Category: Resource Notes

The verdict form the Mueller investigation is in, and it looks like President Trump has been vindicated from charges that he colluded with the Russians during the 2016 election. Yet the inquisition lives on as Trump’s political opponents plan to keep digging in hopes of finding something to bring down his Presidency, even as we have learned that Trump was targeted to be falsely accused, even before the election, by a cabal of government officials. But he is only the most visible victim of the Inquisition Spirit which has been loosed on America.

Over the past decade it has become clear that FBI, the Justice Department, the IRS and other Government agencies have been persecuting people for their political and religious views. Our courts have trampled on the religious definition of marriage and the so called “Progressives” want to use the power of government to force us to participate in gay marriage. This targeting of “incorrect” viewpoints is not “progressive” at all, as it contradicts our Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, and in fact takes us back to the Spirit of the infamous Spanish Inquisition.

The Inquisition was the prototype of totalitarian systems designed to eliminate all belief contrary to the Politically Correct beliefs of the authorities. In the case of the Inquisition, the Politically Correct belief was a form of Roman Catholicism. Later emulators of the Inquisition Spirit tried to force compliance with the French Revolution, Nazism, and Communism. Today the Spirit of Inquisition is rising in places like Venezuela, Turkey, and Russia where Democracies are being converted into authoritarian Governments. And the same trend is beginning to appear in the U.S., where the Politically Correct “Progressive” beliefs in Big Government, sexual “freedom”, and secularism are targeting those who believe in limited Government and who hold Christian views.

The methods of the Inquisition Spirit have varied little down through History. First, the authorities gain control of the Law Enforcement mechanisms of society either directly, as in the case of the Anti-Trump cabal, or indirectly, as in the Spanish Inquisition. Secondly, the power of Government is used to find those who may have opposing views. Those who come to the attention of the Government, whether “Guilty” or not, are then made into an example to terrorize the population into compliance. As Stalin’s KGB Chief said, “Show me the man and I’ll show you the crime”. Trump and others like Judge Kavanaugh are just the tip of the iceberg.

Yes, even in the U.S., with its legacy of freedom, the Inquisition Spirit is growing strong. The current American manifestation began on college campuses, where “Progressives” have ended academic freedom and used the Inquisition Spirit to eliminate all politically incorrect speech, as is evidenced by riots when Conservatives are invited to be speakers. The media’s longstanding bias against Conservatives is spreading to businesses, as seen in the case of a man fired by Google for expressing his beliefs. Now people with religious convictions against abortion have been targeted by Obamacare, those who believe in traditional marriage have been penalized for refusing to participate in gay marriage ceremonies, and schools were told they cannot protect the privacy of their female students from “transgender” boys. Persecution has come to America.

As intercessors, we must realize that we do not struggle against the individuals, but against the Inquisition Spirit itself. This Spirit comes directly from Satan, who is the accuser of the Brethren (Revelation 12:10). We must pray that the Lord will bless our enemies with the knowledge of the Lord and a desire for freedom. We pray that the Spirit of Inquisition will be turned back in our Government and business, and we pray for a revival of Christianity and freedom on the college campuses where the Inquisition Spirit began.

Above all we pray that America will remain a free country where we can worship God without Government persecution.

