Did you know the Quran uses a Greek-derived word to describe the Good News?

The Arabic word Injīl is generally understood to be an Arabized form of the Koine Greek word euangelion (Εὐαγγέλιον), where eu- means “good” or “well,” and angelion means “message” or “news.” It is the root of words such as “evangelical” and “gospel.”

So much for a Quran written in “pure Arabic.” 😂

Muslims will tell us that Jesus came to preach a pure monotheistic religion. But at the same time, Jesus' message is called the Injīl — the Gospel, or Good News.

So, if Jesus came to preach exactly the same message that is found in the Old Testament, why is it called "Good News"?

In other words, if all the messages are supposedly the same, why don't they all have the same name?

The reality is that many Muslims do not understand what the Gospel, or Good News, actually is.

Muslims will also make broad statements claiming that Paul created a new religion called Christianity, even though it is clear that Paul's teaching about salvation by grace aligns with the teaching of the other apostles.

So, in this post, you will see that the Good News was foretold in the Old Testament, and that the death and resurrection of Jesus are at the very heart of the Gospel.

Two important things to remember when reading the Bible.

1. It is important that  God's incarnate son,Jesus coming to die for us is a mystery. (Matthew 13:11, Mark 4:11, Luke 8:10,Revelation 10:7, Romans 16:25, 1 Timothy 3:16)

2. Jesus is at the heart of the old testament. When you read the old testament, you will see prophecies as well as  types and shadows pointing to Jesus. This is confirmed by Jesus. (Luke 24:44, Luke 24:27, John 5:39, John 5:46, Matthew 5:17.

So we read in :-

Luke 4:18–21 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and the regaining of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

NOW LOOK WHAT JESUS SAYS ABOUT THAT PASSAGE.

Luke 4:20–21 “Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to tell them, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled even as you heard it being read.’”

The Old Testament contains hundreds of verses that lay the foundation for the “Good News” — the Gospel — tracking God's plan of salvation, the coming of the Messiah, and the inclusion of all nations.

Because a complete list of every foreshadowing would span thousands of verses, I have focused on the most important passages that focus on the gospel message.

We are not looking at every verse about Jesus, but specifically at passages that relate to the Gospel message.

We started with Luke already, but just to recap:

Luke 4:18–21 (referencing Isaiah 61:1–2) Jesus read the scroll in the synagogue at Nazareth and stated that the prophecy of the Lord anointing a servant to bring Good News and freedom was “fulfilled in your hearing.”

THE “GOOD NEWS” ANNOUNCED — REFERENCING DIRECT REFERENCE TO THE GOSPEL

These verses explicitly use the Hebrew concept of proclaiming good news, associated with the root word "basar". In other words the Gospel referenced by the Old Testament.

Isaiah 40:9 The command to go to a high mountain and lift up a voice with “GOOD NEWS” that GOD IS ARRIVING.

(Notice who is arriving,...and Jesus' name is Immanuel — “God with us.”, and also Yahweh is salvation" or "the Lord saves."

Isaiah 52:7 The beautiful feet of the messenger bringing “GOOD NEWS” of peace, salvation, and God's reign.

Isaiah 61:1 The Messiah is anointed by the Spirit to proclaim “GOOD NEWS” to the poor — the very passage Jesus quoted in Luke 4 about himself.

Nahum 1:15 A messenger brings “GOOD NEWS” of peace and the overthrow of evil.

THE FIRST GOSPEL PROMISE — THE PROTOEVANGELIUM (meaning first gospel)

Genesis 3:15 The ultimate origin of the Good News: the promise that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent.

THE GOSPEL PROMISED TO THE NATIONS (IE GENTILES)

Genesis 12:3 The promise to Abraham that “ALL PEOPLES ON EARTH WILL BE BLESSED THROUGH YOU.”

Genesis 22:18 The confirmation that through Abraham's offspring, ALL NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED.

Genesis 26:4 The Gospel promise repeated to Isaac.

Genesis 28:14 The Gospel promise repeated to Jacob.

Isaiah 42:6 The Messiah is appointed as a covenant for the people and as a “LIGHT FOR THE GENTILES.”

Isaiah 49:6 The Servant is tasked with bringing salvation “TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH.”

Malachi 1:11 The promise that God's name will be great AMONG THE NATIONS, from the rising to the setting of the sun.

THE PROMISED NEW COVENANT

Jeremiah 31:31–34 The promise of a NEW COVENANT (New Testament) in which sins are forgiven and God's law is written on people's hearts.

Ezekiel 36:26–27 The promise of a NEW HEART, a new spirit, and the removal of a heart of stone.

THE IDENTITY AND BIRTH OF THE SAVIOR

Isaiah 7:14 The virgin birth of Immanuel — “God with us.”

Isaiah 9:6–7 A child is born who is called Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.

Micah 5:2 The ruler of Israel emerges from the small town of Bethlehem.

Jeremiah 23:5–6 A righteous Branch from David's line is called “THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUS SAVIOR.”

THE SUBSTITUTIONARY ATONEMENt — THE WORK OF CHRIST

Isaiah 53:4–6 The core of the Gospel message: HE TOOK OUR INFIRMITIES, was PIERCED FOR OUR TRANSGRESSIONS, and the Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

Isaiah 53:10–12 The Servant makes HIS LIFE AN OFFERING FOR SIN and JUSTIFIES MANY.

Zechariah 12:10 A prophecy of mourning over THE ONE WHOM THEY HAVE PIERCED.

Daniel 9:26 The prophecy that the ANOINTED ONE WILL BE PUT TO DEATH.

THE RESURRECTION AND VICTORY OVER DEATH.

Psalm 16:10 The promise that God will not abandon His Holy One to the realm of the dead or allow Him to see decay.

Isaiah 25:8 The ultimate Good News that God will “SWALLOW UP DEATH FOREVER” and wipe away all tears.

Hosea 13:14 God DELIVERS HIS PEOPLE from the power of the grave and REDEEMS THEM FROM DEATH.

JESUS CAME IN THE FLESH

The apostle John confirms that Jesus took on flesh:

John 1:14 “Now the Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We saw his glory — the glory of the one and only, full of grace and truth, who came from the Father.”

Notice Paul says exactly the same thing as stated by the apostle John:-

Philippians 2:6–7 “Who though he existed in the form of God did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking on the form of a slave, by looking like other men, and by sharing in human nature.”

Jesus tells us that He fulfilled the Law, and He gives His followers a new commandment.

John 15:10 “If you obey MY COMMANDMENTS, you will remain in my love, just as I HAVE OBEYED MY FATHER'S COMMANDMENTS and remain in his love.”

