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A King, A Bride and A Kingdom ….. Remember those words as you read. I’ve read the book of Esther -maybe for the first time from beginning to end. I’ve known the story since my early days in Sunday School but have only now understood its relevance. What a majestic and powerful love story.

Many ancient church leaders fought against its inclusion in the Canon because never once is God’s name mentioned. It’s regretful that many have not seen the picture story of God’s redemptive love through Esther’s story. The book is a shadow of things to come. It reveals God’s plan for humanity.

Through the simple story of a young woman God reveals His plan. Esther’s life unfolds like a fiction romance novel yet it is non-fiction and completely God’s inspired Word.

King Ahasuerus had a great feast and invited everyone, including the common folks to attend. It was a magnificent display of the kingdom’s riches and glory. The festival was intended to display the King’s glory and his crown jewel – His Queen. Queen Vashti refused to obey the King’s command and was eventually stripped of her crown.

A beauty contest was held throughout all the land and young women were brought before the king after a one year purification, cleansing and beautification process. That’s right, before they were introduced to the king; they went through a beautification process. It was a one year beauty contest. Esther was chosen to replace Vashti as queen. I’m sure you remember the rest of the story. Esther pleads for her people before the king and the Jewish people are vindicated.

Remember, this is the story of a king, his bride and a kingdom. As Esther went through a purification and beautification process before becoming the king’s bride, we must go through the same. As Christians, we are being purified, and beautified so we can become the bride of Christ. Our king is looking for His bride to present on the seventh day of the festival. As King Ahasuerus wanted to present his bride on the last day, God will present His perfect, purified bride on the last day. Thus ushering in His kingdom.

There is so much more to this powerful book. Hopefully, this will prompt you to read it for yourself. Discover the King, His Bride and His Kingdom as you read. Oh yeah, I almost forgot. The difficulties, struggles, trials, persecution, attacks and problems we face are all part of the purification and beautification process we must go through in order to be presented as the perfect bride of Christ.

Attract or Diburse

Over the past few months we have learned a couple new words related to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico – Attractants and Disbursements. Well, to be fair, these aren’t really new words but rather new to this context. An attractant is simple to define – something that attracts something else. Disbursements are things that distribute or disburse something. In the oil spill context these words define the chemicals BP is using to attract oil with the hope of containing it for clean up. The disbursements are placed in the water with the hope of breaking the oil into smaller particles. The tar balls that keep washing up on the coastal shores are created when disbursing chemicals come in contact with the oil.

BP is using chemicals to attract oil and disburse it.

I am reminded of Matthew 12:30. - READ IT!

Seems to me that people attract or disburse, also.

Wardrobe Malfunction

A light mist started falling from the dark, storm clouds minutes before I looked toward the sky. I was floating. It felt as if I were suspended in time - bobbing up and down with the rhythmic, methodical salty waves as they raced toward shore. Fortunately, my life jacket forced me on my back and I was able to keep my head above water. In the moments before my dad turned his white 20-foot center-console style boat around, I peered over a three foot wave to see my oldest daughter bobbing up and down about 100 yards away. She waved toward the boat as her silver-haired grandfather maneuvered slowly beside her. After she was back in the boat they headed my direction.

By now I had withstood three or four three foot waves over my head. Just before the boat arrived I spit out a gulp of salty gulf water - hopefully, non-oil-laced water. The fishing vessel turned ski boat pulled along side. My wife and father curiously wondered why I was laughing hysterically. After I yelled, they knew why? Have you ever seen someone laugh so hard they almost fell off a boat? It’s quite comical.

“I have a wardrobe malfunction,” I yelled.

After a minute of silence they realized what I meant. I will never forget the expressions on their faces. I actually saw the light bulbs come on when my dad and wife realized that wardrobe malfunction meant I had lost my shorts. That’s right; I was floating, bobbing and trying to keep my head above water while holding my shorts around my waist. It’s just not cool to laugh at someone when their pants have been floating in the Gulf of Mexico without them.

“Do you have your shorts?” my dad asked.

“Barely, I’m hanging onto them!”

Hey, did you know that before you take your kids tubing or skiing for the first time it’s a good idea to find out what equipment is essential? We had life jackets, a huge two-person inter tube and a long rope. What didn’t we have? A ladder to climb into the boat. Don’t go tubing without a ladder. It is difficult to climb into a boat without a ladder after you have been slung through the water at 800 miles an hour. It is even more difficult to do it with one hand while your other is holding your shorts! I felt like a street thug with my shorts around my knees.

Apparently the constant banging and violent thrashing on the tube tore the button and zipper from my shorts. There was even a rip beside the zipper. Needles to say, we learned a lot about tubing. We also learned about proper tubing attire. Flopping over the side of a boat with your shorts around your knees just isn’t cool.

The Hunt for Red October

I like war movies. Maybe you do too. Do any of you remember the movie The Hunt for Red October? It is a great movie with a scene that illustrates how we should live. You may remember the scene. The Soviet submarine commander (Sean Connery) made a strategic move when his sub was fired upon by an American sub. Instead of trying to avoid danger, he turned his sub toward the torpedo and headed right for it. All his men thought the Commander had finally lost his mind. Who steers toward danger, not away from it? Little did they know his strategic maneuver would save their lives? By moving toward the torpedo, he disrupted the computerized timing mechanism and the torpedo struck their sub without exploding. He closed the gap.

What a perfect analogy for life. Maybe God is asking us to close the gap. I am convinced that everyone has a gap between where they are and where they can be. I believe God helps close our gap by drawing us His direction. Try to think about one thing you can do to close your gap – one thing that will help you take a step closer to Christ.

