Song of Solomon 7
1 How beautiful are your sandaled feet,
O queenly maiden.
Your rounded thighs are like jewels,
the work of a skilled craftsman.
2 Your navel is perfectly formed
like a goblet filled with mixed wine.
Between your thighs lies a mound of wheat
bordered with lilies.
3 Your breasts are like two fawns,
twin fawns of a gazelle.
4 Your neck is as beautiful as an ivory tower.
Your eyes are like the sparkling pools in Heshbon
by the gate of Bath-rabbim.
Your nose is as fine as the tower of Lebanon
overlooking Damascus.
5 Your head is as majestic as Mount Carmel,
and the sheen of your hair radiates royalty.
The king is held captive by its tresses.
6 Oh, how beautiful you are!
How pleasing, my love, how full of delights!
7 You are slender like a palm tree,
and your breasts are like its clusters of fruit.
8 I said, “I will climb the palm tree
and take hold of its fruit.”
May your breasts be like grape clusters,
and the fragrance of your breath like apples.
9 May your kisses be as exciting as the best wine,
flowing gently over lips and teeth.
Young Woman
10 I am my lover’s,
and he claims me as his own.
11 Come, my love, let us go out to the fields
and spend the night among the wildflowers.
12 Let us get up early and go to the vineyards
to see if the grapevines have budded,
if the blossoms have opened,
and if the pomegranates have bloomed.
There I will give you my love.
13 There the mandrakes give off their fragrance,
and the finest fruits are at our door,
new delights as well as old,
which I have saved for you, my lover.
WOW! These verses just resonate with passion, enthusiasm, unbridled love, heat, intensity, boldness and a certain sense of being carefree with each other. This is what I think of when I think of young love. When I first started pursuing my wife I was all these things. I can still exhibit one or two of them at a time, but usually not all at once like I did. I don't think it would be bad for me to exhibit them at the same time, but I don't know if my wife would agree.
The more I read in this book the more I fall in love with my wife. Maybe it's because this does remind me of when I first fell in love with her and it sparks that same passion I had back then. I met my wife in the spring of 1991 at college. She had come to my dorm room to borrow a book from my roommate, whom she had a crush on at the time. That short introduction was about the only time I remember talking to her. My roommate was on the hall council with her and told me she was going to be the vice president the next year. I thought about her during that summer and when school started in the fall I tried to reconnect with her. I tried running for hall council president so I could spend time with her. I didn't win the election.
I started to pursue her in October of 1991. At that time I was into a mode of going out to parties quite a bit. I think my whole party scene social life lasted for about a month, maybe a month and a half. Towards the end of that cycle was when I would go and visit her. I would get some liquid courage and would try to talk to her. She was just coming out of a relationship and did not want a boyfriend. I hadn't really dated anyone prior to that for any length of time. I think my longest time I had a girlfriend was six months. I desperately wanted to be in a relationship. I told her that I was OK with just being friends, which was not true.
One night I had gotten her to agree to go bowling with me at the student center after I came back from a party. It was Wednesday, November 10, 1991. The bowling alley was closed when we got there so we walked back to the dorms. She lived on the 3rd floor and I lived on the 13th floor. We went up to my room and were just hanging out. I tried to kiss her and got the Heisman from her. For those who don't know what that means it means she shut me down. Undeterred from that rejection, I went back the next week. We watched a movie in her room and went up to my room after. We did end up having our first kiss that day, Wednesday, November 13, 1991.
I still remember a conversation we had that night about the importance of our religious beliefs. I have worn a cross around my neck for many years and she asked me about it. I told her about the time I prayed the prayer of salvation when I was in the 8th grade. She told me about her saying the prayer when she was in high school. We were not really following the Lord like we are now. We were more into religion than we were a relationship with Jesus. I would go to church every once in a while, but was not living my life for the Lord, was not filled with the Holy Spirit or anything like that. I didn't even know anything about the Holy Spirit yet. She was in the same position.
We started hanging out more and went on our first offical date on Wednesday, November 20, 1991. I was in rare form that night. She had a car so we used her car to go out to for supper. We went to an Italian restaurant in DT St. Cloud. As we were finishing up our meal we received the bill. I went to grab my wallet and it wasn't there. I realized that in my haste to get ready I forgot to grab it. How embarassing! She paid for the meal and then we went back to the dorm.
The next week we had break for Thanksgiving. When we came back to school my parents brought me to school. I had Dawn come and meet them, which lasted about 5 minutes or so. When my mom got back home, which was a two and a half hour drive for them, she called me and said, "If you let this girl go I will kill you." If you don't know or I haven't said this before, I love my mom. I am a big momma's boy. I talk to her 3-4 times per week and always have. I called her three times on my honeymoon. I think it was at that time that I started thinking about her as "the one". We started dating exclusively. We dated for three months when she went to Denmark to study for six months. That was an extremely hard time for me. It was also a very expensive time for phone bills!
Needless to say we got through that period and have been together now for over 17 years! We got married on Saturday, May 27, 1995. When your 37 and you look back and realize that you think to yourself how your lives have changed over that period of time. I would say that I love her more now than I did back then. I may not express my love for her in the same way I did back then, but I know that my love for her grows each day and that I am truly thankful that God brought us together.
I am also very grateful that we decided prior to getting married that Jesus was going to be at the center of our marriage. We both learned about the Holy Spirit and were baptized in the Holy Spirit in the late 1990s. For us that has been the most important thing we ever did. It took all the lessons we learned as kids and had accepted and they moved 18 inches to our hearts and gave the scriptures a depth and a realness to us. We could start seeing how we could apply them to our lives on a daily basis and how God was speaking to us through them. We are continuing to learn from them each day. Praise God!
My whole point to today's verses is that they remind me of the love I exhibited to my wife when were younger and how I can rekindle that type of love for her now. I love that passion that they are expressing and want to show my wife a level of passion that exceeds what is written in these verses. I may not, and probably won't, tell her that I am comparing her to goblets of wine, wheat fields bordered by flowers, animals, towers, pools of water, mountains, trees or fruit, but I will express it in a way that is meaningful to her and relays my feelings for her that will have the greatest impact. That is what these verses are showing to me. Not the exact words to use, but the message to relay to her and how I can form my thoughts about her. I can't assume that she knows how I feel about her. I need to put it into words and actions that let her know without a doubt how I feel about her.
Father I thank You for my wife. She is more precious to me than anything this world has to offer. I love her because You first loved her. I love her because Your Son died for her. I love her because Your Holy Spirit loves her and shows me Your love for her. I love her for the way You reveal Your love for me through her. I love her because she loves You more than she loves me. I love her because You show Your love for our children through her. I love her because You created her to be my wife to complete me in the areas of my weakness. I love her because Your Word reveals to me how important our relationship is and what Your thoughts are towards her. I love her because You show me each day why You brought her into my life. I love her because she is Your creation. I lover her unconditionally. I love her with every part of my being. I love her enough to die for her. I thank You for her and for Your plans for us together. Amen.
Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
I Love My Wife
Song of Solomon 6:2-12
Young Woman
2 My lover has gone down to his garden,
to his spice beds,
to browse in the gardens
and gather the lilies.
3 I am my lover’s, and my lover is mine.
He browses among the lilies.
Young Man
4 You are beautiful, my darling,
like the lovely city of Tirzah.
Yes, as beautiful as Jerusalem,
as majestic as an army with billowing banners.
5 Turn your eyes away,
for they overpower me.
Your hair falls in waves,
like a flock of goats winding down the slopes of Gilead.
6 Your teeth are as white as sheep
that are freshly washed.
Your smile is flawless,
each tooth matched with its twin.
7 Your cheeks are like rosy pomegranates
behind your veil.
8 Even among sixty queens
and eighty concubines
and countless young women,
9 I would still choose my dove, my perfect one—
the favorite of her mother,
dearly loved by the one who bore her.
The young women see her and praise her;
even queens and royal concubines sing her praises:
10 “Who is this, arising like the dawn,
as fair as the moon,
as bright as the sun,
as majestic as an army with billowing banners?”
11 I went down to the grove of walnut trees
and out to the valley to see the new spring growth,
to see whether the grapevines had budded
or the pomegranates were in bloom.
12 Before I realized it,
I found myself in the royal chariot with my beloved.
I love the passion in each of their set of verses. They are obviously in total love with each other. If I were to describe my wife to someone would I use terms like this, probably not. I don't think a flock of goats winding down a mountain slope is an attractive analogy. I am not too sure about the use of sheep or pomegranates as an indication of the sensuousness of my wife's features either. I do like this part, "Even among sixty queens and eighty concubines and countless young women, I would still choose my dove, my perfect one". Thank God I don't have to try and keep up with at least 140 women. I struggle often times trying to keep up with one.
I am truly grateful for the one that God has given to me. She is everything that I could ever want as my partner in this life. She is strong in areas where I am not and I am strong in areas that she is not. We work together all day every day and have done that for the past 5-1/2 years. This has only enhanced our marriage and made it even stronger. We truly are working as a team together and our success or failure is dependant upon both of us working together. If we don't we fail. If we do we succeed. Praise God that we have also involved the Lord since the beginning of our marriage and our business. With the Lord on our side we can't fail as long as we don't quit.
There have been a number of times in our business endeavors that we have thought about quitting or giving up. I am so thankful that we haven't and won't. We are getting ready for a great expansion of our businesses and are starting even more businesses to come along side of what we are currently doing to enhance our services. God is preparing us for the harvest of all the seed sown. We have big plans for how that money will flow into Kingdom work here on earth. Thousands of souls will be won and lives will be changed. PRAISE GOD!!!
Lord, I am thankful for my wife. There is no woman on earth who can compare to the beauty she possesses. She is the one you made for me and I am grateful for that. She is a great wife, an awesome mother, a diligent worker, a priceless jewel that you have made in your image and likeness. I see Your love flow through her many times a day and it takes my breath away. I thank You that You have called us and anointed us to work together in a way that the world has not seen before and all the glory will go to You. I praise You and honor You today. Amen.
Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved
Young Woman
2 My lover has gone down to his garden,
to his spice beds,
to browse in the gardens
and gather the lilies.
3 I am my lover’s, and my lover is mine.
He browses among the lilies.
Young Man
4 You are beautiful, my darling,
like the lovely city of Tirzah.
Yes, as beautiful as Jerusalem,
as majestic as an army with billowing banners.
5 Turn your eyes away,
for they overpower me.
Your hair falls in waves,
like a flock of goats winding down the slopes of Gilead.
6 Your teeth are as white as sheep
that are freshly washed.
Your smile is flawless,
each tooth matched with its twin.
7 Your cheeks are like rosy pomegranates
behind your veil.
8 Even among sixty queens
and eighty concubines
and countless young women,
9 I would still choose my dove, my perfect one—
the favorite of her mother,
dearly loved by the one who bore her.
The young women see her and praise her;
even queens and royal concubines sing her praises:
10 “Who is this, arising like the dawn,
as fair as the moon,
as bright as the sun,
as majestic as an army with billowing banners?”
11 I went down to the grove of walnut trees
and out to the valley to see the new spring growth,
to see whether the grapevines had budded
or the pomegranates were in bloom.
12 Before I realized it,
I found myself in the royal chariot with my beloved.
I love the passion in each of their set of verses. They are obviously in total love with each other. If I were to describe my wife to someone would I use terms like this, probably not. I don't think a flock of goats winding down a mountain slope is an attractive analogy. I am not too sure about the use of sheep or pomegranates as an indication of the sensuousness of my wife's features either. I do like this part, "Even among sixty queens and eighty concubines and countless young women, I would still choose my dove, my perfect one". Thank God I don't have to try and keep up with at least 140 women. I struggle often times trying to keep up with one.
I am truly grateful for the one that God has given to me. She is everything that I could ever want as my partner in this life. She is strong in areas where I am not and I am strong in areas that she is not. We work together all day every day and have done that for the past 5-1/2 years. This has only enhanced our marriage and made it even stronger. We truly are working as a team together and our success or failure is dependant upon both of us working together. If we don't we fail. If we do we succeed. Praise God that we have also involved the Lord since the beginning of our marriage and our business. With the Lord on our side we can't fail as long as we don't quit.
There have been a number of times in our business endeavors that we have thought about quitting or giving up. I am so thankful that we haven't and won't. We are getting ready for a great expansion of our businesses and are starting even more businesses to come along side of what we are currently doing to enhance our services. God is preparing us for the harvest of all the seed sown. We have big plans for how that money will flow into Kingdom work here on earth. Thousands of souls will be won and lives will be changed. PRAISE GOD!!!
Lord, I am thankful for my wife. There is no woman on earth who can compare to the beauty she possesses. She is the one you made for me and I am grateful for that. She is a great wife, an awesome mother, a diligent worker, a priceless jewel that you have made in your image and likeness. I see Your love flow through her many times a day and it takes my breath away. I thank You that You have called us and anointed us to work together in a way that the world has not seen before and all the glory will go to You. I praise You and honor You today. Amen.
Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved
Thursday, January 29, 2009
It Must Be Love
Song of Solomon 5:10-16
Young Woman
10 My lover is dark and dazzling,
better than ten thousand others!
11 His head is finest gold,
his wavy hair is black as a raven.
12 His eyes sparkle like doves
beside springs of water;
they are set like jewels
washed in milk.
13 His cheeks are like gardens of spices
giving off fragrance.
His lips are like lilies,
perfumed with myrrh.
14 His arms are like rounded bars of gold,
set with beryl.
His body is like bright ivory,
glowing with lapis lazuli.
15 His legs are like marble pillars
set in sockets of finest gold.
His posture is stately,
like the noble cedars of Lebanon.
16 His mouth is sweetness itself;
he is desirable in every way.
Such, O women of Jerusalem,
is my lover, my friend.
I have a question for the men, Can your wife say this about you and it be the truth? I know that if my wife were to say that about me she would be saying it in faith. I do not evoke those types of descriptions of my body. I do not keep my body in a perfect state of physical fitness. Does that make me a bad person? Of course not. Should I work harder at trying to attain a better level of fitness? Of course I should.
What we see here in these verses is a woman who is consumed with love for her man. She speaks nothing but positive things about him. This is the way we should be with each other, especially in our marriages. Why is it that we are more inclined to point out the negatives in our spouse and not accentuate the positives? Two words, our flesh. Our flesh is so driven by sin and self preservation that it likes to point out the negatives in others so that it can feel better about itself.
Ephesians 5:19-21a
19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these.
This is not the way of the spirit though. The Holy Spirit within us is focused on love. The Holy Spirit leads us to this fruit:
Ephesians 5:22-23
22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control.
I don't know about you, but joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control are all great, but without love none of them exist. How can we learn to love our spouse, or anyone else, in a way that this type of fruit would abound? We must learn from the Word on how to cultivate this lifestyle. Here is what Jesus Himself says about where we can learn this:
John 14:15-17
15 “If you love me, obey my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. 17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you."
The Holy Spirit is to be our guide through this life. He will direct us and lead us into God's perfect plan for our lives. Part of that plan will always be a focus on love. If we learn from the love that God has for us we will want to share that love with others. If can put our flesh under submission and allow our spirit to lead us we will be in such stark contrast to the rest of the world around us that we will be so attractive to others that they will want to find out about what makes us that way. This will be our opportunity to share the love of God with them and reveal to them how they too can walk in His love to such a degree that it flows through them and affects the world around them. That is how we should be living. God's love through us is contagious so spread His love to everyone you come into contact with today and watch what happens. God will get the glory.
Thank You, Father, for loving me in such a way that I can reveal Your love for me to others because You love them the same as me. I know that Your love is one that is not conditional not is it based on feelings. Your love in unconditional and forever. You know everything about me and still love me enough to send Jesus to die for me. You are my first love. May I listen to my spirit and to the Holy Spirit and not my flesh so that I can express Your love to others in a way that drives them closer to You. I give You all the praise, honor and glory that are rightfully Yours. You increase within me and my flesh will decrease in importance. I truly do love You. Amen.
Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved
Young Woman
10 My lover is dark and dazzling,
better than ten thousand others!
11 His head is finest gold,
his wavy hair is black as a raven.
12 His eyes sparkle like doves
beside springs of water;
they are set like jewels
washed in milk.
13 His cheeks are like gardens of spices
giving off fragrance.
His lips are like lilies,
perfumed with myrrh.
14 His arms are like rounded bars of gold,
set with beryl.
His body is like bright ivory,
glowing with lapis lazuli.
15 His legs are like marble pillars
set in sockets of finest gold.
His posture is stately,
like the noble cedars of Lebanon.
16 His mouth is sweetness itself;
he is desirable in every way.
Such, O women of Jerusalem,
is my lover, my friend.