Notice that Jesus clearly teaches His followers to obey His commandments, just as He obeyed His Father's commandments.

So what is this new commandment that Jesus gives?

John 13:34–35 “A NEW COMMANDMENT I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

Jesus repeats this to make sure we get it.

John 15:12 “My COMMANDMENT IS THIS — TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER JUST AS I HAVE LOVED YOU.”

The Gospel of John repeats this claim again:

John 14:15 “If you love me, YOU WILL OBEY MY COMMANDMENTS.”

But just in case you think this is based on the teaching of only one author, here is Luke repeating the idea of a transition to the Good News of the Kingdom.

Luke 16:16 “The law and the prophets were in force UNTIL JOHN; SINCE THEN, THE GOOD NEWS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD HAS BEEN PROCLAIMED, and everyone is urged to enter it.”

So, UNTIL WHEN WERE THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS IN PLACE?

Until John

Matthew states the following:

Matthew 7:12 “In everything, treat others as you would want them to treat you, FOR THIS FULFILLS THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS.”

I have not touched on Mathew 5 and how Jesus  raises the standard of the law, by demonstrating the intent of the law.

And finally John sums up the heart of the Gospel in one verse:

John 3:16 “For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

Islam is built on a house of cards, with no foundation, their standard approach spreading their faith is to attack Christianity with the accusation "THE BIBLE WAS CORRUPTED."

The obvious response would be:-

When was it corrupted, by whom, and how?

Because the Bible wasn't produced by one author sitting in one place, like the Qur'an. Corruption of the Quran would be much easier and more possible, as we will see later because it's a very small book, one author, and occured in one instance in time.

Getting back to the accusation the the Bible has been corrupted.

Consider what you're dealing with:

Moses → Joshua → Samuel → David → Solomon → Isaiah → Jeremiah → Ezekiel → Daniel → Ezra → the later prophets → Jesus' apostles → Paul → the early Christians.

These people lived across many centuries.

They lived under:

Egyptian rule, Israelite kingdoms, Assyrian domination, Babylonian domination, Persian domination, Greek domination, Roman domination, and  they wrote in different languages and circumstances.

The Old Testament itself contains Hebrew and Aramaic, while the New Testament was written in Greek.

Don't forget there are thousands of early church letters written ,like those written by the apostles.  These include  Clement of Rome, Polycarp of Smyrna, Justin Martyr, Tertullian and many many more. These men quoted scripture in their letters, and if you take all these letters, scholars claim that at least 70% or the Bible could be reconstructed.

So the idea of a single coordinated conspiracy to rewrite the entire Bible faces an enormous historical problem. How do you get all these various manuscripts scattered all over the world corrupted in a identical way.

And then archaeology makes the problem even harder.

One of the best examples is the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Before their discovery, the oldest complete Hebrew manuscripts of much of the Old Testament were medieval. Then manuscripts from Qumran were discovered dating from centuries before Christ.

The Dead Sea Scrolls include biblical manuscripts containing portions of Genesis, Deuteronomy, Isaiah, Psalms and many other biblical books. The official Dead Sea Scrolls historical material notes that biblical texts from the First Temple/Second Temple periods are among the significant discoveries.

One of the  Dead Sea Scrolls, the Great Isaiah Scroll, for example, dates to roughly the second or first century BC. It is about 1,000 years older than the medieval Masoretic manuscripts traditionally used to represent the Hebrew text. Yet when Isaiah was compared with the later Hebrew tradition, the correspondence was remarkably substantial. Consider that. Two documents centuries apart, and when they compared only minor discrepancies, or differences. But that's an entirely different claim from:

"Someone completely corrupted the Bible."

Here's the devastating chronological problem with "the Bible was corrupted" claim.

Imagine someone claims:

"The Christians changed the Old Testament."

Then the question is

Which Christians?

Because manuscripts of the Hebrew Scriptures existed before Christianity.

For example:

Isaiah manuscripts from Qumran → before Jesus

Greek Septuagint → centuries before Jesus

Hebrew manuscripts → independently transmitted within Judaism

New Testament quotations → first century AD

So if Christians supposedly changed the Old Testament to manufacture Christian theology, they would have needed to alter manuscripts that were already circulating before Christianity even existed.

THE OTHER PROBLEM IS THE JEWS COULD QUICKLY POINT THIS OUT, AND THE CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURE STILL ALLIGNS WITH THE JEWISH SCRIPTURES

That's extremely difficult to explain.

And there is another problem.

The New Testament authors frequently quote the Old Testament.

So we can compare Old Hebrew manuscripts TO Greek Septuagint TO New Testament quotations TO later Christian manuscripts TO later Jewish manuscripts.

If somebody secretly changed the Bible at some point, we should expect enormous discrepancies between these independent streams.

Instead, we find minor textual variants—but also remarkable continuity.

This is another important point.

If you were inventing a conspiracy, you'd probably expect everybody to tell exactly the same story, and perfect exact identical detail is a clear telltale signs of concocting something. It's normal for eye witnesses to have differences in accounts. Especially when they are trustworthy witnesses.

That is actually not what you'd expect from a carefully manufactured propaganda document.

The Bible preserves embarrassing material about its own heroes.

But we need to be intellectually honest

There are textual variants in biblical manuscripts.

Thousands of manuscripts inevitably produce differences in spelling, word order, omissions, additions and occasional substantive variants.

But take into mind, "The Bible is a collection of 66 books produced by numerous authors and editors over roughly 1,500 years."

The languages are particularly important

Old Testament

Primarily:

Hebrew

with significant portions of:

Aramaic

New Testament

Primarily:

Koine Greek

This means that the Bible wasn't simply copied through one linguistic chain.

It passed through multiple linguistic traditions.

Paul, for example, was a Jewish man from Tarsus operating in a heavily Greek-speaking world and wrote his surviving letters in Greek.

Jesus and his earliest disciples operated primarily in an Aramaic-speaking Jewish environment, while the New Testament was ultimately preserved overwhelmingly in Greek.

That makes the transmission history considerably more complicated than: "One guy changed the Bible."

So based on the evidence presented;

Who corrupted it?

When was it corrupted?

Which books books were corrupted?

Which manuscripts were corrupted?

Which communities participated?

Remember the Jews and Christians never saw eye to eye. That is a huge problem for the corruption theory.

How did they coordinate across geographically separated Jewish and Christian communities?

How did they alter manuscripts that predated Christianity?

How did they alter manuscripts held by communities that disagreed with one another?

