Disobeying Authorities

Published: Oct. 19, 2022, midnight

b'Years back, my nephew told what he had experienced. His mother, who at the\\ntime was not a Christian (she has since been saved), was trying to take him\\nand his sister to a witchcraft-worker supposedly to get protection. The\\ngirl refused, but the boy went. When asked later why he had agreed to go,\\nthe boy responded, \\u201cbut God says to obey your father and mother.\\u201d\\nWhile God commands us to obey our parents (Ephesians 6:1-3) and other\\nauthorities, these authorities are supposed to honor those who do right and\\nonly punish those who do wrong (Romans 13:1-4). So, when human authorities\\ndemand we do evil and break the commandments of Almighty God, who is the\\nHighest Authority, we should not obey them.\\nThe apostles of the Lord Jesus, Peter and John, refused to obey the\\nreligious authorities who commanded them\\u2014more than once\\u2014to stop speaking in\\nthe name of Jesus. Peter and John were arrested after performing miraculous\\nsigns and sharing the good news of Jesus. The Jewish religious authorities\\ntold the two apostles not to\\nspeak or teach in the name of Jesus again. \\u201cBut Peter and John replied, \\u2018Do\\nyou think God wants us to obey you rather than him?\\u2019\\u201d (Acts 4:19). So they\\ncontinued to preach the message that \\u201cJesus is the Messiah\\u201d every day (Acts\\n5:42).\\nIn the Old Testament, two Hebrew midwives\\u2014Shiphrah and Puah\\u2014were commanded\\nby Pharaoh to kill all the male children at birth. These midwives were\\nfaced with a choice: to obey the human authority, the pharaoh, and kill\\nHebrew baby boys, or to obey God, who is the Highest Authority. They chose\\nto obey God. The midwives disobeyed Pharoah\\u2019s orders and delivered the\\nbabies alive! God was pleased and dealt well with these women (Exodus\\n1:15-21).\\nThen, three Hebrew boys\\u2014Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego\\u2014disobeyed King\\nNebuchadnezzar\\u2019s orders to worship a golden statue, even though\\nNebuchadnezzar threatened to throw them alive into a burning fiery furnace.\\nThey knew God could save them from the furnace, but even if He didn\\u2019t, they\\ntold the king, \\u201cwe will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue\\nyou have set up\\u201d (Daniel 3:16-18). The boys chose to continue worshipping\\nthe only true and living God. And God rescued them from the fire. \\u2022 Charity\\nKiregyera\\n\\u2022 Have you ever faced a situation where you had to choose between obeying\\nGod and obeying a person? When you find yourself in such a situation, you\\nneed help and support, counsel and encouragement. Who are trusted\\nChristians\\u2014such as pastors, parents, and church elders\\u2014you can go to for\\nhelp?\\nThe apostles replied, \\u201cWe must obey God rather than any human authority.\\u201d\\nActs 5:29b (NLT)\\n\\xa0\\nRead Verses:\\nDan.3.16-Dan.3.18|Acts.4.16-Acts.4.22|Acts.5.27-Acts.5.42|Exod.1.15-Exod.1.21'