TTI Thought of the Month

January 2019

And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple…
Matthew 21:12

Jesus’ strongest and most aggressive physical response to a painful situation was when he entered the temple and drove out all who were buying and selling in the temple. The art of the ‘deal’ had crept into the place of God’s presence and it pained Him greatly.

The temple, the physical representation of the presence of God, was to be a safe place where the heart (of anyone) could be expressed to God, where words could be uttered that you might not find the courage to utter in any other place. When all else failed, it was a safe place to come and ‘be’.

Running a business in the temple removed the safety and made it perilous. There was competition, haggling, ‘get the best deal’ and you had to push to get your way in. It misrepresented ‘the safe place’ of God and that was clearly not acceptable.

What does God ask of us in these different spheres? I think at a core level, He requires that we be absolutely clear about the purpose of the relationship.

In business, it is to make a living through a vocation. It is rooted in buy and sell and our relationships have an edge to them. ‘I want something from you and you want something from me.’

In the ‘church’ we do not want ‘something’ from each other. We are there to value each other and express what God has given to us. To celebrate the cornerstone of all life and the work He has done during the week.

Let’s be absolutely clear God is for all spheres of life. A vocation is an expression of God just as much as any other expression. But we must also be clear about each of the spheres and how they must be walked in and understood.

(I wonder what would happen if people tried to move the temple into our business locations so that we might be blessed. Call it business as missions?)

By Dr. Matt Rawlins Broken Top Leadership

 

December 2016

Discipling a Nation / #12 The Priesthood

“But you shall appoint the Levites… Numbers 1:50

Our words are often confusing when we talk about pastors, Propheten, Priester, church and the body of Christ. We are often cut off from the Old Testament and think we are all priests and nothing else matters. With the confusion of language comes a lack of understanding of the kingdom of God and roles and responsibilities in how God works.
God called out the Levites to be the priests. They were to be full time workers in the ecclesiastical structure. It was only to be ten percent of the population that were to live this way. They were to instruct the other ninety percent of the people in the whole council of God, in building a nation and the importance of all the other spheres of society.
There was always a clear distinction between the priests and politics. In the 5 books of Moses it was clear that the priests and the Levites should be kept separate than the other tribes. They had very different roles and functions for representing God and serving the people than the Kings did. God chose the Levites to represent Him as His priesthood, where as the prophets anointed the kings, but they did not appoint them. The people did. The authority in the priesthood is with God. He decides who He will anoint and appoint. Whereas in government the authority is in the people to elect their leaders.
The priests were not given territorial land and were dependent on the tithes and offerings of the people to survive. It was clear that they were not to gather power or control as this would distort their capacity to represent God to the people. They were the first health care givers in reaching out and caring for the people who were hurting. Their authority was to speak for God and to represent Him to the community. They were hand picked by God and were not chosen on the basis of personal merit. Their only anointing was to speak on God’s behalf.
This has not changed in the New Testament in the institutional sense. We don’t need a high priest anymore to represent us to God, as Jesus is now the true and only high priest. But there is still to be those who work full time for the ecclesiastical structure and they still are to live off the tithes and offerings of the people. They are to instruct the rest of the body of Christ in the ways of God, in the principles of nation building and how each spheres is to function. (ie. Pastoren)

Questions for reflection and action:

What does it mean to bring salt and light (God’s presence) in the domain that you are called to?
Have you bought into the lie that says the only ‘spiritual’ work is to be a ‘priest’ or a missionary in the traditional sense?

By Matt Rawlins

November 2016

Discipling a Nation #11 / Struggles are the New Norm

Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life. Gen 3:17

There are consequences to our choices. Beispielsweise: we cannot partake of the tree of life, the woman will bear children in pain and man will have to work for provision by the sweat of their brow.
In essence, if we focus on just the consequences of man’s choice, the created world will not serve us any more, it will fight us our whole life. We will have struggle and hardship; this will be normal in a world that is broken because of us.
Please notice that God doesn’t curse all of creation. He doesn’t curse us. He just curses the ground, one small aspect of our world where we will get our sustenance from. We will now have to learn the meaning of work. Struggle, hardship and painful labor will expose us and reveal our hearts better than anything else in life. God gives us a chance to learn this through the material world. It is still good, just broken; it will not serve us anymore.
Now it is our work to learn redemption in the world around us through this hard work. It can’t be made perfect and much will still be broken, but we are to begin the redemption process of bringing life out of death. Beauty out of ashes. Discovering joy in the midst of sorrow.
Everything around us is fallen. This is a first truth that God makes clear from the very beginning. The world is broken and will yield fruit only after we have struggled by the sweat of our brow to deal with the thorns and thistles that will grow quicker and have it easier in this world.

Questions for reflection and action:

Do you blame God for struggle?
What would it mean to embrace this challenge as a normal part of life for you and your family?

By Matt Rawlins

Oktober 2016

Discipling a Nation #10 / Wissenschaft

God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. Gen 1:31

God creates the material world and calls it good. There is no secular/sacred thinking in God. He is comfortable in all aspects of life we are the ones who are confused. Many Christians do not like science because if they liked it seems anti God. It is our confused thinking that is causing the problem when it comes to the material world, not the scientist’s findings.
Science is the investigation and discovery of the material world. It simply says that on this day, at this time, when this happened, this is what we observed. They aren’t out to tell you the why, the purpose or meaning of life. That is a question of faith and part of our understanding of the foundations of the thinking about the world.
When God was helping establish the Jews in nation building in the Old Testament, He made it clear that there were things in the material world that were very important for them to observe. He didn’t try and teach them science at that time, but just met them where they were and knew they would discover it as time moved on.
Unfortunately we now think of many of these health and science issues in the Old Testament as allegories for sin. This is to confuse how God works and the material world. God loves the material world and wants us to love it and work with it. When He said to be careful about what you touch, a list is given, urine, feces, bodily discharge, spoils of war, bones or a grave… these were given to teach them about hygiene and the material world in regards to health issues.
Science can only discover what God has made. It is not our enemy. It cannot create new laws or new truths, it just explains what something is and how it works. We have nothing to fear from science. It has always been in the heart of God for us to explore and discover the world around us. A key part of that process is through science.

Questions for reflection and action:
What is your view of science and faith and are you at peace with both being expressions of God?

