Esther 3:15 4/25/2023*

“The couriers went out, spurred on by the king’s command, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa. The king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was bewildered.”

A Jew named Mordecai refused to kneel when Haman, a high-ranking Persian official, passed by. This so incensed Haman that he convinced the king to decree destruction for the entire Jewish race. Afterwards the king and Haman sat down to drink together as though the decision was routine. 

Haman has two fatal flaws:  

The first is pride.  Haman influences the king to retaliate for someone disrespecting him. Haman’s lethal mistake occurs because he was obsessed with being offended.  Mordecai refused to honor him, and he just couldn’t get past it. 

We call Pride a mental illness (narcissism) but it’s really a spiritual disease.  It is the original sin and causes the created to suppose they are the Creator. It is a flaw that precedes destruction…. In this case it produced hate, and anger that caused Haman to lose touch with reality. 

Prideful rage brings on a storm that produces actions and words that seem sensible at the time but when the clouds clear, stupidity is all that is left. Even the pagans in Susa were bewildered at this heartless overreaction. 

As men, we must recognize pride to be the blinding, ignorance inducing, emotion that it is.  Any honest evaluation will reveal that self-centeredness has never made you do anything you’re proud of…Yet for some reason, we tolerate it in our lives.

Haman’s second issue is lack of community.  Show me your friends and I will show you your future. It is important to have the right people in your circle who will speak up when you get ready to do something foolish. 

Haman’s friends supported his insanity…even encouraged it.  What Haman needed was a brother to warn him that his pride was getting the best of him. That small pain of correction would have saved Haman from the greater pain of the gallows. 

Don’t recruit cheerleaders as friends – find guys who speak the truth in love. People who would rather benefit you than always be comfortable. Pride can slip in unnoticed, and you need companions who will watch your back. Pick your friends carefully because life is a team sport. 

“As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.”
 - King Solomon

Jeremiah 42:6 & Jeremiah 43:2 4/18/2023*

 Jeremiah 42:6
“Whether it is favorable or unfavorable, we will obey the Lord our God,” 

Jeremiah 43:2
“You are lying! The Lord our God has not sent you…” 

In the 42nd chapter of Jeremiah, the Israelites asked Jeremiah to inquire of the Lord, committing to obey God no matter what he commands …  But one chapter later, when God’s instructions go against their wishes, all bets were off…and they blamed the messenger. 

Does that sound familiar? … 

Lots of people today follow scripture until it says something they don’t like.  Then they discount that portion of the Bible and live as they choose. This is following yourself, not God.

The church has added to the problem by not clearly calling sin what it is.  We water down God’s commands bending His word to match our lives instead of bending our lives to match His word. 

Years ago, there was a popular bumper sticker that said, “God is my co-pilot”… The problem with that sticker is that that proposal was never on the table.  God never offered a partnership. He is God, and we are to acknowledge that and obey His commands. 

You don’t bargain with God; you surrender to Him.  And when you do, His Holy word must become the definitive guide for your life.  Your opinion of it as favorable, or unfavorable is irrelevant.  

Scripture predicts a time when men will gather teachers around themselves who say only what they want to hear…and that time has arrived. You can find “churches” today that tolerate any, and all sin – twisting or ignoring scripture if they find it offensive. 

But the power of God has preserved scripture for centuries and the truth is plain to any honest reader. Science changes, theories  are modified, concepts are disproven, but the Word of the Lord has endured unchanged for thousands of years. 

The Bible itself claims that “All scripture is God breathed”.  If that is true, then we must follow ALL of it …If that is not true, then why follow any of it?

Either God is powerful enough to provide an inerrant Bible to guide us - or He is not  – So we should either trust God and obey Scripture…or quit talking about it. 

“To forsake the inerrancy of Scripture is to snuff humanity’s only candle of truth… Inerrancy is the lamp to our feet and light to our path.” - Ray Comfort

Philippians 3:9...10 4/11/2023*

 “… found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, … that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.”

Victory can only be achieved with a new life. 

I can’t cling to the same old system and win, because there is no victory when I’m controlled by sin. I cannot insert God into my life and continue down the road I am on.  If God is to be added, everything else must be upended. 

I cannot preach about the Spirit, while I pursue the flesh. My old life must end so that Christ can live in me. That’s not just a poetic verse; it’s a requirement for redemption.

That is the issue… the conversation stops right there.  I cannot walk in victory in my own shoes. I must surrender to the Lord and walk in the footsteps of my Savior.

That is the battle we fight daily… we know there is a God – but we are constantly tempted to believe it might be us. Have you settled that question? Are you ready to make Christ your Lord or are you attempting to  just claim Him as Savior?

You cannot live in the power of His resurrection, until you have died to yourself completely.  Either He rules your life - or you do. There is no shared leadership.

You were dead in your sin… but you have been offered the gift of new life … The question is, will you take it? Will you surrender and receive the gift – or continue to fight a losing battle with your own strength?

Do you want to know the power of His resurrection?… Then die to yourself. Do you want to learn to have joy in suffering? … then be conformed to His death and live a resurrected life.

It’s not about just acknowledging God (even demons do that). You must Love Him and place your faith in Him… Then live a new life, with new goals … Abandon the path you have been on and live each day in the power of His resurrection… with lovingly serving Him and others as  your only motivation.

“The Christian’s motto should not be ‘Let go and let God’ but ‘Trust God and get going.’” - J.I. Packer

Galatians 2:20 4/4/2023*

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”

If there is a thesis statement for the Christian life, this is it.  It defines life after you accept Christ as your Lord and Savior. 

There are no degrees to the transformation salvation produces… there is no such thing as a “good or bad” Christian.  You are either saved or lost. You are either the same old sinful wretch…or a new creation covered by the blood of Christ which gives you a new past, present, and future. 

Easter is not about eggs, bunnies, or brightly colored clothes.  It is about redemption. It doesn’t improve or remodel your life – It replaces it … your past has been obliterated.  The stain of sin is gone, and you become a different person. 

This is why Jesus can never be just a part of your life – that is why you can’t love God on Sunday morning and ignore Him on Saturday night. Christianity is not an addition to your life – it is an invasion that results in total conquest. There is only room for one King in your life and it will be completely Christ - or not Christ at all.  

Have you been crucified?... Is God your King or just your insurance policy?

This Easter cut through all the fashion, colored eggs, and games and consider the truth. The first Easter morning is the most important occurrence in human history.  Nothing else even comes close… When Jesus came out of that tomb it changed the options you and I have for eternity. But it is an all or none proposition. 

It must be either you or God governing your life – Make it Him. Abandon all the fruitless struggles you have pursued seeking worthless trinkets the world offers and seek the Glory of the One who gave Himself up for your redemption. 

It is not a timid decision – It is a radical about face.  It is dying to yourself and living a life committed to your King.

If Christ is not all to you, He is nothing to you. He will never go into partnership as a part Savior of men.“― Charles H. Spurgeon