Esther - Chapter 1

Here we go...

Just a reminder: we committed to be more "conversational" on here so please post questions, comments, answers to other people's questions, etc. We can just act like we are actually talking to each other.

Some facts about the Book of Esther to get us started:

• This book shows God's involvement with His people.
• God's name is not mentioned once in this book, however, His influence is definitely there.
• The author is unknown but was a devout Jew.
• This book was written as a historical account, recording events leading up to the Jewish observance of Purim and as assurance to God's people of His protection.
• This book was written in Persia around 460 & 350 BC.
• This book is about revealing God's character, faithfulness & provision for those who trust in Him even through tragic events.
• King Xerxes ruled from 485-465 BC and was the son and successor of Darius I.
• Susa is 150 miles North of the Persian Gulf in southwestern Iran known today as Khuzistan.
• Cush is in the upper Nile Region. (now that is perfectly clear, we all know exactly where that is right?! : ) )

Chapter 1
This display or celebration went on for 6 months. Can you even imagine that? Why so long? Apparently Xerxes wealth came from overcoming Egypt & Babylon. This also gave Xerxes enough time to celebrate with his military & also for planning future military action. This would also impress his friends & enemies alike.

In that time it was unlawful to drink unless the king was drinking. Xerxes lifted this law & allowed everyone to drive whenever & however much they wanted.

It wasn't the norm that men & women were segregated. It is possible that the drunkenness of the men was inappropriate for the women so they had separate banquets. This explains why Queen Vashti wasn't with her King.

Why would the Queen refuse the King's summons? There are several possibilities... it could have been political but most likely it was to avoid a bad situation. It is thought that Queen Vashti was asked to appear before the drunken mess of men with nothing but a crown on her head. I could imagine after days and days of drunkenness & separation, the prospect of coming before the men would be quite scary & possibly even dangerous for her. Or maybe she was just having too much fun herself having six months of "Ladies Night" - playing games, doing pedicures, etc. Despite the reason, she still refused the king causing him much anger.

So this leads us to the big "S" word... submission. Obviously a king & queens relationship is different than that of a husband & wife relationship. However, in both instances the wife or Queen is meant to submit to her man. In a marriage relationship the wife submits to her husband & her husband loves his wife. This is a command from God not a suggestion. (Eph. 5:21) As well as both honoring the Lord. If you are married - do you have issues or hang ups about submission? If you're not married - do you think it is a hard concept to grasp? Why or why not? Let's talk about it...

The rest of the chapter includes the plan of Queen Vashti being replaced due to her lack of submission. Let the games begin...

Starting Esther

It was SO fun getting together on Saturday! For those of you who missed it, I hope you can join us next time.

We have decided that we will do the book of Esther. We were going to start tomorrow (Monday) but I'm a little behind so we will do our first chapter on Wednesday. We will do three chapters a week. One on Monday, Wednesday & Friday. Hopefully we will all be able to keep up with that and then we will get back together again when we are done with the 10 chapters of Esther.

Jesus bless you as you dig deeper into His word! Enjoy!!!

Coffee & Conversation

Just a reminder... We are getting together face to face to talk about the book of Mark and get to know each other this Saturday, March 27th from 9-11am at Lucie Monroe's Cafe in Christiansburg.

From Radford take I-81 N and take exit 118B, take the first off ramp to Christiansburg. Turn left on Roanoke St, go under the underpass and turn right where Food Lion, Pathway Christian School, Weigh Station and Lucie Monroe's is. Gateway Plaza 1600 Roanoke Street Suite B

I'd love for you all to come with your Bible and notes from the book of Mark to talk about as well as ideas for what you'd like to do next! Another book of the Bible? A different book?

We'll get coffee and snacks together and just have fun! Hope to you are able to make it! (please leave your comment as to whether you can or not)

Thanks!!!

Mark 16

This post is coming from Winston-Salem, NC.

The Resurrection
Jesus had told the disciples and his friends that the temple would be torn down and raised again in 3 days. They did not understand this to be his body. So when he did raise from the dead, they were surprised to see the stone rolled away and the messenger there to tell them he was gone and to go tell others. They were scared and unsure what to believe.

The disciples had the proof of Jesus rising right in front of them but they still had a hard time believing. Have you experienced something like this that was just too good to be true that you had a hard time believing even though it was right in front of you?

The Great Commission
Jesus called the disciples just as he calls all of us to go into the world and preach the good news. Whoever believes will be saved. What a great assignment we have!

