Esther Chapter 2

These are the notes from the second study from the Book of Esther. Esther chapter 2

2:1 ; *It’s been three years since the war party. King Ahasuerus failed to conquer Greece, and returns to Shushan in humiliation. Adding to his shame, he remembers the stupid law. Vashti still belongs to the King but wherever she’s being kept, her quarters would be more of a prison than a home. She can’t be thrown out for she’s the former Queen, and she can’t be tossed into the harem for the same reason. Xerxes problem, he doesn’t have a Queen beside him while he attempts to reorganize his kingdom and its defeated army. His kingdom is a shambles.

The most amazing thing? God sees all and knows all. There is nothing in the hearts of all mankind that God doesn’t know about. God even sees what is coming. Almighty God is without equal!

The king has concubines galore, but the throne needs a woman of beauty with a sound reputation, whom the court approves joined to the king with a proper setting. An already owned sex-slave cannot fill that position. Just like in chapter 1—two wrongs don’t make a right.

In ch 1, it was the wise men who instructed the king to write the law dethroning Vashti. Ch 2:2, it’s not even the wise men but his servants suggest gathering virgins for the king to choose a queen from.

So the order goes out to herd young women to the palace, like cattle. Conscripted by order, yanked from their homes and parents arms, many never to be seen by family again. They were essentially kidnapped for the king’s pleasure.

Can you imagine the crying? The terror? The sorrow that they will never be loved wives, or mothers? No homes, nor husbands or children to take care of? Only one can be Queen, the rest will be sex-slaves for the rest of their lives.

2:2-4. It’s not his wise men but his servants that advise him now. And this thing pleased the king. The thing being kidnapping beautiful girls. What do you think? (In a moral society, this would, should be, be sickening.)

2:5,6,7. God inserts Himself in between Xerxes idea & his implementing it. By inserting Mordecai into the palace, God has changed the outcome already.

2:5-6. God shows up! God is so amazing. Although never mentioned, Holy God appears regularly in the movement of different events and different lives. Something horrible is about to happen but Almighty God inserts His presence into the story.

It’s like Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians. God knew they would need powerful encouragement, as the persecution became very heavy in that city. God sent them a wonderful love letter through Paul’s hand. Thessalonians 2:7-12. You need God—God shows up!

Mordecai lives in the Capital city, and more importantly, he has retained his heritage. This is more proof of God appearance in this book---the choice of Mordecai as a devout Jew, strong in his faith and the pride of his heritage.

What can Christians express pride in? (Psalm 34:2, 44:8, 2 Corinthians 9:2, Galatians 6:14)

God told the Jews to always remember their families names and heritage. It seems Mordecai was born while his family was captives, as it was his great great grandfather who was carried away from Jerusalem when Nebuchadnezzar captured the city. (2 Kings 24:14) Kish must have been a mighty man in Jerusalem, because the best were taken during the first captivity. Kish was taken the same time as Daniel, but he wasn’t placed with Daniel with the eunuchs, as he certainly had children.(1st captivity Jeremiah 29:5-7) (Forbidden Marriage Due 7:1-3, Joshua 23:11-12, Ezra 9:1,2)

It seems Kish and his decedents kept their Jewish linage clean from inter marriage.

For some reason Mortdecai did not return to Jerusalem when Ezra and Nehemiah returned to rebuild. He and his family still reside in the capital Persian city of Shushan.

Esther has the same clean Jewish Lineage as Mordecai. And she is hauled off to the palace with the rest of the young girls. Her prospects of a Jewish family line ends. 

There is another young girl we know in the Bible whose family heritage was kept pure for an awesome reason. Who is that young girl? Mary. (Matthew 1:1-17)2

2:9 Esther’s character was different than any of the other girls in the harem. And her difference was noticed by the major guard of the woman, Hegai. He knew there was something different about her and he treated her with a greater respect than he did all the other women there.

2:8,9. Esther exposed the darkness of the king’s harem by her difference. Her personal holiness in a dark place made her godly character standout among the crowd, thus creating a different atmosphere around her. (2 Corinthians 4:7)

2:10, Esther is an ambassador of her people and of God. Daniel’s account was a historical fact in the Jew’s history of their captivity. There could not have been many that didn’t know how Daniel stood up for his Jewish heritage. But unlike Daniel, Esther kept her Hebrew blood a secret but she retained her learned character.

We may never have an opportunity to speak of our Christian heritage, but our character needs to be the higher standard. It doesn’t matter where we are, who we’re with, we have the mind of Christ, we have the power of God, we have the indwelling Holy Spirit. There needs to be something extraordinary about our holy conduct that even the ungodly will have to take notice.

What is holiness? What are some holy actions? Things Christians do or don’t do publically that sets them apart from the world?

Esther was different from the other women, and her difference gave her an edge in becoming Queen. Hegai was on the look-out for Queen qualities, it was part of his job. And by her more beautiful, composed, lady-like behavior, she expose the hidden things of darkness. She shined brighter in a room full of lesser characters.

Esther was beautiful but she went through the beauty treatments to make her gorgeous. Her beauty treatments went on for a year.