By Matt Rawlins

September 2016

Discipling a Nation #9 – Mitteilung

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit. Prov. 18:21

Communication is to a relationship what blood is to a body. This is true in one to one relationships as well as in a community or nation. To be the salt to a nation and help it mature is to embrace the importance of communication.
To disciple the nations we must embrace the importance of communication and be involved with it. We could say that you cannot develop a nation without a free, objective press. The free flow of information is vital to the life of any community. If you look at undeveloped nations, the one thing that is common amongst them all is that there is limited or no free speech.
The building block for clear communication is that there is truth and it can be known. God gave us a material world so that we could understand it, work with it and be clear about it. Objective facts, truths that we can agree on, are the foundation for clear communication. Christians should embrace this, as our communication should be grounded in the material world. Immerhin, He is the God of all truth, and that should be very clear in our communication.
Another vital aspect to communication is that what you say matters. It is the defining aspect of trust. When a nation loses its ability to understand that words matter, it is the beginning of the end as you cannot trust anyone to do what they say they will do. When we change what the facts are with each audience that we speak to, it is rooted in deception both at the speaker level and the hearer level as well.
Pray that our communication would be grounded in reality and the heart of God.
How well do you communicate when there is tension? (It is like a muscle, If you are not working on it you are losing it.)

Questions for reflection and action:

Where have I personally communicated in such a way that I have changed some of the facts in order to get what I want?

Are there currently any situations where I am not being completely honest with those I am communicating with?

By Matt Rawlins

August 2016

Discipling a Nation #8 / All Human Life is Sacred

So Moses wrote this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and to all the elders of Israel. Deut. 31:9

The prescriptive law was given through Moses, not to make us righteous, but to begin a process of teaching us the ways of God. It was God preparing the way for two expressions that are in His heart for us.
The first one begins at a heart level for each individual, that no matter how hard we try, we are lost and in desperate need of a savior. It is not that we cannot ‘do’ good things, but that no matter how good we try to be, our heart is broken and lost and needs redemption. For the deeper you look into the heart, the more you are aware of how arrogant and lost we are. He wants us to own our life and start at the heart.
The second expression is to see the importance of systems at work. Meaning that in addition to redeeming our heart, we must create relational systems that form a nation. Communities of people must develop relational systems that function with clear authority for different roles and responsibilities. Those systems that have clear authority are government, ecclesiastical (Religion) and the family. These are the redeemed hearts expression in key relationships to build a healthy nation.
It is not an either / oder, but a both / und, you must work at building both of them in order to see people saved and the nations discipled. If you are not doing both of these, you are not building the kingdom of God.
One of the foundations all of this work is built on is a clear value that human life is sacred. That each person, männlichen und weiblichen, regardless of their choices, are made in the image of God and must be treated with respect.
In everything you do, are you building the kingdom of God by treating everyone you deal with as valuable and sacred because their very ‘being’ here is an expression of God.
Questions for reflection and action:
Which area does your church emphasize?
How can you help your church strengthen their work for the heart and for the nation?

July 2016

Discipling a Nation #7

Authority
For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, Sichtbare und das Unsichtbare, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. Col 1:16

To create a world or universe, to design, author and bring it into existence, gives you a raw power over what you have created. You know it better than anyone else. You understand the intricate working of all its systems. You know what it needs and what will harm it. You know how long it will last and what it was made to do. All of these aspects of creating something are the first aspect of authority that a creator has over something created.
The second aspect of authority is a character question. Are you willing to do what is best for the world created? Do you value it, care for it and want what is best for it even at a cost to your self? To know what is best and to be willing to do what is best are two very separate issues. That is why both aspects are needed.
These two aspects when combined are what we call authority. I know what is the best to do for the created world and I am willing to do what is best for it even if it costs me a lot. If you remove either one of these aspects, you lose the right to be in authority over the created world.
If all you want is domination and control over the object and you have the power, then you can do it just because you are big enough to. There is no moral aspect to it, I do it just because I am powerful enough to. But if you want a relationship with the created, then you must also show that you have the character to do what is the best, to genuinely love the world and with that choice, the authority comes naturally and rightly so. The Creator of the world, who loves the world has a right to rule in authority over the world.
God is the only true authority over our created world. He is the only one who can truly help us build a nation, as the nations start in the heart of God.
Questions for reflection and action:
What is Gods heart for your nation?

by Dr. Matt Rawlins

June 2016

Discipling a Nation #6

Bildung
“You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. Deuteronomium 11:18

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. It gives us an eternal marker to create a context in which to define life from God’s perspective. Without this you only have temporary contexts that change on the whims and preferences of the people or culture involved.
Bildung is to start in the family for that is where God puts the emphasis and focus on who is to raise up a child, to teach a child. It is always clearly the parent’s responsibility in Scripture. If parents do delegate their authority to others to teach their children, they are still responsible before God to oversee it. For a parent is the primary one who will genuinely have the best of the child in mind.
God made the world in such a way that we can know it, experience it. In this way we can learn what works, what is life giving and the power of our choices. We can name the world as we discover it and develop a greater capacity for new and healthier relationships.
Education from God’s perspective is always linked to action. It is not information that is memorized like data banking but is a living faith that is to produce works in our community, learning is to give us growth and wisdom. The Holy Spirit is to be manifest in the natural world around us and lead us into all truth. There are no spiritual truths that are separate from the material world, it is all the Kingdom of God.

Questions for reflection and action:

How involved are you in your children’s education?

What values do you respect in defining how you think and live in the world?

By Matt Rawlins

Mai 2016

Discipling a Nation #5

Regierung
For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. Römer 13:6

God brought Israel out of Egypt after more than 400 Jahre der Sklaverei. They had no sense of government, responsibility or understanding of nationhood. They were poor and uneducated and the only possessions they had were what they could carry. We read in (Deut. 1:13) that through Moses God then asks the people “to choose wise and discerning and experienced men from your tribes and I will appoint them as heads.”
Right from the start God wants His people to own their government. It is to be an expression of them and they are to hold it accountable. Their choice matters and the authority to govern comes from the people. It is a bottom up accountability.
Government is to reveal the justice of God. It is to serve the nation by establishing objective laws and a trustworthy source of conflict resolution and arbitration. It is to be impartial and equal for the small and great alike.
God makes it clear that those elected must have a good character and each of the tribes are to be represented by the government.
When the people are not involved in government you can see that government will start to take over and creep into every area of society. It will slowly take over more and more in areas that it was never meant to govern. The goverment must be held in check by the will of the people. In a sense you could say that the government will always reflect where the people are in their own maturity and understanding of the kingdom of God.
Questions for reflection and action:
Sie stimmen?
Is how you vote based on the character of the people you are voting for or just on your own preferences that suit you?

