During the season of Lent our devotions have been written by members of Faith Lutheran Church. Today’s writer is Suzanne Girouard.
So they watched him and sent spies who pretended to be honest, in order to trap him by what he said, so as to hand him over to the jurisdiction and authority of the governor.
So they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you are right in what you say and teach, and you show deference to no one, but teach the way of God in accordance with truth. Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?”
But he perceived their craftiness and said to them, “Show me a denarius. Whose head and whose title does it bear?” They said, “The emperor’s.” He said to them, “Then give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were not able in the presence of the people to trap him by what he said; and being amazed by his answer, they became silent. Luke 20:20-26
Just as in the scripture above, we are aware there are many people trying to catch us off guard, trying to trick us when they ask pointed questions regarding our loyalty as a citizen of this country and our love and loyalty to our God.
As citizens, we are obligated to obey the laws of this country and pay our taxes. We are talking about two important facts of love and loyalty to our government and more importantly to our Savior Jesus Christ.
Jesus died to save us from our sins and we should lead our life looking through the eyes of Jesus in everything we say and do. We should show that love to those around us known and unknown.
Jesus in the passage above says render unto God those things that are of God. As followers of Christ through him, we learned LOVE which is of God. Reflecting LOVE of him and his people, we share goodness, kindness, patience, and honesty.
At Faith, we have many opportunities to serve our brothers and sisters through services such as the Grace Bags for the Homeless, students feeding the homeless, providing food through the Souper Bowl of Caring, participating in the CCSC programs, providing school supplies for the underprivileged through Back to School, gifts for needy children through Jingle Bell Express, and working at the Emergency Service Food Pantry.
We share our church facility with programs around the city such as Cornerstone, Narcotics Anonymous, AA, ESL, Bellaire Moms of Multiples, and more.
We are servants of God with many opportunities to show our caring and kind spirit to many, which is LOVE. As we learned from Jesus “Love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul and mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And second is like: Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39).
Let us pray: Heavenly Father, thank you for your example of sacrifice of your Son and caring for all of us. Help us to have a loving heart and spirit as learned from you. Guide and show us where we are needed and give us the strength to do these things in your name. Praying this in the name of your son Jesus Christ, Amen.
Daily Devotions 
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