Friday Morning Scripture (Wk35/2022) – Esther 4:1-14

Esther Learns of Haman’s Plot

1 Now when Mordecai learned of everything that had been done, he tore his clothes [in mourning], and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the center of the city and cried out loudly and bitterly.

2 He went [only] as far as the king’s gate, because no one was to enter the king’s gate dressed in sackcloth.

3 In each and every province that the decree and law of the king reached, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing; and many lay on sackcloth and ashes.

4 When Esther’s maids and her eunuchs came and told her [what had happened], the queen was seized by great fear. She sent garments to clothe Mordecai so that he would remove his sackcloth, but he did not accept them.

5 Then Esther summoned Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs, whom the king had appointed to attend her, and ordered him to go to Mordecai to find out what this issue was and why it had come about.

6 So Hathach went out to Mordecai in the [open] square of the city, which was in front of the king’s gate.

7 Mordecai told him everything that had happened to him, and the exact [1]amount of money that Haman had promised to pay to the king’s treasuries for the destruction of the Jews.

8 Mordecai also gave him a copy of the text of the decree which had been issued in Susa for the Jews destruction, so that he might show Esther and explain it to her, and order her to go in to the king to seek his favor and plead with him for [the lives of] her people.

9 Hathach came back and told Esther what Mordecai had said.

10 Then Esther spoke to Hathach and ordered him to reply to Mordecai, saying:

11 “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that for any man or woman who comes to the king to the inner court without being summoned, he has but one law, that he is to be put to death, unless the king holds out to him the golden scepter so that he may live. And as for me, I have not been summoned to come to the king for these [last] thirty days.”

12 So they told Mordecai what Esther had said.

13 Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not imagine that you in the king’s palace can escape any more than all the Jews.

14 For if you remain silent at this time, liberation and rescue will arise for the Jews from another place, and you and your father’s house will perish [since you did not help when you had the chance]. And who knows whether you have attained royalty for such a time as this [and for this very purpose]?”

Esther 4:1-14 (AMP)

Footnotes

  1. Esther 4:7 This money may have been what was expected to be received from the plunder of the Jews’ property.

Lion Bites – Global Prophetic Alliance – Rise Up

Rise up My Bride, rise up, arise!

It is time to shake off the dust of the previous season’s warfare.
It’s time to stand tall against the enemy’s assaults.
For I have undergirded you and upheld you, as you have counted the cost. No longer vagabonds, no longer slaves, but a royal priesthood, with governmental grace. Your words are sharp and powerful, when in tune and in time with My sound. Be as a skilful warrior, equipped and able to stand.

Fix your gaze heavenward and watch for my word and My commands. Walk in step with My Spirit, as I cause you to inherit the land.

For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

Esther 4:14 (NIV)

33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; He causes me to stand on the heights.

34 He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

Psalm 18:33-34 (NIV)

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

1 Peter 2:19 (NIV)

#lionbites

Thursday Morning Scripture (Wk35/2022) – Matthew 25:1-13

Parable of Ten Virgins

1 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins, who took their lamps and went to [1]meet the bridegroom.

2 Five of them were foolish [thoughtless, silly, and careless], and five were wise [far-sighted, practical, and sensible].

3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they did not take any [extra] oil with them,

4 but the wise took flasks of oil along with their lamps.

5 Now while the bridegroom was delayed, they all began to nod off, and they fell asleep.

6 But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! The bridegroom [is coming]! Go out to meet him.’

7 Then all those virgins got up and put their own lamps in order [trimmed the wicks and added oil and lit them].

8 But the foolish virgins said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’

9 But the wise replied, ‘No, otherwise there will not be enough for us and for you, too; go instead to the dealers and buy oil for yourselves.’

10 But while they were going away to buy oil, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut and locked.

11 Later the others also came, and said, ‘Lord, Lord, open [the door] for us.’

12 But He replied, ‘I assure you and most solemnly say to you, I do not know you [we have no relationship].’

13 Therefore, be on the alert [be prepared and ready], for you do not know the day nor the hour [when the Son of Man will come].

Matthew 25:1-13

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 25:1 In a procession, the bridegroom and his friends brought the bride from her father’s house to his house where the wedding feast was prepared.

Lion Bites – Global Prophetic Alliance – Your Bridegroom

You will know Me as your Bridegroom. The Bridegroom who seeks His perfect bride. My eyes are roaming around to see who will listen to My Heart, My rhythm, My emotions. Come after Me and seek Me day after day. It is in that place of union that true worship is birthed. You and I, face to face, where it starts. In that place of obscurity, in that place of hidden moments, that I set My eyes on you. So, come away and offer your heart to your Bridegroom.

Activation: Take some time to read Matthew 25:1-13 (The Parable of the Ten Virgins). Ask Holy Spirit if there is any area of your heart where you haven’t allowed Him access. Write these down and invite him into these areas.

