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Behind the Scenes

Daily Reading

Esther 6-10

Daily Thought

The players in this story include King Ahasuerus of Persia, his queen Esther, her cousin Mordecai, and Haman, the king’s right-hand man. God is behind the scenes, hidden. 

Haman hated Mordecai and as the first half of the story closes, “his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, ‘Let a gallows fifty cubits high be made, and in the morning tell the king to have Mordecai hanged upon it. Then go joyfully with the king to the feast.’ This idea pleased Haman, and he had the gallows made” (Esther 5:14). 

Many are the plans in the mind of a man,
but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. ~Proverbs 19:21

The following verse opens Act Two: “On that night the king could not sleep” (Esther 6:1).  This is the author’s whisper: God is up to something. God is not mentioned, but God is not absent. Haman had gallows built fifty cubits high, and you can sense the coming irony. These gallows meant by Haman for righteous Mordecai are meant by God for wicked Haman. 

In chapter 2, Mordecai had done a good deed unrewarded, and on that night in chapter 6, “the king could not sleep, and he gave orders to bring the book of memorable deeds, the chronicles, and they were read before the king” (Esther 6:1). He asked for the reading of the Chronicles (a cure for insomnia?) and learned how Mordecai had revealed a traitorous plot and rescued the king. Mordacai was summoned and honored, and Haman’s plot was revealed, “so they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai” (Esther 7:10).

The righteous is delivered from trouble,
and the wicked walks into it instead. ~Proverbs 11:8

Daily Prayer

Heavenly Father, over and over again You remind me, as I sow, so shall I reap. I should live life accordingly. Looking ahead, I shall do today what will produce a good tomorrow. Thank You for teaching me what is right, and for changing my heart so that I now desire Your ways instead of my own, some of the time, at least, and more and more as I make a habit of holiness.

Help me remember always that this world is Your creation and Your design and it works Your way. I enjoy life when I enjoy You and live according to the joy of Your Word.

Amen

Daily Question

How can you make sure your plans are in line with the plans of God?

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Do It Anyway

Daily Reading

Esther 1-5

Daily Thought

Haman was the king’s right hand, and he reveled in his position. All bowed before him, except one. Mordecai the Jew refused to bow and remained standing. This infuriated Haman and he plotted Mordecai’s death, but not just his–he sought to destroy all of Israel, for they were an obstinate people. They bowed before no one except God alone. 

Meanwhile, Ahasuerus, king of Persia, needed a new queen (he had discarded the old one), and the virgins were paraded before him. Among them was Esther, a Jew but no one knew that. She was also Mordecai’s cousin and adopted daughter, but no one knew that either. Ahasuerus “loved Esther more than all the women, and she won grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins, so that he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen” (Esther 2:17). The book of Esther is more political than religious; the name of God is not found on its pages, but God is at work. He has his servant Esther in place. 

It was a time of national peril for Israel and Mordecai appealed to Esther to approach the king. Esther’s response is to call her countrymen to fast on her behalf. Courage cannot be ignorant and Esther knew the danger of Mordecai’s request, “if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law–to be put to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter (Esther 4:11). 

“Do it anyway,” was Mordecai’s response. 

“Who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” ~Esther 4:14

Mordecai knew the danger, for he also had stood courageously. Mordecai is not careless of her life. He loves her and has cared for her since childhood, but cares more deeply for her soul. To keep silent when courage is called for may (or may not) save your life, but you will die inside.

“For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” ~Luke 9:24

Esther understood, “I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16). This is no statement of despair, but of devotion to her nation and her God. 

The story continues, but that is for tomorrow.

Daily Prayer

God, wonderful Savior, I will be prepared always to stand for You, as You stood for me in my place at the cross. I will be prepared, putting on Your armor daily, the faith in Your care, the hope of eternity, the love which You showed me. I will be prepared, pouring into Your Word, always ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope I have in You.

You set the time, I’ll be ready.

Amen

Daily Question

What do you typically want to know before you say yes to God?

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Cleaning House

Daily Reading

Nehemiah 12-13

Daily Thought

Nehemiah led the effort to rebuild Jerusalem. He returned the Word of God to public reading, reestablished the worship, the Sabbath, and the festivals of the Jewish faith, and rededicated a confessing people to follow their God. 

Then he left for a time, traveling to Babylon to visit her king. 

He returned after who knows how long, but it was too long, because sin had moved back into the city. Eliashib the priest had invited his cousin Tobiah, an Ammonite enemy of Israel and God, to live in a room in the temple, but purity cannot mix with the unrighteous. Evil doesn’t have to be in charge, but merely tolerated to do its work. Soon enough. the temple was neglected, the Sabbath was ignored, and the people were marrying foreign women who worshipped foreign gods.

