Introduction
In chapter 13 we are introduced to two more horrendous creatures that Satan uses to continue his war against believers.  They are beasts and they emerge from the waters and the earth respectively.  The first beast is a dreadful seven headed monster and the second is a little less gruesome in appearance but is still powerful and has the ability to deceive with his miracle working power.  The dragon from chapter 12, and the two beasts of chapter 13 make up an unholy trinity of Satanic wickedness. They are allied powers of evil, who will continue to persecute the saints of God.  
 
The dragon from chapter 12 becomes furious with the escape of the offspring of the woman (the Church/believers) so it stands on the sands of the shore, and it calls upon the dreadful legions to destroy the offspring of the woman.
 
Revelation 13: 1 – 10
 
Vs 1 - 2:  The creature that emerges from the waters has ten horns, seven heads, ten crowns on the horns, and on its head are blasphemous names.  This beast has similarities to the dragon in Revelation 12 and the four beasts of Daniel 7:3 - 8 that emerge from the sea.
 
In the ancient world the sea is associated with evil, a force that is hostile to God, or the final enemy of God’s people to emerge from this evil is entirely appropriate.
 
Ten horns: These represent 10 kings who wear crowns.  The crowns being placed on their horns instead of their heads so, this would suggest that his claims to authority rests on brutal force.
 
Seven heads: The seven heads shows that there is a relationship between the dragon of chapter 12 and the beast of Ch. 13.  In fact, it would suggest that the beast gets his power from the dragon (Satan).  We know the number seven represents completeness; thus, a seven headed beast would be symbolic of for the ultimate or complete enemy of the church.
 
Who or what is the beast?  It receives its power from Satan, blasphemes the name of God, makes war against the saints, and is worshiped by the pagan world, thus it could suggest that the beast is the Roman Empire who persecutes the church.  It is suggested that the beast could also represent the deification of secular authority or government.
 
The written names on the head that blaspheme God tell about the arrogance of this beast. These titles may refer to a title of honor given to Roman emperors in the first Century AD who wish to be recognized as divine within the Caesar cult. This was evident on the imperial coins of the time.  Julius Caesar, Augustus, among others were declared divine at their deaths.  Domitian wanted to be addressed as dominus et deus (‘lord and god’. Many have suggested that this beast symbolizes the Roman Empire, who continually persecuted and oppressed the Christian Church.
 
The beast has the appearance of a leopard, the feet of a bear, and a mouth like a lion.   This creature most likely symbolizes a final empire (since the beasts of Daniel represent four kingdoms) that will be more dreadful than any other.  Yet, it is not an empire that is powered on its own, it is an empire that is powered by evil or Satan, the dragon.
 
Verse 3: One of the heads of the beast was wounded, we do not know how the wound was received, but that is not important…  what is important is that it appeared to be mortal, and it was healed.  Many theologians who attribute the beast as the Roman Empire say that this beast represents Nero.  Nero was an infamous Roman emperor known for his viciousness and depravity.  He was feared by all and when he died people refused to believe his death was final.  Many expected him to rise again and appear in a resurrected form.  Others believe that this goes to show the resiliency of the beast. This secular authority seems to be wounded but returns with increased strength and most likely refers to Rome and one of its emperors. 
 
Vs 4:  This results in the inhabitants of the world worshiping the beast and the dragon.  Deification of secular power is in fact worship of Satan.[1] The people worship the beast because of the authority he wields, and that authority is Satan himself.  The motivation behind the worship is the mere power of his influence.
 
Vs 5 - 6:  In verses 5 to 7 the statements “was given” or “was allowed” is mentioned four times.  This shows that not only the beast is subservient to the dragon (Satan) but to John’s readers, they would know that he speaks of God as the ultimate source of power, or sovereignty.  The reign of the beast is only because God allows it to happen.  He operates within the limits that are set by God.  He is allowed to speak blasphemes against God.  He was allowed to have authority for forty-two months.  This is the traditional period for religious persecution.  It is during this forty-two month that the beast aggressively carries out the will of the dragon.
 
Vs 7 - 8:  The beast is allowed to wage war on the saints and demand universal worship, and this worship extends to every tribe, people, language, and nation.  Everyone on the earth will worship the beast except for those whose names are written in the book of Life.  The saints will be persecuted and killed (overcome) by the beast, but the real victory belongs to them.
 
Vs 11 - 12:  A second creature/beast comes out of the earth. This beast’s job and purpose is to promote and glorify the first beast.  He is a deceiver.  His two horns like a lamb represents or gives the appearance of being harmless and gentle.  He accomplishes his purpose by using his power to work miracles.   In John’s time a reference to this beast would probably suggest a local priest of the imperial cult or the provincial council of Asia Minor who enforced emperor worship.  In the final days the false prophet can stands for the role in false religion and forcing the people to yield to the worship of this secular power.
 
Vs 13:  We are warned throughout the Bible about false prophets who will attempt to (and succeed) lead people astray and worship other gods through signs and wonders.  This second beast deceives people into worshiping the Antichrist by imitating the miracles of true prophets of old. 
 
Vs 14 – 15:  This beast is only able to deceive unbelievers.  Why?  Because if one is truly loyal and obedient to Jesus will not be tricked by the miracles of the hose who deceive.
The second beast then instructs his followers to “make an image of the beast”.  He was given the power to give life to this image so that it could speak.  The grammar of the verse insinuates that the statue not only speaks but it also approved the death sentence upon everyone who would not worship it, or it could mean that the second beast was the one who instituted the death penalty on all who refused to worship. 
 
According to Johannine scholar Stephen Smalley, “The notion of breathing life into the ikon of the beast is a satanic parody of the gift of God’s Spirit to believers… This is a broad and figurative way of depicting the second beast as a kingmaker; by magical deception, the beast from the earth is able to convince people that the image of the first beast represents true deity. The image in the present context refers not simply to the likeness of an individual Roman emperor, who claim divine status, or even first century demand for submission to the imperial powers. The idol in verse 15 represents ‘any substitute for the truth of God in any age.”[2] 
 
Vs 16 - 17:  To identify those who worship the first beast they are required to get a mark on their right hand or forehead.  There are no exceptions.  Religious tattooing was common in the ancient world, and followers of a particular god were often marked to show their steadfast loyalty.  This is a mockery of the sealing of God’s elect in chapter 7.  In chapter 7 the elect are sealed to escape God’s judgment, and now the followers of Antichrist are marked” to escape his wrath against the church.  This loyalty to the beast will certainly and clearly determine the line between God’s people and Satan’s.
 
The mark not only shows loyalty to the Beast, but it also enables the recipient of the mark to buy and sell daily.  Those without the mark cannot get the necessities for daily living.  
 
Vs 18:  The Apostle John now provides a way for the intelligent reader to determine or compute.
the beast’s number.  He does not give much indication other that the fact that it is the number of man, and that number is 666. Recently some texts have translated the number as 616.  It is believed that the number is specific to one certain historical person.  Throughout history there have been multiple guesses as to who this person is or will be.  Some take the number to be more as a symbol than a code. 666 is the number that falls short of perfection in each of its digits.  New Testament scholar Robert Mounce writes, “it seems best to conclude that John intended only his intimate associates to be able to decipher the number. So successful were his precautions that even Irenaeus some one hundred years later was unable to identify the person intended. An additional 1,800 years of conjecture have not brought us any closer to a definitive answer.”[3]
 
Smalley writes, “The repetitive ‘666’ stands for human and secular forces, including the Romes of any period, which are oppressive and unjust, and seek to dethrone the Creator and enthrone the creature.” He continues, “John is not referring here in the first place to individual and historical tyrants; he is speaking of varied types of authority which use power wrongly, so as to introduce doctrinal error and ethical compromise.”[4]
 
Conclusion
As we conclude this morning we are reminded of the seriousness of God’s command against idolatry.  In Revelation 13 we see the beasts working collectively to deceive people into idolatry.  A simple definition of idolatry would be looking to or depending on anything more favorably than God.

