NOT FORGOTTEN

by Charles R. Swindoll

Read Esther 2:1--7

God's presence is not as intriguing as His absence. His voice is not as eloquent as His silence. Who of us has not longed for a word from God, searched for a glimpse of His power, or yearned for the reassurance of His presence, only to feel that He seems absent for the moment? Distant. Preoccupied. Maybe even unconcerned. Yet later, we realize how very present He was all along.

Though God may at times seem distant, and though He is invisible to us, He is always invincible. This is the main lesson of the book of Esther. Though absent by name from the pages of this particular book of Jewish history, God is present in every scene and in the movement of every event, until He ultimately and finally brings everything to a marvelous climax as He proves Himself Lord of His people, the Jews.

Mordecai was a descendant of one of those exiled Jews. He was a godly man, and his most significant role was his relationship to Esther.

Esther, which is this young woman's Persian name, means "star." This seems appropriate, since she is truly the star of the show, the heroine of the story. The immortal, invisible, all-wise hand of God is working behind the scenes, hidden from human eyes. Only such a gracious and all-knowing Being would have His hand on some forgotten orphan, a little girl who had lost her mother and father and was left to be raised by her cousin Mordecai.

There is a beautiful message here for anyone who has ever experienced brokenness, for anyone who has ever been crushed by life, for anyone who has ever felt that his past is so discolored, so disjointed, so fractured that there is no way in the world God can make reason and meaning out of it. We are going to learn some unforgettable lessons from Esther. Here was a little girl who must have cried her heart out at the death of her parents, bereft and orphaned, yet who, years later, would become key to the very survival of her people, the Jews. God and God alone can do such things---He, in fact, does do such things, working silently and invisibly behind the events of history.

And he is working quietly behind the scenes of your life too.

"Beauty Treatment" #'s

Congratulations to Melissa Smith!
Who answered our last two questions. She won a small bag with a couple of "spa" treatment
products.

Yes, products to add to the ever increasing number of things we use for "beauty treatments" (Esther 2:3 ) - Have any of you have counted the number of products you use every morning ?- Beth lists hers in Week 2 Day 1. For fun why don't we see the total number we use as a Bible Study group.

Do it anonymously, if you like; but, respond and lets total the number of products we all use.
It's tough being a woman.....taking the time to apply these items but, if I didn't____
well, you fill in the blank.

GOD AT WORK

by Charles R. Swindoll

Read Esther 1:1--22

Memucan wanted an edict prohibiting Queen Vashti from ever entering King Xerxes' presence again written into the law of the Medes and the Persians---the law which can never be changed. In that way, his suggestion would affect far more than Vashti; it would have a direct effect on everyone's marriage. But if it was an attempt to get the women of Persia to have greater respect for their husbands, it was a strange way to make that happen!

What you have to keep in mind is that Esther doesn't have the foggiest idea that any of this is going on; she knows nothing of the events transpiring in the royal palace. She also knows nothing yet about this "royal edict," which will set events in motion that will totally change her own life. Esther is going about her no-big-deal business, living her everyday life, greeting the sunrise of each ordinary morning, carrying out her day-to-day responsibilities. Is she in for a surprise!

This is the wonder of God's sovereignty. Working behind the scenes, He is moving and pushing and rearranging events and changing minds until He brings out of even the most carnal and secular of settings a decision that will set His perfect plan in place. We see that here, and we'll see it throughout the story of Esther.

Don't fall into the trap of thinking that God is asleep when it comes to nations, or that He is out of touch when it comes to carnal banquets, or that He sits in heaven wringing His hands when it comes to godless rulers (even today) who make unfair, rash, or stupid decisions. Mark it down in permanent ink: God is always at work. But His ways are so different from ours, we quickly jump to fallacious conclusions and either react rashly or get paralyzed in panic.

Know this: God holds the future in His omnipotent hands. So you can rest assured.

Taken from Charles R. Swindoll, Great Days with the Great Lives (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2005). Copyright © 2005 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission.

Queston for the week: Who was recently sworn into office and is also an orphan?

Reply by comment, please.

Rainy Days and Mondays.....

Not many of us were around when that song began playing on the radio. However, I was at Milam Jr. High School and really loved it. This morning's rain and rolling thunder reminds me He is in control and still speaks.

Please plan on being present TONIGHT even if you are behind in your homework. The Passover observance and teaching will open your eyes and speak to your heart. Jennie does a great job with this and there will be s a surprise story teller assisting her.

By the way, look to your right at the added tool that you may use in your Bible study time. If you don't know how to use Bible Gateway or have not before, we will go over that tonight also. It is easy and amazing what all you can search.

We live in exciting times and difficult days, encourage one another. - mr

If the Lord Had Not . . . We Could Not

WOW!! Week 2 has been something else hasn't it. As I told you earlier, Psalm 122-24 have been described as problems along the way in our spiritual journey. I think we all can easily relate to this. Ancient pilgrims on the way to Jerusalem most certainly could. Warren Wiersbe states in his commentary that sometimes we face emergencies that are more than we can handle.. That is when we turn to the LORD for help, because He is own our side.

The Sudden Attack (vv.1-2)
Our enemy Satan does not give advance warning of his attacks; therefore, we must be sober and vigilant (I Peter 5:8), put on the whole armor of God (Eph. 6:10-18), and be alert in prayer. If we are walking with the LORD, we need not feel unprepared for the enemy's attacks.

The Deepening Flood (vv.3-5)
There are situations where we stand helpless as the problem gets worse and worse. This is an image of persecution that God's people go through. But if God is on our side, He will provide a way of escape.