By Dr. Matt Rawlins

Februar 2016

Discipling a Nation #2

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matt 28:19-20

God began this journey with one desire in mind, the earth was ours, we were to express His image as we cultivate it. We complicated it, actually we messed up royally and listened to a liar that convinced us we could not trust God. Jesus set that right but we are so relieved to be forgiven that we have forgotten what we are to do with that salvation.

We are here to express Gods image as we cultivate the earth. In New Testament language, Jesus reminded us to go to all the nations and disciple them. It is to be our prayer, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth…
Abraham was to be the father of a multitude of nations. It was like the highest blessing God could give to him. He would help birth, father many nations. Through God’s blessings all the nations of the world will be blessed. We have forgotten that God loves the nations. Each and every one.

Peter gets the revelation and says that God is not partial, but will welcome all people, from all nations who will come to Him. It is a new beginning, a new people who are called to be a body and express His will in all the earth.
We see in Revelation that the nations will bring their gifts to God, that all people from all nations will come to Him and declare He is worthy. The final image is a tree that it’s leaves bring healing to the nations.

It has been in God’s heart from the beginning and will be in God’s heart as we reset the world. The nations are incredibly beautiful to God and just as each individual is important, so the communities of relationships are just as important to Him.
Ask God to give you His heart for the nations.

January, 2016

Discipling a Nation #1
“Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as your possession.” Psa 2:8

A nation is a system, a group of relationships that are greater than the sum of their parts. You can’t dissect it or take it apart, just as a person is greater than any one of their organs, so a nation is greater than any one aspect. Just as a person has an expression of God in them, so each nation’s unique relationships reveal the image of God through them. As an individual carries the glory of God, so their relationships manifest the image in a nation.

What are those smaller systems (or organs) that make up a nation?
The areas that make up a nation are: Regierung, Familie, Wirtschaft, Kirche, Mitteilung, Bildung, Arts & Entertainment and Science & Technology. Each of these areas has an aspect of the character of God resident in them, for He longs to reveal Himself through each of these areas to the world. The expressions of God are: Gerechtigkeit, Liebe, Provision, Mercy, Wahrheit, Beauty and the Goodness of God in the material world.

To ask for the nations as an inheritance is not a mystical thing that God just does on a whim. It is the fruit of the body of Christ taking seriously God’s desire to reveal Himself in each domain of life. Just as an organ is vital to a body, so each expression of God in the domains is vital to the health of a nation. When the body of Christ refuses to salt each area with God’s presence, the nation will grow sick and begin the process of dying. It is only the grace of God through individuals that will bring if to life again.

Questions for reflection:
1. How are you doing at revealing the expression of God in your own life and in the domain you are working in?
2.Have you asked God to see your nation from His perspective and for His wisdom to reach out and touch those areas you are called to express Him in?

By Dr. Matt Rawlins

July, 2013

The Two-handed Gospel

A little more than a decade ago I was a missionary in rural Africa. I had a hardy bicycle, which helped me travel on the dirt roads each morning, the dog-eared Bible with my evangelism notes and a box of medicine, because I never knew when they would be needed. If converts to Christianity from the Animistic-Islam faith that surrounded me was the measure of my success, then I was a failure. My own conversion to Christianity had radically changed my life, yet no amount of time I sat explaining the Scriptures to my subsistence farming friends seemed to make a dent on their thinking, life-choices or beliefs. I knew the Scripture were powerful, I knew God wanted to be known by the tribal community I lived in, yet nothing I communicated seemed to be bringing these precious people closer to loving God as much as I did. Clearly the problem was with myself and I was humbled by my inadequacies.

I realize now that I had been focusing my attention on getting my rural friends ‘saved’. They were for the most part, hungry, Armen, sick and hopeless, and just about the only advice I could offer them was how necessary salvation was. I was an expert at explaining it from Genesis right through to the start of the Gospels. As powerful and true as that message is, it was not meeting any of their felt need. My highly desired, regularly cleaned, hardy and out of their price range bicycle drew more attention than my preaching did.

As soon as I realized my mistake, I revolutionized my study of the Word to understand the principles that God would have us live by so that we could call our societies ‘blessed’. Was für eine aufregende Reise war es. Ich hatte in der Liebe mit Gott abgefallen, Sein Geist und sein Wort immer und immer wieder. Die Kraft und Schönheit der Weisheit, dass aus der Schrift sickert, sobald es als Handbuch für das Leben studiert wird, war meine größte intellektuelle und spirituelle Abenteuer. Ich kann jetzt einigermaßen meinem Eselsohren Bibel beziehen sich auf jede Frage, die sich meiner afrikanischen Freunde ansprechen; die Notwendigkeit, wählte klug Gemeindeleiter, grundlegenden Gesundheits-, die Bedeutung von Bildung und die wirtschaftliche Haushaltsführung. I have come to learn that there is no issue in their community that the Bible does not address. And just when I was about to pat myself on the back, admiring my growth and ability to spout my confident conclusions at their problems, God used an unashamed evangelist to restore my lost humility. The humility that is lost when one becomes confident in oneself and fails to realize that one has impeded God’s original purposes, once again.

As I encountered the words of the evangelist I remembered thinking sneakily to myself how fortunate I was to have ‘moved on’ from having a single, focused message from Scripture. He was not too far into his message before I realized that in my quest to grasp the breadth and depth of the message of the Word, I had left behind the foundation of it all; the message of the cross.

In the past decade, I have hardly mentioned Jesus at all in my conversations with those who do not believe in Him. Of course it matters that I persuade someone that abortion is morally wrong and that voting is imperative, but so is the persuasion that one needs; the salvation that Jesus offered humanity. Unless I tell the full story, all I have done is switch one part of the message, with the other. The full message of Scripture is both how to enter the Kingdom AND how to live once you get there.

Perhaps my miserable failure in my first missionary season made me reluctant to keep evangelism as a tool in my Kingdom building toolbox, but it is time it went back in there. It is of no use that God uses me to establish wells of clean water and elevate the financial hopelessness of an impoverished community, yet they never hear the best part of it all; Jesus.

