Life Matters - February 11, 2026
Reading Exodus 19 through 31 is a reminder to me again that our God loves law and order on this globe that He created, with everything on it and its galaxy, in six days. That God remains a lover of law and order in New Testament settings is irrevocably settled for us in Romans chapter 13. Verse 3 has been the clincher for me many times along the way. “For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? Do that which is good and thou wilt have praise of the same.” Verse 5, then, has been a great submission motivator for me; “Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.” Good earthly governments function within the bounds of Old Testament moral laws.
And since we are approaching tax season, I might also mention my thankfulness for verse 7 as I’ve been cognizant, or at least suspicious, for several decades that American taxpayers were footing the bill for waste, fraud, and abuse. Even so I was shocked by the extent of fraud and the ungodly wasteful organizations funded by American taxpayers as exposed by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a department authorized by President Donald J. Trump. So I am thankful on two fronts; I am thankful for Romans 13:5 showing me that my withholding money from the government is not God’s way of changing the world, that the money is no longer my responsibility when I “give to Ceasar what is Ceasar’s.”
And two; I am thankful for the Trump administration (among a lot of other reasons) being financially responsible and doing their best (under circumstances they have inherited) in exposing and cutting waste, fraud, and abuse. Writing out IRS checks does feel better when observing government making an honest attempt to spend wisely.
God must also see value in the boundaries we refer to as the borders of countries. We see this especially in His founding of a country He called Canaan and His establishment of boundaries within the land of Canaan for the twelve separate tribes of Israel. We hear it from the mouth of Caleb whose request of the Lord was ‘give me this mountain.’ God gave him ‘this mountain’. There is wisdom in God’s checks and balances among nations across this beleaguered globe. An evil one-world government with no checks and balances would indeed be a disaster. We are given prophetic warning in Revelation chapter 13.
I am very thankful for the ‘sheep’ teachings of Jesus such as John chapter 10 where Jesus gives the analogy of shepherds and their sheep. In verse 11 He says this; “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.” In the Old Testament 23rd Psalm of David he wrote; “The Lord is my shepherd: I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters…” The 23rd Psalm was a, beyond the realm of natural understanding, comfort to me when laid up in the hospital with a broken body and damaged brain. But that is a story for another day.
Jesus sprinkled this theme of a shepherd caring for his sheep throughout His teachings about God caring and providing shelter, nourishment and rest, in a material but especially in a spiritual sense, for His people. It is a theme unbroken from Old to New Testament, the Old being a testimony of God’s Promise in the New. A New Covenant that He has made with His people, both to the Old Testament faithful looking forward to the Promised Messiah and to those living in the fulfillment of the Promised Messiah by the birth – life – death – resurrection –ascension of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As we look forward to the righteous consummation of all things. When the sheep are separated from the goats. (Matthew 25:32-33) While living here in this life we have the privilege to be involved in and observe Jesus converting goats into sheep.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd. The New Testament word picture is of us being His sheep. Not the sheep of an earthly government. Not the sheep of fallible human beings. Even the apostle Paul said ‘’…follow me as I follow Christ.” Not just ‘follow me’ as a focused sheep following its human shepherd, but as being mindful of who this fallible person is following. Follow me as I follow Christ. We are not to be political sheep.
Earthly governments are a good thing and ordained by God. (Romans chapter 13) He sets kingdoms up and He takes them down. Though we don’t always understand why God does, or allows what He does, we can trust the Shepherd that we follow through His Word and by His Spirit, as we apply ourselves to not making this world worse, but better.
The variegated beliefs about what is ‘worse’ and ‘better’ has created, and continues to create, many a human struggle on this globe we so temporarily live on; does it not? The political Left seems convinced into thinking that when it comes to open borders, resisting ICE, supporting LGBTQ agendas, DEI, humanist socialism, supporting Islam, protecting waste, fraudand abuse, lawfare, resorting to violence over dialogue etc. they have the moral high ground. Because this present deception happened in small increments.
The Bible exposes those Leftist ideas as being deception. Know your Bible. And nip wrong in the bud before it blooms. Thistles are beyond understanding less painful to overcome before the buds bloom and release their airborne seeds to whichever way the wind is blowing. Let us sow good seed on good ground. As we abide in God’s Word.
Life Matters!