What are we listening to?

As the days get shorter, and the number of establishments offering pumpkin-flavored everything increase dramatically, our thoughts begin to turn to autumn, harvest time, and the approach of one of my favorite holidays: Thanksgiving.

No, it's not here yet, but it's good at any time of the year to concentrate on having a grateful heart!

Praise the Lord.Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    his love endures forever. (Psalm 106:1)

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (James 1:17)

He has blessed us so richly -- so far above what we deserve! Thanksgiving Day is just not enough time for us to speak our gratitude to Him.

Let's determine to thank Him at our prayer times this week. I kinda think we will get up from our knees with a different attitude!

Thank you, Lord!

A sinner like me

Our studies this week are fraught with peril. (Cue the dramatic music.)

Oh, yes, we tackle some difficult subjects here on the study blog.

But this one is surrounded by controversy. The peril is that we will allow ourselves to be pulled into some chases down rabbit trails. You know what I mean. Sometimes we can get distracted by a side issue, instead of focusing on the "main thing."

This week we will study an incident that is recorded in all four gospels. That in itself makes it a little extraordinary . . . some stories are only mentioned in one or even two of the gospel accounts in our New Testament. For this to appear in all four is remarkable.
Scholars tell us that the gospels were written by four different people. Their choice of words, their focus audience, and even the happenings that they chose to include were all very different. That makes sense, no? Matthew was a Jewish man, and he wrote his gospel to "persuade" his people -- Luke was a Greek, and a physician, so his gospel of Christ's life is different in many ways from Matthew's account.

Well, as someone dear to me always encourages me to do, I'm going to "cut to the chase" here and we'll peruse the four accounts . . . (hang in there, I know this is going to be lengthy, but we are studying God's Word, and our investment in time and attention will be good for us, don't ya know?)

Here it is in Matthew 26:

While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, 7 a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.8 When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. 9 “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.”10 Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 11 The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. 12 When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial.13 Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

Here is Mark's telling of the story:

While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.4 Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? 5 It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.6 “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. 8 She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. 9 Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

Luke's gospel (chapter 7) includes a parable from Jesus:

When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume.38 As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”40 Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”“Tell me, teacher,” he said.41 “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”43 Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
49 The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”50 Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

And finally, John's account of an incident:

Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3 Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him,objected, 5 “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” 6 He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.7 “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”

Alrighty. We can see there are some differences here, and some similarities. The woman is named; the woman isn't named. The response is from all the disciples, or it's from Judas, or it's not even voiced - just the thoughts of a Pharisee. This happened in Bethany, or it happened elsewhere. Even the timing of the event along the span of Christ's ministry has been debated.
No rabbit trails for us, though. You with me, here? I think that we can learn much from this story, even without pinning down the who, what, where, when, and why . . .

Join me next time, won't you?

(And yes, I will divulge my humble opinion. I find myself agreeing with the commentators who use the clues to say perhaps this was two separate but similar incidents. But I think the important things to learn here have little to do with my opinion!)

Friday slowdown

Are we ready to let God use our lives, as Esther did?

There’s a dawn arising on a brand new day
There’s a strong wind stirring ‘cross the ancient graves
There’s a voice that’s calling ‘will you be set free?’
There’s a change a coming
Let it start in me

Let it start in me
Let it start in me
There’s a change a coming 
Let it start in me

There’s a fire that’s burning sweeping ‘cross this land
There’s a heat consuming every evil plan
There is gold emerging from refining flame
There’s a diamond sparkling
Where there once was shame

There’s a revolution gathering o’er the sea
We all know it’s coming people must be free
Feel the tides feel the tides a changing
Hear the waves roll in

Let this revolution wash away our sin

Let it start in me
Let it start in me
There’s a change a coming 
Let it start in me

There’s a storm a brewing 
There’s the sound of rain 
When the thunder’s rumbling ‘cross the thirsty plain
Let the drought be over if we just believe that the rains are coming
Let it rain on me

For such a time as this, conclusion

What an awesome study this has been! I hope you have been blessed by it; I have learned so much myself!
Today we are concluding our look at the book of Esther, and we'll focus on our main character . . .

