Show Notes
Our text today is Jude 11-13 Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam's error and perished in Korah's rebellion. These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever. — Jude 11-13 Not every spiritual voice wants to help you. Some want to use you. That sounds harsh, but Jude is not interested in softening the truth. These false teachers had worked their way into the church, used spiritual language, and gained their trust. But underneath it all, they were serving themselves. So Jude reaches back into the Old Testament and gives us three names: Cain. Balaam. Korah. Three men. Three different stories. But one shared problem. They wanted something from God without wanting to live under God. So take Cain. Cain worshiped God, but he wanted to worship on his own terms. When God accepted Abel's offering and confronted Cain's heart, Cain refused to repent. He became angry, jealous, and ultimately violent. Cain's problem was not simply that he had strong emotions. His problem was that he refused correction. God warned him that "sin was crouching at the door." But he walked through the door anyway. That is the way of Cain. It looks religious on the outside but resists God on the inside. It compares, competes, and resents anyone whose faithfulness exposes its compromise. And when pride will not accept correction, it eventually turns against the person telling the truth. Then Jude mentions Balaam. We talked about him in our last study. Balaam was a spiritual man with a greed problem. He knew how to speak about God, but money kept pulling at his heart. He wanted the reward offered by a pagan king, so he kept searching for a way to get paid without appearing to disobey God. And when he could not curse Israel directly, he helped draw them toward compromise. We call it Balaam's error. Using spiritual influence for personal gain. Today, that may look like someone using God's name to build a platform, manipulate an audience, sell a promise, or pressure people into giving. The problem is exploitation. It is telling people what they want to hear because it keeps them watching, clicking, buying, or giving. And it's everywhere today. Then Jude brings up Korah. Korah rejected the authority God had established through Moses and Aaron. He gathered people around himself, questioned their leadership, and presented his rebellion as though it were a righteous cause. That is what rebellion often does. It rarely introduces itself by saying, "I'm ambitious and unwilling to submit." It usually sounds more spiritual than that, like "I'm standing up for what is right." But Korah was not correcting ungodly leadership. He was rejecting God's order because he wanted more authority for himself. So here is what we have. Cain refused correction. Balaam used spiritual influence for gain. Korah rejected authority to gain power. And Jude says the false teachers followed all these paths. Then he gives us a series of pictures, and none of them are flattering. They are hidden reefs. A hidden reef sits below the surface where no one can see it. Everything looks safe until a ship strikes it and breaks apart. That is what deceptive teaching does. It does not always look dangerous at first. But beneath the surface, it can wreck faith, families, churches, and lives. They are shepherds feeding themselves. A shepherd is supposed to protect and feed the sheep. But these leaders were using the sheep to feed their own appetites. They took more than they gave. They wanted the position without the sacrifice. They are waterless clouds. They look promising. They sound promising. But when thirsty people come lookin
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Welcome to The Daily. Today, I want to give a shout-out to Robert Heath from Alpharetta, GA. Thanks for being a Project23 donor as we teach through every book of the Bible over 23 years. We cannot do this without you. Read more about Project23. Our text today is Esther 1:21-22 This advice pleased the king and the princes, and the king did as Memucan proposed. He sent letters to all the royal provinces, to every province in its own script and to every people in its own language, that every man be master in his own household and speak according to the language of his people. — Esther 1:21-22 The king tried to save face—and ended up sending his shame across the entire empire. He issued official letters to all 127 provinces, translated into every local script and language, declaring that every man should be master of his household. This escalation is almost comical. He cannot command respect in his own palace, so he issues an empire-wide decree telling every other man to take control of his home. But we all know respect cannot be legislated. You can demand compliance, but you cannot command affection. You can force someone to obey outwardly, but you cannot make them honor you inwardly. Real authority is earned through godly character. And for some reason, Ahasuerus believes this decree will restore his dignity. Instead, it broadcasts his insecurity across the known world. Yet God is doing something beneath all this blatant foolishness. A royal position is now vacant. No one yet realizes how this ridiculous decree will become one small step in a much larger story of deliverance and the entrance of another woman—Esther. And God is never mentioned. That is what makes Esther's story so powerful. God does not announce what he is doing. There is no prophet. No miracle. No voice from heaven. Chapter one ends with political overreaction, wounded pride, bad advice, and a foolish decree. But God is still working. I know I prefer God's providence when it looks like a clear plan. I struggle when it looks like confusion, disappointment, or delay. I want to see how the pieces fit before I trust the God arranging them. But God's silence is not his absence. Let me say that again: God's silence is not his absence in our lives. God can work through anything—even decisions he does not endorse. He can redirect the consequences of human pride. He can use closed doors, changed plans, and even the foolish choices of powerful people to position his people for his purposes. The cross is the evidence. Political leaders, religious authorities, and an angry crowd believed they were eliminating Jesus. Yet through their sinful choices, God accomplished our salvation. Human evil did not defeat his plan—it unknowingly served it. Maybe your life feels like Esther 1 right now. Someone made a decision you did not choose. A door closed without explanation. People in power over you are acting foolishly. And God appears silent. But the story isn't over. It may just be chapter one. Even when you don't see God's hand or plan, you can still trust his promised deliverance. DO THIS: Name one situation that feels chaotic or unresolved. Write beneath it: God may be silent, but he is not absent. Then take the next faithful step you know to take. ASK THIS: Where does life feel out of control? Am I confusing silence with absence? What is my next faithful step? PRAY THIS: Father, help me trust your hidden providence when I cannot yet understand what you are doing. Amen. PLAY THIS: Sovereign Over Us.