We are created beings and we were created to worship God.  Unfortunately, our natural sinful inclination in not to worship God, but to worship things created by God.  Romans 1:18 – 23 says, “For God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth,19 since what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what he has made. As a result, people are without excuse. 21 For though they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became worthless, and their senseless hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles.
The sinful tendency for humanity is to worship anything other than God.  We can easily exchange our worship for God with the temporal and fleeting.  We replace God with subtle physical idolatry (people or things) or idols of our hearts (Unseen and possibly good).  
 
My prayer is that you take some time this week and pray about identifying the idols in your life and seek to replace them with the true, life-giving, fulfilling, and joyful worship to the only one who is worthy of praise.  When we faithfully allow God to search our hearts, He is going to deal with us individually and when He does, we need to be prepared to make the necessary changes in our lives so we can be right with God. 
 
Thus, we see the stage is set for the final encounter.  This is a place of tension because for the believer we are living in the already, but not yet.  This simply means that Jesus was victorious on the cross, but the full acknowledgment of that victory is yet to come. The end has not come so evil will persist until that final battle between good and evil concludes.
 
[1] Smalley, Stephen, The Revelation of John: A Commentary on the Greek Text of the Apocalypse, (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2005), 339.
[2] Smalley, Stephen, The Revelation of John: A Commentary on the Greek Text of the Apocalypse, (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2005), 349
[3] Robert H. Mounce, The Book of Revelation, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1997), 262–263.
[4] Smalley, Stephen, The Revelation of John: A Commentary on the Greek Text of the Apocalypse, (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2005), 353

 
Introduction   
Revelation Chapter 12 is another break in the Apocalypse.  Before John writes about the remaining plagues in Ch. 16 he explains the primary cause of the violence that is about to break upon the church.  The event is a classic conflict of God Vs. Satan.  John also describes the persecution the church is about to experience.
 
Once again, the symbolism is very dense and what John sees is clearly a vision, as John witnesses this event or a wonderous sign in heaven. The purpose of this chapter and the vision explicitly is for John to encourage the churches to remain strong during the inevitable trials and tribulation.  From here on the stage is being set for the final confrontation in the chapters to come.
 
Verses 1 - 6
Vs 1 – 2:  John witnesses an event of great significance.  In this vision John sees A woman who is clothed with the sun, and has the moon under her feet, and wears a crown of twelve stars.  There is much speculation as to who the woman is or what she represents, and it will be simpler to begin with determining who the woman is not… The woman is not Mary the mother of Jesus.  She could represent the true messianic community, or more likely the church. 
 
The woman is “clothed in the sun” – The world may despise the true Israel, but from God’s vantage point she is a radiant bride.
 
“The moon beneath her feet” speaks of dominion.
The woman is pregnant and “she cried out because of her labor pains and the agony of giving birth.” and this shows us that she is the true Israel in her pre-Messianic pain and anticipation.
 
Vs. 3: This is another significant event, and this time it is a vision of a red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven Crowns.  There is no doubt as to who the dragon is as we see him named in vs. 9, He is Satan AKA the Devil.  The mention of dragons in the OT is common.  Metaphorically he represents Israel’s enemies. 
Thus, the red dragon in this chapter could be the archenemy of God and His people.  Red symbolizes the lethal personality of Satan, and the seven crowns represent his universal or complete power (Seven is the number of completeness).  The crowns represent Satan’s audacious claim of royal power over the Messiah.
 
Vs 4 - 5:  The dragon stands ready before the woman, so when the child is born, he can devour it.  He is determined to devour the child, so he waits for his victim to be born.  This describes the vicious opposition the Christ child faced in the early years of his life.  It stars with King Herod’s desire and plot to destroy the Messiah and climaxes at the crucifixion.
However, the child was born and caught up to heaven.  The noteworthy theme is that Satan’s plans were thwarted because of Jesus’ ministry, his death at the cross of Calvary, and concluded by his ascension and exaltation.
 