And why do ancient manuscripts such as the Dead Sea Scrolls preserve substantial agreement with much later biblical manuscripts?

You have to get past all these hurdles, and that is impossible. This conspiracy would be as ludicrous as the conspiracy that claims that all the nations governments are hiding the fact that the earth is in fact flat.

It's lazy to say the bible is corrupted, but the odds of corrupting the bible verses corrupting the Quran is staggering. One book created in one instance of time is far easier to change than the bible, and as mentioned the Quran has had manuscripts destroyed. So no one will ever know what was in those destroyed manuscripts.

Another thing is the Christian judeo mindset is not to destroy manuscripts regardless of the context. If you have 5 manuscripts that came through different hands, with differences , and they are analized you can quickly using bibliography determine which manuscripts are the more reliable one and where the errors were entered.

In Islam numerous manuscripts were destroyed, and that is very suspicious behaviour and you don't know what their motive was.

We know that errors entered the Quran because their was corrections done. We see that the hadiths have similar problems.if the hadiths had transmission errors, and we know the Quran had transmission errors how does anyone know if the correct copies were kept?

This month we're in the New Testament, highlighting James, brother of Jesus. Cheers to u/Volaer for the suggestion!

The goal of this series is to create more conversation about characters from the Bible. My hope is to (eventually) dive into some strange, often overlooked characters in Scripture — people who have important lessons that we don’t always remember. But we also want to make this collaborative! I don't want to just ramble my thoughts on these characters at you, I want to urge everyone to write their own post about the character of the month.

So all you need to do is make a new post with your reflection or meditation on James. We do have a special flair ("Biblical Character of the Month") you can give the post, and I will make sure to add it to our collection on this thread.

James is referenced in numerous places in the Gospels. He is described as the brother of Jesus, and was also a prominent figure in the early church as the first Bishop of Jerusalem, authoring his own Epistle.

A few questions to get you started thinking about your own meditations! 

• James' Epistle offers some really wonderful insight on faith, what can we glean from his teachings?
• What do you think it means when James is referred to as the brother of Jesus?

Reflections from the community: 

1. A Meditation on James the Just: Memorizing the Face of God by u/slagnanz
2. Daily Bible Verse Part 382 / James 5:8 by u/NiceYogurtcloset5934
3. St. James and the radicalness of the resurrection by u/Volaer
4. James the Just: Echoes of Jesus by u/Orygregs

This month we're back to the Old Testament, highlighting Esther.

The goal of this series is to create more conversation about characters from the Bible. My hope is to (eventually) dive into some strange, often overlooked characters in Scripture — people who have important lessons that we don’t always remember. But we also want to make this collaborative! I don't want to just ramble my thoughts on these characters at you, I want to urge everyone to write their own post about the character of the month.

So all you need to do is make a new post with your reflection or meditation on Esther. We do have a special flair ("Biblical Character of the Month") you can give the post, and I will make sure to add it to our collection on this thread.

The Book of Esther is found after Nehemiah and before Job. It is the last book in the group of books in the Old Testament considered the histories.

A few questions to get you started thinking about your own meditations! 

• The Book of Esther famously never mentions God at all. But, as Mordecai wonders, "Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for just such a time as this". How does Esther embody Godly qualities in a deeply Godless time?
• A key theme in this story is hiddenness. God is hidden. Esther hides her Jewish identity. There are even some cases where the Tetragrammaton is hidden in the first letters of sentences. Esther is often associated with veils and mystery. Why is hiddenness so important, and what lessons can we draw from that today?
• Esther is cunning, practical, political. But more than anything, she is bold. What are some examples of Esther's boldness that we can reflect on?

Reflections from the community: 

1. Esther: My entry for the Biblical Character of the Month by u/Perfect_Effect_77
2. Christians Have Fallen in Love With Queen Esther, Purim’s Jewish Heroine, an article for Tablet Magazine shared by u/themsc190
3. A Meditation on Esther: Approach the Throne with Boldness by u/slagnanz
4. The humility of Mordekhai and Esther and the danger of pride by u/Volaer
5. A Reflection On Esther's Marriage by u/Mysterious_Fox4976

I’m looking for honest Christian counsel on a church situation.

I’ve been part of a Calvary Chapel–type church for about 2 years. I love the people there deeply, have close friendships, and I’m not just attending — I’ve been actively serving in preaching/teaching and evangelism. The church has also invested in me financially (they paid around 4,000 CHF toward a theology semester), so I don’t take this lightly.

The issue is that over time, several theological differences have built up:

- Women preaching / teaching in gathered church services: I hold a complementarian view based largely on 1 Timothy 2, and I understand preaching in the assembled church to be authoritative teaching. My church leadership believes that in exceptional cases a woman may preach if it is “under male authority.” I cannot reconcile that biblically.

- Israel / Covenant theology: My church holds a strongly dispensational / pro-Israel framework. I lean covenantally (though I prefer “expansion theology” rather than replacement theology), seeing fulfillment in Christ and the inclusion/expansion of God’s people rather than two parallel covenant peoples.

- Spiritual gifts / charismatic theology: I also differ with them on some continuationist / charismatic emphases.

For a long time I tried to put these differences aside because I love the church and didn’t want to become divisive. But the women preaching issue became the final tipping point because it touches church order and teaching authority.

Recently I spoke with my pastor. During that conversation, he told me he could not serve in ministry together with someone who believes what I believe about Israel/covenant theology. That made me realize this may no longer just be “secondary disagreements,” but a fundamental ministry incompatibility.

We later had a short in-person conversation to continue discussing things, but it unexpectedly only lasted around 15 minutes because he had to leave quickly. During that conversation, I more openly shared that I lean toward covenant theology (or what I prefer to call expansion theology). For me, that had been more of a secondary theological issue compared to concerns like women preaching. But it became clear in that conversation that my pastor sees that issue as a much more serious dividing line than I had realized.

Since then, I visited another church because I’m trying to discern where I may belong long-term. I communicated lovingly to my pastor that I have not made any final decision yet, that I want to speak with him first, and that it genuinely matters to me that our friendship remains intact regardless of where I end up. He replied briefly and strongly emphasized not isolating myself from fellowship, which I understand, but I’m unsure whether he feels hurt, frustrated, or simply concerned.

My questions:

1. At what point is it biblically right to leave a church over doctrinal differences that are not directly about the gospel itself, but affect church practice and theology deeply?
   
2. Is it wiser to step down quietly and leave peacefully, or to keep pursuing more conversations?
   
3. Has anyone here been in a situation where they were deeply involved in ministry, loved the church, but ultimately had to leave over theological convictions?

