The Tide turns for the Jewish Community

Verses:  Esther  8  : 1 - 17

My thoughts about the verses:

Esther is given everything that was Haman's.  Mordecai is even given the King's ring and a royal crown.  He is placed over the possessions of Haman.  Yet, Esther is still sad.  For the decree has already been set out that will destroy the rest of the Jews.  So she bends down and begs the King to help her people.

The King cannot take back the order that was already given due to customs.  Yet, he tells Esther and Mordecai to make a new law that would help the Jews.  The tide was changing for the Jewish community at this point.  The new law stated that they could fight back if they were attacked. They were allowed to take the possessions of anyone who would attack them.

When the Jewish community heard this there was great rejoicing.  They knew that they would have a fighting chance if they were attacked.  The conquered people would be able to stand up against anyone that came to fight them.  Ironically people that were not Jews were so afraid that they changed and became Jews.  This would be a very strong witness to anyone.  A conquered people were being given the chance to fight back.  How often do we see that in today's society where the marginalized are given the chance to fight back?

I recently watched a documentary on a young woman who went back in to Nazi occupied territory to help the Jewish community.  She had made it out of her country before the Nazi's took over power.  She made it to Israel and to a group of people that were going to fight back and help all they could.  She became only one of three female paratroopers from this newly formed group of soldiers.  They landed in an unoccupied country and had to safely make it across the border to help as many people as they could escape before the country was overthrown by the Nazis.  Yet, through miscommunication she did not make it.  Turns out she and the rest of the group were three days late.

When she was captured she was tortured along with her mother.  She ended up dying in a Nazi camp.  Yet, her heroics and bravery were remembered well past her time.  Finally after several decades her body was returned to Israel where she was properly laid to rest.  Just imagine how brave you would have to be to try and save a community when there are only a handful of people with you.  That is true heroism.

There are many other stories of heroism around the world.  There are many stories where one or two people have overcome great battles to help those less fortunate.  To help the people those are forgotten. Their stories are much like the events happening in the book of Esther.  This was a small minority group that was just trying to survive.  They had been held captive for so many years yet they still held on to their religious beliefs.  They won the right to fight back because of two brave souls. Two people who were put in the right place at the right time to serve God.

Prayer:

Dear beloved Savior we thank you for your sacrifice on the cross.  We thank you for loving us so much that you put your life second so that we may live.  We ask right now that you help us stand up to injustice in the world.  Help us be witnesses to people that are struggling.  Let our voices unite so that people do not have to live in tyranny and fear.  In the name of the most High we pray. Amen

Questions:

Have you ever helped someone who was struggling?  Have you ever accepted the call to protect those less fortunate?  Are you willing to arm yourself with truth and justice?  Will you step out in faith today to help those that are persecuted around the world?  Are you following Christ example in the way that you interact with the world?

Haman is faced with bad Karma

Verses: Esther  7 : 5 - 10

My thoughts about the verses:

Esther shared with Xerxes that the man who was going to kill her and her family was Haman. Immediately the King jumps out and walks out of the room.  He reached his boiling point.  This man that he had given power to had overstepped all of the boundaries.  He had gone as far as plotting the death of his own Queen.

Now to be true to Haman he didn't know that Esther was a Jew.  Yet, his arrogance had gotten the best of him.  He had allowed his pride to surface and over take his correct reaction to Mordecai. He took it too far.  He just didn't want Mordecai to pay for the humiliation that he faced.  He wanted Mordecai to suffer the same pain that he was experiencing.  The only way to do it was to kill everyone that he loved.

All of a sudden he is faced with the fact that the Queen is one of those people.  He has in a roundabout way sentenced the Queen to death.  When Xerxes walked out of the door he knew his life was as good as over.  So he falls down on the couch where Esther is laying to beg his life.  The King enters and accuses him of trying to attack the Queen in his very presence.  So the mood goes from bad to gloomy.

The servants come in and kill Haman on the spot.  Then they tell Xerxes of a hanging post that has been built near Haman's house.  Haman was placed on the same post that was supposed to be used to hang Mordecai. How ironic it seems that Xerxes tells his servants to hang Haman's body on the post to show others not to betray the King.

This harsh punishment might seem difficult for some people to understand.  Yet, if we look at current events we can find instances where this has occurred.  My mind is wandering to recent events in Syria.  In which two sides are in conflict with each other.  There are no barriers to what is occurring.  Innocent adults and children are suffering because of two political views fighting.  The costs of the battle have been many lives lost.

