Esther 6 & 7 & a video

***Esther 6 & 7***

When reading these 2 chapters, I think it makes most sense that they be read together, so I'm blogging them together.

The story of Esther is about people manipulationg and trapping King Xerxes so that he will rule in favor of their self-interest. Haman is so certain that the King will do as he wishes that he has a pole contructed to impale Mordecai before he ever talks to him. (The pole was 50 cubits, which is like 75 feet high... talk about abnoxious!)

But sometimes when we deal in deception and manipulation things backfire... like they did for Haman, as he was the one that was impaled on the pole.

Have you ever tried to buy or sell anything on Craigslist? You might look at something and they'll say "someone is coming buy in an hour to see it." They try to create a sense of urgency so you have to make a decision right away. Auto dealerships do the same thing... the price is only good until the end of the day, "we're not sure what the incentives will be tomorrow." They try and manipulate the situation so that the buyer feels forced to decide before they are ready.

And it often backfires... people walk away from high-pressure sales. But it could backfire the other way. I usually think that these people are full of it, and wait until I'm ready to decide... but the deal may be over and the thing sold because someone really was coming in an hour or the incentives really did change.

It happens in our relationships too. A girl or guy is ready for a deeper commitment and their partner isn't yet, but instead of being patient the partner is scared away. A worker demands a raise and bluffs about another job offer only to be told to pursue the other opportunity. A mother kicks out her unruly son hoping he will grow up, but he overdoses.

All stories I have heard. Stories that support a truth... life is hard.

The easiest way to navigate through is with patience and the truth.

And then there is this video:

Esther 5

***Esther 5***

In this chapter I kind of get the feeling that Esther is setting a trap for Xerxes and Haman. She doesn't just come with her request... she throws a banquet for them 2 days in a row. She gives them good food and wine.

It reminds me of when I was a district sales manager for Chrysler. I used to take dealers out to dinner, buy them a steak and a drink so that I could get them to take more inventory.

That's also what sin does. It baits us with empty promises... it lays the trap for us by making us think that by sinning our life will be better. We tell ourselves all kind of things to rationalize our sins... "If I tell this lie nobody will know, and it will be for the better." "If I give in to my lustful desires I will finally feel fulfilled." "I don't need to help the poor, I can't make a difference anyway."

But sin never satisfies... it only longs for more sinning.

Esther 4

***Esther 4***

Esther tells Mordecai to fast while she prepares to go see the king... and move that will put her life on the line.

She decides to put her life on the line so that she might possibly save her people. Sounds like she would make a good soldier. That is what soldiers do everyday, they put their lives on the line so that the citizens of their country might be safe.

Memorial Day is fastly approaching, a day that we get off work and fire up the grill. A day that is supposed to be spent in remembrance and gratitude for all the men and women that fought and died so that Americans could sleep soundly at night.

Unfortunately we do not give these men and women the gratitude they deserve, their sacrifice is too great for us to ever properly re-pay them.

Kind of like Jesus... we could never give enough gratitude to properly re-pay him for what he did.

But that doesn't mean we shouldn't try.

Esther 3

***Esther 3***

Haman wants to kill every Jew on earth because one will not bow to him. I have met some people with some big egos, but this he has a world-class ego.

A whole nation of people punished for the action of one. I don't know history very well but something tells me that this is more common than we expect. Wars are started by a couple people and it's the innocent sons and daughters that are sent off to fight and die.

Haman is guilty for starting this mess, but Mordecai is guilty too. His stubbornness could lead to the murder of thousands of people.

We are in a war every day... a war which we started and a war that won't end until we're dead... we're at war with sin. And sin isn't losing!

Just like any other war it is the innocent who has to die... Jesus.

But unlike this chapter where one man caused death of many, the death of one man saved many.

Esther 2

***Esther 2***

After reading chapter 2, chapter 1 makes a little more sense.

Chapter 2 tells us how Esther becomes queen, but she does so by not being very honest. She does not reveal her nationality to anyone for fear that she will not be eligible to meet the king.

God has a long history of using imperfect people to accomplish His will.

