Deuteronomy. Take no prisoners.

If we were thinking about the mightiness of God in Chapter 6, then Chapter 7's instructions to 'take no prisoners' are no surprise. Anything that seeks to combat God and His people is to be destroyed. So Chapter 7 is full of instructions as to what to do with enemies and the idols they worship.

God is unique, having dominion over ALL creation. He does not ask us to ignore those things which lure us away from worshipping him, but to destroy them so that we worship HIM to the exclusion of all else.

Enemies are anything which seek to divert our attention and devotion away from God. If we vigorously seek, with God's almighty strength to help us,  to combat them, then we will remain in God's will and be blessed. We can do this - loosen the hold of the idols which lure us away from God - by setting our minds and hearts on Him, dwelling on his amazing character and goodness, setting our hearts apart to cherish Him:

"Do this because you are a people set apart as holy to God, your God.God, your God, chose you out of all the people on Earth for himself as a cherished, personal treasure.

God wasn’t attracted to you and didn’t choose you because you were big and important—the fact is, there was almost nothing to you. He did it out of sheer love, keeping the promise he made to your ancestors.God stepped in and mightily bought you back out of that world of slavery, freed you from the iron grip of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know this:God, your God, is God indeed, a God you can depend upon. He keeps his covenant of loyal love with those who love him and observe his commandments for a thousand generations. But he also pays back those who hate him, pays them the wages of death; he isn’t slow to pay them off—those who hate him, he pays right on time.

So keep the command and the rules and regulations that I command you today. Do them.

And this is what will happen: When you, on your part, will obey these directives, keeping and following them, God, on his part, will keep the covenant of loyal love that he made with your ancestors:
He will love you,
he will bless you,
he will increase you."

So "Do not be terrified by them, for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a great and awesome God."

When we do this, then, as Peter Jobes says, we can more easily share the news of the truth of God, offering answers to people hurt and broken by the pursuit of the idols of our time.

The plot revealed...

So the king has again asked Esther what he should give her. I wonder, was he used to people not saying straight away what they wanted? Unlikely.

Yet Esther has kept him waiting two days. This is the third time he has asked her what she wants.

Now she tells him.

"Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favour in your eyes, O King, and if it please the king, give me my life, and give my people their lives.

“We’ve been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed—sold to be massacred, eliminated. If we had just been sold off into slavery, I wouldn’t even have brought it up; our troubles wouldn’t have been worth bothering the king over.”

King Xerxes exploded, “Who? Where is he? This is monstrous!”

“An enemy. An adversary. This evil Haman,” said Esther.

Haman was terror-stricken before the king and queen."

Esther 7:3 - 6

Clever. She wasn't going to bother the king just about proposed slavery - was he then so heartless, that he wouldn't care? Or was this just a ploy to get him to realise how disastrous this would be for him, to lose so many of his subjects aka potential tax players.

Whatever, King Xerxes - the account now uses the Persian version of his name, rather than the Hebrew one - explodes in anger. He must have been really fond of Esther...and she was really brave. Her life hung on a knife edge. Haman was, after all the king's favourite and most trusted adviser - and here she is, attacking him. How she must have hung on to these words from Joshua...

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.         Yes, be bold and strong! Banish fear and doubt! For remember, the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Truth - at last

Interesting. A detailed background sketch of the man who will emerge as villain in the piece. Haman proves to be not only wicked in his own right, but is a descendant of Agag, king of the Amalekites, who were a cruel enemy of the Israelites. God told Saul to destroy the Amalekites completely but Saul spared their king, Agag. The prophet Samuel himself then  killed Agag, but his descendants lived on, with intent on complete annihilation of God's people.

We don't know all this yet, though. We know only that Haman has risen to the position of chief favourite who can do no wrong, and so: "All the king’s servants at the King’s Gate used to honour him by bowing down and kneeling before Haman—that’s what the king had commanded."
Egoistic, power hungry...
But...
Except Mordecai. Mordecai wouldn’t do it, wouldn’t bow down and kneel. The king’s servants at the King’s Gate asked Mordecai about it: “Why do you cross the king’s command?” Day after day they spoke to him about this but he wouldn’t listen, so they went to Haman to see whether something shouldn’t be done about it. Mordecai had told them that he was a Jew.  (The Message Esther 3:1- 4)

Mordecai has, at last, revealed his true identity. Because this is the crunch: Psalm 95:6 tells us, as do many many other verses: "So come, let us worship: bow before him, on your knees before God, who made us!"