Is this not what was happening at this moment and time in the bible.  You have two men that are in disagreement with each other.  The one with the most power plots to kill the weaker side.  The leader teams up with the ruling government to kill an entire group he disagrees with.  Yet, in the end he faces his own death because his injustice was discovered.  Looking at the situation in Syria and other parts of the world we can see where injustice is not being tolerated.  Hopefully soon the world will see that you have to let go of your arrogance and pride.  That compromise is the only way to truly be a successful world.

Prayer:

Dear God we want to thank you for giving us the strength to get through the hard times of our life. We thank you for being there through all of our struggles.  We ask now that you help us put our pride to the side so that we can get along with others.  We ask that you help us fight the injustice that we see in the world.  We pray that you keep us from doing harm to others because we feel that they have shunned us.  Lord we know that you are a mighty God and we ask that you protect us and keep us safe.  In the Name of the Creator we pray.  Amen

Questions:

Have you fought the injustice that you see in the world?  Do you pray for strength to deal with the struggles you have?  Are you being arrogant or are you being humble in the position of leadership that you have been granted?  Are you living like Jesus taught?  Have you ever helped someone who was being bullied?  What can you do today to make the world a more just place to live?

Esther comes out of the Closet

Verses:  Esther  7  : 1 - 4

My thoughts about the verses:

Esther has a second party.  Haman and the King are present.  They are enjoying themselves. Xerxes asks Esther again what she would want.  He is so pleased what she has done for him.
He will give her anything even half of the Kingdom.

Esther knows that it is now or never.  So she leans over to him and asks the King to spare her life. Not only spare her life but spare her family.  You can almost see the shock in Xerxes face.  How could someone even dare to kill his beloved Queen.  She had been good to him.  Respected him treated him with dignity.  She had been all the things that he wanted.

What we want to notice is that admission went much further than just saving her life.  She was outing herself as being Jewish.  This meant that the King had picked a Queen that was part of the conquered people.  He was in a state of confusion.  He could not let his Queen die.  He could not let her people die.  He figured out he had been tricked into killing his own beloved.

Her coming out to him was at the right time and the right place.  This is something that we can all understand.  We all are forced out of different types of closets throughout our life.  Sometimes it is to let people know that you love God.  Other times it might be because you love someone that your family and friends do not agree with.  No matter what closet you have to come out of you must realize that doing it at the right time and right place is very necessary.  You have to understand the consequences of coming out of the closet.  When you are ready to come out make sure that when you do you are ready for both good and bad events.

I can remember coming out in a way that made my life more complete. I was in my early twenties and my mom was a school crossing guard for a school that had a rather large amount of kids that came from an underprivileged apartment complex.  She started inviting the kids to church.  I had gone to school to be a teacher and I was teaching one kid in a Sunday school class.  Then all of a sudden we had two then ten.  There were many times those there were over twenty kids making that trip to the church.  For some that was the most special thing that they got to do during the week.

I learned a lot from those kids.  I learned that you can have people look up to you and you can be something special in someone’s life even when you are struggling.  I know that the kids needed me and I needed them just as much.  If it were not for that short period of time in my life I would not be the person I am today.  I realized that God can turn small things into big things.  If you allow God to work through you there is nothing that can keep you down.  I eventually had to step down and the kids loss their group.  

There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about how I could have stayed there and how my life would be.  Yet, I know God had bigger plans in store of me.  If I had stayed there this blog wouldn't have happened and I would still be feeling sad deep down.  No one ever knew how hard it was to be who I was and still be in the closet.  That day changed my life forever. I became just as happy as the kids because I could be who I was.  I finally learned how to love myself.  To accept who Christ wanted me to be and to understand that I could be two things at once.

I believe I actually had two salvation events in my life.  The first happened when I was a young child and accepted Christ in my life.  The second is when I came out of the closet as a Christian who happened to be Gay.  I was free to be me and I know that what I learned from the kids is that having someone that loves you for who you are is most important.  I came out at the right time and did have both good and bad things happen.  Yet, looking back it was one of the best things that ever happened.

