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Day 133, or May the 13th. Scene 1, you've seen them all.

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Our thoughts today are in Esther chapter 3 verse 6. Having learned who Mordecai's people

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were, he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai. Instead, Haman looked for a way

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to destroy all Mordecai's people, the Jews, throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes.

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And now the big picture surrounding this verse. Queen Esther was only as powerful as her husband

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the king allowed. In a world which was dominated by men, Esther's position was far from secure.

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Petty grievances were often held, and there was one against her cousin Mordecai that could

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have proved disastrous if evasive action had not been taken. Brutal murder was planned

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against Mordecai and the whole Jewish nation. They could have been wiped out as a people,

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but God had other plans. He had saved them from obliteration before, and this was to

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be yet another occasion when the situation appeared hopeless until God stepped in. Even

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in those critical times, God chose to work through people rather than intervene personally.

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I don't think I could trust people as much as God does.

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And now to today's action step. Haman was insulted and frustrated by Mordecai, a Jew.

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He hated him so much that he decided to wipe out all the Jews so that no one in future

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would ever be irritated by them. I have a friend who is a very articulate I.T. expert

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and is proud of his African heritage. I asked him if he ever comes across any prejudice.

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He smiled and confirmed that he did, most days. In response, he said that he was so

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nice and polite and efficient that they couldn't help but admire or maybe even like him. He

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loved proving folk wrong. Be careful not to group people, but treat them as individuals.

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When you are aware that you are being judged unfairly because of your colour, physical appearance

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or accent, don't retaliate in a similar fashion, but love your way out of it. Love

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them into a mind change, because you will never bully them into one.