A lesson from Esther

 Esther 4:10-17 is the reference for this thought process. 

verse 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 some to a royal position for such a time as this?" 

1. Ester was a Jew and her husband, the king, didn't know it. 

2. If she didn't act, God would use another way to help the Jews and she would go down with them. 

3. If the king didn't call her to see him, she could die if she entered the royal courts without permission. 

4. "For such a time as this" has been warped and taken out of context for us to think that we have some type of importance at a specific time in our lives and we use it pridefully. 

    In reality, God's mission in our lives is what give us purpose. Yes, he creates us with a purpose, but the purpose is to be loyal and faithful to Him, however that looks; we are to worship Him with our lives, not purr ourselves up to look and feel important and point out the good things we do, but everything that He does through us on HIS timing. 

Esther knew that she could lose her life by the only means she knew how to help her people. But because of her faith and courage...she saved the Jews and pushed past the fear and discouragement that the devil used to threaten to wipe out the race that was God's chosen poeple. Esther - a woman - a Jew - allowed herself to be used by God in a royal position that He had called her to. 

Yes, she had been put there for that time in history. 

    But we must be careful to ALSO watch and pray and be mindful of how we interpret what we consume. Our lives must not be about wanting to jump in and save the day and look good doing it. Out lives must be about our Heavenly Father's work, and His plan for us, no matter the cost. 

Why is it traditional to pray before meals? "Being clean"

 Mark 6:30-32

The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest". So they went away by themselves to a solitary place. 

Vs 41 

Taking the 5 loaves and the 2 fish and cooking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to set before the people. 

8:6b-7 

When he had taken the 7 loaves and given thanks, he broke the and gave them to his disciples to set before the people, and they did so. They had a few small fishes as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them. 

Jesus taught us to take what we have (not be selfish about what we want, but gladly take what is available) and before even putting it on our own plates, look up to God and thank Him for what we have. 

Jesus always took what they had (bread and fish - IE unleavened bread and tilapia), gave thanks, broke it and distributed it, and there was plenty left over. Nobody ever still had need. 

They had clear minds and dirty hands. They hand washed their clothing, they were not wasteful, they walked a lot, they were around animals... and they were in community with God. 

"cleanliness is next to godliness" is a lie. 

We now have more cluttered minds and lives, pristine homes and dusty Bibles. Less connection with God, we focus more on being "clean" and presentable, less simple. We have more chemical products and nice clothing and harder hearts. 

It's not that I don't care about taking care of my possessions, I just don't put much value in them. Because they are of less value to me than the cross, and the God who made the universe.

10 commandments.. from the mouth of GOD, not a decoration

 “And God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. “You shall not murder. “You shall not commit adultery. “You shall not steal. “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.””

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭20‬:‭1‬-‭17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

We find ourselves putting these in a list on our wall, for them to be inspirational and something to check off throughout our lives. But you can see in the biblical text how intentional and important and life altering each one of these is. We need to stop memorizing them for the sake of memorization, and do it with the intention of keeping God's words close to our hearts, so we can imitate and glorify the God of the universe who created us to worship HIM and to prosper on the earth that He gave us to live in and take care of! 

Cat puke and an Ahha! Moment

 So.. we see things, we hear things.. we think "hey, it can't be that bad, let's try it". It's pretty, it's crunchy, it's pleasing to the eye and the senses. 

The next thing you know, there's something in you that doesn't belong, and your body is making you get rid of it. 

Unfortunately we can't puke up the world. We can't puke up what has infiltrated our minds and our souls. We have to go through a lot to get rid of the bad things we put in us.. and that's just the things we KNOW about that are making us feel icky. There's so much more that we don't know has soaked into us. 

Don't poke the pretty things, don't be part of what "looks good" if there's something telling you STOP.

The Lord's Prayer

 People say they read the Bible

but they don't know how to pray. 

1. How are you reading the Bible? 

2. Were you ever taught about how to read the Bible? 

3. Did you/do you know that the Bible is a library of different genre's of books.. so you have to read them in the context and format they are written in order to get the message of it correctly? 

Jesus said how to pray... and He's not the only one. 

Not all flesh is created equal.

1 Corinthians 15:39

Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. 

The biblical text literally says we are separate from other created things. Therefore animal and human lives do not have the same value, because humans were created in the image of God, and we were told to rule over, subdue and care for the earth (meaning all of other created things). 

Parenting.. Faith.. Public.. GAH!

Public school

Going to Church

going to friends or families houses for the weekend.. 

it's a hard balance! 

do the friends or family members have beliefs? 

what happens if and when they miss church? 

is church helpful for them? 

do I talk too much about my beliefs and my faith? 

one of them rolls their eyes when I reference things to scripture (you know I don't believe in that, mom). okay? that doesn't mean I'm not going to talk about it. 

one of them listens because she believes God is real. 

the other one isn't sure, so she's just trying to keep an open mind, listen and think of what is real. 

I get that! I get all of that!

But it makes me anxious, being a mom, and not knowing what the future holds sometimes. 

I just don't want to see them decide to walk about from it because of something they don't understand, and not be open to conversations. 

There's way too much that looks "good" these days... and it makes me feel sick.