CULTURE WARS AND THE CHURCH

The Lord has put it on our hearts to organise a conference titled Culture Wars and the Church. We’ve had a break from organising conferences after organising over 20 of them in the 26 years since we pioneered our church. However, the Lord has given us much revelation about this and called us to step back up and do it. We will be having a collaborative approach as there are other wonderful ministries in this space so please let us know if you want to be involved.

ANTI-JESUS OFFENSIVE JOKE ON CH 10’s THE PROJECT

Norman rang Ch 10 and put in a complaint about an offensive joke about Jesus made recently on Ch 10. Some Christians are asking for the program “The Project” to be axed. We won’t repeat the joke. Though the hosts of The Project, who laughed at it and let it go at the time, have since apologised, it is still available to be viewed online. The Sydney Morning Herald reported on 3.3.23,

“The Catholic Archbishop of Sydney has invited the boss of Channel Ten and panellists from its flagship current affairs program The Project to attend church at St Mary’s Cathedral, criticising the program’s lengthy apology for a joke about Jesus as disingenuous and forced.

The Project’s co-hosts Waleed Aly and Sarah Harris apologised on Wednesday after the program faced backlash for a joke made on-air by comedian Reuben Kaye on Tuesday night.”

Photo of comedian left and one of hosts right – Sky News

INDIGENOUS FRIENDS OF ISRAEL ON THE ADELAIDE WRITERS FESTIVAL

PRESS RELEASE 23.2.23

Indigenous Friends of Israel (IFI) co-founders Norman and Barbara Miller said, “Adelaide Writers Festival organisers seem to think free speech reads hate speech or racist speech which is not so. In a one-sided propaganda event, the most vitriolic pro-Palestinian writers will have a platform with no opportunity for the other side to be heard. At best, this is a misuse of taxpayers’ money. At worst, it is an intellectual travesty.”

“As Indigenous Friends of Israel, we condemn the inaccurate propaganda coming from some invited speakers that Israel is a racist, apartheid colonizer state. Jews have been in the land we now call Israel since the time of Abraham, 4,000 years ago. Jerusalem was made the capital of the Jewish state 3,000 years ago by King David. Jews were conquered and removed at various times through history but a remnant has always been in Israel, renamed Palestine by the conquering Romans. Arabs conquered and colonialized Jerusalem in the relatively recent time of 636-637 AD. They came from Saudi Arabia. They are not Indigenous,” said IFI.

“When the modern state of Israel was declared in 1948, Arab nations went to war against Israel. There were a similar number of Jews as refugees from Arab nations from which they were expelled as Arab refugees from Israel who fled the war or were displaced. Jewish refugees were absorbed by Israel but the Arab nations refused to absorb Palestinian Arab refugees so they could weaponize them against Israel.

“Israeli Arabs are not treated in a racist apartheid manner as they are in the Knesset (Parliament), judiciary, police service, academia, business, and various professions. Israel is one of the most multicultural nations in the world.

“The Premier of Adelaide, Paul Malinauskas, has declared he will not attend but will not withdraw funding. The Australian newspaper reported recently the concern of Ukrainian and Jewish leaders as one speaker, Palestinian-American writer Susan Abulhawa, is a pro-Putin apologist. She said Putin is trying to “DeNazify Ukraine” and that Ukrainian President Zelensky is a ‘depraved Zionist trying to ignite World War 111’.”

“The war in Ukraine has been clearly caused by Russian aggression with Putin trying to restore the glory and territory of the former Soviet Union. The Ukrainians are valiantly defending themselves with war crimes being committed by Russia. One example is the thousands of Ukrainian children captured and taken to re-education camps in Russia. This fits the UN definition of genocide.

“Another speaker at the festival, poet Mohammed El-Kurd, has made defamatory, racist, and vile comments about Israel and Jewish people, including blood libel, that are antisemitic such as Israelis eating the organs of Palestinians or lusting after Palestinian blood. It is a wonder he and Abulhawa have been allowed into Australia considering recent discussion re Kanye (Ye) West’s visit,” said IFI, “especially when Abulhawa supports terrorism and wiping Israel off the map.”

“Festival organizer Louise Adler is staring down criticism saying she wants debate but how can there be debate when a platform is provided for only one side of a debate? There are seven Palestinian speakers and none from Israel. On top of that, with speakers like Abulhawa and El-Kurd equating Israel with Nazis, it trivializes the Holocaust and is offensive to Jewish people,” said the Millers for IFI.

“By comparison, the Sydney Festival included a dance performance created by an Israeli and sponsored by the Israeli embassy which had nothing to do with politics. However, performers were harassed and bullied by the pro-Palestinian lobby into pulling out and many did. This is not the tolerant and inclusive society Australians think we have.” IFI said.

