May 2024
Dear Friends
Some say this is bad because anyone who thinks he has God’s
authority to rule will be a tyrant. Not necessarily
so; he may instead realise that he is accountable to the God who gave him his authority
and who will judge him for his rule, whether good or bad. Britain once had bishops who held monarchs to
the Bible and were not afraid to say that they must rule as servants of their heavenly
King.
But when prime ministers and presidents, elected governments
and unelected bureaucrats, think there is no God over them they may assume that
they have ultimate authority, the right to ‘do whatever it takes’, to
act like god. This is true tyranny!
And when we don’t believe that there is a God over us, we look
to the state to solve every problem, to provide for us, to act like god. We create the statist beast and grumble that
we have no freedom.
But how can rulers be under divine authority when there seem
to be so many gods to choose from? 9th May is Ascension Day. The risen Jesus was only on earth for 40 days
before he ascended to the right hand of God the Father, the place of all
authority and power in our world. He told
his disciples what was happening, “All authority in heaven and on earth has
been given to me.” (Matthew 28:19)
That’s why the early Christians knew that Caesar was not God
and why they were prepared to be killed rather than give up their creed, ‘Jesus
is Lord’. They knew that all rulers will
answer to the Lord Jesus Christ, the son of the living God. A change of our political leaders without a
change of heart over this will not save us.
You are warmly invited to come and join us at 7.30pm on 9th
May in St James Church Burton for our Ascension Day service.
Sincerely
Graham Burrows
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