{"id":8907,"date":"2021-09-04T00:00:46","date_gmt":"2021-09-03T16:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dumc.my\/tm\/?p=8907"},"modified":"2022-06-15T17:04:34","modified_gmt":"2022-06-15T09:04:34","slug":"living-under-human-government-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dumc.my\/tm\/living-under-human-government-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Living under Human Government"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Posted by Eileen Wong \u2022 Sep 04, 2021<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

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Our Best Thought is a weekly devotional thoughtfully penned by leaders in DUMC arising from their daily devotions. The devotional\u2019s title, \u201cOur Best Thought\u201d is taken from the hymn, \u201cBe Thou My Vision\u201d as a reference to God: \u201cThou my best thought, by day or by night.\u201d Publishes on Sundays.<\/em><\/p>\n

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\nScripture:<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cBlessed be the name of God forever and ever,
\n<\/span><\/i>to whom belong wisdom and might.
\n<\/span><\/i>He changes times and seasons;
\n<\/span><\/i>he removes kings and sets up kings;
\n<\/span><\/i>he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Daniel 2:20-21, ESV<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 
\nObservation:<\/b><\/em>
\nThese were Daniel\u2019s first recorded words after God revealed the mystery of Nebuchadnezzar\u2019s dream through him. In this pagan society, Daniel fought to balance his loyal service to Babylon with his ultimate obedience to God. Yet in spite of his disagreement with Babylon\u2019s policies, Daniel gave his life to serve the nation. The book of Daniel is thoroughly political, revealing the power of God\u2019s sovereign undertow beneath the tides of world politics, and all for the sake of His chosen people. Even as His people endured exile in Babylon, God sovereignly governed the world\u2019s political leaders \u2014 raising, dropping, and reordering political powers for millennia (Daniel 2:21)<\/span>
\nIn Daniel 2:36-45, we read about a giant statue of a man with a head of gold and feet of clay\u00a0 that towered about 100 feet in the air and glistened brilliantly in the sun. This layered statue represented a succession of the world\u2019s four great superpowers from Daniel\u2019s day into the future, all stacked vertically and cemented together.<\/span>
\nThen it toppled.<\/span>
\nThe statue was targeted by a stone and smashed into the statue\u2019s feet, and, on impact, shattered the entire statue. The small meteoric stone, now on the ground, began to grow and expand into a mountain that covered the entire earth \u2014 the image of a new and unshakable kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, now spread out over every continent, displacing all the world\u2019s superpowers in history.\u00a0<\/span>
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\nApplication:<\/b><\/em>
\nWhat better time particularly in our country\u2019s context then to be reminded that God is the source of all \u201c<\/span>wisdom and might<\/span><\/i>\u201d. What better time to acknowledge the One who \u201c<\/span>changes times and seasons<\/span><\/i>\u201d. What better time to bless the name of Him who \u201c<\/span>removes kings and sets up kings<\/span><\/i>\u201d!<\/span>
\nMore than ever, as believers, we need to plunge our minds into the ocean of God\u2019s sovereignty. We need to hear again from God Himself that He is sovereign over our nation and everything that happens in her. He reigns over our land, our leaders and all politicians, great or small.\u00a0<\/span>
\n 
\nResponse:<\/b><\/em>
\nOur great and Almighty God, the Creator of the universe, we recognise that Your providence rules over all the rulers of the earth. Just as with the Babylonian Nebuchadnezzar, and the Persian Cyrus, You cause the rulers of the earth to \u201cfulfill all Your purposes\u201d (Isaiah 44:28).\u00a0<\/span>
\nPolitical leaders come and go, but You are the God whose <\/span>\u201cdominion is an everlasting dominion\u201d<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>\u201cwhose kingdom endures from generation to generation\u201d<\/span><\/i>. Amen.<\/span>
\n <\/p>\n

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Eileen Wong is a Lead Facilitator with Equip Bible Studies.<\/p>\n

Our Best Thought is a weekly devotional that follows DUMC’s Bible Reading Plan. Posts on Sundays.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In this pagan society, Daniel fought to balance his loyal service to Babylon with his ultimate obedience to God. Yet in spite of his disagreement with Babylon\u2019s policies, Daniel gave his life to serve the nation. The book of Daniel is thoroughly political, revealing the power of God\u2019s sovereign undertow beneath the tides of world politics, and all for the sake of His chosen people. Even as His people endured exile in Babylon, God sovereignly governed the world\u2019s political leaders \u2014 raising, dropping, and reordering political powers for millennia (Daniel 2:21)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[118],"tags":[122],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dumc.my\/tm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8907"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dumc.my\/tm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dumc.my\/tm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dumc.my\/tm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dumc.my\/tm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8907"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/dumc.my\/tm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8907\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9439,"href":"https:\/\/dumc.my\/tm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8907\/revisions\/9439"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dumc.my\/tm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dumc.my\/tm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dumc.my\/tm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}