St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, is recognized as an Irish celebration, but in fact the whole Christian world owes a large debt to St Patrick.
Brought to Pagan Ireland as a slave, Patrick escaped and returned to his home in Roman Christian Britain. However he was unable to forget the lost souls of Ireland and returned to evangelize the island. The Pagan wizards and priests were no match for the man of God, and the whole island was Christianized as the result of his efforts. For this he is rightly honored as the evangelist of the Irish.
But his legacy of a Christian Ireland blessed far more people than just the Irish. Even before his death in 461 AD the Roman Christian Britain of his boyhood was being overrun by the Pagan Angles and Saxons. Soon the British and Irish switched roles: The newly Christian Irish sent missionaries to the newly Pagan Britain. And in about a century the Anglo-Saxons were Christianized. So the British saved the Irish so the Irish could save the British.
An even more remarkable turn about occurred as the European continent fell into chaos during the time known as the Dark Ages. The formerly barbarian, unlettered Irish were able to save countless manuscripts from destruction and became the custodians of the civilized Western worlds’ knowledge. They also expanded their evangelistic efforts into Europe, bringing about a revival of Christianity in France and Italy. Thus, Patrick’s Irish followers became a beacon of learning and hope in the Dark Ages, helping preserve the centers of European Christianity as well as its British and Irish outposts.
Alas, the Irish were not immune to the instability of their times, as they were first invaded by the Vikings and then colonized by the ungrateful English. After the Reformation they were persecuted for their Catholic faith and allowed to starve in the horrible famine of the 1840’s. The Island remains divided between the Catholic Republic in the South and the Protestant North.
It is ironic that these two peoples, still divided over religion, owe their Christian faith to the other: The Irish to the British Patrick, and the British to the Irish missionaries. Yet, there is progress being made to reconcile these peoples. Several years back we at Corporate Prayer Resources made a Prayer Journey to Ireland and saw our and many other prayers answered as a peace process began in Northern Ireland. There are also continuing reconciliation efforts underway between the Catholics and the Protestants to heal this terrible division.

As we look forward to this St Patrick’s day, the best way to honor St. Patrick would be to pray that there would be reconciliation, forgiveness, and peace between his British homeland and his beloved Ireland, and between Catholic and Protestant.
And may it be so.

On March 10, 1528 Martin Luther published a book which changed the course of history. And not for the better.

His book, “The Book of Vagabonds and Beggars,” proposed that the State should establish a social welfare system to replace the Church in caring for the poor. Up until that time the Church had made care of the poor a centerpiece of its ministry. Giving to the poor was seen as a sign of Christian virtue and a sign of spiritual vitality in the Church.

Luther’s proposal was based on the idea of the State Religion, which had been a fixture of Christian life since the days of the Roman Empire. In his view the Religious State should meet personal needs while the State-Sponsored Church should restrict itself to spiritual activities. This idea took hold throughout Protestant Northern Europe as the State began taxing citizens to pay for relief for the poor. It was the beginning of the modern Welfare state.

Luther failed to take into account the possibility that the Religious State would quit being religious, pushing the Church out of community life. Beginning with the French Revolution, the State began to see itself as the source of Welfare not just for the poor, but for the whole society. With Godliness marginalized in secular States, the State itself became a substitute for God in the socialist, national socialist, and communist philosophies. Leaders like Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, and Mao gained power by promising to use the godlike power of the State to bring prosperity to the masses. What came instead was poverty and death.

The ghost of Luther’s bad idea still haunts the world today. The Welfare States of Greece, Italy, and Spain are facing financial collapse, and their European neighbors are not far behind. In countries like Venezuela ruthless leaders destroyed their national economies to buy power from the masses. Even the rich United States is marching toward a crisis as its national debt and Welfare State become unsustainable. No one knows what will happen when these nations become unable to keep their Welfare promises.

What Luther and the modern Welfare States have forgotten is that God will not share His Glory with usurpers. Like the gods of Egypt humbled in the Exodus, God has shown that the socialist, communist, and Welfare states are not the gods of provision they claim to be. It is not a question of if, but when, failure will occur. The real question remaining is what the Church will do about it.

We must pray that the Church will rise up to the crisis and the opportunity coming from the collapse of the Welfare State. The crisis will come as people’s needs are no longer met by Government, and social order breaks down. The opportunity comes if the Church follows God’s admonition to care for the poor, revitalizes Church institutions for the poor, and creates a Godly order in the midst of chaos. The crisis could lead to revival.

Let us pray that the people will once again look to God as their source as they one did before Luther’s bad idea led us astray.

On February 27TH in 380 AD Roman Emperor Theodosius made Christianity into the official state
religion. It was one of the most catastrophic events in Church history.

Up until the time Constantine legalized the Church in 313 AD, the great strength of the Church was the fact that the Kingdom of God resided within the believers. Under Constantine the Church became
“Respectable” and began to attract the ambitious and worldly who would make a show of outward piety without an inward transformation. After 380 AD, the Church was swamped with unconverted Pagans and the outward rituals replaced the inner power for most Church members.