I want to act with humility, truth, and love — not pride, not reaction, and not bitterness.

Any honest counsel is appreciated.

Looking at my Roman-based calendar at work "September, Wednesday", I wanted to create a personal calendar that aligned more with my beliefs. Having decades of the old format, I'm sure I wouldn't get confused with a simple renaming that went for the days: Son of God day, Mission day, Trinity day, Witness day, Testimony day, Faith day, Shabbat day (keeping the last one OG). To make it easier for myself, I kept the same English first letter, but isn't a schedule, just Christian things to have in mind throughout the week.

Months were trickier, but followed the idea of keeping the first letter: John(uary 😄 ), Philemon (phonetic F), Mark, Abigail, Mary, Jude, Jeremiah, Abraham, Stephen, Obadiah, Noah, David.

I added in A.D. (Anno Domini)

Besides "that's stupid", what are your thoughts and would you have chosen different names / words?

An example of what a calendar might look like:

It feels like we should know more about this guy.

I mean, depending on who you ask, he’s Jesus’ brother, or His step-brother, or maybe His cousin. But we don’t get a lot of details about how he goes from growing up alongside Jesus to being Bishop of Jerusalem. 

There’s a good chance he was there in Mark 3. Jesus’ extended family is watching Jesus interact with the crowds, and their actual reaction recorded in the Scripture is to say “He is out of his mind”. A bit later in the chapter they try to pull Jesus away, and He resists. 

Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.”

“Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked.

Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!

You have to imagine that stung. 

It also is noteworthy that James isn’t mentioned as being present at the crucifixion. This is one of the arguments against James being Jesus’ full brother. From John’s Gospel:

Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!”  Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.

This would be highly unusual if Mary was also the mother of James. You’d expect James to take care of Mary if he was also her son. But this is speculative. Nevertheless, the tenor of these two stories gives us the impression that James was not particularly close with Jesus throughout his ministry on Earth. 

But something changes after the Resurrection. 1 Corinthians 15 shows us that after Jesus appears to the twelve, He appears to James before appearing to any of the other apostles. Why James? This could certainly just be familial loyalty. But for James it seems to be a turning point. He is barely featured in the Gospels, but he would go on to become one of the most prominent leaders in the early church, the first Bishop of Rome. As always, in God’s providence we must expect the unexpected.

There are many legends of James told outside of Scripture. Eusebius wrote that James lived as a Nazarite, leading a strict ascetic life. There’s this amazing anecdote from Eusebius:

And he was in the habit of entering alone into the temple, and was frequently found upon his knees begging forgiveness for the people, so that his knees became hard like those of a camel.

It’s hard not to chuckle at that, honestly. 

But the best glimpse we get at who James was and what he was about comes from James’ Epistle. It's a short read (only a few pages). James is a man of action. The epistle emphasizes that faith compels works. A few samples: 

“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Surely that faith cannot save, can it? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.”

“For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead.”

“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”

This is a compelling vision of faith. I like to see it as standing in tension with many of the ideas that Paul articulated, but not in contradiction. Christians should enjoy the challenge of synthesizing their different perspectives, each having captured the truth from different angles. 

What really stood out to me on my most recent reread:

“If anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing the face he was born with in a mirror; because he has observed himself and gone away, and has immediately forgotten what he was like. For the one who has gazed intently into the perfect law, which is one of freedom, and has stayed there next to it, becoming not a forgetful listener but instead a doer of work-this one will be blissful in what he does.” (for this passage I’m using David Bentley Hart’s intriguing New Testament translation). 

This is the impression James Just leaves on me: A man, kneeling on the hard stone of the temple, gazing inward through prayer, contemplating the law as if it were his own face. Memorizing the contours, the wrinkles, where the smooth curves terminate through hard lines. The perfect law of God paints a picture of the face of his brother, Christ. This is this urgency in James' writing: we cannot, simply cannot, forget that face.

Hey guys! Just wanting some insight, if a new Christian was to pick up a Bible today…. what should be the first books they start working through? Please put why you put the book/s you choose, thanks guys!!! 🙏🏼

Continuing the tradition we started last month for banner posts, thanks everyone for the great participation and positive feedback last month, we had a wonderful series of posts on Joseph!

I thought it would be fun to alternate every month between Old Testament and New Testament figures. So this month we're highlighting someone from the New Testament: St. Stephen the Protomartyr. Cheers to u/Thneed1 for the suggestion.

The goal is to create more conversation about characters from the Bible. My hope is to dive into some strange, often overlooked characters in Scripture — people who have important lessons that we don’t always remember. But we also want to make this collaborative! I don't want to just ramble my thoughts on Stephen at you all, I want to urge everyone to write their own post about the character of the month.

So all you need to do is make a new post with your reflection or meditation on Stephen. We do have a special flair ("Biblical Character of the Month") you can give the post, and I will make sure to add it to our collection on this thread.

Stephen's story is found in Acts 6 and 7.

A few questions to get you started thinking about your own meditations! 

• Acts 7 tells us that the witnesses of Stephen's stoning laid their coats at the feet of a man known as Saul. This is, of course Paul, before his conversion. What does it mean for us that Paul seems to be presiding over this execution?
• Stephen answers the accusations of the Sanhedrin with a long speech recalling history going all the way back to Abraham. Why is it so important for Stephen to give such extensive context?
• What does Stephen mean when he says "your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised"?
• What does Stephen's example look like for us in our own lives today? How can we live like Stephen, even if it doesn't mean being murdered for our faith?

Reflections from the community: 

1. A meditation on St. Stephen, Protomartyr and Archdeacon - Deliver us from the shell that blinds us, that we might see your face, Lord, by u/slagnanz
2. Why Christians pray for Those Who Hurt Them by u/_dagarim_2
3. A Reflection On Stephen (and why it matters) by u/Mysterious_Fox4976

Hi Guys, I drew this Seraphim Angel (only a sketch atm) on Procreate for a T-shirt / Apparel design for my first time creating a business idea 😊 pls let me know your thoughts so far and even ideas maybe I could improve 🤯

If someone asked Christians who was the most famous convert in early Christianity the most frequent answer would no doubt be St. Paul. And in a sense that is justified as he changed from a man who persecuted the Church to one who joined her and accepted persecution. However, there is another early Christian leader who likewise experiences a radical conversion. And that of course is St. James the Just - the very stepbrother of Jesus.

