King Ahasuerus – The Nexus

In this fourth part of our series in Esther, Stand Up: How to Fight Injustice, we finally get to the action Esther takes to battle the gross injustice facing the Jewish people in Persia. But, the exact nature of her action really isn’t all that important. Rather, it’s how she goes about it that matters most. Keep reading to see just what it is she does that makes her plan so effective.

Stand with Humility

I was born in what some would call the Golden Age of cartoons. While they weren’t making new episodes, I had all the classic Looney Toons shows available to me. But I came of cartoon age with the truly classic versions of Batman, Superman, Justice League, the X-Men, and Spider-Man. I grew up loving superheroes—a love that is now being richly rewarded on the big screen. The rewards are coming mostly from Marvel Studios which by next May when the fourth Avengers movie releases will have given us 25 movies over the span of 11 years, all telling one, big, overarching story. It’s a little like the comic book world’s film version of the Bible. And indeed, the latest Avengers movie has crossed the billion dollars in ticket sales mark faster than any other movie. I’ve seen it: It was amazing. It is not a standalone film, however, so I am eager as can be to catch part two next May. Read the rest…

This week we begin a brand new series called Stand Up: How to Fight Injustice. For the next six weeks and with the story of Esther as our guide, we are going to look at how as followers of Jesus we can stand effectively against injustice in the world around us. Sometimes we’ll be called to do that in big, bold ways, but more often than not, our best chances will be small and seemingly insignificant. But, if we don’t make them, injustice is given that much more space to flourish, so make them we must. Stay tuned in the weeks ahead for how to do it.

Be Ready to Stand

Have you ever heard the word “serendipity” before? I’m sure you have. Better question: Do you know what it means? You might know it was the title of a romantic comedy starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale. That doesn’t really answer the question, though. Serendipity is a word used to describe a random, but fortunate turn of circumstances. In other words, serendipity is when something good happens to you totally unexpectedly. The idea is that the universe has contrived to bless you in some kind of a way without your realizing it. Now, this is not a concept that connects with the Christian worldview at all. As followers of Jesus, we believe that God is the giver of all good gifts, not some impersonal entity such as “the universe.” But, many people don’t have a category for something like this happening because they don’t have the proper worldview framework and so they simply call it serendipity. Read the rest…