Esther 4 - 6.10.25

SCRIPTURE:  Esther 4:12-14  "When Esther's words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer:  "Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish.  And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this."

OBSERVATION:  Esther was a beautiful woman.  Her beauty and character captured the heart of King Xerxes, who was the King of the Persian empire.   Esther's cousin, Mordecai adopted her after her parents died.  His parents had also died, so he felt it was his responsibility to care for her.  Mordecai was a man who loved God deeply and vowed not to bow down to anyone except God.  The king made Mordecai an official in his kingdom.

UNDERSTANDING:   A man named Haman had achieved great power, and was put second in rank to king Xerxes.  Haman was an enemy of the Jews. It enraged Haman that Mordecai would not bow down and pay him honor so he planned to murder Mordecai, and he went so far as to build a pole for him to be impaled on. But after learning that the Jewish race was Mordecai's people, he decided to find a way to destroy them all! This would mean even Mordecai's cousin, queen Esther would die!

Haman went to the king and told him that there was a certain people dispersed among them in all the provinces of his kingdom who kept themselves separate.  Their customs were different from all other people, and they didn't obey the king's laws.  He told him it was not in his best interest to tolerate them. "If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them, and I will give ten thousand talents of silver to the king's administrators for the royal treasury."  So the king took his signet ring from his finger and gave it to Haman, the enemy of the Jews.  "Keep the money," the king said to Haman, "and do with the people what you please."

Enter Chapter 4:  After Mordecai learned all that had been said and done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went into the city wailing loudly and bitterly.  When Esther's eunuch's and female attendants saw him at the king's gate, and told Esther, she was in great distress.  Mordecai's mourning and fasting led Esther to take action.  But not before she committed to doing something very important: She gathered support and she fasted!  She sent word to Mordecai to go gather all the Jews who were in Susa, and told them to fast for her.  She told them not to eat or drink anything for three days and three nights.  She and her attendants would fast the three days as well.  When this was done, she would go the king, even though it was against the law to approach the king uninvited. Any man or woman who approached the king in the inner court without being summoned would be put to death unless the king extended the gold scepter to them and spared them their life, but if he didn't... they would die! This law didn't exclude Esther, even being the King's wife, and the queen of the palace!  

Esther fasted and prayed, and then she chose to risk her life to save her people. Her decision was made, and her exact words were:  "If I perish, I perish".  Choosing to do what  was right  by sacrificing her own life for her people was what made Esther a hero of the faith.  I'm sure she must have been scared to do this, but after she prayed and sought the guidance and favor of God, she trusted that He would be in control of the outcome. 

APPLICATION:  Esther's faith in God caused me to examine my own faith.  Esther and Mordecai were willing to set aside their own fear and take action.  Esther was willing to risk her own life by asking King Xerxes to save the Jews.  Another thing I noticed is that prayer was an important part of her life, and it helped her to do what was right and be brave.

Esther's faith and dependence on God made me think about the level of my own faith.  Do I allow fear to keep me from praying that God will use me to accomplish His will?  Am I more concerned about others than my own security?  Do I trust that God is in control even when circumstances seem to indicate they're not?  Do I trust God enough to want to pray for Him to use me, even if it's way out of my comfort zone?  I quickly realized that I am in need of much improvement! 

PRAYER:  Lord, I am always amazed of how You answer my prayers!  You have an awesome track record throughout history for making evil plans backfire on the planners, and You use the prayers of Your people to accomplish Your plans according to Your eternal  purposes. I admit that I treasure security and peace, but I pray that my true security will be found in You alone, and that I will make prayer an important part of my daily life, especially when life's scary challenges come my way.   Amen

- Robin Orefice

Esther 3 - 6.9.25

Scripture

‭‭Esther‬ ‭3‬:‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“All the royal officials at the king’s gate knelt down and paid honor to Haman, for the king had commanded this concerning him. But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor.”

Observation

King Xerxes just promoted a man named Haman to be the highest, most powerful noble throughout the entire empire. The king ordered that all his officials would bow down and show respect to Haman every time he passed by. Mordecai though, refused to bow down to Haman. Being of Jewish descent, Mordecai knew that bowing down to anyone but God would be an act of idolatry, a sin against God. Mordecai’s act of defiance infuriates Haman. Haman then plots a way to kill not only Mordecai, but a way to eliminate all the Jewish people throughout the entire empire of King Xerxes.

Application

Be a Christian with strong convictions. Stand up for Jesus! 

“Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”-Matthew‬ ‭10‬:‭28‬ ‭

“Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.”-‭‭Matthew‬ 10‬:‭32‬-‭33‬ ‭

Mordecai could have easily caved in under peer pressure here. I mean the old adage of, “Well everyone else is doing it.”, didn’t even cross his mind. Mordecai was a man with strong convictions. He knew that bowing down to anyone but God was going to be a blatant act of idolatry. It was a sin against God! Mordecai refused to bend at the knees and follow the world’s ways. Instead, Mordecai stood tall for the ways of God.

Now I know in today’s world we can feel that same pressure. Whether it’s at work, or even amongst our own family and friends, we can be afraid to stand up for our faith and what we believe in. We can have that fear of being reprimanded by our boss, or even isolated from our friends because of our faith and beliefs. But take heart! Stand firm on your convictions and beliefs. Be someone, like Mordecai here, who was more concerned about pleasing God, rather than people. Know that we have a reward that awaits us in Heaven because of our faithfulness. Stand up for Jesus! 

“But if you remain faithful even when facing death, I will give you the crown of life.”-Revelation‬ ‭2‬:‭10‬b

Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, please forgive me for the time I cower away from my convictions. Forgive me for being worried more about pleasing people than pleasing You. I pray that you give me the strength and courage to stand firm in my faith for You today. Help me to be a man who is bold in my convictions. Help me to be a man who lives solely to please and honor You. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. 🙏🏽

-Moses Gadd

1 Corinthians 11 - 6.6.25

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 11:23-27

“For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.”  In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.”

Observation

In this chapter of the Lords Supper or Communion, Paul is correcting the abuse of the people on how they were handling the Lord’s supper. We just had communion this past Sunday and we do not mixed feast with communion, so I wanted to focus on some points of the communion itself.

Application

One of my favorite teachers from the past had some points to look at when it comes to communion,

1. Devine Command: Assemble with the people of God to celebrate the memorial of Jesus Christ.

2. Blessed Privilege: the table we are called to is the Lords, he is the host, and he has invited us.

3. Necessary Memorial: Reminds us of the cost of our purchased salvation.

4. Humbling Confession: We are imperfect people; we are unworthy, and we need to be humble in our confession of our sin.

5. Essential act of Faith: Our participation in the Lords table is an act of faith.

6. Solemn warning: We should not look at the communion table as just a ritual. Taking communion in an unworthy manner is a sin.

We need to focus on our preparation and approach. Communion is not a ritual but an act of remembrance of His sacrifice for our sins. Pastor Levi has mention more than once when we get up Sunday morning, we need to prepare our hearts for worship at home not when we walk through the doors at church.

If you are struggling on communion Sunday, there are a couple options in preparation for communion: 1) We have great prayer warriors who will pray with you before service starts. Confess what is in your heart. 2) If your heart is not in the right place, it is okay to not partake in communion.

Prayer

Lord, help me to always realize the cost of my purchased salvation. May communion not become a ritual. Forgive me when I came to your table with an unprepared heart. Thank you for the new covenant and your love for me. Thank you in Jesus name. Amen.

- Robert Oberg