15 November

Today's the day when in 1889 Brazil's last emperor was deposed in a military coup. The Brazilian monarchy had been established in 1822, when Portugal's crown prince, Dom Pedro, proclaimed an independent Brazil under his rule. The Brazilian empire got off to a rough start, however, and in 1831 Emperor Pedro I abdicated in favour of his five-year-old son and returned to Portugal. Pedro II was crowned emperor in 1841 and during his five-decade reign Brazil enjoyed unprecedented stability. However, he later alienated certain sectors in society, including the military and the growing urban middle class. After being deposed in 1889, Pedro II went to Europe, where he died in exile two years later.

The New Testament urges us to depose the powers that set themselves up in our lives in opposition to God. False thoughts and wrong actions quickly become strongholds which obstruct God’s kingdom work in us and through us. 2 Corinthians chapter 5 tells us to be ruthless with them:

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.