God says women are to shine with an inner beauty, which will shine through any mars of our outward frailties. We’re familiar with the woman of 1 Peter 3, and the Proverbs 31, woman)

We’re the Bride of Christ. We need an extraordinary interest in making ourselves beautiful in Christ.

We have a simpler beauty treatment with less stress. We’re already the Bride of the King. You want to be made beautiful? To have the inner beauty of the heart?

The Bible is your beauty treatment. Get into God’s word to be cleansed from the world. John 17: 17, Ephesians 5:22-27, Titus 3:5, Proverbs 31:17,18 & 30,

We have the Shulamite as our example also, of the love of God shining our beauty that no one else can comprehend. Loving God will draw out the beauty that only He can see in a woman.

You want to have a successful beauty treatment? Get into the word of God. Pray, read, fellowship, worship. Determine to make the effort to love the Lord with all your heart, your strength, your mind. You will be beautiful and others will see it. They may not understand it, but they will certainly see it.

2:21-23. When the trouble came, Mordecai and Esther were able to do the right thing, the right way, to have the right decision made to stop the wrong. This was just a foretaste of their work to come. And now God has Mordecai moved into the palace business district. He’s one of the movers’ and shakers in the palace politics. He’s gaining a reputation as a man of integrity. His peers trust his wisdom. They may hate him but they know he’s an honest man.

Christians need knowledge of the world. God says be as wise as serpents and gentle as doves. God says the serpent is crafty. Know the ins and outs of ruthlessness business, yet conduct business with different deliverance & purpose.

Esther and Mordecai from different positions, exposed the hidden darkness.(Ephesians 5:8-13.)

Lesson Points:

1. God knows the innermost secret hearts of all people.

2. Boast of your salvation in Christ

3. As the Bride of Christ, take an extraordinary interest in making yourself beautiful for Christ Jesus.

4. The Bible is your beauty treatment. Let God’s word cleanse you from the world.

*Historical information from Bible Knowledge Commentary & Commentary, study notes of J. Vernon McGee

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Do You Weep For Them?

Jeremiah's love for God was so extreme, so vocal, so visible, and so was his love for his people and Jerusalem, the beloved city. He is known as the weeping prophet so hard did he love.

And for all his preaching, and proclaiming God's word, the majority of people failed in returning to God and being saved.

Jeremiah held nothing back from them. The truth was before them and in their ears every time they saw the prophet or heard him preach. They refused to hear the truth.

Do you have people you weep over because you've been telling them about God and His desire to save them, yet they continue to rebel against God?

Don't give up on them. God wants them saved and He will draw people to Himself through our faith and obedience to pray and trust.

Our love for God is our motivation to keep telling the people we love that we want them saved and with us forever in eternity.

Love suffers long, and is kind;

Love does not envy;

Love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;

Love does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;

Love does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

"The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is long suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance" 2 Peter 3:9

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Hard Questions

These are personal study questions at the back of my EBook

Squished! Why God Seemingly Destroys Our Fruit

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How strong is your faith in Christ Jesus, the Lord? Maybe you will never have to face anything as severe as Joseph, Job, Ruth, or Esther but when everything appears to deteriorate, focus on the joy of the Lord; the joy that we have because we are “they who are looking for a country of their own” (cf Hebrews 11:13,14,15). These scenarios intend to challenge you to think about how close your personal walk is with Jesus and how much is earthly baggage.

*  *  *

1. How would you respond if your house burned down today? Everything in it is now ashes, not one thing survives. Mentally walk through your house right now and look at the things you have. Right now, it is gone! It no longer exists!

What are you feeling the loss of most?

What will replace that loss?

Whom are you going to trust to relieve the loss?

What is it you are afraid of facing the most at the loss of your house?

*  *  *

2. How would you respond if your spouse died today? Are you walking close enough to the Lord to accept it? How do you answer these questions if the person you love never comes back to you alive today?

Do they know you love them?

Have they trusted the Lord as their Savior?

Have you prayed for them lately, really prayed for their safety, well being, love, strength, spiritual growth? That they are walking close to the Lord daily.

Are they ready to meet the Lord Jesus today?

If the scenario was your children died today, ask the previous questions for this also.

*  *  *

3. What if your home church burned, there is not a shred of anything left; to what do you associate the building?

What constitutes as loss when the building is no longer available?

How does this affect your worship?

How strong is your feeling toward the activities that you attended?

How much are you accustomed to what was available inside the building?

If how you served depended on the material inside the building, how will you serve now?

*  *  *

4. What does the pastor mean to you in terms of your church attendance and service?

Do you come to church to hear him or God?

Do you feel uncomfortable when someone unfamiliar speaks?

Are you reluctant to listen to the Holy Spirit speaking to your heart through a different speaker?

Do you think all sermons are supposed to speak personally to you?

*  *  *

5. What happens if you died today?

Are you ready today to meet Jesus?

Is your daily desire to meet Jesus face to face?

Is your family’s faith strong enough to walk with Jesus after your death?

Is there someone you need to tell about Jesus?

