September 8

Journey-through-the-Bible-with-us

READING FOR SEPTEMBER 8, 2025: PROVERBS 28, ACTS 1, PSALM 93                                                 PROVERBS 28 The New Testament repeatedly calls for us to respect governmental leadership:

  • “Pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s” (Matt. 22:21).
  • “Every person is to be subject to the governing authorities” (Rom 13:1). 
  • “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors” (1 Peter 2:13-14). 
  • “I urge that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made in behalf of all people, for kings and all who are in authority” (1 Tim. 2:1-2). 

Nothing in Proverbs 28 contradicts the above admonitions. But we also are told what most of us know through experience: some leaders are not good leaders. Nonetheless, we are still commanded by God to submit to these leaders. God knows the bigger picture and can and will work His plan when we cannot understand why He is allowing certain people to lead. For example, the Emperor Nero reigned during the time of the apostles. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica: “He [Nero] became infamous for his personal debaucheries and extravagances and, on doubtful evidence, for his burning of Rome and persecutions of Christians.”  Even the worst Republicans or Democrats are not quite that bad. 

As with Nero, though, Proverbs 28 warns us that bad leaders can certainly cause problems:

  • Too many conniving power sources: “Due to a wrongdoing of a land its leaders are many” (vs. 2).
  • Leaders who oppose the rule of law: “Those who abandon the Law praise the wicked” (vs. 4).
  • Leaders who convince the heretofore upright to act wrongly: “One who leads the upright astray in an evil way will himself fall into his own pit” (vs. 10).
  • Evil leaders cause people to avoid public life: “When the wicked rise, people hide themselves” (vs. 11).
  • Bad leaders particularly hurt the poor: “Like a roaring lion and a rushing bear is a wicked ruler over a poor people” (vs. 15). 
  • Leaders with no empathy can be oppressive: “A leader who is a great oppressor lacks understanding” (vs. 16).
  • Leaders without humility create turmoil: “An arrogant person stirs up strife” (vs. 25). 

Everyone is free to consider if the above descriptors point to any recent or current leaders. It might be a good idea, though, to use the above as a rubric to evaluate candidates in the next elections. We could call it “The Proverbs 28 Election Review.”

ACTS 1 Do we ever bemoan the fact that we are not impacting many people? That doesn’t seem to have occurred to Luke. He wrote his gospel for Theophilus and now he is also writing the history of the early church for him. Let’s be faithful in serving, even if only one person might be blessed. Just maybe the Lord will use our service in ways we didn’t first imagine.  In verse 2, Luke explains why Jesus was such as good teacher:, he was empowered by the Holy Spirit.  Luke also gives us a great summary of Jesus’s life between His resurrection and His   

READING GUIDE FOR SEPTEMBER 8, 2025:  ACTS 1, PSALM 93             

ascension. It must have been a fantastic 40 days for His disciples. Jesus prepares them well for their upcoming baptism of the Holy Spirit. They still want to know about the restoration of the nation of Israel, but Jesus immediately refocuses their attention back to the Holy Spirit and the evangelistic ministry that the Spirit will empower. That’s His agenda for us, too.  Again, the Bible teaches that Jesus will eventually descend from the clouds when He returns. Look up.  

The remaining 11 disciples go back to Jerusalem with Jesus’s family and about a hundred other followers for an extended prayer meeting. Out of these prayers and the scriptures they brought to mind came the selection of Matthias to replace Judas. What ever happened to Barsabbas—the one not chosen? All we know is he witnessed John the Baptist and Jesus through the resurrection. Not a bad life. 

PSALM 93 Who are the most powerful people in the world now? According to one source: 

According to Psalm 93, God reigns now as He has from all eternity. The gentlemen above will soon pass from the scene. All that will matter about them is if they have humbled themselves and acknowledged Jesus as their Lord and Savior. (Note that President Trump in August 2025 talked about how to get to Heaven. Google it if interested.) As this was first written, Hurricane Debbie was battering the southeast with the “potential for catastrophic flooding.” This is only a puddle, though, compared with God’s might. The Dow Jones just dropped over 1,000 points today. With the uncertainties of the economy, climate change, elections, and wars in Europe and the Middle East, can we be confident about the future?  Psalm 93: 5: “Your testimonies are fully confirmed.”  God’s testimonies are all recorded in the Bible. It is the antidote to anxiety.