I have a question for the men, Can your wife say this about you and it be the truth? I know that if my wife were to say that about me she would be saying it in faith. I do not evoke those types of descriptions of my body. I do not keep my body in a perfect state of physical fitness. Does that make me a bad person? Of course not. Should I work harder at trying to attain a better level of fitness? Of course I should.
What we see here in these verses is a woman who is consumed with love for her man. She speaks nothing but positive things about him. This is the way we should be with each other, especially in our marriages. Why is it that we are more inclined to point out the negatives in our spouse and not accentuate the positives? Two words, our flesh. Our flesh is so driven by sin and self preservation that it likes to point out the negatives in others so that it can feel better about itself.
Ephesians 5:19-21a
19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these.
This is not the way of the spirit though. The Holy Spirit within us is focused on love. The Holy Spirit leads us to this fruit:
Ephesians 5:22-23
22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control.
I don't know about you, but joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control are all great, but without love none of them exist. How can we learn to love our spouse, or anyone else, in a way that this type of fruit would abound? We must learn from the Word on how to cultivate this lifestyle. Here is what Jesus Himself says about where we can learn this:
John 14:15-17
15 “If you love me, obey my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. 17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you."
The Holy Spirit is to be our guide through this life. He will direct us and lead us into God's perfect plan for our lives. Part of that plan will always be a focus on love. If we learn from the love that God has for us we will want to share that love with others. If can put our flesh under submission and allow our spirit to lead us we will be in such stark contrast to the rest of the world around us that we will be so attractive to others that they will want to find out about what makes us that way. This will be our opportunity to share the love of God with them and reveal to them how they too can walk in His love to such a degree that it flows through them and affects the world around them. That is how we should be living. God's love through us is contagious so spread His love to everyone you come into contact with today and watch what happens. God will get the glory.
Thank You, Father, for loving me in such a way that I can reveal Your love for me to others because You love them the same as me. I know that Your love is one that is not conditional not is it based on feelings. Your love in unconditional and forever. You know everything about me and still love me enough to send Jesus to die for me. You are my first love. May I listen to my spirit and to the Holy Spirit and not my flesh so that I can express Your love to others in a way that drives them closer to You. I give You all the praise, honor and glory that are rightfully Yours. You increase within me and my flesh will decrease in importance. I truly do love You. Amen.
Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
A Wake-up Call to Men
Song of Solomon 4
Young Man
1 You are beautiful, my darling,
beautiful beyond words.
Your eyes are like doves
behind your veil.
Your hair falls in waves,
like a flock of goats winding down the slopes of Gilead.
2 Your teeth are as white as sheep,
recently shorn and freshly washed.
Your smile is flawless,
each tooth matched with its twin.
3 Your lips are like scarlet ribbon;
your mouth is inviting.
Your cheeks are like rosy pomegranates
behind your veil.
4 Your neck is as beautiful as the tower of David,
jeweled with the shields of a thousand heroes.
5 Your breasts are like two fawns,
twin fawns of a gazelle grazing among the lilies.
6 Before the dawn breezes blow
and the night shadows flee,
I will hurry to the mountain of myrrh
and to the hill of frankincense.
7 You are altogether beautiful, my darling,
beautiful in every way.
8 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,
come with me from Lebanon.
Come down from Mount Amana,
from the peaks of Senir and Hermon,
where the lions have their dens
and leopards live among the hills.
9 You have captured my heart,
my treasure, my bride.
You hold it hostage with one glance of your eyes,
with a single jewel of your necklace.
10 Your love delights me,
my treasure, my bride.
Your love is better than wine,
your perfume more fragrant than spices.
11 Your lips are as sweet as nectar, my bride.
Honey and milk are under your tongue.
Your clothes are scented
like the cedars of Lebanon.
12 You are my private garden, my treasure, my bride,
a secluded spring, a hidden fountain.
13 Your thighs shelter a paradise of pomegranates
with rare spices—
henna with nard,
14 nard and saffron,
fragrant calamus and cinnamon,
with all the trees of frankincense, myrrh, and aloes,
and every other lovely spice.
15 You are a garden fountain,
a well of fresh water
streaming down from Lebanon’s mountains.
Young Woman
16 Awake, north wind!
Rise up, south wind!
Blow on my garden
and spread its fragrance all around.
Come into your garden, my love;
taste its finest fruits.
Hello out there men! Are you listening? If you didn't notice to the first 15 verses of this chapter then I don't know if there is any hope for you. What we read in these verses is a key for us to understand on just how we should be looking at our wives (from not on it is implied for girlfriends for the unmarried). Granted, some of the descriptions used here do not carry a lot of weight with women in this part of the world, but the ideas behind them are still the same. If you missed it, here are the highlights for review:
You are beautiful, my darling, beautiful beyond words. Your eyes are like doves, your hair falls in waves. Your teeth are white and your smile is flawless. Your lips and your mouth are inviting. Your neck and your body cause me to hurry to see you. I would climb a mountain to get to you. You are altogether beautiful, my darling, beautiful in every way. Come with me from your place of protection. You have captured my heart, my treasure, my bride. You hold it hostage with one glance of your eyes. Your love delights me, my treasure, my bride. Your love is better than wine or football or golf or fishing or hunting. Your lips are sweet to kiss. You dress like a goddess and your scent drives me wild. You are mine and mine alone and your body is like a fantasy to me. I am swept away with your beauty. Your beauty refreshes me and washes over me. My love for you is like a fresh stream of water on a mountain.
I took some liberty to rephrase some passages, but the idea is the same. If we, as men, truly believed these things about our wives the porn industry would be hit with a huge loss in revenue. If we could get it through out thick skulls and embrace these thoughts and feelings about our wives our marriages would be envied by everyone we know. We would have mush stronger marriages and our wives would be much happier women. If we would meditate on these verses and apply them to our wives not only would our love for them grow our appreciation for what God has given us through them would grow. God would get all the glory.
I want you men to try this phrase out and apply it with the thoughts in these verses and see what happens. Here it is:
I am anointed to love my wife on a level that the world is unfamiliar with. As a result of my expression of that love and appreciation for her all the glory and honor will belong to God. He has made it possible for me to love her in a way that will acknowledge her outer beauty and encourage her inner beauty. She will respond positively and her love for me will grow and her love for God will grow.
That's a great start men. Let us walk together on this journey of a deeper love walk with our wives. Let us really develope an appreciation for them that the world has not seen before so that more people are attracted to God's love that will truly transform their lives and their marriages. All the praise and honor belong to Him who created us all and brought us together with our spouses.
Lord I thank You that I am anointed to love my wife on a level that the world is unfamiliar with and that all the glory and honor belong to You for it. You made it possible for me to love my wife in a way that will encourage her and honor her and her response will be the same. I thank You the You gave me the example of how to love her. I lay my life down for her and give her preference in all things (even the remote). I thank You Lord for first loving me and pursuing me. Let my love for my wife grow and flourish and may Your Word be a constant guide for me as I walk this out. I thank You for my wife. Her beauty is beyond words. Her body is what I dream about. She is altogether beautiful in every way. She has captured my heart. She is my treasure here on earth. She holds my heart hostage with one glance of her eyes. Her love delights me and is better than anything this world has to offer. She is mine and I am hers, completely and without reservation. Her beauty washes over me and refreshes me like a fresh mountain stream. I praise You for Your creation reflected in her and through her. She is a gift to me from You and I will strive to fully appreciate that gift and continue to show my appreciation for her. You are an awesome God and I am truly thankful that I am more in love with You than I am with my wife. Amen.
Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved
Young Man
1 You are beautiful, my darling,
beautiful beyond words.
Your eyes are like doves
behind your veil.
Your hair falls in waves,
like a flock of goats winding down the slopes of Gilead.
2 Your teeth are as white as sheep,
recently shorn and freshly washed.
Your smile is flawless,
each tooth matched with its twin.
3 Your lips are like scarlet ribbon;
your mouth is inviting.
Your cheeks are like rosy pomegranates
behind your veil.
4 Your neck is as beautiful as the tower of David,
jeweled with the shields of a thousand heroes.
5 Your breasts are like two fawns,
twin fawns of a gazelle grazing among the lilies.
6 Before the dawn breezes blow
and the night shadows flee,
I will hurry to the mountain of myrrh
and to the hill of frankincense.
7 You are altogether beautiful, my darling,
beautiful in every way.
8 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,
come with me from Lebanon.
Come down from Mount Amana,
from the peaks of Senir and Hermon,
where the lions have their dens
and leopards live among the hills.
9 You have captured my heart,
my treasure, my bride.
You hold it hostage with one glance of your eyes,
with a single jewel of your necklace.
10 Your love delights me,
my treasure, my bride.
Your love is better than wine,
your perfume more fragrant than spices.
11 Your lips are as sweet as nectar, my bride.
Honey and milk are under your tongue.
Your clothes are scented
like the cedars of Lebanon.
12 You are my private garden, my treasure, my bride,
a secluded spring, a hidden fountain.
13 Your thighs shelter a paradise of pomegranates
with rare spices—
henna with nard,
14 nard and saffron,
fragrant calamus and cinnamon,
with all the trees of frankincense, myrrh, and aloes,
and every other lovely spice.
15 You are a garden fountain,
a well of fresh water
streaming down from Lebanon’s mountains.
Young Woman
16 Awake, north wind!
Rise up, south wind!
Blow on my garden
and spread its fragrance all around.
Come into your garden, my love;
taste its finest fruits.
Hello out there men! Are you listening? If you didn't notice to the first 15 verses of this chapter then I don't know if there is any hope for you. What we read in these verses is a key for us to understand on just how we should be looking at our wives (from not on it is implied for girlfriends for the unmarried). Granted, some of the descriptions used here do not carry a lot of weight with women in this part of the world, but the ideas behind them are still the same. If you missed it, here are the highlights for review:
You are beautiful, my darling, beautiful beyond words. Your eyes are like doves, your hair falls in waves. Your teeth are white and your smile is flawless. Your lips and your mouth are inviting. Your neck and your body cause me to hurry to see you. I would climb a mountain to get to you. You are altogether beautiful, my darling, beautiful in every way. Come with me from your place of protection. You have captured my heart, my treasure, my bride. You hold it hostage with one glance of your eyes. Your love delights me, my treasure, my bride. Your love is better than wine or football or golf or fishing or hunting. Your lips are sweet to kiss. You dress like a goddess and your scent drives me wild. You are mine and mine alone and your body is like a fantasy to me. I am swept away with your beauty. Your beauty refreshes me and washes over me. My love for you is like a fresh stream of water on a mountain.
I took some liberty to rephrase some passages, but the idea is the same. If we, as men, truly believed these things about our wives the porn industry would be hit with a huge loss in revenue. If we could get it through out thick skulls and embrace these thoughts and feelings about our wives our marriages would be envied by everyone we know. We would have mush stronger marriages and our wives would be much happier women. If we would meditate on these verses and apply them to our wives not only would our love for them grow our appreciation for what God has given us through them would grow. God would get all the glory.
I want you men to try this phrase out and apply it with the thoughts in these verses and see what happens. Here it is:
I am anointed to love my wife on a level that the world is unfamiliar with. As a result of my expression of that love and appreciation for her all the glory and honor will belong to God. He has made it possible for me to love her in a way that will acknowledge her outer beauty and encourage her inner beauty. She will respond positively and her love for me will grow and her love for God will grow.
That's a great start men. Let us walk together on this journey of a deeper love walk with our wives. Let us really develope an appreciation for them that the world has not seen before so that more people are attracted to God's love that will truly transform their lives and their marriages. All the praise and honor belong to Him who created us all and brought us together with our spouses.
Lord I thank You that I am anointed to love my wife on a level that the world is unfamiliar with and that all the glory and honor belong to You for it. You made it possible for me to love my wife in a way that will encourage her and honor her and her response will be the same. I thank You the You gave me the example of how to love her. I lay my life down for her and give her preference in all things (even the remote). I thank You Lord for first loving me and pursuing me. Let my love for my wife grow and flourish and may Your Word be a constant guide for me as I walk this out. I thank You for my wife. Her beauty is beyond words. Her body is what I dream about. She is altogether beautiful in every way. She has captured my heart. She is my treasure here on earth. She holds my heart hostage with one glance of her eyes. Her love delights me and is better than anything this world has to offer. She is mine and I am hers, completely and without reservation. Her beauty washes over me and refreshes me like a fresh mountain stream. I praise You for Your creation reflected in her and through her. She is a gift to me from You and I will strive to fully appreciate that gift and continue to show my appreciation for her. You are an awesome God and I am truly thankful that I am more in love with You than I am with my wife. Amen.
Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
He Loves You More
Song of Solomon 3:1-4
Young Woman
1 One night as I lay in bed, I yearned for my lover.
I yearned for him, but he did not come.
2 So I said to myself, “I will get up and roam the city,
searching in all its streets and squares.
I will search for the one I love.”
So I searched everywhere but did not find him.
3 The watchmen stopped me as they made their rounds,
and I asked, “Have you seen the one I love?”
4 Then scarcely had I left them
when I found my love!
I caught and held him tightly,
then I brought him to my mother’s house,
into my mother’s bed, where I had been conceived.
This is what we do when we are in the young stages of love. We search about just for chance to get to see the one who is the object of our affection. As we progress in the number of years we have been with our spouses how many of us would search the city to be able to hold them in our arms just because they weren't with us for one night? I have found myself getting caught up in the day I was in and trying to get all the things done that needed to be done when my wife was out of town and didn't really miss her like described above. I do miss her being in the same bed when she is not there, but to say that I would search the city until I found her is another story.
I love my wife more now than I did when we first started dating, but my love for her is much different. The intensity with which I love her is also different. I don't need to see her all the time to know that she loves me and that I love her. I don't need to hold her in my arms each day to say that I feel like we are connected. I do love to hold her in my arms at night and in the morning while laying in bed. I have not grown tired of our cuddling time.
I do think that I should long to see the One that I love more than my wife and that spending a day without Him is not a day worth living. If I don't get to spend time with Him I do think I would search the city until I found Him. Knowing that He wants to spend time with me more than I want to with Him is a comforting feeling. I know that if I go to spend time with Him He is not going to tell me He is too busy to see me or to come back later when it's more convenient for Him. He died on a cross for me! He desires to spend every second of every day with me and the amount of time and the quality of that time spent together is determined by me and my desire to be with Him. He loves me more than anyone else ever could. I look for ways to spend time with Him. I know that there are times when I don't seek His company, but I am glad He is there when I do. When I want to talk to Him I don't have make an appointment on His calendar or email Him to make arrangements. I don't have to leave Him a voicemail when He doesn't answer my call. He comes running to me when I have been away from Him and is eager to share Himself with me. He has written me the greatest love letter I could ever hope to receive from anyone and His love for me is eternal. He loved me before I was born and made me the way I am to be in relationship with Him. He is the one I love the most and it's not even a contest.
I thank You, Jesus, for wanting to have a relationship with me. You know me better than I know myself and you still love me. You loved me enough to die for me. I pray that if need be I would do the same for You. I will stir up my spirit to seek after You each day and grow in my desire to spend time with You and get to know You more. I love You and love the time I get to spend with You. Amen.
Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved
Young Woman
1 One night as I lay in bed, I yearned for my lover.
I yearned for him, but he did not come.
2 So I said to myself, “I will get up and roam the city,
searching in all its streets and squares.
I will search for the one I love.”
So I searched everywhere but did not find him.
3 The watchmen stopped me as they made their rounds,
and I asked, “Have you seen the one I love?”
4 Then scarcely had I left them
when I found my love!
I caught and held him tightly,
then I brought him to my mother’s house,
into my mother’s bed, where I had been conceived.
This is what we do when we are in the young stages of love. We search about just for chance to get to see the one who is the object of our affection. As we progress in the number of years we have been with our spouses how many of us would search the city to be able to hold them in our arms just because they weren't with us for one night? I have found myself getting caught up in the day I was in and trying to get all the things done that needed to be done when my wife was out of town and didn't really miss her like described above. I do miss her being in the same bed when she is not there, but to say that I would search the city until I found her is another story.
I love my wife more now than I did when we first started dating, but my love for her is much different. The intensity with which I love her is also different. I don't need to see her all the time to know that she loves me and that I love her. I don't need to hold her in my arms each day to say that I feel like we are connected. I do love to hold her in my arms at night and in the morning while laying in bed. I have not grown tired of our cuddling time.