In a fit of rage, Nehemiah attacked, “Did not Solomon king of Israel sin on account of such women? Among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless, foreign women made even him to sin” (Nehemiah 13:26).

So Nehemiah cleaned house, literally. “And I was very angry, and I threw all the household furniture of Tobiah out of the chamber” (Nehemiah 13:8). There is a time for tantrums because there is such a thing as too much tolerance. “And I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair” (Nehemiah 13:25). Not unlike a man who walked into a temple and began turning over tables.

Daily Prayer

Holy God, I love Your Word. Everything in it tells me about life, how it should be lived and Who it should be lived for. It displays Your goodness, Your righteousness, Your holiness. Your grace and mercy. Your love.

God, I commit myself to You. Set me apart from the sin around me. Surround me with others who love what is good. Keep me good, keep me righteous, keep me holy by Your Word. Forgive me when I stray, and lead me back to the right path.

Amen

Daily Question

What makes you angriest? What does your answer reveal about you?

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All In

Daily Reading

Nehemiah 10-11

Daily Thought

“On the seals are the names of Nehemiah the governor, the son of Hacaliah, Zedekiah, Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah, Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah, Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch, Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah, Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch, Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin, Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah; these are the priests. And the Levites: Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel; and their brothers, Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan, Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah, Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah, Hodiah, Bani, Beninu. The chiefs of the people: Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani, Bunni, Azgad, Bebai, Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin, Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur, Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai, Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai, Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir, Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua, Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah, Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub, Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek, Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah, Ahiah, Hanan, Anan, Malluch, Harim, Baanah” (Nehemiah 10:1-27).

How many names did you skip when you read this passage? Most? None? Some? All? It is just a list of names, right? But if you were Hacaliah, your name on this list is a big deal. That goes for Kadmiel and Azgad and Zadok and all the rest. Each signatory sealed the deal, each said I am all in, committed. It’s like signing the Declaration of Independence, only bigger because that was against the British and this is before God. 

“If a man vows a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.” ~Numbers 30:2

The signers say they will each “join with their brothers, their nobles, and enter into a curse and an oath to walk in God’s Law that was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord our Lord and his rules and his statutes” (Nehemiah 10:29).

It’s like marriage. The essence of marriage is “I Do,” and “I Do” changes everything. It means I’m all in. Each name on this list is the backbone of Jerusalem, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, until death do us part.

Daily Prayer

My God, You gave Your Son the Name above every name, that all would bow before Him. I bow. He is my Lord, my God, my Savior, the King of kings. There is no One better to put in charge of my life, and I willingly and eagerly serve Jesus Christ.  Thank You Jesus for leading me to life, the true life I seek, a life overflowing with peace and justice and purity and love. You have all authority, and when I walk in Your Name, I have the confidence of heaven.

I am so glad that You know my Name, that it is signed and sealed in Your Book of Life. I am a citizen of heaven, a bride of Christ, an ambassador of God, a saint. And all I did is sign under Your Name, You did all the rest. Thank You for salvation in Your Name.

Amen

Daily Question

When you became a Christian, what did you think you were signing up for?

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The Journey

Daily Reading

Nehemiah 8-9

Daily Thought

When we open the Bible, we read the story of God and us. We see the ebb of our disobedience and rebellion and the flow of God’s grace and mercy. We learn about ourselves and our God. 

“And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel.” ~Nehemiah 8:1

Ezra read from the book all day, every day, for days, and when he stopped reading, “all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law” (Nehemiah 8:9).  

They worshipped their Creator, “You are the Lord, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you” (Nehemiah 9:6). 

They worshipped their Redeemer, “You are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them” (Nehemiah 9:17). 

They worshipped their God, “the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love” (Nehemiah 9:32).

Jesus said, “Follow me,” because transformation is a journey made over time and trouble. If it is not good yet, God is not done yet, because “we know that for those who love God all things work together for good” (Romans 8:28). “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6) is God’s promise of process, persistence, and perseverance with us.

When we open the Bible, we see the big picture of our God who is faithful and wonderful and mighty and merciful. God is the author of life and it is in God we find our purpose and power and confidence. When we open the Bible, we are confronted with our sin which cries out sorrow, but more importantly, we come upon our Savior which calls forth celebration. Nehemiah rightly reminds the Israelites, and us, “the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10).

Daily Prayer

My God, I celebrate Your goodness, Your love, Your grace and mercy, Your majesty. I sing loudly with joy, because You are good and You are my God. The joy I find in You gives me strength to overcome, because nothing compares. Certainly not the cheap pleasures of this world. May I wake each day, delight in Your Word, and walk in the joy set before me.