Not before anyone else. Before God. It is God only who we should worship and adore: not men, however powerful, or clever, or gifted or talented...GOD.

This morning, this day, let me worship God alone. Putting him before everything else and especially before my standing with others...

Love God Greatly, the study I am doing this with, reminds me:

"1. It is never to late to take a stand.

Even though Mordecai didn’t stand up from the beginning, he decides to take a stand now. And we can do the same. We can choose this day to say, “No more” to the things that we have been letting slide that we know we should really take a stand for. Is it a TV show that we really know isn’t benefitting us? A gossip conversation that we have been a part of that we know we need to stop? Even if we have failed to take a stand in the past, it isn’t too late to say today is the day!

2. We can choose to bow to the Lord our God.

Psalm 95:6 invites us to worship and bow down before the Lord our God our Maker. Take a moment to read this verse and let it sink in. What have you been bowing to other than the Lord? Idols have a way of creeping in without us even realizing it! Take a moment to think about what has become an idol in your life, and confess. Then choose to bow to the Lord!"

My prayer: God, keep reminding me of who You are: awesome, majestic, the only one worthy of worship, adoration and praise.

Temptation and discouragement

Studying Luke with Good Morning Girls, we've reached Jesus' temptations. I've been teaching at school about it this last week, too.  Only to seven year olds, but that doesn't change Truth.

My truth is that I have been tempted severely. Not, of course, as much as Jesus, but it's been a big deal for me.
Tempted to give up on church.
Tempted to give up on reading the Bible.
Tempted to give up on praising and worshipping God.

You'd think that might have been enough. Oh no, I need to catalogue the whole long list. I need to stare Lies in the face and rediscover Truth.

Tempted to give in to self pity.
Tempted to give in to feelings of loneliness.
Tempted to give in to discouragement.

Tempted to refuse to forgive those who have hurt me.
Tempted to give up on loving.
Tempted to hate.

I've struggled.

I've been at the Point of Despair, worn the Black Dog of Depression around my neck, tasted the Fruit of Bitterness, gazed into the Pit of Destruction. 

Tempted to give up, give in,

My mind knew I needed to read Scripture. I managed, a little. Bits of a few Psalms.
My spirit longed to dig in, to study, to express my feelings in writing. I couldn't.
My soul recognised its thirst.

All I had left were prayers. Itty bitty, scattered, incoherent, doubting, inelegant prayers. At times, I could scarcely form the words.
I could barely pray for others, let alone myself.
Yet I found myself encouraging a friend recently diagnosed with cancer; another whose husband is struggling; crying out to God for my children.

I recognised I was tired.
I knew I had had a mildly stressful, draining time at work.
I tried to be easy on myself.

I can still barely pray, study - I am prevaricating now, as I write.

But I AM back here.
I DO have Bible passages open.
I WILL be reading the latest devotionals on the ongoing study.

There IS hope. Because God heard my broken prayers. He enabled me to read a little of his Word. He breathed TRUTH into my life...

Psalm 40
I waited and waited and waited for God.
At last he looked; finally he listened.
He lifted me out of the ditch, pulled me from deep mud.
He stood me up on a solid rock to make sure I wouldn’t slip.
He taught me how to sing the latest God-song,
a praise-song to our God.
More and more people are seeing this: they enter the mystery, abandoning themselves to God.

Blessed are you who give yourselves over to God,
turn your backs on the world’s “sure thing,” ignore what the world worships;
The world’s a huge stockpile of God-wonders and God-thoughts.
Nothing and no one comes close to you!

