Esther
The book of Esther is very
inspirational. It itself it is like a “self-help” book [or whatever you call
those books]. And I would not be surprised if Disney got some inspiration for
his princess stories from the book of Esther! So, I tried really hard to get
the obvious love story out of the way, so that I could see more clearly, and I
found that it is kind of a business strategy
account. If you ever read a book about starting a business or “how to
become a better boss” kind of book, you will find that the clue is never to be
the smartest or fastest of the pack. However, those attributes help. It is
almost always [if not always] about being at the right place, at the right
time. And Esther was, without a doubt, very good at this. But she is not the
only one! Mordecai was always right at the success point, as well! He overheard
a conversation, that saved the Kings life, for what he got no recognition, but
sometime later the King repaid him and that changed the whole outcome of the
story! [I don’t want to spoil the end of the book, in case you haven’t read
it!]
So, I was encouraged by being at the
right place at the right moment. Right here, right now.
Point of Passion:
I really like festivals and parties,
do you know why? Exactly, they all have food! There is a festival that is born
in the time of Esther and it is called Purim. I found a very good explanation
of it in chapter 9, verse 22:
“He
[Mordecai] told them to celebrate these days with feasting and gladness and by
giving gifts of food to each other and presents to the poor. This would
commemorate a time when the Jews gained relief from their enemies, when their
sorrow was turned into gladness and their mourning into joy.”
And when I read this lines it made
me think about Christmas and how we wrap gifts and give them to our loved ones!
So this year, I’ll wrap a few presents and I’ll go look for a few poor people
and I will give them a Christmas gift. Does that sound like a good plan? If it
does, I urge you to do the same, but remember, it does not need to be something
very expensive, but it does need to be something useful for a poor person. Do
some research in your area or click here for a nice idea on this project…
Zechariah
I have to say that this book is one
of those which leave wondering “what did I just read?” And there are so many
things that I’m still trying to understand, and I will continue to ponder about
them for a while. But as far as a timeless truth that I can extract from its
lines, I would have to say that it is the fact that no matter how discouraged
you are, you should look past the present and focus on the goal. The
construction of the Temple was the task they were to complete, however, though
Zechariah’s visions the people of Judah were able to see “God’s purposes beyond
the restored Temple.” (SourceView Bible p.1213) The book ends talking about the
day when “even the harness bells of the horses will be inscribed with these
words: HOLY TO THE LORD.” (14:20) And people knew that they were far from that
day, but they needed to get ready for that very important day, when even the most
mundane thing in the world would be Holy to the Lord!
Point of Passion:
In all the countries of the world,
we have laws. I guess some countries have more laws that others, but we all
seem to need guidelines to live our lives, or else it would be a disaster 24/7.
In the Bible times, it was no different. And even when they had the written
law, they seemed to need a friendly reminder every once in a while. Here is one
from God himself:
“This
is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Judge fairly, and show mercy and
kindness to one another. Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and the
poor. And do not scheme against each other.” (7:9-10)
By the way, it seems very applicable
nowadays as well… we have not changed so much apparently. Now, this reminder affects
me in a different way because this time, God is even talking about the
foreigners, and I have been a foreigner in different places, and some people
have treated me good, and some others have treated me really lousily [I have to
say]. But sometimes I have treated foreigners good, and some other days, not so
good… so, thanks for the reminder!
I also hold this one closely because
now that I am married to a beautiful woman from another country I feel one way
or another, we will always have at least one foreigner in our family, it really
depends on what part of the world we are at in that precise moment…
Malachi - Application
Malachi gave me a great hope boost!
Because I feel like sometimes I think that God will not come back to me, but He
promised that if I come back to Him, He will certainly come back to me. And His
word is enough, because I have seen it done. Just this morning, one of our
staff for the class gave a nice devotional about purpose in life. And he said
that before he was born, his grandma had said that he would be a mouthpiece for
his generation. Those are very big words, but grandmas know what they are
doing. Then, in his teen years he went really far from this word, and tried to
get as far as possible from God as possible. And it sounded like he would never
come back to be able to be that “mouthpiece” he was supposed to be. And then,
one day, he came back to God, and started to disciple young people about God…
and without realizing it, he became a spokesperson, a teacher and a mouthpiece
for his generation. God redeems, even without our knowledge, we might realize
it later, but that’s a different story.
Point of Passion
I am impressed by how many times the
poor and the weak are mentioned in the Old Testament! When I started my “point
of passion” in the first weeks of the school, I did not expect to find so many
references to back up my passion for the poor and the homeless. And most of
them have been [so far] mostly about taking care of them, but every now and
then there is a warning and/or a judgment for those who don’t do it. Well, I
think is only fair enough that the last book of the OT, leaves us with a
warning/judgment message for those who do not help the weak:
“At
that time I will put you on trial. I am eager to witness against all sorcerers
and adulterers and liars. I will speak against those who cheat employees of
their wages, who oppress widows and orphans, or who deprive the foreigners
living among you of justice, for these people do not fear me,” says the Lord of
Heaven’s Armies.” (Malachi 3:5)
So, we better get on it…
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