Esther 5

In the Book of Proverbs it says to cut your own throat before sitting down at a king's table. That would have been good advice for Haman to follow. He thought he was being honored by eating with the king and queen.

Instead, it turned out he was being set up.

Review: THE PRACTICE OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD by Brother Lawrence

I went through a mystical phase a while back and reread this, only to find that I was already doing what it taught. The premise of the book is that we should always act as if God was with us, since he is anyway.

The first time I read this several years ago, it was mainly to say I had, and it seemed impossible. When I read it again, it was to grow closer to God, and it seemed like the most natural thing in the world. If it's approached in the right spirit, I recommend it.

Esther 4

Though Mordecai offered Esther a theological reason for helping the Jews -- it may have been her entire reason for being, after all -- he also appealed to her sense of self-preservation.

The Jews would be saved even if she didn't help, but she would still die.

Review: THE ANTE-NICENE FATHERS VOL. 1 ed. by A. Cleveland Coxe

The Ante-Nicene Fathers was a set first published in the 1800s. It consists of all of the available Christian writings from before 325AD, in an English translation. ("Ante" means "before" and "Nicene" refers to the Council of Nicea in 325AD.)

This is the version produced by the Christian Classics Ethereal Library, and includes not only the early Christian writings, but also the introductions and over 3200 notes. Unfortunately, many of the notes are in other languages, or extremely obscure. They generally add little. The various introductions, although well-written, are also hardly necessary.

What was remarkable about this volume was how easy it was to read. Victorian translations of much older works tend to be intentionally archaic, but that's not the case here. It's obviously old, but not so that it's hard to understand.

Some of the writers here were personally taught by the apostles, and the rest were only a generation or two removed from them. It's important to know what the Christian faith is like under its many hundreds of years of interpretation, and for that reason I recommend it.

Esther 3

The Jews didn't even see it coming.

Haman shows what one smart, crazy person can do. There were Jews throughout the empire, and Haman had every intention of killing them all. Why? Because one Jew had insulted him.

We have been united as follows concerning the ban

The second article in the Schleitheim Confesion is about the ban, which is just the culmination of the church discipline described in Matthew 18.

+

II. We have been united as follows concerning the ban. The ban shall be employed with all those who have given themselves over to the Lord, to walk after [Him] His commandments; those who have been baptized into the one body of Christ, and let themselves be called brothers or sisters, and still somehow slip and fall into error and sin, being inadvertently overtaken. The same [shall] be warned twice privately and the third time be publicly admonished before the entire congregation according to the command of Christ (Matthew 18). But this shall be done according to the ordering of the Spirit of God before the breaking of bread, so that we may all in one spirit and in one love break and eat from one bread and drink from one cup.

Esther 2

Much has been made of the fact that the Book of Esther contains no reference at all to God. Remember that these are the Jews who didn't go back to the Promised Land, though many discern the Hand of God behind everything.

Especially in these early chapters, though, it seems to show what people can do apart from God.

Review: FOUND: GOD'S WILL by John F. MacArthur, Jr.

MacArthur is someone from whom I always learn something, but he unfortunately also likes to chase rabbits. This book is only about 60 pages long, though, which doesn't leave much room for rabbit- chasing.

Christians are always trying to figure out God's will, even though it's staring them in the face. MacArthur's contention is that God has never hidden his will; in fact, it would make no sense to do so. It has always been right there in black and white in the Bible.

I recommend this book to anyone who thinks he needs some esoteric means of discovering "God's perfect will for your life". It's very short, but it's an important wake- up call.

Esther 1

If you should happen to be King of Persia, don't try to show off your queen.

If you find yourself Queen of Persia, don't refuse the king. He's just going to replace you. It may not be right, but the Bible doesn't always approve of what it records. It just records it.

Regrets

There are a lot of things I regret. Things I did that I shouldn't have, and I should have done but didn't. The list is pretty long. 

What they all come down to is that I wish I had acted better. That would have required a complete change, though, and the only thing that I know of that can cause that kind of about-face is faith in Christ.

And that's really what I regret. I shouldn't have wasted so much time before becoming a Christian.

Review: WILL THE REAL HERETICS PLEASE STAND UP by David Bercot

This short book had more to do with my salvation than anything else. Even the Bible.