I start talking about you, telling what I know, and quickly run out of words.
Neither numbers nor words account for you.
Doing something for you, bringing something to you—that’s not what you’re after.
Being religious, acting pious—that’s not what you’re asking for.
You’ve opened my ears so I can listen.
So I answered, “I’m coming. I read in your letter what you wrote about me, and I’m coming to the party you’re throwing for me.”

That’s when God’s Word entered my life, became part of my very being.

I’ve preached you to the whole congregation, I’ve kept back nothing, God—you know that.
I didn’t keep the news of your ways a secret, didn’t keep it to myself.
I told it all, how dependable you are, how thorough.
I didn’t hold back pieces of love and truth for myself alone. I told it all, let the congregation know the whole story.
Now God, don’t hold out on me, don’t hold back your passion.
Your love and truth are all that keeps me together.When troubles ganged up on me, a mob of sins past counting,
I was so swamped by guilt I couldn’t see my way clear.More guilt in my heart than hair on my head, so heavy the guilt that my heart gave out.

Soften up, God, and intervene; hurry and get me some help,
So those who are trying to kidnap my soul will be embarrassed and lose face,
So anyone who gets a kick out of making me miserable will be heckled and disgraced,
So those who pray for my ruin will be booed and jeered without mercy.

But all who are hunting for you— oh, let them sing and be happy.
Let those who know what you’re all about tell the world you’re great and not quitting.
And me? I’m a mess. I’m nothing and have nothing: make something of me.You can do it; you’ve got what it takes— but God, don’t put it off.

HOPE. a.k.a. TRUTH.

No more lies.

This is the wise advice from Jen at Good Morning Girls. (I put it here as I don't trust weblinks not to break...)

" 1. His sympathy is wise.
He knows those who belong to him better than they know themselves. He knows his sheep (Jn. 10:14) God knows all the intricate bits of our lives and every single detail of the difficulty and temptations that we face. He knows exactly what we are going through, and is therefore best equipped to help.

2. His sympathy is practical
Jesus does not simply give us words of kindness or compassion. He goes beyond this by acting in our lives to bring about perseverance, joy, power and grace. “Not satisfied with a mere expression of sympathy, Christ imparts skill to fence, power to bear, grace to overcome.” (Octavious Winslow, Christ and the Christian in Temptation, 1877)

3. His sympathy is tender
It is easy for some to view Jesus as this stoic man who only ever talked about spiritual things. It is hard to imagine Jesus and his friends sitting around talking about the weather, sandals, marriage or the new restaurant in town. Though Jesus was God he also was fully man and had emotions like you and me. He laughed and was joyful, he felt love and anger, he felt compassion even to the point of weeping for a friend who had died (Jn, 11:35). He feels a tenderness for you when you are being tempted. He has been there, he is a “fellow sufferer” and knows how difficult temptations can be.

“He is touched with our misery, touched with our temptation, touched with our grief.” (Octavious Winslow, Christ and the Christian in Temptation, 1877)

4. His sympathy is prayerful
I love this. Jesus prays for you – for me! He cares so much that speaks to the Father on our behalf, for our good (Romans 8:34; Lk. 22:31). Do you see the endless amount of grace and kindness Jesus pours out on us? Do you see what a generous savior we have? His prayer for our perseverance ensures our victory.

Just as the devil tempted Christ he tempts us as well. While he cannot take away our salvation he will try everything in his power to rob us of our communion with Christ, to make us weak and useless for the advancement of the kingdom of God. He sets his sights on you and your destruction because in Christ you have everything.

“Pirates do not set upon poor empty vessels; and beggars need not fear the thief. Those that have most of God, and are most rich in grace – shall be most assaulted by Satan, who is the greatest and craftiest pirate in the world.”
(Thomas Brooks, Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices, 1652)

But while Satan’s goal is our ruin, God uses it for our good, for the testing and strengthening of our faith (James 1:12-13).

Here are three ways in which we can resist.