*  *  *

How much of your life since your salvation would be considered building with straw, hay, and stubble?

How much of your life since salvation would be considered building with gold, silver, and precious stones?

These questions are not to depress you but to help you examine your daily spiritual life. Where are your values? Is it your stuff, your people, your activities? Today, can you walk through your house and say to Jesus, ‘I throw it all away.’ The challenge is to do just that.

Where have your thoughts been lately?

Where are they right now?

Do these scenarios hurt? Why or why not?

With the Psalmist say, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23,24). Ask Jesus to clean your house, physically and metaphorically. Ask Jesus to show you where your stuff is hindering your service to Him. Be real.

*  *  *

Are you ready today for the rapture?

Do you really want to go home?

Is your desire to stand before the Lord and see exactly what He is and whom He is?

Do you love Him enough to let Him have everything?

Do you fear Him that much?

*  *  *

In the next month do this daily. Think about these scenarios and pray about your thoughts daily.

Revival begins when we want to live. Revival begins when we want others to live.

LIVE!

Revival begins with Jesus!

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The Lamb Of God

As He grew up, Jesus saw the yearly Passover lamb killed for the Atonement for sin.

At some point in the 33 years prior to the cross, Jesus, fully human and fully God the Son, accepted the knowledge of why He came to earth.

John the Baptist said on seeing Jesus, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

His last night on earth, facing the horrifying death of the cross the next day, Jesus said to God the Father, "Not My will, but Yours be done."

At some point, Jesus the Man knew what His life was worth. He knew what His sacrifice was worth.

It was worth our lives.

Do we know this?

Do you know this?

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life" John 3:16.

If you have never asked Jesus to be your Savior, forgive you and be your Lord, pray something like this. Pray from the heart, with faith.

"Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner who deserves hell. I know You love me so much You died on the cross for my sin. Please forgive me of my sins against You God and against my fellow men. Please save me Jesus and be my Lord and Savior. Thank you, Lord Jesus for saving me."

If you prayed this prayer, begin reading the Bible and find other believers. Go to a Bible teaching church or join a Bible teaching group.

You may feel differently, you may not, but believe that God has heard you and He has heard your heart say the prayer. He has come to you and He has saved you forever and ever.

Tell someone you have been born again into Jesus and want to learn more about Him.

And I, Susan Estes, welcome you my Brother, my Sister, into the family of God.

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Jesus- God Our Servant

"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve,

and to give His life a ransom for many" Mark 10:45.

Some of the things Jesus did:

He listened. He taught.
He wept with and for people.
He fed people. He led people. He walked with people. He ate with people.
He attended parties.
He helped people. He healed.
He read. He told the truth to everyone.
He played with children. He prayed for people. He counseled.
He gave people what really they wanted. He told people how to do things.
He gave examples. He gave Himself as an example.
He told stories. He cooked meals. He was willing to go anywhere.
He observed God’s laws and man’s laws, (when they didn’t contradict.) He was obedient to God the Father.
He loved people, even His enemies.
He sang songs.
He traveled with little expense. He was honest and just in all His dealings.
He forgave.
He touched the untouchable. He approached the unapproachable.
He was kind.
He helped Fathers and Mothers. He spoke with both men and with women.
He accepted poor, rich, soldiers, businessmen and women, housewives, teachers, bankers, laborers, lawyers, government officials, religious and non-religious, sinners and self-righteous.

 And some things Jesus didn't do:

He never demanded service.
He never hurt people, not even His enemies.
He never manipulated anyone.
He never coerced anyone.
He never forced anyone to do or not do anything.
He didn’t gossip.
He didn’t hate anyone for deserting Him.
He never took revenge for an insult.
He never played tricks.
He never insulted anyone.

Christians have something in Jesus that the world religions cannot comprehend. Even as they search for what we have, they deny that we have found it in Jesus. Man-made religions and man-created gods make their followers obey rules as means of perfection.

The God who gave His life for the sins of the world not only asks us to obey, He provides the power to obey.

"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself

unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in Me.

I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him,

bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” John 15:4 & 5.

• As a Man, Jesus was the best friend we could ever have.
• As Lord, Jesus deserves our obedience. 
• As our teacher, Jesus showed us how we ought to act and work.

As God, Jesus could have shown all His power and brought Himself the glory that is due Him. Instead of God crushing the rebellion of mankind in Adam, Jesus, the Savior, made this statement,

“If you love Me, keep My commandments" John 14:15

 Jesus gave us the examples; let us follow Him. 

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Father's Day---Not Very Good Memories

My earth Father worked hard and played hard.

A farm boy with an 8th grade education, my father was very smart. He was a superb machinist, and could draw in 3D any machine design inside and out. If he had the right tools he could build it to any scale needed or build the tools needed to build the machine!...

He was a superb auto mechanic and metal body builder/customizer.

He dreamed big and wanted the best things.

Six feet tall, he was ruggedly handsome with shoulders and chest of a body builder. His hair was thick, black and wavy. He was a great dancer, even on roller-skates. His singing voice was a deep tenor. He could sit in on a 'red-neck' band, playing the spoons, mouth harp, harmonica, washboard and the saw blade. He was a wonderful cook.

