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Maybe the best known verse in the book of Esther is 4:14 –
“For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?”
A simple thought came to me as I read this passage again. We tend to process the events our lives from our own perspective and then try to determine how God fits into it. The spiritually mature perspective is to look at life from God’s perspective and commit to obedience to what he reveals. The former approach leads to self-preservation. The latter approach leads to transformation.
The key is learning to see our lives in a larger context. It is learning to be committed to something larger than ourselves and something other than ourselves. This is living life on purpose. This is the key to joy.
Has God been preparing you for something and He is saying, “It’s time for you to step up?” Don’t be afraid to walk in obedience to God’s plan for and call on your life.
Pastor Jason
Greetings Fellow Journey-ers,
I want to give a special welcome to those who are brand new to the Journey! I am so excited to share with you that we had 52 new people sign on to join the journey on Sunday – I think that is fantastic! This brings our grand total to over 350 people who are now journeying together through the word at Living Springs.
What is the Journey? The journey is a 4 year walk through the Bible, reading one chapter a day, 6 days a week. There are lots of good reading plans out there, but we have found this one particularly helpful. There are a couple of reasons why we like this plan. 1) It’s doable! Some have tried read through the Bible in a year. But, if you miss
a few days, you have too much to make up, and many become discouraged and drop out – somewhere around Leviticus. Most find reading one chapter a day is a good pace. 2) It’s comprehensive. Some plans just look at the NT or favorite texts, but in this plan you read the whole of God’s word. 3) It mixes things up a bit. If you take a quick scan through the Journey brochure, you will notice that it mixes up the reading between the Newer Testament and older, gospels, psalms, and history books, letters etc. That keeps things fresh and interesting.
How to approach your reading each day? First of all, I would encourage you not to read the Bible like a newspaper – just for information. The Bible is not a Greek education book, but a Christian transformation book. I would suggest approaching the reading each day with a sense of anticipation and expectation. It is the Living word of God – it is quite literally God’s word to you, and as you read the pages of scripture, God actually will whisper his words to you through it.
How does that work you ask? Well, often when you read the Bible, a word or phrase or verse will “jump out at you.” It might feel like it was written just for you, or it might cause you to ask a question, or cause you to pause. This is often God’s way of speaking to you. So I would encourage you, as you read the Bible each day, approach it with anticipation and an expectation of meeting God. Listen for his still small voice to highlight things in his word that are just for you. Before you read, pray – Come Holy Spirit, and speak to me a fresh word – teach, lead, convict, or encourage me today, just as you know I need it – something like that. Enjoy his word.
Then I would encourage you to read it slowly, prayerfully and carefully. Don’t eat it like a hamburger, but savoring it like a delicious steak (if you are vegan – you will have to substitute a different food here!), listening for God’s voice as you read. Now not every time you read the word, will you have a life-changing encounter with God, where you encounter angels, lights from heaven, and earth shattering revelation. I often compare it to eating (because I like eating, and I love God’s word). Not every day do you eat a delicious dinner at your favorite restaurant; sometimes you have a burger on the run or just a bowl of cereal. In the same way sometimes what you read will really impact you, other times, not so much. But, that’s ok. I don’t always remember what I ate – even 4 days ago, but it fed and nourished me. Same with God’s word, some days might not be so memorable, or life-changing, but each day when we come into God’s presence, and read his word with expectation – he does meet us, and he will feed our souls – really! In the weeks to come I will share with you some more thoughts and ideas to really get the most out of your times with God.
Where to Begin? I would urge you just to start with Today’s reading. Currently, the rest of the journeyers are in Year 4, and Today’s day is January 27, which makes the reading for today Esther Chapter 1. Esther is the last chapter of Israel’s long and storied history, until the gospels (when Jesus arrives on the scene). The year is somewhere around 400 B.C. The briefest history of the Bible ever – God created human kind, they rebelled, God restored. God led his people into the promised land, they massively sinned and fell away, God allowed them to be captured by the Babylonians – and then came under Persian control, but God in his mercy allowed them (under Ezra and Nehemiah) to go back to Jerusalem to reestablish the nation of Israel. But not everyone was allowed to go back. Some stayed. Esther is an amazing story of how God once again saves his people from near calamity. It is a very interesting and powerful story! Enjoy the story, enjoy the journey, but most of all, enjoy his presence as you read! God bless you!
Pastor Dave
Have you ever had someone, commenting on your success, say, “You’re so lucky!” I have. One response I have to that comes from a quote attributed to Thomas Edison: “Luck is the residue of hard work.” In other words, success isn’t a chance event, but comes as a result of informed, focused and persistent effort.
But Ezra’s life points out an even more important explanation for success.
“This Ezra was a scribe who was well versed in the Law of Moses, which the LORD, the God of Israel, had given to the people of Israel. He came up to Jerusalem from Babylon, and the king gave him everything he asked for, because the gracious hand of the LORD his God was on him” (Ezra 7:6 NLT).
“He had arranged to leave Babylon on April 8, the first day of the new year, and he arrived at Jerusalem on August 4, for the gracious hand of his God was on him” (Ezra 7:9 NLT).
Ezra was successful in his efforts because of the “gracious hand of the Lord” on his life and work.
We see the same pattern in the life of Joseph.
The LORD was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master. Potiphar noticed this and realized that the LORD was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did. This pleased Potiphar, so he soon made Joseph his personal attendant. He put him in charge of his entire household and everything he owned. From the day Joseph was put in charge of his master’s household and property, the LORD began to bless Potiphar’s household for Joseph’s sake. All his household affairs ran smoothly, and his crops and livestock flourished.
The warden had no more worries, because Joseph took care of everything. The LORD was with him and caused everything he did to succeed. (Genesis 39:2-5, 23 NLT)
But to leave this explanation here at “God was with them,” still falls short of discovering the true keys to success. God does not bless us just because we are his children, but because we are His obedient children. Again, look at at what the Word says.
In spite of the intense pressure of temptation, Joseph is steadfast in his desire to do what’s right in God’s eyes: “No one here has more authority than I do. He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God”(Genesis 39:9 NLT).
Joshua outlines to the congregation of Israel the keys for success when he says, “Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do” (Joshua 1:8 NLT).
We see the same pattern in the life of Ezra: “This was because Ezra had determined to study and obey the Law of the LORD and to teach those decrees and regulations to the people of Israel” (Ezra 7:10 NLT).
What are the keys to success in life?
1. Know. Study the Word of God so you will know how life was meant to be lived. God doesn’t want us to fail, but to live abundantly (John 10:10). Not only done we need to know that truth, but also what He says we need to do to achieve it.
2. Grow. Knowing the Word must be followed by doing the Word of God. James tells us that knowing without doing is like looking in a mirror and ignoring what we see (James 1:22-25). Success comes when we grow in our willingness and faithfulness to apply God’s principles to every aspect of our lives.
3. Show. Our lives are meant to be a blessing and a witness to others as we demonstrate to them the goodness of God, His power to transform and the practicality of following Him. God expects us to give to others what he has given to us (Matt.28:19-20, 2 Tim. 2:2).
Regardless of your location or vocation, if you apply these these principles to your life, you will experience great and true success.
Pastor Jason
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 1,000 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 17 trips to carry that many people.
dizenbart
Jason Perry
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