For the Lamb at the centre of the throne will shepherd them, will lead them to springs of living water, and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.

Revelation 7:17 (CJB)

#lionbites

Thursday Morning Scripture (Wk35/2022) – Revelation 7

1 After this, I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, so that no wind would blow on the land, on the sea or on any tree.

2 I saw another angel coming up from the east with a seal from the living God, and he shouted to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea,

3 “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads!”

4 I heard how many were sealed — 144,000 from every tribe of the people of Isra’el:

5 From the tribe of Y’hudah 12,000 were sealed

from the tribe of Re’uven 12,000

from the tribe of Gad,12,000

6 from the tribe of Asher 12,000

from the tribe of Naftali 12,000

from the tribe of M’nasheh 12,000

7 from the tribe of Shim‘on12,000

from the tribe of Levi 12,000

from the tribe of Yissakhar 12,000

8 from the tribe of Z’vulun 12,000

from the tribe of Yosef 12,000

from the tribe of Binyamin 12,000

9 After this, I looked; and there before me was a huge crowd, too large for anyone to count, from every nation, tribe, people and language. They were standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palm branches in their hands;

10 and they shouted,

“Victory to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb!”

11 All the angels stood around the throne, the elders and the four living beings; they fell face down before the throne and worshipped God, saying,

12 “Amen!

“Praise and glory, wisdom and thanks,
honor and power and strength
belong to our God forever and ever!

“Amen!”

13 One of the elders asked me, “These people dressed in white robes — who are they, and where are they from?”

14 “Sir,” I answered, “you know.” Then he told me, “These are the people who have come out of the Great Persecution. They have washed their robes and made them white with the blood of the Lamb.

15 That is why they are before God’s throne.

“Day and night they serve him in his Temple;
and the One who sits on the throne
will put his Sh’khinah upon them.

16 “They will never again be hungry,
they will never again be thirsty,
the sun will not beat down on them,
nor will any burning heat.[1]

17 “For the Lamb at the center of the throne
will shepherd them, will lead them
to springs of living water,[2]
and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”[3]

Revelation 7:1-17 (CJB)

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 7:16 Isaiah 49:10
  2. Revelation 7:17 Isaiah 49:10; Jeremiah 2:13; Ezekiel 34:23; Psalm 23:1–2
  3. Revelation 7:17 Isaiah 25:8

Wednesday Morning Scripture (Wk35/2022) – 2 Corinthians 3

Servants of the New Covenant

1 Are we beginning to sound like those who speak highly of themselves? Do you really need letters of recommendation to validate our ministry, like others do? Do we really need your letter of endorsement? Of course not!

2 For your very lives are our “letters of recommendation,” permanently engraved on our hearts, recognized and read by everybody.

3 As a result of our ministry, you are living letters written by Christ, not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God—not carved onto stone tablets but on the tablets of tender hearts.

4 We carry this confidence in our hearts because of our union with Christ before God.

5 Yet we don’t see ourselves as capable enough to do anything in our own strength, for our true competence flows from God’s empowering presence.

6 He alone makes us adequate ministers who are focused on an entirely new covenant. Our ministry is not based on the letter of the law but through the power of the Spirit. The letter of the law kills, but the Spirit pours out life.

The Glorious Ministry of the Spirit

7 Even the ministry that was characterized by chiseled letters on stone tablets came with a dazzling measure of glory, though it produced death. The Israelites couldn’t bear to gaze on the glowing face of Moses because of the radiant splendor shining from his countenance—a glory destined to fade away.

8 Yet how much more radiant is this new and glorious ministry of the Spirit that shines from us!

9 For if the former ministry of condemnation was ushered in with a measure of glory, how much more does the ministry that imparts righteousness far excel in glory.

10 What once was glorious no longer holds any glory because of the increasingly greater glory that has replaced it.

11 The fading ministry came with a portion of glory, but now we embrace the unfading ministry of a permanent impartation of glory.

12 So then, with this amazing hope living in us, we step out in freedom and boldness to speak the truth.

13 We are not like Moses, who used a veil to hide the glory to keep the Israelites from staring at him as it faded away.

14 Their minds were closed and hardened, for even to this day that same veil comes over their minds when they hear the words of the former covenant. The veil has not yet been lifted from them, for it is only eliminated when one is joined to the Messiah.

15 But the moment one turns to the Lord with an open heart, the veil is lifted and they see.

16 So until now, whenever the Old Testament is being read, the same blinding comes over their hearts.

17 Now, the “Lord” I’m referring to is the Holy Spirit, and wherever he is Lord, there is freedom.

18 We can all draw close to him with the veil removed from our faces. And with no veil we all become like mirrors who brightly reflect the glory of the Lord Jesus. We are being transfigured into his very image as we move from one brighter level of glory to another. And this glorious transfiguration comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:1-18 (TPT)