The Menacing Beast (v.6)
Again, another picture of persecution. Like a cunning animal, Satan stalks us and waits until we have relaxed our guard, and then he pounces. But the LORD is stronger than Satan, and if we are abiding in Him, we can win the victory.

The Hidden Trap (vv.7-8)
We must use the Word of God to throw light on our path so we can detect and avoid the devil's traps. Satan always has fascinating bait to offer. The LORD may allow allow us to fall into a trap, but nobody can keep us when He wants us to be free. The LORD not only opened the trap, but broke it so it cannot be used again!! The death an resurrection of Jesus Christ has broken the dominion of sin and death and we can walk in freedom though Jesus.
Praise God, we are not helpless!! "Our help is in the name of the Lord" WW

Let me assure you ladies, Satan does not want us to take this journey. And, if you haven't felt that this week, be assured that I have. So we might ask, "Why go?" The next few Psalms in the Ascent will help us understand. Stay in the WORD!!! jl

The Rainy Day

The day is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
The vine still clings to the moldering wall,
But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
And the day is dark and dreary.
­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­
My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
My thoughts still cling to the moldering Past,­
But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast
And the days are dark and dreary.

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

My Dad loved poetry, and this was one he often quoted. I was reminded of it yesterday, as the words describe the day we had. Not only was it a cold, gloomy day, it seems that every other minute I heard bad news. Just made me want to crawl into bed and pull the covers over my head.

Reminds me of our study. On our journey to Jerusalem, we have deep rivers to cross, mountains to climb, and valleys to descend. There are attacks from the enemy that sometimes catch us by surprise. Some days are just dark and dreary. Notice that the poet said, “Some days must be dark and dreary”. Not all days. Why should there be dark days? Why can’t life be all sunshine and sweet? Why do we have trouble? Would we appreciate the sun if we didn’t have cloudy days? Would we appreciate the good times, if we didn’t have trouble to compare them to. Would we appreciate the freedom we have in Christ if we had not first known the contempt of slavery to our sin? Would have appreciated the resurrection, if we had not first been to the cross.

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;
Behind the clouds the sun is still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.

And, if cold dark days will bring us just a little closer to the Creator of those days, if they bring us to a better knowledge of the One who walks beside us and holds us by His strong right hand, then let us welcome them with the assurance of His faithfulness.

May you have a blessed day in the Lord, and may it be filled with SONshine. -jl

God's Threshing Floor

Ladies,
I am so excited that many of you are commenting on the blog and keeping the dialogue going.

I want to comment myself on one of the posts about the obedience of lying face down in prayer. It was comparable to a threshing floor where wheat is separated from the chaff.

I found that interesting, and something that really concerns this particular study. Did you know that the Temple Mount was originally a threshing floor?

The account of the story is in I Chronicles 21-22. You know that King David had a desire to build a temple for the ark of the covenant, which at that time was still in a tent, even though David had it brought to Jerusalem. David had committed a great sin of pride of taking a census, and God became angry and punished Israel greatly. To stop the plague that God had sent, He ordered David to build an altar on the threshing floor of a man name Araunah and make an atoning sacrifice. David did so, and purchased the land.

I Chronicles 21:1 says, "Then David said, "The house of the LORD God is to be here, and also the altar of burnt offering for Israel". So on the site of the threshing floor, David son, Solomon built the temple.

This is also the site where, hundreds of years prior, Abraham and his son Isaac went to worship, and there God commanded him to offer Isaac as a burnt offering. Because of Abraham's total obedience, God provided a ram to use as the offering.

Millions and millions of pilgrims through out the years worshiped at that site. Millions and millions of lambs were offered as atoning sacrifices. It was a picture of the greatest thing to ever happen, not on that particular site, but on the same mountain range.

Jesus, our Passover Lamb, made the atoning sacrifice for you and me. Blood sacrifices are no longer needed, because of His shed blood. Temples are no longer needed because we are the Temples of His Holy Spirit.

However, Romans 12:1 says, "in view of God's mercy, offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship." So, ladies, the sacrificial system still exists. We are the living sacrifices.

I am so glad to be reminded of the threshing floor. It really became real to me this morning. I realized that my carpet looks just like a threshing floor. That's a nice way of saying it is just plain nasty. It was time for me to get up and vacuum it. Same is true with my life. It is time to do some serious cleaning if I am to be holy and pleasing to the Lord. - jl

THE ONE ENTHRONED

Week Two--Day Two
Psalm 123

I hope you have had a good day with the LORD. What a lesson Day Two has been. As promised, I am sending the outlines from Warren Wiersbe's BIBLE EXPOSITION COMMENTARY.

It has been said that the first of the three Psalms of Ascent are preparation for the journey, and the next three are problems along the way. I mentioned in our last session that when we desire to seek God, Satan will use anything to try to cause us to stumble. I think these next Psalms prove that statement to be true.

Wiersbe asks that when we find ourselves among the slandered, ridiculed, and persecuted, where do we turn for help?

We Look by Faith to God's Throne (v.1)
With our eyes of faith we see Him as we believe His Word

We Look by Faith to God's Hand (v.2)
In eastern countries, masters often commanded their servants by means of hand signals, so the servants kept their hand on the master's hand. This is what gave them direction for their work. But the master's hand was also their source of provision. Finally, the master's hand protected them in times of danger. So it is with God's people today, our direction, provision, and protection all come our Master's hand, and His hand never fails.

We Look for God's Mercy and Grace (v.3-4)
We are not only subjects of the King (v.1) and servants of the Master (vv.2-3), we are also children of a gracious Father who hears the cries of His children and comes to their aid. He has grace and mercy for each situation.

I hope these outlines and comments help you as you dig deeper into God's Word.