With the help of her uncle, who was really a step-dad to her (wowser, that is a lesson right there, is it not? How many of us or our friends are step-parents.....what an awesome responsibility that is, and here is evidence that love and instruction can make a huge difference in young people's lives!) .....
I got off track there, didn't I?
(Grin)
OK, back to my thought -- with Mordecai's help, Esther understood that God had placed her in a position to make a difference. She was able to model extreme courage for those of us who could use an example when our faith is teetering on the edge of I-don't-think-I-can-do-that. Esther bravely did something that could have caused her own death.

I guess that one of the greatest lessons from this story is that God has placed EACH ONE OF US in positions where we can influence others for good. We are never, ever insignificant. He has put all of us where we can make a difference. We are in our families for a particular reason. We are in our neighborhoods for a specific reason. We are in our churches and schools for God's purposes. We are to be salt and light; we are to influence lives; we are to communicate Christ's love to our fellow employees where we work. No one else can do exactly the same job that we can do. There is a God-given purpose for our lives, and He placed us there for a very important reason. We might not see it now. But God never does things by accident!

We may grumble sometimes about our job. We may complain about our school, or mumble under our breath about things at church. Sometimes we should -- maybe there is something constructive that needs to happen after we complain!
So let's not carp so much that we miss out on opportunities to do His work. Behind each and every circumstance in our lives is a greater purpose than what we can see right now. Perhaps we are on a committee at school or at church. It's not easy to stand up and speak, but our input may be just what is needed! Maybe we are waiting at the oil change place, or at a doctor's office. Is there an opportunity to speak up for God when you hear or engage in a conversation?

Sometimes I think that God has placed us where we are, not simply to read a magazine while we wait, or listen to a conversation and not say a word for Him. Perhaps the people around us have been placed in our lives for such a time as this. Utter a silent prayer for guidance and then take a holy risk. Watch what God can do with our lives! Of course, we may not see the fruits of our risk-taking, at least not until heaven. We never know what long-term effect our words and prayers will have.

Did you notice something in this book?
Even though we can see evidence of God's presence behind the scenes, His name is not mentioned in the book of Esther. He is not visible, but He is working His will . . . . He brought Esther to Persia, and made her grow up to be a lovely and personable young woman who would win the "beauty pageant." He placed her as queen, and placed Mordecai in just the right spot to overhear the plot to assassinate the king. He may even have used Esther's cooking to keep the king up at night so he'd hear the story of Mordecai saving his life! And he made sure that Haman was in the palace at the right moment, so that Mordecai would be honored.

Perhaps we need to focus on looking for God's leading each day. If we expect to see Him at work in our lives, we will be surprised at how many times we will have the opportunity to serve Him! There are no "coincidences" with God, and our lives are filled with divine appointments, not accidents.

What does He have planned for you and for me, today?

For such a time as this, continuing

The book of Esther certainly has been an emotional roller-coaster ride, hasn't it?  We have met some people who have been good, some who've been bad, and one that was downright ugly! (Grin) Haman was a mess, wasn't he?

In the first part of the book, we saw a queen take a courageous stand. Vashti took a moral stand. Remember her part of the story? She knew that her morals would have been compromised if she had walked around in that room full of drunken men. She decided not to cross the line, because she felt like it was the wrong thing to do.

What about us? Do we need to take a moral stand in our relationships? Is there someone who is trying to get us to compromise? Maybe it's a compromise of sexual standards. Maybe it's integrity. Maybe it's a question of how we treat people. Don't give in. Take a stand! We must hold our ground . . . if we have already crossed the line, we can ask God for forgiveness and make a fresh commitment. It's never, ever too late for that. Perhaps we've been talking to ourselves and justifying our compromise, but deep inside the Spirit is telling us that we are doing wrong. We need to quit trying to fool ourselves and live in God's ways.

That doesn't mean it's easy! In fact, sometimes it can be awfully controversial. And it can definitely make us unpopular. Doing the right thing can have some unpleasant consequences in the short term. Look at Queen Vashti . . . she did the right thing, but she lost her position of royalty and power. No more influence. Probably not as much wealth. She was banished from the kingdom. If we take a moral stand in sexual matters, or in matters of finances or integrity, or in matters of how we treat other people, we may be made fun of. We may lose some "friends." We may be ridiculed. We may lose some wealth, too. It requires courage.

Is it worth it?
You bet it is!

