Monthly Archives: June 2009

Time to Worship (Week 8 Summary)

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This week went as well as it could. We had a pretty consistent devotion time reading through the book of Esther. Every time I look at some of the verses in Esther I am reminded that God our king chooses some and rejects others. This is out of his glorious grace because if we are left to ourselves we would be lost.

Though we see King Xerxes as the sovereign authority in this book, we know that he is still corrupt and imperfect and pales in comparison to the true King. We as Christians have have been placed in various walks of life, but in the end, we serve one person, one King. This is true in Esther where Mordecai would not kneel to Haman even when his people were at stake.

Mordecai knew the covenant promises of God to his people and that they would not perish. Even Haman’s wife knew that in Esther 6:13-14

His advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him, “Since Mordecai, before whom your downfall has started, is of Jewish origin, you cannot stand against him—you will surely come to ruin!” 14 While they were still talking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived and hurried Haman away to the banquet Esther had prepared.

It is noted that Esther’s presence excited Xerxes every time she came into his presence even when not called to come. She had favor from the king, in the same respect, our King Jesus delights when we come to him. Though we are so far beneath our king, he has chosen us and called us to be with him at his table. And so we also have favor and attention from the King of the Universe.

It is interesting that even to the end, God’s name was glorified even when his people were in exile and spread throughout the 127 provinces of Persia. I’m reading through Ezekiel and Jeremiah and in those books, we see that God’s name is defamed by the Jews, his own people. There is such a contrast when the Jews follow and obey versus when they don’t follow and obey. God’s name is truly glorified when his people follow the words given to them.

Time to Worship (Week 7 Wednesday)

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As we finished up Nehemiah, we were deeply convicted by what we do on Sundays. We were also deeply convicted in our hearts as to how our hearts are pulled in so many directions but we forget to rest in the Lord and place the Lord first on the sabbath.

We began reading Esther today. Interesting beginning, we noticed how favor was moved from Vashti to Esther. We also liked the name Hadassah, though we looked it up some years back to find out it meant some kind of plant.

We wondered whether it was a huge crime that Vashti committed by not submitting to her drunken husband his drunken guests. It might not have been wise, but she did it in front of all the other women, disrespecting his authority. It is seen that King Xerxes had authority over his whole kingdom… except his wife. This is indeed a deep insult to his power and reputation.

We always remember the words of Esther as she is confronted with the destruction of the Jews and her personal destruction in approaching the king without being summoned.

Esther 4:12-16
12 When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, 13 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. 14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”

15 Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 16 “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”

Mordecai’s words were both convicting and true. God will not let his people perish because he had made a covenant with them. It was also true that if Esther didn’t step up, someone else would. She is placed in such a situation is not a coincidence or by chance or by accident… she was the most beautiful and received the most favor because it was God who had ordained it, “for such a time as this.” This section of Esther always brought joy to my heart… especially tonight as my wife read it aloud.

Time to Worship (Week 7 Monday)

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As we were finishing up Nehemiah, we discussed some of prior days events and prayed over certain situations that happened after the party. We received some bad news today… some pertaining to possible assaults and arrests. We prayed for those involved and for those family members affected by the situation.

Who are we that we neglect the Lord’s day. Nehemiah 9 recalls all the great things God has done in the history of Israel. The people confess their sins and repent. As they were reading the law of God they saw that some of the things they were doing were evil in God’s eyes. They allowed certain foreigners in the assembly of God (13:1-3), did not give to God’s servants (13:6-11), they neglected some of their duties as well as not keeping the Sabbath holy (13:15-22), they married foreign women who worshiped other gods (13:23-27).

Some of the major reforms Nehemiah makes at the end of the book are extreme, but they were in accord with scripture. This reading led us to think, how should we keep the Sabbath holy especially on our Sundays and in this present time? We have usually spent time at church, but we also saw that God desires us for more than 2-3 hours. How do we truly make God first and especially on the sabbath?

We decided to cut back on activities that we did/commit to on Sundays. Stuff especially like shopping and eating out. It looked like commerce was one thing that Nehemiah had to shut down by closing the gates. Selling of food and brining loads on donkeys, etc. We looked at our lives and saw that these things should have been done throughout the week and so we would be able to rest and enjoy God on Sundays. This also included working on Sundays, which I sometimes fall in the habit of doing, especially at the Sunday at the end of the quarters where all my work is due.

We have sinned against God and we repent.

Time to Reflect (Week 7 Sunday)

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This past weekend was crazy to say the least and to top if off we experienced some of human depravity first hand. Usually we just discuss things, but Sunday afternoon was a time where we were not only able to share our faith in God, but also learn a little bit about apologetics and human depravity and everyone’s need for Jesus.

My wife and I were at a friend’s house where we met some other people. One used to go to church, the other is a former catholic who goes to another church because of his wife. Both my wife and I were stumped. We didn’t know what to say, our heads were swirling as they continued with one accusation after another. It was interesting how easily it was to attack catholics, then protestants, both the hypocrisy of the church and also its exclusivity. It didn’t help that my wife pointed out we went to presbyterian church (highly exclusive) and that I was a deacon…

It didn’t occur to us until after we left the party… it was supposed to be a kids party, but some of the adults got out of hand and so we were more than happy to make an escape for it. But it was a shame we didn’t have the “right words” to say while there. On our drive back home, we prayed and finally understood what we “should have” said. Even during the conversation, my mind was being pushed to the Matthew 7 passage:

1″Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 3″Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

But I didn’t know what to make of it. Finally in the car it occurred to me that we were all so quick to judge, even myself, that we didn’t really understand the extent of Christ’s words. We are far worse than we think we are. The bible says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God… we are all under condemnation. The conversation never went to that extent and I think we all missed it.

We think we merit something because we are better than Catholics or other Christians, but we all have that plank in our eye and we all have specks in our eyes. It is only through the saving work of Christ that anyone can be saved. One argument that was brought up was the righteous Buddhist monk that lived a life that far exceeded any Christian… Would he too be sentenced to Hell just because he didn’t believe in Jesus? In our eyes, he probably was a saint and angel… but in God’s eyes, which sees things much differently… sees through the heart of man knows the corruption that lays within, far within. And it is only being in Christ that God sees a man as being righteous. That’s the difference between faith and unbelief. One is willing to accept things from God’s perspective (we are far worse than we think)… the other fails to see God’s ways because of our limited perspective (at least we’re better than those people).

As we drove home, we realized that unless we understood fully our own depravity, we would be useless in sharing the Gospel. Unless we stopped judging other people and started judging ourselves, we would be totally unequipped to know and share the Good News…

I’m bad. I’m evil. I’m corrupt. That is the reason why I need Jesus.