Marnie-Jane Agosta, TTI Associate

April 2013

Learning to Communicate

In Genesis 3, Adam – Male and Female – have eaten of the fruit and opened a door that God knows will bring mind-numbing ignorance and thus, pain and suffering to us. God knows the importance of learning so the first thing He does is to help Adam and Eve frame their learning. Through that, He shows us the keys to wisdom. How does He do that?

In a way that only the All Knowing God can do, He asks three simple questions. Three perfect questions. These are not random questions thrown together with no thought; they are the collective wisdom of God synthesized into three key questions that are vital to restoring wholehearted living to us. They will frame how God works and what He is trying to teach us in the rest of the Bible.

The first question is:

“Where are you?"

This question is for our benefit, not God’s. He already knows the answer, but asks the question to get us focused in our thinking and to show us how to move forward. I have spent years thinking about, reflecting on this question. I ran a training program years ago for young college students and each morning I would begin class with this question,

“Where are you?” They finally put it on a shirt as a school motto for us all. Es gibt mehrere Ebenen auf diese Frage. Lasst uns sie anschauen.

Personal - Es ist ein persönlicher Aspekt dieser Frage. Der Fokus liegt auf "Sie". Alles Lernen und Wachstum beginnt von innen das Herz eines Menschen. Genau genommen, Gruppen, Organisationen, Teams, oder Kulturen nicht ändern. Menschen in sie zu ändern und dann wird diese Änderung in der Gruppe oder Organisation vertreten wie die Menschen ändern. In erster Linie, Veränderung ist die persönliche; es geht um dich und mich. Dann und nur dann, wenn wir es umarmt, können wir beginnen, Veränderungen in unserer Teams und Organisationen.

Ehrlichkeit - Es ist eine radikale Ehrlichkeit in dieser Frage. Die Frage ist nicht, wo Sie sein wollen? Wo andere möchten, dass Sie? Wo möchten Sie sein? It is a brutally honest question that must be answered honestly if any true learning is going to take place.

Relationally – A relationship is the fruit of two people knowing where they are, agreeing to move forward to the same place together. Let’s say a friend calls you up on the phone and wants to come over to your house but doesn’t know where you live. What’s the first question you have to ask them? You have to ask “where are you?” Because you can’t give directions or help someone if you don’t know where they are. Walking with someone, helping someone, serving someone, getting things done, caring about each other only happens when we know where each of us is.

When my son was young, he loved to play soccer. He played on a team and had great fun. I was asked to help out a bit. So one day at practice I was working with them. The players were on the field and each young person was in their position. I put the ball down and blew the whistle and everyone (except the goalie) ran as fast as they could towards the ball. Soon there was a group of kids, all around the ball, kicking at it with all their hearts. I blew the whistle and stopped them. Slowly they stopped kicking and looked at me. I asked, “Where are you?"

There was a collective statement from them, “we are trying to get the ball”. I would then walk them all back to their positions and put them there and tell them to stay in their positions. They knew this as far as information goes, but when the whistle blew, der Zug, der die Kugel war zu stark. Also für den Nachmittag, Ich würde sie in Position und setzte den Ball aus und pfeifen, um sie zu starten, ein paar Minuten warten und dann die Pfeife wieder und bitten sie, "Wo bist du?"Langsam, wie der Nachmittag ging auf, wurden sie bewusst zu wissen, wo sie zu allen Zeiten war wichtig waren, um das Spiel zu spielen. Für die Kinder war es leicht, sich ablenken von der Freude, die den Ball und alles andere vergessen. Für Erwachsene in der Welt in der wir leben, Es ist leicht zu bekommen 'verführt' kurzzeitig um rund Freude oder Not und Perspektive verlieren, wo wir sind.

Big Picture – Ich glaube, der Kernpunkt jeder dieser Bereiche und was Gott fragte Adam, wurde mit Kontext zu tun. Wenn wir das Wort nachschlagen Kontext, eine Definition des Begriffs der es, 'Teile Umgebung ein Wort, Satz, oder eine Passage, die bestimmen, die Bedeutung zu helfen. "Wie werden wir mit dem Rahmen und definieren somit die gesamte" Story "des Lebens? Das gibt dann einen Kontext, in dem wir ziehen können die Bedeutung und die Werte des Lebens. Dies ist die Essenz der Frage Gott fragt Adam und Eva. Was ist der Kontext, findet man sich in? Dies ist die erste und wichtigste Frage, die in jeder Lernsituation gefragt werden muss,. Wo bin ich?

Joshua Bell ist ein Weltklasse-Geiger und hat mit fast allen Welten "großen Orchestern. Er ist bekannt und auch seine Geige hat einen Namen, genannt Gibson ex Huberman, es ist eine 300-jährige Stradivari-Geige. In a curious experiment with Gene Weingarten from the Washington Post, Joshua Bell put on a baseball cap and played as an incognito street busker at the Metro subway station L’Enfant Plaza in Washington DC in 2007. The experiment was videotaped on a hidden camera; among 1,097 people who passed by, only seven stopped to listen to him, and only one recognized him. For his nearly 45-minute performance, Bell collected $32.17 from 27 passersby (excluding $20 from the passerby who recognized him).

What is the difference between people paying hundreds of dollars to go watch him and being amazed at him and in another location, everyone just walks by and ignores him? It was simply that the context changed and people viewed the two contexts very differently. Es ist der Kontext einer Situation, die uns bis nach bestimmten Dingen suchen. Es sagt uns, was wichtig ist und wie wir reagieren sollten. Es gibt uns einen Bezugspunkt für das, was ist ein angemessenes Verhältnis.

Wie Gott beginnt mit dieser Frage, es muss eine entscheidende Frage für uns mit zu behandeln. Wo oder wie würden wir sehen dies im Neuen Testament, wenn es für uns so wichtig ist?

Im Neuen Testament Sprache, dies wird als Dunkelheit beschrieben. Menschen liebten die Finsternis mehr als das Licht, für ihre Taten waren böse. (John 3:19) Jetzt, Wie wird die Frage "Wo bist du?'Das gleiche wie lieben Dunkelheit? Was ist es, dass die Dunkelheit gibt Ihnen? Was ist es, dass das Licht Ihnen?

