Do you have any stories that inspire you? I have several that inspire me. The first story is the story of Micaiah who is a prophet. The second story is the story of Esther who becomes Queen. My third and final story is the story of Stephen.

The first story is about the prophet Micaiah. Micaiah inspires me because he says what the Lord says no matter what others say.  In 1 Kings 22:12-28 you can read what Micaiah’s prophecy is about. Micaiah in verses 15-18 sarcastically says, “Go up and triumph; the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.”  But the king says to him, “How many times shall I make you swear that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?”  And Micaiah replies, “I saw Israel scattered on the mountains as sheep that have no shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘These have no master, let each return to his home in peace.’”  Micaiah inspires me because he tells the truth no matter what others prophesy.

The second story that inspires me is the story of Esther.  Since Esther is a wonderful ten chapters long I will try to keep this to one or two paragraphs long.  The king chooses Esther to be queen when he holds a contest to select a new queen.  So while Esther is queen the king’s advisor, Haman, creates a plot to get rid of the Jews.  And so it happens that Esther is a Jew herself.  Mordicai is Esther’s cousin.  He brought her up from a child.  Mordicai informs Esther of Haman’s plot to rid the kingdom of the Jews.  So Esther breaks a rule and walks into the king’s throne room.

The rule she broke is:  the king will not allow anyone in his presence without his first summoning them.  The penalty is death, unless the king raises his scepter.  Fortunately he raises his scepter to accept her and allows her to speak.  She asks if the king and Haman would care to join her in a small banquet.  At a second banquet Esther announces what she knows about Haman’s plot. After Esther told the king about his plot, the king hangs Haman on the gallows he built for Mordicai.  Esther inspires me because of her bravery and doing what she knew was right.

The third story that inspires me is the story of Stephen.  Stephen inspires me because he stood up for God and told the Pharisees the truth. The apostles chose Stephen along with six others to serve the tables.  Except that is not all they did; they could still preach God’s word.  There were false witnesses who said that Stephen spoke blasphemous words against Moses and God.  When the accusers brought him before the Pharisees, he spoke a sermon to them (the sermon is in Acts 7). Then the Pharisees covered their ears and rushed at him.  While they were stoning Stephen he said, “Lord Jesus. Receive my spirit.”  And when he said that he fell asleep, which means he died. Stephen inspires me because he spoke the truth to the Pharisees.

These are three stories from the Bible that inspire me to do what is right. I chose the story of Micaiah because he does and says what the LORD says instead of following the majority. I picked Esther because she faced her fears and did what was right instead of backing down. The third and final story I chose was the story of Stephen who spoke the truth knowing the consequences of his actions. These are the three stories that inspire me.

Who inspires you?

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Andrew After Tuesday's Game

Andrew wrote this for his English class at Oakman Junior High School.  The assignment was to write about three characters from books you read that inspire you.  Andrew asked if he could write about Bible characters, because the characters in Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, or Star Wars are fictional and really did not inspire him.  His choice made my chest swell.

Andrew is 13 and is in 8th Grade at OJHS.  He plays football as an Offensive Tackle (Quick Tackle) and Defensive End.  He is in the Beta Club and a member of the Quiz (Scholars) Bowl Team.  He is also a leader on our Youth Bible Bowl Team.