This Day With God – A Spiritual Journey | Share The Word

Feeding Our Faith Will Starve Our Fears

Posted on July 12, 2013 by Mark Shields

Strong faith helps us to boldly stand up for God even under stress or danger and if we continuously feed our faith, our fears eventually will starve. Be thankful during fearful circumstances that we can pray for help and fight off fear by trusting God.

As recorded in Esther 4, Mordecai hears of the pending disaster for the Jewish people. Haman had convinced the king to annihilate all Jews – young and old, women and children. Upon hearing about the plot, Mordecai boldly goes into the public to express his outrage. Also with boldness, Esther demonstrates her faith and character as she takes on the challenge given by Mordecai to save her people.

Aert de Gelder – Esther and Mordecai – WGA8524 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Think of those in history that have been the right person for the right time. People like Winston Churchill; a great leader who gets credit from many as the person who saved the whole world from an evil tyrant. God has in mind certain people like Esther to take on the challenges before them and use their purpose for His glory.

When God places you into a situation to be the right person for the right time, don’t be afraid because He’s there with you. As we face tough opponents in life, let us as God’s people encourage one another. Let us use our weapon of prayer. God is bigger than any opponent we might face so trust Him for the courage needed. Remember, with faith there is no fear!

The Story of Esther: Mordecai’s Moment (voice4society.wordpress.com)
Questions for Reflection to Help in the Study of Esther 1-4 (thisdaywithgod.wordpress.com)

Posted in Esther | Tagged Ahasuerus, Church, Esther, evil tyrant, God, Haman, Jew, Jewish people, Mordecai, Winston Churchill | 2 Comments

Appreciate and Affirm

Posted on July 11, 2013 by Mark Shields

While reading Esther 3, there are warnings given about self-importance. This has made me think about how important every individual is to God. That He sent His Son to die for you and for me. We shouldn’t point our finger at others since when we point our finger at someone else, more fingers point back at ourselves. We should accept others similar to how the woman at the well, the prodigal son, and the criminal on the cross next to Jesus were; with appreciation and affirmation as a child of God.

Remember, Moses was a murderer but God used him to lead his people out of Egypt and David was an adulterer yet God used him to write many of the Psalms we get encouragement from today. To get our day going and on the right track, here’s a video that emphasizes appreciation and affirmation: Jesus, Friend of Sinners – Casting Crowns. Enjoy this video. 🙂

Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. – Romans 15:7

I Search & Search, But I Come Up Empty Every Time (snapshotsofkenya.wordpress.com)
Forgive Those Who Hurt You Long Ago (markohenry.wordpress.com)
Christians Must Help Others Find Salvation (thebrennerbrief.com)

Posted in Esther | Tagged Casting Crowns, child of god, Christ, Christianity, Egypt, Esther, God, Jesus, Jesus Friend of Sinners, Moses, praise to god, Psalm | Leave a comment

Excellent Leaders See Potential and Greatness in all People

Posted on July 10, 2013 by Mark Shields

Reading in Esther 3, Haman was honored by the king and his servants but Mordecai would not kneel down before Haman. Tensions grew between them because Mordecai was Jewish and his conscious would not allow him to give that much honor to Haman. For a Jew, bowing down and giving honor was reserved for God. It was against the law of God to give reverence to someone like Haman who worshiped idols.

Haman was full of pride and not only wanted to take out his anger against Mordecai but to all Jews by destroying them. Human plotted revenge and convinced the king that the Jewish people had customs that were different from those of all other people; not willing to obey the king’s laws and therefore not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them (V. 8). He even offered great sums of money to help carry out his plot.

We get a picture of the lack of leadership from king Xerxes; his character and values were lacking and his kingdom needed the money since history records that the empire was impoverished at this time. The king readily accepted Haman’s proposal to carry out his diabolical plot. The king saw that the life of certain people was unimportant and that the life of his own people was more important than others.

Our basic values should respect people with customs that are different than our own because all people are very valuable to God. He knows everyone by name and sees the potential and greatness in all people. God sees each of us as a work in progress with value and is loved so much that He sent His Son to die for us. He encourages each of us to become much more than we can ever imagine.

This day with God will be amazing because if tempted to judge, we are reminded of the cross and that that everyone has tremendous value in His eyes. Let us pray that we see all people in our world as God sees them.

The Story of Esther: The Rise of Haman (voice4society.wordpress.com)
Esther 3. Haman plots to destroy the Jews. (KJV). (bummyla.wordpress.com)
Esther Chapter 3 (tuesdaytabletalk.wordpress.com)

Posted in Esther | Tagged Ahasuerus, Esther, God, Haman, Jew, Jewish, king xerxes, Mordecai, Xerxes | Leave a comment

What Can We Learn From Esther

Posted on July 9, 2013 by Mark Shields

The question brought up in yesterday’s post about Esther 2 was what can we learn from Esther? One of her character traits was loyalty. Mordecai gave her instructions and she followed. This day with God, let us lay out our concerns and follow directions; being the person He wants us to be.

Like Esther, God has a plan for each of us so even under tremendous difficulty, remember to keep following His directions and be in tune with His purpose. There is always hope because God is at work to take our wares and open doors. Every adversity has a benefit when we stay loyal to God and believe opportunity can come disguised in the form of misfortune or temporary defeat.

Here is a video that highlights the fact that we have someone who will carry us through difficult challenges we face in life: Carry Me – Josh Wilson.

And call on Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me. – Psalm 50:15

Questions for Reflection to Help in the Study of Esther 1-4 (thisdaywithgod.wordpress.com)
Even when we feel small, God is doing big things: the story of Esther (bekktstraordinary.wordpress.com)
A life that will be remembered (Part 2) (godsembassyechurch.wordpress.com)

Posted in Esther | Tagged Ahasuerus, Bible, Christianity, Church, Esther, God, Mordecai, spirituality | 4 Comments

From Orphan to Queen

Posted on July 8, 2013 by Mark Shields

Photo Credit – cleffairy.com

We get information about the Jewish girl named Hadassah as we read in Esther 2. We also learn about Mordecai who was carried into exile from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon (v. 6). He had a cousin named Hadassah (also known as Esther), whom he brought up because she was without parents. If you remember from the post a few days ago, king Ahasuerus had a spat with the queen and she was never to come near him. Now we read that he set out to find another queen. The plan was to gather all the beautiful women into one place, give them beauty treatments, healthy food, and get them prepared for their time to be with the king. They each had their turn with the king but he was attracted to Esther more than any of the other women so he made her queen.

Some may say that Esther committed sin to be with the king but we must take into consideration that the custom in those times was that everyone the king took was married to him and was considered his wife. For any that think, “yes it seems as though Esther sinned by using her beauty and letting the king have his way in order to become queen”, let us consider how God has a purpose for everyone and as we study this story of Esther, let’s see what good character traits we can learn from her.

Like Esther who faced many challenges in life and needed help from God, we too face challenges and my prayer for you this day with God is that He will bless and strengthen you as you take on these challenges. Visit again tomorrow and I’ll share some other thoughts on what we can learn from Esther.