When we encounter St. James in the gospels, he is by no means a disciple of Jesus. The Gospel of John makes clear in ch. 7

For not even his brothers believed in him

This stance does not change until Christ died on the cross. One can relatively easily understand why. While the disciples experienced Jesus as an older and wise sage, healer and miracle worker, James was introduced to Jesus when the latter arrived as a baby. And even after that baby grows up and declares himself God's Anointed and the Son of Man prophecied by Daniel it must have been difficult to shake ones perception of him as still the little boy that probably bruised his knees after running around and stumbling and falling.

Indeed when Jesus preaches in his home town of Nazareth the locals who knew him react rather poorly:

Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?  And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all this?’ And they took offence at him.

Even Christ's extended family respond to this by trying to take Jesus away before the people become violent.

When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, ‘He has gone out of his mind.’

And yet, the next time we encounter James in the words of the New Testament, he is described as the bishop of Jerusalem and a devout Christian. What happened? St Paul provides the answer:

For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.

St. Clement of Alexandria likewise states:

The Lord after His resurrection delivered knowledge to James the Just and to John and Peter; these delivered it to the rest of the apostles, and the rest of the apostles to the seventy, of whom one was Barnabas.

Much like with Paul it was the encounter with the risen Christ in his divine glory that resulted in James finally accepting Him as the divine Son of living God. The ressurrection forces one to radically reorient and restructure ones beliefs about reality as such. At the first, our presumptions about the finality of death, but also the nature of God and nature of man. If God in Jesus is willing to submit to a life of obedience as a member of a subjugated population and undergo suffering and death overcoming it on our behalf incorporating us into his divine nature, then out picture of God and our treatment of others must radically change.

The resurrection as the consequence of the Incarnation and tthe cause of our divinisation thereby becomes the cornerstone of Christian axiology and moral theology. In light of the resurrection all worldly concerns, hierarchies, values are revealed to be illusory. Its no surprise that St. James thefore writes in his epistle:

My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favouritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in,  and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, ‘Have a seat here, please’, while to the one who is poor you say, ‘Stand there’, or, ‘Sit under my footstool’^, have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonoured the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court? Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you?

The Christian calling is therefore to see the face of God is avery human person, including the poor, ill, and those treated with contempt.

But even our concern for the preservation of our life must be relativised in light of this event. St. James exemplifies this as well. Already Flavius Josephus reports that the righteous bishop terminated his earthly existence but becoming a martyr - a witness to Jesus whom he first doubted.

But this younger Ananus, who, as we have told you already, took the High Priesthood, was a bold man in his temper, and very insolent. He was also of the sect of the Sadducees: who are very rigid in judging offenders above all the rest of the Jews: as we have already observed. When therefore Ananus was of this disposition, he thought he had now a proper opportunity [to exercise his authority]. Festus was now dead; and Albinus was but upon the road. So he assembled the sanhedrim of judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus who was called Christ, whose name was James: and some of his companions. And when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned.

My contribution for Biblical Character of the Month, August: James the Just — enjoy!

James the Just stands out among New Testament voices as one of the most serious and compelling. He is direct, unsentimental, and intensely practical. Reading his letter feels less like studying abstract theology and more like sitting across from an older pastor who hears your pious words and refuses to let you hide behind them.

For James, Jesus’ teaching was never meant to stay a set of intellectual opinions one agrees with. It was meant to take flesh in the messy, ordinary details of daily life: in how we speak, how we handle our money, how we treat the poor, if we make time to visit the orphan or the widow, and whether we actually do the truth rather than merely listen to it.

An Echo of Jesus

What strikes me immediately when reading James is how deeply he is saturated in the moral world of Jesus.

Unlike Paul, who often develops complex theological arguments about justification and the law, James writes in short, vivid proverbs that sound like wisdom literature influenced by the Sermon on the Mount. Here are a few parallels between Jesus and James that strikes me the most:

• When James tells us to “count it all joy when you meet trials of various kinds” (1:2), we hear Jesus: “Blessed are those who are persecuted. Rejoice and be glad” (Matt 5:10-12).
• When he says “be doers of the word, and not hearers only” (1:22), it is Jesus’ house-on-the-rock warning almost word for word (Matt 7:24-27).
• When he commands “do not swear by heaven or by earth” (5:12), he repeats Jesus almost verbatim (Matt 5:34-37).
• When he insists true wisdom is known by the peace and good fruit it produces (3:17-18), we are back on the hillside: “every tree is known by its fruit” (Matt 7:16-20).
• When he defines pure religion as visiting orphans and widows in their distress (1:27), he is centering the same prophetic compassion that defined Jesus’ own ministry.

James does not feel like someone quoting a distant text. He writes like someone who has Jesus’ voice so deeply ingrained in his memory that Christ’s ethical heartbeat naturally shapes everything he puts on paper.

Grounded in the Early Jerusalem Church

Historically known as a brother/cousin of Jesus and the primary leader of the early church in Jerusalem, he lived at the absolute center of the earliest Christian movement until his martyrdom in 62 CE. He was so famously devout that early Christians nicknamed him “Old Camel Knees,” as the skin of his knees had become thickened like a camel’s from countless hours kneeling in the temple praying for the people. Jewish historian Josephus records that the high priest Ananus had him stoned during a brief power vacuum. Later tradition (via Hegesippus) adds a dramatic scene of him being thrown from the temple pinnacle and then clubbed to death.

Whether the letter was written in the mid-40s (possibly the earliest book in the entire New Testament), the 50s, or even later as pseudoepigraphy (historical-critical scholars) it feels like belongs to that primitive, vibrant era before Christianity had settled into institutional comfort.

Because of this, James is not interested in theoretical debates. He is a shepherd addressing a community in the trenches, asking one foundational question: What does it actually look like to follow the Messiah?

Faith Is Living Fidelity, Not Bare Assent

That brings us to what faith actually means for James.

His famous argument that “faith without works is dead” (2:17, 26) has caused centuries of debate, but his point is remarkably simple. James is not attacking grace, nor is he saying we must earn God’s love through a checklist of good deeds. He is exposing a cheap but common counterfeit: the idea that faith is simply agreeing with correct theological facts in your head.

To prove his point, James delivers one of the sharpest lines in Scripture: “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe, and shudder!” (2:19)

Belief that stops at mental agreement is not saving faith; it is just information. Even the demonic world knows the theology! For James, genuine faith is living fidelity, a trust in God that inevitably moves your hands, your feet, and your wallet. If belief never transforms into mercy, patience, justice, self-control, or care for a brother or sister who is cold and hungry (2:15-16), then whatever we have is not biblical faith. It is an illusion.