Vs 6: The woman flees to the wilderness.  Fleeing is something the Israelites have historically resorted to.  The Israelites fled from the Egyptians, Elijah fled the pursuit of Jezebel, Mary and Joseph fled to Egypt in response to Herod’s decree.  However, the intent of verse 6 is not to so much the church fleeing as a way of God sustaining her.  Instead, the wilderness is often symbol of God’s divine provision and fellowship.  It was in the wilderness where God spoke to Israel, protected her, and provided for her.  Thus, this verse is intended to promise those facing martyrdom that God has prepared a place for spiritual protection for them, and he will empower them to stand fast against the devil.
 
Verses 7 – 12
Vs 7 – 8: A war arises in heaven between Michael the Archangel and his angels and Satan and his angels.  This is an all-out attempt on Satan to regain his position in the presence of God. The end result is Satan is cast down.  Apparently up until this time Satan, in some respect has access to heaven.  His defeat now forfeits his ability to access heaven.  It is noteworthy to mention that it is Michael who wars against Satan and not Jesus.  Satan and his angels are cast down to earth
 
Vs. 9: The great dragon is now identified as the devil and Satan.  The word satan was not originally a proper name.  Satan is the Adversary, the accuser, and deceiver.
 
Vs 10:  The voice crying from heaven is most likely the collective voices of the twenty-four elders.  They proclaim victory!
 
Vs 11:  Satan is defeated by the archangel Michael, but he is also conquered by the faithful believers as well.  Their victory lies in the blood of the lamb.
 
What does heavenly victory look like?

1. For the believer
   
2. For the enemy

The Believer
1 Corinthians 15:56, 57
“The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!”
 
We are told in the Bible that all who believe in Jesus are children of God (1 John 3) so we are victorious, or we have overcome the world.  The word “overcome” is derived from the Greek root word nike (ni-Kay) which means victorious.  We are victorious in this life because of the blood fo the lamb. The darkness of this world, Satan, and his demons cannot overtake us because we are victorious.  The reason we are victorious is because Jesus Christ. 
           
God’s love for us is so great that He has fought and continues to fight the battle for us, and He has declared us victorious.  Through Jesus Christ we now have a new life, a life where we are fully alive, thriving and in need of nothing because the Spirit of God dwells in each of us.  The old ways; the sinful, dark ungodly ways are gone, and we no longer need to live in the murky waters of the world.  We now live in the fresh waters of Jesus Christ; living victoriously over sin, Satan and all his evil beings.  We are thriving in the Kingdom of God and sharing the Good News that Jesus and His Kingdom has come.  Satan and his minions will try and beat you down but take comfort and security in the understanding that nothing that comes your way can defeat you or hold you down in this life or the life to come because Jesus has defeated death and sin.   
 
The Enemy
So, what does victory look like to Satan?  It looks like hell.  
 
Revelation 20:1 – 3, 7 -10 “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven holding the key to the abyss and a great chain in his hand. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan,, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the abyss, closed it, and put a seal on it so that he would no longer deceive the nations until the thousand years were completed. After that, he must be released for a short time.
When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle. Their number is like the sand of the sea.  They came up across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the encampment of the saints, the beloved city. Then fire came down from heaven and consumed them.  The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
 
Victory in Jesus results in eternal condemnation for Satan.  Jesus wins and because of Him, so do we.
 
Vs 12: The heavens rejoice because of the victory of Jesus, but it is also a cause for woe upon the earth and sea.  Satan’s time is short between the time of his defeat in heaven and the time for his final judgment.   It is during this short time that he will launch an earthly attack on the church and the persecution that is forthcoming.
 
 
 
 
 

Introduction:
Politics and religion are hot button topics.  If you ever want to have a heated discussion or start an argument with someone just mention God in conjunction with government.  Some believe these two go together like water and oil, thus avoid discussion these subjects all together while others love to have one sided heated debate.  In today’s passage Jesus enters the ring as he takes on the topic of religion and politics head on.  
 
