“Before success comes in any man’s life, he is sure to meet with much temporary defeat, and, perhaps, some failure. When defeat overtakes a man, the easiest and most logical thing to do is to quit. That is exactly what the majority of men do. More than five hundred of the most successful men this country has ever known told the author their greatest success came just one step beyond the point at which defeat had overtaken them.”
24For Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast the pur (that is, the lot) for their ruin and destruction. 25But when the plot came to the king’s attention,a he issued written orders that the evil scheme Haman had devised against the Jews should come back onto his own head, and that he and his sons should be impaled on poles.(9:24-25)
1King Xerxes imposed tribute throughout the empire, to its distant shores. 2And all his acts of power and might, together with a full account of the greatness of Mordecai, whom the king had promoted, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Media and Persia? 3Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Xerxes, preeminent among the Jews, and held in high esteem by his many fellow Jews, because he worked for the good of his people and spoke up for the welfare of all the Jews.(10:1-3)
1King Xerxes imposed tribute throughout the empire, to its distant shores. 2And all his acts of power and might, together with a full account of the greatness of Mordecai, whom the king had promoted, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Media and Persia? 3Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Xerxes, preeminent among the Jews, and held in high esteem by his many fellow Jews, because he worked for the good of his people and spoke up for the welfare of all the Jews.(10:1-3)
ACTS 6
8Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. 9Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia—who began to argue with Stephen. 10But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.
11Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.”
12So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. 13They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. 14For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”
15All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
JOURNAL
Mordecai, Esther, and Stephen have become Outposts of the Kingdom. Their lives have become conduits of the power, love, and joy of God. What can I learn from them?
We all are part of a team...whether that be a family, a job, an athletic organization, a country or in the very least, the human race. The problem often comes when we don't like our team or wish we were on another team or don't believe we belong to our team. That usually is a result of experiencing heartache, difficulty, and failure, then interpreting those as evidence that something is wrong rather than just the harsh realities of life.
That dilemma can lead to a toxic mindset of always searching for, my place, my purpose...always hoping for a better circumstance, opportunity or for someone to come along and invite me to join the perfect team. The reality is that the perfect team is the one where I currently exist. It's in my dysfunctional family or bad job or screwed up country. God gives me the talent skills and power to better my team...because God has invited me to join his.
Bettering my team is best done in service and love, rather than through criticism, fear, hate and violence. The world of the new testament was really a messed up place...far worse than anything we deal with today. Christians aren't fed to lions or hoisted up and burned as torches to light the city of Rome. History shows us how far we have come, how blessed we are and yet we still have work to do. We still have a place in God's story. For me that means that every day that I am alive, with breath in my lungs, I am working to bring God's love and power to all the circumstances of my life. No matter how I feel or what those circumstances are...I am to bring the love and power of God to them.
Today is a great day and it really is a miracle and a gift. When I truly can embrace that I am part of God's Kingdom, then I actually have the power to create Outposts of his Kingdom, because I have become one and his Kingdom exists within my own heart and mind.
We all are part of a team...whether that be a family, a job, an athletic organization, a country or in the very least, the human race. The problem often comes when we don't like our team or wish we were on another team or don't believe we belong to our team. That usually is a result of experiencing heartache, difficulty, and failure, then interpreting those as evidence that something is wrong rather than just the harsh realities of life.
That dilemma can lead to a toxic mindset of always searching for, my place, my purpose...always hoping for a better circumstance, opportunity or for someone to come along and invite me to join the perfect team. The reality is that the perfect team is the one where I currently exist. It's in my dysfunctional family or bad job or screwed up country. God gives me the talent skills and power to better my team...because God has invited me to join his.
Bettering my team is best done in service and love, rather than through criticism, fear, hate and violence. The world of the new testament was really a messed up place...far worse than anything we deal with today. Christians aren't fed to lions or hoisted up and burned as torches to light the city of Rome. History shows us how far we have come, how blessed we are and yet we still have work to do. We still have a place in God's story. For me that means that every day that I am alive, with breath in my lungs, I am working to bring God's love and power to all the circumstances of my life. No matter how I feel or what those circumstances are...I am to bring the love and power of God to them.
Today is a great day and it really is a miracle and a gift. When I truly can embrace that I am part of God's Kingdom, then I actually have the power to create Outposts of his Kingdom, because I have become one and his Kingdom exists within my own heart and mind.
1Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
ROMANS 12:1-2
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