Whose kingdom are you building? In the story of Esther, we see Haman desiring to gain greater honors and glory. Haman is on a prideful ego trip. He convinced King Xerxes to write a decree ordering that all bow the knee to him. When Mordecai, a Jew, refused to bow, Haman was enraged. Haman bragged …
We see God’s hand against evil throughout history. In the last century, Adolf Hitler proclaimed a one-thousand-year Reich that lasted twelve years. Isaiah 66:2, “My (God’s) hands have made both heaven and earth; they and everything in them are mine. I, the Lord, have spoken! “I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, …
Walking in humility is about walking in the right relationship with the Lord and being led by the Holy Spirit. Walking with God is walking with Him at his pace, and direction like Jesus tells us. Matthew 11:28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I …
The God of second chances is something I am very thankful for. As a person, I have failed, and we all do at times. We are fortunate when we sin and fall short, and we can confess our sins to the Lord and ask for forgiveness. We read in 1 John 1:9, “But if we …
Have you ever thought about the unseen hand of God? Although the hand of God is at work in our daily lives, we usually don’t see it. But the Lord is ever present, working when He seems to be most noticeably absent, as we see in the book of Esther. Esther is unique in respect …
Let’s look at Haman’s reputation and his character. His reputation was based on his job, association with the king, wealth, and authority. All of these things could be taken from him. People bowed before him only because the king had said to. Haman regularly made sure everyone knew his reputation. Esther 5:11 and (Haman) boasted to …
In our story, there is a delayed reward for Mordecai. Five years before, Mordecai had alerted King Xerxes through Queen Esther to an assassination plot. Two people who were guards at the door of the king’s private quarters held a grudge against the king. Esther 2: 23 When an investigation was made and Mordecai’s story was …
Choose friends wisely because they have a tremendous influence on our lives. Have you noticed how much a small child watches their parents? Our granddaughter is fifteen months old and no longer wants to sit in a highchair or use baby utensils because she wants to be like her parents. Even infants are absorbing more …
Any of us can fall into the trap of false hope. What is false hope? It is confident feelings about something that might not be true.[1] Jesus gives us insight as He teaches about false hope in a parable. A rich man’s barns are too small for his crops, and he builds new ones. With …
What would be the right time and place for Esther to reveal Haman’s dastardly plot to kill the Jews to the king? Yesterday, we saw that the throne room wasn’t the right time or place, so Esther invited the king and Haman to dinner. But wouldn’t it have been risky to wait? What if the …