Study Notes from Esther Chapter 4

Esther chapter 4 (theme verse Malachi 3:16)

It’s unfortunate Mordecai’s name isn’t in the Hebrews 11 list of heroes of faith.

4:1, 2, Mordecai is as open as anyone can be about the troubling predicament. His prayers are loud and his petitions of God are very visible. And because he was in sackcloth and ashes, he had to leave the king’s court, as grief and calamity weren’t permitted in the sight of the king. It was customary for kings to ban anything not perfect and beautiful. (Even King David, 2 Samuel 5:1-8)

Mordecai’s faith openly honors God. Jesus said in John 4:23, God is looking for those who would worship Him in Spirit and truth. Matthew 7, Jesus said many who say “Lord, Lord” are fakers, but Mordecai is the genuine article.

James 2:14-26, says Christianity without accompanying visible action is useless. Just saying words proves nothing about faith in God. Someday, everyone who names the name of Jesus will stand before God. Can you image standing there and saying, “Almighty God, here I am. I didn’t offend anyone with my Christianity. I never upset anyone by telling them they were a sinner in need of a Savior. I was such a nice person, not one soul ever felt the guilt of sin because I never said there is One God and One Savior to save them forever from eternal Hell-Fire”

4:3, The rest of the Jews in the city also fervently prayed. It seems Mordecai may have been the Spiritual leader of the Jews and not just Esther. God is being asked to intercede for them. More proof God is in this book as they ask while in sackcloth and ashes God to intercede for them.

4:4-8, Esther knows nothing about the king’s order. Queens were more for show than kingdom affairs. All she knows is Mordecai’s making an uproar. Maybe she thinks his distress is for her. She sends a gift to let him know she’s fine only to learn why Mordecai will not be comforted.

4:9,10,11, Mordecai tells her to go to her husband the king and ask for the decree to be repealed. Esther explains what Mordecai already knew, observance of the One rule that won’t get you killed upon entering the king’s presence. Anyone entering the throne room must be in the approval of the king or they die.

God the Father has One rule for people who are allowed into His presence. (John 3:16, John 14:6, Matthew 22:1-14, Acts 4:12, Rev 19:11-15.)

Jesus answered him and said “Truly, I say, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” John 3:3.

4:13, Mordechai informs Esther that even though she is the Queen, the law will stand even in the Palace. King Xerxes is already known for keeping the laws of the Medes and the Persians, and though he may feel badly about killing her, he would not stop it.

Daniel 6:6-17, King Nebuchadnezzar was as much a prideful fool as Xerxes, when he wrote the law that had Daniel thrown to the lions. He could not repeal it.

4:14, (A parallel of Esther and Mordecai & Father God and Jesus) The book of Esther mentions no wife or birth children. I would presume that had he any family in the city, they too would be crying to the Lord with Mordecai. In telling Esther she has the power to save her people even though she may die, Mordecai, in a sense, gives his (only) beloved child to save the nation. (John 3:16)

4:14, Mordecai comforts her with her greater work for God in explaining she may well have been placed where she is for God’s purpose . But so is Mordecai placed by God right where he can accomplish the part he plays in the plan. The foreshadow of their connection in 2: 21-23is utilized for a greater purpose.

2 Timothy 1: 6 & 7. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind" Read also John 14:12-14, 15: 4-8, & 16. God the Holy Spirit, our Helper.

Never underestimate your significance in God’s plan. You may think you’re not doing anything but God may be using you for a greater purpose than you can see. The smallest encouraging smile can move a brother or sister to overcome a trouble you know nothing about.

4:16, Esther makes her prayer request known. The city now goes into unified intercessory prayer. This is the real thing when it comes to a prayer chain.

“Fasting does not make you anything special but it does make God everything in your life.” Anonymous

Esther willing gave herself as a sacrifice for her people. Mordecai didn’t know if he would ever see her alive again but his faith in God let him pray for her and send her to do what only she was positioned to do. She knew she could be dead in a short while, yet she was obedient to her father’s order.

Jesus prayed to His Father “Not My will but Your will be done” Luke 22:42.

Amazing! His city is in an uproar, yet Xerxes is unaffected. His heart is so callous he can ignore the wails and pleas of his own subjects he has doomed.