Keep my memory fresh, God, of the ways You have worked in my life. May I draw on Your faithfulness when times are tough, when my strength wavers, when it is dark. I know You are with me, help me remember You always will be.

Amen

Daily Question

Should a Christian be an optimist or a pessimist? Why?

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God and People

Daily Reading

Nehemiah 7

Daily Thought

So far, Nehemiah has been all about rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. The book begins with the report to Nehemiah, “The wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are destroyed by fire” (Nehemiah 1:3). Nehemiah is cupbearer to the king and believes he can do something about it, and does. Six chapters later, “the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days” (Nehemiah 6:15). 

End of story? Hardly. 

The book of Nehemiah has 13 chapters; we are only half-way there. Building the wall got us to the heart of the story, the heart of Nehemiah, which is all about God and his people.

Chapter 7 begins, “Now when the wall had been built” (Nehemiah 7:1), and the rest of the story is about Jerusalem because Nehemiah is about God and people, not walls. Nehemiah wasn’t building a wall, but a city of 42,360 people who love the Lord their God. It is after the wall was built the story really begins, “and when the seventh month had come, the people of Israel were in their towns” (Nehemiah 7:73). Israel had come home. Now to build a nation again.

Daily Prayer

Heavenly Father, deep in my heart I know I belong to You. I can sense eternity, that there is more to this life, and that I am more than flesh and blood. You have told me that I am specially made and I believe it because I know my Maker and You are good. This world is not all there is, and someday all things will be renewed and there will be a new heavens and a new earth, and someday I’m going home. I look forward to that Day.

I live my life today with eternity in mind. I pray my life will be a reflection of that eternity, of You, that I might show You to others. I suffer the pains of this world knowing they are short compared to forever, and that they will end. I walk confident in the sure hope of Your sovereignty, that You are King of kings, that You are my King and my God and my Father forever.

Amen

Daily Question

What makes your heart happy?

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The Muddle of the Middle

Daily Reading

Nehemiah 4-6

Daily Thought

“So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work. But…” (Nehemiah 4:6-7a). Half way done and signs of discouragement begin. “The strength of those who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall” (Nehemiah 4:10). There is enthusiasm at the beginning and anticipation when the end is in sight, but in the middle a weariness sets in. Enemies of the wall were plotting against its completion–“We come among them and kill them and stop the work” (Nehemiah 4:11). They were being called back home–“You must return to us” (Nehemiah 4:12). The temptation was to drop their tools and return to their families and get back to the routine of life. The wall could wait.

It is in the muddle of the middle when a leader must remind the people of their purpose, refresh their vision, and renew their strength. Nehemiah stood tall and called “to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, ‘Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes’” (Nehemiah 4:14). We are building a fortress for our families and a kingdom for our God. Get back to work. The leader kept his trumpeter close at hand, rallying the people with the cry, “Our God will fight for us” (Nehemiah 4:20). 

God’s work may be thwarted in the middle by discouragement, by danger, by drudgery, and by despair. The leader, undaunted, must rise above. Nehemiah stood tall, the people responded, and “the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days” (Nehemiah 6:15). 

Daily Prayer

Almighty God, You are my strength and the desire of my life. You are my rock, the foundation of my life, and the fortress that protects me. You have called me to follow You and I am eager to do so. Keep me focused and renew my strength when I tire of the task. May I not grow weary of doing good, of living well, of pursuing justice, of loving others. May I stand tall and firm, keeping my eyes on You, that others may find encouragement and join in the work of Your Kingdom. 

Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 

Amen

Daily Question

What do you do to keep going when you face discouragement?

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A Servant of the Most High God

Daily Reading

Nehemiah 1-3

Daily Thought

It had been ninety years since the exiles of Israel had returned to Jerusalem at the order of Cyrus, king of Persia; seventy years since the temple was rebuilt. Still Jerusalem lay in neglected ruins from the time when Nebuchadnezzar had taken them into captivity a century and a half ago. Of the destruction of Jerusalem, the prophet Jeremiah had written, “Who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem, or who will grieve for you? Who will turn aside to ask about your welfare?” (Jeremiah 15:5). A century and a half later, the answer came.

“Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the citadel, that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem.” ~Nehemiah 1:1-2 

Nehemiah listened, he wept, and he prayed. Then Nehemiah thought, “Now I was cupbearer to the king” (Nehemiah 1:11).

At a party, making polite conversation, I asked a man, “What do you do?” “I am a servant of the most high God who sells cars to support my ministry,” he responded. His job is at Toyota, but he works for the Creator of the universe. He believed, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men” (Colossians 3:23). 

