@Hypershell@Zerglingman I also struggle with Romans 13:1-7 but before we try and dodge what St Paul is getting at we should examine ourselves. Are we struggling to understand how God can put a ruler in place who will actively persecute His Church? Are we looking for an approved way to rise in rebellion against these rulers?
How I've come to terms with Romans 13:1-7 is that God puts people in positions of authority for His purposes. But the person still has the choice to be a good or bad servant of God. So we don't have an excuse to disrespect rulers or refuse to honour them because they persecute us. Nor do we have an excuse to not follow the law of the land or so on.
But there are limits here as if the earthly ruler would put us in a position where by following their law we go against God's Law. We are to obey God and disobey the earthly ruler. But this disobedience is peaceful for as long as it is possible to resist peacefully.
>And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46)
>And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34)
So some of the people present heard Jesus cry out "Eli" (Matthew) or "Eloi" (Mark) and thought they heard "Elijah". His words on the Cross are also a direct reference to and fulfillment of Psalm 22.
And for why Jesus asks why God the Father has forsaken Him. Super has covered that well but I think it also shows us a very raw look at Jesus the man. He was already tortured near to death before being nailed to the Cross and now here at the moment of His death in extreme suffering He cries out. I hesitate to say that Jesus cries out in weakness, because He isn't weak, but I lack the words to explain it in a better way.
I think we have a habit of seeing Jesus as only divine, forgetting His human nature as the Son of man. But by reading the Gospels and seeing what He went through for us, what He truly experienced and the suffering He bore even before the Cross. By reading and understanding this we see Jesus the man who being fully human but also fully divine experienced the human condition fully. Though He is without Sin He was not without suffering.
“You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.” (1 John 3:5 ESV)
“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15)
Christ was obedient to the Law of God even to the point of dying on the Cross (Philippians 2:8), in no way did He violate it but instead fulfilled it (Matthew 5:17, Romans 10:4).
Assuming your vague post is referring to Matthew 19:16-22, then both yourself, your wife, and any other person who told you it applies literally to the Christian today is missing the point.
The Rich Young Man couldn't bear to part with his wealth and so declined the invitation to follow Jesus. The point is that we ought not to be so attached to the wealth we have in this life that we miss eternal life.
A Christian is encouraged to share their wealth with the less fortunate but they are not forced to do so. Charity is not Communism.
Still a lot of votes to be tallied but media outlets are reporting that the Yes campaign has no path to victory. For those unaware, the Yes campaign needed both a majority of states to vote Yes and a majority of Australians to do so as well.
This is by no means the end of the Voice as it will likely be brought in through the backdoor via legislation. Also keep an eye out for government action against "mis-information".