Lesson points:

1. Be visibly Christian

2. Never underestimate the significance of your smallest Christian action.

3. Pray about everything. (Philippians 4:6, 1 Thessalonians 5:17)

Extra reading: 1 Samuel 25. Another powerful man who ignored the right thing and put his people in danger. His wife was more understanding to the affairs of the household than he was and like Esther, she took her life into her hands to avert disaster.

Special application: Sometime this week, lay your hands on a close relative and pray for them. (Husband, child, family member, or a friend)

Something like this: “My Dear Father in heaven, I pray for my husband. Please bless his day, keep him safe, help him be the husband only You can help him be. Help me be his wife. Please be the God of this house, Thank you Lord . Amen"

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Re-Posting: They Missed Christmas: originally posted 12/14/13

(2015), I expanded this into an hour long Christmas program performed by my home church on Christmas Eve.

They Missed Christmas

The innkeeper missed Christmas. He turned away a woman heavy with child because she and her husband could not pay enough for him to bother to oust another paying guest.

The guests of the inn missed Christmas. Not one of them took pity on the woman to give up their room for her comfort.

The town of Bethlehem missed Christmas. When the shepherds came into the city seeking the wondrous thing proclaimed by the angels, no one ventured to search out why they were excited.

Months later, the Priests and Scribes missed Christmas.An entourage of men, Astrologers from another country, came because of a new star that had appeared. They knew the prophecy that this new star announced the birth of the King of the Jews. When questioned by Herod about what these travelers were talking about, the Priests and Scribes answered correctly that the King would be born in Bethlehem. Nevertheless, they never went to see for themselves.

Herod missed Christmas. He believed the Travelers about the new King and out of jealousy, he tried to kill the baby to get rid of the threat to his reign.

Many people on December 25 will miss Christmas. Millions will have parties; laugh and exchange gifts but they will miss the real gift of Christmas.

For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulders. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son and whoever believes on Him will not die but have eternal life.

John 3:16

Let us not miss Christmas.

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Can You Trust God When Your Ship Is Sinking?

Paul suffered the perils of a severe shipwreck recorded in Acts 27.

"Now when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest beat on us, all hope that we would be saved was finally given up" Acts 27:20.

Paul was in chains, a political prisoner on his way to the High Court of Rome and the ship that his guards had placed them on was going down in a horrendous winter storm. Paul never lost his faith, even though everything around him was literally coming apart.

A successful missionary, vexed by many trials, Paul probably needed some encouragement often, yet even in this particular life-threatening peril, while apparently personally fearful, he prayed for everyone else.

God dispatched an angel to encourage Paul."Saying, "Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you" Acts 27:24.

God didn't calm the storm, it raged on for days, yet Paul's faith in God's control saved everyone's life. The guards wanted to kill the prisoners to keep anyone escaping during the sinking and the sailors attempted to save themselves and abandon the passengers. Paul's concerns are for the lives of everyone around him. He trusted God's love for their souls, and didn't get distracted by the loss of the material.

God never says our ministries will be easy, or that what we know of God will be accepted by everyone around us, but even when the ship is sinking, we need to remember that our focus is on God, not on the sinking ship under our feet. God cares for people's souls and not necessarily their material comfort. While common sense says we need this, or that to serve God, God says, "All you need is Me. Look to Me and I'll take care of all the material things." (Matthew 6:33)

Oswald Chambers in My Utmost for His Highest says this about trusting God even while common sense says it can't work that way.

"If a man (woman) is going to do anything worth while, there are times when he has to risk everything on his leap, and in the spiritual domain Jesus Christ demands that you risk everything you hold by common sense and leap into what He says, and (when) you immediately do, you find that what He says fits on as solidly as common sense.....Trust God entirely, and when he brings you to the venture, see that you take it. We act like pagans in a crisis, only one out of a crowd is daring enough to bank his faith in the character of God.

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Preach the Word, In Season & Out of Season

My Husband is in Hospice care, but thankfully he's still at home with me. His in-home care workers come 6 days a week to help me take care of him.

I had prayed some months ago that God would use our house as a place for the gospel to be told to people who come to visit. Specifically that my kitchen would be used for His glory and to somehow save the souls of some people who God would have me talk to.

