Invincible

The king extends his sceptre to Esther - Artist unknown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Esther 6-10; Psalm 54

TO CHEW ON: "The Jews gathered together in their cities …. And no one could withstand them, because fear of them fell upon all people." Esther 9:2

Here we read again what we've read before—of God coming to the aid of His helpless and outnumbered people, the Jews, using the psychological weapon of fear in their enemies.

This fear of the Jews is an old theme from when God promised to help the Israelites conquer Canaan. Moses reminded the Israelites of this repeatedly in passages like Numbers 14:9, Deuteronomy 7:24, 11:25; 28:7; 32:30.

When Joshua became their leader, God promised to help him in the same way - Joshua 1:5; 10:8. We read of the results of this fear in places like Joshua 12:1; 21:44; 23:9.

The Old Testament prophets continued to predict fear in the enemies of the Jews. God was intent on preserving the people out of which His Son would be born to bring salvation for the world  - Isaiah 19:17; Jeremiah 15:20; Daniel 11:16; Zechariah 9:13.  This incident in Persia is an example of this fear in action.

When Jesus walked the earth, we recall the many times during his life when the scribes and Pharisees, who were intent on killing him, were mysteriously hindered from harming Him by fear of one kind or another - Matthew 21:26,46; Mark 12:12; Luke 5:26; 20:19.

And the wonderful thing is that the promise of invincibility comes down to us.

Jesus promised about the church that the "... gates of hell shall not prevail against it" - Matthew 16:18.

Paul tells Christians to put on the armor of God, take up the shield of faith and in this way they would be able to "... quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one" - Ephesians 6:16.

No wonder the demons believe and "... tremble" - James 2:19.

When we feel small, insignificant, and badly outnumbered in an unbelieving world, let's not lose sight of the fact that God is still at work in the enemy's ranks. And He still has the weapon of fear in His arsenal.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to live with confidence that Your plans and purposes for this world will never be thwarted. Amen.





PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 54

MORE: Modern fear of the Jews
When former KGB spy Jack Barsky (a Soviet spy in the U.S. during the Cold War years) recently talked to Steve Kroft of 60 Minutes, he said that the Jews were one of three things the Soviets feared most during those years. (The others were AIDS and Ronald Reagan).

 *********
Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Favor

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Esther 1-5; Psalm 53

TO CHEW ON: "So the young woman pleased him, and she obtained his favor; so he readily gave beauty preparations to her besides her allowance .... And Esther obtained favor in the sight of all who saw her .... The king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins." Esther 2:9,15,17

Exit Vashti; enter Esther. Esther rose, it seems effortlessly, to the top of the group of beautiful women assembled for the king and from which he would choose his next queen.

Several times we read that she had favor.

[The Hebrew word used for favor here is nasa which means to lift up, to be lifted up, to cause to be lifted up. Our English word favor is defined as a friendly regard shown toward another, especially by a superior; approving consideration or attention.]

We don't read that Esther made any effort to curry that favor. It just inexplicably came to her (because of her beauty, perhaps, or her pleasing personality). Or maybe there is an explanation. The writer of a sidebar article in my Bible says:

"Recognize that favour is given for a purpose. For Esther God's favour led to provision and protection for His people." - Leslyn Musch, Truth-In-Action through Esther, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 642.

I'm sure the same principle is true in our lives. If we find or are given favor, let's realize that God has a larger purpose for it than our good feelings. Perhaps we could pray for insight into how God wants to use that favor. Of course we don't have to know what His plans are. The realization that this favor is, in the end, about His cause and glory being advanced and not our own, will help keep us from getting swelled heads and egos.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for this story of You working in the background to accomplish Your plans and purposes by giving Esther favor. Help me to acknowledge Your behind-the-scenes action in my life in a similar way. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 53

The Bible Project VIDEO: Esther (Read Scripture Series) 




MORE: More favor

"For his anger lasts only a moment,
 but His favor lasts a lifetime!
 Weeping may last through the night,
 but joy comes with the morning"- Psalm 30:5 (New Living Translation).

A good man obtains favor from the Lord,
    but the Lord condemns a crafty man. - Proverbs 12:2 (NIV 1984).