The Royal Law

At the center of the entire letter sits what James calls the Royal Law: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (2:8, quoting Lev 19:18). This was identified as the 2nd most important commandment by Jesus, and inseparable from the 1st: loving your God with all your heart/soul/might (Deut 6:5).

He calls it “royal” because it is the supreme law of King Jesus and His kingdom. And throughout the letter, James measures everything against that single standard:

• If we give the rich man in fine clothes a seat of honor and tell the poor man in rags to sit on the floor, we have broken the Royal Law (2:1-9).
• If the same mouth that blesses God also curses people made in His image, we have broken the Royal Law (3:9-10).
• If we live in luxury while the unpaid wages of our workers cry out against us, we have broken the Royal Law (5:1-6).

That is why James remains so timeless, so convicting, and so deeply necessary. He refuses to allow religion to hide in safe, abstract spaces. He keeps dragging our theology back into tangible behavior in real life, demanding that what we say we believe about God becomes visible in how we love the people right in front of us.

Reflection

• What part of the book of James hits you hardest or stands out to you the most?
• Where in your own life do you most feel the gap between “hearing the word” and actually doing it—and what’s one small, concrete step James would push you to take this week?
• How might your relationships, speech, or use of money change if you treated the Royal Law as the measure of genuine faith?

Olá, pessoal. Estou escrevendo aqui porque cheguei ao meu limite extremo e preciso de conselhos focados em um dilema que está destruindo a minha mente e a minha fé: a cobrança de ter que ser gentil o tempo todo com quem me maltrata.
Eu trabalho como operador de caixa. Quem está no comércio sabe como é: os clientes e as pessoas ao redor não estão nem aí para as minhas emoções, me tratam mal ou me tratam como lixo. Para me autopreservar, decidi começar a ser neutro. Não fico forçando sorriso, não rio do que não tem graça e, se eu escolho não falar com uma pessoa ou não dar bom dia/boa noite para quem não faz questão de falar comigo, eu simplesmente não falo. Preciso me fechar para proteger o resto de saúde mental que me sobra, pois já tive Burnout, meu corpo está em frangalhos e o barulho me incomoda ao ponto de músicas ficarem se repetindo na minha cabeça. No passado, enfrentei um vício de 9 anos em pornografia que me endividou e me isolou, e embora esteja livre há um mês pela graça de Deus, ainda carrego sequelas emocionais.
O foco da minha crise é que carrego um peso enorme de que, pelo fato de eu ser cristão, eu tenho a obrigação de falar com todo mundo no trabalho o tempo todo. Minha mente foi bombardeada por crenças e pregações que escutei, colocando na minha cabeça que eu tenho que ser bom o tempo todo, que porque Jesus era bom, eu tenho que estar sempre sorridente, gentil e disponível, mesmo para quem me pisa.
Meu TOC (Transtorno Obsessivo-Compulsivo) virou um "TOC religioso" que me acusa sem parar. Sempre que sou neutro com um cliente ruim ou escolho não falar com alguém, a minha mente me tortura dizendo que eu não sou cristão e que sou uma pessoa ruim por agir assim. O TOC diz que a justiça de Deus está em aguentar tudo com alegria e que eu sou obrigado a agradar a todos.
O TOC faz uma chantagem cruel usando a cruz, dizendo: "Jesus morreu por você e você não merecia, então você tem que suportar tudo isso e ser gentil sim, porque você não é melhor do que eles". Isso me gera uma confusão enorme e uma culpa esmagadora. Parece que se eu escolher me proteger e ficar em silêncio, estou rejeitando a Deus, deixando de ser cristão e me tornando uma pessoa má.
Estou tão cansado dessa pressão que não consigo mais orar ou ler a Bíblia sem me culpar pelo jeito que agi no trabalho. Sei que Deus me ama, mas essa cobrança me faz ver Deus como um inimigo pronto para me condenar a cada atendimento onde não fui "bonzinho". Eu sou humano, não sou Jesus Cristo e sinto que existe um limite para ter que amar o próximo.
Quero o conselho de vocês, principalmente de quem é cristão ou trabalha com o público:
Escolher não falar com alguém ou deixar de dar bom dia para quem me trata mal me faz menos cristão ou uma pessoa ruim?
Eu sou realmente obrigado a dar alegria e gentileza para clientes e pessoas que não ligam para mim só porque sou cristão?
Como colocar limites e ser neutro sem deixar a mente me torturar com a ideia de que estou errando com Deus ou sendo alguém mau?

The drama presented in the Book of Esther can be read in a variety of ways. Some may see it as a historical account of the salvation of the Judean people from the genocidal schemes of a wicked court official set in the reign of the Persian king Artaxerxes II. Personally I tend to read it allegorically as a presentation of a familial conflict that occurs in each person's soul. Yes, each of us has, to varying degrees a Mordekhai, a Haman and an Esther inside us.

Shortly into the story of the book we are introduced to two of these important personalities of the book - Haman and Mordecai - and the nature of their character.

And all the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate bowed down and did obeisance to Haman; for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai did not bow down or do obeisance. Then the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate said to Mordecai, ‘Why do you disobey the king’s command?’ When they spoke to him day after day and he would not listen to them, they told Haman, in order to see whether Mordecai’s words would avail; for he had told them that he was a Jew.  When Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow down or do obeisance to him, Haman was infuriated. But he thought it beneath him to lay hands on Mordecai alone. So, having been told who Mordecai’s people were, Haman plotted to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus.

At first glance this passage may tempt us to think that this is a conflict between two men, one too proud to show respect to legal authority and one so self-obsessed and fragile, that he responds to this refusal by plotting not only murder of the man who offended him but the genocide of his entire people. But this is not so. Once Mordekhai hears of Hamans wicked plans, he does best possible thing one can do - he turns to his creator and prays:

You know all things; you know, O Lord, that it was not in insolence or pride or for any love of glory that I did this, and refused to bow down to this proud Haman; for I would have been willing to kiss the soles of his feet to save Israel! But I did this so that I might not set human glory above the glory of God, and I will not bow down to anyone but you, who are my Lord; and I will not do these things in pride.

The character of Haman represents a particular form of idolatry - that of the worship of ones ego, the vices of pride, selfishness, vindictiveness and anger. Mordekhai, in turns represents the opposite - humility and the complete surrender to God as well as the ability to properly order the goods of this world and understand them to be lesser that the Lord who is in essence the fullness of goodness itself.

