“Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house.18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened."
Dear Jesus,
I grieve the coming suffering and destruction that comes upon nations whose leaders manipulate power, jockeying for position and personal prosperity at the expense of everything righteous and true. Unvarnished power and political maneuvering lead to national and personal destruction.
William Barclay wrote: "Jesus knew that the way of power politics can only end in doom. The man and the nation which will not take the way of God are heading for disaster--even in material things. The man and the nation which refuse the dream of God will find their own dreams shattered also" (William Barclay in The Gospel of Matthew, vol. 2, p. 337).
Barclay continued: "Unless the leaders of the nations are themselves led by Christ they cannot do other than lead men, not only to spiritual but also to physical disaster" (p. 340).
I pray for our nation, our leaders,and our people. Humble our leaders from the pride of self-promotion which supplants the power of servanthood. Protect our leaders from embracing the false as if it were true for the sake of popularity. Empower our leaders in the church and in the world to be your humble servants. Protect us from the pride of face, the pride of race, and especially the pride of grace that would pollute our every effort to serve. Motivate us with perfect love and a spirit of service in a quest to empower others.
We love You. We trust You. We serve You.
In the Name of the Father, the Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit,
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment