Artaxerxes' support of the worship of Yahweh

7/10/11 Ezra 7,8; Luke 20

Ezra 7:12,13,23,26 “From Artaxerxes, the king of kings, to Ezra the priest, the teacher of the law of the God of heaven. Greetings. “I decree that any of the people of Israel in my kingdom, including the priests and Levites, may volunteer to return to Jerusalem with you. ... Be careful to provide whatever the God of heaven demands for his Temple, for why should we risk bringing God’s anger against the realm of the king and his sons? ... Anyone who refuses to obey the law of your God and the law of the king will be punished immediately, either by death, banishment, confiscation of goods, or imprisonment.”

Ezra 8:21-22 And there by the Ahava Canal, I gave orders for all of us to fast and humble ourselves before our God. We prayed that he would give us a safe journey and protect us, our children, and our goods as we travelled. For I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to accompany us and protect us from enemies along the way. After all, we had told the king, “Our God’s hand of protection is on all who worship him, but his fierce anger rages against those who abandon him.”

This is not really a SOAP, as i can't think of an application, but just an observation: isn't it wonderful how God can sometimes us non-believers to extend His purpose?

The identity of Ahasuerus which we just read a few days ago in Esther is unclear. Normally, Ahasuerus refers to Xerxes, and Xerxes I was the father of Artaxerxes I. So it may be that Artaxerxes was favourably predisposed towards the God of Israel because of his stepmother Esther.

But there is also evidence that the Ahasuerus of the book of Esther was actually Artaxerxes himself, in which case it makes even more sense that he supported the Jews, being so much taken by Esther (especially, see the Septuagint version of Esther, which is even more dramatic -- almost romance-novel-like -- in describing the relationship between the king and Esther. The Septuagint version of Esther also explicitly calls the king Artaxerxes.)

However, the attitude that Yahweh is a real god among the many gods and it's always good to have another god on your side is quite common in pagan cultures -- though, the Persians were not pagans, but rather, Zoroastrians, so that assumption might not hold.

In any case, I find it cool how God engineered a non-believer to give so much support to believers -- just as He did with Cyrus earlier.

The Parable of the 10 Minas

6/10/11 Esther 9-10; Luke 19

Luke 19:11-27 The crowd was listening to everything Jesus said. And because he was nearing Jerusalem, he told them a story to correct the impression that the Kingdom of God would begin right away. He said, “A nobleman was called away to a distant empire to be crowned king and then return. Before he left, he called together ten of his servants and divided among them ten pounds of silver,t saying, ‘Invest this for me while I am gone.’ But his people hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want him to be our king.’ After he was crowned king, he returned and called in the servants to whom he had given the money. He wanted to find out what their profits were. The first servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made ten times the original amount!’ ‘Well done!’ the king exclaimed. ‘You are a good servant. You have been faithful with the little I entrusted to you, so you will be governor of ten cities as your reward.’ The next servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made five times the original amount.’ ‘Well done!’ the king said. ‘You will be governor over five cities.’ “But the third servant brought back only the original amount of money and said, ‘Master, I hid your money and kept it safe. I was afraid because you are a hard man to deal with, taking what isn’t yours and harvesting crops you didn’t plant.’ ‘You wicked servant!’ the king roared. ‘Your own words condemn you. If you knew that I’m a hard man who takes what isn’t mine and harvests crops I didn’t plant, why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’ Then, turning to the others standing nearby, the king ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one who has ten pounds.’ ‘But, master,’ they said, ‘he already has ten pounds!’ ‘Yes,’ the king replied, ‘and to those who use well what they are given, even more will be given. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. And as for these enemies of mine who didn’t want me to be their king—bring them in and execute them right here in front of me.’”

O: Jesus told various variations of this parable, but what's interesting about this particular version of it is that it places the parable in a historical context -- history tells us that the king in question is Archelaus son of Herod the Great.

A: The moral of the story in all the versions of this parable is that we must make use of the assets God has given us and not waste them. We are to use them for the King -- in our case, the King of Kings. Whatever talents, assets, skills, etc. that God has bestowed upon us, let's not waste them, but put them into God's service.

P: Father, may I be faithful to use the things you've gifted me with for the furtherance of Your Kingdom. In Jesus' name, amen.

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Note: this is using the SOAP method. For more information, see this page (not written by me.)

God's plans will not be thwarted, but we can choose to be part of His plans

5/10/11 Esther 3-8

S: Esther 4:13-15 Mordecai sent this reply to Esther: “Don’t think for a moment that because you’re in the palace you will escape when all other Jews are killed. If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?” Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai:16 “Go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I will go in to see the king. If I must die, I must die.”

O: Even if we don't do what we know we should do, God's plans will not be thwarted. God gives us free will, but God is also sovereign.

A: If we do follow God, we can be assured that He is with us -- even if we walk through the shadow of death, we do not need to fear any evil, for He is with us -- His rod and His staff will comfort us. He prepares a table before us in the presence of our Enemy, the devil. Ultimately, our cup of blessing overflows and we will live with God forever. (Psalm 23)

P: Father, when push comes to shove, may I steadfastly obey You. In Jesus' name, amen.

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Note: this is using the SOAP method. For more information, see this page (not written by me.)

Give Thanks

4/10/11 Esther 1-2; Psalm 150; Luke 17

S: Luke 17:11-19 As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria.12 As he entered a village there, ten lepers stood at a distance, crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.”t And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy. One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.”

O: Lack of thankfulness is an ancient problem. The American Pilgrims recognised this and instituted the Thanksgiving festival.