The first to clothe themselves in the new mantle of the State religion were the emperors themselves. The Bishop of Rome was eventually forced to trade Church recognition for military protection in Western Europe, beginning with Frankish King Clovis, in order to remain independent of the Eastern Roman Emperor. When the European Church split between Protestants and Catholics the local Kings and rulers forced their own views to be followed in their realms and millions of Christians were martyred. The marriage between Church and State meant that religious questions would be solved with the sword instead of the Spirit.

The religious wars of the 16th and 17th centuries left much devastation and little change, and the idea of religious toleration, espoused by Paul in the 14th chapter of Romans, began to take hold. The idea that Christians with different doctrines could be united in their diversity appeared in the 18th century with The First and Second Great Awakenings and the interdenominational missionary societies. The United States, itself a patchwork of states with Catholic, Anglican, Quaker, Methodist and
Congregational backgrounds, became a symbol of unity in diversity and its religious freedom is still a
Light to the world. The sword, which brought division, had begun to give way to the spirit which brings
Unity.

The Pentecostal and Charismatic movements which swept the world in the 20th century brought a Holy Spirit awakening in much of the Church. However the Spirit movements also cried out that “The
Body of Christ is Broken”, praying that the divisions of the sword would be healed by the Spirit. We believe that God is launching a great revival based on unity in diversity within the Church which will show the world that God sent Jesus, just as Jesus prayed in John 17.

Let us pray for reconciliation of the Church and focus on expanding the whole Kingdom of God.
Pray that the world will know us not by our swords, but by our love and unity in the Spirit.

It has become fashionable in some circles to deny the Christian foundations of the United States. Next week, when we remember President’s Day, would be a good time to listen to the words of our national Fathers and join them in their prayers for America:

Benjamin Franklin: On the Need for Divine Guidance
“I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live the more convincing proofs I see of this truth – that God Governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?
We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings, that ‘except the Lord build the House, they labor in vain that build it.’ I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without his concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better than the Builders of Babel: We shall be divided by our partial local interests; out projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall become a reproach and bye word down on future ages.

And what is worse, mankind may thereafter from this unfortunate instance, despair of establishing Governments by Human wisdom and leave it to chance, war and conquest.
I therefore beg leave to move – that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessing on our deliberations, be held in this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business, and that one or more of the clergy of this city be requested to officiate in that service.” – June 28, 1787 at the Constitutional Convention

George Washington: Prayer for the United States
“Almighty God, We make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy Holy protection; and Thou wilt incline the hearts of the Citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to Government; and entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another and for their fellow Citizens of the United States at large, and particularly for their brethren who have served in the Field.
And finally that Thou wilt most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that Charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind which were the Characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed Religion, and without a humble imitation of whose example in these things we can never hope to be a happy nation.
Grant our supplication, we beseech Thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”

Thomas Jefferson: National Prayer for Peace
“Almighty God, Who has given us good land for our heritage; We humbly beseech Thee that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of Thy favor and glad to do Thy will. Bless our land with honorable ministry, sound learning, and pure manners.
Save us from violence, discord, and confusion, from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitude brought hither out of many kindred and tongues.

Endow with Thy spirit of wisdom those who in Thy Name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that through obedience to Thy law, we may show forth Thy praise among the nations of the earth.
In time of prosperity fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in Thee to fail, all of which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.”

Abraham Lincoln: National Day of Prayer and Humiliation
“Whereas, the Senate of the United States devoutly recognizing the Supreme Authority and Government of Almighty God in all the affairs of men and of nations, has, by a resolution, requested the President to designate and set apart a day for national prayer and humiliation:
And whereas, it is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon, and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history: that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord:
And insomuch as we know that, by His divine law, nations like individuals are subject to punishment and chastisement in this world, may we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war, which now desolates the land may be but a punishment inflicted upon us for our presumptuous sins to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole people?
We have been recipient of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown.
But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious Hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own.
Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!
It behooves us then to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sin and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.
Now, therefore, in compliance with the request and fully concurring in the view of the Senate, I do, by this proclamation, designate and set apart Thursday, the 30th day of April, 1863, as a day of national humiliation, fasting and prayer.

