to agreement.

I can most assuredly disagree with our leaders on abortion or homosexuality while praying for them and blessing them before God.

What if I pray Phil 1:9, “God, let your love abound in their hearts so they do the right things and choose wisely,” and God hears and answers me.

Next thing you know we have a righteous decision made on behalf of the unborn.

Certainly I’m going to speak up. Paul certainly did. But in the midst of it, honored those in authority over me.

Those five times Paul was whipped with 39 lashes? Done to him by the Synagog leaders as punishment because he refused to be put out of the temple. Why? He wanted to continue to preach Jesus!

He submitted in every way BUT denying the Lordship of Jesus the Christ.

What if we mimicked Paul in our lives? What if Scripture — not theology or doctrine — governed how we prayed, how we responded?

What if it actually governed what we believed instead of our feelings or our experineces?

You may have had a bad dad, but God the Father is nothing like your earthly dad. He’s holy, totally other than…  He’s good. He IS love. You have to change your feelings and experience to faith and the truth of the Word.

Paul adjusted so quickly to this situation because he was a man of the Word and a man full of the Spirit.

Our walk with the Lord is a Divine Paradox.

We just can’t pick a line and walk it, you know?

We have to speak out against injustice, speak out about sin while honoring and praying for our leaders.

We can’t cal our experience truth. We have to believe scripture is truth.

When I’m challenged in my belief system by the Word, I know I have to change me. Not discard, dismiss or disregard scripture. If I don’t understand something, I see to understand. I pray for insight.

Guess what, I usually gain understanding.

So… I wrote this prayer for our President….

Because boy-oh-boy, nothing gets us in our emotions faster than politics!

But after he was elected, the Lord began to speak to me about President Obama and my call to pray for him.

Stay tuned…. Part 2

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