Today, I’m celebrating the Jewish holiday of “Purim” today with Lynn and my sons. We’re studying the Book of Esther (and teaches a three-part sermon series on it at Cornerstone Chapel in northern Virginia) and considering the lessons for all of our lives today. We’re eating special pastries known as “Hamentaschen” (yummy!). And we’re thanking the Lord for saving the Jewish people — His chosen people — from annihilation by an evil Persian regime. Thank you, Lord, for your grace and mercy amidst the storms of life in these last days. Please have mercy on Israel and the Jewish people, but also on the Persians and all the people of the epicenter.