Mark 12:13 - 17
The passage is often misinterpreted incorrectly.  I have heard several sermons that twist Jesus’ response.  People are quick to interpret Jesus’ response to be careful to balance the sacred and secular areas of our lives.  However, Jesus never fully answers the question because the Pharisees and Herodians were trying to trick him.  They did not care what his answer is, they just wanted to trap Jesus by answering the question incorrectly (which seems at first glance no answer would have been right in the Pharisees eyes).  The question was “Can one still pay taxes to Caesar and still have allegiance to God?”  As we will see in a moment this was a well thought out and loaded question. 
 
Background
Before we start let’s look at the background of this passage so we can better understand what is going on. Paying taxes to Rome was a touchy subject during Jesus’ days.  The controversy was mainly what paying taxes represented to the Jews.  They were not, so much, against the idea of paying taxes in general because they already were paying a Temple tax, local taxes, and taxes to Herod. But to the Jewish people paying taxes to the Romans represented loss of freedom.
 
I can imagine we would be angry if we had to give a portion of our hard-earned money to an oppressive nation who violently and forcefully overthrew our government and country (Especially if we believed we were the chosen nation of God).  Imagine that you were part of a nation who took pride in freedom, to worship God and for human rights and now we are enslaved by a nation who is oppressive and imposes her taxes on us for her wealth. 
Taxes represented Rome’s rule over Israel and the Jews celebrated the fact that they were God’s chosen people, yet they agonized over the fact that they were not living as God’s people, instead they were living under oppression and fear of the Roman government.  This was the main reason tax collectors were despised.  These individuals were Jews who worked for the Roman government and were given the freedom to collect taxes at an inflated rate and kept some of the money for themselves after giving the Roman’s their share.  They were protected by the Roman government so they could set their rates at whatever price they wanted.
 
Not only did the Jews not like what the tax represented, Rome, but also the coin itself went against their law against carved or graven images.  The possession of the coin would be considered a form of idolatry for the Jews since the coin had a carved image of the Caesar on it. Theologian N.T. Wright writes, “(I)mages of human beings were out of the question, and here is Tiberius (Caesar), staring coldly out at the world from every small Roman coin.  And writing!  Around the head the words say in Latin, ‘August Tiberius, son of the divine Augustus’.  On the other side it says: ‘High Priest’ (the emperors were mainly high priests of the main Roman cult).  – If the Romans had gone out of their way to be offensive to the Jews, they could have hardly done it better.”
 
Outline
Before the Pharisees asked the question to Jesus, the Pharisees and Herodians intended to stroke Jesus’ feathers a bit by telling him that he was an upright man.  God’s interests were his interests, and he was totally a man who seeks God’s approval and not mans. They were trying to make him out to be a moralistic man of God so in their plot to set him up it was designed to have a question that would put him in a positive light.  The Pharisees and Herodians were implying that, Jesus was a religious man who had no regard for what men thought of him and he was filled with wisdom, thus, they asked him if it was right to pay taxes to Caesar. But overall, it was a trick question because no matter how Jesus responded his answer would get him in trouble, or so they thought.
 
Jesus doesn’t fall for their flattering words; he sees through them.  However, he faces a dilemma, if his answer is to pay the taxes then he would be going against that which the people despised.  Plus, it would also put into question his claims to be the Messiah, because according to Jewish tradition and thought the Messiah was supposed to set the people of Israel free from injustice and tyranny.  If he answered in the affirmative, then he could be considered a sympathizer to the Roman government hence putting him in the same bracket as tax collectors and sinners. However, if he suggests not paying taxes then the Pharisees could go to the Roman government officials and accuse Jesus of being a dissenter, a rebel, and one who was trying to stir up the people against Rome.
 
Jesus does not answer the question because he knows they don’t really care what he thinks.  He throws the Pharisees and Herodians off guard by seeking a coin (one that he does not possess). This is strategic because Jesus answers their question by showing the hypocrisy of the Pharisees.  When they produced the coin (the one with Caesar’s face on it) they were showing everyone around that they were handling or possessing this same coin that was hated by the Israelites. In possessing the coin, they were showing their support for Caesar because the coin belonged to Caesar. Next, he asks them whose face is imprinted one the coin?  They respond, “Caesars.”   By their admission the coin belongs to Caesar (since it bears his image) so he can have it back. Jesus’ reply, “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and give to God what belongs to Him.” He is saying EVERYTHING belongs to God.
 