God is SOOOOOO good! It is amazing how He answers prayers. While the need of my husband is sad, it seems to be the way God is using this time as the answer to my prayer. People are coming into our house where we can present Jesus' free salvation to them.

I had been still praying for that to happen, today God showed me He was willing to grant me the ability. Today, during the time my Husband and I share the Bible and prayer in the morning, I prayed for the salvation of the worker, and that God would help us/me be some way used today to introduce the woman to Jesus.

All of Husband's helpers know we are Christians, as they have all seen us pray together and read our Bibles.

I didn't want to speak during the woman's working time, as that means she would have to listen even if she didn't want to. But after I signed her voucher sheet at the end of her time, she began speaking about seeing angels and an experience she had while visiting a relatives' grave. She thought a dead relative had reached out to her from the grave when something unusual happened while at the grave side.

That was my opening! And she didn't have any more clients today so she stayed another 20 minutes.

After talking a bit about angels, I ended up at the passage of Luke 16 and Jesus' explaining about Lazarus and the Rich Man and how in the Afterlife, there's a gulf between the two eternal places, paradise and hell.
Jesus shows Lazarus is comforted and at peace, without worry, having trusted in God, while the rich man who trusted in his riches was in torment.
And the finality of Jesus' words that 'even if a man comes back from the dead, those who hear him will not believe.' But they have Moses and the prophets to learn from.

I explained as I understood it, that the dead do not have access to the living, nor does Paradise have access to Hell. The opposite is true that Hell has no access to Heaven.

And, although she refused to take an offered Bible tract, she said I had given her much to think about. And I know the Holy Spirit will use the Word to speak to her.

God says, "For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and shall proper in the thing for which I sent it" Isaiah 55:10,11.

The Word of God is how people hear the gospel. Jesus says so.

"For faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God" Romans 10:17.

(Jesus prayed to the Father) "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. John 17:17.

"For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edge sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" Hebrews 5:12.

"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work" 2 Timothy 3:16,17.

GOD IS SO GOOD!

AMAZING GRACE!

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Complete Swap & Trade--It's A Great Deal!!!

I have a 1 billion dollar, fully furnished home, on 1000 acres of private landscaped land. I offer to completely swap it for your house. Plus it's tax free and I pay for all maintenance for the rest of your life. Also, before you leave your house, you may smash all the windows, break everything inside, destroy the grounds, tear huge holes in every wall, floor and ceiling. You have the privilege of running up a huge mortgage, and homeowner's debt.

And I swap my beautiful home... completely to you for yours, no strings attached...would you take it?

Jesus has such a deal with you.

God has given absolutely everything He had, even going to death on the cross.

He offers you eternal life with Him in Paradise and all you have to do is give Him your life now, with all it's broken pieces, dirty laundry, loaded baggage.

He'll make a complete swap with you, giving you His eternal life, His comfort, His peace, His new birth, His riches in heaven and a new body on the new earth He has prepared for the future.
You exchange all the temporary brokenness of this life for paradise without end in the next.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have become new" 2 Corinthians 5:17.

Everyone born from Adam is dead in their trespasses and sins. Only through Jesus can you be born again into the new life of righteousness and be prepared for God's kingdom.

You can choose to live in paradise with God or you can choose to die forever in hell. God only pleads with you to ask Him for forgiveness and salvation from eternal death. God won't force you to accept eternal life. It's your choice.

While I do not have a 1 billion dollar home to swap--if the offer came to you, would you turn down a 1 billion dollar home that comes without strings?

So- would you turn down God's offer of His free salvation?

"He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him" John 3:36.

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Motivating Peter

God wants to show us His great grace and mercy apart from what we already know.

We often talk of Paul's missionary journeys, but Peter did some remarkable things also while out in the field.

"Now it came to pass, as Peter went through all parts of the country, that he also came down to the saints who dwelt in Lydda" Acts 9:32

&

"So it was that he stayed many days in Joppa with Simon, a tanner" Acts 9:43

Peter was someplace he'd never been before, yet God knew exactly what He was going to show Peter about His awesome power to save anyone, anywhere.

God told the early Christians that in the power of the Holy Spirit, the church is to go everywhere preaching the salvation of Jesus.

"But you shall receive power when

the Holy Spirit has come upon you;

and you shall be witnesses to Me in

Jerusalem, and in all Judea and

Samaria, and to the end of the earth"

Acts 1:8.

But the first century church stayed in Jerusalem until after Stephen was killed and the persecution began in earnest. Then they scattered but they took their faith with them everywhere.

Whether Peter was moving around a bit because of the persecution the Bible doesn't say, but we do know that while Peter was not in Jerusalem, God showed him the great expansion of the church.

God does record in Acts that Peter, in his new faith and boldness in Jesus, speaks to a sick person whom God healed, prays for a dead person and sees God bring them to life, and stays with a tanner, (Acts 9:33, 40, & 43).

We're not told if Peter had traveling companions. And the fact it says he was staying at Simon the tanner's house, we can assume no one from Jerusalem was with him. It seems Peter was stepping out of his comfort zone by traveling alone.

Peter's expressions of faith while apart from his fellow Christians is culminated in the salvation of Cornelius, the Centurion. Peter hadn't personally thought about going to the Gentiles before that time. But now, with God's prompting, Peter's submission to do things in faith as he had ever done before revealed to him God 's love for all peoples, everywhere.

Maybe Peter was reluctant at first,

but the more he saw God work,

the easier his obedience became.

Which thing is true in our witness. Even when it is out of our comfort zone, the Holy Spirit may wait until we're in a place where He can do something amazing. This new thing God uses us for will glorify God and grow us in our faith and knowledge of God, (2 Peter 3:18).

Our small steps of obedience can be the very thing God uses to bless all those with which we come in contact. We step out in faith that God is with us and our obedience to that is God's door to His grace.

"(Jesus) answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mystery of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him" Matthew 13:11,12

& repeated in the parable of the talents (money)

"For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken from him" Matthew 25:29.

Peter didn't have to do anything. Yet, if he hadn't trusted God at His word, Peter would have missed out on seeing God's miracles.

Sometimes God waits to use us after we leave our familiar territory.

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Do You View Circumstances Through Scripture Glasses?

"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work" 2 Timothy 3:16,17.

If we look at all the uses of maximizing Scripture in our daily lives, decision making, the eyes we see through, and the way we discern our circumstances, our lives can be the easiest way to exalt our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And just maybe it will be contrary to what we might have originally thought.

Scripture Glasses for Church Ministry

"There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. There are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all" 1 Corinthians 12:4-7.

If God has given someone a vision and you don't see how it is going to work out, accept that maybe you don't have a part in their ministry but you should do your ministry alongside them and thus build the body of Christ as you exercise your gifts.

The growth their vision brings is going to offer you more opportunities to serve God in your gifting because this person is being faithful in theirs.

As when Peter preached the first sermon; many gifts were used after the church began to grow.

"Then those who gladly received his (Peter's) word were baptized; and that day three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship, in breaking of bread and in prayers. Then the fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles" Acts 2:41,42,43.

Scripture Glasses for Personal Witness

"For faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God"
Romans 10:17.

When witnessing, try to speak verses during the opportunities. It doesn't matter if the other person can recite Bible verses. If they don't know God, their recitation is nothing. When you speak the word of God, you are representing Almighty God and His power is in the words you speak.

"And when He (The Holy Spirit) has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgement" John 16:8.

"You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world" 1 John 4:4.

Scripture Glasses in Obedience to Serve

Even when you've done everything right in your witness, and the person you have witnessed to doesn't receive what you've told them and maybe even gotten really angry, God's word has done exactly what God intended.

You could be witnessing to someone and think you blew it but it could be God has done something you don't know anything about!

"For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and shall prosper in that thing for which I sent it" Isaiah 55:10,11.

Scripture Glasses When Things Change

How do you view someone leaving your church for another body of Christ. Is your sorrow for losing a number or a member? Are you upset because they went to a rival congregation? Are you upset because you and they maybe couldn't reconcile a disagreement?

How about this--Are you sorry that maybe your church lost an evangelist, a prophet, a preacher, an administrator, a teacher, an encourager, or an exhorter.

"And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets,
some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers"
Ephesians 4:11.

Do you ever consider maybe God has given that person who's leaving a vision so strong God has to move them to a place where He can use them, because traditions or patterns at your church are too restrictive?

"As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, "Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them" Acts 3:2.

"Send Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey with haste, that they may lack nothing" Titus 3:13.

If you've been praying for revival, watch for God to do things that are contrary to your comfort zone.

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4 Lessons From Paul

"For you will be a witness for him to tell all men what you have seen and heard" (Acts 22: 15 Good News for the Modern Man).

Paul is a good example of a changed life.  Paul was a Pharisee of Pharisees. He knew his religion and kept the rules down to the last one. When this man met Jesus he went from being zealous for formal religious rituals to a man zealous for the peaceful and life-changing love of God. 

This is the foundation of Christianity. God loves us all-sinners everyone, yet all can be saved by the love of God--in Jesus.

Paul says, "This is a true saying, to be completely accepted and believed, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. I am the worst of them, but it was for this very reason that God was merciful to me, in order that Christ Jesus might show his full patience with me, the worst of sinners, as an example for all those who would later believe in him and receive eternal life" (1 Timothy 1: 15, 16 Good News for the Modern Man).

Here are four things we can learn from the Apostle Paul's life.

1. Humility.

The hard part of true love is humility. Do you find it hard to be humble? It goes against our natural self-preservation. Paul had to learn how to be humble but he says he learned it. "I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little" Philippians 4:12. (NLT) This man, who at one time was so proud of his social stature, had to be let out of a window in a basket to save his life. Paul, the law-keeper, would have most likely stood up to his persecutors, but Paul the evangelist took to his heels for the sake of the little church just being born in Damascus. (2 Corinthians 11:33) That takes humility.

2. God-Dependent

Paul's life made a 180 degree turn after he learned Jesus truly is God. Before his conversion he was faithful to everything he could do in keeping the law and all the Pharisaical rules. After he was talked to by Jesus, he went from self-sufficiency to God-sufficiency. "For when I tried to keep the law, I realized I could never earn God's approval. So I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ" Galatians 2:19. (NLT)

3. Be Encouraging

Today's times are hard for God's church. All around the world persecutions are arising more and more, and even more in America, the church is now being turned on vigorously by those in political power. In the 1st century church, when Emperor Nero was running amok and killing Christians, Paul sent letter after letter encouraging his small churches. We know Paul sent many encouraging letters from prison cells. If this man could comfort others while being so debased and socially degraded, today's Christians need to be sending encouraging letters, email's, texts, tweeting, phone calls, any way possible to all those in their sphere of social activities. 

4. A Student of God's Word

By God's power and grace, Paul's letters are now a part of our Holy Bible. One familiar passage God had Paul record is "All Scripture inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It is God's way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do" 2 Timothy 3:16, 17. (NLT). If it is that important for God to record, then it should be vitally important for all Christians to read and study it.

Historically, and in Scriptures, we could name Paul as a very great man, yet he made himself every man's friend, brother, and co-laborer for the sake of the Gospel. Paul understood that all his work only made sense if he told others about the Free Salvation offered by Jesus' death on the cross.

Whatever our background, let us also be good examples of a changed life. Show Jesus in all we do. Give Him the glory and honor and praise for all things whether alone or publicly. Because of the mercy God has shown us sinners, He deserves all praise.

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6 Things Not To Tell A Depressed Person

 "But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them"  Matthew 9:36a

Compassion is love in action, yet many times love isn’t the first thing shown by the words we speak. Having personally struggled with suicidal depression since childhood, I have learned that while people mean well, most fail the best ability to help. What they say is less than helpful even when they truly desired to help me. Friends and family reached higher levels of frustration. It wasn’t because they didn’t want to but they didn't know how to restore my health. Unfortunately, many things were said that sent me deeper into myself.

The depressed person may know all about their condition but hasn’t the physical or mental tools to change the problem. They know there’s a problem but can’t explain anything about it to anyone. When the ill person tries to explain it, it can come out all jumbled up with emotions and sound crazy, mad, and pitiful. Then there are the silences that are so loud in the mind. There is the isolation and social withdrawals and the lonely anger with less and less outlets: the worse the depression, the worse the self-hatred, which can increase the depression.

I faced this for years, imaging my silence was screaming for help yet not one word escaped me. Then I would have terrible rages of anger and frustration at the inability to express all the things pressuring me, real or imagined. No one understood how I would get so incredible angry and hurt myself and I hadn’t learned how to organize and itemize the thoughts of suicide, fear, and shyness.

Listed are 6 statements that are less than appreciative to a depressed person and a few hints of why they won’t, or can’t work from the inside.

•  “Snap out of it!” If it were possible to suddenly become happier, then depression would not exist. A sudden snapping into normalcy is about the most impossible action for anyone in any abnormal situation. You wouldn’t say “Snap out of it” to someone choking on a piece of food or someone drowning. You would come alongside the distressed person and do something to change the situation. So after carefully examining the situation, what can you do in the situation of the depressed person?

• “It’s all in your head.” Well ‘Duh!’ Obviously, you’re pointing at a house fire and telling the fireman what he’s combating. Our mind is the memory bank of our lives. Depression affects the entire body, and yes, it is in the mind. We store bad memories right alongside the good memories. If you delete something on your computer, you’ve only told the machine to store it in a deep file somewhere inaccessible to you but They never went away. It is still possible to retrieve them. For some, deleting the bad memories isn’t as easy as it is to others. Sometimes the bad memories override the good ones, feeding fears, and anger. Something that may help in some situations is try increasing the feeling of security . That was a major factor in restoring my health.

• “You need counseling.” You’ve mastered another obvious statement. Here's a hint, if you know the person you to which you just said that to, then you are probably the best counselor for them. You’re most likely closer to knowing what the root of the depression is. I’ve discovered through years of receiving professional counseling, that having the listening ear of a close friend is tremendously foundational to my better health. A listening friend as a sounding board can do as much as a professional and it’s less expensive. (That’s not to say professional counseling doesn’t work and if it is going to help, definitely seek it.)

• “You need to get out more.” Yes, isolation is bad but a depressed person is in a disconnected state of mind. Placing them among a lot of bustle and hustle can enhance the feeling of separation. I called that my glass box. I could see and hear people around me but I had locked myself inside my own see-through prison. Connection was broken, I couldn’t reach out, and those outside couldn’t reach me. Perversely, isolation gives the mind abnormal space to chew on abnormal problems and come up with abnormal solutions. A few friends, and a few acts of kindness in the space where the ill person is are a big help to those isolating themselves. And don’t expect an overnight change just because you did something once, it could take time and you may need a lot of patience.

7th grade picture & I was a depressed teenager

• “You need medication.” This is a cold statement, especially from family or friends. Yes, they very well might need some kind of medication, and while medications are available for helping, medication means drugs. The depressed person may fear what drugs mean or might do, and should only given by doctors after testing and examination. And the taking of medicines has to be monitored by someone, especially at the very beginning. For depressed people, taking medication can be difficult to keep track of on their own. If the person begins taking medications, don’t leave them to it, as if everything is going to be better; make sure it’s a daily pattern added in their lives.

• “What’s wrong with you?” Another very cold statement. A physical illness, overwhelming circumstances, stress, a great loss, or any number of things could cause it, so how could they tell you what it is while in a depressive state of mind? If they even attempt explaining it you may not understand the description. It may sound like nonsense to you. This does not mean you don't care, maybe you're not the best person to come alongside them. Any of your honest intentions to help quite possibly could hinder. Lending a hand from a distance may be all you need to do after you seek others to help your friend or family member. If it isn't within your realm of knowledge, let a compassionate personality be the closer companion. Help from a distance as you can and if there’s something for you to do, step up and perform it.

If you decide to help, please walk carefully. One simple mistake, easily made, is doing everything for the depressed person. Unfortunately, this could keep them in their state of mind. 

Whatever you do, try to do something within your ability. It may be asking them to help you, giving them small responsibilities, or trusting them with something. It could be secretly paying a bill, supplying a meal, or taking care of their child for a few hours. How about asking them if they want to walk in the sunshine, take photographs, or play a game. Laughter does add to health.  

