Esther 7:3 " Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor with you, O king, and if it pleases your majesty, grant me my life-this is my petition. And spare my people-this is my request. Esther 8:4 Now once more Esther came before the king, falling down at his feet and begging him with tears to stop Haman's evil plot against the Jews.
It has been said that evil presists because good people do nothing. Believers must not be afraid to speak truth, counter evil, and help the innocent and the helpless. Our responsibility is to resist evil, repay kindness and restore order. Evil acts know no fear or boundaries ...unless God's people act. The wicked never rest, so the righteous must resist.
What a "superhero" our Esther turned out to be. Taking a stand for righteousness even if it meant death!!!! Well, alone I couldn't do what Esther did....only through the power of Christ that lives in me could I risk my life .....Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. I don't know if the LORD would ever call me to such a task...but, I'm confident that if He called me too it...He would give me the strength to follow through. Isaiah 41:10 Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.'........
Father, thank you that all that you have called me to do, the purposes that You created me for, You will give me the ability to do....I too can be a "superhero" like Esther...because Your Spirit lives in me. Help me to continue to seek Your direction in my life and not miss any opportunity to take a stand for You.
In Jesus name, Amen.
God bless your day,
Sharon
Friday, August 27, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
"Open the Door in the Name of the LORD"
John 3:8 We ought therefore to show hospitality"
Practicing hospitality is modeled for us throughout the Old and New Testaments. Again and again, we see that the purpose was to serve others and to be a vehicle for God's grace.
1 Peter 4:9 & 10 Practice hospitality ungrudgingly to one another. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace:
I found it interesting that in the Webster's dictionary we find the definition for hospitality wedged between the word "hospice," which is a shelter and the word "hospital" which is a place of healing.
Right after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:42-47), believers began meeting to devote themselves to four things:
to the apostles' teaching
to fellowship
to breaking of bread
to prayer
Notice that they not only went to the temple, but their homes became "small sanctuaries" for teaching, prayer, fellowship, and meals.
As we open our homes, hearts and lives to others...we are given an opportunity to give to others...something that the LORD has given to us....whether it's a meal or words of encouragement. Matthew 25:35...I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was lonely and you made me welcome. Hospitality is simply to say, I care, I love you, and I have prepared a place for you....
I had a friend years ago....she is with the LORD now....she would never let me leave her home without first praying for me...she would say ...the LORD gave me this home to use for His glory...let's pray. I loved that about her! By the way....she was in her 90's and still practicing hospitality!
My desire would be that whenever someone was in my home that as they leave they would be able to say Luke 24:32 “Were not our hearts burning within us while he (she) talked with us on the road (in her house) and opened the Scriptures to us?”
Father, would you use my home for Your purposes...make it a place of refuge, a sanctuary for others..a place of healing by the sharing of Your Words of hope. In Jesus name, Amen.
Blessings on your day,
Sharon
Practicing hospitality is modeled for us throughout the Old and New Testaments. Again and again, we see that the purpose was to serve others and to be a vehicle for God's grace.
1 Peter 4:9 & 10 Practice hospitality ungrudgingly to one another. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace:
I found it interesting that in the Webster's dictionary we find the definition for hospitality wedged between the word "hospice," which is a shelter and the word "hospital" which is a place of healing.
Right after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:42-47), believers began meeting to devote themselves to four things:
to the apostles' teaching
to fellowship
to breaking of bread
to prayer
Notice that they not only went to the temple, but their homes became "small sanctuaries" for teaching, prayer, fellowship, and meals.
As we open our homes, hearts and lives to others...we are given an opportunity to give to others...something that the LORD has given to us....whether it's a meal or words of encouragement. Matthew 25:35...I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was lonely and you made me welcome. Hospitality is simply to say, I care, I love you, and I have prepared a place for you....
I had a friend years ago....she is with the LORD now....she would never let me leave her home without first praying for me...she would say ...the LORD gave me this home to use for His glory...let's pray. I loved that about her! By the way....she was in her 90's and still practicing hospitality!
My desire would be that whenever someone was in my home that as they leave they would be able to say Luke 24:32 “Were not our hearts burning within us while he (she) talked with us on the road (in her house) and opened the Scriptures to us?”
Father, would you use my home for Your purposes...make it a place of refuge, a sanctuary for others..a place of healing by the sharing of Your Words of hope. In Jesus name, Amen.