Wenn man darüber nachdenkt,, das einzige, was Dunkelheit entfernt ist kontextabhängig. Niemand weiß, wo Sie sind. You can do anything you want and there can be no accountability because it is dark. Light exposes all things and gives you the context in which a life is lived. Darkness is the perfect place to hide. It is the one place where we can claim ignorance, ‘but I didn’t know’, and thus avoid any form of accountability. We often say of someone who lacks information that they are ‘in the dark.’ We then try to enlighten them so that they are ‘without excuse’.

We are small and finite. We are limited and will always be in a place where we need to know more. That was meant to be our joy. A sheer and wonderful pleasure offered to us from the very beginning. Jedoch, in the broken world we find ourselves in, wir mögen es nicht, wie anfällig das macht uns ständig unsicher. Was ist, wenn ich die Informationen falsch? Was ist, wenn ich vermisse es? Was passiert, wenn ich auf dem falschen Teil konzentrieren? Etc… God has made it very clear from the beginning if we get His context right, dann rückhaltlose Lernens haben einen Platz und passen in das Leben, und wir werden niemals zurückblicken und sagen, "Wenn ich nur gewusst hätte ..." Wir müssen nicht bei all den Veränderungen um uns herum zu schauen und unsicher. Gott bietet uns einen Rahmen, die sich nie ändern wird. (Als gefährdet wird genauer in die abgedeckt werden 2^nd Schlüssel, in die Defensive.)

"Ich glaube, dass wir kaum eine Chance zur Abwendung einer Umweltkatastrophe haben, wenn wir nicht, dass wir nicht die Herren des Seins erkennen, aber nur ein Teil des Seins ... Wir müssen erkennen, dass wir mehr als auf den gegenwärtigen Moment und die Gegenwart Ort verbunden sind, dass wir in der Welt als Ganzes und in Ewigkeit verbunden. Wir müssen erkennen, dass, indem sie nicht universal reflektieren, überindividuellen und supra-zeitlichen Interessen, wir ein Bärendienst für unsere spezifischen, lokalen und unmittelbaren Interessen. Nur Menschen mit einem Gefühl der Verantwortung für die Welt und für die Welt sind wirklich verantwortlich und für sich. "

(Vaclav Havel, Die Kunst des Unmöglichen)

Die zweite Frage ist:

Wer hat dir gesagt, dass du nackt?

The second question God asks Adam is building on the first question. Adam und Eva eine Wahl getroffen und erleben die Folge dieser Wahl. Scham und Angst haben einen Platz in ihrem Herzen gefunden. Jetzt sehen sie ihre eigene Endlichkeit / Sicherheitsanfälligkeit über diese Gefühle und es erschreckt sie.

Gott gibt uns den zweiten Schlüssel zum Lernen, und es hat mit Autorität zu tun. Wer sie haben zugehört? Zum Hören ist die einfachste Ausdruck zu Fuß unter jemandes Autorität. Um diese zurück auf die erste Frage zu verknüpfen, diejenigen in "Behörde" sind diejenigen, die den Kontext definieren unser Leben helfen. Gott beginnt mit Adam und wo er war, und dann geht die Autorität, um die stärksten Beziehungen, die ihn beeinflusst haben verstehen. Wer beeinflusste ihn an den Ort zu bekommen, dass er?

Autorität ist ein delegierter Macht und Verantwortung, dass Gott uns zu Ihm auf Erden repräsentieren. Es ist ein Ausdruck seiner Autorität unter uns sein und war in das Gewebe unseres Lebens verwoben werden. Wie lesen wir die Geschichte von Gott, wir sehen, gibt es vier Ausdrücke der Autorität, die Gott uns übertragen hat,.

Individual - Jeder von uns ist in dem Bilde Gottes gemacht. Wir sind souverän in unsere Fähigkeit zu wählen, und Gott wird nicht außer Kraft setzen unsere relationalen Entscheidungen. Dies ist der grundlegende Baustein des Königreichs. Wir haben jeder Behörde, unser Leben zu definieren und zu leben, wie wir wollen.

Family - Durch eine feste Beziehung in Respekt und Intimität verwurzelt, ein Mann und eine Frau gemeinsam alle Aspekte ihres Lebens zusammen und schaffen einen sicheren Ort, um Kinder großzuziehen. Die Autorität der Familie ist in ihrem Bund der Liebe für einander. Sie bilden die Bausteine ​​der Gesellschaft und bilden die Grundlage, die den größten Einfluss auf das Leben eines Kindes haben wird.

Regierung - Eine Institution, die einen Platz für Gerechtigkeit für die Menschen, um Geschäfte zu machen schafft, eine Ausbildung, haben eine gesunde Umwelt und vom Bösen geschützt werden. Die Autorität einer Regierung ist in den Menschen, die sie regieren verwurzelt. Alle endlichen moralischen Schöpfung muss irgendeine Form von Governance und ist ein Ausdruck des Reiches Gottes und seiner Liebe für Justiz.

Kirche - Eine Institution, die die Werte drückt, Standards und die Liebe Gottes in der Welt. Die Kirche ist die Autorität von Gott gegeben zu vertreten, die er auf der Welt ist. Jeder Mensch ist frei, ihre Live-leben, wie sie es für richtig, aber die Kirche ist es, die Liebe Gottes in einer Weise zu modellieren, dass die Menschen gezogen werden, um zu verstehen, wie Menschen so leben.

Diese vier Begriffe sind von entscheidender Bedeutung für die Menschheit. Wir können nicht überleben, wenn wir nicht verstehen, wie sie funktionieren, ihre Aufgaben und Verantwortlichkeiten sowie ihre Grenzen. Deshalb ist es die zweite Frage fragt Gott ist.

Als ich in der ersten Klasse, Ich nahm einen IQ-Test. Die Ergebnisse waren, dass ich als grenzwertig war geistig zurückgeblieben. Mein Dad ging mit mir mit dem Lehrer sprechen und nach der Konferenz hatte ich eine Wahl, den Lehrer / test glauben oder glauben, dass mein Dad? Wer hatte Autorität, mir zu sagen, wie klug oder dumm war ich? I decided back then that I would trust my Dad and that he said I was smart so I assumed I was.

If we are going to learn, we must understand who has authority over us? What are their roles and responsibilities? What are the limits of their authority? Who should we listen to? What authority do I have over my own life?