A: Most of our prayers are supplication -- asking God to do something for us. But we must not forget to thank God for what He has given us as well.

The following song by Andreas Wijaya does a good job of expressing the many reasons to be thankful to the Lord:
(See my English translation at the bottom of the page if you don't understand Bahasa Indonesia.)

P: Thank You for the many blessings You have given me and continue to give me. Most of all, I think You for Your saving grace. In Jesus' name, amen.

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Note: this is using the SOAP method. For more information, see this page (not written by me.)

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TERIMA KASIH TUHAN
THANK YOU LORD
by Andreas Wijaya
Translation by Ian Chai

Di saat ini
Kubuka hati
Untuk bertemu denganMu Allahku
I now open my heart to meet with You my God

Begitu banyak ungkapan syukur bagiMu
S'bab Kau Bapaku yang sangat baik
Father, I thank You in so many ways because of Your great goodness.

Disaat aku
Jauh dariMu
Tak pernah Kau tinggalkan diriku
Even when I'm far from You, You never leave me.

Kau tetap menjagaku s'lalu
walau kujatuh dalam dosa
Kau angkatku kembali ke sisi-Mu
You keep looking after me; even when I fall into sin, You lift me back up to Your side."

Reff:
Terima kasih Tuhan
atas kasihMu padaku
yang t'lah kurasakan di sepanjang hidupku
Lord, thank You for Your love for me, which I experience all of my life.

Ku tak mampu sendiri tanpa kekuatanMu
Berilahku hati seperti hatiMu
Without Your strength, I can do nothing. Give me a heart like Yours.

Terima kasih Tuhan
atas sgala pengampunanMu
dan kemurahan hati yang t'lah kuterima
Lord, thank You for the forgiveness and grace You have lavished upon me.

Ku ingin lebih lagi hidup dalam nama-Mu
Kar'na Engkaulah sumber hidupku
I live the abundant life in Your name because You are the source of my life.

Note: my command of Bahasa Indonesia is imperfect; if you are fluent in Bahasa Indonesia, please feel free to suggest corrections.

Use money for eternal benefit

3/10/11 Ezra 5,6; Psalm 138; Luke 16

S: Luke 16:9-13 Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your earthly possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home. If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own? No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

O: Just before this passage, Jesus told the perplexing Parable of the Dishonest/Shrewd Steward. Here is Anne Robertson's take on it, here is Ross Rhodes' take on it, and here is Jack Kelly's take on it.

Jesus then makes the point that we should use temporal money for eternal benefit. After all, we can't take it with us. So we might as well use it to further the Kingdom of God.

A: We are to serve God and not money. Too often, we make money our master -- modifying our actions to gather more of it. Instead, we should view money as a tool -- a tool for encouraging more and more people to be closer to God.

I am by nature a very stingy person, so I have had to set aside in my budget ahead of time money that can be used for God's purposes. That way, when a need arises, I can feel free to give that money set aside -- because in my mind it's already not my money. Other people are more generous naturally, and they can just give freely out of their general pool of money.

P: Father, help me to become more generous, and bring me into conformity with Christ's image. In Jesus' name, amen.

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Note: this is using the SOAP method. For more information, see this page (not written by me.)

Sinners welcome!

2/10/11 Zechariah 13,14; Psalm 147; Luke 15

S: Luke 15:1-7,27-32 Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them! So Jesus told them this story: “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!
...
‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’ The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him,29 but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’ “His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”

O: We Christians who are concerned about following Christ are often "respectable people" because in obeying God's principles, we often look pretty good to the "decent people" of the world.

But the danger of that is that we might feel too "respectable" to associate with the "disrespectable people". Jesus faced that problem with the Pharisees and other religious people of His time. The "older brother's attitude" is a danger we must watch out for.

While we have to be wise as there are conmen who would like to just take advantage of the charity of the church, I've met people who were cheats, ex-convicts, etc. whose lives have been transformed by Jesus Christ. Jesus is in the business of redemption!

A: The Church is a hospital for sinners, not a country club for the rich and respectable. We in our nice middle-classed churches must not be too wary of welcoming the ruffians of this world. We have to follow Jesus' example.

P: Father, help us to welcome sinners and lose the big brother's attitude. In Jesus' name, amen.

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Note: this is using the SOAP method. For more information, see this page (not written by me.)

Worth the Cost

1/10/11 Zechariah 10-12; Psalm 128; Luke 14

S: Luke 14:16-19, 24, 26-33 Jesus replied with this story: “A man prepared a great feast and sent out many invitations. When the banquet was ready, he sent his servant to tell the guests, ‘Come, the banquet is ready.’18 But they all began making excuses. One said, ‘I have just bought a field and must inspect it. Please excuse me.’ Another said, ‘I have just bought five pairs of oxen, and I want to try them out. Please excuse me.’ ... For none of those I first invited will get even the smallest taste of my banquet.’”
...
“If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple. But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. They would say, ‘There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!’ “Or what king would go to war against another king without first sitting down with his counselors to discuss whether his army of 10,000 could defeat the 20,000 soldiers marching against him? And if he can’t, he will send a delegation to discuss terms of peace while the enemy is still far away. So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own.”

O: Being a disciple of Christ is a great blessing, as well as carries a great cost. Consider the cost! But it's worth the cost. No pain, no gain. God has invited the whole world, but not everyone will come.

A: Consider the cost, then follow Him!

P: Father, thank You for the invitation. Strengthen me that I may be able to steadfast when the going gets tough. In Jesus' name, amen.

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Note: this is using the SOAP method. For more information, see this page (not written by me.)