Real royalty: Spectacle and grace in Esther
Esther’s story paints a picture of two types of reigning. One type turns on spectacle. The other flows from grace. “Which is real royalty?” Esther’s life asks.
Reign of terror: Narcissism in Esther
Two people in power. One, highly offended. The other, easily exploited. Both, given over to evil. As in Esther, that can erupt into a reign of terror.
Abusers like Ahab & Jezebel use one another
They’re eerily alike: Ahab and Jezebel, who ruled in Elijah’s day. Men and women in church leadership who use one another in order to control everyone else.
Masters of misdirection and mesmerizing fog
People like King Ahab spend their lives using and abusing others, to get what they want. They also mesmerize and misdirect us, so we won’t see them as they are.
Spiritual schizophrenia and the two-headed snake
"How long will you try to go both ways?" Elijah cried. Where people identified with God cling to deep double-mindedness, they empower a two-headed snake.
Resentment and its victims: Hate without cause
Resentment may seem harmless. It may seem justified. Yet it is toxic and often misdirected. Whether it’s simmering within you or aimed at you, it’s hurting you.
Love story? Fairy-tale life? The abuse in Esther
Have we seen Queen Esther as a beloved wife, living a fairy-tale life? If so, we’ve missed the abuse in her story and a surprising key to reigning in life.
When evil seems invincible: Two surprising sources of hope
Where two malignant narcissists ruled, so did ruthlessness. Where evil seemed invincible, Mordecai and Esther seized on two surprising sources of hope and life.
Illusionists! The abusers we have not seen
Some illusionists fool us to amuse us. Abusers and abusive systems fool us to control us. Freedom and life hinge on seeing the illusionists we have not seen.
Treachery and divorce: When God sees betrayal
If you have been betrayed by a spouse: The God who sees you has been there. He hates treachery. He calls out the treacherous - and he defends the betrayed.