If I have ever given the impression that President Putin is anything other than a glorified Mafia thug, I have been misunderstood. May God stop Putin in his tracks as he seeks to spread his murderous influence.
Snake Island is a tiny Ukrainian island in the Black Sea. Two days ago, 13 Ukrainian soldiers were ordered to surrender their base by the Russians. They chose death over tyranny.
I cannot say what I would do in a similar circumstance. It is easy for me to be brave while down here at the bottom of the earth. But this I know, tyranny, like bravery, is taught and learned.
Do not be deceived, despots do not get to where they are without assistance. Putin was helped along the way by those who either supported him and his ideas or by those who did not oppose him and his ideas. Know Putin’s heroes and you will know him.
In like manner, our ideas and actions give testimony to our origins. If you have doubts as to how much influence your family, friends, and mentors have had upon you, just get someone to videotape you—you’ll be amazed.
A Christian, by the nature of his spiritual rebirth at baptism, moves from being a victim of past weaknesses to being a force for the future. We now operate from a position of strength. For our work now advances by the unlimited power and grace of God.
However, this power and grace are not for us alone. God wraps it up in a gift called the church. Our brethren are our ‘family, friends, and mentors.’ They are our fellow soldiers in that which is the real war. They teach us by word and example to be brave in the face of the tyranny that is behind all tyranny…
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12).
The evil consider how they may spur one another on toward hate and evil deeds, but Christians “consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10:24).
“We didn’t get here on our own.”
John Staiger
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