He married a sweet, dark haired girl, who matched his wisdom. When she helped my brother Mike with a paper he had to write for school, his teacher failed him for it, stating it was obviously written by a college graduate and not a sixth grader. (Mother also an 8th grade graduate.)

Together they raised 5 very smart children.

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I hated my father.

My father was a pedophile who molested his own daughters, messed up the lives of his sons, and battered his wife.

I didn't attend his funeral and I have never been to my father's grave.

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If there was ever a dysfunctional family, we were it. But today, I have a great Christian family at Grace Bible Church.

I've had to learn to love. And I have found love.
God has shown me love and has helped me love Ivan as I have never loved anyone before.

I have forgiven my father. I do hope he asked Jesus to forgive him before he died. I would love to have my father greet me in heaven.

He was asking for a priest on the day he died in Togus but he died before the man came.

A priest cannot absolve anyone of their sins, only God can do that when you ask Him, so that information has little meaning, but if my father was thinking he needed forgiveness, he may have cried out to God at the end.

God is that loving and gracious and would have forgiven my father. God died on the cross for the sins of my father. All he needed to do was ask Jesus to save him.

Praise the Almighty Lord Father God!!!

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God is my Father in heaven. I am born into God's family through Jesus Christ. He has made me one of His daughters and loves me much more than any earthly father ever could.

"For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out "Abba, Father." Romans 8:15.

But.......

Father's Day doesn't have good memories.

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5 Actions That Will Beautify Any Christian Woman

"Do not let your adornment be merely outward

--arranging the hair, wearing gold or putting on

fine apparel--rather let it be the hidden person

of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a

gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious

in the sight of God"

1 Peter 3:3 & 4

This verse has a bad reputation but it's actually a call for Christian women to rejoice in their womanhood.

Christian women should take a stand and say, "Yes, because I love God, I am different. I refuse to let society fads and fashions stereotype me and my styles."

Here are 5 verses that can influence the way women can show off the beauty in Christianity. 

“Judge not, that you be not judged” Matthew 7: 1

     A woman's judgement, either for or against someone or something, many times will be for the safety of herself, her spouse, her children, her extended family or her friends.
     Judgement condemning someone which may forever keep them from God is never the role of a Christian. Condemnation is God’s job but, if this form of judging is your habitual sin, He will absolutely forgive all who ask for forgiveness.
     This verse also warns us when judging to make sure the impact of our choice does not condemn us. If making a decision for or against anyone, use discernment to judge fairly, and strive to deliberately harm no one.
     God gave women a special personality trait of high emotional influence and because of this, when judging someone; you must carefully examine your reasons. Any necessary judgments women make are to improve the good things and destroy the bad things to create safer and cleaner lives.

“But I say to you that for every idle word men, (women), may speak, they will give an account of it in the day of judgment” Matthew 12: 36.
     Communication is essential to life. The correct language can open doors and incorrect language can close doors. With a carefully sustained clean conduct, women can control a major part of the language spoken in their homes, work place and in public. Commonality of speech for women doesn’t have to assume coarseness or gutter-talk.
     Women can show off their beauty and attractiveness by their everyday speaking. Clean speech and behavior can especially enhance a woman’s character, style, beauty, and desirability.

“And just as you want men, (women), to do to you, you also do to them likewise” Luke 6: 31
     Rudeness mars beauty. Sometimes called the ‘golden rule’, it is a real fact, if you want people to be polite and nice, show yourself to be polite and nice. Women can be strong leaders in this area of personal and public life. A mother can teach her children how kind words and actions can help them achieve much. On the job, favorable actions and manners will get better reviews. If you want to have any influence, use the ‘golden rule’ and see what can happen around you.

“But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing” Matthew 6: 3.
     Visibly heightened emotions are created part of women. Love, joy, anger, sympathy, empathy, and mother's love and protection; women show these traits with more vulnerability than men. If managed well, they can be a part of our hidden beauty that makes us attractive. Women can utilize their God given emotional specialties as wonderful givers, doers, motivators, counselors, and encouragers.
     Have you ever done something for someone who wasn’t expecting it, and you did it just for the joy of giving? While God made men to be subtly appreciative, God made woman with the capacity of giving and receiving with more emotion.
     Is there anyone you can help without thinking of any return for your effort?

“…Esau…took wives, Judith…and Basemath…and they were a grief to Isaac and Rebekah” Genesis 26: 33, 34.
     Family relationships can be a struggle at any time. A woman can trouble her own house or she can make it comfortable. Everyone will admire a woman, whether married or unmarried, who can maintain a good home. Habitual good and bad behavior is something learned or unlearned.
     In former decades, before the push for what is touted as equality, before she left home, most girls were taught the ways of femininity for her own benefit. While a woman can be computer programmers, drive trucks, be CEO of large companies, and run for President of the United States with no condemnation against her womanhood, she should present maturity and good behavior while preforming her public duties and personal actions.
     God gave Christians the closeness of church family. Let the Christian woman seek good friends with sound advice on how to manage her home, business, and her life. A fun circle of close woman-friends can encourage each other in good works.

