Mordecai-- What a Guy!

"And Mordecai had brought up Hadassa, that is, Esther, his uncle's daughter, for she had neither father nor mother."  (Esther 2:7)

 

And what a great job he did.  Mordecai does not get enough "press."  Esther just did what she was told.  Of course the Book bares her name, and she was obedient.  But it was Mordecai who was the political genius.  First, he saw an opportunity to get right into the "White House."  Esther became "First Lady, Esther."  Secondly, when the government passed a law which would have killed all the Jews, it was Mordecai who set the political process in motion to deliver the Children of Abraham, and preserve the Race.   

 

People have said to me over the years, "I hear you are involved in politics."  No.  I am involved in Jesus Christ, His Church, and His Kingdom.  And you just can't fence The King in small, neat, predictable, religious thinking.  I see in Mordecai the person I wish to be, a Kingdom man, a man who could not be confined to "church" meetings, rhetoric, and concepts.  He prayed, fasted, and "demonstrated" right in the Capitol City.  He demonstrated in front of the "White House."  He spoke a rebuke to Esther to get off her privileged throne and do something.  And because of his "prophetic" insight and wisdom, he was Our Triune God's instrument to save His People from state sponsored genocide.  Mordecai's God was not a limited, religious god.  He was and is and ever shall be the God of the Church, the Kingdom, the Universe, the God Who has revealed Himself to all people forever in Jesus Christ, the God who reigns forever and ever.  Amen. 

 

Father, in Jesus' name "give me a double portion" of Mordecai's spirit.  Amen. 

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The Question For The Nations: Who Rules in You?

"For he has rescued us from the one who rules in the kingdom of darkness, and he has brought us into the Kingdom of his dear Son."  (Colossians 1:13-- NLT)

 

Our text raises the question, "Who rules in your life?"  In a recent speech, Barack Obama revealed who rules in him.  "Democracy demands that the religiously motivated translate their concerns into universal, rather than religion-specific, values."  Translated, "Every man for himself."  It was this, "You will be like God" attitude which defeated Eve.  Obama, as most Americans, has been creating his own "tree" of "good and evil"-- no "religion-specific," here, just "universal" generalities which free man to create his own rules, his own government---------- and be his own master. 

 

The phrase translated in our text, "one who rules," is from the Greek word, "power," and means, "magistrate, potentate, token of control, delegated influence."  It is sometimes translated, "authority, jurisdiction."  All of these words and phrases speak of government, and are reflected in the command of Jesus, "Repent, for the Kingdom (Government, Authority, Jurisdiction) of Heaven is at hand."  The battle in our lives is one of rulership, the rule of King Jesus in "The Kingdom of Heaven" or "the one who rules in the Kingdom of Darkness."  

 

The articles on our "News & Commentary" Blog Site reveal the battle between these Kingdoms.  These articles reveal just how intense is this battle, how all inclusive of our lives.  But if you are in Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ is in you, if His Word, what Rushdoony calls "The Law-Word," is your "Law-Word," then you will live victoriously in the "religion-specific" Kingdom, "the Kingdom of His Dear Son."  

 

Father, in Jesus' Name, I thank You for bringing me into the "Kingdom of [Your] dear Son"------------- and keeping me there.  Amen.

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The Crime of Evangelism

"Go...." (Matthew 28:19)

 

Vine says this word "is more distinctly used to indicate procedure or course....It is often rendered 'go your way,' in Oriental usage the customary dismissal, marking the close of a case in court.  Hence, in ordinary parlance, marking the end of a conversation."  I seemed to hear Our Lord Jesus saying to me today, "Go, case closed, end of conversation, get on with it!" 

 

Then I read the following headline this morning:

                      

                "Algerian Christian Charged with Evangelism."

 

I wonder--- Could I be charged with such a crime?!?

 

Father, in Jesus' Name, only You know.  Amen.

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News & Commentary:    www.antipasprayerforce.blogspot.com

 

 

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Be a Contender

"Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend for the faith which was once for all delivered the saints."  (Jude 3-NASB)

 

Last night on the evening news, they showed some women gathered around a table for a women's Bible study.  They were a part of a poll concerning religion in America.  The group's leader said that she did not believe Jesus to be the only way to salvation/eternal life.  Others in the group heartedly agreed.  They were members of an historic denomination.  But evangelicals, don't be too puffed up.  It was reported that an increasing number of "evangelicals" agree with the women in that group.  The report also quoted a pollster.  "Even though Americans tend to take religion quite seriously and are a highly religious people, there is a certain degree of openness and a lack of dogmatism in their approach to faith and the teachings of their faith." 