Prayer:

Dear God we thank you for protecting us in our hard times.  We praise you for rejoicing in our good times.  We ask that you be with us as through our struggles in life.  Help us be brave enough to walk out of closets that are holding us back from your work.  Let us learn to love the person that you have created us to be.  In the name of the Most High we pray.  Amen

Questions:

Are you hiding in a closet that is keeping you from doing God's work?  Are you afraid of sharing your story?  Are you ready to share with others who you are?  Is this the right time and place to come out of the closet that is holding you back?

Arrogance turns to Humility

Verses:  Esther   6 : 1 - 14

My thoughts about the verses:

Xerxes is having trouble sleeping.  So he asks for his servant to read his history book to him.  As the servant reads the story he is reminded of the day that Mordecai saved his life.  The plot would have worked if Mordecai had not told Esther.  The guards would have killed the King.

The King after being reminded of this event asks his servant what was done to honor this Jewish man.  The servant told him that they had done nothing to honor Mordecai.  His allegiance to the King had not been rewarded.

At the same time this is happening Haman shows up in the palace.  The King tells his servant to bring him in so he can seek his advice on how to reward Mordecai.  Now Haman was very arrogant and prideful.  When he was told that someone was to be honored for his loyalty of the King he immediately assumes that it is him.  So he tells the King that he should dress him in a robe that the King has worn.  Then he should be placed on a horse and paraded around the town.  The person leading him should say out loud that this is the man that the King wants to honor.

You know Haman had to be shocked when the King says that is great.  Do exactly what you have suggested for Mordecai.  You can imagine the look on Haman's face.  He was there to ask the King to put Mordecai to death.  Instead he now has to take and treat him with the utmost dignity. He had to be blushing.  You knew he felt like the air had been kicked out of him.  His arrogance was now being turned to humility.

Haman goes and does what the King has requested.  You can almost see him cringing as he is leading Mordecai through the streets saying this is the man that the King wants to honor.  You know he knew his time was limited.  His plot was starting to backfire.  After he had led Mordecai through the whole town he went home humbled.  He went home where he was still the ruler of his own roost.  Yet, it wasn't to end there the King sent his servant to bring him for the party that Esther was throwing.  He had to go to the palace now in humbleness because he realized that his plot had backfired.

What comes to my mind is the financial fiasco that has happened in America.  How a group of a few men planned to change the destiny of the country. How they felt that they and their ideas were more important than the whole rest of the country.  They even were able to force the country to shut down. Then after approaching yet another financial disaster they had to put their egos behind.  What turned out happening is that they looked like fools at the end. Everything that they desired had been refused.  Now their own party does not want to be connected to them.

The King was faced with someone that was just as arrogant.  He thought that because Mordecai would not bow to him that he was humiliated.  Yet, he humiliated himself.  His belief that he was better and more important than everyone else was leading to his own decline in power.  It is important to remember that one person or small group of people should not have the power to affect a country.  The fact is the people that we put in leadership positions need to be humble because they are trusted to lead the country in such a way that it grows.  When the person or group hurts the entire country they need to face hard consequences.  We can see that Haman was realizing that he was losing power.  Let us see what happens in the United States with the people who put their ways in front of the good of the whole country.

Prayer:

Dear God we thank you for the trust that you have given us.  We ask that you make us leaders who are humble.  Help take away the arrogance that is in our life.  Help us remember that your will is more important than our desires.  Help us walk in faith.  Dear God we praise you for all that you have done and will do in our life.  In your precious name we pray.  Amen

Questions:

Have you ever been a leader of a group?  Have you put your goals in front of the good of the group?  Have you ever had a leader that was so arrogant that nothing could be accomplished? What do you need to do to learn to accept responsibility with humbleness?  Do you follow
God's will or do you follow your own desires?

Haman grows angrier with Mordecai

Verses:  Esther  5  : 9 - 14

My thoughts about the verses:

You would think that Haman would be in the best of spirits.  Here he was getting high praise from the King.  He had been invited to a party with only the King and Queen.  Yet, his anger boils because Mordecai will not bow down to him.

You can almost hear his thoughts as he passes Mordecai and isn't given the respect he felt he deserved.  How dare this conquered man to stand up against me.  He should be bowing down to me.  A low man and yet he thinks he is better than me.

You can also see Mordecai and the thoughts going through his head.  If only you knew what is going on around you.  My niece is the Queen and she is going to be used by God.  You are not as powerful as you think you are.  You will have to one day bow down to the Jewish community. You will know then that there is only one who deserves praise.  The Creator is the only one who has earned the respect and honor that you claim to have.