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Are there any special Bible verses you make an effort to obey to enhance your Christian beauty?

(There are no guarantees that these suggestions will change anyone's situation if implemented. While these descriptions are in general and do not apply to all situations, they can be effectively true in the Christian woman who strives to please God.)

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I Challenge Your Faith!

These are some question that I ask in the workbook section of my EBook Squished! Why God Seemingly Destroys Our Fruit. I had to answer these questions for myself when my home church went through a difficult time. I had to ask myself who or what was my I basing my faith in or on? Was my faith real?

How strong is your faith in Christ Jesus, the Lord? I want to challenge you right now to think about the consequences of sudden disasters like those that hit Job. These may sound gloomy but I want you to focus on the joy of the Lord; the joy that we are to have because we are pilgrims looking for the country where we are going. With these scenarios I challenge you to think about how close your personal walk is with Jesus and how much is just earthly baggage.

 What if your house burned down today? Everything in it is now ashes, not one thing survives. Mentally walk through your house right now and look at the things you have. Right now it is gone! It no longer exists!
1. What are you feeling the loss of most?
2. What is going to substitute for that loss?
3. Who are you going to trust to relieve the loss?
4. What is it you are afraid of facing the most at the loss of your house?


What if your spouse died today? Are you walking close enough to the Lord to accept it? If the person you love never comes back to you alive today, what do you think about?
1. Do they know I love them?
2. Have they trusted the Lord as their savior?
3. Have I prayed for them lately? Really prayed for their safety, well being, love, strength, spiritual growth? That they are walking close to the Lord daily?
4. Are they ready to meet the Lord Jesus today?


       If the scenario was your children died today, ask the previous questions for this also.

What if your home church burned, there is not a shred of anything left; to what do you associate the building?
1. What constitutes as loss when the building is no longer available?
2. How does this affect your worship?
3. How strong is your feeling toward the activities that you attended?
4. How much were you accustomed to what was available inside the building?
5. If how you served depended on the material inside the building; how will you serve now?


 What does the pastor mean to you in terms of your church attendance and service?
1. Do you come to church to hear him or God?
2. Do you feel uncomfortable when someone unfamiliar speaks?
3. Do you think this is the proper way you are to listen to sermons?
4. Are you reluctant to listen to the Holy Spirit speaking to your heart through a different speaker?

What if you died today?

1. Are you ready today to meet Jesus?
2. Is your daily desire to meet Jesus face to face?
3. Is your family strong enough to walk with Jesus after your death?
4. Is there someone you need to tell about Jesus? 

     Examine your daily spiritual life.
1. How much of your life since your salvation has been building with straw, hay and stubble?
2.. How much of your life was building with gold, silver and precious stones?

Where are your values? Is it your stuff, your people, your

activities? Today, can you walk through your house and say to Jesus, I throw it all away. I challenge you to do just that.
1. Where have your thoughts been lately?
2. Where are they right now?
3. Do these scenarios hurt?
4. Why? Or why not?

Be Real!

Ask Jesus to clean your house, to show you where your stuff is hindering your service to Him. 

Do you love Him enough to let Him have everything?

Do you fear Him that much?

Think about these scenarios and pray about your thoughts daily.

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Guest Post--The Decision: by Linda Handzel

This is guest blog from a friend of mine. Linda is a beautiful Christian with a powerful message. Her love of God motivates her to help others and her speaking engagements encourage many women with her enthusiastic hope and faith in God.

http://lindahandzel.com/blog/

The Decision: by Linda Handzel

    When I changed over to Christian High School for my senior year she was already a student there, starting her sophomore year. I always thought she was beautifully composed, nothing like me! She had a gorgeous alto singing voice and every note was smoothly controlled as she sang praises to God. We spent a lot of time together, but my brother Stan spent more time with Lori than I did. After they graduated from high school together he went away to college for a year. During that time I was able to steal more time with her. When Stan came home at Christmas he asked Lori to marry him and the next summer I was a bridesmaid in their wedding. The weekend after that she was the Matron of Honor in my wedding.

    My husband and I moved a few towns over when we got married, but Lori and Stan stayed in their home area. We had our first three children, and after a few years Stan and Lori gave birth to a boy, then a girl. Our lives got busier and we saw each other at various family holidays, but not as much as we would have liked.

    The summer that we both celebrated our sixteenth wedding anniversaries we gathered together at a Fourth of July family picnic. That day Lori quietly pulled me aside to tell me the news that she had found a lump and the doctor had ordered a biopsy. Cancer ran in her family and she was scared. She was only 37 years old and I knew there was no way a woman that young could have breast cancer! Her sister had a lot of problems with cysts. Surely that would be the diagnosis!

    Mum’s voice was quiet and low when she called a few days later to tell me the results of Lori’s biopsy. “The news isn’t good. It’s aggressive Carcinoma.” I literally reeled and spun around with the impact of those words!