 

Over the years, I have been accused of this "dogmatism" in my approach to "the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints."  I was attacked mercilessly in the university and graduate school on my narrow minded, archaic approach to Biblical interpretation.  But the attack was not just there.  I have had people of varied ethnic groups, educational backgrounds, both genders, etc., leave congregations because of what they perceived as narrow minded, uncompromising, bigoted interpretations of Biblical texts.  Perhaps.  I make no claim to infallibility.  But I'm really not the issue here, am I?!?  The issue is "the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints."   

 

There is a call here in our text to "Contend" in the Word and the Holy Spirit, not our flesh.  And, "Contend for the faith," not our opinions or prejudices.  The root word means "to struggle, literally (to compete for a prize), figuratively (to contend with an adversary)."  And this "adversary" is that old demonic force, "compromise" and "well-I-have-always-believed."  He comes as an "angel of light," but his whole purpose is to destroy you by destroying "the faith once for all delivered to the saints" in you.

 

So don't be like the women in that farce of a Bible study.  Be a contender "for the faith once for all delivered to the saints."  And in your contending, "contend" as Jesus, "who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously...."  This is the Kingdom contender.  He "contends for the faith" in compassion and love, but he does "contend for" and walk in this "once for all" Faith.

 

Father, in Jesus' Name, keep me from "open person-ness."  Amen.

 

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Selective Religion

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied."
(Jesus)

It was reported recently that Maulana Inyadullah, "an Afghani Al Qaeda leader, said, 'The Americans love Pepsi-Cola, we love death.'"  This is the philosophy of the Islamic moon god worshippers.  Could this be the epitaph of the United States, a people so consumed with pleasure and security that we will be defeated by a people who are willing to do what previous generations of Americans were willing to do, but their descendants are not?!?  The "Kingdom of Darkness" people in the US try to make it sound as though their antiwar, their "save the planet" rhetoric (which is really, don't-drill-here-just-be-a-slave-to-the-moon-god-worshippers) is so intellectual, when all the time it is nothing but "meism" to the extreme, a plan to defeat the America which they were handed, but which they reject.  Just like their cowardly parents of the 1960s, they are not concerned with peace or "the planet."  They are only concerned with saving their own hides and self-centered life style. 

I repeat.  The coming US election will be a choice between the Kingdom of Darkness and Kingdom of Light as never before in American history.  Each day just keeps confirming this.  It is not that Obama or McCain necessarily reflect either kingdom.  The issue is the predominant spirit behind each political party.  What motivates and drives the philosophy of each party and the Americans who cling to each?  What should concern all is that it is not Obama nor McCain, nor MoveOn.Org, nor Planned Parenthood, nor Limbaugh, nor Hannity who will determine the "next" America.  It is the "common" American churchgoer, by staying home or going to the polls, who will be choosing which kingdom they want to represent the United States of America, Darkness or Light. 

Yes, this is a devotional, because you simply cannot talk of the pleasantries of life in Jesus Christ, His promises, His blessings, and His Kingdom on the one hand and hold social, political, and economic principles which reflect the Kingdom of Darkness on the other.  Yet millions of professing Believers all around the world attempt to do this, and generations before them have attempted the same (Remember the 30 Years War?).  I am convinced more and more that, "not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,'" is a safety warning to us all.  I need to allow the Word, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit to do a daily reality check in my life as to who and what are really guiding and driving my daily life, every aspect, every thought, every action. 

The word for, "hunger," in our text means "to crave ardently, to seek with eager desire."  If I live in "hunger and thirst after righteousness" in this manner; if I seek the "Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ" in this manner, I will not be deceived by a selective religion spirit, i.e., one religion for Sunday and one religion for Monday.  If I "hunger and thirst after" the righteousness of Jesus, "hunger and thirst after" His Kingdom, the "Kingdom of Light," when I stand "before" King Jesus, I will hear, "Well, done, good and faithful servant.  Enter...." 

Father, in Jesus' Name, I still hold too much of the "old life."  Keep conforming me to the "new life" in Jesus Christ.  Thank You.  Amen.
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Prophetic News, Commentary:     www.antipasprayerforce.blogspot.com


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