Abraham told Pharoah that Sarah was his sister...

Jacob pretended to be Esau to steal his birthright...

Humans, every one of us, even the heroes of the bible are imprefect. However, God worked through their imperfections and God still works through our imperfections. But I guess that makes sense, if we had to be perfect for God to work through us then nothing good would ever get done.

God can use every one of us at any time. No matter what nationality we are or what we have done in the past.

If you can breathe you are qualified to do God's work.

Esther 1

***Esther 1***

I'm not really sure what this chapter has to do with God... or why it is in the bible? The whole book of Esther is a great story... it would make a great movie... but by bible standards it is a little different.

Every time I read about Xerxes I am reminded of the movie 300 and the way that Xerxes looked in that movie (see above). He was no doubt a man of power, mystery and wealth.

The chapter tells us that he threw a party that lasted 6 months, in which he celebrated how great he was. And then, after 6 months of contiually celebrating his greatness, his wife doesn't want to come see him. Really? I wonder why? If my dad tried something like that I think my mom would last about 6 minutes!

So the decree goes out to all the empire, which went from India to Greece, that women must submit to their husbands. There are a few bible passages that say wives should be subordinate... I for one think that every one of those passages need to be ignored.

Marriage is a relationship that is designed to be mutually loving and respectful. Of course, there are times when a wife should listen to her husband and times when a husband should listen to his wife. That's part of loving each other... remember, love is not self-seeking.

We should only be completely subordinate to God... we should only give God that power because God is the only one that is guaranteed not to abuse it.

Let's learn from the mistakes of the past... not recycle them.

James 5

***James 5***

James believed that the Lord's coming was near... that it would happen during the lifetime of those his letter was written to.

But he was wrong.

There is an 89 year-old Christian radio host named Harold Camping that states the rapture is going to happen Saturday and the world will end in 5 months... the same thing he predicted in 1994.

(I wonder if I should write a sermon for Sunday or if I'll be just wasting my time?)

Many people believe him... including the driver of the above truck. I wonder if he will sign the truck over to me since he won't be needing it in 48 hours?

First of all, there are few, very very few biblical passages that support the belief in any kind of rapture. And the ones that do have been taken totally out of context. The rapture is a fictional story based on interpretation. Nothing is going to happen the way we think it will. Those waiting for a rapture are like the Jews who were waiting for a warrior messiah. (1 Thessalonians 4 says that we will meet the Lord in the air. This was written back when people still believed God lived in the clouds... I've been on some long flights and spent hours looking for God in the clouds, but never saw him.)

Secondly, nobody knows when Jesus is coming back... not even James and he was related to Jesus. The bible is clear about this fact. I don't know when Jesus is coming back, but I'm sure he's not coming when others say he is. If you google the rapture you'll find that many people have stated that it would happen many times... none have been right. And only one was prior to 1900... it's amazing how 1900 years after Jesus we have just now figured out how he was coming back!

BUT...

I hope Jesus comes back really soon. This is good news. It means those who are suffering won't have to any longer, those who are oppressed will find justice and we won't have to go through death. I won't have to leave my wife behind or I won't have to live without her.

The end is good news!

But it's better news to an 89 year-old than it is to me... I still want to have kids and see the Lions win the Superbowl.

******************************************************************
I'm taking my pastor hat off now and just writing as Nick:

I realize mocking others is probably a sin, but so is sending millions of people in hysteria claiming to know something you don't. As far as I'm concerned you get one shot at something like this, he was wrong in 1994, he should have stopped then.

Yes I really have a pastor hat, it was a gift from some great members on the day I was installed. (Thank you Robert and Tina)

We are done with James...tomorrow we start Esther!

***James 4***

***James 4***

When I was in college I set a goal for myself to own a Ferrarri. I really thought I would get one by the time I was 35. I told one of my friends that I would and she laughed at me... that even gave me greater motivation.

I still have 4 years until I turn 35, but even if I somehow came into a small fortune I think the last thing on my list of priorities is a Ferrarri... I no longer need it to validate myself.