1. Stay close to God’s word.
The Bible is a grace that God has placed in our lives. We need to read it and know it well because it is for our salvation, our growth and our protection.(Prov. 12:24; Gal. 6:16)

If we let go of God’s word, then Satan will take us by the hand and lead us into his snares. (Thomas Brooks, Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices, 1652)

2. Seek Wisdom
There is a difference between being educated and being wise. Wisdom is God’s word applied to our daily lives. (Prov. 15:24)

“It is not the most knowing Christian—but the most wise Christian, who sees, avoids, and escapes Satan’s snares.” (Thomas Brooks)

3. Be watchful
Satan is watchful for any opportunity to damage us. Whether it be in small ways or in big ways. He wants to steal our peace, pervert our conscience, break our joy and feed us guilt and despair. (1 Peter 5:8).

Satan will try and whisper all kinds of lies and reasons for us to to give in. Do not reason with temptations, but resist them by running to Christ for help. Say with Catherine Bretterege “Reason not with me, I am but a weak woman, if you have anything to say, say it to my Christ; he is my advocate, my strength and my redeemer, he shall plead for me.”

Indeed.

Truth and lies...

I've been thinking about lying a lot recently.  As a Christian, with many Christian friends, I don't come across lying very much. Generally, my friends speak truth - not just an absence of lies, but truth-inspired wisdom. Wisdom which inspires, illuminates, encourages... But that's another story...

I've jotted down these notes to share at a breakfast I host each month...

Now, lie can mean, as the Oxford English Dictionary says, 'to make a false statement with the intention to deceive'. Lying can often mean much more than that.

I come across lying in my job quite often. While many children tell the truth, it is my experience that others lie almost automatically. They second-guess an answer, and, without time to evaluate the implications for them, 'play safe' by just lying. Along the lines of 'Did you do this?' they will answer 'No,' regardless of whatever 'this' might be. Usually, it only takes the lift of an eyebrow or a simple 'Really?' to get them to change their minds and 'tell the truth'. Usually.  Occasionally, there are individuals who find it very difficult to 'tell the truth' - in fact, 'truth' as they see it may seem far removed from facts and reality.  That's a bit harder, with children, but I usually get there in the end. And it is incredibly satisfying to see a child blossom and develop into a 'truth-teller', emerging from the darkness of hidden lies. 

But lying by adults I find very difficult. Especially when they lie to my face, thinking I don't know the truth. I like to believe what people tell me. I like to rely on their words, to take them as true, to depend on them. I trust others to tell me the truth, whoever they are:  friends, colleagues, acquaintances...  Naive, but trusting. I'm learning to take some statements with a 'pinch of salt' and check out the veracity - or otherwise - of the information. And I don't necessarily expect 'truth' from some quarters - double-glazing salesmen perhaps?  But the greater the degree of trust, the greater the betrayal.

It's happened to me recently. I'm growing up. I'm learning to live with it. But my trust has lessened exponentially.

It's not a nice feeling. It's made me even more determined to try to tell the truth as I know it - not as I see it, for there are always different opinions and sides to every question - as much as I can.

There are degrees of lies, of course: many of us say a 'white lie' is fine - said to spare someone's feelings. Or when truth is simply withheld, for the same reason, or because it might be embarrassing, or get someone into trouble, or...And those kind of lies are stories in themselves. Yet I'd like to suggest that even white lies, or withholding the truth, can cause as much harm as telling the obvious whopper. Because lying is a fundamental betrayal of trust. The person lying doesn't trust the person they are speaking to with the truth - and so they hide it. Yet, when the hearer KNOWS the truth, as happened to me recently, it is a huge deal. Ignorance is indeed bliss, for with knowledge of the truth come the piercing arrows of deception, distrust and disloyalty.  Proverbs 25:18 in the New Living Translation says: 
Telling lies about others is as harmful as hitting them with an ax, wounding them with a sword, or shooting them with a sharp arrow. In The Message it is: Anyone who tells lies against the neighbours in court or on the street is a loose cannon.  Psalm 57:4: I am in the midst of lions; I lie among ravenous beasts--men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.

Jeremiah 9:8:Their tongue is a deadly arrow; it speaks with deceit. With his mouth each speaks cordially to his neighbor, but in his heart he sets a trap for him.

It’s not ‘nice’!

