My Mantra

Word
Will you not take what your god Chemosh gives you? Likewise, Whatever the Lord our God has given us, we will possess. – Judges 11:24

Observation
Oh Man! I love this. I think I’m going to make this my mantra. Here Jephthah, in a letter, is writing a to the king of Ammon trying to appeal to him to not wage war against Israel. He explains himself in the earlier parts of the letter but I think this statement just about sums it up. To me it almost comes across as a taunting challenge, like he’s saying, “Don’t even mess with us, our God’s for real.” Because we know that Jephthah believes in the One true God of Israel, and that in reality, there is no Chemosh.

Revelation
This makes me think in particular of our nation, the United States. It’s ravaged with people that want tot make war with Christianity such as the ACLU and other special interest groups that oppose all that Christ died and resurrected for.

We [Christians] have given up so much ground in this country it sickens me; the Ten Commandments, prayer in school, abortion, homosexual marriage, and much more. I honestly don’t believe the answer, however, is picketing a Gay Pride Parade, or standing outside of an abortion clinic and hurling insults at them. If anything this only serves to destroy our testimony.

I think purely and simply we take the stand that Jephthah did. So their “god” has given them what they’ve taken…fine. Now we will take what our God has given us to possess. This country is ours for the taking; God has delivered it to us. It doesn’t start with a protest line though; it starts with a body of believers gathered in His name to wage spiritual warfare through weapons such as prayer and fasting.

Something I’m learning the hard way, and that doesn’t come easy for my nature, is that Jesus, while He did have moments of rebuking and correction, taught peace. We will not take possession of this land with the weapons of the enemy, because they are carnal. Our war is a spiritual war and must be fought accordingly. I know first hand that shouting at your enemy convinces them of nothing. The key is prayer, which unlocks the door to action. Not protests, but the Great Commission. Not violently attacking abortion clinics, but going out preaching and teaching the gospel and making disciples for the Lord.

The Truth is, if we’d done our job this way decades ago, more people would be saved living for Jesus and these issues of today wouldn’t be issues at all. God has given us possession of this land. Now we must take it!

Devotion
Lord, you’re taking me on a journey inward to see the world as you see it. May I be a peacemaker living emotionally steady for the betterment of your Kingdom. May I, through spiritual warfare and not my own fleshly weapons, seize the land you’ve given me. May we as the Body take possession of this land you’ve given us. Our God is bigger and truer than theirs. Empower us to become warriors of the faith fulfilling your Great Commission. Amen.