    My whole world came to a crashing halt. I couldn’t think of anything else– my brother’s beloved sweetheart had cancer! For several weeks my mind rocked and whirled with countless reactions. How could this possibly happen? I knew what I would say to someone who came to me with this diagnosis in their family: “God works all things out for His good. He’ll give you the strength to go through this. He’s still a healing God and you can believe Him to heal her. If He doesn’t heal her here, He’ll give you the strength to make it through. God will take care of their two children.” Endlessly those words ran ‘round and ‘round in my head. But I found myself questioning every phrase. Did I really believe this stuff? The verses that came to my mind from memory had never been tested like this before, and my faith was shaken to the core! I questioned the very foundation of all that I had embraced and lived for since childhood. What if God wasn’t really all I said He was? Did He really care? Was He able to heal? If he didn’t heal Lori, would He carry us through this horrifying journey? Just the thought of my broken-hearted brother and their two young children was more than I could fathom. Stan was a pastor! How could God even think of allowing Lori to have cancer?
Lori’s treatment plan was laid out: Radical mastectomy followed by radiation and chemotherapy. Dozens of foreign-sounding medical terms were thrown around while all of us reeled with the reality of the unfathomable. And I questioned: “WHERE IS GOD?”

    Mom and Dad struggled while watching their son’s heartbreaking trial. My whole family was cut to the core. I kept thinking of all the reasons this shouldn’t be happening to us: Mom and Dad had brought us up in a Christian home. We had all been saved as children. Each of us had chosen Christian mates, and now we were bringing our own children up in Godly homes. Each of us was deeply involved in our own church. In spite of doing all the ‘right’ things, it felt like everything was going wrong!

    Maybe God didn’t care! He sure wasn’t acting like He cared! Maybe I couldn’t trust Him at all! Maybe I could find someone else to trust. Maybe I had been wrong all these years, and God wasn’t what I thought He was. Maybe I should just give up on this whole thing called ‘Christianity’. It sure wasn’t working out for the ‘good’ that I wanted!

    For three weeks I wallowed through questions. I was so mired in anxious confusion that my children commented I was sighing all the time. I felt like the weight of the world was on my shoulders, and I was helpless to get it off! Nothing happened when I prayed, all the words seemed hallow. What was I going to do?

    Finally I started to recount the many ways God had clearly answered prayer throughout my life. Who else would answer like that? I had always known deep in my heart that God was with me, through every turn in my life. Who else was offering that kind of companionship? I had seen Him perform many impossible miracles in answer to prayer. Who else was capable of doing that?

    I was hanging laundry outside one day when one question suddenly stood out more than all the others: If I abandoned my belief in God, who could possibly take His place? All other thoughts came to a standstill as I wrestled with that one ultimate question: WHO ELSE IS THERE TO TRUST? Right there, on that sunny summer day I concluded that there was NO ONE! I felt a huge weight lift off my heart! Relief flooded my being when I firmly decided that I needed God, and only God! He was the only One who promised He would never leave me or forsake me. In all my life I had never felt abandoned by Him. He was the only One who said He wouldn’t give us more than we could bear.

    As I looked back over my short life I couldn’t think of one time that God had ever let me down. At different times in their short lives my children had been catastrophically ill, yet I felt God’s presence with me while I waited for Him to heal each sickness. I had prayed so many times for wisdom as a mother, and He had led me in ways I had never dreamed of! No matter how I searched, there was not even one moment in my life when I could say God had let me down! I decided I could believe the words of Isaiah that said: “His ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts. For as the Heavens are high above the earth, so are His thoughts higher than our thoughts!”

    YES, I was going to trust God! I was going to cling to His unchanging hand! I would believe that He would hold my family as we traveled this scary journey! I believed! I did believe and I held tight to those beliefs as I went forward with my family.

    T hat journey wasn’t easy because it was fraught with highs and lows. Lori finished the treatments and felt better for a few months. But sixteen months after the first biopsy, she was diagnosed with bone cancer. They tried other treatments. Stan took her to Mexico for alternative medicine. And we prayed. Oh how we prayed! I’m sure that many thousands of prayers were said, asking God to heal Lori. And He did heal her! At dawn on a quiet June morning the phone rang with the news that Lori had gone to Heaven. I remember so well that it was a wonderfully clear day, a perfect day to fly to Heaven! Lori was only sick with cancer for 23 months and then she was perfect.

    I thank God for the weeks I spent questioning the foundation of my faith. When I decided God was the only answer for me I had no idea I was deciding on a platform that would hold me without faltering for many tears to come. The next sixteen years after Lori died were filled with one heartbreak after another for our family. Too many times I’ve stared at a young body in a casket. In my mind it seems that only old people should be in caskets. Yet I know God is in control! We’ll understand it all when we meet Him (and our loved ones) in Glory! Until then, I still believe His Way Is Perfect!

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http://lindahandzel.com/blog/

 About Linda      

Linda Handzel grew up with two brothers in a Christian home, and began her personal relationship with Jesus Christ at a young age. Soon after she completed her college education, Linda noticed a handsome man in the young adult’s Sunday School class. This young man named Michael noticed her too, soon he asked Linda to go out with him. In only six months Michael asked Linda to marry him. Five months later they were married and began a family together. God blessed them with four children whom Linda home-schooled.