"And Jesus increased in wisdom (in broad and full understanding) and in stature and years, and in favor with God and man." - Luke 2:52 (AMP).

Said of the early church: "... praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved" - Acts 2:47.

*********
Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified® Bible,
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

Purim

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Esther 9:20-10:3

TO CHEW ON:

"And Mordecai wrote these things and sent letters to all the Jews, near and far, who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, to establish among them that they should celebrate yearly the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar, as the days on which the Jews had rest from their enemies, as the month which was turned from sorrow to joy for them, and from mourning to a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and joy, of sending presents to one another and gifts to the poor." - Esther 9:20-22

Every time I log onto Facebook I get a little reminder of whom among my friends is celebrating a birthday on this day. Sending people greets and having parties on birthdays is one way we celebrate individuals in our culture.

We also celebrate special days: love on Valentine's Day, all things Irish on St. Patrick's Day, Mothers and Fathers on their respective days, our country on our national holiday...

God is a great believer in celebrations. The Old Testament is full of parties (called "Feasts") that He instituted for the Israelites to celebrate. In some ways they were a lot like our holidays. The Israelites were to take time off work and they often ate special food.

But these feasts were also different. Most of our celebrations are only a day or a weekend long. Some of the Israelites' feasts lasted a whole week or longer. And while our celebrations are often all about us–what gifts we’ll get, what we’ll eat, how much fun we’ll have–the Israelites’ holidays helped them focus on God.

Some of them, like the Passover, helped them remember how God had helped in the past. Others, like the Feast of First fruits, were times they gave God the first things they harvested. The Feast of Purim (instituted by Mordecai here) reminded them of the miraculous turn of events that began when Queen Esther took her life in her hands to approach the king and beg for the life of her people.

In addition to helping the people remember what God had done, celebrations were also one way the Israelites were to fulfill God's command to teach His ways to their children. Moses instructed them on this in Deuteronomy 6. Not only were parents to explain God's laws to their children in the course of everyday life (Deuteronomy 6:6-9) but they were also to explain God's miracle interventions in the context of His testimonies, statutes and judgements (which included observing the special feasts - Deuteronomy 6:20-22).

Perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to add some spiritual celebrations to our secular ones—having  parties, for example, commemorating the day we were born again, the day we were baptized, or the day God answered a significant prayer for us or our family. Because we also need to keep these memories strong and pass the stories on to our kids!

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for reasons to celebrate and times of celebration. Help me to take time to recall and retell the stories of how You have worked in my life and the life of my family. Amen.

MORE: Purim

The Jewish people still celebrate the Feast of Purim. Here are some things they do on that day:



1. They read the story of Esther from the Hegillah (the Scroll). They cheer whenever Esther’s name is mentioned, boo at Haman’s name and wave graggers or noisemakers. They also act out the story in plays.





2. They wear costumes, disguises and masks to remind them of how Esther had to hide the fact that she was Jewish.



3. They send gifts to each other and the poor. They also invite people to join them in a special Purim meal.



4. They make special food. One treat is called Hamantaschen (Haman’s Hat). It is a three-cornered pastry filled with poppy seeds or prunes.

(Adapted from the Bible Drive-Thru devotion "From Sadness to Celebration")

The Feast of Purim is celebrated on the 14th of Adar (Hebrew calendar), which changes from year to year on the secular calendar. 

Dates of Purim: 

2015 - March 3 & 4; 

2016 - March 23 & 24; 

2017 - March 9 & 12.

***********

Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Upside down consequences

"Mordecai receives the king's ring" 
Engraving by Bernard Picart & Matthys Pool

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Esther 8:1-17

TO CHEW ON: "Now Esther spoke again to the king, fell down at his feet and implored him with tears to counteract the evil of Haman the Agagite, and the scheme which he had devised against the Jews."  Esther 8:3

Though Haman himself had been put to death, his evil legacy lived on. The law encouraging a day of Jewish slaughter still stood. Esther again took her life in her hands to plead for her people.

The king was sympathetic. But even he couldn't push back circumstances to the way they were before. He  made Mordecai in charge of crafting a new law. It gave the Jewish people power to band together and fight back.

