Who's in control?*

Luke 2:3 "And all went to be taxed, everyone to his own city." When I read this I thought about all we hear on talk radio or newspapers about our current President. Last President, it was the Liberals that thought President Bush was awful, to put it mildly. This time around the Conservatives are upset about everything from where Obama is taking vacations to his Obamacare. I can just imagine the things being said during the time this scripture was talking about. Joseph and Mary the parents of Jesus lived in Nazareth, a town about 100 miles from Bethlehem. There were no autos or airplanes but per the laws of the current government at that time Joseph and Mary had to travel those 100 miles to be taxed in Bethlehem. I could imagine the harsh words being said by a person like Mary. Maybe not Mary herself because she already knew she was caring the son of God. But imagine another young couple, a woman being great with child as the bible says. Having to ride a donkey 100 miles to be taxed. This is terrible, what kind of a ruler would make a law like that. Why can't they just send their taxes to the government like we do today? They didn't have checking accounts, wire transfer, etc., like we do today. I am sure they had a lot of dishonest people just as we do today, that would take your money and run. Joseph and Mary being from the ancestral lineage of King David had to travel to Bethlehem to pay their taxes. It didn't matter that she was close to the end of her pregnancy. Nothing mattered that was the law.  But the prophets of hundreds of years before had told about the birth of the savior. He would be born in Bethlehem. Micah 5:2. God used the laws of this evil King to get Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem that scripture would be fulfilled. God is in control and he will use evil Kings to accomplish his purposes if necessary. Proverbs 8:15 "By me kings reign, and princes decree justice." Thinking conservatively as I do, I do not agree with some of the things Obama does. I do believe God is in control and maybe shaping things for the future. The laws being created may be as awful as the law that required an almost full-term mother to travel 100 miles by Donkey to fulfill a prophecy, but know this God is in control. He allows some things to accomplish his purposes. We can suffer consequences for laws we pass that are not pleasing to God. God has boundaries that cannot be passed. The righteous do not have to be a majority to change things, they just need to get God to move. The side God is on is always going to win in the end. We will discuss what side that is depending on our liberal or conservative-leaning. But in the end we will see God is doing something, we may just not know what it is. God is in control.  God Bless, LVZ.