Blessings on your day,
Sharon
Thursday, August 19, 2010
"Show and Cover"
1 Peter 4:8a "Most important of all Continue to show deep love for each other"
I had to circle the word "continue"..which means "stretched out"...without ceasing. And I had to circle the word "show." That word indicates that it’s not enough to have love in our heart – We must SHOW love in our life!
1 Peter 4:8b "For love covers a mulititude of sins"
As I was looking up the word for "cover" I found something interesting. It means to "hinder the knowledge of"..we will have to make a choice to hinder the knowledge of what people have done or said to us that offends us. Putting into practice 2 Cor 2:15 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
This truth is so important that it is also taught in the Old Testament in Proverbs 10:12 (CEV) "Hatred stirs up trouble; love overlooks the wrongs others do."
Sometimes the very thing that makes loving others challenging to you and me.... is the fact that they have weaknesses. So the Bible says what you and I have to do is cover those sins - not in the sense of pretending that they don’t exist or condoning them, but as is seen in the context, you have to love others in spite of their faults and failures. You have to love them and not be judgmental, not turn your back on them just because they do or say stupid things or because they don’t always act the way you want them to....or the way the LORD wants them to.
This won't be a one-time thing...we will have to continue, not cease...."stretching" to do this....no saying...that's it....I'm done with you...no giving up....keeeeeeepppppp at it.
Sounds like Agape love...yep...I looked it up...Agape love...only comes from God. I/we can't do it without Him.
Father, only the Power of Your precence in my life can cause me to love like You. Help me to be earnest in my prayers for myself and for others...especially those who need their sins covered....those who deserve it the least...need it the most. You've given me Your Grace, Your Mercy, and most importantly...Your love..I want to be just like YOU! In Jesus name, Amen.
Blessings on your day!
Sharon
I had to circle the word "continue"..which means "stretched out"...without ceasing. And I had to circle the word "show." That word indicates that it’s not enough to have love in our heart – We must SHOW love in our life!
1 Peter 4:8b "For love covers a mulititude of sins"
As I was looking up the word for "cover" I found something interesting. It means to "hinder the knowledge of"..we will have to make a choice to hinder the knowledge of what people have done or said to us that offends us. Putting into practice 2 Cor 2:15 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
This truth is so important that it is also taught in the Old Testament in Proverbs 10:12 (CEV) "Hatred stirs up trouble; love overlooks the wrongs others do."
Sometimes the very thing that makes loving others challenging to you and me.... is the fact that they have weaknesses. So the Bible says what you and I have to do is cover those sins - not in the sense of pretending that they don’t exist or condoning them, but as is seen in the context, you have to love others in spite of their faults and failures. You have to love them and not be judgmental, not turn your back on them just because they do or say stupid things or because they don’t always act the way you want them to....or the way the LORD wants them to.
This won't be a one-time thing...we will have to continue, not cease...."stretching" to do this....no saying...that's it....I'm done with you...no giving up....keeeeeeepppppp at it.
Sounds like Agape love...yep...I looked it up...Agape love...only comes from God. I/we can't do it without Him.
Father, only the Power of Your precence in my life can cause me to love like You. Help me to be earnest in my prayers for myself and for others...especially those who need their sins covered....those who deserve it the least...need it the most. You've given me Your Grace, Your Mercy, and most importantly...Your love..I want to be just like YOU! In Jesus name, Amen.
Blessings on your day!
Sharon
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
"Supernatural Vision"
2 Corinthians 2:7 "Do you look at things according to the outward appearance?"
When our son was about 2 years old, my husband and I were sitting on the couch watching him play... when Rick turns to me and said, "Do you think we should tell Joshua he's adopted?" I couldn't help but start laughing and said, "Well, I think he's gonna figure it out!" And I looked at Rick and realized, he wasn't kidding. You see...Rick and I are white and our Joshua is Black and Cuban (to me, he looks like an islander).
Our Joshua is about to turn 23 years old and I still love to tell that story...because it's such a picture of Christ....my Rick had "supernatural vision"....he had eyes like Jesus...who sees no color... "man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart". 1 Samuel 6:7b
1. SUPERFICIAL VISION
"man looketh on the outward appearance"
2. SUPERNATURAL VISION
"the LORD looketh on the heart"
I can't help but consider how Jesus looked on me...how offensive I must have looked....dead in my sins...living just like the rest of the world, full of sin, rebelling against God and obeying Satan....and yet, that didn't stop my LORD....He looked at me, He reached out to me...actually pursued me...showed me He loved me......offering reconciliation, forgiveness of sins, eternal life.... What grace...What mercy...how humbling....