Let me rephrase that. This book led me back to the Bible, and answered a lot of questions I had about it, and helped me learn to read it. Whatever I am today is due largely to a friend giving me this one and recommending it to me.

I really can't recommend it highly enough. I know it won't affect everyone the same way, but for me it changed everything.

Review: COMPLETE POEMS by Emily Dickinson

Here's the official poet of adolescent angst.

I read a good bit of Dickinson's work when I was an angsty teenager, mostly because it was short. At the time, all I knew about were the odd little quatrains for which she's best known. It wasn't until I read this book that I realized that she wasn't as crazy as I'd thought and had written longer work, though none would be considered "long" by any means.

Though she's most famous for weird little rhymes with unorthodox punctuation, some of her poems,especially about nature are quite beautiful. I recommend this book.

Notice concerning baptism

This week I'm going to start going through the Schleitheim Confesion, an Anabaptist statement of faith that dates from 1527 and is still used today. It has seven articles, and begins with baptism, which is appropriate since that was the major issue between them and everyone else.

Note that there is some hard language for certain people, but keep in mind that at the time pretty much everyone else was torturing and killing them. That's not an excuse, but it is a reason.

+

I. Notice concerning baptism. Baptism shall be given to all those who have been taught repentance and the amendment of life and [who] believe truly that their sins are taken away through Christ, and to all those who desire to walk in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and be buried with Him in death, so that they might rise with Him; to all those who with such an understanding themselves desire and request it from us; hereby is excluded all infant baptism, the greatest and first abomination of the pope. For this you have the reasons and the testimony of the writings and the practice of the apostles. We wish simply yet resolutely and with assurance to hold to the same.

Nehemiah 13

Nehemiah was zealous for God's law, and was shocked when the other Jews weren't.

I'm sure they never meant to disobey. I doubt they ever set out to rebel against God. But a little compromise made it a little easier to compromise the next time, and so forth, until Nehemiah had to step in and straighten them out. That couldn't have been pleasant, for them or for him.

Esther will start on Monday. 

Nehemiah 12

There was a priest named "Amok". There's no great truth to that, no deep theological meaning to uncover. I just thought it was funny. It's probably not funny in any other language -- in Hebrew it probably means "mighty eagle" or something -- and it may leave you completely cold, but I think it's hilarious.

The Bible's a big book, and sometimes you just find something funny in it.

Review: EVERYONE'S A THEOLOGIAN by RC Sproul, Jr.

In  some ways, this book is similar to Ayn Rand's Philosophy: Who Needs It? In her title essay, Rand asserted that everyone did, because everyone already had one. In the same way, Sproul says we're all theologians. We all have ideas about God, and at its core that's all all a theology is: a set of ideas about God.

Of course, Rand's beliefs were miles from Sproul's, and both of them are very different from me. That said, they both were right about one thing: what we think matters. I recommend this book.

Nehemiah 11

The rebuilt kingdom of Judah was not a democracy.

The governor was appointed. Everything had to come through some far-off emperor. So far as we know,, people just did what they were told, when they were told, where they were told. And yet there were representatives from every town in Judah right there in Jerusalem.

What I want to do

Should I wake up one day completely healed, I'll know I'm either dead or the subject of the biggest miracle I've ever seen. Assuming I'm still alive, there are a few things I want to do.

Play with my daughters As it stands, I can't even hug them. I also want to do something with my wife,but that's none of your business.

Drive a car It may seem strange, but that's one of the things I miss the most. My favorite vehicles I ever owned was a 1994 Jeep Cherokee Sport that looked like a white box, had power nothing, and was so light it bounced. I wouldn't mind another one.

Get to Newfoundland As quickly as possible.

Read a book I read a lot of Kindle books, and I'm very thankful for the technology, but it would be nice to hold an actual dead-tree book in my hands and read it.

Preach I still don't like speaking publicly about most things, but I love to preach. My wife and daughters know that all too well.

Learn several instruments I have a penny whistle and a ukulele, so I guess I'd better start there. What I really want to play are bass, banjo, and pocket sax.