So Haman goes home and tells his wife and friends what has happened.  He is bragging about all of the good things that have happened to him.  He is boasting about his good.  Yet, even though everything is going good for him he still is unhappy.  One man has ruined his happiness because he will not give him the respect that he feels that he deserves.  He doesn't understand that Mordecai has such a close relationship with God.  Mordecai realized that it was more important to put his relationship with God before anything else.

So the plot unfolds.  Mordecai decides to rid himself the next day of Mordecai.  So his wife and friends suggest that he build a large post to hang Mordecai from. This would teach people to respect him.  He could not let others see that this man was standing up to him if he was to keep the power that he felt he deserved.  He has the post built and knows the next day his life will be changed and he will be happy from that moment on.

Have you ever been in a situation where you thought you could control the outcome to benefit you. You eventually find out that God hand different plans.  I know that I never thought I would be where I am today.  I finally found a job that I felt like I was doing well for people.  I loved my work and it became the center of my life.  I knew that I kept working that things would get better and better for me.  That I would be able to do so much and all it took was for me to give 110% to accomplish that goal.

Then things changed first my back started hurting and I had to have surgery.  My Gastroparesis that I had been fighting for several years got worse so I had to have surgery.  The spinning from my Meniere’s intensified to the point that staying vertical is a daily challenge.  Finally I had to come to the conclusion that God had other plans.  So now I am not working and there has been something happen in my life that I would never thought would happen.   I actually have become more dependent on God.  My goals and dreams were changed for the good.  I had placed God second in my life.  The Creator wanted to be first so he took away the one obstacle in my life that was causing him to be second.  It has taken time but I now realize that it is the best thing that ever happened for me.  I spend more time in the scripture.  I have built my relationship around God.

Just like Haman I thought that my prestige was more important than the spiritual part of my life.  I had that shattered and I was knocked down to my knees so that I could learn serving God was much more important.  So in the end God will give you what you need when the time is right. Don't be surprised if the outcome is much different than what you thought it would be.

Prayer:

Dear God we thank you for being in our life.  We thank you for sending the Holy Spirit to live within us.  Help us dear God to understand what you desire from us.  Help us put aside the things that will not benefit you.  Help us focus on the Godly things of the world.  Help us when we feel as if we have failed.  Help us understand that those feelings are not from you.  Because when we surround ourselves with you the strength and courage we need flows through our body.  Help us understand the outcome that you want for our life.  In the name of the Holy of holiest we pray. Amen

Questions:

Have you ever put your goals before the goals of God?  Have you ever felt disappointed when people did not praise you for the job you have done?  Are you willing today to let the past be the past?  Are you willing to serve God no matter what the consequences are?

Esther shows great Patience

Verses:  Esther  5  : 1 - 8

My thoughts about the verses:

The day starts with the Queen walking into the hall.  Her heart had to be jumping.  Would Xerxes accept Esther into the great hall.  He was so excited to see Esther that he offered to give her anything that she wanted.  He was even willing to give her half of the kingdom.  You know that for just a second she had to take a deep breath and silently say God has saved me this day.

So she says all I want is for the King and Haman to come to a party I have prepared for them.  Xerxes was well pleased with Esther.  She had done something that Vashti had not done.
She was honoring the King by having him come to a party.  She also wanted his top leader to come. You know he had to have a boost in his morale.

Xerxes loved what was prepared for him.  He again tells Esther that he would give her half of the Kingdom.  Esther could have taken anything that she wanted.  Yet, she knew what her purpose was.  It was confirmed when the gold scepter was raised so that she could enter the room.

So she only asked that he come to another party the next day.  Yet, if you listen closely she tells him that if he comes to the party she will tell him exactly what she wants.  See she knew the time was not ready.  She knew that if she was patient and had a second feast with him that she could ask for anything and he would truly give it to her.

Patience is something a lot of people have very little of.  People do not understand that sometimes you have to wait before you get what you truly need and want.  When you rush matters you sometimes get what you think you need when in actuality you miss out on what you need.  Esther took great patience.  She waited until she had him feeding out of her hand.

Have you ever prayed for patience.  I will tell you right now if you have prayed for patience there is only one way to get it.  God will let you learn the fun way.  Simply put when you want something God will let you wait until you think that you are at your wits end.  Then you will receive what you truly need.  Therefor patience is a very hard thing to learn.

