Dear Paul

Dear Paul,

     First, let me say I am a huge fan of your books. I have read all of them many times and find new inspiration with each reading, but I have a few suggested edits for the book of Romans, chapter 13. For instance, verse one tells everyone to be subject to the governing authorities. Americans are going to have a problem with that right off the bat. Our nation was founded on rebellion, and we like to keep that option on the table. I recommend using the qualifier "worthy" for the authorities. That would give us some wiggle room to resist authority we don't approve of, or feel God would not approve of. That sounds spiritual, right? We would still respect some authorities, but have a loophole that allows us to keep our beloved tradition of ridiculing and complaining about the rest. And instead of saying the authorities that exist are established by God, how about "permitted" by God. That lets God off the hook for bad leaders and bad laws.
    You would need to omit verse two, equating rebelling against authority to rebelling against God, entirely. Verse three could be salvaged by inserting the word "if" before rulers hold no terror for those who do right. In verse four, about authorities being God's servants for our good, you would only need to put parentheses like this around (God's) to make the idea more palatable. And verse five could be easily fixed by exchanging the word "necessary" for "recommended" to submit to authority. Our consciences will be just fine with a little rebellion. Most of us pay taxes, so you can leave verse six as it is.
    Actually, all the Bible verses about submission are hard for us, so leaving out political and civil leaders would be a big help. I know you were imprisoned, beaten and shipwrecked multiple times, not to mention stoned, but we are being told to wear masks, and those can be hot and stuffy. Frankly, I am shocked that you wrote what you did when Nero ruled Rome. Being subject to someone who burned Christians like torches shows a surprising lack of moral expectations for those you choose submit to. Perhaps you should forward this letter to Peter, who expressed this same misguided attitude toward submitting to human authorities in his book.
   In closing, let me reiterate that I am a committed fan and follower, and look forward to reading the revised version of Romans 13. I would like to show it to our pastor, who seems as mixed up as you and Peter about being subject to authority.

                                    Sincerely In Christ,


                                             Connie Lamb
  

Beside the River

    Reed often refers to me as a lady of leisure, and he is right. Not only did I retire early, but I live on Leisure Drive. (In Billings, we lived on Easy Street.) As if living on a road named Leisure was not enough, our house is just a bridge away from Leisure Island Park. When there were only twenty houses on Leisure Drive, it was practically my private paradise. But even now with the addition of two subdivisions in our area, once tourist season ends and school starts, the banks of the Stillwater River again become my private place to think and pray. And with what is going on in the world, plus the election in our own country, there is a great need for both.

Beside the River

This peaceful river does not know

as its placid waters flow,

of the turmoil in our land

coming from both God and man.

I can sit in stillness here

where mind and water both grow clear

one with nature and with God.

Here beside the river bank

with only God to hear, and thank,

I’m free from talk of us and them,

no virus, masks, riot mayhem

no campaign ads, no TV news

no trashing those with other views

only the water, land and sky.

The One who made the Earth and sky

is sovereign over you and I,

and all the things that shake us now

will bring about His will somehow.

When life feels beyond God’s control,

I come to Him and rest my soul

where love flows like a river.

The Keeper

It was a perfect early September day.
Between the summit of summer heat
before the leaves fulfill their obligation to fall.
Between the newly cool mornings and the warmth of late afternoon.
We were the only ones in the large, landscaped courtyard
surrounding the fish pond, which my granddaughter
is campaigning to visit as a weekly tradition.
This time, the water was clean and cool.

Gabrielle threw food pellets to the trout in the pond,
the often massive culls from a local hatchery.
Sitting at the shady end of a bench,
I watched my favorite three year old,
listened to her excited commentary
on their frenzied, splashing rush to their meal.
The relaxing sound of the pond's large waterfall
was offset by the screeching of ospreys in their nest nearby.

There are moments when you realize you are experiencing perfection.
Though I can now record those events with my phone camera,
I also lock them in my mind's memory function,
so the sights, the sounds, and feel of those moments
are available whenever I choose to open them.
It is just one of many happy memories
of times spent with my granddaughter,
but this one, like her, is a keeper.