Lessons from Esther: Standing firm

After these things did king Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him. 2 And all the king's servants, that were in the king's gate, bowed, and reverenced Haman: for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence. 3 Then the king's servants, which were in the king's gate, said unto Mordecai, Why transgressest thou the king's commandment? 4 Now it came to pass, when they spake daily unto him, and he hearkened not unto them, that they told Haman, to see whether Mordecai's matters would stand: for he had told them that he was a Jew. Esther 3:1-4

The tide is changing, sometimes the tide turns slowly and takes many hours, however if you travel to the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia the tide quickly changes. Such is the “tide” of this chapter.

Mordecai was sitting at the gate and hears the news. Haman is promoted and he “is above all the others”. As soon as Haman appears all the servants bow and give him reverence. One of the meanings of reverence is “to worship.”

Mordecai “stood out” among the others because he would not bow or give reverence to Haman. Everyone was watching this display of noncompliance and questioned Mordecai. “Why are you not bowing down to show “respect” to Haman?” After much prodding Mordecai told the others he was Jewish. It appears that this is all he had to say. People around him obviously knew that Jews do not bow down and worship anyone but God.

The servants went to Haman to tell him what they had discovered. They were wondering if this would matter to Haman. Join me the next time to discover Haman’s reaction.

Lessons learned:

He was willing to stand alone.

Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. 

I Corinthians 16:13

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Galatians 5:1

Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Ephesians 6:11

Mordecai did not follow the crowd.

Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment: Exodus 23:2

Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.  Romans 14:9

Mordecai remembered God’s word.

I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word. 

Psalm 119:16

He knew Who to obey

… We ought to obey God rather than men. Acts 5:29

Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? Romans 6:16

He knew Who to worship

Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. Psalm 29:2

For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God: Exodus 34:14

O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker. Psalm 95:6

There may be a time when we are called to “stand alone” for Jesus. Will we be strong and follow Jesus or hide in the shadows? Christ will give us the ability to do right, but we need to start now!

Do others know what you believe by how you live?

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Matthew 5:16

Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. 

I Peter 2:12

Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. I Peter 4:16

Have a blessed day,
Donna

Jealousy Part 3

The word jealous or jealousy is mentioned 47 times in the Bible. Sixty-two percent of the time it is referring to God being jealous of his people who are putting their affections elsewhere. Today’s blog is about God’s jealousy. I asked my husband, Mark, to write today’s blog, enjoy.

Jealous, jealous, jealous, what a difficult word to describe, the translation of jealousy in the Bible is “jealous”. Not much of a help there.  

One of God’s names is Jealous, and the reason is He is a jealous God. For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God: Exodus 34:14

Some people get jealous over minor things; however there are jealousies which have led to the death of those who were the object of jealousy. When Israel wanted a king, Samuel was very upset with the people. He thought the office of the Judges was sufficient, however when God spoke with Samuel about the people’s desire He said; But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD. And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. (I Samuel 8:6-7)  There are many examples of Israel forcing God to show His jealousy over them, and they paid dearly for their actions.

We are all prone to having our feelings hurt through jealousy, and God warns us not to provoke Him to jealousy. For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.  Deuteronomy 4:24

If we want to have a relationship with God, without the fear of causing Him to be jealous, we must understand there are codes of life God wants us to abide by to show our love for Him. When we opt to chase the rainbows of life on this earth we leave Him out causing a spike in His jealousy.

God says He is a consuming fire, even a jealous God. In this statement we see God puts destructive fire right up there with jealousy. I have been burned very severely in the past. The burn was so severe it caused me to lose much time at work as well as the ability to walk without the aid of crutches. I do not want to cause the consuming fire of God’s jealousy focused on me.

The best way to avoid God’s jealousy is to put Him first in all things. Walk in the paths He has lit for us and remember, God is a jealous God.

Have a blessed day, 

Donna

Grateful For

1. The Lord’s Day – everyday should be dedicated to the Lord but Sunday should be a day of rest as we meditate on what the Lord had done for us.

2. Meditation – Keep your mind stayed on God. Isaiah 26:3

3. Health – I am extremely thankful that I have good health and take no pills except for vitamins.

4. Rest – God gives us rest for our souls as well as physical rest. Exodus 33:14

5. The absolute Greatness and Goodness of God.

Exodus 34:6-7 … The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, [7] Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin…

What are you grateful for today? Take a few minutes and thank God for at least 5 things.

Have a blessed day,
Donna

Thanks be to God

And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Exodus 34:6

When I read this verse it jumped out at me. Look at the words, each one has a special meaning. God spoke these words to Moses when He gave Moses the tablets of stone the second time.

LORD - self Existent or eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God: - Jehovah, the Lord.
The self existent One, God has always been there and always will. This is a hard concept for our feebly mind to comprehend. It is a wonderful and great truth. Where would you be if it was not for the Lord. I shudder to think of where I would be. Praise God for saving me. Thank you Lord for WHO you are.

Merciful - full of compassion, merciful.
God is full of compassion for you. Thank you Lord, for your mercy toward me.

Gracious – favorable, kind, friendly. The Lord is gracious to us. He is friendly, kind and loving. Thank you Lord, for being gracious to me.

Longsuffering - patient, slow [to anger].
God is longsuffering. He is very patient. He is slow to show His anger. There are many times I deserved punishment but he is a patient loving Father. I am so thankful for God’s longsuffering. If God was not longsuffering I would have been swatted like a fly a long time ago. I thank Him daily for being so longsuffering.

Abundant - abundant (in quantity, size, age, number, rank, quality): … plenteous,..
Now that is a word to be thankful for, abundant. God is abundant in everything. He gives and gives and gives more than we deserve. He is abundant in goodness (kindness) and truth (stability; figuratively certainty, truth, trustworthiness: …)

Today I’m thankful for a wonderful, abundant, gracious, merciful LONGSUFFERING God!!! Praise and thank Him for all He IS!

Have a thankful day,
Donna