I do think that I should long to see the One that I love more than my wife and that spending a day without Him is not a day worth living. If I don't get to spend time with Him I do think I would search the city until I found Him. Knowing that He wants to spend time with me more than I want to with Him is a comforting feeling. I know that if I go to spend time with Him He is not going to tell me He is too busy to see me or to come back later when it's more convenient for Him. He died on a cross for me! He desires to spend every second of every day with me and the amount of time and the quality of that time spent together is determined by me and my desire to be with Him. He loves me more than anyone else ever could. I look for ways to spend time with Him. I know that there are times when I don't seek His company, but I am glad He is there when I do. When I want to talk to Him I don't have make an appointment on His calendar or email Him to make arrangements. I don't have to leave Him a voicemail when He doesn't answer my call. He comes running to me when I have been away from Him and is eager to share Himself with me. He has written me the greatest love letter I could ever hope to receive from anyone and His love for me is eternal. He loved me before I was born and made me the way I am to be in relationship with Him. He is the one I love the most and it's not even a contest.
I thank You, Jesus, for wanting to have a relationship with me. You know me better than I know myself and you still love me. You loved me enough to die for me. I pray that if need be I would do the same for You. I will stir up my spirit to seek after You each day and grow in my desire to spend time with You and get to know You more. I love You and love the time I get to spend with You. Amen.
Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved
Monday, January 26, 2009
A Passion for Your Spouse
Song of Solomon 2
Young Woman
1 I am the spring crocus blooming on the Sharon Plain,
the lily of the valley.
Young Man
2 Like a lily among thistles
is my darling among young women.
Young Woman
3 Like the finest apple tree in the orchard
is my lover among other young men.
I sit in his delightful shade
and taste his delicious fruit.
4 He escorts me to the banquet hall;
it’s obvious how much he loves me.
5 Strengthen me with raisin cakes,
refresh me with apples,
for I am weak with love.
6 His left arm is under my head,
and his right arm embraces me.
7 Promise me, O women of Jerusalem,
by the gazelles and wild deer,
not to awaken love until the time is right.
8 Ah, I hear my lover coming!
He is leaping over the mountains,
bounding over the hills.
9 My lover is like a swift gazelle
or a young stag.
Look, there he is behind the wall,
looking through the window,
peering into the room.
10 My lover said to me,
“Rise up, my darling!
Come away with me, my fair one!
11 Look, the winter is past,
and the rains are over and gone.
12 The flowers are springing up,
the season of singing birds has come,
and the cooing of turtledoves fills the air.
13 The fig trees are forming young fruit,
and the fragrant grapevines are blossoming.
Rise up, my darling!
Come away with me, my fair one!”
Young Man
14 My dove is hiding behind the rocks,
behind an outcrop on the cliff.
Let me see your face;
let me hear your voice.
For your voice is pleasant,
and your face is lovely.
Young Women of Jerusalem
15 Catch all the foxes,
those little foxes,
before they ruin the vineyard of love,
for the grapevines are blossoming!
Young Woman
16 My lover is mine, and I am his.
He browses among the lilies.
17 Before the dawn breezes blow
and the night shadows flee,
return to me, my love, like a gazelle
or a young stag on the rugged mountains.
This is better than any greeting card that is written today. The best part about reading this is that it is scripture and not from some worldy source. This is God's Word to us that we can speak over our spouse and meditate on during the day. Imagine what would happen if all the men in the body of Christ would say verses 2 & 14 over their girlfriends or wives? What would happen if the ladies said verses 1, 3-13, 15-17 over their boyfriends or husbands? I would think that as this is said over and over again that people would start to believe it and the relationships that we desire would show up and the world would take notice.
I have been going to church since I was three years old and I cannot remember any sermon ever given about the verses in this book. Why is it that this is not taught during pre-marriage classes? Why isn't this used for speaking to the body about developing a healthy relationship with your spouse or significant other? The church often will teach from 1 Corinthians 13 or 1 Corinthians 7 or Ephesians 5. These passages are great but do they really give us a language we can use to describe our spouses that would ignite passion for them? You be the judge and compare them with the ones above and decide.
1 Corinthians 13
1 If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. 3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.
4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
8 Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! 9 Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! 10 But when full understanding comes, these partial things will become useless.
11 When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. 12 Now we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.
13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 7
1 Now regarding the questions you asked in your letter. Yes, it is good to live a celibate life. 2 But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband.
3 The husband should fulfill his wife’s sexual needs, and the wife should fulfill her husband’s needs. 4 The wife gives authority over her body to her husband, and the husband gives authority over his body to his wife.
5 Do not deprive each other of sexual relations, unless you both agree to refrain from sexual intimacy for a limited time so you can give yourselves more completely to prayer. Afterward, you should come together again so that Satan won’t be able to tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 I say this as a concession, not as a command. 7 But I wish everyone were single, just as I am. But God gives to some the gift of marriage, and to others the gift of singleness.
8 So I say to those who aren’t married and to widows—it’s better to stay unmarried, just as I am. 9 But if they can’t control themselves, they should go ahead and marry. It’s better to marry than to burn with lust.
10 But for those who are married, I have a command that comes not from me, but from the Lord. A wife must not leave her husband. 11 But if she does leave him, let her remain single or else be reconciled to him. And the husband must not leave his wife.
12 Now, I will speak to the rest of you, though I do not have a direct command from the Lord. If a Christian man has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to continue living with him, he must not leave her. 13 And if a Christian woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to continue living with her, she must not leave him. 14 For the Christian wife brings holiness to her marriage, and the Christian husband brings holiness to his marriage. Otherwise, your children would not be holy, but now they are holy. 15 (But if the husband or wife who isn’t a believer insists on leaving, let them go. In such cases the Christian husband or wife is no longer bound to the other, for God has called you to live in peace.) 16 Don’t you wives realize that your husbands might be saved because of you? And don’t you husbands realize that your wives might be saved because of you?
17 Each of you should continue to live in whatever situation the Lord has placed you, and remain as you were when God first called you. This is my rule for all the churches. 18 For instance, a man who was circumcised before he became a believer should not try to reverse it. And the man who was uncircumcised when he became a believer should not be circumcised now. 19 For it makes no difference whether or not a man has been circumcised. The important thing is to keep God’s commandments.
20 Yes, each of you should remain as you were when God called you. 21 Are you a slave? Don’t let that worry you—but if you get a chance to be free, take it. 22 And remember, if you were a slave when the Lord called you, you are now free in the Lord. And if you were free when the Lord called you, you are now a slave of Christ. 23 God paid a high price for you, so don’t be enslaved by the world. 24 Each of you, dear brothers and sisters, should remain as you were when God first called you.
25 Now regarding your question about the young women who are not yet married. I do not have a command from the Lord for them. But the Lord in his mercy has given me wisdom that can be trusted, and I will share it with you. 26 Because of the present crisis, I think it is best to remain as you are. 27 If you have a wife, do not seek to end the marriage. If you do not have a wife, do not seek to get married. 28 But if you do get married, it is not a sin. And if a young woman gets married, it is not a sin. However, those who get married at this time will have troubles, and I am trying to spare you those problems.
29 But let me say this, dear brothers and sisters: The time that remains is very short. So from now on, those with wives should not focus only on their marriage. 30 Those who weep or who rejoice or who buy things should not be absorbed by their weeping or their joy or their possessions. 31 Those who use the things of the world should not become attached to them. For this world as we know it will soon pass away.
32 I want you to be free from the concerns of this life. An unmarried man can spend his time doing the Lord’s work and thinking how to please him. 33 But a married man has to think about his earthly responsibilities and how to please his wife. 34 His interests are divided. In the same way, a woman who is no longer married or has never been married can be devoted to the Lord and holy in body and in spirit. But a married woman has to think about her earthly responsibilities and how to please her husband. 35 I am saying this for your benefit, not to place restrictions on you. I want you to do whatever will help you serve the Lord best, with as few distractions as possible.
36 But if a man thinks that he’s treating his fiancée improperly and will inevitably give in to his passion, let him marry her as he wishes. It is not a sin. 37 But if he has decided firmly not to marry and there is no urgency and he can control his passion, he does well not to marry. 38 So the person who marries his fiancée does well, and the person who doesn’t marry does even better.
39 A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. If her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but only if he loves the Lord. 40 But in my opinion it would be better for her to stay single, and I think I am giving you counsel from God’s Spirit when I say this.
Ephesians 5:21-33
21 And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
22 For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23 For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. 24 As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything.
25 For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her 26 to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. 27 He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. 28 In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. 29 No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church. 30 And we are members of his body.
31 As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” 32 This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. 33 So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
I think these verses are great and are very important to live by and believe in, but they do not paint a picture for me of an eloquent passion that I can have for my wife. I think of the verses in today's focus to be ones of passion for the other person and that new young love that we have all gone through. This passion is what we are supposed to have for our spouses and that type of passion is also supposed to be expressed for our relationship with Jesus. We are to have a passion for His Kingdom to be here on earth living through us so that those we come into contact with each day fall in love with Him as well.
Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved
Young Woman
1 I am the spring crocus blooming on the Sharon Plain,
the lily of the valley.
Young Man
2 Like a lily among thistles
is my darling among young women.
Young Woman
3 Like the finest apple tree in the orchard
is my lover among other young men.
I sit in his delightful shade
and taste his delicious fruit.
4 He escorts me to the banquet hall;
it’s obvious how much he loves me.
5 Strengthen me with raisin cakes,
refresh me with apples,
for I am weak with love.
6 His left arm is under my head,
and his right arm embraces me.
7 Promise me, O women of Jerusalem,
by the gazelles and wild deer,
not to awaken love until the time is right.
8 Ah, I hear my lover coming!
He is leaping over the mountains,
bounding over the hills.
9 My lover is like a swift gazelle
or a young stag.
Look, there he is behind the wall,
looking through the window,
peering into the room.
10 My lover said to me,
“Rise up, my darling!
Come away with me, my fair one!
11 Look, the winter is past,
and the rains are over and gone.
12 The flowers are springing up,
the season of singing birds has come,
and the cooing of turtledoves fills the air.
13 The fig trees are forming young fruit,
and the fragrant grapevines are blossoming.
Rise up, my darling!
Come away with me, my fair one!”
Young Man
14 My dove is hiding behind the rocks,
behind an outcrop on the cliff.
Let me see your face;
let me hear your voice.
For your voice is pleasant,
and your face is lovely.
Young Women of Jerusalem
15 Catch all the foxes,
those little foxes,
before they ruin the vineyard of love,
for the grapevines are blossoming!
Young Woman
16 My lover is mine, and I am his.
He browses among the lilies.
17 Before the dawn breezes blow
and the night shadows flee,
return to me, my love, like a gazelle
or a young stag on the rugged mountains.
This is better than any greeting card that is written today. The best part about reading this is that it is scripture and not from some worldy source. This is God's Word to us that we can speak over our spouse and meditate on during the day. Imagine what would happen if all the men in the body of Christ would say verses 2 & 14 over their girlfriends or wives? What would happen if the ladies said verses 1, 3-13, 15-17 over their boyfriends or husbands? I would think that as this is said over and over again that people would start to believe it and the relationships that we desire would show up and the world would take notice.
I have been going to church since I was three years old and I cannot remember any sermon ever given about the verses in this book. Why is it that this is not taught during pre-marriage classes? Why isn't this used for speaking to the body about developing a healthy relationship with your spouse or significant other? The church often will teach from 1 Corinthians 13 or 1 Corinthians 7 or Ephesians 5. These passages are great but do they really give us a language we can use to describe our spouses that would ignite passion for them? You be the judge and compare them with the ones above and decide.
1 Corinthians 13
1 If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. 3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.
4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
8 Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! 9 Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! 10 But when full understanding comes, these partial things will become useless.
11 When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. 12 Now we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.
13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 7
1 Now regarding the questions you asked in your letter. Yes, it is good to live a celibate life. 2 But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband.
3 The husband should fulfill his wife’s sexual needs, and the wife should fulfill her husband’s needs. 4 The wife gives authority over her body to her husband, and the husband gives authority over his body to his wife.
5 Do not deprive each other of sexual relations, unless you both agree to refrain from sexual intimacy for a limited time so you can give yourselves more completely to prayer. Afterward, you should come together again so that Satan won’t be able to tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 I say this as a concession, not as a command. 7 But I wish everyone were single, just as I am. But God gives to some the gift of marriage, and to others the gift of singleness.
8 So I say to those who aren’t married and to widows—it’s better to stay unmarried, just as I am. 9 But if they can’t control themselves, they should go ahead and marry. It’s better to marry than to burn with lust.
10 But for those who are married, I have a command that comes not from me, but from the Lord. A wife must not leave her husband. 11 But if she does leave him, let her remain single or else be reconciled to him. And the husband must not leave his wife.
12 Now, I will speak to the rest of you, though I do not have a direct command from the Lord. If a Christian man has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to continue living with him, he must not leave her. 13 And if a Christian woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to continue living with her, she must not leave him. 14 For the Christian wife brings holiness to her marriage, and the Christian husband brings holiness to his marriage. Otherwise, your children would not be holy, but now they are holy. 15 (But if the husband or wife who isn’t a believer insists on leaving, let them go. In such cases the Christian husband or wife is no longer bound to the other, for God has called you to live in peace.) 16 Don’t you wives realize that your husbands might be saved because of you? And don’t you husbands realize that your wives might be saved because of you?
17 Each of you should continue to live in whatever situation the Lord has placed you, and remain as you were when God first called you. This is my rule for all the churches. 18 For instance, a man who was circumcised before he became a believer should not try to reverse it. And the man who was uncircumcised when he became a believer should not be circumcised now. 19 For it makes no difference whether or not a man has been circumcised. The important thing is to keep God’s commandments.
20 Yes, each of you should remain as you were when God called you. 21 Are you a slave? Don’t let that worry you—but if you get a chance to be free, take it. 22 And remember, if you were a slave when the Lord called you, you are now free in the Lord. And if you were free when the Lord called you, you are now a slave of Christ. 23 God paid a high price for you, so don’t be enslaved by the world. 24 Each of you, dear brothers and sisters, should remain as you were when God first called you.
25 Now regarding your question about the young women who are not yet married. I do not have a command from the Lord for them. But the Lord in his mercy has given me wisdom that can be trusted, and I will share it with you. 26 Because of the present crisis, I think it is best to remain as you are. 27 If you have a wife, do not seek to end the marriage. If you do not have a wife, do not seek to get married. 28 But if you do get married, it is not a sin. And if a young woman gets married, it is not a sin. However, those who get married at this time will have troubles, and I am trying to spare you those problems.
29 But let me say this, dear brothers and sisters: The time that remains is very short. So from now on, those with wives should not focus only on their marriage. 30 Those who weep or who rejoice or who buy things should not be absorbed by their weeping or their joy or their possessions. 31 Those who use the things of the world should not become attached to them. For this world as we know it will soon pass away.
32 I want you to be free from the concerns of this life. An unmarried man can spend his time doing the Lord’s work and thinking how to please him. 33 But a married man has to think about his earthly responsibilities and how to please his wife. 34 His interests are divided. In the same way, a woman who is no longer married or has never been married can be devoted to the Lord and holy in body and in spirit. But a married woman has to think about her earthly responsibilities and how to please her husband. 35 I am saying this for your benefit, not to place restrictions on you. I want you to do whatever will help you serve the Lord best, with as few distractions as possible.
36 But if a man thinks that he’s treating his fiancée improperly and will inevitably give in to his passion, let him marry her as he wishes. It is not a sin. 37 But if he has decided firmly not to marry and there is no urgency and he can control his passion, he does well not to marry. 38 So the person who marries his fiancée does well, and the person who doesn’t marry does even better.
39 A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. If her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but only if he loves the Lord. 40 But in my opinion it would be better for her to stay single, and I think I am giving you counsel from God’s Spirit when I say this.
Ephesians 5:21-33
21 And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
22 For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23 For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. 24 As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything.
25 For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her 26 to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. 27 He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. 28 In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. 29 No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church. 30 And we are members of his body.
31 As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” 32 This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. 33 So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
I think these verses are great and are very important to live by and believe in, but they do not paint a picture for me of an eloquent passion that I can have for my wife. I think of the verses in today's focus to be ones of passion for the other person and that new young love that we have all gone through. This passion is what we are supposed to have for our spouses and that type of passion is also supposed to be expressed for our relationship with Jesus. We are to have a passion for His Kingdom to be here on earth living through us so that those we come into contact with each day fall in love with Him as well.
Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Your First Love
Song of Solomon 1:2-17
Young Woman
2 Kiss me and kiss me again,
for your love is sweeter than wine.
3 How fragrant your cologne;
your name is like its spreading fragrance.
No wonder all the young women love you!
4 Take me with you; come, let’s run!
The king has brought me into his bedroom.
How happy we are for you, O king.
We praise your love even more than wine.
How right they are to adore you.
5 I am dark but beautiful,
O women of Jerusalem—
dark as the tents of Kedar,
dark as the curtains of Solomon’s tents.
