A Living Sacrifice

“Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king’s house, over against the king’s house, opposite the king’s house; and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, opposite the entrance of the house” (Esther 5:1).

The nation of Israel was in trouble. Haman fooled the king into slaughtering innocent people. Mordecai publicly displayed his grief and allowed people to know his position. He would not stand by and do nothing while authorities were about to slaughter his people, including children.

Esther was God’s prepared servant for that hour. She was willing to die, “If I perish, I perish.” She became a living sacrifice to accomplish the work of God.

Sometimes it takes a crisis to remind us that we do not serve God alone. Serve God and you will be surprised of those who show up. God has His people.

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    “Blessed are the people that know the joyful sound; they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance” (Psalms 89:15).

    The enemy of our soul would like to sucker us into thinking that the “easy” way is the best way. But it never is. Strong people fail. But weak souls who depend upon another don’t fail. Not until we tap into Ultimate Strength, Limitless Wisdom, the Fount of Courage, the Source of Perseverance, will we find what we need.

    The very gates of hell cannot make any one of us stumble unless we choose to remove ourselves from God’s protection and power. It is “His divine power that has given us everything we need for life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3).

    Where is the finish line? It’s different for each of us. The finish line that I have in mind is when we go to be with the Lord Jesus in glory. You might have forty years before you die, or you might have six months. That’s the interesting thing about this race. No one knows where the finish line is and that is what makes this race much tougher.

    Runners and swimmers want to know where the finish line is. It doesn’t matter if it is running the 5K or swimming the English Channel, they must know where the finish line is. And when that finish line is located, they block out everything else and fully concentrate on the tape. This helps with the pain and exhaustion and gets them to the finish line.

    The Christian doesn’t know where the finish line is. So what do we do? We finish strong by fixing our eyes on Jesus. We are in the boat with Jesus. He will encourage us, and He will instruct us. And then one day–in an instant–the race will be over! We’ll cross the finish line, and life as we know it on earth will be over. And because we have listened to Him (His Word), because we have obeyed Him (His Spirit), we will realize that we didn’t just finish. We finished strong!

     

  • The Third Day

    “Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off” (Genesis 22:4).

     

    Abraham’s son, Isaac, was the child of promise. All the hopes and desires of nations rested upon this son. Out of Isaac comes Jacob and out of Jacob the twelve tribes, and out of the tribe of Judah King Jesus. And still God told Abraham to take his son and sacrifice him. Would Abraham hold too tightly or would he loosen his grip on his son? Would he trust God or hold tightly?

     

    Corrie Ten Boom said, “Hold everything in your hands lightly, otherwise it hurts when God pries your fingers open.” Do we trust God in all things? Is He all we need? Will God fail us? Has He really promised that if we bow to Him He will honor us?

     

    Abraham traveled three days with his son knowing the time of sacrifice was ahead. Look at Abraham’s fingers for they were not clutching to Isaac. Every step his fingers were opened. On the third day Abraham’s eyes saw the place far off and said to the others to stay behind for he and his son were going to worship and come again to them (Gen. 22.4).

     

    The power of the third day is this: When we walk with our hands open and hold to things and people loosely we can worship God. And what we give back, God takes, and what God takes, He cleanses, and what He cleanses He will use. And what He will use He gives back in a more powerful, pure, and purposeful manner.

  • Wealth: Is It Worth It? 

    “There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt” (Ecclesiastes 5:13).

    There have been many that have made it big with their money. They have worked hard and spoke loudly of the way they live by the money they make. Maybe the words aren’t loud, but the spending is.

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    We need to own the needs around us and toward distant lands, and distribute that wealth to help others into the kingdom of God. There is “A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away” (Ecclesiastes 3:6). God in his sovereignty has allowed us the choice. Through our disobedience we bring forth sin into the world, and death by sin (Romans 5:12).

    There are way too many memorial services which are empty and void. Why? Because most lived for gain and not for giving.  It is an emptiness that does betray the soul. Why? Because money and stuff can never fill the soul. But that which is given does. Whether rich or poor may we give away that which is not ours to keep.  Moses esteemed the reproach of Christ greater than the treasures of Egypt. And he has his reward.

     

  • Expectations: The Wise Men

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     To superimpose selfish expectations onto the Bible and our own personal relationships with God is to short-circuit that which God desires. We should understand that God is anxious to “make me” rather than for Him to “give me.”

     God is the One that we must seek, the God who is, not as the God I want. Our expectations toward God is to change the desires of my heart to fit into His desires for me. To delight in the Lord is “to be soft or pliable.” We are to be soft clay in the Potter’s hands, to come before Him without any heavy demands that we want but to look to Him for who He is.

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  • They Didn’t Want To Hear

    “And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day, and put themselves in array against Gibeah, as at other times” (Judges 20:28).

    In the closing pages of Judges you find reports of wife abuse, blatant homosexuality, gang rape leading to murder, injustice, brother killing brother, and kidnapping.  When David Jeremiah said, “I never thought I’d see the day,” you and I have never encountered a day as the day we live in. It is bad. Violence, vice, immorality, idolatry, and blasphemy are rampant.

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    Brother went against brother in Israel because evil was not properly dealt with punitive action. The Word of God tells us that “brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child; and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death” (Matthew 10:21).

    Sin in the city will infect those in it and around and it will lead to war. The center cannot hold with stability. The home, the ministry, and society are disintegrating before our very eyes, and it seems as if people disdain the truth! But whether people want truth or not, the world must be told that Jesus Christ died for lost sinners, and that the power of Christ can transform homes, hearts, churches, and society if people will only trust Him.

    “Christ beats His drum, but He does not press men,” said English preacher and poet John Donne in 1631; “Christ is served with voluntaries.”