Start a house church Nothing against Tony, who is not only the greatest pastor I've ever known but also one of my best friends. There are just some things we wouldn't agree on 

Travel I want to meet the people I've known only through Facebook, especially Bobby, Derek, and the Three Johns (Comito, Sanford, and Blum). I also want to visit with as many of my FL friends and people I went to school with as I can track down.

Some shameless self-promotion

The Bible Exchange (www.bibleexchange.com) has been kind enough to give me some room to rant. If nothing else, check out the site; it's an honor to be there.

Nehemiah 10

The Jews not only swore to avoid the specific sins that had gotten them to such a state,but they promised not to neglect the temple.

They felt they had to make this promise largely because they had negotiated the temple. The entire message of the prophet Haggai was about people who built their own houses instead of of God's.

Review: THE CASE FOR THE REAL JESUS by Lee Strobel

The only problem with this book is that I feel like I've read it before.

Let me be clear: each of Lee Strobel's The Case for ... books is fine in and of itself. He's written a lot of them, though, and after a while they tend to run together.

I recommend this book if you haven't read a Lee Strobel book before, or have a special interest in apologetics. Otherwise it's solid but ultimately repetitive,

Nehemiah 9

One attribute of God that isn't often considered is his historicity. Unlike the false gods, whose deeds all took place in some dim mythological past, Yahweh did what he did in a particular time and place that could be verified.

Either the history of Israel was the history of the acts of God, or vice versa.

Review: A DICTIONARY OF EARLY CHRISTIAN BELIEFS by David Bercot

Over the years, Bercot has devoted a great deal of time and effort to the early Christian writings. This book is one of the results, and proves he hasn't been wasting his time.

Bercot collects a great many passages from The Ante-Nicene Fathers (a 19th-century set collecting the extant Christian writings from before the Council of Nicea in 325AD) under hundreds of subject headings. What makes this book really valuable is that he also includes Scripture references, showing where they got their beliefs and forming a topical concordance.

If you have an interest in the pre-Nicene Church, I can't recommend this highly enough. If you don't I still recommend it.

Nehemiah 8

The people were willing to stand up all morning just to hear the word of God.

I understand that customs were different then: speakers sat and hearers stood. Still, it points out how lazy and impatient we've gotten. We'd do well to hunger for God's word like they did.

What's next

we've spent the past several months going through the most recent version of the Baptist Faith & Message (from the year 2000) on Wednesdays. I still think it's a very good confession of faith, though I have serious problems with a few articles . Next week I want to start on the Schleitheim Confesion, used by Anabaptists around the world since it was adopted in Switzerland in 1527.

Nehemiah 7

Far from wanting to be a king, Nehemiah surrendered power over Jerusalem when the repairs to the walls were done. He didn't look for reasons to stay in charge. He had a job and he did it and got out of the way.

Sometimes knowing when to stop leading is as important as doing it.

Review: OTHELLO by William Shakespeare

While Shakespeare deserves some credit for having an African title character over 400 years ago, beyond that I don't see the appeal. I'm not being negative for the sake of being negative; I've just never understood why he was supposed to have been the greatest author of all time I'm sure the failure is entirely mine. Anyway, I don't see any reason to recommend this, unless you're already a fan of Shakespeare.

Nehemiah 6

Don't think Nehemiah was fearless.

The Bible doesn't tell us that when his life was threatened he faced it without fear. Nehemiah didn't make that claim. Afraid or not, though, he had work to do, and that work was important. He wasn't going to let a fear of death keep him from doing it well.

Jack and Helen Kelley

In September of 1996 I joined the Navy. The first place I was sent after boot camp was Nuke School in Orlando, Florida. That's where I met the Kelleys..

Not Danny and Cathy Kelley, my parents. Given that they raised me, it would be very strange if I didn't meet them until I was 22 and living in another state.

No, these were the FL Kelleys. That's how I've always thought of them, and probably always will, even though they left Florida many years ago. At any rate, there's no telling how many sailors, strays, and castaways went that house in Winter Park, but I'm glad to have been one of them.

I learned a great deal from Mr. and Mrs. Kelley, but probably the best thing they did for me was to invite me in. Being around a generous, loving Christian couple was exactly what I needed at a very difficult time, and I can't thank them enough for what they've done for me.

Nehemiah 5

In this chapter, Nehemiah speaks against usury and demonstrates his own generosity.