And I do hereby request all the people to abstain on that day from their ordinary secular pursuits, and to unite, at their several places of public worship and their respective homes, in keeping that day holy to the Lord and devoted to the humble discharge of the religious duties proper to that solemn occasion.

All this being done, in sincerity and truth, let us then rest humbly in the hope authorized by the Divine teachings, that the united cry of the nation will be heard on high and answered with blessings no less than the pardon of our national sins and restoration of our now divided and suffering country to its former happy condition of unity and peace.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand to caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. By the President: Abraham Lincoln.”

To which we can only add: Amen.

This week, beginning on February 5, people around the world are celebrating Chinese New Year. It is a good time to pray for our Brothers and Sisters in China and celebrate China’s Christians.

It was the dream of the great Catholic Evangelist Frances Xavier to bring Christianity to China, and after his death off the coast of China in 1552 others followed in his footsteps. However the Emperors feared the Church and ultimately passed laws outlawing Christianity. In the 1830’s, after Europeans forced open the ports of China, Christianity came to the treaty ports. Then Hudson Taylor and a host of missionaries carried Christianity into the heartland in the late 19th Century.

There were 1 million Christians in China when Mao Tse-Tung established Communist rule in 1949. Like the Emperors before him Mao feared the Church. As his followers drove Christian Missionaries out of China and persecuted the Chinese Christians, no one expected Christianity to survive.

Like the ancient Caesars, however, Mao did not understand that the Kingdom of God was on the inside of Believers, giving them strength to endure under persecution. The removal of the Missionaries did not end Christianity, but simply made the Church into a Chinese enterprise. When its property was confiscated it moved into the homes. And when its Chinese leaders were imprisoned, the Holy Spirit provided new leaders. As it had done during the Roman persecution, the Church provided hope in a brutal society and continued to grow. Instead of fading away, the Chinese Church has over 100 million Believers today.

Unable to stop Christianity, the Communists attempted to control it by establishing a state of controlled Church structure, the Three Self Church. Some Christians elected to participate in the state church, but many others refused. Instead, they formed the House Church movement which is still outlawed in China. For Catholics whose fealty to the Pope is considered to be treason, the Communists have appointed their own bishops and viciously persecuted Catholics.

Today the new “Emperor” of China, Xi Jinping, is still afraid of the Church. He has declared himself as an opponent of Christianity and increased the persecution of Christians. Bibles and churches have been burned. Church members are under surveillance by facial recognition cameras and new regulations prohibit those under 18 from attending church. Social media is being used for oppression and religious expression on line is heavily restricted. The Communists have even launched a plan to rewrite the Bible more to their liking.

Meanwhile Pope Francis, in a conciliatory move, has agreed to allow the Communists to appoint Bishops, subject to his review. The Pope’s decision is controversial among Chinese Catholics, but he seems to be hoping for peace between the Communists and the Church.

Let us pray that the Pope’s gesture will overcome Xi Jinping’s fear and eventually lead to an end to the persecution of Christians. But let us also pray that the Chinse Church will continue to boldly proclaim the Gospel no matter what obstacles must be overcome.

May we in America honor and support our Chinese Brothers and Sisters. May we have the courage of the Chinese Church to pray in the face of persecution the prayer of the Church in Jerusalem:

“Now Lord consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness” Acts 4:29

Most Christians recognize Nimrod as the builder of the Tower of Babel, but few know the whole story and recognize his influence down through the ages.

