Hadassah – A true beauty Queen

Purim is tomorrow March 10th. It is the Jewish and biblical festival remembering the story of Esther told in the Biblical book also named Esther. It is an amazing story capturing the redemptive plan of God for his people. It describes the audacious plan a villain named Haman whose goal was to destroy the Jewish people. All of them. Haman’s plan was granted and decreed by the King of Persia. Esther (her Hebrew name is Hadassah) the newly chosen Queen, was persuaded by her cousin Mordecai to approach the king of behalf of the Jewish people and plead to the king to save her people. This was a dangerous endeavor for Esther because anyone who came into the king’s presence without being summoned would be put to death, and she had not been summoned. Esther fasted for three days, along with the prayers of her people and then went to the king. He welcomed her and she later shared the plot of Haman to destroy her people, for the King did not know that she was Jewish. The King granted her plea and saved the Jewish people and Haman was soon hanged. Justice!

I encourage you to read the book of Esther this week and to celebrate the redemptive plan that God has for his people. I also believe it is important to recognize this ongoing spiritual and physical battle that continues to take place against the Jewish people and nation. The nation of Persia as described in the book of Esther is now modern day Iran, whose goal is also to destroy the Jewish people. So I also encourage you to pray for the Jewish people that continue to face villainous hatred, and ask that God will again save his people. And may God’s saving grace also penetrate our own lives as we embrace his redemptive purposes for us through Jesus Christ.

I AM NOT!

I enjoy camping. Don’t get to go much but I do enjoy it.  However I usually forget to take a flashlight with me. In fact I don’t even think about it until I wake up in the middle of the night fumbling around to find my shoes in the corner of the tent. Then I quietly try to make my way to the front zipper without waking not only the people in my tent, but the whole camp.  Once I finally roll out of the tent after tripping on the front flap, my eyes squink to find the nearest tree for my late night wake up call.  If I only had remembered to pack my flashlight.

It’s not until you are completley in the dark that you realize you are in desperate need of some light.  Or maybe you are in the light but you need a greater concentration of light in a specific area so you can see more clearly (like turning on the lamp when reading a book).

John the Baptist had a great sensitivity to the light,  John the writer explains it like this, ”There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.”

May we who are followers of the light,  be encouraged that the light shines in the dark and that the light is able to brighten every dark or dim place so that we may see more clearly. Warning: Remember that we ourselves are NOT the light, but like John only bear witness to that light. Sometimes as Chrisitians and even as leaders in the church it is easy to be distracted and  may even stand in the way of that light. So may we proclaim that I am not the light but I know him who is the light, and declare the way to the light. So that the ETERNAL LIGHT MAY SHINE ON ALL MEN.