So thankful for that "Supernatural Vision"!
Blessings on your day!
Sharon
When our son was about 2 years old, my husband and I were sitting on the couch watching him play... when Rick turns to me and said, "Do you think we should tell Joshua he's adopted?" I couldn't help but start laughing and said, "Well, I think he's gonna figure it out!" And I looked at Rick and realized, he wasn't kidding. You see...Rick and I are white and our Joshua is Black and Cuban (to me, he looks like an islander).
Our Joshua is about to turn 23 years old and I still love to tell that story...because it's such a picture of Christ....my Rick had "supernatural vision"....he had eyes like Jesus...who sees no color... "man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart". 1 Samuel 6:7b
1. SUPERFICIAL VISION
"man looketh on the outward appearance"
2. SUPERNATURAL VISION
"the LORD looketh on the heart"
I can't help but consider how Jesus looked on me...how offensive I must have looked....dead in my sins...living just like the rest of the world, full of sin, rebelling against God and obeying Satan....and yet, that didn't stop my LORD....He looked at me, He reached out to me...actually pursued me...showed me He loved me......offering reconciliation, forgiveness of sins, eternal life.... What grace...What mercy...how humbling....
So thankful for that "Supernatural Vision"!
Blessings on your day!
Sharon
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
"Surviving the Lion's Attack"
1 Peter 5:8-9 says, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls
around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith. . . .”
Throughout the Scriptures we learn that temptations and trials of life are to be responded to, not by running from them, or trying to avoid them, or trying to meet them in the power of our own abilities, but by drawing near to God in faith.
Daniel in the lions den gives us a perfect example on how to survive the attack of the "lion." Daniel 6:23 “the king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.”
It’s been said that God’s prescription for the increase of faith is, “Know me better and you will trust me more.”
That is how Daniel had faith for this moment. He had spent almost 90 years of his life knowing God. Daniel set aside regular times daily to spend with God in prayer. Daniel cultivated his relationship with God so that when the ultimate test of his life came, his faith in God was there!
It’s too late in the moment of crisis to cultivate that relationship. The kind of faith needed for a crisis must be cultivated and developed over time as we sit under the teaching of God’s Word, spending time with God in prayer, and reading and applying His Word. This is how the lions are stopped.
Dare to be a Daniel;
Dare to stand alone!
Dare to have a purpose firm!
Dare to make it known.
Blessings on you day,
Sharon
around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith. . . .”
Throughout the Scriptures we learn that temptations and trials of life are to be responded to, not by running from them, or trying to avoid them, or trying to meet them in the power of our own abilities, but by drawing near to God in faith.
Daniel in the lions den gives us a perfect example on how to survive the attack of the "lion." Daniel 6:23 “the king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.”
It’s been said that God’s prescription for the increase of faith is, “Know me better and you will trust me more.”
That is how Daniel had faith for this moment. He had spent almost 90 years of his life knowing God. Daniel set aside regular times daily to spend with God in prayer. Daniel cultivated his relationship with God so that when the ultimate test of his life came, his faith in God was there!
It’s too late in the moment of crisis to cultivate that relationship. The kind of faith needed for a crisis must be cultivated and developed over time as we sit under the teaching of God’s Word, spending time with God in prayer, and reading and applying His Word. This is how the lions are stopped.
Dare to be a Daniel;
Dare to stand alone!
Dare to have a purpose firm!
Dare to make it known.
Blessings on you day,
Sharon
Sunday, August 8, 2010
"God's Tape Measure"
Revelation 11:1-2 "Then I was given a measuring stick, and the angel stood, saying, rise and measure the Temple of God, and the altar, and those who worship there. But do not measure the outer courtyard, for it has been turned over to the nations. They will trample the holy city for 42 months."
John is now told to measure the temple, the altar and those who worship there. This was not just to determine its physical dimensions....I believe it is something far beyond architecture. God is saying.....John, rise, measure those who "worship Me" .... separate the spiritual city (believers) from those outside (non-believers).
