Esther 4:14 God is not mentioned in the book Esther, we do know that God had His hand is all over in every event. God allowed Vashti to be removed, from being queen and positioned Esther to become the new queen.
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I had been preparing for a few weeks for a Sunday School lesson for our monthly split adult class, and I just didn’t feel at peace with what I was working on. It usually takes me awhile to get it down in an organized manner. A different topic came to mind, and I had to trust the Lord to help me, but the information just poured out in a perfectly outlined format. That is very unusual for me! Not only was it very well organized, but it was also ready before I had a busy weekend visiting with family and making last-minute unexpected adjustments to my home. He knew I needed some help being ready for everything on time!
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Jewel’s pace quickened as their excitement could be seen from miles away. Her parents guided her into the house and up to her room. In the corner they had placed a beautiful wooden mirror, The Mirror of Authority. The gift was beautiful with its carved edges and clear, clean glass; but as she stepped in front of the mirror she was confused. What were these lines on her new mirror? Why had her parents drawn them?
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I saved the best for last— the reproofs of life. Thank the Lord for His love and mercy in our lives every day. He loves us so much that He is willing to correct us. Proverbs 3:11 says, “My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction:” and Proverbs 15:10 says, “Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way: and he that hateth reproof shall die.”.
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Perspective by definition is the state of one's ideas; the facts known to one, etc; the faculty of seeing all the relevant data; a mental view or prospect. All of us have a perspective in life...how we choose to view the happenings in our lives; what we choose to believe as fact based on evidence; and the way we look at everything around us in general.
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One of my favorite verbs in the Word of God is the word edify. It means to “build up.”
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To be dramatic is to over exaggerate. Many of us over the years have at some point been involved in either being in a church Christmas play or being part of directing one. We all know when we are practicing, we are trying to get the kids to over express or emphasize their actions or their words. This is exactly where drama should be used, to get the point across as they are acting. Key word here is acting. It is not real life. When working with the children involved in the play, typically it is harder to get them to be dramatic, because everyone is watching.
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Tough times can be many different things: health issues, money problems, relationship problems, and marital problems. All of these problems can leave us overwhelmed! What do we do when we have one of these problems? Do we try and solve them ourselves? Usually if we do, we only make them worse. We need to go to the best problem solver we have, our Lord Jesus!
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Recently, my family and I were at Cracker Barrel, a restaurant that I love, and we were talking about some old memories from years gone by. Some pictures had come up on my Facebook page from when my kids were little. This caused us to talk about old times, and in the conversation, my sons started telling us some funny stories, which involved some of the rules that I had when they were little. And looking back, fifteen-plus years later, I can laugh and say I did have some funny rules for my kids, especially my oldest.
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Have you ever heard the phrase said before - "Timing is everything"? Well, there is a lot of truth to that statement when the timing is God's timing. We are told from the Scriptures that waiting on God's timing makes things beautiful (Ecclesiastes 3:11), while rushing ahead or lagging behind according to our timing turns things into a mess. Too early and too soon - both bring about disaster!
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As I have focused on this small word “Joy”, I see it everywhere now. Oh, I know it has been there, but I don’t think I truly saw it. The simple things of life God wants to show us, we sometimes pass over but remember to stop and find the Joy each day. Just like the hymn says, “Each day He grows still sweeter than He was the day before.” Smile! Give God the glory…..and find the simple joy in the journey.
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Be willing to let go of what could have been. My dad gave up a job where he could have been making more money and we would have definitely lived a comfortable lifestyle but that was not God’s plan and I’m so thankful God had a different plan. God has blessed our family so much!
However, what do you do when in the blink of any eye, our Pastor dies? All that is familiar is gone! Your husband’s close companion gone. A thirty-three-year friendship and co-laborer gone. My children’s lifetime mentor, prayer warrior, and encourager gone. All the blessings and direction our church has received because of this one Godly man, GONE!
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‘Eternity’ is one of the most impactful words in the Bible and the most interesting thing is that It is only mentioned once in the entire Word of God. My husband wrote a tract with the emphasis on the word ‘Eternity’ and it has been an extremely influential tract. I would like to share a recent story of this thought behind the word ‘Eternity’.
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One of my favorite possessions is my little peach tree in my back yard. Some of you, who know me, are nodding your heads up and down and smiling, as you have an extensive collection of pictures that I have sent you of my tree as it has grown over the years. Proud mammas always share pictures of their babies! My oldest son took special interest in my little tree. He helped me pick out the best spot to plant it, helped me dig the hole, and dutifully read the instructions tag about how to care for the tree. He even volunteered to water it every day for me.
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We may have a shared or common calling for ministry, but the way we carry it out may look different, based on the story God gave us personally.
God called me to be a wife, homemaker, friend, encourager, conference speaker, and Sunday school teacher. Daily, He is molding me in each of these areas.
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As Christian ladies, I know each one of us would like to hear the Lord say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” I wanted to encourage you today to stay faithful in these areas that I believe are important to the Lord, and also under so much attack from the devil in our current day and age. May I encourage you to:
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It was September 26, 1987 when a 39 - week stillborn baby was delivered by a 19 year old married young woman. This was her first child and the baby’s name would have been Philip Thomas. She had thanked the Lord every doctor’s appointment for the opportunity to have the child and had already given him to God for whatever His will might be for this boy. Now all her and her husband would be able to do would be to grieve for and bury him. But they were able to do so because God is good. Fast forward 27 years and her second child, Norman Daniel, would pass away as the result of an accident he had while serving the Lord as a missionary in foreign country.
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I remember my brother having a toy snake...you know the rubber ones that little boys like to use to scare people. Well, my younger brother had one, and I was terrified of it. I don't recall that he had it long, but I do recall that particular day, he had it out. I was petrified. I remember being uncontrollable, and standing in a corner in the living room, screaming at the top of my lungs because he had touched me with it. My mother tried to get me to calm down, and explained there was nothing of which to be afraid. I wouldn't listen, or stop screaming! I would not be consoled.
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Man’s opinions of what is acceptable have changed. The world once validated a women who was the keeper of the home, had moral purity, and upheld other things that Christians also valued. The world tells us we need to be one way while the word of God tells us to be another way. This is true from our gender to our demeanor. The opinions of man change, laws of what is acceptable change, and what is expected of people change. That's why I must have validation from the Lord.
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