First, he was horrified to see people selling their own children in order to buy food, and weighed down by interest payments to their fellow Jews. Then it's revealed that though he was entitled to tax the people for his livelihood, he decided instead to feed his household out of his own pocket.

Review: THE KINGDOM OF THE CULTS by Walter Martin

I had  an older copy of this, but never sat down and read it. Instead, I dipped into it here and there, using it like a reference book, because I thought that's what it was. I was wrong.

The copy I have now is the most recent edition, and reading it straight through shows that that's how it is supposed to be read. It covers only a few major cults, but covers them very thoroughly.

This is not a reference book, but it is a good look at the major pseudo-Christian religions. I recommend it; it contains a lot of information that is good for Christians to know.

Nehemiah 4

Nehemiah knew that God would fight the Jews' battles, but he also knew they needed to be ready to defend themselves. That's why he prayed and trusted God even as he established a system to protect the workers. 

Having God on your doesn't mean you get to be lazy.

Review: THE PRINCE by Niccolo Machiavelli

This is one of the most infamous books of all time. If you look at successful politicians today, you can still see its precepts in action. Unfortunately, while it's a timeless manual for politics, it's a timeless manual for evil as well.

According to Machiavelli, the main skill a ruler must have is the ability to lie convincingly. Lying,, theft, murdrer ... all of these are tools an adept ruler may use to gain or retain power. Whatever works is permitted.

It may sound strange for me to recommend this short book, but I do. I'm sorry to say that we live in Machiavelli's world, where anything goes as long as you don't get caught. If we are to fulfill the call to be wise as serpents, we would do well to read the Enemy's handbook.

Nehemiah 3

From our New Testament perspective, we're used to thinking of the Jews in opposition to God. They were Jesus' main antagonists, after all.

But it's important to remember that the Jews who returned to the Promised Land were the faithful ones who trusted God to keep his promises. They weren't against rebuilding the wall. They just needed to be reminded.

XVIII. The family

God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption. 

Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. It is God's unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church and to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race.

The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God's image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. She, being in the image of God as is her husband and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation.

Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God's pattern for marriage. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth. Children are to honor and obey their parents.

Nehemiah 2

Nehemiah came back to Jerusalem for one reason: to make sure the wall and gates were rebuilt. He did it right too. He got the king's permission, a letter explaining his mission to the governor, and his materials, all before he left the capital.

Best of all, though, he was doing God's will.

Review: SILENCE by Shisaku Endo

This is a novel about very early missionaries to Japan. It is also considered by many to be one of the greatest novels ever written in Japanese. Those things said, this isn't a happy book. It's mostly about hardship. Torture and apostasy happen. It is a difficult book, but a worthwhile one.

I don't recommend this book simply because it's hard. I do it because it teaches important lessons, especially that God is worth whatever we have to endure for him.

Nehemiah 1

Rather than pointing fingers, Nehemiah took responsibility.

He knew the state of Jerusalem wasn't right, and that sin was the cause. Instead of worrying about o other people's sin, he confessed his own. Nehemiah knew he couldn't control anyone else, but he could control Nehemiah.

Love equals action

"If you love me, obey my commandments."

Jesus said that.

Notice he didn't say, "if you love me, say it a lot" or "If you love me, hold your hands up when you sing."

"If you love me, obey my commandments."

Not, "If you love me, obey my suggestions," or "If you love me, obey my good ideas." He said, "If you love me, obey my commandments." Jesus said things and he wanted them done. They weren't options. They were commandments.

We need to get away from the idea that love is a feeling or caused by our glands. Love isn't something that happens to us. It's volitional. It's something you do.

When God wanted the Israelites to know he loved them, he didn't just tell them. He also showed them, and he wants us to do the same.

If you love him, you know what to do. 

Ezra 10

Actions have consequences.

The men who married Canaanites, even though the law said not to, chose to act a certain way. Now they were dealing with the fallout from those actions. It was as true then as it is now: you get to choose your actions, but not the consequences of those actions.

Review: THE LIFE AND OPINIONS OF TRISTRAM SHANDY, GENTLEMAN by Laurence Sterne

As one reviewer put it, this book "contains precious little of his life, and nothing of his opinions." The titular hero doesn't even manage to get born until far in. Widely regarded as the first comic novel in English, this book is an exercise in distraction. It's also very funny.