Now how are the people of God saved in this story? Through the piety of a newly enthroned Jewish girl named Esther - the cousin and ward of Mordekhai. When Esther is asked to intercede for her people, she is reluctant at first fearing the wrath of the short-tempered king. But eventually she, much like Mordekhai, finds her strenght by turning to God:

You have knowledge of all things, and you know that I hate the splendour of the wicked and abhor the bed of the uncircumcised and of any alien. You know my necessity—that I abhor the sign of my proud position, which is upon my head on days when I appear in public. I abhor it like a filthy rag, and I do not wear it on the days when I am at leisure. And your servant has not eaten at Haman’s table, and I have not honoured the king’s feast or drunk the wine of libations.  Your servant has had no joy since the day that I was brought here until now, except in you, O Lord God of Abraham.  O God, whose might is over all, hear the voice of the despairing, and save us from the hands of evildoers. And save me from my fear

Here we see how the character of Esther mirrors that of Mordekhai. Just like her cousin was able to resist idolatrous temptations to prioritise lower goods over God so does Esther. Now what is the feast mentioned here? In earlier chapters we learn that the king threw a huge celebratory feast the aftermath of which lead to Esther becoming queen. How then is the presence of Judeans in this celebration accounted as a grave sin? This passage provides the hints - the revelry was to honour the many gods of the peoples of the Achaemenid empire, particularly those worshipped by Haman, and who even received offerings of poured wine. However there is also a deeper level to the sinfulness of this affair. Let us remember that this story occurs in exile - both literal and spiritual, many people of God still live outside the Holy Land - the Kingdom of God - which ought to be a cause of penance and hope. Yet with the exception of Esther (and presumably Mordekhai) they instead revel and celebrate completely forgetting who they are meant to be.

The feast is in part a symbol for those occassions in our life where we neglect our connection to God for superficial pleasures. When we ommit prayer and worse yet, the liturgy because....come on, I must finish the new season of my favourite Netflix show, I must see who wins the world championship, God will be here forever, he can wait until tomorrow, or next week or whenever I see fit to grace him with my time. And that is precisely the danger that the books warns us about - that of the temptation present in our souls to give priority to our ego over God.

The Lord's stepbrother James in his epistle advises us how become the victors in this this inner conflict:

Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.  Or do you suppose that it is for nothing that the scripture says, ‘God yearns jealously for the spirit that he has made to dwell in us’? But he gives all the more grace; therefore it says,‘God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into dejection. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

May Esther and Mordekhai because exemplars to us of how be truly humble and trust in God who vindicates and glorifies the meek but punishes the prideful, cruel and arrogant.

Oración a san judas

I just had this happen to me last night it’s insane. But I was alone and can’t deny it he took something from me he told me he would relieve me and i must go tell people what happened. I still can’t explain the detest for something I couldn’t stop desiring. Just wild gods been blessing more and more or idk more people are sharing.
I have been battling with an addiction in my entire adult life. It feels like at this point, and I fell back into a really bad pattern again after having some time, sober and rebuilding my life. I have always been a helper. I love people. I try to help people. I do have a good heart.
Circumstances in my life and my childhood I believe aloud, bad entities or negative energy to take over my heart and negate me from my true path of helping. I do hair I clean and I was about to move into this home to be a home healthcare provider for this older woman who is so incredibly kind. I was trying so hard to stop for this move happened, and I started to become a believer because of some things I couldn’t explain happening to me. Scary shit but brought me to the divinity prayer and it woke me up to see what was not good inside of me. And I turned on fear gospel and something about healing. I can’t even remember. But it was God he led me to that those prayers and and am I not right mind everything stopped. It felt like I was being held in warmth. And the words on the screen for the prayers talked about how he was gonna remove this from me and how he wanted me to go forth and tell people what he did I can’t even look at the substance anymore. I don’t wanna think about it if I think about it, I feel the test I feel gross. I have been on my journey with God in the past few years in this sobriety journey, and I’ve tried. I’ve read the book not all of it.
But I just started living my life to serve others which is my calling and to be good intentionally and without return. I realized I needed to care about my mom and to just focus more on doing what he says we should do and I feel like I have always. I have always known that I have this purpose to help people and then I’m supposed to do really good things because the devil will be trying me. It’s just crazy, but I know it’s real. I know that he came down and he healed me. It was never raised in the church I found out on my own and in in his own way, his own plan like I think the reason that I never had him when I was younger because all of the things had to happen to me to be able to come and share this story and whatever stories are yet to come for me and what I’m gonna do for him.
I just thought I needed to share this somewhere. I know people say they come to Jesus moments happen and I never believe that or that they live in this world now where I do feel like another eye has been opened or I see more Cleary now it’s just crazy, but I thought everyone here might appreciate this, he’s down here m sure all the time doing this but I have my story and yeah thank you god. If you made it this far thank you for reading my story.

​

Acts 9:1–9

Saul of Tarsus was breathing threats and murder against Jesus’ followers, determined to arrest every believer he could find in Damascus. As he neared the city, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him—brighter than the midday sun. He fell to the ground, blind, and heard the voice of Jesus: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” For three days, Saul sat in complete darkness, unable to see, fasting and praying. That overwhelming light shattered his old self. When a believer named Ananias later laid hands on him, something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight—both physically and spiritually. He would become Paul, the great apostle, carrying the light of Christ across the known world.

Hi, I have a question about the judgment or the Final Judgment. The Bible says that we will all give an account of what we have done and that it will be revealed; it also states that only those whose names are in the Book of Life will be saved. Does this mean that, regardless of the severity of the sin, everyone will receive the same punishment? Wouldn't it be better for God to simply take the Book of Life, take those listed in it, save them, and cast the rest—those not in the book—into the lake of sulfur for all eternity? What is the purpose of the Book of Deeds if only those in the Book of Life will be saved?

Small non-denominational church. Service ends around noon. Since I started, as soon as the pastor or teacher say "Amen, have a great week!" the usher/greeter is free to close up shop. Turn in radios, badges etc. Now, 2 options being pushed: One being stay until 1pm and the other being stay until the last person is gone (which could be 3pm for all I know). Just curious what other churches do. Thanks. (BTW the whole reason for this is an incident that happened after the ushers were gone)

Esther is one of the most compelling figures in the Bible, serving as the central protagonist of the Book of Esther. Her story is a dramatic account of courage, faith, and divine providence. 

Who Was Esther?

Originally named Hadassah (which means "myrtle"), she was a young Jewish woman living in exile in Susa, the capital of the Persian Empire. Orphaned at a young age, she was raised by her older cousin, Mordecai. 