The historical Sumerian Kings list records him as “Enmer Kar”, a name which translates into vowelless Hebrew as “NMR” (Nimrod) with the name “Kar” meaning “The Hunter” (as Nimrod is known in the Bible). The Sumerians credit him with introducing the worship of the “Queen of Heaven,” a false pagan goddess which has come down the ages as Inana, Asherah, Isis, Venus, and numerous others. The Tower of Babel was a Ziggurrat, or a magical model of heaven, where the pagan “Gods” from heaven could be contacted. Josephus tells us that Nimrod rebelled against God because he hated God for judging mankind in Noah’s Flood. His name “The Hunter” indicates a violent disposition, and many believe that he was a Tyrant who hunted men.
Nimrod had set himself above the plans and purposes of God. After the flood God had commanded mankind to fill the Earth, but Nimrod kept them under his thumb in Mesopotamia. Nimrod went so far as to set himself up as the “Seed of Woman”, the Messiah promised in Gensis 3:15, to cement His political power.
But God sent the Tower of Babel judgment, producing a civil war which overthrew Nimrod and scattered humanity over the Earth. Sadly, however, many ambitious men had learned from Nimrod and took the Nimrod Spirit with them to enslave their fellow men.
So we see the Nimrod Spirit echoing through the ages in rulers like the Pharaohs of Egypt, the Kings of Assyria, Babylon, and Persia, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Genghis Khan, Napoleon, Stalin, Hitler and Mao Tse Tung, to name a few, following Nimrod’s path to power. The Nimrod Spirit comes upon those who want to rule over other men, establishing tyrannical government and putting themselves above God and His purposes. The Nimrod Spirit deceives the followers of the Tyrant through a false religion such as paganism, or a false philosophy such as Communism, which legitimizes the power of the Tyrant. For those who are not deceived, the Hunter rules through fear and terror.
Even today, the Nimrod Spirit controls most of the nations of the Earth. Nimrod is constantly looking for ways to subvert those nations with shared power or democratic institutions, as in the African tragedies of “one man, one vote, one time” after Colonialism or the subversion of Russia by Putin. Religious tyranny from the Nimrod Spirit can be seen in ISIS, Al Qaeda, Boko Haram, and in many Islamic nations such as Iran. Even in the United States individual liberties are being eroded by an increasingly powerful government. Outside of government the Nimrod Spirit is active in large businesses and social institutions. The Church is also plagued by the Nimrod Spirit as many pastors and leaders are more intent of building their own kingdoms than in building God’s Kingdom.
The answer to the Kingdoms of the Nimrod Spirit is to move into the Kingdom of God. God’s Kingdom comes within the believers, giving them discernment to see through Nimrod’s deceptions and power to overcome the fear weapon of Nimrod. Christians should be on guard against the Nimrod Spirit in their churches, remembering that Jesus established a standard of Servant Leadership which is diametrically opposed to Nimrod. Churches are to be run by the mothers and fathers, called Elders in the Bible, who are interested in the outcome of their flock, rather than Nimrod Spirit leadership which is often interested only in the income from the flock.
Let us begin our prayer warfare against the Nimrod Spirit at home by praying that the Nimrod Spirit will be exposed and driven out of our churches. Pray for a revival of Servant Leadership and a spirit of Unity between church leaders which will bring them together to advance God’s Kingdom, not their own.
Beyond the Church it is easy to identify the Nimrod Spirit in action. Washington, D.C. is full of Nimrods, as are corporations, unions, universities, and the media. Even Christians have been deceived by false philosophies such as Socialism or the attempt to submerge individual rights into group rights, as in some labor unions, which create group leaders who are often little Nimrods. We are desperately in need of a Christian Awakening to remove the blinders and drive the Nimrod Spirit out of our government before it is too late. Only a revival, expanding the Kingdom of God, can save us from the Nimrod Spirit.

Throughout the world the Nimrod spirit continues its bloody march through history, keeping billions of people in tyranny and the resulting poverty. In the last few months we have seen bloody results of the Nimrod Spirit operating in Venezuela, Syria and Afghanistan. As in America, the only answer is the Kingdom of God, which has liberated some two billion of us from the Kingdom of Darkness ruled by Satan, the ultimate Nimrod. In the end Satan will rally the Nimrods of the Earth to fight against Jesus as He returns to establish the outward Kingdom of God, and then Nimrod Spirit will finally be broken.

Until then, we must use the spiritual weapons of our warfare to keep praying for the expansion of the Kingdom of God and freedom from the Nimrod Spirit.