If you want to help or think you can help a hurting person, 

whatever you do, do all with love.

You can accomplish much without having to mention the illness.

When you love someone, you move with compassion to fill the need.

I now can feel my depression and notice when it is affecting me. I have learned to watch myself and seek the friends I need when it begins. Jesus has helped me live life more abundantly, and even though my flesh gets in the way, I have my Lord to sustain me.

Not everyone has Jesus, but everyone needs Him.

Hosting Parties is Biblical

"...Prepare a guest room for me, for I trust, 

through your prayers I shall be granted to you" 

Philemon 22

Even before Mother gave the responsibility to me in my early twenties, I had hosted many of the holiday cooking at her house and sometimes at my sibling’s houses. Since I liked it so much, Mother finally gave the family holidays to me.

Today, my home is a large farmhouse, built in the 1820s. It’s nice but it needs much help. It has odd smells, stains, and is very static in the arrangement of furniture. While many people have visited, entertaining has limits.

In the winter, with the woodstove cranking out the heat, guests are elbow to elbow on the opposite side of the room, far enough so as not to be charred. To watch the sports on the television causes a major shift and someone inevitably, from the next room, looks through or over the semi-circle of the fortunate facing the screen. In the summer, the decay of the fallen down barn invades through the open windows.

 

Without a proper dining room, it takes imaginative rearranging. To accommodate more than six, a sheet of plywood lays atop my table. This means shifting the refrigerator against the cupboards by the kitchen sink, thus rendering four useless and causing a shortened counter top. While the stove is in use, no one can sit on that side of the table until all the cooking is complete.

 For all of this, hosting is wonderful and I would do it more often.

My hosting imagination has designed a specific Dream House. It has the normal master bedroom with full bath, kitchen, guestroom, home office, and household bath with washer and dryer.

However, my fantasy has yards of floor space, set with easily rearranged furniture. To accommodate crowds, there’s a custom kitchen with at least two ovens, a six-burner range, a grill, separate freezer and refrigerator, an island with food-prep sink, and long reaches of counter space. There’s casual serving dining bar with stools but the capstone is comfortable dinner seating for a dozen with addition to serve more. To have such a venue sounds wonderful.

I love cooking. I love hosting. I love the gathering of all the hundreds of paraphernalia my guests may never notice. I like searching for new and exciting recipes. I love giving gifts and trinkets. I love the table settings and centerpieces. I love doing the little things and arranging the surprises.

Hospitality, and kind, friendly behavior 

should be a trait highly visible in Christians

My largest entertaining accomplishment to date is organizing a Harvest/Hunter’s Supper at my home church. While I didn’t do all the cooking or necessary gathering, I was the go-to person. Even so, credit goes to our small congregations’ involvement and the praise was all to God’s blessing the event.

"It was awesome!"

The turnout was fantastic and we fed almost hundred people, many who had never been in a church before. I couldn’t stop praising God.

Another ministry opportunity came as my Husband and I hosted a Thanksgiving Day meal at our church for the people in our congregation who had no place to go. That was very satisfying knowing they weren’t sitting alone on this day of giving of Thanks.

Anyone who enjoys cooking enjoys watching their guests eat what they’ve prepared. When the only sound is rattling silverware, you know you succeeded. Like when a stranger buys one of my paintings without ever meeting me. My work has spoken for itself and my presence is unnecessary for their approval.

“(be) hospitable, a lover of what is good, 

sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled” Titus 1:8

My Dream House is an inviting place where people want to be. It is open to Missionaries, pastors and their wives, and other traveling guests. I imagine holidays, ceremonies, Bible study groups, children’s Bible groups. Best of all, I imagine inviting unsaved people for good food and fun. In my open home, I’d introduce them to my Jesus and His free salvation. I would tell them of heaven and its awesome splendor that outshines my temporary house on earth.

“Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth” 

Colossians 3:2

Looking to Heaven and describing my Dream House? It’s a slimy, water-slogged, decaying, moldy mud hut compared to my Heavenly Father’s house.

"But while I’m on earth, I would like to host parties, 

especially where Christ is always welcome

 and gets to meet with people at my table"

"Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, 

sweetness to the soul and health to the bones"

Proverbs 16:24