“Australia has adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism and comments by some of the Palestinian speakers at the Adelaide Festival contravene this,” said Barbara Miller who has just written a Handbook on the Holocaust and the Australian Aboriginal Response for educators, high school students and adult education. It was published by the WE ARE HERE! Foundation.

PURIM, DECREES AND QUEEN ESTHER 

By Ps Barbara Miller

As we are approaching Purim or the Feast of Esther, rather than including one of my many messages on this, I am giving you an extract from chapter 2 of a recent book of mine called Decrees and Dangerous Prayers: 7 Steps We Can Use to Change Our Nation or Community. 

“We see in the story of Esther in the Bible that the Jewish people were faced with a situation of possible genocide of world Jewry. The situation could not have been more serious. The Jews had been taken into captivity in Babylon which was ruling the world at the time. When King Artaxerxes wanted a new queen, Esther was selected and she had hidden her Jewish identity on her uncle Mordecai’s instructions.

Haman was an Agagite, a people who were enemies of the Jews and descended from their traditional enemies the Amalekites. He was offended because Mordecai would not bow to him. So, he tricked the King into signing a decree that the Jews in the known world would be wiped out on a certain day and their possessions kept by their murderers. This was on Haman’s accusation that they would not bow before the King and were disloyal subjects.

Mordecai pleaded with Queen Esther to do something about it. By law, she could only approach the King if he summoned her and if she approached him without being summoned, she could be killed. But Mordecai challenged her that if she didn’t, deliverance would come from elsewhere and she and her family would lose their lives. He said who knows but maybe you came into royal position for this very purpose. Maybe this is how you will fulfill your destiny. He said, in Esther 4:14,
“For if you remain silent now, then relief and deliverance will come to the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Who knows if you haven’t come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

Maybe it’s time for you to fulfill your destiny or calling in God by intervening in a national or even international situation. So, Esther, a young girl, took the advice of the authority figure in her life, her uncle who had brought her up, and decided to take up the challenge at the threat of losing her life. She called a 3-day fast, presumably with prayer, of her servants and the Jewish people and then approached the King. He may have been her husband, but she was breaking the law of the land. However, she found favour with the king and he pointed his sceptre at her and asked her what she wanted and said she could have up to half his kingdom. She must have been very relieved.

She was not after possessions but the lives of her people and when she revealed the plot of Haman, the King was angry at Haman and organised for him to be hanged on the gallows he had prepared to hang Mordecai on. But the law of the kingdom was that once a decree had been made, it could not be reversed. So, the horrible reality set in. The day of slaughter would go ahead as already decreed.

But, and this is a big but, the king devised a plan. He said to Esther and Mordecai that they should write another decree in the king’s name, and seal it with his signet ring, that would reverse the effect of the first decree. This was a game-changer. So, they wrote a decree that the Jewish people could rise up against those who sought to kill them on that day. This meant that the Jewish people were able to get rid of a lot of their enemies. So, in the end, their situation was improved. When people saw the favour the Jews now had with the king, fear fell upon them and some even converted to become Jews.

I have often taught about this story because I think it has a big lesson for us today. Look at the scripture closely, Esther 8:8,
“Now write another decree in the king’s name on behalf of the Jews as seems best to you, and seal it with the king’s signet ring—for no document written in the king’s name and sealed with his ring can be revoked.”

What is this saying to us? If we feel an evil decree has been made against us or our people or our nation, we can ask our King Jesus if we can write another decree that will reverse the effect of that evil decree and write it in His name and seal it with His signet ring. I believe that if we have a witness from the Holy Spirit about the decree, then that means we can seal it with the signet ring of King Jesus. How awesome is that? And it is very powerful. And exciting!

If you have situations or believe your community or nation has situations that need reversing, take heed as this is how to do it.”

(I give practical examples from our ministry and interesting examples of the decrees or edicts by Cyrus and Darius which enabled the Jews to return from their captivity in Babylon and rebuild the city and temple of Jerusalem. I also discuss evil decrees like those of Hitler. But the important part is the step by step process you can use to write decrees as the Lord leads you to turn your situation around. It is more powerful than simply asking God in prayer although He hears all prayers.) For more information see https://reconciliationandpeace.org/decrees-gift/

Have you dreamed of being a successful published author? Do you believe you have a book in you? As an internationally bestselling author (Barbara Miller), I believe the Lord has put it on my heart to help Christians to write and publish books to bless others. I have written 4 guides to get you started. If interested, check it out.

Lilian Miller’s communion message near Valentine’s Day was based on Jesus is our Valentine!!

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