However Haman's vicious decree had seemingly awakened much anti-Semitism for if we read ahead, we discover that the Jews defended themselves against a lot of attackers. They killed 500 in Shushan on the first day, 300 on the second, and in the provinces slaughtered a total of 75,000 enemies (Esther 9:12, 15, 16).

What a lesson in consequences. Even Haman's death couldn't cancel Haman's actions, although the victims of his law were not the people he had planned.

Let's respect the power of consequences in our lives and leave legacies of life not death, love not hate, light not darkness.


PRAYER: Dear God, what a sobering story illustrating the power of choices and actions. Please remind me to consider my choices and actions in the light of the consequences they will bring. Amen.

MORE: Quotes about consequences

"How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it." - Marcus Aurelius

"While we are free to choose our actions, we are not free to choose the consequences of our actions." - Steven Covey

"Sooner or later everyone sits down to a banquet of consequences." - Robert Louis Stevenson

Sources:
Consequences quotes
Proverbia.net

************
Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Boomerang

"The Festival of Esther" - Edward Armitage

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Esther 6:14-7:10

TO CHEW ON: "So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai." Esther 7:10

"The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men 

Gang aft agley, 

An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
 
For promis'd joy!"

That's from Robert Burns' poem "To a Mouse." Haman would certainly agree! The irony of his demise on the gallows he himself had built was not lost on the writer of Esther.

My Bible has an encouraging sidebar article highlighting God's brilliance at turning the enemy's devices back on himself:

"Scripture often affirms that the devices of our Adversary come down upon his own head (Psalm 7:16; 35:8; 37:14-15; Proverbs 26:27). The prime example of this truth is seen in the crucifixion of Jesus. Meant by Satan to undo the plan of God, the cross instead stripped the devil of all power and authority and brought about our deliverance (1 Corinthians 2:8; Colossians 2:14,15).... When great adversity is met with courageous intercession (Esther 4:16) the Lord will confound the enemy, redeem every trial, and deliver His people from bondage (see Romans 8:28)" - Christopher Hayward, "Caught in his own trap," New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 640 (emphasis added).

I especially like that last bit about the part we can play in bringing down Satan's devices and schemes. Let's begin to view the gallows and traps he sets as opportunities for God to triumph and intercede along those lines.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You that You are never surprised or caught off-guard by Satan's schemes. Please grow my faith in Your ability to turn around any bad situation, making it a force for good. Amen.

**********
Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved

God kept him awake

"The chronicles are read to King Ahasuerus" - James Tissot

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Esther 6:1-13

TO CHEW ON: "That night the king could not sleep. So one was commanded to bring the book of the records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king." Esther 6:1

Insomnia probably feels to you and me more like an annoyance than an evidence of God's sovereignty. Yet here God used the king's insomnia to put in motion a train of events that showed the Jewish people He was very much in charge. It started with Haman required to lead Mordecai, mounted on the king's horse) around the streets of Susa shouting, "Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!"

For superstitious Haman and his wife Zaresh, the meaning of Mordecai's honor at Haman's hands was also clear. Zaresh: "If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish descent, you will not prevail against him but fall before him" - Esther 6:13.

The Bible assures us of God's sovereignty in all of human affairs in other places.
Job speaks of it in his repentance prayer:

"I know that You can do everything
And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You" - Job 42:2.

David buoys up his faith with this fact when he's running from Saul:

"I will cry out to God Most High,
To God who performs all things for me" - Psalm 57:2.

Do you believe that God still works for His children in such mundane ways as waking people or keeping them awake? I do. For example, I'm sure you've heard stories of people waking suddenly with the sense that someone they know is in trouble or need,  spending the night hours praying for him or her, and discovering later that their wake-up call came at precisely the time the person they prayed for needed their prayers.

Let's acknowledge God's sovereignty in all the events of life—even bouts of insomnia, the need to turn back and get something we've forgotten, the wrong turn we make in the road, the rainy day that was supposed to be sunny...

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for this example of You working through King Ahasuerus's sleeplessness. Help me to see the details of my life through eyes of faith, knowing that You put everything together with divine precision and foreknowledge. Amen.

MORE: Got Any Rivers?