6 Don’t stare at me because I am dark—
the sun has darkened my skin.
My brothers were angry with me;
they forced me to care for their vineyards,
so I couldn’t care for myself—my own vineyard.
7 Tell me, my love, where are you leading your flock today?
Where will you rest your sheep at noon?
For why should I wander like a prostitute
among your friends and their flocks?
Young Man
8 If you don’t know, O most beautiful woman,
follow the trail of my flock,
and graze your young goats by the shepherds’ tents.
9 You are as exciting, my darling,
as a mare among Pharaoh’s stallions.
10 How lovely are your cheeks;
your earrings set them afire!
How lovely is your neck,
enhanced by a string of jewels.
11 We will make for you earrings of gold
and beads of silver.
Young Woman
12 The king is lying on his couch,
enchanted by the fragrance of my perfume.
13 My lover is like a sachet of myrrh
lying between my breasts.
14 He is like a bouquet of sweet henna blossoms
from the vineyards of En-gedi.
Young Man
15 How beautiful you are, my darling,
how beautiful!
Your eyes are like doves.
Young Woman
16 You are so handsome, my love,
pleasing beyond words!
The soft grass is our bed;
17 fragrant cedar branches are the beams of our house,
and pleasant smelling firs are the rafters.
It is often said that when young love is over so is the honeymoon. Many people who have been married for any length of time don't often refer to their insatiable love for their spouse as the secret to their success. Most men will talk about learning the two hardest words to say to make their wife happy as the key to their success. Those words would be "Yes dear". I think those would be closely followed by "I'm sorry". Women would most often point to their communication style with their husband as the key to their success. I can see why they would say that if all they heard from their husband was "I'm sorry" or "Yes dear" how they would see that their communication style was the key.
I think for myself and the 13 plus years of marriage that I have had the priviledge of being is that my wife has learned that what ever goes wrong in some way is her fault. JUST KIDDING! I am married to the best woman in the world. Our marriage has actually gotten stronger over the past six years than it ever was the previous seven years leading up to it. I attribute that to my taking my rightful place as the spiritual head of our household as well as the financial head of our household. For many years leading up to our purchasing a business in 2003 was one that was characterized as a financial mouse. My wife was in sales and was very good at it. When you are good at sales you tend to make a lot of money. She typically made two to three times what I made, which left me with the freedom to do any type of job I wanted because I liked doing what I was doing. It wasn't healthy for us because it also put me in a position to be lax on my duties as the spiritual head as well. I tried to be but wasn't secure enough in myself to fully take those reigns. She wasn't dominating in that area but we probable heald the reigns together most of the time.
Working together for the last six years has been the best thing for us, our family and most importantly our marriage. We get to have conversations all throughout the day that most couples have to schedule a date night to get the opportunity to just begin them. We have developed our system that works best for us to talk about all the issues facing our businesses, family, school for the kids, etc. because we are with each other all day every day. Unlike most couples who try to get time together when they can we often find ourselves looking for those opportunities to spend time with others or just by ourselves. We really enjoy it.
Looking at today's verses really reminded me of a very young couple who are "deeply" in love, as they would tell you. They can't stop thinking about each other and talk about the other person all the time to their friends until it bores them out of their minds. How interesting would it be if all of a sudden a couple who had been married for 50 years was talking like this to their spouse or about their spouse? I think if I could talk like that about my wife and she could like that about me we would be on the cover of a marriage magazine being touted as the perfect model of a successful marriage. This analogy of how one behaves when they are newly "in love" is also discussed in the New Testatment.
1 John 4:7-19
7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
11 Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. 12 No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.
13 And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. 14 Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. 16 We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.
God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. 17 And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.
18 Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. 19 We love each other because he loved us first.
As we see how this finishes up here by telling us that because God loved us first we are able to then love each other. God loves us with a greater intensity than even what we experience with new love. Here is an admonition also found in the New Testament.
Revelation 2:1-7
“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Ephesus. This is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lampstands:
2 “I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. 3 You have patiently suffered for me without quitting.
4 “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! 5 Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches. 6 But this is in your favor: You hate the evil deeds of the Nicolaitans, just as I do.
7 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give fruit from the tree of life in the paradise of God.
What Jesus is telling the church here is that they have been working hard and have been patient in their enduring hard times. Most marriages I think get caught in this cycle of working hard, enduring hard times, but they do not love their spouse with the same intensity as they did when they were first "in love". This love that Jesus is talking about here is the level of love that we are, not only to have for Him, but also for our spouses. If we do not develop that level of love for our spouse then we too would be guilty of losing our first love we had for them. If we can maintain that level of love for them over a long period of time we would have many more successful marriages and fewer and fewer divorces, especially in the body of Christ.
Heavenly Father I thank You today for giving me my wife. I am truly grateful for her and can't believe how blessed I am to have her. I ask for Your love for her to be revealed to me so I can develop and even deeper love and respect for her that I cannot produce on my own. Work through me to reveal Your love for her so that our marriage will be stronger and more like the love Jesus has for His Bride, the church. Amen.
Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved
Young Woman
2 Kiss me and kiss me again,
for your love is sweeter than wine.
3 How fragrant your cologne;
your name is like its spreading fragrance.
No wonder all the young women love you!
4 Take me with you; come, let’s run!
The king has brought me into his bedroom.
How happy we are for you, O king.
We praise your love even more than wine.
How right they are to adore you.
5 I am dark but beautiful,
O women of Jerusalem—
dark as the tents of Kedar,
dark as the curtains of Solomon’s tents.
6 Don’t stare at me because I am dark—
the sun has darkened my skin.
My brothers were angry with me;
they forced me to care for their vineyards,
so I couldn’t care for myself—my own vineyard.
7 Tell me, my love, where are you leading your flock today?
Where will you rest your sheep at noon?
For why should I wander like a prostitute
among your friends and their flocks?
Young Man
8 If you don’t know, O most beautiful woman,
follow the trail of my flock,
and graze your young goats by the shepherds’ tents.
9 You are as exciting, my darling,
as a mare among Pharaoh’s stallions.
10 How lovely are your cheeks;
your earrings set them afire!
How lovely is your neck,
enhanced by a string of jewels.
11 We will make for you earrings of gold
and beads of silver.
Young Woman
12 The king is lying on his couch,
enchanted by the fragrance of my perfume.
13 My lover is like a sachet of myrrh
lying between my breasts.
14 He is like a bouquet of sweet henna blossoms
from the vineyards of En-gedi.
Young Man
15 How beautiful you are, my darling,
how beautiful!
Your eyes are like doves.
Young Woman
16 You are so handsome, my love,
pleasing beyond words!
The soft grass is our bed;
17 fragrant cedar branches are the beams of our house,
and pleasant smelling firs are the rafters.
It is often said that when young love is over so is the honeymoon. Many people who have been married for any length of time don't often refer to their insatiable love for their spouse as the secret to their success. Most men will talk about learning the two hardest words to say to make their wife happy as the key to their success. Those words would be "Yes dear". I think those would be closely followed by "I'm sorry". Women would most often point to their communication style with their husband as the key to their success. I can see why they would say that if all they heard from their husband was "I'm sorry" or "Yes dear" how they would see that their communication style was the key.
I think for myself and the 13 plus years of marriage that I have had the priviledge of being is that my wife has learned that what ever goes wrong in some way is her fault. JUST KIDDING! I am married to the best woman in the world. Our marriage has actually gotten stronger over the past six years than it ever was the previous seven years leading up to it. I attribute that to my taking my rightful place as the spiritual head of our household as well as the financial head of our household. For many years leading up to our purchasing a business in 2003 was one that was characterized as a financial mouse. My wife was in sales and was very good at it. When you are good at sales you tend to make a lot of money. She typically made two to three times what I made, which left me with the freedom to do any type of job I wanted because I liked doing what I was doing. It wasn't healthy for us because it also put me in a position to be lax on my duties as the spiritual head as well. I tried to be but wasn't secure enough in myself to fully take those reigns. She wasn't dominating in that area but we probable heald the reigns together most of the time.
Working together for the last six years has been the best thing for us, our family and most importantly our marriage. We get to have conversations all throughout the day that most couples have to schedule a date night to get the opportunity to just begin them. We have developed our system that works best for us to talk about all the issues facing our businesses, family, school for the kids, etc. because we are with each other all day every day. Unlike most couples who try to get time together when they can we often find ourselves looking for those opportunities to spend time with others or just by ourselves. We really enjoy it.
Looking at today's verses really reminded me of a very young couple who are "deeply" in love, as they would tell you. They can't stop thinking about each other and talk about the other person all the time to their friends until it bores them out of their minds. How interesting would it be if all of a sudden a couple who had been married for 50 years was talking like this to their spouse or about their spouse? I think if I could talk like that about my wife and she could like that about me we would be on the cover of a marriage magazine being touted as the perfect model of a successful marriage. This analogy of how one behaves when they are newly "in love" is also discussed in the New Testatment.
1 John 4:7-19
7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
11 Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. 12 No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.
13 And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. 14 Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. 16 We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.
God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. 17 And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.
18 Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. 19 We love each other because he loved us first.
As we see how this finishes up here by telling us that because God loved us first we are able to then love each other. God loves us with a greater intensity than even what we experience with new love. Here is an admonition also found in the New Testament.
Revelation 2:1-7
“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Ephesus. This is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lampstands:
2 “I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. 3 You have patiently suffered for me without quitting.
4 “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! 5 Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches. 6 But this is in your favor: You hate the evil deeds of the Nicolaitans, just as I do.
7 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give fruit from the tree of life in the paradise of God.
What Jesus is telling the church here is that they have been working hard and have been patient in their enduring hard times. Most marriages I think get caught in this cycle of working hard, enduring hard times, but they do not love their spouse with the same intensity as they did when they were first "in love". This love that Jesus is talking about here is the level of love that we are, not only to have for Him, but also for our spouses. If we do not develop that level of love for our spouse then we too would be guilty of losing our first love we had for them. If we can maintain that level of love for them over a long period of time we would have many more successful marriages and fewer and fewer divorces, especially in the body of Christ.
Heavenly Father I thank You today for giving me my wife. I am truly grateful for her and can't believe how blessed I am to have her. I ask for Your love for her to be revealed to me so I can develop and even deeper love and respect for her that I cannot produce on my own. Work through me to reveal Your love for her so that our marriage will be stronger and more like the love Jesus has for His Bride, the church. Amen.
Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Don’t Worry, Go With God and Be Happy!
Esther 10:3
3 Mordecai the Jew became the prime minister, with authority next to that of King Xerxes himself. He was very great among the Jews, who held him in high esteem, because he continued to work for the good of his people and to speak up for the welfare of all their descendants.
What we see here in this verse is how important it is for us to be prepared to do what God has called us to do. Mordecai went from a lowly captive as a Jew in a foreign land to second in command to the king. Not only did Mordecai do well, but the Jews under him did well too. I wonder if any other situations like this ever happened in the Bible? Hmmmm. Let me see if I can find some.
Genesis 41:14, 37-40, 47-49
14 Pharaoh sent for Joseph at once, and he was quickly brought from the prison. After he shaved and changed his clothes, he went in and stood before Pharaoh.
37 Joseph’s suggestions were well received by Pharaoh and his officials. 38 So Pharaoh asked his officials, “Can we find anyone else like this man so obviously filled with the spirit of God?” 39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has revealed the meaning of the dreams to you, clearly no one else is as intelligent or wise as you are. 40 You will be in charge of my court, and all my people will take orders from you. Only I, sitting on my throne, will have a rank higher than yours.”
47 As predicted, for seven years the land produced bumper crops. 48 During those years, Joseph gathered all the crops grown in Egypt and stored the grain from the surrounding fields in the cities. 49 He piled up huge amounts of grain like sand on the seashore. Finally, he stopped keeping records because there was too much to measure.
Daniel 1:3-6, 17-20
3 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief of staff, to bring to the palace some of the young men of Judah’s royal family and other noble families, who had been brought to Babylon as captives. 4 “Select only strong, healthy, and good-looking young men,” he said. “Make sure they are well versed in every branch of learning, are gifted with knowledge and good judgment, and are suited to serve in the royal palace. Train these young men in the language and literature of Babylon.” 5 The king assigned them a daily ration of food and wine from his own kitchens. They were to be trained for three years, and then they would enter the royal service.
6 Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were four of the young men chosen, all from the tribe of Judah.
17 God gave these four young men an unusual aptitude for understanding every aspect of literature and wisdom. And God gave Daniel the special ability to interpret the meanings of visions and dreams.
18 When the training period ordered by the king was completed, the chief of staff brought all the young men to King Nebuchadnezzar. 19 The king talked with them, and no one impressed him as much as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they entered the royal service. 20 Whenever the king consulted them in any matter requiring wisdom and balanced judgment, he found them ten times more capable than any of the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom.
Well that is pretty awesome. It is so great to see what happens when people fully rely on God and aren't concerned with what man can do or say to them. These people would have never been chosen for their positions simply based on their ethnicities. When someone has the blessing of God on them even the unbelievers see it and if they are smart will utilize those who have it. God is faithful and will not let those who embrace His blessing be needlessly destroyed. People may make bad decisions and work against His blessing, but it would not be God who destroyed them. It was of their own free will that it happens, even today. Many who profess to be Christians are not living the way God would want them to. They are wrapped up in their pursuits of the what this world has to offer and get themselves in trouble. The devil isn't probably attacking them as they may profess, they are making the mess themselves and need to repent and turn back to God's ways and His plan for their lives.
As we saw in these stories, those who were true to the calling on their lives were rewarded by God then man. I would much rather get my rewards from God than from man any day of the week. God's rewards are eternal and mans rewards will eventually go away. When we invest ourselves, our time, our energy, our finances into God's Kingdom and His plans, we are truly investing in things that will last forever. When we invest ourselves into God's plan for our lives He is going to make sure that we are taken care of. Jesus Himself tells us about this.
Matthew 6:1-4, 19-21, 24-34
“Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. 2 When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get. 3 But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. 4 Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you."
19 “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be."
24 “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.
25 “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? 27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
28 “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, 29 yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 30 And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?
31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
34 “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today."
PRAISE GOD! I don't need to worry about what I am going to eat or drink or what clothes I will wear. God will give me everything I need. I don't need to worry about anything because when I worry I show my lack of faith in God and what He can do for me.
Heavenly Father I thank You today for caring for me enough so that I do not have to worry about anything. You are watching over me and will make sure I have what I need. I promise to be faithful to what You have called me to do and by doing that I know that You will provide for me and my family. When I do get called in front of a king or an unbeliever I will have favor with them and they will want to provide the finances needed to get Your plans for me and my family accomplished. I thank You for being my guide through this life here on earth and I look forward to the day when I will see you face to face and I can live with You forever. Amen.
Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved
3 Mordecai the Jew became the prime minister, with authority next to that of King Xerxes himself. He was very great among the Jews, who held him in high esteem, because he continued to work for the good of his people and to speak up for the welfare of all their descendants.
What we see here in this verse is how important it is for us to be prepared to do what God has called us to do. Mordecai went from a lowly captive as a Jew in a foreign land to second in command to the king. Not only did Mordecai do well, but the Jews under him did well too. I wonder if any other situations like this ever happened in the Bible? Hmmmm. Let me see if I can find some.
Genesis 41:14, 37-40, 47-49
14 Pharaoh sent for Joseph at once, and he was quickly brought from the prison. After he shaved and changed his clothes, he went in and stood before Pharaoh.
37 Joseph’s suggestions were well received by Pharaoh and his officials. 38 So Pharaoh asked his officials, “Can we find anyone else like this man so obviously filled with the spirit of God?” 39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has revealed the meaning of the dreams to you, clearly no one else is as intelligent or wise as you are. 40 You will be in charge of my court, and all my people will take orders from you. Only I, sitting on my throne, will have a rank higher than yours.”
47 As predicted, for seven years the land produced bumper crops. 48 During those years, Joseph gathered all the crops grown in Egypt and stored the grain from the surrounding fields in the cities. 49 He piled up huge amounts of grain like sand on the seashore. Finally, he stopped keeping records because there was too much to measure.
Daniel 1:3-6, 17-20
3 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief of staff, to bring to the palace some of the young men of Judah’s royal family and other noble families, who had been brought to Babylon as captives. 4 “Select only strong, healthy, and good-looking young men,” he said. “Make sure they are well versed in every branch of learning, are gifted with knowledge and good judgment, and are suited to serve in the royal palace. Train these young men in the language and literature of Babylon.” 5 The king assigned them a daily ration of food and wine from his own kitchens. They were to be trained for three years, and then they would enter the royal service.
6 Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were four of the young men chosen, all from the tribe of Judah.