Did we see someone else in the story take a stand? We sure did. Mordecai.
Mordecai was willing to take a spiritual stand. Mordecai was a man who was devoted to his faith, and to his God. He had surrendered his life to God, and he wasn't willing to worship, or bow down to, anyone or anything else. It wasn't an easy stand to take. Think about him, seeing Haman coming down the street, and all of the people bowing to him. Think about the courage that it took, to be the ONE person who didn't bow down!

It takes courage to be a Christian in today's world, too. It takes courage for some of us to go to church. It takes courage for us to check out this faith that we see in others. It takes courage to turn our lives over to Jesus . . . we must have the courage to admit that we are sinners. To admit that we need God.
Then it takes courage to face those sins, and that holy God, and ask Him to forgive us. And then, when we receive Him into our lives, it takes courage to follow Him.

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. (Romans 10:9-10)

Do you and I have the courage of Mordecai? Will we stand up and be counted as a follower of Christ?

Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. (Matthew 10:32)

Do the people around us even know that we are Christians? Let's be like Mordecai and speak up.

Verses that inspire us

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Our verse at the close of our study yesterday was an inspiring one:

 “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.” (Esther 4:16)

Can you hear her heart beating as she walks down the corridor to the huge doors? As they swing open, do you hear her take a deep breath?

Oh, the relief she must have felt, when the king smiled and pointed his scepter in her direction! He asks her what is her request -- he tells her that if she would like it, he will give her half of his kingdom! Esther simply asked for him to come to a special banquet in her quarters, and to bring his second in command, Haman, with him. After their sumptuous meal, the king asks again what she would like from him. This brave lady was a master of suspense -- she tells him to come back (and bring Haman) tomorrow for another feast, and she will tell him.

Can't you just picture Haman, strutting around? I bet he feels mighty important; he is the only one that has been invited to eat with the king and queen, and he gets to do it again tomorrow! In fact, chapter five notes that he is in "high spirits."
Oh, what a bummer, though.
As he is leaving, he spots Mordecai at the gate. And Mordecai not only doesn't bow to him, like all the rest, he doesn't even acknowledge Haman. All of the joy gets sucked out of the moment for ole Haman. He is so mad! He just can't wait for the king's decree to be accomplished. When he gets home, he tells all of his friends about his importance. He tells his wife and the others that he is going back tomorrow for the second dinner -- but it's so bothersome that he has to see Mordecai at the gate.

Well, his wife and his friends are just as bad as he. They advise him to build a huge gallows - scaffolding that is about seventy-five feet high! And then, they say, he should ask the king to hang Mordecai from it. After all, a fellow that eats with the royal family surely deserves to have his enemy done away with, right? Haman probably couldn't sleep that night, from the anticipation of having Mordecai gone.

There is someone else who can't sleep, though. Perhaps the king ate too much at Esther's banquet, but he was restless and couldn't sleep well. He thought that some dry, boring reading might soothe him to sleep, so he instructed one of his servants to read from the official records. Just as he started to doze off, he heard about what Mordecai had done a few months earlier, and he realized that he'd not rewarded him for his loyalty. How embarrassing! He needed to do something special for Mordecai.

The first person to the court a few hours later was Haman, so that he could talk about hanging Mordecai. The king asked Haman a very simple question -- "What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?"
Haman was absolutely sure that the king was talking about him! He came up with an elaborate plan to clothe this person in a royal robe, sit him on the king's horse, and have him led around the streets of the city by one of the princes!
Well, the king liked that idea a lot, and told Haman to "make it so." To immediately get the robe, the horse, and do as suggested, but not for himself . . . for Mordecai the Jew!
I expect that he was in a pretty foul humor when he went to the palace that night for supper. Once again, the king asked Esther what she wanted, and this time she was ready to tell him.

Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor with you, Your Majesty, and if it pleases you, grant me my life—this is my petition. And spare my people—this is my request. 4 For I and my people have been sold to be destroyed, killed and annihilated. (Esther 7:3-4a)

Now, suddenly, the king realized that his beautiful bride was Jewish. Without realizing it, he had signed the queen's death warrant. He asked her who had dared to do such a thing, and she calmly replies that it is Haman.
Haman fell out of his chair, and the king went out of the room in a rage. When he came back into Esther's chambers, Haman was begging for his life -- but Persian etiquette forbade anyone from coming within seven paces of the queen . . . and Haman was leaning on her, on her couch. Oh boy! The king exclaims that Haman is "hitting on" his queen, and instructs the servants and soldiers to have him executed.
(Some scholars translate the verses to read that a pole had been erected, instead of a gallows, and that Haman was impaled upon it. Whether a gallows, or a pole, Haman was gone!)