An old camp chorus popped into my head as I was thinking about God's abilities  this morning. Did you sing it when you were a kid?

"Got any rivers you think are uncrossable?
Got any mountains you can't tunnel through?
God specializes in things thought impossible
And does the things that others cannot do."

*********
Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Which Zeresh traits do you have?

Haman, Zeresh and friends - Artist unknown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Esther 5:1-14

TO CHEW ON: "Then his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, 'Let a gallows be made fifty cubits high, and in the morning suggest to the king that Mordecai be hanged on it; then go merrily with the king to the banquet.' And the thing pleased Haman; so he had the gallows made." Esther 5:14

All Haman's honors amount to nothing in the face of Mordecai's continued disdain for him. Haman can't seem to get the better of that little man and it rankles him beyond all the feel-good emotions aroused by the king's and queen's honors.

At such a time, there's nothing like a sympathetic, imaginative—and ruthless—wife. Zeresh is such a one. She is the first person Haman wants to see on arriving home (Esther 5:10). He knows she'll salve his hurt ego.

She does more. Proposes he build a gallows of 50 cubits (75 feet) on which to hang Mordecai. This will ensure that his death is a public spectacle.

But then, as we read on, we see that events turn against Haman. Zeresh sees it too. She can read the tide as well as anyone and tells it like it is (Esther 6:13).

Zeresh is an example of a great wife in several ways. The fact that she is the first one Haman wants to see on coming home with hurt feelings tells us that she is a sympathetic and supportive mate. He knows she is on his side. Later when things start to go sideways, she is honest about what she sees—another good trait in a wife.

However, she uses her influence to encourage Haman to do evil—more evil than he has planned. She feeds his base emotion of envy with fantasies and then concrete plans of revenge, which eventually come back to bite him (Esther 5:14; 7:9-10).

As partners and friends, let's learn from Zeresh. Like her we should be supportive and honest. But unlike her we can resist the urge to ramp up evil, instead influencing our spouse or friends toward good— that is toward love and forgiveness and away from hatred and revenge.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to be a partner and friend who spurs others on to love and good deeds (not hatred and evil). Amen.

MORE:  "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds" - Hebrews 10:24 NIV

 *********
Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Faith that flings itself on God

Mordecai Warns Esther - F. J. Barrias

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Esther 4:1-17

TO CHEW ON: "'Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!'" Esther 4:16

Esther didn't take much convincing to act on behalf of her people. A little back-and-forth with Mordecai and she realized how serious the situation was and had made a plan of action.

I love how her plan included first God and then others. Her first thought was not some kind of political manipulation, but prayer. Prayer and fasting actually—serious fasting with no food or drink.

She involved not only the Jewish people but her Persian maids, who may have had little knowledge of God. (I've  often wondered what affect this incident had on them; did they begin to believe in God for themselves after they saw what happened as a result of their prayers joined with Esther's?)

I also love Esther's hands-off attitude about the outcome. She knew that death might be the result of uninvited appearance before the king, and she was prepared for that.

I see a couple things in Esther's approach that I'd like to apply to my own life. What about you?

1. We could acknowledge God's presence and working in the governing of our land as much as we do in our own lives. Instead of throwing up our hands in despair when things don't go well, we could pray and fast (alone and with others) in faith that God has the power to change the situation.

2. Instead of sticking with our preconceived notion of how God will answer, we need more of Esther's "If I perish, I perish," attitude that leaves the results in God's hands. We need to realize that God's ways may involve bigger issues, more time, and more steps than we perceive. As we let Him be God, we can stop stressing about the outcome and simply trust that He will work things out (both personally and in our nation) in His own time and way.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to have the simple faith of Esther, who brought her big problem to You and prefaced her action with prayer and fasting. Amen.

MORE: "Whatever Comes" by Brian Doerksen

********
Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

To whom do we pay homage?

"Mordecai Scorns Haman" by Ernest Normand

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Esther 3:1-15

TO CHEW ON: "And all the king's servants who were within the king's gate bowed and paid homage to Haman, for so the king had commanded concerning him. But Mordecai would not bow or pay homage." Esther 3:2

The author of Esther doesn't spell out why Mordecai wouldn't bow to Haman—only that he refused to pay homage because he was a Jew. I think we can assume that in this he was taking God very seriously in obeying especially the first of the ten commandments:

"You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image .... you shall not bow down to them or serve them" Exodus 20:3-5.