Many pastors and teachers have taught throughout history that Jesus is saying that life is broken into two realms, the sacred and secular.  This means that we are to have human leaders for everyday life and God/Jesus for spiritual matters. This interpretation could not be farther from the truth. “Give to Caesar the things belonging to Caesar” does not mean humanity has control or even ownership over the physical, political, and earthly sphere just the same as “Give to God what is His” does not mean God is only in control of the religious, sacred, and spiritual realm.  God and Caesar (human government) are not equals; they are not counterparts.
 
Jesus says that the coin belongs to Caesar because it bears his image.  It is, in many ways his idol.  Jesus says to pay taxes but do not submit to the Romans as the ultimate authority. The hypocrisy in this passage is when we see the Pharisees having no issue doing business with or receiving Caesars money, therefore they should pay taxes.  But Jesus takes it a step further by saying since the Romans demand tax money then Israel should oblige and pay the taxes but also in life, they must give to God what belongs to Him.  What belongs to him?  Humanity bears the image of God thus we belong to Him.  As God’s children we bear his image as and we owe allegiance and loyalty to him, we owe and our very being.  Romans 12:1:1 – 2 says, “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
 
Often, people like to compartmentalize their lives into these two divisions of sacred and the secular and they do it well.  People reserve Sundays and maybe a few hours here and there during the week for God since this is the time reserved for church, Bible Study, or serving.  But the rest of the days they figure they can live however they please.  Jesus does not advocate this compartmentalized life.  He does not say I want to be your Lord and Savior on certain days, or when faced with death, tragedy, difficulty, and spiritual issues and then you are free to fend for yourself during the good times and prosperous times. He does not say that Spiritual issues belong to him and everything else belongs to humanity (e.g., government, finances, & us).
 
God makes it clear that we must put our allegiance, loyalty, and trust in Him alone. We cannot place our allegiance, trust and happiness in humanity, politics, wealth, power, and our position in life. Our lives were made by Him, and he has authority over all, and our allegiance should be to Him alone.  The point of the passage above that many people miss is that God doesn’t want you for a few hours on Sundays and Wednesdays.  He doesn’t want you to trust him only when time are tough.  He wants what is rightfully His, all of you all the time. Jesus implies, “I want to be the Lord of your finances, the Lord of your marriages, the Lord of your work, the Lord or your security, and the Lord of all aspects of your life.”
 
Now, I do not believe Jesus tells us to have nothing to do with government or secular institutions.  We are citizens of this planet thus we cannot cut ourselves off from reality and reject the world, laws, and the obligations we have to it. As Christians we are free and as American Christians, we have religious liberties, and this does not exempt us from civil law that is intended for order. We have the obligation to pay taxes so we can use roads, sewers, social security, Medicare, and have public servants etc. We should contribute to society, and we should exercise our ability to vote and submit to governmental authorities (We must render to the government what bears the governments image). However, we owe our sole allegiance and loyalty to God. This means we should pray for our government officials, politicians, and secular society whether we like or agree with them or not.  This is part of giving of your whole self to God. We are the children of God who bear his likeness.  We are created in His image, and we belong to Him. 
 
Conclusion
So, Jesus' response of life goes beyond a simple balancing act between the sacred and secular aspects of life. In this passage he exposes the hypocrisy of the Pharisees by pointing out their acceptance and use of the very coins they despised. His statement, "Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to Him," carries a deeper meaning.
 
While we have obligations to our government and society (secular and sacred) in which we live, our ultimate allegiance and loyalty should always be placed in God. We are created in God's image and therefore belong to Him. Jesus desires our wholehearted devotion and surrender in all aspects of life, not just on certain days or in specific spiritual matters. God wants all of us to live in ways that honor Him and recognize His authority over all areas of our lives. Let us remember that we are created in His image, and we belong to Him. May we surrender ourselves completely to Him and allow Him to be the Lord of our lives, embracing His guidance and direction in all that we do.