Some of the hardest consequences we carry come from decisions we never made. In Esther 1, King Ahasuerus allows wounded pride to turn a private conflict into an empire-wide decree. His power looks absolute. His control appears complete. And God is never mentioned. Yet God is already working. In this Esther 1 Bible study, we examine what happens when power hides insecurity, wounded pride becomes control, and another person's foolish decision affects your life. You will discover why God's providence does not mean He approves of every human decision—and why human failure can never cancel His faithfulness. This is the opening chapter of FOR SUCH A TIME: Courage When God Seems Silent, our chapter-by-chapter study through the book of Esther. The Big Idea: Human power may look absolute, but it is never outside the providence of God. #Esther #BibleStudy #GodsProvidence REFLECTION & SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1. When have you had to live with the consequences of a decision you did not make? 2. What does Ahasuerus reveal about the difference between public power and private strength? 3. Why do insecurity and wounded pride so often lead to controlling behavior? 4. How do you typically respond when you feel embarrassed, questioned, or disrespected? 5. Where is the line between leading someone and trying to control them? 6. Why is it important to distinguish God's providence from God's approval of human sin? 7. What does God's apparent silence in Esther 1 teach us about His presence? 8. Which contrast between Ahasuerus and Jesus stood out most to you? 9. Is there a painful event you need to grieve honestly without allowing it to define your future? 10. Where might God be asking you to trust Him even though you cannot yet see what He is preparing?
Welcome to The Daily. Today, I want to give a shout-out to Josh Garfin from Bradenton, FL. Thanks for being a Project23 donor as we teach through every book of the Bible over 23 years. We cannot do this without you. Read more about Project23. Our text today is Esther 1:19-20 "If it please the king, let a royal order go out from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes so that it may not be repealed, that Vashti is never again to come before King Ahasuerus. And let the king give her royal position to another who is better than she. So when the decree made by the king is proclaimed throughout all his kingdom, for it is vast, all women will give honor to their husbands, high and low alike." — Esther 1:19-20 Some decisions take five minutes to make and five years to undo. I have made decisions simply because I wanted the tension to end. So I send the message without thinking. I draw the line without weighing the options. I make the call just to get it over with. In the moment, it feels decisive. But later, I realize I was not acting from conviction—I was reacting from frustration. That is exactly the danger in today's text. King Ahasuerus is angry. His pride has been wounded publicly. Then Memucan proposes a solution that cannot be undone: remove Vashti, ban her from the king's presence, give her position to someone else, and write it into Persian law so that it "may not be repealed." Think about that for a moment. A permanent law is being proposed in response to a temporary emotional wound. The shame is too much for the king. And Memucan even frames the king's wounded pride as public policy, claiming the decree will protect marriages across the empire. But this is not about strengthening the family unit. It is about protecting the king's image. We do the same thing. We make an emotional decision, then search for a reason to justify it. Or we wrap an emotional reaction in spiritual language. And sin loves speed, because speed keeps us from slowing down long enough to examine our motives. Wisdom slows down. It asks why we feel pressure to act now and what emotion is driving us. It recognizes that any decision driven by anger, fear, embarrassment, or wounded pride deserves closer examination. Ahasuerus used his power to make his anger permanent. So before you make a permanent decision to relieve a temporary emotion, pause. Pray. Seek wise counsel. Let the emotion of the moment cool long enough for truth to speak. The wisest decision you make today may be the one you refuse to make too quickly. DO THIS: Delay one nonurgent decision today. Pray over it overnight, and ask whether you are acting from wisdom or reacting from emotion. ASK THIS: What decision am I rushing? What emotion is driving me? What would wisdom tell me to do? PRAY THIS: Father, slow me down when my emotions rush me, and help me make decisions shaped by your wisdom rather than my wounded pride. Amen. PLAY THIS: Lord, I Need You.
