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Bible Reading Commitment, Encouragement, and Challenge

May 31 – Esther 6-10

Posted in Devotions on May 31, 2011| Leave a Comment »

May 31 – Esther 6-10

Observe with some (Interpretation in Parentheses)

Yesterday, in the middle of the book, we are left in suspense
Haman (a man with great influence and power and favor with the king) versus Esther (a woman with little influence with the king – and who had not been in the king’s presence for 30 days)
Haman (a powerful man who was the enemy of the Jews) versus Esther (a Jewish woman who sought to defend the Jews)
(The big question is: will God’s plan and promises be thwarted by this Haman?)
And the HUGE missing piece in this mere human equation is obviously GOD!
It is not merely Haman versus Esther
It is Haman (the enemy of the Jews) versus Esther (servant of God) and GOD (the King of the Jews)
The night before Haman asks to kill Mordecai, “somehow” the king can’t sleep
“Somehow” the king decides for history to be read to him
“Somehow” they read the history of Mordecai saving his life from assassination
“Somehow” Mordecai was never honored in the past when he first saved the king’s life
“Somehow” Haman enters the king’s court right when the king wants to honor Mordecai
(While God’s name is not formally mentioned in the book of Esther, God’s omniscient and omnipotent name is everywhere in the book!)
And the story ends with Esther having victory with the power and favor of God

How Points to Christ

If all the Jews are wiped out, then there is no lineage to Jesus, the Savior of the world
God is faithful to His promises and preserves His people
God will save His people ultimately through Jesus Christ!
And God does so not by destroying His enemies
But God saves His enemies by destroying Jesus Christ in the place of enemies
Jesus bore the wrath enemies deserved so that God could show mercy and grace to enemies who only deserve wrath!

Apply

Trust God
Pray for God to open our eyes to see the daily evidences of His grace and His power at work to fulfill His plan to spread His glory to the nations through Jesus Christ
And please pray that sinners would see the glory of God in Jesus Christ and repent and believe

May 31 – Prayer for the Unreached

Posted in Evangelism, Prayer on May 31, 2011| Leave a Comment »

May God increase our desire for His glory to spread to all nations and peoples – Joshua Project!

Please pray for the …

Burmese of Myanmar (Burma)

Population: 28,140,000

Language: Burmese

Religion: Buddhism

Evangelical: 0.07%

Bible Reading Commitment, Encouragement, and Challenge

May 30 – Esther 1-5

Posted in Devotions on May 30, 2011| Leave a Comment »

May 30 – Esther 1-5

Observe with some (Interpretation in Parentheses)

King Ahiasuerus reigned in the days of Esther
He deposed of his first queen easily and quickly
The male leaders in his court exercised great influence over him, and seemed to receive his favor more than even his wife and queen, for they gave him counsel to get rid of his first wife
In the first few chapters, Esther, a Jew is chosen to replace the first queen, named Vashti
A man named Haman is growing in influence, favor, and power in the court of the king
Haman is a man who hates the Jews and wants to enact genocide and wipe them all out
And he succeeds! Haman gets the kings seal and makes an edict for people to kill all Jews they know on an appointed day
Esther, as a Jew and as the queen, agrees to help the Jews by trying to make a petition to the king for mercy
So in the middle of the book, we are left in suspense
Haman (a man with great influence and power and favor with the king) versus Esther (a woman with little influence with the king – and who had not been in the king’s presence for 30 days)
(The big question is: will God’s plan and promises be thwarted by this Haman?)

How Points to Christ

If all the Jews are wiped out, then there is no lineage to Jesus, the Savior of the world

Apply

There are many times in history when it seems that God’s plan and promises will fail
There are many times in history when it seems like God is not sovereign and in full control on His throne
There are many times in our specific lives where it FEELS like God is not present nor sovereign nor in control of the circumstances and events in our lives.
In those situations, to what or to whom will we turn?
Esther and the Jews turned to fasting and prayer to God
Please pray that God’s church would be characterized by continually dependence upon Him, manifested in prayerful dependence upon God
Please pray that my life will be characterized by dependent prayer

May 30 – Prayer for the Unreached

Posted in Evangelism, Prayer on May 30, 2011| Leave a Comment »

May God increase our desire for His glory to spread to all nations and peoples – Joshua Project!