There's only one caveat: this book was written in the 1700s, and it reads like it. It takes some time and effort to get into, but if you can read a King James Bible (or Authorised, for them dang Brits), you can read this. It just takes some getting used to.

Except for that, I recommend this wholeheartedly. It takes a little work, but it's worth it.

Ezra 9

Why was intermarriage a sin? Why would God even care who his people married? Because they were meant to be different. They were meant to be separate. In short, they were meant to be his.

So are Christians better than everyone else? No, but we are different.

Review: YOU AND ME TOGETHER by Francis and Lisa Chan

Francis Chan has written several books, but this is both his first about marriage and the first crediting his wife Lisa as co-author. I've enjoyed and learned from his books since the first one, Crazy Love, but I was worried about this one. My minor was in Chrisian counseling (also known as a minor in Wasting My Time) and I've read a good many ostensibly Christian books on marriage, most of which weren't very good. I shouldn't have worried.

The Chans aren't afraid to talk about their relationship, but seem to keep the focus on God as much as on themselves. The book is well-written and bibical, as you might expect, and is easily the best book on marriage I've ever read. I definitely recommend it.

Ezra 8

Ezra writes that he was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers because he had claimed that God would protect the returnees.

But are we not worse? We also make extravagant claims, but instead of being ashamed to rely on temporal power, we revel in it. The disconnect between what we say and what we do is disturbing, but it's worth considering.

XVII. Religious liberty

God alone is Lord of the conscience, and He has left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men which are contrary to His Word or not contained in it. Church and state should be separate. The state owes to every church protection and full freedom in the pursuit of its spiritual ends. In providing for such freedom no ecclesiastical group or denomination should be favored by the state more than others. Civil government being ordained of God, it is the duty of Christians to render loyal obedience thereto in all things not contrary to the revealed will of God. The church should not resort to the civil power to carry on its work. The gospel of Christ contemplates spiritual means alone for the pursuit of its ends. The state has no right to impose penalties for religious opinions of any kind. The state has no right to impose taxes for the support of any form of religion. A free church in a free state is the Christian ideal, and this implies the right of free and unhindered access to God on the part of all men, and the right to form and propagate opinions in the sphere of religion without interference by the civil power.

Ezra 7

Jerusalem was a four-month journey from Babylon, and that was making good time. If you don't believe me, look at verse 9, which says he left Babylon the first day of the first month and got to Jerusalem the first day of the fifth month, "because the hand of God was with him."

That says a little about how big the Persian Empire was.

Review: SCHOPENHAUER IN 90 MINUTES by Paul Strathern

By now you know the drill. I liked this book, and if you like philosophy and sarcasm, you probably would too.

Ezra 6

Again, Tattenai wasn't a bad guy.

Once he got his answer, he shut up and got out of the way. The rest of the chapter tells about the dedication of the temple and what it was used for.

The curse(?) of wealth

All my life I've seen wealth as a gift from God. After all, Abraham was rich, as were Isaac and Jacob. I don't know if the Bible ever comes out and says that Joseph and Moses were wealthy, but it's strongly implied. Solomon was famously rich, and it's hard to imagine that any of the kings of Israel or Judah was thought of as poor by his neighbors. Becoming wealthy (or wealthier) was a sign of God's favor.

One thing I always overlooked, though, was that these were all Old Testament examples. Under the New Covenant, things were different.

None of the apostles lived like a rich man, or was known for having a lot of money. Jesus himself, though he had been instrumental in creating the entire universe, had to borrow a coin for his "render unto Caesar" statement. He told one rich person to give away all he had, taught people to depend on God rather than money, and said it would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. 

Maybe my imagination is just too limited, but I can only think of one way to get a camel to through the eye of a needle, and it doesn't leave you with a functional camel when you're done.

What I get from what Jesus said is that money will keep you out of Heaven. It's far easier to trust money you can see over a God you can't, after all. Unfortunately, we aren't immortal yet., so Heaven is one of only two eternal destinations. The other is Hell.

Things that keep you out of Heaven and send you to Hell are not blessings, no matter how much fun they are now. If you think you've been blessed like that, please be sure you're right.