These are key questions that must be wrestled with if we are going to learn how to deal with the unknown. Behalten, it is only unknown to us. Not to God.

When the centurion sent people to Jesus to ask for his help. He had a clear understanding of authority and told Jesus, ‘just say the word and I know the sickness will be gone. For I also am a man under authority. I say go and they go. I say come and they come. Just give the word and I know it will be dealt with’. Jesus responds by saying of him, ‘I have not seen such great faith in all Israel.’ Jesus linked strong faith with a clear understanding of authority. For our faith to work and be life giving, we must understand who has authority and how it is to be used in different situations.

We are small and finite and have a God given desire and need for authority as we don’t know enough on our own to make wise decisions. This was supposed to be another aspect of joy in our life. Gott, the true authority, delegated some of that authority to us and we could discover how it works and the pleasure of different responsibilities as we served each other. Jedoch, unser Leben und Gemeinden sind gebrochen und Zucht Dysfunktion, weil wir nicht klären, und gehen in Gottes Perspektive auf Autorität. Uneingeschränkter Lernen erfordert wir klären, wer hat die Autorität und die Grenzen und Verantwortlichkeiten, die mit ihm zu gehen.

Die dritte Frage ist:

Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?

Die dritte Frage Gott fragt Adam ist jetzt sehr persönlich. Welche Möglichkeiten haben Sie gemacht? Das Ergebnis für Gott in all dies sucht ist für uns, unser Leben in einem Rahmen, der Realität besitzen. Um dies zu erreichen, müssen wir unsere Entscheidungen besitzen, andere werden uns beeinflussen, aber am Ende, es ist unsere Wahl als Ausdruck unseres Lebens, die uns definiert. Es ist schmerzhaft zu beachten, dass an dieser Stelle, Adam wird von Gott und tadelt ihn als Quelle des Problems für seine Entscheidungen. Er wird nicht akzeptieren, die Verantwortung für die Leistung seiner Wahl. Welcome to Humanity.

Um ehrlich zu sein bin ich fasziniert, dass dies die dritte Frage ist, und nicht das erste. In unserer westlichen Weltsicht, die individuelle Wahl ist die primäre und einzige Bezugspunkt. Aber Gott sieht es nicht so. Er bedeutet, dass deutlich bis man deutlich sehen kann, die ganze Geschichte oder Kontext und erkennen, wer Autorität hat und welche Arten von Autorität gibt es, Sie werden nicht verstehen, Ihre Wahl.

Wir könnten auch sagen, dass es auf diese Weise: wenn wir erreichen, um anderen zu helfen, wenn Sie den Dialog mit Menschen, der Ausgangspunkt ist, wie sie den Kontext oder "Geschichte" des Lebens zu sehen und wer welche Autorität hat, their choices will not make sense or change. Even if they do change, you can be assured it will not be moving them towards abundant life as that can only be found in the ‘light’ with clear understanding of authority and God’s context.

Imagine yourself growing up in a family that has a very strong, perfectionist father. As you grow up, you realize you can do nothing right. Nothing you ever do is good enough. As you get older, you assume you have no authority to make any choices because they are never good enough. You assume you are just a victim and have no say in your life. Your understanding of your own authority to define life is lost and you are living out of the context which your Father set up for you. Sofern Sie klären diese mit einem neuen Kontext und klären Sie Ihre Autorität, Ihre eigenen Entscheidungen nie wirklich für das, was sie wirklich sind zu sehen. Sie haben die Wahl.

Jeder Mensch hat eine Wahl, delegierte ihn oder sie als Ausdruck Gottes in uns. Es hat einen Wert, weil wir Wert haben.

In Zusammenfassung, Leben mit ganzem Herzen und somit das Lernen, kann zum Schreiben eines 'story' verglichen werden. Sie können nicht reißen einen Absatz, eine Seite oder sogar ein Kapitel aus dem Buch und machen, dass die Geschichte, da es nicht sinnvoll. Sie müssten einen größeren Kontext, Sinn und Wert verleiht dem Grundstück, Charaktere und Beziehungen der Beteiligten. Das ist der erste Teil unserer Arbeit für ein Leben in Fülle, herauszufinden, was ist die Geschichte von Gott und wo wir sind drin. Dann, ein wichtiger Bestandteil jeder Geschichte geht es um Macht und Autorität. Wer hat es? Wie wird es verwendet? Wir müssen Gottes Perspektive auf Autorität zu klären, so dass wir unsere unterschiedlichen Rollen und Verantwortlichkeiten im Leben verstehen. Uneingeschränkter Lernen erfordert wir klären, wer hat die Autorität und die Grenzen und Verantwortlichkeiten, die mit ihm zu gehen.

Wann gibt es Machtkämpfe und verschwommen Linien auf Behörde, Dies schafft Konflikte und damit, eine Gelegenheit für die Menschen zu machen Entscheidungen in Bezug auf den Konflikt. In einer schriftlichen Geschichte, die Szene gesetzt und die Charaktere haben dann, um die Handlung voranzutreiben. Sie müssen sich entscheiden, ihre Werte, oder sich ausdrücken und wie sie die Konflikte des Lebens zu lösen. Ebenso in unserem Leben lernen. Gott möchte uns einen Rahmen, um seine Geschichte zu sehen, to understand who has what authority and how it should be used and then to remind us that each of us has a choice in how we live our lives in, and for Him. In a nutshell, that is what we offer God; our choice, to play a part in His story, under His authority.

Written by Dr. Matt Rawlins

TTI Associate

*Taken from the book, Walking into the Land of Uncertainty, by Dr. Matt Rawlins

To purchase a pdf please go to: mrawlinsonline.com

January 2013

Creator God – The God of Science

Which profession is the most unpopular with many people in our world today? In our current financial climate, investment bankers must be right up there nearing number one. In New Testament times, tax collectors were looked down upon and despised by many. And in recent decades, scientists were not too popular, insbesondere mit der Mehrheit der Christen.

Obwohl ich arbeite für Jugend mit einer Mission, at heart I am also a scientist. I am fascinated by how the world works. If I was working as a full time scientist researching a cure for malaria or looking at how could we find innovations that would feed the poor in rural Africa then this could be seen as a good profession by many people including Christians today. But how would my profession be seen by the majority of the church if I lived my life trying to research the origins of the universe?