17 God gave these four young men an unusual aptitude for understanding every aspect of literature and wisdom. And God gave Daniel the special ability to interpret the meanings of visions and dreams.
18 When the training period ordered by the king was completed, the chief of staff brought all the young men to King Nebuchadnezzar. 19 The king talked with them, and no one impressed him as much as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they entered the royal service. 20 Whenever the king consulted them in any matter requiring wisdom and balanced judgment, he found them ten times more capable than any of the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom.
Well that is pretty awesome. It is so great to see what happens when people fully rely on God and aren't concerned with what man can do or say to them. These people would have never been chosen for their positions simply based on their ethnicities. When someone has the blessing of God on them even the unbelievers see it and if they are smart will utilize those who have it. God is faithful and will not let those who embrace His blessing be needlessly destroyed. People may make bad decisions and work against His blessing, but it would not be God who destroyed them. It was of their own free will that it happens, even today. Many who profess to be Christians are not living the way God would want them to. They are wrapped up in their pursuits of the what this world has to offer and get themselves in trouble. The devil isn't probably attacking them as they may profess, they are making the mess themselves and need to repent and turn back to God's ways and His plan for their lives.
As we saw in these stories, those who were true to the calling on their lives were rewarded by God then man. I would much rather get my rewards from God than from man any day of the week. God's rewards are eternal and mans rewards will eventually go away. When we invest ourselves, our time, our energy, our finances into God's Kingdom and His plans, we are truly investing in things that will last forever. When we invest ourselves into God's plan for our lives He is going to make sure that we are taken care of. Jesus Himself tells us about this.
Matthew 6:1-4, 19-21, 24-34
“Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. 2 When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get. 3 But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. 4 Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you."
19 “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be."
24 “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.
25 “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? 27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
28 “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, 29 yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 30 And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?
31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
34 “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today."
PRAISE GOD! I don't need to worry about what I am going to eat or drink or what clothes I will wear. God will give me everything I need. I don't need to worry about anything because when I worry I show my lack of faith in God and what He can do for me.
Heavenly Father I thank You today for caring for me enough so that I do not have to worry about anything. You are watching over me and will make sure I have what I need. I promise to be faithful to what You have called me to do and by doing that I know that You will provide for me and my family. When I do get called in front of a king or an unbeliever I will have favor with them and they will want to provide the finances needed to get Your plans for me and my family accomplished. I thank You for being my guide through this life here on earth and I look forward to the day when I will see you face to face and I can live with You forever. Amen.
Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved
Friday, January 23, 2009
The Word is Truth
Esther 9:1b-2, 5, 20-28
On that day, the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but quite the opposite happened. It was the Jews who overpowered their enemies. 2 The Jews gathered in their cities throughout all the king’s provinces to attack anyone who tried to harm them. But no one could make a stand against them, for everyone was afraid of them.
5 So the Jews went ahead on the appointed day and struck down their enemies with the sword. They killed and annihilated their enemies and did as they pleased with those who hated them.
20 Mordecai recorded these events and sent letters to the Jews near and far, throughout all the provinces of King Xerxes, 21 calling on them to celebrate an annual festival on these two days. 22 He 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.
23 So the Jews accepted Mordecai’s proposal and adopted this annual custom. 24 Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews, had plotted to crush and destroy them on the date determined by casting lots (the lots were called purim). 25 But when Esther came before the king, he issued a decree causing Haman’s evil plot to backfire, and Haman and his sons were impaled on a sharpened pole. 26 That is why this celebration is called Purim, because it is the ancient word for casting lots.
So because of Mordecai’s letter and because of what they had experienced, 27 the Jews throughout the realm agreed to inaugurate this tradition and to pass it on to their descendants and to all who became Jews. They declared they would never fail to celebrate these two prescribed days at the appointed time each year. 28 These days would be remembered and kept from generation to generation and celebrated by every family throughout the provinces and cities of the empire. This Festival of Purim would never cease to be celebrated among the Jews, nor would the memory of what happened ever die out among their descendants.
As we see hear in these verses the plans that God gave to Mordecai to be implemented were very successful. The Jews were able to defend themselves against their attackers. One thing I noticed that was in another verse was that even though they had the ability to take whatever belonged to their attackers and make it their own, they did not do that. That was a pretty big deal in those days. That was how all the armies got paid was by the plunder from their defeated enemies.
This festival implemented by Esther and Mordecai, the Festival of Purim, is still celebrated today by Jews. Once again we see that what the Bible has written down is very much applicable today and it is truth.
As the Bible also points out we can know in whom to put our trust. Here is what I am talking about.
John 1:1-5
1 In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
2 He existed in the beginning with God.
3 God created everything through Him,
and nothing was created except through Him.
4 The Word gave life to everything that was created,
and His life brought light to everyone.
5 The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it.
And here is where we find out who the Word really is:
John 1:14, 17-18
14 So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.
17 For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.
John 14:6 finalizes it.
6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
Since Jesus is the Word and the Word is truth then we can have the utmost confidence of what the Word is telling us. The Word would not lead us into anything bad, but only that which is good.
Father I thank You for Your Word, both written and living. I thank You for revealing to me the plan of salvation through Jesus and for sending the Holy Spirit to be my guide. I praise You for the revelation that the Holy Spirit brings to me each day. I love getting to know more of You and Your plans for me. Amen.
Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved
On that day, the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but quite the opposite happened. It was the Jews who overpowered their enemies. 2 The Jews gathered in their cities throughout all the king’s provinces to attack anyone who tried to harm them. But no one could make a stand against them, for everyone was afraid of them.
5 So the Jews went ahead on the appointed day and struck down their enemies with the sword. They killed and annihilated their enemies and did as they pleased with those who hated them.
20 Mordecai recorded these events and sent letters to the Jews near and far, throughout all the provinces of King Xerxes, 21 calling on them to celebrate an annual festival on these two days. 22 He 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.
23 So the Jews accepted Mordecai’s proposal and adopted this annual custom. 24 Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews, had plotted to crush and destroy them on the date determined by casting lots (the lots were called purim). 25 But when Esther came before the king, he issued a decree causing Haman’s evil plot to backfire, and Haman and his sons were impaled on a sharpened pole. 26 That is why this celebration is called Purim, because it is the ancient word for casting lots.
So because of Mordecai’s letter and because of what they had experienced, 27 the Jews throughout the realm agreed to inaugurate this tradition and to pass it on to their descendants and to all who became Jews. They declared they would never fail to celebrate these two prescribed days at the appointed time each year. 28 These days would be remembered and kept from generation to generation and celebrated by every family throughout the provinces and cities of the empire. This Festival of Purim would never cease to be celebrated among the Jews, nor would the memory of what happened ever die out among their descendants.
As we see hear in these verses the plans that God gave to Mordecai to be implemented were very successful. The Jews were able to defend themselves against their attackers. One thing I noticed that was in another verse was that even though they had the ability to take whatever belonged to their attackers and make it their own, they did not do that. That was a pretty big deal in those days. That was how all the armies got paid was by the plunder from their defeated enemies.
This festival implemented by Esther and Mordecai, the Festival of Purim, is still celebrated today by Jews. Once again we see that what the Bible has written down is very much applicable today and it is truth.
As the Bible also points out we can know in whom to put our trust. Here is what I am talking about.
John 1:1-5
1 In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
2 He existed in the beginning with God.
3 God created everything through Him,
and nothing was created except through Him.
4 The Word gave life to everything that was created,
and His life brought light to everyone.
5 The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it.
And here is where we find out who the Word really is:
John 1:14, 17-18
14 So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.
17 For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.
John 14:6 finalizes it.
6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
Since Jesus is the Word and the Word is truth then we can have the utmost confidence of what the Word is telling us. The Word would not lead us into anything bad, but only that which is good.
Father I thank You for Your Word, both written and living. I thank You for revealing to me the plan of salvation through Jesus and for sending the Holy Spirit to be my guide. I praise You for the revelation that the Holy Spirit brings to me each day. I love getting to know more of You and Your plans for me. Amen.
Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved
Thursday, January 22, 2009
God’s Plans Prevail
Esther 8:1-8
1 On that same day King Xerxes gave the property of Haman, the enemy of the Jews, to Queen Esther. Then Mordecai was brought before the king, for Esther had told the king how they were related. 2 The king took off his signet ring—which he had taken back from Haman—and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther appointed Mordecai to be in charge of Haman’s property.
3 Then Esther went again before the king, falling down at his feet and begging him with tears to stop the evil plot devised by Haman the Agagite against the Jews. 4 Again the king held out the gold scepter to Esther. So she rose and stood before him.
5 Esther said, “If it please the king, and if I have found favor with him, and if he thinks it is right, and if I am pleasing to him, let there be a decree that reverses the orders of Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, who ordered that Jews throughout all the king’s provinces should be destroyed. 6 For how can I endure to see my people and my family slaughtered and destroyed?”
7 Then King Xerxes said to Queen Esther and Mordecai the Jew, “I have given Esther the property of Haman, and he has been impaled on a pole because he tried to destroy the Jews. 8 Now go ahead and send a message to the Jews in the king’s name, telling them whatever you want, and seal it with the king’s signet ring. But remember that whatever has already been written in the king’s name and sealed with his signet ring can never be revoked.”
So we saw yesterday that Haman's plan lead to his death and Mordecai was saved from being killed by Haman. We didn't see until today what was going to happen with the rest of the Jews. Here we see Esther again going before the king without being summoned first and she again gets favor from the king. This time she seeks the safety of the rest of the Jewish people in the kingdom.
Thankfully the king is receptive to Queen Esther's request. Mordecai had to come up with a way to write a decree that had to allow for the Jews to live and send a message to the others not to harm them. God gave Mordecai the right words to put down and had it sent to every part of the kingdom. Verse 17 in this chapter shows just how the new decree was received by the people:
17 In every province and city, wherever the king’s decree arrived, the Jews rejoiced and had a great celebration and declared a public festival and holiday. And many of the people of the land became Jews themselves, for they feared what the Jews might do to them.
This is what happens when Godly people are in positions of leadership. The Word also shows this here:
Proverbs 29:2
When the godly are in authority, the people rejoice.But when the wicked are in power, they groan.
Again we get an opportunity to see the Word of God will always confirm itself. We don't have to worry about it being in contradiction. God doesn't change Himself and His Word doesn't change itself. In fact, this is what is said about the Word:
Matthew 24:35
Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.
Thank God we know that the Word is true and that it will never disappear. We also know the benefits of obeying the Word.
1 John 2:5
But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him.
It has been said that obedience is the highest form of worship. Esther and Mordecai were obedient to protect the children of God from destruction. Ester didn't have to put her life on the line if she didn't want to. Thank God she knew about being a kinsman redeemer and that if she didn't speak up and risk her life for her people that she would be remembered for it. She did the right thing and Mordecai did the right thing and as we saw in verse 17 the people rejoiced and celebrated. That is the effect of God's Word being followed and implemented. Praise God for His Word!
Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved
1 On that same day King Xerxes gave the property of Haman, the enemy of the Jews, to Queen Esther. Then Mordecai was brought before the king, for Esther had told the king how they were related. 2 The king took off his signet ring—which he had taken back from Haman—and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther appointed Mordecai to be in charge of Haman’s property.
3 Then Esther went again before the king, falling down at his feet and begging him with tears to stop the evil plot devised by Haman the Agagite against the Jews. 4 Again the king held out the gold scepter to Esther. So she rose and stood before him.
5 Esther said, “If it please the king, and if I have found favor with him, and if he thinks it is right, and if I am pleasing to him, let there be a decree that reverses the orders of Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, who ordered that Jews throughout all the king’s provinces should be destroyed. 6 For how can I endure to see my people and my family slaughtered and destroyed?”
7 Then King Xerxes said to Queen Esther and Mordecai the Jew, “I have given Esther the property of Haman, and he has been impaled on a pole because he tried to destroy the Jews. 8 Now go ahead and send a message to the Jews in the king’s name, telling them whatever you want, and seal it with the king’s signet ring. But remember that whatever has already been written in the king’s name and sealed with his signet ring can never be revoked.”
So we saw yesterday that Haman's plan lead to his death and Mordecai was saved from being killed by Haman. We didn't see until today what was going to happen with the rest of the Jews. Here we see Esther again going before the king without being summoned first and she again gets favor from the king. This time she seeks the safety of the rest of the Jewish people in the kingdom.
Thankfully the king is receptive to Queen Esther's request. Mordecai had to come up with a way to write a decree that had to allow for the Jews to live and send a message to the others not to harm them. God gave Mordecai the right words to put down and had it sent to every part of the kingdom. Verse 17 in this chapter shows just how the new decree was received by the people:
17 In every province and city, wherever the king’s decree arrived, the Jews rejoiced and had a great celebration and declared a public festival and holiday. And many of the people of the land became Jews themselves, for they feared what the Jews might do to them.
This is what happens when Godly people are in positions of leadership. The Word also shows this here:
Proverbs 29:2
When the godly are in authority, the people rejoice.But when the wicked are in power, they groan.
Again we get an opportunity to see the Word of God will always confirm itself. We don't have to worry about it being in contradiction. God doesn't change Himself and His Word doesn't change itself. In fact, this is what is said about the Word:
Matthew 24:35
Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.
Thank God we know that the Word is true and that it will never disappear. We also know the benefits of obeying the Word.
1 John 2:5
But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him.
It has been said that obedience is the highest form of worship. Esther and Mordecai were obedient to protect the children of God from destruction. Ester didn't have to put her life on the line if she didn't want to. Thank God she knew about being a kinsman redeemer and that if she didn't speak up and risk her life for her people that she would be remembered for it. She did the right thing and Mordecai did the right thing and as we saw in verse 17 the people rejoiced and celebrated. That is the effect of God's Word being followed and implemented. Praise God for His Word!
Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Evil Plans = Destruction, Gods Plans = Abundance
Esther 7:1-10
1 So the king and Haman went to Queen Esther’s banquet. 2 On this second occasion, while they were drinking wine, the king again said to Esther, “Tell me what you want, Queen Esther. What is your request? I will give it to you, even if it is half the kingdom!”
3 Queen Esther replied, “If I have found favor with the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my request, I ask that my life and the lives of my people will be spared. 4 For my people and I have been sold to those who would kill, slaughter, and annihilate us. If we had merely been sold as slaves, I could remain quiet, for that would be too trivial a matter to warrant disturbing the king.”
5 “Who would do such a thing?” King Xerxes demanded. “Who would be so presumptuous as to touch you?”
6 Esther replied, “This wicked Haman is our adversary and our enemy.” Haman grew pale with fright before the king and queen. 7 Then the king jumped to his feet in a rage and went out into the palace garden.
Haman, however, stayed behind to plead for his life with Queen Esther, for he knew that the king intended to kill him. 8 In despair he fell on the couch where Queen Esther was reclining, just as the king was returning from the palace garden.
The king exclaimed, “Will he even assault the queen right here in the palace, before my very eyes?” And as soon as the king spoke, his attendants covered Haman’s face, signaling his doom.
9 Then Harbona, one of the king’s eunuchs, said, “Haman has set up a sharpened pole that stands seventy-five feet tall in his own courtyard. He intended to use it to impale Mordecai, the man who saved the king from assassination.”
“Then impale Haman on it!” the king ordered. 10 So they impaled Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai, and the king’s anger subsided.
As we see here in this story that Haman got the reward for his wicked scheme. Instead of impaling his enemy on his 75 foot pole he got impaled on it. What Haman was exercising in can be termed as devilish wisdom. He was operating in a wisdom that was not from God and so it clouded his perception of reality. When operating in devilish wisdom one tends to be so focused on self and how their plans will satisfy the flesh and their ego that they do not even consider the ways of God and what He can do to interrupt the plans we have made without Him, especially when those plans are against His children. Thank God He has our back in those situations. Even though there are times when it looks like those who plot against us may succeed, in the end they come to their own destruction.
There was a ponzi scheme that went through the community a couple of years ago. This particular scheme wrapped up some within the body of Christ. The force behind the scheme in the initial stages wasn't one of trying to take advantage of others. I think that as the endeavor grew bigger and bigger and was more successful those in charge became deceived by the devil and lost their focus on their initial intent. The person in charge was professing a faith in Jesus and I truly think he had a relationship with Him in the beginning. After some time of success and getting some positive press he began to think he could do things on his own. This would have the beginning of the downfall, although it wouldn't come to a head until much later. This person ended up in jail, broke, divorced and alone when only months prior he was free, married with four kids and had many "friends". How this fits in with the story of Haman is that as time went on Haman got full of himself and thought himself to be higher than those under him and when he felt like he was disrespected he got mad and in the end lost. I prayed for this man and his family as all this came to light. Jesus speaks of this:
Luke 12:2-3
2 The time is coming when everything that is covered up will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made known to all. 3 Whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be shouted from the housetops for all to hear!