Verse 1-3 states that many of our quarrels and fights with others actually come from within, from greed, pride or envy. We all struggle with finding inner-peace, with being happy with what we have and where we are. We dream about better jobs that garner more respect and more money. We are envious of those that have better bodies than us and nicer homes.

The longing from inside of us causes us to make poor decisions. We think people at work are brown-nosers because they are trying to get the promotion we deserve so we start a personal competition with them... only they don't know it.

I have entered into a competition with my two next-door neighbors for who can have the greenest grass... but they don't know it.

It's just the American way to live. Advertisers pay billions of dollars every year to convince us that we aren't good enough and the things we have aren't nice enough... so we buy the new car, the new golf clubs, the new clothes, the new weight loss snacks...

If we are constantly at war with ourselves... "I'm not good enough... yes I am... no I'm not... yes I am... ahhh.... I'm going to get a Big Mac." Then how can we expect to find peace in relationships with others?

The secret is this... God will never give you all the stuff you want, so stop asking. Instead, ask God to help you want the things you have.

Personal satisfaction is the foundation for peaceful repationships.

James 3

***James 3***

I have spent the last two days at a retreat/conference for first call pastors (pastors that are new to the profession). There are not many new Lutheran pastors, I am one of four in the Northern Texas - Northern Louisiana Synod.

Yesterday the four of us were sitting around and chatting about ministry. My colleagues all went to established congregations where people have been going for many years... I have a new congregation, a mission start that is ;ess than a year old.

As I talked about my congregation and all the amazing things that my members are doing I could see on their faces that they were... not jealous, but wishing their members would be more focused on mission, more focused on telling people about Jesus.

I then made the remark "Mission isn't hard, you just have to go do it."

I immediately realized how arrogant that sounded and apologized. Not every pastor is lucky enough to have the kind of people that go to Abiding Grace. Not every congregation is starting new and has people that are excited to grow. Some congregations are comfortable being who they are... and some pastors work for those congregations and pull their hair out trying to find ways to get their people to think big. I am lucky that I landed where I did.

But once the words were out of my mouth I couldn't take them back. We can never take back words once they are out of our mouths.

The problem with words is that they are seldom thought through before they come out. Especially when we are in a heated discussion.

But words have power... they can hurt worse than any punch or kick. They can break hearts and end relationships. They can cause pain that may be forgiven, but never forgotten.

And so often these words just fly out, without regard for the damage they might cause.

One thing we have talked aboout these past two days is taking the time to breathe deeply. Maybe we all need to learn to take deep breaths, especially when we are in heated conversations. Maybe an extra couple seconds will help us decide what we should say and shouldn't say.

I am reminded of a prayer that hangs at my sister's house...

"Lord, put your arm around my shoulders and your hand over my mouth. Amen."

James 2

I'm not sure what happened to yesterdays blog, it has disappeared. I no I published then posted it to facebook, but now it's gone. I hope that some of you were able to read it. I'd love to re-post it, but I haven't figured out how to do that.

***James 2**

Verse 17 "faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by deeds, is dead."

Thank you James for contradicting our Lutheran theology of grace... or does he?

In the summer of 2007 I worked as a program director at camp in northern Michigan. Every week or so I had to run into town to grab something from the hardware/general store which was owned and run by Amish people. They had this verse printed and hung above the cash register... it would always lead us into a theological conversation.

Does this mean that we earn our salvation through our works?

Luther believed that we are justified by grace through faith. James does not disagree with that statement, he is simply stating what he believes faith to be. James believe that if one has faith, others should be able to recognize that faith by the way one lives. A dear friend that has passed on told me how he lived his life, he said "if Christianity became illegal, I would want every one I met to have enough evidence to prosecute me."

What is up for debate is what it means to have faith... how much faith is needed for to be justified? Jesus said that faith the size of a mustard seed is enough. The question I have been pondering recently is this... We all doubt the existence of God, it is a normal part of faith, but hopefully those moments are few, short, and far between. I'm sure atheists doubt their unbelief at times... would God consider those moments of faith? Is that enough faith to be justified?