Welcome to The Daily. Today, I want to give a shout-out to Jerry Espeseth from Somerset Hill, WI. Thanks for being a Project23 donor as we teach through every book of the Bible over 23 years. We cannot do this without you. Read more about Project23. Our text today is Esther 1:16-18 Then Memucan said in the presence of the king and the officials, "Not only against the king has Queen Vashti done wrong, but also against all the officials and all the peoples who are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus. For the queen's behavior will be made known to all women, causing them to look at their husbands with contempt, since they will say, 'King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him, and she did not come.' This very day the noble women of Persia and Media who have heard of the queen's behavior will say the same to all the king's officials, and there will be contempt and wrath in plenty." — Esther 1:16-18 Have you ever watched your mind turn one difficult moment into an entire disaster? An awkward conversation becomes the end of a friendship. A bad report becomes the worst possible diagnosis. A mistake at work becomes, I'm going to lose my job. A conflict at home becomes, Our family is falling apart. Nothing catastrophic has actually happened yet. But in your mind, it already has. That is what Memucan does in these verses. Vashti refused one command from the king. It was a serious and public act, but Memucan immediately turned it into a crisis that would spread across the entire empire. Notice the escalation in his reasoning: All the officials → all the people → all the women → all the husbands. According to Memucan, one queen's refusal would soon produce "contempt and wrath in plenty" across the whole empire. That escalated quickly. But Memucan is not alone in this kind of thinking. We do it too. Fear rarely speaks in measured, careful terms. It gravitates toward absolutes like everyone, always, never, and completely ruined. I have caught myself doing this more times than I want to admit. Something unexpected happens, and my mind immediately runs ahead. I start preparing emotionally for outcomes that haven't happened, conversations that haven't taken place, and consequences that may never come. By the time I'm done, I'm exhausted from carrying a future that only exists in my imagination—and likely never will. This does not mean we ignore real problems. Wisdom takes consequences seriously. But wisdom also knows how to separate facts from speculation. Fear says, "This is what will happen." Faith says, "This is what I know right now, and God will meet me in whatever comes next." Jesus told us not to be anxious about tomorrow, because tomorrow will bring its own concerns (Matthew 6:34). He was teaching us not to borrow trouble from a future we have not yet entered. We are given grace for today's troubles—and when tomorrow becomes today, we are given grace again. So receive grace for today, and stop letting fear write stories about tomorrow that you do not yet know. You do not know every outcome. You cannot control every consequence. But you do know the One who is already present in every tomorrow you fear. DO THIS: Take one worry and divide a page into two columns: What I Know and What I Fear. Respond to the facts, then surrender the predictions to God. ASK THIS: What outcome am I assuming? What do I actually know? What future must I surrender? PRAY THIS: Father, keep fear from writing conclusions you have not written, and help me trust you with what I cannot see. Amen. PLAY THIS: I Will Trust My Savior, Jesus.
Welcome to The Daily. I want to give a shout today to Sean Durkin from Morgan Hill, CA. Thanks for being a Project23 donor as we teach through every book of the Bible over 23 years. We cannot do this without you. Read more about Project23. Our text today is Esther 1:13-15 Then the king said to the wise men who knew the times (for this was the king's procedure toward all who were versed in law and judgment, the men next to him being Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, who saw the king's face, and sat first in the kingdom): "According to the law, what is to be done to Queen Vashti, because she has not performed the command of King Ahasuerus delivered by the eunuchs?" — Esther 1:13-15 I have learned this the hard way: when I'm angry, I don't always want counsel; I just want agreement. I want someone to hear my side, affirm my frustration, and assure me that I am right. So I call the person most likely to agree with me. Then I tell the story in a way that makes my actions sound reasonable, and the other person's actions sound ridiculous. I may not technically lie. I just make these small edits. That is what is happening here. King Ahasuerus is still burning with anger after Vashti refused his command. So he turns to seven influential lawyers. It may look like wisdom, but listen carefully to the question he asks: "According to the law, what is to be done to Queen Vashti?" He doesn't ask: Was my request reasonable? Why did she refuse? Did my intoxication affect my judgment? Did I play a part in her refusal? The king has already decided who is wrong. Now he wants his lawyers to decide what should be done to her. Anger does this to us. It turns counselors into jurors. Instead of inviting them to help us discover the truth, we recruit them to support our verdict. We don't want someone to examine the situation. We want someone to take our side. But truly wise voices do more than confirm your feelings. They slow you down. They ask questions. They point out what you may be missing. They help you separate facts from feeling. And sometimes, they tell you what you do not want to hear. Proverbs warns us that a fool believes his own way is right, but a wise man listens to advice (Proverbs 12:15). This is especially important when we are angry because anger narrows our vision. We see the offense clearly but overlook our contribution. We remember their words but forget our tone. We magnify their failure while minimizing our own. But the gospel gives us the freedom to stop. Because Christ has already carried our guilt, we do not have to protect ourselves from the truth. We can admit that we were impatient, defensive, controlling, or wrong without being crushed by shame. So maybe before you send the message today, or make the decision, confront the person, or tell everyone your side, pause. Ask yourself: Am I looking for wisdom—or am I looking for a witness for the prosecution? DO THIS: Share one unresolved conflict with a spiritually mature person who will tell you the truth, not merely take your side. Ask what you may be missing. ASK THIS: Do I seek counsel or agreement? What part of the conflict is mine? Who tells me the truth? PRAY THIS: Father, humble me enough to seek truth, receive correction, and make decisions guided by your wisdom rather than my anger. PLAY THIS: Christ Our Wisdom.