The pressure mounted as his fellow servants questioned, then reported him, and finally King Ahasuerus, under the influence of Haman, passed a decree to kill not just him, but all the Jewish people. We can only imagine the soul searching Mordecai went through as he faced this horrible consequence of his actions to not only him but thousands of people. Yet he never wavered in his resolve.

Most of us will never face such an ultimatum for giving God first place in our lives. But we will come across the temptation to stray from it along other lines. Josh McDowell, for example, tells how he planned to become a lawyer. Yet one day God came to him and impressed on him that he was to spend his life witnessing to young people. McDowell says in the Epilogue to his autobiography:

"I never saw my early dream of becoming a lawyer come true. Instead I am still fulfilling the call to ministry that I answered more than fifty years ago .... I am in constant awe of what God has done in my life" - Josh McDowell, Undaunted, p. 245.

Mordecai's unshakable resolve and McDowell's modern example prompt me to ask myself, am I refusing to bow to anything but God and His will for my life? Or do I "pay homage" in one way or another, to things like success, personal ambition, money, comfort...? What about you?

PRAYER: Dear God, I have a lot to learn from Mordecai and his determination to give You first place, no matter what it cost. Help me to understand how to do this in my circumstances and then do it. Amen.

MORE: I'd Rather Have Jesus - George Beverley Shea

"'I’d Rather Have Jesus' is a song written by Rhea F. Miller with the tune written by George Beverly Shea. This poem, written in 1922, was left on a piano in the Shea home by Bev Shea who wanted her son to find it and change the course of his life. 



The words, I’d rather have Jesus, moved George so much and spoke to him about his own aims and ambitions in life. He sat down at the piano and began singing them with a tune that seemed to fit the words. Shea’s mom heard him singing it and asked him to sing it at church the next day. 

George’s life direction did change. 

He was offered a popular music career with NBC, but a few years later chose to become associated with evangelist Billy Graham and sang this hymn around the world."   (Read the entire article including the lyrics to "I'd Rather Have Jesus.")

********
Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Responsibility of influence

"Vashti's Defiance" - Alexandre Cabanel

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Esther 1:1-22

TO CHEW ON: "But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king's command brought by his eunuchs therefore the king was furious and his anger burned within him." Esther 1:12

Do we blame Queen Vashti for refusing to come before the drunken King Ahasuerus and his male guests to show off her beauty? I can think of several reasons for her refusal. Maybe such a debauch had happened before and been uncomfortable for her. Maybe it was a bad time for her to leave her own party. Or perhaps she had an independent streak that simply resisted being ordered around.

Whatever it was, her refusal ended badly. The king wasn't too drunk to ask for the input of others. His coterie of male advisors told him to be decisive with her for fear her attitude would spread to other women in the realm—and that would never do in their male-dominant culture.

It's easy for us, looking at this event through our western civilization lenses, to sympathize with Queen Vashti. And yet the king and his advisors had a point. My Bible's notes contain this observation on Vashti's actions:

"Leadership involves both responsibilities and influence. In her rebellion Vashti ignores her responsibility to her authority King Ahasuerus" - A. Joy Dawson, notes on Esther, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 634.

We can take away at least two lessons from these opening scenes of Esther:
1. When we are in positions of leadership our actions have the potential to affect and influence others, and we need to carefully consider their effect.

2. If we feel civil disobedience is really warranted, we should be prepared for consequences.

PRAYER: Dear God, please give me the wisdom to know when defying civil authority is warranted. At all other times help me to have a compliant spirit that acknowledges Your will and design in placing over me the rulers of Your choice. Amen.

MORE: More about Esther, the book
We will be reading all of the book of Esther in the coming days so here are a few facts about this little book.

• The author is unknown. But it was a Jew, familiar with Persian words and customs. Mordecai or Ezra may have been the author.

• It was written shortly after 465 B.C. and the story takes place over four years starting with the third year of King Ahasuerus (also called Xerxes') reign.