The king responded to Esther's supplications and reversed the decree, so the Jewish people would not be killed. He even supplied the Jewish people with weapons so that they could defend themselves in the future. Because of the bravery of Esther, her people were saved!

We'll learn more from Esther tomorrow.....

For such a time as this, continued

Last week, we saw that Mordecai heard about (and revealed to Esther) a plot against King Xerxes (or Ahasuerus) of Persia. The assasins were foiled, and life went on . . .and it's recorded for us beginning with chapter four of the book of Esther. Yes, life went on....
Except that the king was fearful for his life now. So he shakes up his government, big time! He promotes a really slimy politician to be his right-hand man. (Does this sound anything like the politics of today? Just sayin.....)
Haman is the new fellow's name, and he is known as an "Agagite." That didn't ring a bell with me, either. (Grin)
So, it turns out that an Agagite is an "Amelikite." Remember them? They were enemies of God's people way back in the book of Exodus. You can check it out in chapter 17. The history is this: Saul was ordered by God to completely destroy the Amelikites in I Samuel 15. He disobeyed, and let the king of the Amelikite people live. Because of that, Saul lost his kingdom. And about 700 years later, his sin is still causing trouble for God's people.

This Haman was such an obnoxious guy. He demanded that everyone bow down before him whenever he walked by. No, I don't mean a nod, or a slight bend at the waist for the sake of politeness. He literally wanted everyone to bow down -- and they all did, except for one courageous guy: Mordecai, Esther's uncle. Because Mordecai was a Jew, and because he followed his God faithfully, he was committed to only bowing before God. To him, the verses in Exodus really meant something!

                  You shall have no other gods before me . . . You shall not bow down 
                   to them or worship them.... (Exodus 20:3-5)

Well, the fact that Mordecai didn't bow to him really bothered ole Haman. Got under his skin something fierce. And when he found out that Mordecai was a Jew, it brought back all of the bad feelings from his heritage. He decided to devise a plan to destroy Mordecai and all of the Jews that were scattered around in the Persian empire. Haman bribed the king and persuaded him to sign a decree to destroy all of the Jews on a set day in the month we call February. Young and old, women, men, children. Mordecai hears of the plan and begins to mourn.

He stops eating. He weeps and wails, and puts dust on his head. He substitutes coarse sackcloth for his everyday clothes, as a symbol of death and decay. When Queen Esther hears about it, she sends a messenger to ask what in the world is going on . . . apparently she hadn't heard about the decree yet.

Wow.
What if we went home this evening and turned on the television, and the news anchor calmly said that on a certain day, all of the Christians in our country were to be killed.
How would we feel?
I have no doubt that Esther was upset about the decree. Mordecai pleads with her, to use her high position to take a stand, and to save her people.

                  Please go into the king's presence and beg for mercy and plead
                  with him for our people. (Esther 4:8)

Esther's first response was a fearful one. For one thing, no one knew that she was Jewish. For another, she knew what had happened when the former queen dared to go against the king. Plus, no one was allowed into his presence unless you had been summoned! In fact, unless you were summoned by him, and he pointed his scepter toward you, you could be put to death! Persian etiquette was no small or trivial matter, eh? Lastly, she told him, it had been about thirty days since she had seen the king.

Mordecai told her that she needed to "step up to the plate." He made a very convincing argument:

he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. 14 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 4:13-14)

Wow!
He's telling her, don't think that you will escape death when the killing happens . . you will be wiped out just like every other Jew in the kingdom because you are one of God's chosen people. And, he says, if  you don't do something, Esther, God will send someone else. Esther, you aren't indispensable, for God will accomplish His purpose. Mordecai is reminding her that God's plans will still move forward, but she could miss out on the opportunity to serve God and enjoy the blessings that come from that service. Besides, he says, God put you here for a reason -- for such a time as this!

Esther's courage picks up and her faith is encouraged. She knows that she cannot do this alone, so she calls on all of the Jews in Susa to pray and fast for three days. Then she tells Mordecai that she will go to the king. She is risking her life for her people -- "if I perish, I perish."

Did you see what happened here? The winner of the Persian beauty pageant just became a courageous woman of God!

We'll continue with Esther next time . . . stay tuned!