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b'***Jesus came to earth to save us, dwelling with us even while we were His enemies in sin (John 1:1-14; Romans 5:8-10). As Christians, we remember this when we interact with those we disagree with. Today\\u2019s devotion shares the story of Roger Williams, a Christian who advocated for religious freedom\\u2014even for those he disagreed with.***\\n\\u201cForced worship stinks in God\\u2019s nose.\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d Roger Williams wrote these words about four hundred years ago. He had sailed with his young family from England because the government was forcing them to worship in a way they didn\\u2019t believe was right.\\nTo worship God more freely, Roger sailed across the Atlantic with his family to America. But, even there, the government was punishing people for how they worshiped\\u2014including enforcing strict rules about what could be done on the Sabbath.\\nRoger believed only God has authority to punish on matters of religious convictions, so he thought the government should not be involved. But many authorities thought Roger Williams\\u2019s teachings were dangerous and eventually kicked him out of the colony he lived in.\\nSo, Roger decided to found his own colony. At that time, people confiscated land from Native Americans without buying it, but Roger didn\\u2019t believe this was the right thing to do. Instead, he built a relationship with the Narragansett tribe and purchased land from them. He called this place \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153Providence.\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d Its government didn\\u2019t punish people for decisions related to worship, allowing many people who were being religiously persecuted to peacefully obey their consciences. \\u2022 Jeff Oganga Katieno\\n\\u2022 Read Mark 12:13-17, Acts 5:26-29, and Romans 13. What questions do you have about our relationship to the government as Christians? Who are trusted Christians you could bring those questions to\\u2014such as pastors, parents, counselors, or teachers? \\n\\u2022 Many of the people who fled to Providence were Christians who had different convictions from the majority Christian denomination at the time. Why is it so important that Christians are gentle with each other when we disagree on nonessential issues (Romans 14)? \\nGive to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God. Mark 12:17 (NLT)\\n\\xa0\\nRead Verses:\\nRomans 14; 1 Corinthians 5:9-12'