Have you ever wondered what "God's Tape Measure" might look like? My husband, has tape measures for his construction projects. I too have my own tape measure...it's for sewing. My tape measure is only 60 inches long, but the one contractors use is 25 feet long or longer. Mine is soft and you have to hand roll it. My husband's tape measure is metal and it's self winding....with a push of a button it rolls back into it's case all nice and neat. I like his better, but I do have to warn you....keep your fingers out of the way while it flys back...sometimes I've been cut by the sharp metal and it hurts.
God's "Tape Measure" here in Revelation is about measuring whether a person is saved or not. God has set the standards and the true measure of our salvation is not in what we have done...the true measure of our salvation is "WHO" do we worship. Worship is first and foremost an encounter with the living and holy God. The only way we can encounter God is through believing in His Son Jesus Christ.
“For God so loved the world he gave his one and only Son,that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." John 3:16-18
What a comfort to know, with assurance...that we can measure up before God, not because of who we are or what we've done...because none of us can measure up on our own merits. But because of what God has done through His Son Jesus.
Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Jesus said, "...the time is coming and is already here when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for anyone who will worship him that way. God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth. The woman at the well said, “I know the Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us. Then Jesus declared, “I who speak to you am He.” John 4:23-26
Worshiping Him,
Sharon
John is now told to measure the temple, the altar and those who worship there. This was not just to determine its physical dimensions....I believe it is something far beyond architecture. God is saying.....John, rise, measure those who "worship Me" .... separate the spiritual city (believers) from those outside (non-believers).
Have you ever wondered what "God's Tape Measure" might look like? My husband, has tape measures for his construction projects. I too have my own tape measure...it's for sewing. My tape measure is only 60 inches long, but the one contractors use is 25 feet long or longer. Mine is soft and you have to hand roll it. My husband's tape measure is metal and it's self winding....with a push of a button it rolls back into it's case all nice and neat. I like his better, but I do have to warn you....keep your fingers out of the way while it flys back...sometimes I've been cut by the sharp metal and it hurts.
God's "Tape Measure" here in Revelation is about measuring whether a person is saved or not. God has set the standards and the true measure of our salvation is not in what we have done...the true measure of our salvation is "WHO" do we worship. Worship is first and foremost an encounter with the living and holy God. The only way we can encounter God is through believing in His Son Jesus Christ.
“For God so loved the world he gave his one and only Son,that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." John 3:16-18
What a comfort to know, with assurance...that we can measure up before God, not because of who we are or what we've done...because none of us can measure up on our own merits. But because of what God has done through His Son Jesus.
Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Jesus said, "...the time is coming and is already here when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for anyone who will worship him that way. God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth. The woman at the well said, “I know the Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us. Then Jesus declared, “I who speak to you am He.” John 4:23-26
Worshiping Him,
Sharon
Friday, August 6, 2010
"Divine Design"
2 Peter 1
I love the descriptive words found in this first chapter of second Peter.
Words like: precious faith
divine power
true knowledge
glory and excellance
precious promises
magnificent promises
divine nature
I see these words as a list of ingredients that God
has poured into our life...providing all that is necessary
to live a godly life.....
Another list of words STANDS out to me and builds on
the first:
Words like: moral excellence
knowledge (wisdom)
self-control
perseverance
godliness
brotherly kindness
unselfish love
We must cooperate with God, "apply all diligence",
submitting and yielding to the divine provisions
granted to us....and we will see growth in these
areas of our life.
For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure,
they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive
in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:8
So the important question for me/us to ask is this:
Are all these qualities growing and evident in my life?
God bless your day,
Sharon
I love the descriptive words found in this first chapter of second Peter.
Words like: precious faith
divine power
true knowledge
glory and excellance
precious promises
magnificent promises
divine nature
I see these words as a list of ingredients that God
has poured into our life...providing all that is necessary
to live a godly life.....
Another list of words STANDS out to me and builds on
the first:
Words like: moral excellence
knowledge (wisdom)
self-control
perseverance
godliness
brotherly kindness
unselfish love
We must cooperate with God, "apply all diligence",
submitting and yielding to the divine provisions
granted to us....and we will see growth in these
areas of our life.
For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure,
they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive
in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:8
So the important question for me/us to ask is this:
Are all these qualities growing and evident in my life?
God bless your day,
Sharon
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