Volumes of books have been written outlining expert opinions on effective self-help characteristics. I’m sure you’ve seen the titles: 7 Habits of Highly Effective people, The Life Strategies Workbook, Chicken Soup for Everything, and on and on. There are books on parenting, mental disorders, self-esteem, relationships, communication and more. All designed to help us improve. In all these titles, I see one common factor – Attitude. You can change everything by changing your attitude.

Talent and Ability determine what we can accomplish. Attitude determines how well we will accomplish it (Lou Holtz).

A recent focus study administered by Business Week Magazine listed the 25 top companies in customer service. A few of the top 25 include: Four Seasons Hotels, Cadillac, Nordstrom, UPS, Lexus, Apple, Starbucks, Hertz and FedEx. The most common theme Business Week discovered in the top companies was an attitude that centered on the need to constantly improve. No matter how good we are, we need to improve. Attitude is the catalyst.

a Philippians 2:5
a Ephesians 4:22-24
a I Peter 4:10
a Philippians 4:8

Don’t be satisfied with the status quo.

Proven Chruch Growth Strategies

Church Growth experts have challenged, motivated and inspired church leaders for decades to stretch beyond the status quo when reaching communities. The following list of proven church growth strategies has been posted to aid pastors and church leaders effectively communicate the life-changing message of Jesus Christ to a lost world. Please study the effectiveness of each strategy as not all will work in every church.

There are too many books, DVD's, lectures, magazine articles and Ph.D. dissertations on church growth principles and strategies. These eight principles should end all discussion on how to grow a church.

1. Use 5th grade boys as greeters after they drink 2 liters of Mountain Dew and a shot of Red Bull.
2. Use score cards to judge the pastors sermon like in Olympic gymnastics.
3. Members are allowed to blow vuvuzela’s if the preacher’s sermon goes over 30-minutes.
4. Have a tattoo artist available before and after services.
5. Line the aisles with baskets of rotten fruit and vegetables to throw at the worship team when they lead a song we don’t know!
6. Make the Education Minister fight Brock Lesnar if he changes the SS curriculum.
7. Host a community-wide bonfire using the hymnals we haven’t opened in eight years.
8. Allow family members to designate how long new converts should be held under during baptism.

Church Growth Methodologies is just one of the many services I provide.

Boycott Buffett Concert

Jimmy Buffett is an idiot - another left-wing musician who thinks he can solve the world's problems by singing a few songs. Don't get me wrong, I like his music and have several CD's. I was 15 the first time I saw him in concert and have since seen him perform many times. But he's trying to transform his musical platform into a political one. The following is a quote from a recent interview Buffett gave to Associated Press:

Buffett, a supporter of President Barack Obama, said the roots of the spill lie with the administration of former President George Bush, which was often criticized for being too cozy with the petroleum industry.


"To me it was more about eight years of bad policy before (Obama) got there that let this happen. It was Dracula running the blood bank in terms of oil and leases," he said. "I think that has more to do with it than how the president reacted to it."

OK, is it me or did he blame the oil spill on a political administration? How stupid! Whether the previous administration was Republican or Democrat is irrelevant. NO ONE from the White House climbed onto the Horizon and blew it up. HEY, BUFFETT! The oil spill was caused by an explosion NOT a politician.

So I guess his concert this weekend is going to turn into a liberal political rally instead of a concert.

Politics as Usual

January 2013

One day a man walked up to a Marine guard at the White House and asked to meet President Obama. The Marine replied Mr. Obama is no longer president and doesn't live at the White House any longer. The man left.

The following day, the same man approached the White House and asked the same Marine, if he could meet President Obama. The Marine again told the man, "Sir, as I said yesterday, Mr.Obama is no longer president and no longer resides here." The man thanked him and again just walked away.

The third day, the same man approached the White House and spoke to the very same U.S. Marine, saying "I would like to go in and meet with President Obama." The Marine, understandably agitated at this point, looked at the man and said, "Sir, this is the third day in a row you have been here asking to see Mr. Obama. I've told you already that Mr. Obama is no longer the president and no longer resides here. Don't you understand?" The old man looked at the Marine and said, "Oh, I understand. I just love hearing it."

The Marine snapped to attention, saluted, and said, "See you tomorrow, Sir."


Political Humor

Man: Four years ago my cousin ran for state senator.
Woman: What's he doing now?
Man: Nothing .... He got elected.


Q: Why don't we ever hear of a thief burglarizing a politician's house?
A: Professional courtesy.


Mom: What makes you think our son will be a politician?
Dad: He says more things that sound good and mean nothing than any other boy on the block.

The Bible is About Me

Adam was created in God’s image. He is the only man to arrive on this planet without parents, childhood, family or friends. No wonder he wasn’t alone long. God created Adam to develop community and togetherness. As Adam, we long for intimate relationships with others. We are created to be together as family and friends.

We tend to overlook many of Adam’s accomplishments choosing to focus on his faults. He was the first zoologist, landscaper, horticulturist, general contractor, engineer, farmer, husband and father. Talk about responsibilities! He had to be a type A personality. Adam’s historical story is more than just the beginning of humanity. Theological implications are far reaching when Adam is discussed. More than the father of humanity or the man who brought sin into the world, Adam’s relevance to the Gospel message cannot be ignored. God’s redemptive plan is revealed in Adam’s life. As God made provision for Adam by covering him with animal skin, He covered us by shedding His blood for our salvation.

Genesis 1-5, I Chronicles 1:1, Luke 3:8, Romans 5:14, I Corinthians 15, I Timothy 2:13-14

In understanding Adam’s life story, I understand mine. The more I study his life the more consumed with the central message of scripture I become. The more consumed with the central redemptive truth of the Bible I become the more I realize about myself. Holy Cow, the Bible is about me!