This is why what is done when no one is around is not a time for us to do things we don't think others will know about. Our integrity in those times is where it matters most. Who wants the sins they do in private to be exposed to all? No one I know. This is why a life in Christ is not something that you can put on for a couple of hours on Sunday when you are in church. Being a true follower of Jesus is a 24/7/365 endeavor. Jesus needs to be the Lord of your life every second of every day of your life. If you are only playing around with a relationship with him or maybe you don't even know what that means, you must make a decision not to play around with religion. Religion is the downfall of most people. Why I say that is religion is based on man and a relationship is based on an actual knowing the person you are in relationship with. Since Jesus came to this earth, died on the cross for our sins and was raised from the dead He is alive and wants to be in relationship with us. Why else would He come and do that? He wants to be involved in every aspect of our lives. When we decide to follow Jesus and live according to His Word we become truly free. Many people think that the Bible is full of do's and don'ts that mean you can't have fun or enjoy your life. On the contrary, by following the Bible and living according to Jesus' plan for your life you not only will have life but you will have it in abundance to the full until it overflows. Here is Jesus Himself telling us this:
John 10:10 (AMP)
10The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).
That is such comforting news! That must be why it is called the Good News. Jesus came so that I could have and enjoy life so much that it is abundant and will overflow my life. This means every area of my life. My health, my finances, my relationships, my family, my mind, etc. There is no area of my life that Jesus didn't come to reclaim. Why wouldn't I want to have a relationship with someone who promises me that?
If you want to have a relationship with this man Jesus who came so that you too can have and enjoy life, in abundance to the full until it overflows then all you have to do is ask. What? It's that easy? Yes! Ask Jesus to come into your life and be your Lord and Savior and He will come in and reside within you. Once you do that He will change your life forever, in a good way not a bad way. Praise God that He loves us so much that He sent Jesus to earth to redeem that which was lost with Adam and Eve. What I have just discussed is not a religion but a relationship with the person of Jesus. It gets even better! When Jesus ascended to heaven to be with God the Father He sent the Holy Spirit to be with us until He returns. The Holy Spirit is our counselor, comforter, teacher and guide through this life we live on earth. He is the source of the dynamic power we can use to be mighty in Christ. The same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is ready to work through you to impact this world for Jesus. All you have to do is ask that the Holy Spirit fill you up to overflowing and ask for evidence of this happening by speaking in other tongues. This in nothing to be afraid of nor to shy away from. We need to Holy Spirit in our lives to reveal the truth of the Word to us. Without His involvement we will not fully understand what the Word is saying and will not properly apply it to our lives. People trying to have a relationship with Jesus without the involvement of the Holy Spirit is like the carpenter who tries to use his circular saw when it is not plugged in. He won't be able to cut anything until he connects the saw to the power source. We are the same way. We cannot fully operate as Jesus has created us without being plugged into the Holy Spirit.
Father I thank You for Jesus, for the Holy Spirit and for Your plan for my life. May I be filled afresh and anew today with the Holy Spirit to guide me and direct me on the path You have laid out for me. Show me the next step to take and may I continue to be fully reliant upon You to show me that next step. In Jesus name, Amen.
Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved
1 So the king and Haman went to Queen Esther’s banquet. 2 On this second occasion, while they were drinking wine, the king again said to Esther, “Tell me what you want, Queen Esther. What is your request? I will give it to you, even if it is half the kingdom!”
3 Queen Esther replied, “If I have found favor with the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my request, I ask that my life and the lives of my people will be spared. 4 For my people and I have been sold to those who would kill, slaughter, and annihilate us. If we had merely been sold as slaves, I could remain quiet, for that would be too trivial a matter to warrant disturbing the king.”
5 “Who would do such a thing?” King Xerxes demanded. “Who would be so presumptuous as to touch you?”
6 Esther replied, “This wicked Haman is our adversary and our enemy.” Haman grew pale with fright before the king and queen. 7 Then the king jumped to his feet in a rage and went out into the palace garden.
Haman, however, stayed behind to plead for his life with Queen Esther, for he knew that the king intended to kill him. 8 In despair he fell on the couch where Queen Esther was reclining, just as the king was returning from the palace garden.
The king exclaimed, “Will he even assault the queen right here in the palace, before my very eyes?” And as soon as the king spoke, his attendants covered Haman’s face, signaling his doom.
9 Then Harbona, one of the king’s eunuchs, said, “Haman has set up a sharpened pole that stands seventy-five feet tall in his own courtyard. He intended to use it to impale Mordecai, the man who saved the king from assassination.”
“Then impale Haman on it!” the king ordered. 10 So they impaled Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai, and the king’s anger subsided.
As we see here in this story that Haman got the reward for his wicked scheme. Instead of impaling his enemy on his 75 foot pole he got impaled on it. What Haman was exercising in can be termed as devilish wisdom. He was operating in a wisdom that was not from God and so it clouded his perception of reality. When operating in devilish wisdom one tends to be so focused on self and how their plans will satisfy the flesh and their ego that they do not even consider the ways of God and what He can do to interrupt the plans we have made without Him, especially when those plans are against His children. Thank God He has our back in those situations. Even though there are times when it looks like those who plot against us may succeed, in the end they come to their own destruction.
There was a ponzi scheme that went through the community a couple of years ago. This particular scheme wrapped up some within the body of Christ. The force behind the scheme in the initial stages wasn't one of trying to take advantage of others. I think that as the endeavor grew bigger and bigger and was more successful those in charge became deceived by the devil and lost their focus on their initial intent. The person in charge was professing a faith in Jesus and I truly think he had a relationship with Him in the beginning. After some time of success and getting some positive press he began to think he could do things on his own. This would have the beginning of the downfall, although it wouldn't come to a head until much later. This person ended up in jail, broke, divorced and alone when only months prior he was free, married with four kids and had many "friends". How this fits in with the story of Haman is that as time went on Haman got full of himself and thought himself to be higher than those under him and when he felt like he was disrespected he got mad and in the end lost. I prayed for this man and his family as all this came to light. Jesus speaks of this:
Luke 12:2-3
2 The time is coming when everything that is covered up will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made known to all. 3 Whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be shouted from the housetops for all to hear!
This is why what is done when no one is around is not a time for us to do things we don't think others will know about. Our integrity in those times is where it matters most. Who wants the sins they do in private to be exposed to all? No one I know. This is why a life in Christ is not something that you can put on for a couple of hours on Sunday when you are in church. Being a true follower of Jesus is a 24/7/365 endeavor. Jesus needs to be the Lord of your life every second of every day of your life. If you are only playing around with a relationship with him or maybe you don't even know what that means, you must make a decision not to play around with religion. Religion is the downfall of most people. Why I say that is religion is based on man and a relationship is based on an actual knowing the person you are in relationship with. Since Jesus came to this earth, died on the cross for our sins and was raised from the dead He is alive and wants to be in relationship with us. Why else would He come and do that? He wants to be involved in every aspect of our lives. When we decide to follow Jesus and live according to His Word we become truly free. Many people think that the Bible is full of do's and don'ts that mean you can't have fun or enjoy your life. On the contrary, by following the Bible and living according to Jesus' plan for your life you not only will have life but you will have it in abundance to the full until it overflows. Here is Jesus Himself telling us this:
John 10:10 (AMP)
10The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).
That is such comforting news! That must be why it is called the Good News. Jesus came so that I could have and enjoy life so much that it is abundant and will overflow my life. This means every area of my life. My health, my finances, my relationships, my family, my mind, etc. There is no area of my life that Jesus didn't come to reclaim. Why wouldn't I want to have a relationship with someone who promises me that?
If you want to have a relationship with this man Jesus who came so that you too can have and enjoy life, in abundance to the full until it overflows then all you have to do is ask. What? It's that easy? Yes! Ask Jesus to come into your life and be your Lord and Savior and He will come in and reside within you. Once you do that He will change your life forever, in a good way not a bad way. Praise God that He loves us so much that He sent Jesus to earth to redeem that which was lost with Adam and Eve. What I have just discussed is not a religion but a relationship with the person of Jesus. It gets even better! When Jesus ascended to heaven to be with God the Father He sent the Holy Spirit to be with us until He returns. The Holy Spirit is our counselor, comforter, teacher and guide through this life we live on earth. He is the source of the dynamic power we can use to be mighty in Christ. The same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is ready to work through you to impact this world for Jesus. All you have to do is ask that the Holy Spirit fill you up to overflowing and ask for evidence of this happening by speaking in other tongues. This in nothing to be afraid of nor to shy away from. We need to Holy Spirit in our lives to reveal the truth of the Word to us. Without His involvement we will not fully understand what the Word is saying and will not properly apply it to our lives. People trying to have a relationship with Jesus without the involvement of the Holy Spirit is like the carpenter who tries to use his circular saw when it is not plugged in. He won't be able to cut anything until he connects the saw to the power source. We are the same way. We cannot fully operate as Jesus has created us without being plugged into the Holy Spirit.
Father I thank You for Jesus, for the Holy Spirit and for Your plan for my life. May I be filled afresh and anew today with the Holy Spirit to guide me and direct me on the path You have laid out for me. Show me the next step to take and may I continue to be fully reliant upon You to show me that next step. In Jesus name, Amen.
Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Don’t Jump to Conclusions
Esther 6:1-13
1 That night the king had trouble sleeping, so he ordered an attendant to bring the book of the history of his reign so it could be read to him. 2 In those records he discovered an account of how Mordecai had exposed the plot of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the eunuchs who guarded the door to the king’s private quarters. They had plotted to assassinate King Xerxes.
3 “What reward or recognition did we ever give Mordecai for this?” the king asked.
His attendants replied, “Nothing has been done for him.”
4 “Who is that in the outer court?” the king inquired. As it happened, Haman had just arrived in the outer court of the palace to ask the king to impale Mordecai on the pole he had prepared.
5 So the attendants replied to the king, “Haman is out in the court.”
“Bring him in,” the king ordered. 6 So Haman came in, and the king said, “What should I do to honor a man who truly pleases me?”
Haman thought to himself, “Whom would the king wish to honor more than me?” 7 So he replied, “If the king wishes to honor someone, 8 he should bring out one of the king’s own royal robes, as well as a horse that the king himself has ridden—one with a royal emblem on its head. 9 Let the robes and the horse be handed over to one of the king’s most noble officials. And let him see that the man whom the king wishes to honor is dressed in the king’s robes and led through the city square on the king’s horse. Have the official shout as they go, ‘This is what the king does for someone he wishes to honor!’”
10 “Excellent!” the king said to Haman. “Quick! Take the robes and my horse, and do just as you have said for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the gate of the palace. Leave out nothing you have suggested!”
11 So Haman took the robes and put them on Mordecai, placed him on the king’s own horse, and led him through the city square, shouting, “This is what the king does for someone he wishes to honor!” 12 Afterward Mordecai returned to the palace gate, but Haman hurried home dejected and completely humiliated.
13 When Haman told his wife, Zeresh, and all his friends what had happened, his wise advisers and his wife said, “Since Mordecai—this man who has humiliated you—is of Jewish birth, you will never succeed in your plans against him. It will be fatal to continue opposing him.”
As we see here in this story Haman is expecting to be praised by the king. Since Haman was so consumed with himself he didn't think the king could have been talking about anyone else but him. Here he is planning to impale Mordecai on a pole because he has the audacity to not bow down to him and it gets turned around. Not only does the one he wish to die not get killed but Haman himself has to walk around the city with this man on the king's horse, in the king's robe proclaiming "This is what the king does for someone he wishes to honor!"
This story reminds me of a passage in the book of John:
John 12:43
For they loved human praise more than the praise of God.
This was speaking of the pharisees who did believe in Jesus but wouldn't admit it because they were afraid of what other would think. Haman so desired praise from people, he even thought he deserved it. Who else could please the king more than he could? So when the king asked the question he thought the king was talking about him. This is why we cannot be consumed with our own press, either positive or negative. If we do not give glory, honor and credit to whom it is due, Jesus, then we are in trouble. When we start to believe nice things people may say about us or something that we did and we don't give the glory to God, then that is the extent of our reward.
Why is it that our flesh likes to be praised so much? Why is what other people think about us more important that what God thinks about us? Jesus teaches us more about humility here:
Luke 14:7-11
7 When Jesus noticed that all who had come to the dinner were trying to sit in the seats of honor near the head of the table, he gave them this advice: 8 “When you are invited to a wedding feast, don’t sit in the seat of honor. What if someone who is more distinguished than you has also been invited? 9 The host will come and say, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then you will be embarrassed, and you will have to take whatever seat is left at the foot of the table!
10 “Instead, take the lowest place at the foot of the table. Then when your host sees you, he will come and say, ‘Friend, we have a better place for you!’ Then you will be honored in front of all the other guests. 11 For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Haman did just what Jesus was talking about. He thought about himself being honored by the king and was humiliated in the process.
One thing I noticed here in verse 13 is that his wife and his friends told him that his plans against Mordecai should be stopped because it will be fatal for him if he doesn't. They saw the blessing of the Lord upon Mordecai and knew what would happen if Haman continued his plan. Mordecai didn't have to run around and proclaim that the blessing was on him, people knew it without being told. People who do not know the Lord should be able to tell that we have the Lord in us by our actions, not because we tell them.
Lord I thank You for revealing more of Yourself through the Word. I thank You for giving insight and wisdom into how we are to live and act. I thank You that only You are worthy to be praised and all the glory and honor belong to You alone. I truly am nothing without You in my life. Everything I have is because of Your love for me not because of anything I have done or any plans I have made. I praise You today for who You are to me and to my family. I love You and will serve You alone all the days of my life. Amen.
Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved
1 That night the king had trouble sleeping, so he ordered an attendant to bring the book of the history of his reign so it could be read to him. 2 In those records he discovered an account of how Mordecai had exposed the plot of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the eunuchs who guarded the door to the king’s private quarters. They had plotted to assassinate King Xerxes.
3 “What reward or recognition did we ever give Mordecai for this?” the king asked.
His attendants replied, “Nothing has been done for him.”
4 “Who is that in the outer court?” the king inquired. As it happened, Haman had just arrived in the outer court of the palace to ask the king to impale Mordecai on the pole he had prepared.
5 So the attendants replied to the king, “Haman is out in the court.”
“Bring him in,” the king ordered. 6 So Haman came in, and the king said, “What should I do to honor a man who truly pleases me?”
Haman thought to himself, “Whom would the king wish to honor more than me?” 7 So he replied, “If the king wishes to honor someone, 8 he should bring out one of the king’s own royal robes, as well as a horse that the king himself has ridden—one with a royal emblem on its head. 9 Let the robes and the horse be handed over to one of the king’s most noble officials. And let him see that the man whom the king wishes to honor is dressed in the king’s robes and led through the city square on the king’s horse. Have the official shout as they go, ‘This is what the king does for someone he wishes to honor!’”
10 “Excellent!” the king said to Haman. “Quick! Take the robes and my horse, and do just as you have said for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the gate of the palace. Leave out nothing you have suggested!”
11 So Haman took the robes and put them on Mordecai, placed him on the king’s own horse, and led him through the city square, shouting, “This is what the king does for someone he wishes to honor!” 12 Afterward Mordecai returned to the palace gate, but Haman hurried home dejected and completely humiliated.
13 When Haman told his wife, Zeresh, and all his friends what had happened, his wise advisers and his wife said, “Since Mordecai—this man who has humiliated you—is of Jewish birth, you will never succeed in your plans against him. It will be fatal to continue opposing him.”
As we see here in this story Haman is expecting to be praised by the king. Since Haman was so consumed with himself he didn't think the king could have been talking about anyone else but him. Here he is planning to impale Mordecai on a pole because he has the audacity to not bow down to him and it gets turned around. Not only does the one he wish to die not get killed but Haman himself has to walk around the city with this man on the king's horse, in the king's robe proclaiming "This is what the king does for someone he wishes to honor!"
This story reminds me of a passage in the book of John:
John 12:43
For they loved human praise more than the praise of God.
This was speaking of the pharisees who did believe in Jesus but wouldn't admit it because they were afraid of what other would think. Haman so desired praise from people, he even thought he deserved it. Who else could please the king more than he could? So when the king asked the question he thought the king was talking about him. This is why we cannot be consumed with our own press, either positive or negative. If we do not give glory, honor and credit to whom it is due, Jesus, then we are in trouble. When we start to believe nice things people may say about us or something that we did and we don't give the glory to God, then that is the extent of our reward.
