REVENGE-Esther Chapter 3

Chapter 3 of Esther is pretty intense.

Mordecai won't bow down to Haman, so wrath fills him...you know, the one where you want nothing but negativity towards someone who has "wronged" you. REVENGE!!

Haman takes advantage of his position and goes to the king, but doesn't reveal all the facts. He never tells the king that the people he wants to exterminate are Jewish, skewed the idea that all of these people didn't uphold the king's laws (even though it was just Mordecai), told the king these people were rebellious and troublesome, and said they were a danger to the peace and security of the empire so they should be destroyed!

Haman took revenge seriously here, didn't he?

It is easy to sit here and say Haman is a terrible person..which, I sure don't agree with his actions. But ask yourself this question...Have you ever wished bad things for someone? Sometimes, there is a little Haman in all of us! Our pride and our ego can easily get to the best of us! But, we are to act differently...Look at God's word for how your actions SHOULD be..

• Romans 12:17-21 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in sight of all men. If it is possile, as much as depends on you, live peacably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. Therefore "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty ,give him drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
• Proverbs 25:21-22 If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; for so you will heap coals of fire on his head, nd the Lord will reward you.
• Proverbs 20:22 Do not say, "I will recompense evil" ; Wait on the Lord, and He will save you.
• Matthew 5:38-39 You have heard that it was said, "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." But I tell you not to rsist and evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.

Make sure, in all aspects of your life, that LOVE is there..not wrath, not envy, not malice.

Being Thankful

In most cases, thankfulness is a learned trait. It doesn't come naturally for a lot of us. We have to work at it! It is an attitude, a way of putting others in front of yourself.

Often I am brought back to Jackson (my 3 year old son). I can teach him to say thank you when he receives a gift, or food, or whatever it may be, but does he really understand what those words mean? Sometimes, with the light in his eyes and a close hug right behind, I believe he does. It's a way of showing gratitude.

You know, our God deserves our thankfulness. He is the one responsible for every good and perfect gift we receive (James 1:17). He is the one who sent His only son to die for us so that we can have the gift of eternal life with Him (John 3:16) !

In everything you do, you should give thanks to HIM! (Colossians 3:17)

It is extremely easy to get caught up in WANT, WANT, WANT, but that shouldn't be our attitude! Instead, it should be GIVE, GIVE, GIVE! That is what a thankful heart looks like! Look at the gifts we receive from God DAILY!

Your challenge this week...make a list! Start a list of the blessings that God has provided for you. Keep it close! When you have those days where your attitude is not the way it should be, pull it out and see the goodness and grace of our Creator!

A Frightening Influence-Part 2

Part 2.....
Peer pressure is one of the strongests influences placed on young people today. It has been said that it is twice as strong as the influence of home and family and is an even greater influence than religion!

Why do people use peer pressure? Are they that lacking in confidence themselves? Do they honestly want to "hurt" those around them only to make themselves feel better?

What makes peer pressure so hard to fight against? Face it..our instinct is to want to seek approval from those around us...which in turn the only approval we should be seeking is God's! We also want to feel a part of something! You want to be accepted by your peers--some are willing to disobey parents, sell out their personal convinctions just to be a part of a group!

What characteristics does it take to resist peer pressure? Are you grounded? Do you know what is right and wrong? What is your goal? Is God on your side when you are making these decisions? Who are you surrounding yourself with?

Thought-provoking questions...So, what do you do to "avoid" it?

Read the words from the Proverbs writer in Chapter 1

Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching.

They will be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck.

My son, if sinners entice you, do not give in to the.

If they say, "Come along with us; let's lie in wait for someon'e blood, let's waylay some harmless soul; let's swallow them alive, like the grave, and whole, like thos who go down to the pit;

We will get all sorts of valuable things and fill our houses with plunder; throw in your lot with us, and we will share a common purse."

My son, do not go along with them, do not set foot in their paths for their feet rush into sin, they are swift to shed blood. how useless to spread a net in full view of all the birds!

These men lie in wait for their won blood; they waylay only themselves!

Such is the end of all who go after ill-gotten gain; it takes away the lives of those who get it.

Know what is right or wrong--which means know the Word. Look at why these people are using peer pressure in the first place. Most of the time, do they have your best interests at heart when wanting you to do something? Absolutely not! Most of it is guided by selfish ambition!

Be prepared to be an "outcast." ---But, that is fine! Just because you don't follow the crowd, doesn't mean you are alone! If you make wise decisions, you have God on your team--and that will stand the test of time! He will always win! And...you will become stronger because of the adversity you face! Noah did it...Joshua and Caleb did it...JESUS did it (Matthew 4:11)!

You have to possess SELF-CONTROL! You must show restraint over your impulses, your emotions, your desires!

Make sure you are surrounding yourself with people who have the same goals as you! "Prevent" it the best you can! Your circle of friends says a lot about you! Make sure they are loyal...and make sure they hold you accountable just like you do them! If there is any peer pressure there--make sure it is the "peer pressure" that helps you--that leads you in the right direction! Take to heart 1 Corinthians 15:33--Evil companionship does corrupt good morals!

A Frightening Influence...Part 1

The influence exerted by a peer group in encouraging a person to change his or her attitudes, values, or behavior in order to conform to group norms....

You know...

PEER PRESSURE

It can influence the way you dress, the entertainment you see/listen to, trying drugs/alcohol, disobedience to parents, and......

It's scary isn't it?

The book of Daniel has 3 great examples for us to see how some stood up to peer pressure. They didn't go with the norm.

Daniel 1-The Case of the Unclean Food
Daniel and his friends wouldn't eat the food they knew they weren't to partake in...so, after some talking with the chief official, they were allowed to eat nothing but vegetables and drink water. Turns out, they ended up being healthier and better nourished than any other of the young men there!

Daniel 3-The Case of the Golden Idol
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego wouldn't bow down to the gargantuan idol...and faced consequences for it. They were thrown into a fiery furnace only to be saved by our powerful God!

Daniel 6-The Case of the Lion's Den
Later on, a decree was made stating that no one could pray to any man or god for 30 days. This didn't stop Daniel! He continued to open up his windows, set his eyes toward Jerusalem and pray 3 times a day! He had to face the consequences by being thrown into the lion's den, but our powerful God again shut the mouths of the lions and he lived!

These boys stood up...and so can you! Next week we will look at ways you can
PREVENT PEER PRESSURE!!

Test for your spirituality

I know you really don't like that word....TEST....but I came across some thought provoking questions I had written in my Bible a few years back from a lesson I had heard.

• Do you spend a considerable amount of time in prayer? (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
• Do you spend a considerable amount of time studying and reading scripture? (John 5:39)
• Do you look forward to the Lord's Day? (Rev. 1:10; Acts 2:42)
• Do you choose "spiritual" activities rather than worldly? (Ps. 122:1)
• Do you enjoy the company of Christians over those who are worldly? (Phil 4:1) STAND FIRM!!

These are some really hard questions. Really examine yourself and make the change!