Powerful Men

All photos courtesy of Unsplash

This blog post was written before Russia invaded Ukraine. It is, however, very pertinent as President Putin of Russia obviously feels that he has the power and right to invade a peaceful nation to expand his territory and create another iron curtain between him and 'the West'. 

History is replete with men who strived to be recognized as God. The ultimate power sought by many is to rule over other men and women and be worshipped by them. They may not use the term ‘God’ but it is self-evident that crave the power and glory that only rightly belongs to God.

Before Jesus had reached His second birthday, He had already become the target of an assassination plot by King Herod, the ruthless and paranoid ruler of Roman-controlled Judea. Joseph and Mary, prompted by a dream from God, took the baby and fled to Egypt.

Egypt's history was one proud and glorious procession of kings spanning thirty dynasties and nearly 3,000 years. Egyptian kings--the pharaohs--were powerful figures and rich beyond imagination. They wielded wealth like a weapon, built sprawling cities and commanded huge armies.

God’s plan for public services

 

All photos are courtesy of Unsplash

Today’s suggested Bible reading - Mark 10:28-52

The Lord Jesus really shook people up, particularly his disciples, with his teaching. I can only imagine the shocked looks on their faces when he announced that for anyone to be great in his Government, they would need to serve everybody, v44.

 

How different to the way this world operates! Power goes to people’s heads. When they get important jobs, they want to be recognised for their status. There are certain things that they don’t do anymore. Some privileges go with power. 

 

It is so different, or it should be, in the world of the Christian. The Lord Jesus was teaching that only humble people are really great. Only people who serve others can be recognised as important, v43, 44. I am not sure about you, but I know that this teaching is not the natural way that I think. So, I need to pray and ask for the Lord’s help to understand this teaching. I also need His help so that my behaviour is ‘in line’ with the teaching.

 

I wonder how this teaching should affect how I behave. Will I be more interested in what I can do to help others from now on, Phil 2:4? Would I be happy to work hard if it saved another person the effort? Are there any jobs that I think are beneath me that really I should do for the Lord Jesus?

 

One of the great things about this truth is that the Lord Jesus is not asking us to do something He will not do. He came to serve and not to be served, v45. The biggest proof was His death. He laid down His life to pay for my salvation. Is there anything that I would not do for Him? 

Control of our laws and our destiny

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On 24 December 2020, a week before the deadline, agreement was reached between the European Union and the United Kingdom, which avoided a ‘no-deal Brexit’, the UK Prime Minster declared, ‘We have taken back control of our laws and our destiny.’ On reading this, two questions came to my mind: ‘To what extent is that true?’ and ‘What will the destiny be?’ Then I turned to applying these issues to ourselves as individuals. Can we each decide our ‘laws’? Is our ‘destiny’ in our own hands? What is that ‘destiny’?

It does seem that ‘Brexit’ will give the UK greater control over its law-making, and some gladly say that external bodies cannot now ‘tell it what to do’. In personal life, many also like to make their own decisions, and do not want instruction from others on how to conduct their lives. However, no nation can totally do as it pleases as far as its laws are concerned, for there are serious consequences if, for example, it breaks international law.