Only God knows. For most of us, we probably live somewhere in the middle of atheist's doubts and everyone recognizing our faith...

Whether your faith is alive or not is between you and God.

Proverbs 31

***Proverbs 31***

This is an intersting chapter. We have moved on from Solomon and now are graced with wisdom of Lemuel's mom. Thank God for moms.

I remember watching videos in biology class about the births of mammals. What was amazing was that the babies were able to do so much... the deer could walk immediately and the whale could swim immediately. Animal babies are much more prepared for life than human babies. Without a mom to nurture us, to teach us how to live we would be lost.

Mother's Day just passed. I hope that each of you found some special way to honor your mom for all that they have done for you... after all, honoring our mothers is a commandment.

But what about moms who don't deserve to be honored? What about the women who were/are terrible moms? They don't deserve a card and flowers. Unfortunately there are not many requirements to be a mom and some people were just not made to be parents. How do we honor them and obey the commandment?

We can honor them by forgiving them. They may have been abusive and just mean people and they may have inflicted emotional pain that will never go away. But forgiveness isn't just about them, it's about you too.

Forgiving people that have done us wrong allows us to let go of the pain they caused. It doesn't happen overnight, but we can let go of a little bit of it everyday. Until maybe one day it will be all gone. I'm not saying that forgiveness will make everything better, but it is a start.

I know that some don't even want to talk to those that hurt them, and that's fine. You don't even need to tell them you forgive them. Just decide for yourself that you are going to start the forgiving process. Maybe you'll get to a point where you send them a letter, but you don't have to. And forgiveness is not the same as reconciliation... you do not need to have a relationship with them.

Forgiveness could be the best present you ever give yourself.


*************Tomorrow we start the book of James**************************

Proverbs 30

***Proverbs 30***

Desmond Tutu spoke at my seminary in 1980's... when I was in elementary school. One of my professors was there to hear him speak and remembers him saying "it must be hard to be a Christian in America... Americans have so much."

Verses 7-8 "Two things I ask of you, Lord; do not refuse me before I die; keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread."

How many times a day do you think the average person is lied to? Lies come from everywhere. The media, advertising, and political parties just to name a few... and there is nothing we can do to escape it. But we can choose our relationships and we can choose to end relationships with those that refuse to tell the truth.

There is something refreshing about the truth, even if it's not what we want to hear. A good friend once said to me "I can work with the truth." Even if it's bad news or a word that stings, the truth is a foundation that trust and love is built on. There is no love or trust in dishonesty.

It's the same with the Truth... Jesus. The words of Jesus are sometimes are hard to understand and sometimes we just don't want to understand them because they are hard to live out. Like loving our enemies... not many of us loved Osama. But the Truth, Jesus is a foundation that we can build our life off of.

As long as we have Jesus, we have our daily bread.

Proverbs 29

***Proverbs 29***

Verse 13 "The poor and the oppressor have this in common, the Lord gives sight to the eyes of both."

I recently started using my twitter account. I've had it for a couple years, but in the past couple weeks I have started reading and leaving tweets. It's interesting to hear what people have to say... especially celebrities when they don't have a public relations person right next to them.

I like to follow football players... because I like football. I have been surprised by some of the things that these men say. One of them, Rashard Mendenhall, questioned whether or not Osama bin Laden was even responsible for the tragedy on 9/11. Adrian Peterson compared the NFL to modern-day slavery. It's moments like that when I realize that celebrities are no better or smarter than me.

We put celebrities on a pedestal, we care what they have to say... But why? Just because they can run with a football doesn't or pretend to be someone else in front of a camera doesn't mean they are more qualified than us to speak on foreign policy.

God made us all the same... but we have different gifts. Our society rewards some gifts with wealth and fame and rewards some gifts with $40,000 a year... like teachers.

It doesn't mean that those who teach are less important than famous people... I'd argue they are more important. That's just my opinion though.

I'm not afraid to share my opinion. None of us should be. Every idea from every person is important. We are called to think for ourselves and to let God speak through our ideas. Every one of us... poor and rich.