I can tell you this from my own personal experience.  I was struggling with a lot of issues 15 years ago. I decided that I needed to have patience so things would work out.  That simple prayer was one that I will never forget.  What I thought it would do was help calm my spirit.  That I would immediately have patience granted and that things would work out.  Yet, my spirit was in turmoil. My answer took several months to come through.  I wanted to be able to snap my finger and what God taught me is that all things come at the right time.  The principle is that we cannot tell God when to do what we need things to happen.  We have to wait until the right time comes.  When it comes we will have all our needs met.  In fact, the needs will be met more abundant than if we had got what we wanted immediately.

Prayer:

Dear God we thank you for helping us grow more spiritual.  We thank you for allowing us to learn from the past.  Dear God we ask you right now to help us learn to be calm and allow the spirit to do the work needed.  Help us when we are struggling so that we do what we need to do.  Dear
Creator we ask that you be with us as we walk through life.  Help us be the people that you need us to be.  In your Holy Name we Pray.  Amen

Questions:

Have you ever gotten mad because something that you wanted immediately didn't occur in your time frame?  Have you ever asked God to give your patience?  Are you struggling with fears and hard times?  Have you decided to let go and let God be the leader of your life?  Do you need to slow down and take things one step at a time?  How can you help others today?

Chosen for such a time as Now

Verses:  Esther  4 : 1 - 17

My thoughts about the verses:

Esther loved Mordecai as her own father.  Here she is finding out that he is to die and that he is deeply saddened.  She sends clothes to him and tells him not to be sad.  Yet, he does not listen to her for he is grieving his own death.  Imagine knowing that you will die that there is only one way to stop it and it depends on your Niece to take a stand that could kill her.

Esther sends her Eunuch to Mordecai to see what the problem is.  He is told  about the law and the fact that all her family will die on this particular day.  He pleads with her to go to the King to stop this from happening.  Now you have to understand that the law was simple only those invited to the King could go and see the King.  Esther knew that she could be killed for going without that invitation.

Yet, Mordecai insists with reminding her that just because she is the Queen does not mean she will survive.  He points out that God may have placed her in this position so that they could leave. Imagine being told that the reason that you are where you are is because God wanted to use you to save his people.  Would not the burden be great.  So her answer is for all of the Jewish community to fast while she prepares herself for the task at hand.  You know for a young person this was a great burden, but she had no choice.  She had to do what needed to be done to save her people. She had to be the sacrifice if that is what it took so others may live.

We have all been faced with a heavy burden. Some cannot even openly worship God out of fear of death.  There are so many that hide in secret because if they stand up and fight they know that they will die.

I am drawn to what is happening right now in Russia.  There are so many people in that country that are afraid to admit who they are because if they do they will die.  To think that a country can say that being GLBTIQ is so wrong.  How many people are suffering in silence and shame today because of this fear?

My mind also wanders to those places where serving Jesus is a mortal crime.  That they must stay quiet or face death.  To openly be a Christian is seen as a death sentence.

Then I look at my own life and see how easy it is for me.  I live a simple life yet I am free to be the person God has created.  I tell people all the time that I am a Christian that happens to be Gay.  I am not ashamed of who I am and speak very openly about it.  I think back to my early years and  remember how hard it were to be both.  I hid in a closet in two communities because they seemed to contradict each other.  Yet, sometimes you have to take a stand and say that serving God is worth the sacrifice.

Even in the United States the land of the free there is persecution going on.  There are so many people that have been defrocked from their churches because they were different from the norm. Those brave soldiers of Christ those were willing to stand up and say that I am a Gay Christian only to be removed from their leadership roles.  When will the world understand that God loves all people.  What must we do to help our brothers and sisters are the children God desires them to be?

Prayer:

Dear God we thank you for carrying us during the hard times.  We thank you for giving us everlasting life.  We ask that you keep us safe during our hard times.  We ask that you give us strength as we are struggling.  Dear God we ask that you help us take on the task that you need us to do.  Dear God we know that there are hard times but we thank you for carrying us during those times.  In the Name of the Creator we pray.  Amen

Questions:

Are you struggling with stepping out and doing the impossible?  Are you afraid of what would happen if you step out in faith?  Are you doing the things God needs from you?  Have you taken on the challenges that you need to do today to further the realm of God?