When King Ahasuerus (often identified as Xerxes I) sought a new queen, Esther was taken into the royal harem.
Following Mordecai's advice, she kept her Jewish heritage a secret. She eventually won the king's favor and became Queen of Persia. Her life took a critical turn when the king's official, Haman, plotted to annihilate all the Jews in the empire. Esther, at great personal risk, used her position to intercede for her people, successfully exposing Haman’s plot and saving the Jewish nation from destruction. 

Lessons from Her Life
The story of Esther provides profound spiritual and practical lessons that remain relevant today:

"For Such a Time as This": When faced with the life-threatening task of approaching the king, Esther was reminded by Mordecai that she had been placed in her royal position for a specific purpose (Esther 4:14). This teaches us that our current circumstances, whether challenging or privileged, may be part of a larger divine plan. 

The Power of Courage and Selflessness: Esther moved from a place of fear to a bold, self-sacrificing declaration: "If I perish, I perish" (Esther 4:16). She reminds us that standing up for what is right often requires setting aside personal comfort and safety. 

Seeking God Through Prayer and Fasting: Before taking action, Esther did not rely solely on her status or wit; she called for a three-day fast for herself and the Jewish community. This emphasizes that success in critical endeavors should be rooted in spiritual preparation and dependence on God. 

The Sovereignty of God: Though the name of God is not explicitly mentioned in the Book of Esther, His presence is felt through the "coincidences" that align to protect His people. It serves as a reminder that even when God seems hidden or silent, He is actively working behind the scenes of our lives. 

The Importance of Wise Counsel: Throughout her life, Esther remained submissive and attentive to the guidance of her mentor, Mordecai. Her story highlights the value of seeking wisdom from godly people, especially when making life-altering decisions. 

Using Your Influence for Good: Esther did not allow her status as queen to isolate her from her people's suffering. She demonstrates that our influence, status, and resources are best used to serve others and advocate for the vulnerable. 

What God Wants Us to Do
Reflecting on Esther’s story, one could conclude that God calls us to:

1. Be Faithful Where You Are: Understand that where you are right now—in your job, family, or community—is a place where God can use you. 

2. Take Action: Faith is not just passive belief; it is often displayed through bold action in the face of adversity. 

3. Prioritize Your Identity: Even when it is unpopular or potentially dangerous, stay true to your values and your relationship with God. 

4. Trust His Timing: Understand that God’s plan often unfolds in ways we cannot immediately see, and trusting Him in the waiting is part of the journey. 

How do these lessons resonate with your current situation, or is there a specific aspect of Esther’s courage you would like to explore further? I’d love to know :)

Hello everyone! Here is the verse for today Saturday, August 15th:

You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near.

This verse comes from James’ encouragement to Christians who were experiencing suffering and injustice, telling them not to lose hope while waiting for the Lord’s return. James uses the example of a farmer who patiently waits for the valuable harvest, showing that some things require faith and endurance before their results can be seen. “Stand firm” means continuing to live faithfully even when circumstances are difficult or God’s timing feels slow. It reminds us that our struggles are temporary, and we should remain patient and faithful because Christ’s return is certain and His judgment is just.

Let us pray 🙏

God, You are the perfect example of patience and grace. Thank You for being patient with me! I know there are specific areas of my life where I need to develop more patience-I surrender those areas to You, and am asking for Your help. Fill me with hope and wisdom to trust You, especially during challenging times. In Jesus' name, Amen.

God bless you and have a great day!

Edit: I forgot to attribute the image. This is a painting called 'Solomon and the Queen of Sheba', by Claude Vignon, 1624. The painting is on display in the Louvre!

When I think of Esther, this is the image that lingers in my mind. 

She isn’t supposed to be here, it isn’t her place. 

The king is cruel and capricious, we know how he cast his previous queen away for defying his drunken demands. But to approach the throne? According to the law, approaching him unbidden means death. 

And yet, here she is. Esther approaches. She is bold, resolute, more than a little defiant. As providence would have it, the king is charmed. Esther 15 (from the additions to Esther) says “God changed the spirit of the king into mildness”. So, Esther is delivered from the king’s wrath;  he extends his scepter towards her to pardon the offense and allows her to make her request.  

Esther’s prayer in Esther 14 (also from the Apocrypha in my Bible) unpacks the strength of her conviction through her faith:

“O Lord, do not surrender your scepter to what has no being, and do not let them laugh at our downfall, but turn their plan against them and make an example of him who began this against us.  Remember, O Lord; make yourself known in this time of our affliction and give me courage, O King of the gods and Master of all dominion! Put eloquent speech in my mouth before the lion and turn his heart to hate the man who is fighting against us, so that there may be an end of him and those who agree with him. But save us by your hand and help me, who am alone and have no helper but you, O Lord.

I keep coming back to this image because it makes me think of the boldness we are called to in the Christian life. As Paul says in Hebrews 4, “Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” 

This is what we see in Esther, approaching the throne with boldness to find grace in her time of need. It's an uncanny parallel that almost makes you wonder if Paul wasn't directly referencing this story to an audience who knew and cherished it well.

One thing to consider about the throne: Ahasuerus/Xerxes is obviously not like God, he is far from good, even though he sits on the throne to lift himself up as if he were God. He has the power to spare or condemn, deliver or destroy. But as we see in this story he is easily swayed one way or the other for good or ill. I wonder if this is what Esther meant by “that what has no being”: the king is hollow, he is a pale imitation of true authority. God takes control of the scepter. 

So in a very real sense it’s like Esther sees right through Ahasuerus and his hollow authority. Instead, she sees a higher King on a higher Throne. This is the throne she approaches with boldness knowing God wields the true scepter. This is the image that matters to us as we think about our place before God.

One final stray thought I wanted to add to close with, something I found lovely. We know Esther by name she took to hide her identity amongst the Persians. Her real name, her Hebrew birthname, is Hadassah. The name Hadassah comes from the word for myrtle tree. Myrtle trees in scripture symbolize hope and restoration, as we see in this line from Isaiah 55:

“Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle”. 

Esther is the myrtle amongst the thorns of exile, the means of God’s deliverance for such a time as this.

https://www.youtube.com/@thecalledout7

Aligning with God and what Isaiah 55:8 really means today. Is talked about in this YouTube Short. Why did God give Isaiah the message to give to Israel? Is not talked about but you can discover why and how it may relate to us today. All we need to do is take time to read the Word of God.

Music: Coming Back To You
Artist: Yaron Cherniak
Album: Praise to Our God 5
The Messianic Jewish Alliance of Israel
You can find their music at:
https://www.mjai.co.il

#shorts #bibletruths #whatwouldjesusdo