Monday; September 30

Most of us are familiar with the concept of the separation between church and state as guaranteed in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.  The Founding Fathers guaranteed, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ...”.   Simply put, our nation was not going to be known for a “national religion”. 
This concept of a freedom of religion may have been unique in the 18th Century, but separation between church and state goes back a long way – but, maybe not in a way we might think.  When Jesus was being tried by Pilate He was faced by an adversarial Jewish aristocracy which seemed to turn on a favorite son.  This confused Pilate who thought He might have held Himself out as the king of the Jews, but Jesus quickly set the record straight by saying, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.” (John 18:38).  Jesus was not a politician, He was the Savior.  Jesus did not seek to establish a national religion, He was looking to save sinners and bring them into the Kingdom of Heaven.
It is easy to look at today’s world and pin our hopes on adherence to the hope of a national religion based on Christian values, but the truth of the matter is that the Lord’s kingdom is not based upon the success or failure of one nation – or of any nation.  The true Kingdom of God is not defined by the boundaries on some map, it is measured by genuine acceptance of its individual citizens.
Let’s pray that our nation will live by the Word of God, but let’s not become discouraged when it doesn’t.  Remember, there is nothing that can defeat God’s kingdom because it is without borders and is led by the Almighty King.
Think About It!

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