Nehemiah was a servant of the most high God. Nehemiah was exactly where God wanted him to be. He had access to the king when Jerusalem needed access to the king. He was God’s servant in God’s place at God’s time for God’s work among God’s people. That’s what “Now I was cupbearer to the king” means. It means, “Put me to work, God. I am inside the palace and I am available.”

Daily Prayer

My God, You have made such a wonderful world. I pause in the morning to remind myself that each day is a gift from You. May my life give You pleasure. May I always remember that I am an ambassador for the King of kings, and I serve at Your pleasure. May I at all times be exactly where You want me to be, following Your ways, available for Your work in this world.

All that I do, I do with all my heart, because I serve You and all that You have created.

Amen

Daily Question

How does what you do in life set you up to be used by God?

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Prepare for Battle

Daily Reading

Ezra 8-10

Daily Thought

Ezra’s challenge was to lead a small group of people and priests, singers and servants, women and children, carrying a treasury of gold and silver from Babylon to the temple under construction in Jerusalem. The journey would take them across a desert wilderness ripe with bandits. An armed guard of the king of Babylon was his on request, and it would not be wrong to call upon it. Nehemiah would a few years later (Nehemiah 2:9), but Ezra had told the king, “The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him” (Ezra 8:22). How could he make such a claim, then turn to a pagan king for protection.

Instead, Ezra prepared for battle by getting on his knees. As he set out, he first paused three days and “proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods” (Ezra 8:21). And God listened. Instead of the king’s protection, they marched under the banner of God, “and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambushes by the way” (Ezra 8:31).

Israel had known leaders large in faith and big in sin. Samson’s physical strength and moral weakness; David’s love of God and Bathsheba; and Solomon, whose godly wisdom failed to restrain his passion for the pleasures of wine, women, and wealth. It was due time for a man of faith so simple and true–he was almost wonderfully dull. Ezra comes off as a bookish scribe, “for Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord” (Ezra 7:10), but he boasted of his mighty God, then walked his talk.

Daily Prayer

Mighty God, worthy of praise, may I shout Your Name as loud as the heavens proclaim You. May I sing of Your goodness and live righteously in this land. May my life announce Your grace to a world awaiting judgment. May I display in what I do my confidence that You are God Almighty, maker of the heavens and the earth. May I get on my knees and fight for righteousness.

You are God and there is no other. I trust my life fully and solely in Your hands, and there is no better place, because You are faithful and true, the first and the last, able to keep me from falling and present me faultless before the presence of Your glory, because at the cross, You paid the price for my sin and clothed me in Your righteousness. How great is my God.

Amen

Daily Question

In what way is the Christian life like a battle? How do you prepare for the battle?

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Purity Doesn’t Mix

Daily Reading

Ezra 4-7

Daily Thought

When the northern kingdom of Israel was taken captive by Assyria in 722 BC, the scattered remains of Israelites left behind intermarried with many other nations, producing a mingled people and a mangled religion. They claimed to worship the same God as Judah, “for we worship your God as you do” (Ezra 4:2); they failed to mention the many others, “they feared the Lord but also served their own gods, after the manner of the nations from among whom they had been carried away” (2Kings 17:33). They became another nation, a mixed breed called the Samaritans, “the nations whom the great and noble Osnappar deported and settled in the cities of Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River” (Ezra 4:10). They also became adversaries of the southern kingdom of Israel, Judah.

Judah was returning to rebuild the temple, but building the temple of God was a daunting task for the smallish number. Samaria offered, “Let us build with you” (Ezra 4:2). It seemed a neighborly gesture, however when adversaries offer help, it is reasonable to suspect their motive. Judah could use the help, but then their temple would become “our temple,” and Judah would become part of the blend. Purity doesn’t mix. The nation of Israel was to be holy, set apart to the one true God, and so Judah issued an unneighborly response, “You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we alone will build to the Lord, the God of Israel” (Ezra 4:3).

The bond of unity with other nations may have an appearance of strength, allies joining together, but Israel’s strength is their God. Those who follow God serve the world, not through partnership with the world, but through purity in the world.

Daily Prayer

Holy God, every good thing comes from You. You are righteous and just, full of grace and mercy. You give the world hope through faith, and show us what love truly looks like. Your love is not indifferent to my sin, but recognizes the sin and responds with care. Even while I sinned against You, You hung on the cross for me.

Protect me from temptation to sin, or even tolerance toward it, and keep me holy, set apart for You. When I fall and fail, I love Your grace, because I require it, but I long more for Your righteousness and goodness, that these would mark my life. I look forward to Your kingdom come, when righteousness and goodness will reign. May my life be more and more a display of these qualities of my King of kings, my Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Amen

Daily Question

Which has been stronger, the world’s influence on the Church or the Church’s influence on the world?