Obedience

Obedience
I’ve been studying in the book of Esther this week and have come across some interesting situations. The book of Esther begins as Queen Vashti is summoned to appear before King Xerxes to be displayed before his guests at a banquet for her beauty. He has been strutting his stuff for his friends and allies for 6 months and he calls his queen on the last day of a seven day feast. The scriptures go into great detail about the splendor of the palace and how beautifully it has been decorated for this six month long gathering on officials. Well, Queen Vashti does the unthinkable; she refuses to go to the king. The consequence of her action is the loss of her office as queen.
That is the first obedience situation we see in this book, there are more to follow. And it got me thinking about obedience and what it means. Although we don’t know all the details of this situation, it would appear that Vashti chose to be disobedient over being used as an object by her King. We choose to be obedient or to be disobedient. Either consequences or blessings will come from our decisions.
The next situation involves Esther, a young Jewish orphan who has been taken in by a cousin and raised as his own daughter. In the effort to replace Vashti, she is chosen along with many other young women to be presented to the King after 12 months of beauty treatments at the palace. These treatments include six months with oil of myrrh and six months with cosmetics, special food and seven maids to attend her every need. At the end of the year she will be sent into the king for the night and the next morning to join the harem of concubines for the rest of her life. But, once the King sees Esther, he is so taken with her that he makes her his Queen. Mordecai, the cousin who raised her as his daughter has forbidden her to reveal her nationality or family background, so Xerxes doesn’t know that his Queen is Jewish.
One of the King’s officials, Hamar, is offended by Mordecai’s behavior and as a result, hatches a plot to annialate all Jewish people. Mordecai is understandably upset and tries to enlist Esther’s help. Initially Esther refuses to help, but when Mordecai explains that God’s will shall prevail she reconsiders. He convinces her with these words:
Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this? Esther 4:13
Esther’s obedience to Mordecai’s pleas stops the plot to destroy the Jewish people. I think we can all identify with her hesitation to help her people. But when Mordecai tells her that she may well be part of God’s plan to save his people she can’t refuse, even though she doesn’t understand how she will help stop Hamar’s plan. After much prayer and fasting Esther was obedient and God used her in a way she couldn’t have conceived.
Is there a situation in your life where someone is asking for your help, yet you are hesitant to get involved? We should all be encouraged by Esther’s example and step out in obedience. And who knows but that you may have been put here for such a time as this?

Advent Devotion

I know this isn't the way you are supposed to blog--but I've neglected my posts--so I'll just add a few things today that I've written over the last couple of months. This is a devotion that I wrote to go in the Advent Devotion book our church published this December.

1 Peter 1:13
Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.

At first glance it may seem this scripture is warning us to always be ready for action, for any and all circumstances that come our way. It seems to say if we are ready and in control of ourselves we will triumph over whatever comes our way. But with further study we see a ready mind and self-control are merely a means to an end. The important concept in 1 Peter 1:13 is hope.
Hope is one of those words in our culture that is over used. Much the same as love—I love all kinds of things, from the Divinity that my Noni made every Christmas to my husband Leroy. How can one word adequately convey all these different kinds of devotion? Hope holds a similar concept.
We spent many months hoping for rain during the last year, and we hope our team will win the game this weekend. Our English word hope is derived from the Greek word “elpis” meaning a confident expectation. But, here in the context of this scripture we are looking at biblical hope, a much higher concept. Biblical hope can be defined as biblical salvation. Our biblical hope as Christians is the assurance of the forgiveness of our sin, salvation through Jesus Christ, and an eternity spent with Jesus.
Our biblical hope isn’t a simple wish or an expectation, it is an absolute certainty. Throughout the Old and New Testaments God promises a redemptive hope centered on his Son, Jesus Christ. In Genesis 3, God informs the serpent that Eve’s Seed would crush him. Romans 15, Isaiah says “The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations: the Gentiles will hope in him.” Our hope is a gift from God, it enables the renewal of our minds and the self control we will need until Jesus Christ is finally revealed. We look forward, expectantly awaiting the return of our Savior.
Prayer:
Gracious Father,
You alone are worthy of our Hope. Thank you for your gift of Hope, that assurance that we are yours, we are saved for an eternity to be spent with you. Help us to share that gift with everyone around us. Help us to always be ready to give an answer to account for the hope that we possess.
In the name above all names, Jesus Christ I pray,
Amen.
Blessed Assurance
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.
Refrain:
This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long;
this is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.

2. Perfect submission, perfect delight,
visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
angels descending bring from above
echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
(Refrain)

3. Perfect submission, all is at rest;
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
watching and waiting, looking above,
filled with his goodness, lost in his love.