Just before their 24th wedding anniversary tragedy struck the Handzel household. Michael was killed instantly when someone hit him on his motorcycle and Linda had to deliver the news to her children: “Daddy’s gone to Heaven.” Through the dark days and long nights of grief, Linda has never been alone. God has faithfully led her through the many trials and transitions that were brought on by Michael’s death.

Linda’s public speaking ministry began soon after Michael died, and her message to women is that God loves us, and wants to help us through the hurts, heartaches and horrors of life. She shares both personal anecdotes and stories from the Bible, using them to illustrate that God has a perfect plan for each one of us.

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Boaz, Ruth & the Closer Relative

In Chapter 4 of the book of Ruth we see Boaz and the Closer Relative of Naomi transact the Kinsman/Redeemer law. And it all plays out to God's satisfaction when Boaz and Ruth are finally wed to live happily ever after.

Because Boaz was going to carry out the Kinsman/Redeemer law to it's fullest extent, none of the land he obtained in keeping the law would be his. It would go to Obed, their son, who would inherit to perpetuate the family name of his grandfather Elimilech.
All Boaz took from this marriage was Ruth. Just as when we become the bride of Christ, we bring nothing with us into the marriage but ourselves, redeemed by our Savior.

This simile is not a perfect fit, and I have never heard this connection before; I could be way wrong, but I do like it.

• The Closer Relative = God the Father
• Boaz = Jesus
• Ruth= us, the church, the bride of Christ

• Ruth came to Boaz and asked him to marry her. We come to Jesus and ask Him to save us.
• Boaz presents Ruth to the Closer Relative. Jesus presents us to God the Father.
• The Closer Relative does not become the husband but gives her to Boaz. God the Father gives us to Jesus, His Son, to be His bride.

• And, to add another far out extension is Naomi, who led Ruth to Boaz = the Holy Spirit leads us to God and Jesus.

• Jesus, the Son, is the way to the Father, who ultimately extends His grace to us when we ask His forgiveness. Jesus says, “No one comes to the Father but by Me." (John 14:6).
• Jesus says "no one comes to Him expect the Father draws them." (John 6:44).
• Jesus says that "the Father gives all to Him." (John 6:37).
• All born again Christians are called the Bride and are married to Jesus, because God the Father gave us all to His Son. (Ephesians 5:27).

The First Kinsman Redeemer

(God the Father)

gives us to

the One who is the Bridegroom

(Jesus)

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25 Life Applications from the Book of Ruth

Here are 25 Life Application to be found in the book of Ruth.

There were so many places in this story where disobedience, selfish ambitions, and pride of any number of those involved could have created disaster. But three people, Boaz, Ruth and Naomi were determined to obedience to the law given to Moses so that God would be glorified.

#1 Have quiet patience with people who insult us.
      Ruth holds her peace even as Naomi ignores her. (1:21)

#2 Seek God, even when we don’t know what’s going on.
      Ruth leaves all she knows, trusting in God, whom she's newly put her faith in to take care of her. (1:16,17)

#3 Trust God when we are taking a new direction.
      Ruth travels to Bethlehem not knowing what awaits her, only she knows that the God of Israel will take care of her. (1:22)

#4 When repenting, don’t just stop doing something, but leave it far behind.
      Ruth left Moab and a life of idolatry. (Ruth 1)

#5 Our everyday, ordinary conduct is an integral part of our witness.
      Ruth stays pure and holy in her new life.

#6 Pray despite your pain.
     Naomi prays for her two daughters in law. (1:8,9)

#7 Our loyalty shouldn’t hinge on the character of the person we love (unconditional love).
       Ruth ignores Naomi's urging to stay in Moab, and insists on going to Bethlehem. (1:15)

#8 Stick to your promises.

     Ruth stays with Naomi through all the troubles.

#9 Respect is earned, never granted.
      Boaz and Ruth have both earned the respect of the harvesters. (2:4-7)

#10 Humility is knowing your limits and your needs.

      Ruth humbles herself to ask for the charity of gleaning in Boaz' fields. (1:7)

#11 Once we’re saved, God has forever forgiven us of our past.
       Boaz never derides Ruth because of her ancestry.

#12 As ambassadors of Christ, we need to guard our reputations.
       Ruth, Naomi and Boaz stay true to God among an immoral society. (Judges 21:25)

#13 Some sacrifices will hurt severely, but the rewards for pleasing God are worth it.
       Boaz and Ruth sacrifice their desire to marry to keep the Kinsman/Redeemer Law. (3:13)

#14 Many times our sacrifices to God will make no sense to anyone else but us.
       To fulfill the law, Boaz sticks to the rules and offers Ruth, whom he loves, to the closer relative. (4:1-5)

#15 God moves in our ordinary lives to bless us in extraordinary ways.
       God moves behind the scenes through the entire book of Ruth.

