Esther, Day 7 Do we get what we deserve? Read Esther 7. Some people call it karma, but I don’t believe in karma. My God is bigger than our understanding of karma. However, God is also just and he understands and recognizes the importance of justice in the world. The question is, do we get what we deserve?? Most of us would not really want what we deserve since we know that we are all sinners and truly what we all deserve is death. Still, our sense of moral Justice is bothered when we see difficult and dangerous situations that result in people getting something good when we feel they…

Esther, Day 6 God protects his people. Read Esther 6. While Haman is busy hating the Jews, God is busy working. God reminds the king of all that Mordecai has done for him. As a result, Haman ends up honoring the very individual that he dislikes so much. Haman is frustrated and angry and returns home to tell his wife about this. His wife tells him that there may be nothing else he can do. If God is for Mordecai, then Haman won’t be able to stop him. Are we busy fighting against God, or following Him? We will never see success if we are seeking anything different from what…

Esther, Day 5 Gratitude. Read Esther 5. I’ve studied a lot of leadership books and throughout many of them a common theme is the importance of gratitude in our lives. As a leader we must have gratitude for the people that we work with and the situations that we are in. Gratitude spills over into every other aspect of our life and our leadership. Haman could have taken that lesson. He had an extremely high position of leadership within the Royal court at the time, but he allowed one thing this thing to damage the way he viewed himself and his position. He allowed his frustration and anger with Mordecai…

Esther, Day 4 How do we respond to injustice? Read Esther 4. A great injustice was going to be done to the Jews. Mordecai was devastated as he felt this very keenly and knew he would be killed. Esther may have been feeling removed from it, insulated in the palace as she was. Still, Mordecai reminded her that she still has a responsibility. The same applies to us. When we become aware of injustice that is occuring, how do we respond? Whether or not we are directly affected, we should recognize that we still have a responsibility to point those we are around to the right way. We must confront…

Esther, Day 3 Read Esther 3. Why is it that the most painful bruise that one can receive is a bruised ego? Haman experienced one. He had built up a sense of pride in who he was and the position that he held. Yet one look at a defiant Mordecai and his bruised ego began to get the better of him. Are we so busy stroking our own ego that we miss the opportunity to lift up and praise God? Do we recognize when we are placing ourselves higher than God in our own lives? Haman suffered from a bruised ego, but his refusal to acknowledge God as the highest…

Esther, Day 2 She was chosen. Read Esther 2. After a long and rigorous process, Esther was chosen. She found favor with the king and out of all the other women, she was chosen. She was given the royal crown and all ths perks that went with it. Still she remembered who she was and she continued to remain loyal and humble. She continued to trust God. No matter our circumstances, we can see all that God has for us and all that he is doing. We can know that God desires to place us exactly where he wants us and where we will bring him the most glory. Are…

Esther, Day 1 One decision. Everything that happens in this book is the result of one decision. Read Esther 1. After almost 3 months in the New Testament, we’re going to take some time in the Old Testament. The book of Esther has amazing principles of God and his presence, even while never mentioning his name. We see in this first chapter that what is happening is the result of one decision that one woman made. We can argue whether that was the right or wrong decision and I’ve seen commentary that goes both ways. At the end, it was her decision that led to the situation that resulted in…