The Lord blessed us with a fantastic Thursday. The weather was fully "Indian Summer". I love Indian Summer days. "Sunshine Makes me Happy." Here Comes the Sun." These are all gifts of the Lord the Sun of Righteousness. "I spent time with my younger brother and his family yesterday. My brother and I drove around the countryside, just enjoying the way He decorates the Earth and paints firmaments, hills, and dales, mountains and meadows with His own paint brush. He invites us to see How He crowns creation with His beauty and majesty.
“Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God,
But only he who sees takes off his
shoes;
The rest sit round and pluck blackberries.”
My youngest niece, who was born in America the Beautiful, turned sweet thirteen this week. Of all my brothers' and sisters' children, she is the only one born in America. All of the rest migrated, along with their parents, to this country several years ago. My nieces and nephews were all very young when they first landed in the land. Some of them were just toddlers. Now they are growing up. Three of them are in college. Two are in High School. One is in middle school. They are blessed with brilliant minds. We praise the Lord for them.
My wife and I are planning to welcome the youth into our home this coming Sunday at 5:30 PM for some spooktacular foods and games, along with some homemade cider and doughnuts. All youth are welcome to come out for a sweet time.
This morning I am reflecting on the story of queen Esther. It
has wonderful twists and turns, reversals and reckonings, insights and
innuendoes, surprises and serendipitous moments. The book of Esther is not only a
great story about a great heroine, but it also is the story of a great people as
it faces a great crisis. It is one of those crises, common to Christians and
Jews, which we find very often in the Bible. There have been numerous times in
human history when those in authority have wanted to annihilate either the
Christians or the Jews. We certainly have found that in the history of the
Jews, such as during the time of the Maccabees, or when Hitler where he wanted
to have all Jews killed. Hitler killed 6 million Jews. But persecution has not
only been instituted against the Jews, but Christians as well. During the
times of Emperor Nero and Domitian, and between the first and third centuries,
emperors tried to exterminate the Christians as well. When I was in Russia few
years ago I heard similar stories about Kruschev who said, “I will live to see
the last Russian Orthodox priest die.” There have always been people who wanted
to kill Jews and Christians, so there are those critical moments when people
have to stand up against the government who wants to kill them. That is what
the book of Esther is all about. It has a great crisis within it.
In the book of Esther, we have a great story with a great
heroine experiencing a great crisis and we also have a great God in the midst of
all of this. It is interesting that the word "God", is not even mentioned in
the book of Esther. In this book we have to read between the lines and when we
do this we see God working and weaving, entering and intervening in the lives of
the characters of the story such as Mordecai, Haman, and Esther. We sense that
God is weaving and working in the twists and turns of this story. We realize
that a great God is involved.
It seems that it is always open season on Christians and Jews
around the world. There is open and blatant persecution and oppression. In the
midst this we stand upon the promises of our Lord. Those who have stood against
the Lord and His people have come and gone. Jesus reigns and He will reign for
ever and ever
"Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and
there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become
the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and
ever".”Revelation 11:15
In Christ.
Brown
"Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and
there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become
the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and
ever".”Revelation 11:15
In Christ.
Brown
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