Who has seen the movie Aladdin? The genie, voiced by Robin Williams, told Aladdin there were three things he couldn’t do. One of them being he couldn’t change hearts. He couldn’t make anyone fall in love. When you hear that message at the age of 8, it sticks with you…

The book of Nahum starts off talking about a city called Nineveh. You’ve heard of this city before, yes? The city Jonah was called to go to. He told the people to return to the Lord. They do for a bit, but 100 years later, they are fully back to…

Due to legalities, the king wasn’t allowed to reverse his ruling in the destruction of the Jews, so he gave Mordecai permission to write a new ruling giving Jews permission to assemble and protect themselves. They do just that and find victory over their enemies. (Major paraphrase happening there.) “Mordecai…

Often, when writing these notes, I try to give an many details as possible for those who may never have read the Bible. I try to explain the setting and cast of characters. But today I’m going to assume you’ve read the story of Esther before. …

At the start of chapter 6, Esther has requested a second banquet, Haman goes away happy and in good spirits, but the king can’t sleep. “That night the king could not sleep; so he ordered the book of the chronicles, the record of his reign, to be brought in and…

As I’ve read through the book of Esther this time, I’ve found that, while I want to see myself as an Esther, I can for sure relate with Haman more than I’d like to admit. Isn’t that like us though? We want to see ourselves as heroes in the story…

How do you handle big decisions? Do you journal? Pray? Make pro/con lists? Do you seek counsel? I’m curious as to what that process looks like for you. I’m not talking about the “chicken or beef for dinner” kind of decisions. I’m not even talking about deciding where to go…

In the book of Esther, Haman is a friend of the king who creates and implements a decree saying all Jews must die. The decree is sent out and does not settle well with the people. Obviously. And what Haman doesn’t know is that Esther, the newly crowned queen, is…

“Then Haman said to King Xerxes, ‘There is a certain people dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom who keep themselves separate. Their customs are different from those of all other people, and they do not obey the king’s laws; it is not in the king’s…