Respect

Believers must be prepared to stand up for Christ and communicate the main points of Christianity. And…they must act and speak “with gentleness and respect.” Remember, you used to be the person who “didn’t get it.” Apart from God’s grace, you would still be that person.

Not every job is the perfect job. Not every boss is fair. Not every assignment is your first choice. Not every project can get done in a forty-hour...or even fifty-hour week. Not every pay increase is what you expected. Not every promotion goes your way. Not every meeting is your awards ceremony. Not every transfer is your choice. This is the world…the real world we live in.

Certainly, we are to demonstrate love to believers. We are to live in reverence and awe of God. We are to show honor to those placed in authority over us. And…don’t miss the first two words of this verse…we are to show proper respect to everyone.

You are serving the Lord Christ! Fearing God is more than just morning devotions and weekend worship. He has given us the gift of life to love, respect, honor, and obey him…with all our might! Live for Jesus and live to the fullest. 

Faith is the commitment to be part of a story larger than yourself. A president must demonstrate faith in the ideals of our country and our Constitution. But the virtue of faith on a believer’s voting checklist goes deeper than that.

Solomon counted his hours, measured the family sacrifices, thought of all the sleepless nights worrying about an upcoming deadline, and concluded that it was all useless. There “was nothing to be gained under the sun.” Looking through humanistic eyes, he found that there was nothing to show at the end of the day for the physical and emotional toll caused by work.

Psalm 2 is a messianic or royal psalm written for the coronation of an Old Testament king but it also looked forward to the crowning of King Jesus.