• A unique feature of the book is that the name of God is never mentioned.

*******
 Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Life-saving fear

Feast of Purim Commanded - H. Melville

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Esther 9:1-19

TO CHEW ON: "The Jews gathered together in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who sought their harm. And no one could withstand them because fear of them fell upon all people.
And all the officials of the provinces, the satraps, the governors, and all those doing the king's work, helped the Jews because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them." Esther 9:2,3

Something... Someone supernatural must be at work here for the tide of public opinion to turn so dramatically for Haman one day, against him the next (although my Bible's notes suggest the Jews had some months to prepare for their defence).

The way the Bible describes it: "And no one could withstand them because the fear of them fell upon all people .... the officials etc. helped the Jews because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them," gives one the sense of an irresistible force on the Jews' side causing others to lose their courage and to give up on destroying them.

I am reminded of another time the fear of the Lord became a force in the life of the Jewish nation. Remember Rahab, the woman who hid the Jewish spies, and what she said: "...the terror of you has fallen on us .... all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you ... our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath" - Joshua 2:9,11.

Then there's the early church. After the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost and many joining the new believers "... fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles" - Acts 2:43.

It's comforting to know that God works in this way. Lets pray that the fear of God come over our nation where attempts to silence public witness about Jesus are becoming increasingly bold and pervasive. Let's pray that the fear of God come over other countries, especially those where it is illegal to be a Christian and converting is a death sentence.

PRAYER: Dear God, perhaps before the fear of God comes over my nation, it needs to affect me. Help me to have a view of You that begins to understand how worthy You are of my fear, awe, and worship. Amen.

MORE: Fear and wisdom

John Piper in a sermon from the text Proverbs 10:11 ("The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life.") says,

 "The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life" (cf. 16:22). So if the "teaching of the wise" is a fountain of life, and "the mouth of the righteous" is a fountain of life, then one element in this righteousness is true wisdom. Righteous people are people who live by true wisdom.

Then I remembered that the most crucial thing Proverbs says about wisdom is that "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (9:10). So I assumed that "the fear of the Lord" is right at the heart of the wisdom which is the basis of the way righteous people live (fear of the Lord—wisdom—righteousness). The surprising thing was the way this was confirmed in 14:27, "The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life."

So I conclude that the mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life (10:11) because righteousness is a life based on true wisdom which is a fountain of life (13:14), and true wisdom is a fountain of life because it begins with the fear of the Lord, which is a fountain of life (14:27)." - By John Piper. ©2012 Desiring God Foundation. Website: desiringGod.org. Read all of "The Mouth of the Righteous Is a Fountain of Life."

***********

Newly released from Word Alive Press: Destiny's Hands.

Order yours today!

The importance of timing

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Esther 5:1-14

TO CHEW ON: "So Esther answered, 'If it pleases the king, let the king and Haman come today to the banquet that I have prepared for him.' .... Let the king and Haman come to the banquet which I will prepare for them, and tomorrow I will do as the king has said.'" - Esther 5:4,8

Marriage experts stress the importance of good timing. It's a good idea, they say for example, to make sure your husband is well fed and comfortable before you introduce him to the kitchen reno you're dreaming of.

I don't know how much of Esther's double banquet plan was Persian custom or wife's intuition but it is obvious that God used the extra day to get more things into place. Haman's gallows, and Ahasuerus's sleepless night both played important parts in the event's outcome.

Ecclesiastes says, "...a wise man's heart discerns both time and judgment, because for every matter there is a time and judgment" - Ecclesiastes 8:5,6.

Do we have the wisdom to discern, and the faith and patience to use the powerful principle of good timing and, even more important, to wait for God's timing?

PRAYER: Dear God, as someone who lives in a fast-paced culture, I easily give in to impulse and impatience. Please give me discernment about timing and the patience and faith to wait for You to work when I'm not sure about what to do. Amen.
 
MORE:  Wisdom about timing

"To everything there is a season
A time for every purpose under heaven ....
A time to keep silence
And a time to speak..." Ecclesiastes 3:1,7.

***********

Newly released from Word Alive Press: Destiny's Hands.

Order yours today!