#16 No one is beyond the amazing salvation of God.
       Even though a Moabite, Ruth is saved through her faith in God.

#17 Obedience is rewarded.
      Boaz, Ruth and Naomi enjoy the birth of Obed. (4:13-16)

#18 Our need is to continue to pray about everything.

#19 God is always with His children through everything.

#20 God wants us to rely on Him for everything.

#21 If your prayer isn’t answered right away, keep praying.

#22 What we choose to do good or bad is going to affect the reputations of our fellow Christians.

#23 We should do nothing that would cause unbelievers to blaspheme the name of our Lord

#24 God can make us wait before He fulfills all He’s going to give us.

#25 God sees the end from the beginning. He sees us in heaven right now enjoying our rewards. He is seeing our worship perfected.

Ruth Boaz and Naomi show how to live our lives

in obedience, purity, holiness and faith.

Christians are not under the law today, but we are to live holy lives, set apart for God's glory.

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Don't Shoot The Messenger--(Flash Fiction Tale)

This is a fictional story, Please enjoy.

Don’t Shoot the Messenger 

“You can’t shoot those things.”

Behind me, an unfamiliar voice made that statement as I lined up a shot at a large Canada goose.

Hunting alone, surrounded by only my decoys, I hadn’t expected any other voice within miles. My gun jerked, my shot was lost and the flock of geese I had artfully called took flight. I lowered the gun and craned around to see who had spoken. In my defense, I was cross about the interruption. “I happen to have a valid license.”

The man looked old enough to have lived two lifetimes. His face was long, with heavy lines, eyes thick-lidded, drooping, and moist. The clothes may have fit him in a younger era but now were too large. To add to my annoyance, he wasn’t even looking at me but at some point beyond. Managing not to swear, I stood up, my efforts lost for the day.

Before I could complain, he smiled and pointed, “See, there. It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

All I saw was a muddy, harvested cornfield and my decoys. "Huh?"

“There,” he stabbed a gnarled finger forward. “You were aiming right at it.”

I squinted at the distant mountains. “The view? Yeah, beautiful scenery but why interrupt my hunt just to tell me that? You some sort of nature nut?”

He looked at me. “Well, Son, maybe that. I'm more inclined toward God creating everything and all nature speaks of Him."

I began to consider him a fruitcake. “My license for hunting geese says I can shoot them. You gonna give me trouble on that?"

He laughed, a hard, grunting, deep throaty noise. “Of course, you can hunt the geese. I meant you can’t shoot angels.”

My mind was working, thinking he'd escaped some nearby facility. “You see angels, Pop?”

The laugh came again. “Occasionally. Lately a bit more. I think it’s like maybe God is letting me know.”

“Know what?”

He pointed up. “Time to go home.”

Thinking he was talking about the actual hour of the day, I asked, “Your family worried about you wandering off?”

“Son, I’ve stayed on the straight and narrow path since I was fourteen.” He shook his head. “I strayed a little in my twenties and again in my late forties, but I’ve always returned to my Savior Jesus Christ.” When he rubbed his veined hands together against the chill, they sounded like old paper. “Yes, I have family waiting for me there. I'm wanting to see them, though, it'll be hard on the great grandkids. Ah, but their parents will raise them up in the Lord.”

He had me baffled. It was like we were having two different conversations. Breaking open the shotgun, I popped out the shells. Sliding the gun into the case, I closed it safely inside, securing the latches.

I asked, “You gonna be here tomorrow, Pop?” I only had this one week off from work and considered moving my spread to another field if he was going to interrupt my hunting.

“I don’t know. I suppose it depends on God. I keep waiting for that angel to step toward me and beckon me to come.” He sounded wistful and his eyes teared up, looking somewhere only he could see. “I'd like to be home to be with Jesus.”

“What are you talking about?

“Don’t you know Jesus, Son?”

“Sure, my mother took me to church.”

He laid his hand on my shoulder. “Son, do you know Jesus took your punishment because the wages of sin are death. He took the Father’s wrath so you wouldn’t have to. And if you don’t ask Jesus to save you, you're headed for eternity in the Lake of Fire?”

The hairs on my neck stood up. “I haven’t heard that in years. Not since Sunday School.”

"Son, will you ask Jesus to save you today? I wouldn't want to know that you were suffering forever in that tormenting fire.”

That old man's words burned like a hot brand on something other than my flesh. I thought sure the ground was opening to swallow me. I looked down expecting to see that flaming lake and was thankful just to see mud.

"Do want Jesus to save you?"

“Y...yes." And I did, kneeling with him right there in the mud.

The next morning, I parked the truck at the edge of the cornfield, having spent a sleepless night while my brain repeated every word he said, like a continual recorded loop. For some reason I didn't get out right away, just sat there listening to the radio. When suddenly, I reached out and cranked up the volume.

In that tone all newscasters have, he said "Last night, Mr. Hendrickson, our well-loved local minister died peacefully at home, in his sleep. We will miss him deeply. Heaven has gained a great saint."

The broadcast went on but I didn’t hear it. I stared out the windshield, thinking about God.

The End

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