Purim, known as the casting of the lot. It a celebration by Israel to commemorate the deliverance of Israel from the plot of a man named Haman, recorded in the Book of Esther. This account shows the hand of God providentially working in the history of the nation, even when they were unaware of His provision and protection. Often it seems that the circumstances of life are going to destroy us or those around us, but we need to remember that God has a plan and will work to accomplish that plan. Through the life of Esther we see how the Lord used one person to provide deliverance for an entire nation. We do not know how the Lord will use us, and how he is using those around us, but one thing we can be confident of today …….. God is working to accomplish His plan in our lives. It may be us that God will use to provide protection for others, it may be that the solution to our current situation will be provided by someone else. Draw peace from the reality it is God who is working in all things to accomplish His great plan.… READ MORE

We have seen these words from Esther 4:14 in many contexts, often in a positive light. We forget that these words were said to her by her relative, Mordecai, at one of the darkest moments of their lives. The Jew’s very existence was weighing in the balances. The challenge was to understand that we don’t know why God has allowed us to be in the situations of life we find ourselves (whether good or evil), but what we must understand is that God is preparing us for something important. What is that? Only hindsight may reveal it, but the reality is that we are called to be faithful to our walk with God and trust Him in our circumstances. God providentially leads us, many times simply without our complete understanding. Yet He directs us into lives that we will impact in a significant way. One of the things years of ministry has proven to me is that we often do not realize the impact our lives have on others. A few years ago I received a note from a lady that I ministered to over the years, and she said, “You have become the voice in my head, directing me … READ MORE

While man has fallen and is guilty of sin, he has not lost his ability to have dominion over the world that God has created for him. We have done some amazing things in the last 100 years: – We have devised technology that has allowed us to cultivate only a fraction of the earth’s potential farmland and still grow enough crops to feed the world. – We have traveled to the moon and back – We have developed amazing communications networks. – We are able to travel across vast continents by air in a few hours. – We have build dams to create large reservoirs for power, and entertainment. – We have developed medical technology that has prolonged life. Even in man’s fallen state, the human being is a wonderful creature, still endued with the image of his Maker. That is why God sees us as worthwhile redeeming, this is why He sent His only Son to die for our sins! Christ is able to do what fallen man has been unable to do. He has destroyed all the power of the devil (1 John 3:8). That victory was already sealed when Christ rose from the dead, and all … READ MORE