The LORD reigns; he is robed in majesty;
the LORD is robed; he has put on strength as his belt.
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.
Your throne is established from of old;
you are from everlasting.
The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice;
the floods lift up their roaring.
Mightier than the thunders of many waters, mightier than the waves of the sea, the LORD on high is mighty!
Your decrees are very trustworthy;
holiness befits your house, O LORD, forevermore. Verses 1-5
Second Chapter of Acts recorded a song made from this Psalm a long time ago.
Revelation 13:1-10 An Instrument of Evil
The beast...was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation." Verses 5-7
The whole idea of "separation of church and state" has been terribly misunderstood for a while, now. Judicial and legislative actions have cited this "wall of separation" to prohibit any reference to God in public settins and to attempt to deny the church a meaningful voice in society.
But the Founding Fathers weren't after a society devoid of any kind of "theism." They were trying to prevent a government established church. This was caused by the historical policital nature of the Church of England, whence our Founding Fathers came. But these historical facts are either forgotten ignored today. "God and state are separated under the rubric of church-state separation even though the Founders of the United States did not banish religion from the public arena."
It's bad to try to separate God and state, but the proper understanding of separation of church and state is actually good for the church. There are historical instances (Hitler's Third Reich comes to mind) where the state has been an instrument of evil and the church's witness has been compromised.
The passage cited from Revelation today shows that evil powers can turn a ruling group or individual into a "beast" that preys on the people of God. Any government can be perverted in this way.
John 14:15-17 The Friend
If you love me, show it by doing what I've told you. I will talk to the Father, and he'll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you. This Friend is the Spirit of Truth. The godless world can't take him in because it doesn't have eyes to see him, doesn't know what to look for. But you know him already because he has been staying with you, and will even be in you!
Jesus is telling his disciples about the Holy Spirit and his introduction into their lives. Up to that point, the Spirit has only been an outside influence, but soon, he will be an internal force in their lives.
"We often treat the Spirit like a tagalong part of the Trinity." Jesus calls him "Friend" in this translation. The English Standard Version renders it "Helper," then adds "Advocate" and "Counselor" in a footnote. Seeing those, I think "Friend" is also a valid translation.
Have you ever thought of the Holy Spirit as your "Friend?" I have to say that I don't believe I have. In fact, I have probably, along with many other believers, neglected the ministry of the Holy Spirit. He is here to empower us. He is, indeed, our Friend, Helper, Advocate, and Counselor. All of these and more. I wonder why we neglect him so? I think it might be because of the mystical nature of the Spirit. I mean, we see all of this stuff about God, as he creates the world and the universe, sun, moon, stars, then interacts with his creation throughout the whole Old Testament. Then we have a physical representation of Jesus as we read the historical accounts of him walking on the earth, living a sinless life, and finally dying and being resurrected from the grave, all for our benefit.
But the Holy Spirit...he is much more intangible. Granted "no one has seen God..." but many people in the Old Testament heard him, and he appeared in angelic form to people such as Abraham. And many people touched Jesus. But no one has ever "touched" the Holy Spirit. I honestly think the mystical, mysterious nature of the Holy Spirit frightens some folks. I know that, growing up Southern Baptist, we never really talked much about the Holy Spirit, and then when this whole "Charismatic" movement started up in the 70s, well, you can just forget about talking about the Holy Spirit, buddy! We don't to have any of that!! << Anyway, I want to take this reading today to heart and begin to think more about the Holy Spirit being my "Friend." After all, he is with me every day. He will never leave me, just like the Father will never leave me. I can grieve him, yes. I can even quench him. And, believe you me, I have done plenty of both in my life. I want to grow in my awareness of this Friend.
Holy Spirit, I pray to you today. I ask you to help me become more aware of you and your presence in my life. I'm not asking for manifestations of "gifts." I don't need that. What I do need is to know you are with me, in me. Even as I type these words, I feel a strange stirring in my spirit. As if you are there, acknowledging my prayer already and comforting me with the awareness of your presence. I thank you for this. I don't quite know how to respond at this point, so be patient with me. I know you've been in there all along. But I have not really ever thought of you as my Friend. That changes today.
"As you drive, walk, work, study, and interact with others today, call on your Friend for his guidance with the thoughts you think, the words you speak, and the decisions you make." I really can't add anything to that.
Grace and peace, friends.