Es 2:7 And he
brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle's daughter: for she had
neither father nor mother, and the maid was fair and beautiful; whom
Mordecai, when her father and mother were dead, took for his own daughter.
Es 2:20 Esther
had not yet shewed her kindred nor her people; as Mordecai had charged
her: for Esther did the commandment of Mordecai, like as when she was brought
up with him.
Children love to sing the song, OBEDIENCE, for many reasons
but some would agree that they like to spell it and then sign it with their
little fingers and hands. In our church,
maybe like yours, we are equipped with a few who know sign language when and if
we need them for the deaf people. What a
beautiful language to watch as these ladies bring to life the Word of God. I
especially like to see our students from our Christian school sign during
Missions Conference. Some students have a real gift in this area which takes a
lot of practice with patience and hard work.
Esther obeyed her cousin Mordecai and I’m sure it didn’t just
happen overnight! She honored him as her
father because that was the way she was trained. It takes much patience and time to train our little ones to obey,
doesn’t it? God has so graciously taught
us something quite extraordinary about Himself in this story of Esther. To know Him more means total obedience to His
Word, even in a book where His name is not mentioned one time! Read it, if you
do not believe me. Better yet, just read this fabulous story of God’s
protection and promise of a young girl who lost her mom and dad but gained so
much more, simply through her obedience, first to her parents and then to Mordecai. For parents to teach their child to obey them,
prepares the way for that child to hear and obey the still small voice of the
Holy Spirit as He bids them to trust the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.
Think about this if you struggle with your children. Be consistent. You don’t want to be
responsible for them for not obeying the Holy Spirit’s call to salvation, do
you? It is something for us all to seriously think
about.
We do our children a great disservice by allowing them to
disrespect their elders and I am not sure if this generation knows what that
means….”disrespect”…. Don’t you see it
more today than 5, 10 and 15 years ago?
Children are allowed to talk back, say whatever they want and make their
choices in matters that should not be, therefore grabbing the reigns from mom
and dad while the parents allow it to happen. “Do you want iced tea, or diet coke, a
hamburger or hot dog, a yellow blanket, or a mat, a red dress or pants, go to
Sunday School or stay at home, do your homework now or later, clean your room
now or after dinner, a phone or computer, or both?.......or ALL OF THE ABOVE!”
Maybe it is time to “tell” instead of “ask?”
Obedience is to obey. I look back
on my life, and I shiver! Why do some things take so long to learn?
I wonder what God would do with a woman in total obedience
to His Word in all areas of life? Do you
fight it daily, weekly or every now and then? When something rubs you the wrong
way or you can’t get your way, do you find another method to justify your
decision that was made, or do you buckle down, swallow your pride and get to
the business at hand? You know, if you are like me, you probably struggle often
with OBEDIENCE as God allows the little rough edges to scrape us, causing a
bleed every now and then. A cut, a
bruise, a knock down, or a solid slap in the face could be really good for us.
Do you think God doesn’t see, doesn’t care, and just turns His head to move on
to someone else He loves more? Absolutely not! He loves ME. He loves YOU and
desires complete obedience.
God loved Esther! He chose her "for such a time as this” and
so dear friend has He chosen you TODAY, for this day will not come again. Take
advantage of what God needs for you to do, to OBEY His Word…..Today!
Es 4:14 For if thou altogether holdest
thy peace at this time, then
shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place;
but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether
thou art come to the kingdom for such
a time as this?
I’m glad Esther was obedient, aren’t you?
Until next time, Lord willing…
Sharon
This made me think of other youngsters that stayed faithful during captivity ... Name's wife's little maid, Daniel, Joseph ... I have often wondered what their homes were like and about their parents.
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