Why is it that our flesh likes to be praised so much? Why is what other people think about us more important that what God thinks about us? Jesus teaches us more about humility here:
Luke 14:7-11
7 When Jesus noticed that all who had come to the dinner were trying to sit in the seats of honor near the head of the table, he gave them this advice: 8 “When you are invited to a wedding feast, don’t sit in the seat of honor. What if someone who is more distinguished than you has also been invited? 9 The host will come and say, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then you will be embarrassed, and you will have to take whatever seat is left at the foot of the table!
10 “Instead, take the lowest place at the foot of the table. Then when your host sees you, he will come and say, ‘Friend, we have a better place for you!’ Then you will be honored in front of all the other guests. 11 For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Haman did just what Jesus was talking about. He thought about himself being honored by the king and was humiliated in the process.
One thing I noticed here in verse 13 is that his wife and his friends told him that his plans against Mordecai should be stopped because it will be fatal for him if he doesn't. They saw the blessing of the Lord upon Mordecai and knew what would happen if Haman continued his plan. Mordecai didn't have to run around and proclaim that the blessing was on him, people knew it without being told. People who do not know the Lord should be able to tell that we have the Lord in us by our actions, not because we tell them.
Lord I thank You for revealing more of Yourself through the Word. I thank You for giving insight and wisdom into how we are to live and act. I thank You that only You are worthy to be praised and all the glory and honor belong to You alone. I truly am nothing without You in my life. Everything I have is because of Your love for me not because of anything I have done or any plans I have made. I praise You today for who You are to me and to my family. I love You and will serve You alone all the days of my life. Amen.
Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved
Monday, January 19, 2009
Favor Revealed Through Prayer and Fasting
Esther 5:1-8
1 On the third day of the fast, Esther put on her royal robes and entered the inner court of the palace, just across from the king’s hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne, facing the entrance. 2 When he saw Queen Esther standing there in the inner court, he welcomed her and held out the gold scepter to her. So Esther approached and touched the end of the scepter.
3 Then the king asked her, “What do you want, Queen Esther? What is your request? I will give it to you, even if it is half the kingdom!”
4 And Esther replied, “If it please the king, let the king and Haman come today to a banquet I have prepared for the king.”
5 The king turned to his attendants and said, “Tell Haman to come quickly to a banquet, as Esther has requested.” So the king and Haman went to Esther’s banquet.
6 And while they were drinking wine, the king said to Esther, “Now tell me what you really want. What is your request? I will give it to you, even if it is half the kingdom!”
7 Esther replied, “This is my request and deepest wish. 8 If I have found favor with the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my request and do what I ask, please come with Haman tomorrow to the banquet I will prepare for you. Then I will explain what this is all about.”
This is a testimony to share. Yesterday we learned that if Esther approached the king when she hadn't been called he could have her put to death. As we saw in yesterday's reading Esther prepared herself by humbling herself, asking for prayers from others, fasting and praying herself and this is how it turned out. Not only did the king not kill her, but told her he would give her anything she requested, even if it was half the kingdom. That is favor. That is the result of humbling your self before God and man. She was the queen so why would she have had to do that? She didn't really have to. She knew she was the king's favorite so she could have just said I will talk to my husband and he will do what I ask. She didn't take her relationship with the king for granted and sought the prayers of others. She also denied her flesh by fasting while she was praying. The Bible has many instances of fasting and praying and the results are always the same. Victory and favor are the typical outcomes of the denial of self through fasting.
If we remember in Ezra the 8th chapter, the exiles got together and prayed and fasted for three days prior to their journey to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. They were taking with them the huge offerings given by their captives and sought protection on their journey. They arrived safely and made the offerings at the temple.
In Nehemiah's first two chapters he discusses his prayer and fasting for the captives of Israel and his desire to rebuild the walls and the temple in Jerusalem. He sought the favor of the king and not only was he shown favor, but the king gave him whatever he wanted to accomplish his mission.
Of course Jesus Himself gives us direction about prayer and fasting...
Matthew 6:5-18
5 “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. 6 But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
7 “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. 8 Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him! 9 Pray like this:
Our Father in heaven,
may your name be kept holy.
10 May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done on earth,
as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today the food we need,
12 and forgive us our sins,
as we have forgiven those who sin against us.
13 And don’t let us yield to temptation,
but rescue us from the evil one.
14 “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. 15 But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.
16 “And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. 17 But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. 18 Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
So it is not just doing the prayer and fasting that is what is needed, but our heart condition is a key as well. That seems to be a key for God throughout the bible. That is why Esther and her fellow Jews were successful in their endeavor with the king. They were not flashy nor were they trying to be noticed while doing it. They were humble in their effort and saw the results they were praying for.
Heavenly Father I thank You that You care enough for me to show me the attitude I must have when I fast and pray. I thank You that Your Word doesn't return void and that it will accomplish all that it says. I praise You that Jesus instructed me in the way of rightly praying and fasting so that I can direct my flesh and put it under accordingly as needed. Your favor is what I seek not the praise of man. The favor that comes from You is more precious than the praise of all the people of this world. In Your favor is Your holiness. In Your favor there is Your will being done on earth as it is in heaven. In Your favor there is the food we need. In Your favor there is forgiveness of sins and the ability to forgive others. In Your favor there is protection. In Your favor there is success. I thank You for Your favor upon me and flowing through me. Amen.
Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved
1 On the third day of the fast, Esther put on her royal robes and entered the inner court of the palace, just across from the king’s hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne, facing the entrance. 2 When he saw Queen Esther standing there in the inner court, he welcomed her and held out the gold scepter to her. So Esther approached and touched the end of the scepter.
3 Then the king asked her, “What do you want, Queen Esther? What is your request? I will give it to you, even if it is half the kingdom!”
4 And Esther replied, “If it please the king, let the king and Haman come today to a banquet I have prepared for the king.”
5 The king turned to his attendants and said, “Tell Haman to come quickly to a banquet, as Esther has requested.” So the king and Haman went to Esther’s banquet.
6 And while they were drinking wine, the king said to Esther, “Now tell me what you really want. What is your request? I will give it to you, even if it is half the kingdom!”
7 Esther replied, “This is my request and deepest wish. 8 If I have found favor with the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my request and do what I ask, please come with Haman tomorrow to the banquet I will prepare for you. Then I will explain what this is all about.”
This is a testimony to share. Yesterday we learned that if Esther approached the king when she hadn't been called he could have her put to death. As we saw in yesterday's reading Esther prepared herself by humbling herself, asking for prayers from others, fasting and praying herself and this is how it turned out. Not only did the king not kill her, but told her he would give her anything she requested, even if it was half the kingdom. That is favor. That is the result of humbling your self before God and man. She was the queen so why would she have had to do that? She didn't really have to. She knew she was the king's favorite so she could have just said I will talk to my husband and he will do what I ask. She didn't take her relationship with the king for granted and sought the prayers of others. She also denied her flesh by fasting while she was praying. The Bible has many instances of fasting and praying and the results are always the same. Victory and favor are the typical outcomes of the denial of self through fasting.
If we remember in Ezra the 8th chapter, the exiles got together and prayed and fasted for three days prior to their journey to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. They were taking with them the huge offerings given by their captives and sought protection on their journey. They arrived safely and made the offerings at the temple.
In Nehemiah's first two chapters he discusses his prayer and fasting for the captives of Israel and his desire to rebuild the walls and the temple in Jerusalem. He sought the favor of the king and not only was he shown favor, but the king gave him whatever he wanted to accomplish his mission.
Of course Jesus Himself gives us direction about prayer and fasting...
Matthew 6:5-18
5 “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. 6 But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
7 “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. 8 Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him! 9 Pray like this:
Our Father in heaven,
may your name be kept holy.
10 May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done on earth,
as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today the food we need,
12 and forgive us our sins,
as we have forgiven those who sin against us.
13 And don’t let us yield to temptation,
but rescue us from the evil one.
14 “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. 15 But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.
16 “And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. 17 But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. 18 Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
So it is not just doing the prayer and fasting that is what is needed, but our heart condition is a key as well. That seems to be a key for God throughout the bible. That is why Esther and her fellow Jews were successful in their endeavor with the king. They were not flashy nor were they trying to be noticed while doing it. They were humble in their effort and saw the results they were praying for.
Heavenly Father I thank You that You care enough for me to show me the attitude I must have when I fast and pray. I thank You that Your Word doesn't return void and that it will accomplish all that it says. I praise You that Jesus instructed me in the way of rightly praying and fasting so that I can direct my flesh and put it under accordingly as needed. Your favor is what I seek not the praise of man. The favor that comes from You is more precious than the praise of all the people of this world. In Your favor is Your holiness. In Your favor there is Your will being done on earth as it is in heaven. In Your favor there is the food we need. In Your favor there is forgiveness of sins and the ability to forgive others. In Your favor there is protection. In Your favor there is success. I thank You for Your favor upon me and flowing through me. Amen.
Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Humility Precedes Honor
Esther 4:7-17
7 Mordecai told him the whole story, including the exact amount of money Haman had promised to pay into the royal treasury for the destruction of the Jews. 8 Mordecai gave Hathach a copy of the decree issued in Susa that called for the death of all Jews. He asked Hathach to show it to Esther and explain the situation to her. He also asked Hathach to direct her to go to the king to beg for mercy and plead for her people. 9 So Hathach returned to Esther with Mordecai’s message.
10 Then Esther told Hathach to go back and relay this message to Mordecai: 11 “All the king’s officials and even the people in the provinces know that anyone who appears before the king in his inner court without being invited is doomed to die unless the king holds out his gold scepter. And the king has not called for me to come to him for thirty days.” 12 So Hathach gave Esther’s message to Mordecai.
13 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. 14 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?”
15 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.” 17 So Mordecai went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him.
Here is an example of someone who had to humble herself and the position she held to bring deliverance to her people. This is another story about a Kinsman Redeemer that I have looked at previously.
Apparently news must not get to the queen's chambers very quickly. I would have expected her to be one of the first people to hear about it since she lives in the palace and the guards or her servants would have talked about it. I know it wouldn't have been that quick for the whole kingdom to have heard about it like it would be today with TV, radio and the internet spilling forth "news" 24/7. I wonder if they were normally this insulated from the outside world as well as what was going on in their own home?
Either way Esther found out about the plan put together by Haman. She now has to make a decision. Do I speak up for my people as a Jew or do I be quiet and stay safe? I noticed in Mordecai's reply to her that he had some large faith in action. In verse 14 it says, "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." He knew that it wasn't only dependant upon her to act in order to save the Jewish people. If she chose not to then she would be dealt with by God and He would raise up someone else to deliver the Jews out from under this threat. That's faith! He was calling something that wasn't as if it was. Praise God for faith like that!
His last sentence is one that I have found very appropriate to apply to my life a number of times lately. " Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?” I know that I am not a queen, but I substitute the word king in there for myself. I was made to be a king at such a time as this. Let me tell you how I know.
I had always wondered why God made me the way that I was. When I was around 30 years old I heard someone preach a message that I thought was written just for me. She was preaching about what she called "Red People". God had given her a dream and in that dream He explained who Red People were. The example He used for her to understand was one of a pile of dirty laundry. He asked her what do you do with dirty laundry. Her reply was wash it. He asked her if she separated the laundry first into like colors, i.e. whites, delicates, light colors, dark colors, etc. She said of course. He then asked her about the red clothes. She said she would wash those separately so they wouldn't bleed into the other clothes. He then told her that He created people to be like the clothes that were being separated before they were washed. He created Red People so that when they would be washed by the Holy Spirit that they would bleed onto anyone who was around them. Red People are gifted to be doers of the Word. When they see a need they go and do as the Word as instructed. They don't form committees or prayer chains or seek 40 confirmations before they do what they know God has instructed them to do. They just go and do. They are also called to be kings in the marketplace and to be major funding channels for God's plans here on earth to get accomplished. The whole time she was describing this I thought she was talking about me.
It didn't still hit me very hard until a year later when I was at a service in a different church and was communicating with some friends who were there afterwards. One of the guys who was there said he saw "Erik the Red" at the meeting last night. That phrase hit me between the eyes. I thought about it and had to call my mom. I asked her where she got the name of Erik for me. She told me that she named me after her favorite Norwegian explorer Erik the Red. The words in Jeremiah 1:5 came rushing into my remembrance, “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb." God was telling me that He knew before I was born that He had created me to be who I was and to be alive when I was so that I was alive for such a time as this to be who He created me to be. That was an awesome revelation to receive from Him. Praise God!
I am alive at this time in history doing what God tells me to do when He tells me to do it. I am called to be a king who channels his finances for God's plans here on earth. That is what I am called and created to do so I will do it with every last breath I have. Just as we will see tomorrow that Ether did what she was created to do I too will be obedient to God's plan for my life.
Father I thank You for knowing me before I was born. I thank You for creating me to be who You have created me to be. I thank You for revealing Your will for me through Your Word and for confirming it through Your Word. I thank You that I am alive at such a time as this and that You will continue to use me as You see fit. I will go when You say go and do what You say to do. I thank You that Your plans for me are to prosper me and not to harm me. My spirit soars when I think of You and Your love for me. I thank You that You first loved me and through the revelation of Your love for me that I accepted the gift of salvation You gave to me. I thank You also for the Holy Spirit who guides me through Your plans for me. I praise You and honor You today and every day. In Jesus name, Amen.
Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved
7 Mordecai told him the whole story, including the exact amount of money Haman had promised to pay into the royal treasury for the destruction of the Jews. 8 Mordecai gave Hathach a copy of the decree issued in Susa that called for the death of all Jews. He asked Hathach to show it to Esther and explain the situation to her. He also asked Hathach to direct her to go to the king to beg for mercy and plead for her people. 9 So Hathach returned to Esther with Mordecai’s message.
10 Then Esther told Hathach to go back and relay this message to Mordecai: 11 “All the king’s officials and even the people in the provinces know that anyone who appears before the king in his inner court without being invited is doomed to die unless the king holds out his gold scepter. And the king has not called for me to come to him for thirty days.” 12 So Hathach gave Esther’s message to Mordecai.
13 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. 14 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?”
15 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.” 17 So Mordecai went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him.
Here is an example of someone who had to humble herself and the position she held to bring deliverance to her people. This is another story about a Kinsman Redeemer that I have looked at previously.
Apparently news must not get to the queen's chambers very quickly. I would have expected her to be one of the first people to hear about it since she lives in the palace and the guards or her servants would have talked about it. I know it wouldn't have been that quick for the whole kingdom to have heard about it like it would be today with TV, radio and the internet spilling forth "news" 24/7. I wonder if they were normally this insulated from the outside world as well as what was going on in their own home?
Either way Esther found out about the plan put together by Haman. She now has to make a decision. Do I speak up for my people as a Jew or do I be quiet and stay safe? I noticed in Mordecai's reply to her that he had some large faith in action. In verse 14 it says, "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." He knew that it wasn't only dependant upon her to act in order to save the Jewish people. If she chose not to then she would be dealt with by God and He would raise up someone else to deliver the Jews out from under this threat. That's faith! He was calling something that wasn't as if it was. Praise God for faith like that!
His last sentence is one that I have found very appropriate to apply to my life a number of times lately. " Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?” I know that I am not a queen, but I substitute the word king in there for myself. I was made to be a king at such a time as this. Let me tell you how I know.
I had always wondered why God made me the way that I was. When I was around 30 years old I heard someone preach a message that I thought was written just for me. She was preaching about what she called "Red People". God had given her a dream and in that dream He explained who Red People were. The example He used for her to understand was one of a pile of dirty laundry. He asked her what do you do with dirty laundry. Her reply was wash it. He asked her if she separated the laundry first into like colors, i.e. whites, delicates, light colors, dark colors, etc. She said of course. He then asked her about the red clothes. She said she would wash those separately so they wouldn't bleed into the other clothes. He then told her that He created people to be like the clothes that were being separated before they were washed. He created Red People so that when they would be washed by the Holy Spirit that they would bleed onto anyone who was around them. Red People are gifted to be doers of the Word. When they see a need they go and do as the Word as instructed. They don't form committees or prayer chains or seek 40 confirmations before they do what they know God has instructed them to do. They just go and do. They are also called to be kings in the marketplace and to be major funding channels for God's plans here on earth to get accomplished. The whole time she was describing this I thought she was talking about me.
It didn't still hit me very hard until a year later when I was at a service in a different church and was communicating with some friends who were there afterwards. One of the guys who was there said he saw "Erik the Red" at the meeting last night. That phrase hit me between the eyes. I thought about it and had to call my mom. I asked her where she got the name of Erik for me. She told me that she named me after her favorite Norwegian explorer Erik the Red. The words in Jeremiah 1:5 came rushing into my remembrance, “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb." God was telling me that He knew before I was born that He had created me to be who I was and to be alive when I was so that I was alive for such a time as this to be who He created me to be. That was an awesome revelation to receive from Him. Praise God!