Please pray for the …

Aceh of Indonesia

Population: 3,758,000

Language: Aceh

Religion: Islam

Evangelical: 0.00%

Bible Reading Commitment, Encouragement, and Challenge

May 29 – Nehemiah 12-13

Posted in Devotions on May 29, 2011| Leave a Comment »

May 29 – Nehemiah 12-13

Observe with some (Interpretation in Parentheses)

Nehemiah continued to serve the Lord until the end
And He continued to work for reform in the nation and to resist his opposition
(The labor for God’s Kingdom never ceases nor takes a break here on earth, on our temporal journey through this earth to the glories of heaven)
(Problems in the community persisted as reform continued to happen)
And Nehemiah dealt with the need to reform by regularly reading from God’s Word
(Revival and continual, daily, weekly, annual reform comes about through the Word of God!)

How Points to Christ

Reform is centered on Jesus Christ, the Word of God
Jesus fulfilled the Law
Jesus gave a greater Law, dealing not only with outward holiness but holiness from the heart
Jesus died to free us from slavery to the Law to have new hearts to inwardly desire to obey God’s Law
Jesus is the focus of reform and Jesus gives the power to reform

Apply

Please pray that God’s Word would never fail to be central in my life, in Christian’s lives, and in the lives of churches around the world.
Constant reform in our lives and in our churches can only happen through the Word of God.

May 29 – Prayer for the Unreached

Posted in Evangelism, Prayer on May 29, 2011| Leave a Comment »

May God increase our desire for His glory to spread to all nations and peoples – Joshua Project!

Please pray for the …

Malay of Indonesia

Population: 2,730,000

Language: Malay

Religion: Islam

Evangelical: 0.00%

Bible Reading Commitment, Encouragement, and Challenge

May 28 – Nehemiah 10-11

Posted in Devotions on May 28, 2011| Leave a Comment »

May 28 – Nehemiah 10-11

Observe with some (Interpretation in Parentheses)

The revival that began in chapters 8-9 encompass the entire people in these chapters.
The affirm their commitment to the Mosaic Covenant, to walk in God’s Law that was given by Moses, and to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord
As mentioned a few days ago, a true revival is not emotionalism, but a true revival encompasses genuine sorrow for sin that leads to repentance and a commitment to change and follow God

How Points to Christ

Jesus is the one whose death accomplishes true revival, putting the Law of God on people’s hearts
God’s Law given by Jesus through His sacrifice is greater than the Mosaic Law as it encompasses the heart and is accompanied by Jesus’ resurrection power to obey the Law.

Apply

Please pray that God’s people would be passionate about holiness, but just an outward expression of emotion
And given the confusing nature of emotion, please pray that God’s people would not be deceived by equating their emotion with genuine godliness
May God’s churches be rooted and grounded in the Word of God, and may genuine sorrow for sin be expressed as people are confronted with God’s Word and how far short we fall
And may Jesus Christ’s righteousness be all the more exalted and worshiped and praised as the only one who fulfilled God’s Law on our behalf, freeing us to live as new creations

May 28 – Prayer for the Unreached

Posted in Evangelism, Prayer on May 28, 2011| Leave a Comment »

May God increase our desire for His glory to spread to all nations and peoples – Joshua Project!

Please pray for the …

Hausa of Nigeria

Population: 24,733,000

Language: Hausa

Religion: Islam

Evangelical: 0.04%

Bible Reading Commitment, Encouragement, and Challenge

May 27 – Nehemiah 8-9

Posted in Devotions on May 27, 2011| Leave a Comment »

May 27 – Nehemiah 8-9

Observe with some (Interpretation in Parentheses)

In these chapters, we see pretty much a great revival
And the great revival started with the leaders turning to the most powerful force in the universe – God’s Word
Chapter 8 begins with Ezra bringing the Word of God and reading it.
Other leaders helped explain the Word of God so people could understand it
And the Word of God, the most powerful force in the universe, produced great revival
Whatever people heard and understood from the Word of God, they obeyed.
The celebrated the Feast of Booths remembering God’s protection and grace
And more importantly, they confessed their sins to the One True God who made everything
Chapter 9 outlines God’s glorious redemptive history, contrasting God’s holiness and faithfulness with the people’s sinfulness and faithlessness
And when confronted with their sin, they confessed them

How Points to Christ

Jesus is the True Word of God, the One to whom all the Word points to

Apply

As Christians and churches, God has given us the most powerful force to change people’s lives and to change the world!
Yet, why do we so often turn to other things, like the newest “technique” or “strategy” in order to “help” God’s Kingdom grow?
Why? Pride and Unbelief
We think we know better than God and we don’t believe the power of God’s Word
Please pray that God’s people would recognize these things and repent, and to turn to the most powerful force God has given to build His Kingdom
And may God’s people lead the way in modeling the proper response to God’s Word, the response of confession of sin and trusting in Jesus Christ above all things.