The last wish of a dying man, reflected in Proverbs 30: 7-9, gives great importance to truth. It says And then he prayed, "God, I'm asking for two things before I die; don't refuse me—Banish lies from my lips and liars from my presence.

Unfortunately, we live in a world of lies, subject to the influence of the Father of lies...so:

1.    How can we live so that we ‘banish lies from our lips’?

2.    How can we deal with those who lie to us?

I think the key to any life question is to memorise what the Bible says: 

1. We must make sure, whatever others do or say, that we speak the truth – for our own sakes. Heed the warnings:

Proverbs 4:23
Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that's where life starts. Don't talk out of both sides of your mouth; avoid careless banter, white lies, and gossip. Keep your eyes straight ahead; ignore all sideshow distractions. Watch your step, and the road will stretch out smooth before you. Look neither right nor left; leave evil in the dust.

Proverbs 6:16
[ Seven Things God Hates ] Here are six things God hates, and one more that he loathes with a passion: eyes that are arrogant, a tongue that lies, hands that murder the innocent, a heart that hatches evil plots, feet that race down a wicked track, a mouth that lies under oath, a troublemaker in the family.
Proverbs 12:19
Truth lasts; lies are here today, gone tomorrow.
Proverbs 14:5
A true witness never lies; a false witness makes a business of it.
Proverbs 14:25
Souls are saved by truthful witness and betrayed by the spread of lies.
Proverbs 19:9
The person who tells lies gets caught; the person who spreads rumours is ruined.

2.    Make sure, whatever others do or say, that we speak the truth to win them over:

Friends, this world is not your home, so don't make yourselves cozy in it. Don't indulge your ego at the expense of your soul. Live an exemplary life among the natives so that your actions will refute their prejudices. Then they'll be won over to God's side and be there to join in the celebration when he arrives. 1 Peter 2:12 (The Message)

3. Make sure, whatever others do or say, that we do not contribute to a deceptive atmosphere.

As the previous verse says, it's easy to join in and 'indulge' ourselves. 'Sinful desires, which war against your soul' (I Peter 2:11, NIV) are easy to give in to. Exodus 20:16 says: 'No lies about your neighbour'. We may not tell outright lies, but we may pass them on, distort the truth and contribute to rumours and 'whispering in corners'.

So we need to speak the truth for our own sakes, and for others’ good – both individually and corporately.

When we speak straight-forwardly, truthfully and keep away from gossipy discussions – we earn the right to speak THE TRUTH about Jesus into people’s lives.

But that’s another story.

Being truthful to our body: ourselves and each other

Truth.

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (NIV)

God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love — like Christ in everything. We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do. He keeps us in step with each other. His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love.
Ephesians 4:15-16 (The Message)

Now that is a challenge. To speak the truth IN LOVE. Home truths are not, usually, in love. Our truths are often coloured by anger, aggravation, impatience... how often do I really speak the truth IN LOVE? Even when that means saying truths when I would rather keep quiet so as to avoid upsetting someone and hurting their feelings?

Can I do this? Speak truth in love?

Psalm 51

I have always liked Psalm 51, particularly the words “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.” (verses 10 – 11)

Psalm 51:6 - 9
Surely you desire truth in the inner parts;
you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.

But The Message version (verses 6 – 17) is even more challenging:

I've been out of step with you for a long time,
in the wrong since before I was born.
What you're after is truth from the inside out.
Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life.

Soak me in your laundry and I'll come out clean,
scrub me and I'll have a snow-white life.
Tune me in to foot-tapping songs,
set these once-broken bones to dancing.
Don't look too close for blemishes,
give me a clean bill of health.
God, make a fresh start in me,
shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.
Don't throw me out with the trash,
or fail to breathe holiness in me.
Bring me back from grey exile,
put a fresh wind in my sails!
Give me a job teaching rebels your ways
so the lost can find their way home.
Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation God,
and I'll sing anthems to your life-giving ways.
Unbutton my lips, dear God;
I'll let loose with your praise.

Going through the motions doesn't please you,
a flawless performance is nothing to you.
learned God-worship
when my pride was shattered.
Heart-shattered lives ready for love
don't for a moment escape God's notice.

Hmmm.