I am alive at this time in history doing what God tells me to do when He tells me to do it. I am called to be a king who channels his finances for God's plans here on earth. That is what I am called and created to do so I will do it with every last breath I have. Just as we will see tomorrow that Ether did what she was created to do I too will be obedient to God's plan for my life.
Father I thank You for knowing me before I was born. I thank You for creating me to be who You have created me to be. I thank You for revealing Your will for me through Your Word and for confirming it through Your Word. I thank You that I am alive at such a time as this and that You will continue to use me as You see fit. I will go when You say go and do what You say to do. I thank You that Your plans for me are to prosper me and not to harm me. My spirit soars when I think of You and Your love for me. I thank You that You first loved me and through the revelation of Your love for me that I accepted the gift of salvation You gave to me. I thank You also for the Holy Spirit who guides me through Your plans for me. I praise You and honor You today and every day. In Jesus name, Amen.
Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Pride Goes Before Destruction
Esther 3:1-10
1 Some time later King Xerxes promoted Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite over all the other nobles, making him the most powerful official in the empire. 2 All the king’s officials would bow down before Haman to show him respect whenever he passed by, for so the king had commanded. But Mordecai refused to bow down or show him respect.
3 Then the palace officials at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why are you disobeying the king’s command?” 4 They spoke to him day after day, but still he refused to comply with the order. So they spoke to Haman about this to see if he would tolerate Mordecai’s conduct, since Mordecai had told them he was a Jew.
5 When Haman saw that Mordecai would not bow down or show him respect, he was filled with rage. 6 He had learned of Mordecai’s nationality, so he decided it was not enough to lay hands on Mordecai alone. Instead, he looked for a way to destroy all the Jews throughout the entire empire of Xerxes.
7 So in the month of April, during the twelfth year of King Xerxes’ reign, lots were cast in Haman’s presence (the lots were called purim) to determine the best day and month to take action. And the day selected was March 7, nearly a year later.
8 Then Haman approached King Xerxes and said, “There is a certain race of people scattered through all the provinces of your empire who keep themselves separate from everyone else. Their laws are different from those of any other people, and they refuse to obey the laws of the king. So it is not in the king’s interest to let them live. 9 If it please the king, issue a decree that they be destroyed, and I will give 10,000 large sacks of silver to the government administrators to be deposited in the royal treasury.”
10 The king agreed, confirming his decision by removing his signet ring from his finger and giving it to Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. 11 The king said, “The money and the people are both yours to do with as you see fit.”
This is a perfect example of what pride can do to a person. Haman is so blinded by pride that he wants to destroy an entire people group because of one person. Hmmmmm. I wonder if this situation sounds familiar? I will talk about that later.
The attitude of Mordecai is also very familiar. I think I have seen this before, but where could it be? I know:
Daniel 1:8-16
8 But Daniel was determined not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king. He asked the chief of staff for permission not to eat these unacceptable foods. 9 Now God had given the chief of staff both respect and affection for Daniel. 10 But he responded, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has ordered that you eat this food and wine. If you become pale and thin compared to the other youths your age, I am afraid the king will have me beheaded.”
11 Daniel spoke with the attendant who had been appointed by the chief of staff to look after Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 12 “Please test us for ten days on a diet of vegetables and water,” Daniel said. 13 “At the end of the ten days, see how we look compared to the other young men who are eating the king’s food. Then make your decision in light of what you see.” 14 The attendant agreed to Daniel’s suggestion and tested them for ten days.
15 At the end of the ten days, Daniel and his three friends looked healthier and better nourished than the young men who had been eating the food assigned by the king. 16 So after that, the attendant fed them only vegetables instead of the food and wine provided for the others.
I also think that there is another instance where this can be found...In the 3rd chapter of Daniel the king had issued a decree that everyone was to bow down to this new statue of himself that he created and anyone who didn't would be thrown into a fiery furnace. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not bow down to his statue and some people told the king about it. Here is their interaction with the king:
Daniel 3:13-18
13 Then Nebuchadnezzar flew into a rage and ordered that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought before him. When they were brought in, 14 Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you refuse to serve my gods or to worship the gold statue I have set up? 15 I will give you one more chance to bow down and worship the statue I have made when you hear the sound of the musical instruments. But if you refuse, you will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace. And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power?”
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. 18 But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”
That was pretty awesome! I wonder how it turned out? Let's see.
Daniel 3:19-30
19 Nebuchadnezzar was so furious with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face became distorted with rage. He commanded that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual. 20 Then he ordered some of the strongest men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. 21 So they tied them up and threw them into the furnace, fully dressed in their pants, turbans, robes, and other garments. 22 And because the king, in his anger, had demanded such a hot fire in the furnace, the flames killed the soldiers as they threw the three men in. 23 So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, securely tied, fell into the roaring flames.
24 But suddenly, Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in amazement and exclaimed to his advisers, “Didn’t we tie up three men and throw them into the furnace?”
“Yes, Your Majesty, we certainly did,” they replied.
25 “Look!” Nebuchadnezzar shouted. “I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire unharmed! And the fourth looks like a god!”
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came as close as he could to the door of the flaming furnace and shouted: “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!”
So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stepped out of the fire. 27 Then the high officers, officials, governors, and advisers crowded around them and saw that the fire had not touched them. Not a hair on their heads was singed, and their clothing was not scorched. They didn’t even smell of smoke!
28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel to rescue his servants who trusted in him. They defied the king’s command and were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore, I make this decree: If any people, whatever their race or nation or language, speak a word against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they will be torn limb from limb, and their houses will be turned into heaps of rubble. There is no other god who can rescue like this!”
30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to even higher positions in the province of Babylon.
Looks like the God that I serve had the back of my brothers Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. The four of them were hanging out in the furnace and showed the king who was really in charge. Let's get back to that weasel Haman.
Haman must have been an unsecure person. He thrived on the positional authority he was put into by the king. He loved it because people were told to bow down when he came by. It made him feel important. Little did he realize that positional authority is the lowest level of authority. You truly do not have any true authority just based on your position within any organization you are in. One could observe the inner workings of most offices and places of employment and quickly be able to ascertain who the real leaders are. More often than not it won't be the person holding the title of manager or vice president or any other title. When God gifts a person with strong abilities of leadership the world does not often recognize that gift. Just like our story today.
Haman represents the world and its systems that are reliant on positional authority to get a sense of accomplishment. Why else are there so many people that strive for a title at their workplace instead of leading by example on a daily basis and letting God take care of any promotions? Why is it that people only want to talk to "the person in charge" when it comes to disputes? They assume that because of a person's title they are more likely to be able to handle the situation than someone who doesn't. That is often the downfall of people's misguided thinking. This type of narrow-minded thinking is what is going to get Haman into trouble. We will read more about his downfall tomorrow.
Back to what I alluded to earlier and someone else having a hatred for a whole group of people because of the actions of just one person. Let's see if you can figure it out.
"As a young boy he had shown natural talent for drawing. His gift for drawing had also been recognized by his high school instructors. But things had gone poorly for him in high school. He was a lazy and uncooperative student, who essentially flunked out. To escape the reality of that failure and avoid the dreaded reality of a workaday existence, Hitler put all his hope in the dream of achieving greatness as an artist.
He decided to attend the prestigious Vienna Academy of Fine Arts. In October 1907, at age eighteen, he withdrew his inheritance money from the bank and went to live and study in Vienna. His mother was by now suffering from breast cancer and had been unsuccessfully operated on in January. But His driving ambition to be a great artist overcame his reluctance to leave her.
He took the two day entrance exam for the academy's school of painting. Confident and self assured, he awaited the result, quite sure he would get in. But failure struck him like a bolt of lightning. His test drawings were judged unsatisfactory and he was not admitted. He was badly shaken by this rejection. He went back to the academy to get an explanation and was told his drawings showed a lack of talent for artistic painting, notably a lack of appreciation of the human form. He was told, however, that he had some ability for the field of architecture.
But without the required high school diploma, going to the building school and after that, the academy's architectural school, seemed doubtful. He resolved to take the painting school entrance exam again next year."
Copyright © 1996 The History Place™ All Rights Reserved
10 years later after being injured in World War I he was on leave and this is what is said next about him.
"He was appalled at the apathy and anti-war sentiment among German civilians. He blamed the Jews for much of this and saw them as conspiring to spread unrest and undermine the German war effort.
This idea of an anti-war conspiracy involving Jews would become an obsession to add to other anti-Semitic notions he acquired in Vienna, leading to an ever-growing hatred of Jews."
Copyright © 1996 The History Place™ All Rights Reserved
Any idea that the rejection this man by a Jew who was the head of this school that rejected him would lead to one of the worst atrocities ever? This young, uneducated, egotistical man is none other than Adolf Hitler. This rejection was an initial driving force later in his life as he tried to wipe out an entire race of people because of his hatred towards this person, who was a Jew.
Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved
1 Some time later King Xerxes promoted Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite over all the other nobles, making him the most powerful official in the empire. 2 All the king’s officials would bow down before Haman to show him respect whenever he passed by, for so the king had commanded. But Mordecai refused to bow down or show him respect.
3 Then the palace officials at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why are you disobeying the king’s command?” 4 They spoke to him day after day, but still he refused to comply with the order. So they spoke to Haman about this to see if he would tolerate Mordecai’s conduct, since Mordecai had told them he was a Jew.
5 When Haman saw that Mordecai would not bow down or show him respect, he was filled with rage. 6 He had learned of Mordecai’s nationality, so he decided it was not enough to lay hands on Mordecai alone. Instead, he looked for a way to destroy all the Jews throughout the entire empire of Xerxes.
7 So in the month of April, during the twelfth year of King Xerxes’ reign, lots were cast in Haman’s presence (the lots were called purim) to determine the best day and month to take action. And the day selected was March 7, nearly a year later.
8 Then Haman approached King Xerxes and said, “There is a certain race of people scattered through all the provinces of your empire who keep themselves separate from everyone else. Their laws are different from those of any other people, and they refuse to obey the laws of the king. So it is not in the king’s interest to let them live. 9 If it please the king, issue a decree that they be destroyed, and I will give 10,000 large sacks of silver to the government administrators to be deposited in the royal treasury.”
10 The king agreed, confirming his decision by removing his signet ring from his finger and giving it to Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. 11 The king said, “The money and the people are both yours to do with as you see fit.”
This is a perfect example of what pride can do to a person. Haman is so blinded by pride that he wants to destroy an entire people group because of one person. Hmmmmm. I wonder if this situation sounds familiar? I will talk about that later.
The attitude of Mordecai is also very familiar. I think I have seen this before, but where could it be? I know:
Daniel 1:8-16
8 But Daniel was determined not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king. He asked the chief of staff for permission not to eat these unacceptable foods. 9 Now God had given the chief of staff both respect and affection for Daniel. 10 But he responded, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has ordered that you eat this food and wine. If you become pale and thin compared to the other youths your age, I am afraid the king will have me beheaded.”
11 Daniel spoke with the attendant who had been appointed by the chief of staff to look after Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 12 “Please test us for ten days on a diet of vegetables and water,” Daniel said. 13 “At the end of the ten days, see how we look compared to the other young men who are eating the king’s food. Then make your decision in light of what you see.” 14 The attendant agreed to Daniel’s suggestion and tested them for ten days.
15 At the end of the ten days, Daniel and his three friends looked healthier and better nourished than the young men who had been eating the food assigned by the king. 16 So after that, the attendant fed them only vegetables instead of the food and wine provided for the others.
I also think that there is another instance where this can be found...In the 3rd chapter of Daniel the king had issued a decree that everyone was to bow down to this new statue of himself that he created and anyone who didn't would be thrown into a fiery furnace. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not bow down to his statue and some people told the king about it. Here is their interaction with the king:
Daniel 3:13-18
13 Then Nebuchadnezzar flew into a rage and ordered that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought before him. When they were brought in, 14 Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you refuse to serve my gods or to worship the gold statue I have set up? 15 I will give you one more chance to bow down and worship the statue I have made when you hear the sound of the musical instruments. But if you refuse, you will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace. And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power?”
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. 18 But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”
That was pretty awesome! I wonder how it turned out? Let's see.
Daniel 3:19-30
19 Nebuchadnezzar was so furious with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face became distorted with rage. He commanded that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual. 20 Then he ordered some of the strongest men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. 21 So they tied them up and threw them into the furnace, fully dressed in their pants, turbans, robes, and other garments. 22 And because the king, in his anger, had demanded such a hot fire in the furnace, the flames killed the soldiers as they threw the three men in. 23 So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, securely tied, fell into the roaring flames.
24 But suddenly, Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in amazement and exclaimed to his advisers, “Didn’t we tie up three men and throw them into the furnace?”
“Yes, Your Majesty, we certainly did,” they replied.
25 “Look!” Nebuchadnezzar shouted. “I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire unharmed! And the fourth looks like a god!”
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came as close as he could to the door of the flaming furnace and shouted: “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!”
So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stepped out of the fire. 27 Then the high officers, officials, governors, and advisers crowded around them and saw that the fire had not touched them. Not a hair on their heads was singed, and their clothing was not scorched. They didn’t even smell of smoke!
28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel to rescue his servants who trusted in him. They defied the king’s command and were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore, I make this decree: If any people, whatever their race or nation or language, speak a word against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they will be torn limb from limb, and their houses will be turned into heaps of rubble. There is no other god who can rescue like this!”
30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to even higher positions in the province of Babylon.
Looks like the God that I serve had the back of my brothers Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. The four of them were hanging out in the furnace and showed the king who was really in charge. Let's get back to that weasel Haman.
Haman must have been an unsecure person. He thrived on the positional authority he was put into by the king. He loved it because people were told to bow down when he came by. It made him feel important. Little did he realize that positional authority is the lowest level of authority. You truly do not have any true authority just based on your position within any organization you are in. One could observe the inner workings of most offices and places of employment and quickly be able to ascertain who the real leaders are. More often than not it won't be the person holding the title of manager or vice president or any other title. When God gifts a person with strong abilities of leadership the world does not often recognize that gift. Just like our story today.
Haman represents the world and its systems that are reliant on positional authority to get a sense of accomplishment. Why else are there so many people that strive for a title at their workplace instead of leading by example on a daily basis and letting God take care of any promotions? Why is it that people only want to talk to "the person in charge" when it comes to disputes? They assume that because of a person's title they are more likely to be able to handle the situation than someone who doesn't. That is often the downfall of people's misguided thinking. This type of narrow-minded thinking is what is going to get Haman into trouble. We will read more about his downfall tomorrow.
Back to what I alluded to earlier and someone else having a hatred for a whole group of people because of the actions of just one person. Let's see if you can figure it out.
"As a young boy he had shown natural talent for drawing. His gift for drawing had also been recognized by his high school instructors. But things had gone poorly for him in high school. He was a lazy and uncooperative student, who essentially flunked out. To escape the reality of that failure and avoid the dreaded reality of a workaday existence, Hitler put all his hope in the dream of achieving greatness as an artist.
He decided to attend the prestigious Vienna Academy of Fine Arts. In October 1907, at age eighteen, he withdrew his inheritance money from the bank and went to live and study in Vienna. His mother was by now suffering from breast cancer and had been unsuccessfully operated on in January. But His driving ambition to be a great artist overcame his reluctance to leave her.
He took the two day entrance exam for the academy's school of painting. Confident and self assured, he awaited the result, quite sure he would get in. But failure struck him like a bolt of lightning. His test drawings were judged unsatisfactory and he was not admitted. He was badly shaken by this rejection. He went back to the academy to get an explanation and was told his drawings showed a lack of talent for artistic painting, notably a lack of appreciation of the human form. He was told, however, that he had some ability for the field of architecture.
But without the required high school diploma, going to the building school and after that, the academy's architectural school, seemed doubtful. He resolved to take the painting school entrance exam again next year."
Copyright © 1996 The History Place™ All Rights Reserved
10 years later after being injured in World War I he was on leave and this is what is said next about him.
"He was appalled at the apathy and anti-war sentiment among German civilians. He blamed the Jews for much of this and saw them as conspiring to spread unrest and undermine the German war effort.
This idea of an anti-war conspiracy involving Jews would become an obsession to add to other anti-Semitic notions he acquired in Vienna, leading to an ever-growing hatred of Jews."
Copyright © 1996 The History Place™ All Rights Reserved
Any idea that the rejection this man by a Jew who was the head of this school that rejected him would lead to one of the worst atrocities ever? This young, uneducated, egotistical man is none other than Adolf Hitler. This rejection was an initial driving force later in his life as he tried to wipe out an entire race of people because of his hatred towards this person, who was a Jew.
Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved
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