In Genf, Schweiz, wo ich schreibe diesen Artikel, wir haben, was man, CERN (die Europäische Organisation für Kernforschung) near by. Its large Hadron Collider is the world’s largest particle collider. Last year they finally identified a particle they think is the Higg’s Boson particle. Its discovery would prove a theory developed in the 1960’s and 70’s on how the molecular world works. The research they are carrying out raises questions on how the world began and the origin of the matter of the universe. In our Christian thinking today, can I work at CERN without being shunned by the church?

Recently, CERN hosted a meeting of scientists, philosophers and theologians. Co-organiser Dr. Gary Wilton, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s representative in Brussels, said, “the Higgs particle raised lots of questions [über den Ursprung des Universums] that scientists alone can’t answer.” “Sie müssen sie mit Theologen und Philosophen erforschen,” , fügte er hinzu.

What a great understanding of our God. Science can discover what God created but we need to interpret those results to understand what they really mean. Good science creates a theory that is tested through experiments to come to a conclusion. In cutting-edge science these results and the conclusions drawn from them are published in papers and in peer-reviewed journals. Other scientists should be able to replicate the results by using the same methods, um damit das Papier eine akzeptierte Theorie über die Welt zu werden.

Gute Wissenschaft kann nur finden, was wirklich da ist. Die Theorien, die von dem, was gefunden wird, unterrichtet werden könnte falsch sein, aber im Laufe der Zeit kann die Wissenschaft immer nur das finden, was ist, and will correct wrong theories.

If we look back at the history of the church there have been times when our beliefs have seemed to be under threat. There was a time when the church believed that the earth was flat. We even had Biblical proof for this. Heaven was up and Hell was down, so therefore the earth had to be flat. Epheser 4:9 is one example of how Scripture was used to prove a theory. Jesus both “ascended higher than all the heavens”, and He “descended to the lower earthly regions.” So when scientists started to theorize and prove what sailors had known for a long time, the church persecuted them because, according to them, the Bible clearly said that it was flat.

I want to leave you with three quotes to think about. Firstly, Einstein said, “Religion without science is blind and science without religion is lame.”

Zweitens, Dr. Louis Leakey, a missionary and paleontologist in Kenya’s rift valley, said, “Nothing I’ve ever found has contradicted the Bible. It’s only people with their finite minds who misread the Bible.”

And finally I leave you with a verse from the John 1:3 that says, “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.”

If we withdraw from the progression of science because we are uncomfortable with what is being discovered, if we are so challenged in our beliefs that our only response is to claim they are wrong, then who will be the salt and light that is needed in this domain?

Written by Richard Leakey

TTI Associate Staff

December 2012

ARTS – The God of Beauty

Imagine a world that was purely functional.

Everything works. Moral law, natural laws, governmental laws are in place.

But there’s no beauty.

Imagine waking each morning and seeing only grey.

You don’t know what colour is.

Life would be different. You would wake, eat, go to work, eat, arbeiten, eat, do what needed to be done at home, then sleep. Then the next day would have the same monotonous routine.

Imagine if there was no music. The birds don’t sing in the morning. You don’t hum as you go about your day. The most mundane tasks you undertake couldn’t be lightened as you sing along to your favourite songs on the radio.

Imagine a world with no beauty. No creativity. No magnificent landscapes that change with the passing seasons.

Stellen Sie sich vor der Fahrt zur Arbeit umgeben von grauen, with nothing to capture your attention. No sunrises or sunsets that would make you want to pull over and just gaze for a while.

Imagine not having to choose what to wear in the mornings. Imagine a world with no style, kein Design, keine Kultur.

Imagine not having to choose colour schemes and interior designs for your home. The only consideration would be what worked the best.

Imagine a world with no sport.

No dance.

No painting.

No theatre.

No sculpture.

Imagine countries that all looked the same. No differences in style, looks or terrain.

Imagine cities or towns where every building looked exactly the same. Street after street, city after city…

But it’s not like that.

Our beautiful God is revealed in the majesty of the mountains. In the intricate design of a flower petal. Music lifts our spirits and stirs our hearts. Each morning when we wake the sun sends a palette of colours cascading through our windows.

Our world is filled with beauty in the limitless sights, sounds and fragrances.

The creative extravagance of our God is on display for the world to see. Beauty causes us to stop dead in our tracks and lift our eyes and hearts to Him. It woos us to a place of rest. It restores our souls. It refreshes our hearts.

We see beauty in each other. The smile of a friend can change our day. Watching a sportsperson do the seemingly impossible fills us with awe and wonder. Contemplating a great masterpiece of art inspires us to express our own creativity in some measure.

Made in the image of God, our deepest longings often reveal a desire to create like Him and create with Him.

Each display of beauty around us, from the minute to the magnificent, calls our hearts to Him. Beauty elevates our souls to our majestic Creator God – our Father who longs to bless His children and teach us to rest. Beauty turns our attention to our Father who sings over each one of us with divine melodies and lyrics drenched with purity.

Do you see the beauty of our God?

Do you look for the beauty of our God?

Written by Becky Frith

TTI Associate

Oktober 2012

BILDUNG – The Great Teacher; attribute: wisdom

Proverbs is full of verses talking about knowledge, wisdom and understanding. “For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you” (Pro 2:10-11 NIV). It is clear these three attributes are interwoven in Scripture. To say we are learned or educated would mean we are accessing all three, not focusing on just one. So when someone seeks knowledge, wisdom and understanding, he or she engages learning at a holistic level.

We know from various passages from the Pentateuch that the parents are responsible for the education of their children. God asks them to talk about His laws, precepts and decrees when they sit down, when they walk and when they lie down. They were to have visual reminders on their bodies, doorframes and city gates.

If the focus of our education today is knowledge alone then we are only developing part of an individual, not the whole. Education must seek to engage the whole individual: senses, intellect, heart, Grund, skillfulness, prudence, common sense, etc. God gives the authority for education to the parents. Does that mean all parents should be home-schooling their children? Keine, but it is a choice. The questions parents need to be asking are:

Are we involved in the education of our child?

Do we know what they are learning or not learning in the classroom?

Are we looking to enhance, build on, reinforce or correct what they are learning?

Do we see our whole child being engaged?

God clearly states that the parents are ultimately responsible for the development of their children. The question is do we hold onto that authority or have we given it away?

