We must always keep in mind all legitimate authority is from God, and is given for protection, provision, and peace.

I say that trials and tests locate a person. In other words they determine where you are spiritually. They reveal the true condition of your heart. How you react under pressure is how the real you reacts.

Physical maturity is bound to time. Spiritual maturity is bound to obedience.

We all have life-defining moments. They are like open-book tests, but we don't know we have been examined until it is over.

Physical growth is a function of time. No two-year-old child has ever been six feet tall. Intellectual growth is a function of learning. Spiritual growth is neither a function of time or learning, but it is a function of obedience.

How can a good God appoint cruel people to positions of authority? The answer is simple: God is the originator of the authority, but He is not the author of the cruelty. Man is responsible for his cruel actions, not God. All authority is of God, but not all authority is godly.

Godly fear, faith, and humility is the true threefold cord that can’t easily be broken (see Ecclesiastes 4:12).