Our church and world and are depending on our thoughts to figure out what to do next!

The old thoughts aren't working very well...

Proverbs 28

***Proverbs 28***

Verse 17: "Anyone tormented by the guilt of murder will seek refuge in the grave, let no one hold them back."

I immediately thought of two men when I read this, Judas and David.

Judas and David both had blood on their hands.

Judas betrayed Jesus, but did not know they would cricufy him. He was so distraught over it that he commited suicide... and he is thought of as one of the worst villains the world has ever seen.

David didn't have Uriah arrested, instead he sent him to the front lines of the battle so he would be killed... David did it so he could marry Uriah's wife Bathsheba, who gave him a son named Solomon... the same guy that wrote Proverbs.

David didn't commit suicide, in fact he felt little remorse... yet he is remembered as a hero of the faith.

What both men did was wrong. Both should have been tormented by the guilt of murder. Yet one is a hero. Why?

Because he wrote the Psalms?

Because Uriah wasn't Jesus?

Truth is Jesus' death is on us all. Not just Judas. Jesus death was atonement for David and Judas' sins. And for your sins and my sins.

We should all feel a little guilty.

Proverbs 27

***Proverbs 27***

Verse 20: "Death and Destruction are never satisfied, and neither are human eyes."

Now I have a verse that allows me to write about Osama bin Laden.

How should we respond to the death of a man that was never satisified by death and destruction? A man that would dream of ways to kill large amounts of innocent people.

Let me begin by saying that there is nothing wrong with rejoicing for those who served their country and put their lives on the line to keep us safe. There is nothing wrong with rejoicing with all those affected by the this terrorist over the last ten years and the closure that his death has brought to them as they continue to heal.

But we must mourn too.

We mourn all the lives that we have been robbed of. We mourn for the children who lost their parents on 9/11 and in war. We mourn for the parents that lost their children. We mourn for everyone that has lost a loved one. But most of all we mourn for a world that has wandered far from its creator.

The foundational problem is that so many have no idea what "good" is. We have eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and believed the devil's lie, that we will know what is good and what is evil. Osama believed that what he was doing was good, it was the will of his god.

I think we can all agree that killing innocent people is not good. But do we miss the mark in other areas? Probably. I'm not saying that we should consider ourselves evil, but understand that the world that we live in is broken.

How many of us want to the see the picture of his corpse? I know I did... and part of me still wants to see it. Because just like destruction human eyes are never satisfied. Is it good that we post the picture of a corpse for the world to see? What God would want us to do? I'm not so sure.

Now that we have Osama, will the war end? Is this war on terror something that will ever end?

Will we ever be satisfied?

Will we ever be able to stop mourning?

Proverbs 26

***Proverbs 26***

Verse 28 "A lying tongue hates its victims."

I was searching for a verse in this chapter that would let me write abous Osama... but after reading verse 28 I thought of Milli Vanilli. So this is about Milli Vanilli.

For those of you who don't know who Milli Vanilli is, here is some background. They were pop stars that had a number of hits and even won a grammy, the only problem is that they weren't singing... they lip synched their way to a grammy.

And when they were finally found out their lives became miserable. They were stripped of their grammy and sued by a ton of different people asking for their money back... one of the members ended up dying tragically of a drug overdose.

People do not like being lied to. Most often when people lie they do it for their own gain, whether it be to make themselves look good or wealth like Milli Vanilli. Except for the occasional white lie, you know the "does this make me look fat?" one.

All lies have victims, though some are more painful than others. The result is strained relationships and lack of trust. Which means the greatest victim is the liar... the one that ends up alone.

I have a friend that has had a hard life. He blames many different things for his hard life.... some of which are valid and others are excuses. Sometimes he lies about dumb things, just so people will feel more sorry for him. I told him it is time that he takes responsibility for his life and if he wants to be successful it is up to him. No one else.

Sometimes the truth is the last thing we want to hear. But it is always the right thing to say... except for the "does this make me look fat?" question.

Blame it on the mirror.