Written by E. Pennington

TTI Associate

September 2012

FAMILY

In Landa Copes Book, Die Old Testament Vorlage, family is the first line of defense for values, morality, Bereitstellung, Gerechtigkeit, and love. Warum? As we see in Scripture family will either be the authority in these areas or someone else will be. God placed Israel in the middle of pagan nations who had different values, some with no morality and who lacked justice. He was confident His ways, His laws, His decrees had power and authority to give life and influence and draw nations to Himself (Deut 4:5-8). God intended the parents to lead their children in the way they should go… to value the ways of God, and that would be the success of Israel to pass His values on from generation to generation, and nation to nation. Both are essential! Thus, parents play a vital role in discipling a nation.

Today we hear phrases like, “marriage and family are being redefined," and Christians are in an uproar. We are looking to government to fix the problem, and to set laws in place that will deter this. We blame the entertainment industry for influencing and desensitizing our children. Jedoch, if I look at Scripture, I would say our eyes are not fixed in the right place. The solution is not out there, it is right here in our homes. Heirat, Familie, morality, Bereitstellung, justice and love… the world around us will try and redefine them and will continue too. That does not surprise or shock God, and therefore it should not be a shock to us. We are to be “the salt of the earth”, “the light to the world” and that starts at home. In my home are Gods morality, Bereitstellung, justice and love displayed, and talked about? Do they hold meaning and value? Can my children witness to that?

If you feel that you are surrounded by pagans trying to destroy marriage and family, perhaps you are there for a reason. Like with Israel God’s heart, motive and intention was to teach them how to live and bless them, so that they may have long life and influence the nations around them. We all know this did not happen, and “they did what was right in their own eyes”. The battle is no different today, but the question begs, are we doing “what is right in our own eyes” within marriage and family? Are we losing the battle to influence the world around us because we have not won the battle at home?

Written by E. Pennington

TTI Associate

In Scripture, The Great High Priest is revealed to us through the priesthood. It is here in this domain that we see God’s attributes of mercy and forgiveness in action. When God established the priesthood through Moses and Aaron, He chose the Levites to be His representatives. Unlike government there was no process, no vote and no consensus. God just chose the Levites. In answering the question, “Is the institution of the church still relevant today?", we need to refer back to the five Books of Moses as our template of values for nation discipleship. Jesus said in Matthew 5:17, "Denkt nicht, dass ich gekommen bin, das Gesetz oder die Propheten aufzulösen; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” It is God who established the Institution of the priesthood/church, and it should be the job of ministers today to understand what He has called them to do so that they can continue to rightly represent Him. It is God who defines what the function of this institution is and what it is not.

In the five Books of Moses and the historical books of the Bible, there are the key roles of the priesthood that were given by God. The priests and the Levites were to be a standard of righteousness to the people. They were to offer up the sacrifices for the atonement of sin for both themselves and the people. They were to be a mediator between God and man and man and God. They were to extend mercy and forgiveness to His people. They were to take care of the Tabernacle, The Tent of Meeting and the Temple and all of its furnishings. And they were to administer healthcare to the people, which included the poor.

In the New Testament, in looking at the Gospels and Christ’s ministry years, at the lives of the apostles in the Letters, and at the elders and deacons, we see that many of these roles did carry over from the Old Testament to the new. The only thing that changed was the application of these roles. Those who were called to the institution of the church in the New Testament were still to be a standard of righteousness for the people. As God’s ministers they were to extend His mercy and forgiveness to all people, and they were to expect miracles. Because of Christ’s sacrifice they no longer needed to be mediators for people to engage with God, but they were to now point the people of God to go directly to God themselves. They were to continue to teach and equip the saints the values of God, and encourage them to live out those values in their vocations. They were also to find ways to care for the needs of the Temple (the body) in both spiritual and material (physical) ways, and they were not to ignore the practical needs of less fortunate people in their communities.

Now that we are in the 21^st Century, it seems many believe that there should no longer be a church institution. Over the past few years I have been hearing from many believers that church, and going to church, is no longer relevant for us today. Many Christians are trying to redefine what the church institution should and should not be. Tatsächlich, many of us are not only redefining it, but we are suggesting to get rid of this institution altogether. I would like to suggest that instead of trying to throw away something that seems broken, or unproductive, that we should rather be asking questions such as, “What is the role of the church from God’s perspective, and are we living it out?” We need to be asking God to reveal to us where we are not following in His ways. I am convinced that if those who are called to this institution truly understood the roles that are given to them by God, then we as a church collectively would indeed be the most relevant church that has ever lived. It is when we follow in the ways of God as church leaders and as the body of Christ, that we will actually be making a greater impact in seeing individuals, communities and nations transformed. Jesus did not get rid of any institution with His coming… He came to teach us how to live in all areas of life!

By Leah Broomfield

Director, Die Template-Institut

(Quoted from the thesis, “The Role of the Institution of the Church”, by Leah Broomfield)

January 2012 – Regierung - Part 1 – Back to the Basics

There is only one template for how God wants us to live values-wise and it’s found in Scripture. We need to get back to the message of the Kingdom and how God works in all areas of life. God’s values are given to us in the laws of Moses and are built on through the life and teachings of Christ. We cannot just assume that we know these values and how we can apply them today. It’s time for us as God’s people to return to our roots and get back to the basics. Let’s begin this year by taking a look at the values of God in the area of government.

In Scripture, government reveals the King of kings. It is in the area of government that we see the God of Justice revealed to us. There were governments in place before God spoke through Moses to create His idea of government. Governance is a part of God’s character and therefore it is part of how God ordained the world to function. Government is necessary. The only thing worse than bad governance is anarchy. In Deuteronomium 1 God begins to establish the principles of government through Moses. It is here that we see God delegating some of His authority away. A good system of governance, according to God, is for the power to be pushed down. He desires that the people would wisely choose their own leaders, that every tribe would be represented, that there would be no partiality in judging and that there would be checks and balances in the system. His desire is that all people within a nation would be involved in electing their leaders. It is our God-given right to be involved and to vote. In today’s world, especially in Western countries, less than 50% of the people vote. And in Christian circles the statistics are even lower. How did we get to the point where we don’t care who gets voted in and who rules over us? Have we lost what is important to God in this area? I find it ironic that many people in the Middle East today are losing their lives fighting for their right to have a voice and a vote, while many of us are just taking our freedom for granted. We need to repent, change our thinking and get back to the things that God sees are important!