The disciples also go to witness Jesus being taken up into heaven. What an amazing thing to get to witness.

That concludes the book of Mark. I hope you all enjoyed it and were able to learn some new things and grow in the Lord. I'm looking forward to seeing you all next Saturday. Please let me know if you are going to be able to make it. (look back at the posting a few days ago to comment)

Love you all! Hope you all have a great weekend!

Mark 15

This is the most painful text in scripture. The judgement, crucifixion & death of our Savior.

1-15 The crowd had no answer when they were asked why Pilot should crucify Jesus - they could only say "crucify him!" again and again. The crowd was so riled up, I wonder if they even knew why they wanted him to die. The rulers and crowd were so full of envy and hate.

16-20 To these 4 verses all I can say is that I'm SO sorry.

21-32 This is the first time I've really read into this... "They they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it." The drink they offered him was thought to be a narcotic that was offered to deaden the pain. Jesus did not take it. "He bore to the fullest the sufferings for our sins." WOW. Even in the end he compromised in NO way.

32-41 Jesus took on the weight of all the sin in the world! He was perfectly human and perfectly divine. Jesus cried out to God, first in despair and then renewed trust in God.

The torn curtain represented our direct access to God now through his son being sacrificed. What a precious, amazing gift!

42-47 I love what my commentary says. "Faithful women were the last to be found at the cross and the first to be found at the tomb." I love that. The ladies stayed by his side to the end and help care for him when it was over... if even just by watching over his burial site.

Also the boldness of the man to ask for Jesus body was amazing. He is asking for the body of someone who was thought so little of by the majority that they traded him for a well known murderer. This man potentially risked his own life to ask for Jesus body and give him a proper burial. To this man I'd love to be able to say thank you!

Mark 14 (43-72)

A kiss was the normal greeting. A disciple would greet his teacher with a kiss on the cheek or beard to show honor and submission. Judas used something that was meant to honor - to betray Jesus.

V. 51 - The naked man is only written about in Mark and is thought to be John Mark himself... maybe writing a bit of his own biography. Kind of funny and strange to put this in the scriptures, especially here.

Vs. 66-72 - Peter loved Jesus. His every intention was to honor and serve him and he really thought through everything he would. I'm not even sure he understood what he was doing when he denied Jesus until after the rooster crowed. He then remembered what Jesus foretold. I think he got scared, lost courage. It goes back to when Jesus asked them to pray so that they could resist temptation. Peter was disobedient on two counts... 1) he didn't pray but slept (not once but 3 times) 2) He followed Jesus when he told him not to and was led into temptation. Peter wept because he was sorry and fully repented for his denial. He truly did love Jesus. "If an apostle who lived with Jesus could fall into such sin, how much more do we need to take heed, watch and pray!"

John 21:15-19 tells us that Peter was forgiven and restored to the ministry. Jesus is definitely a forgiving God. Jesus helped Peter overcome his own doubt about loving Jesus by asking him the same question three times. Do you love me? Feed my sheep.... Peter denied Jesus three times and Jesus forgave him and gave him opportunity to prove his love to him three times. God is good! What a precious gift he gave Peter.

Let's Get Together

We will be done with the book of Mark on Friday!!! I hope that you have enjoyed going through the book together! I think it has been a lot of fun!

We all need to get together face to face to talk about it and get to know each other. It will be Saturday, March 27th from 9-11am at Lucie Monroe's Cafe in Christiansburg. If you can't make it or don't know where that is, just let me know. If no one can make that time, we'll try another time.

I'd love for you all to come with your Bible and notes from the book of Mark to talk about as well as ideas for what you'd like to do next! Another book of the Bible? A different book?

We'll get coffee and snacks together and just have fun! Hope to you are able to make it! (please leave your comment as to whether you can or not)

Thanks!!!

Mark 14 (up to vs 43)

The perfume... reminds me of the story told early of the woman giving the coins in the offering. She gave all she had with no abandon. Mary did the same here with the perfume. She seemed to understand that the end was near for Jesus. What an encouraging gift to him. I pray that I am able to see the opportunities when the Lord gives them to me just like Mary did. She actually left a legacy that the Lord wanted people to hear about. Very precious.

The very next sentence, Judas goes to betray Jesus. Can you imagine the things Jesus must have been feeling? Then to tell all the disciples about the upcoming betrayal must have been so hard. Would we have responded as they did and saying "Not I!" Even the best of the best thought they would not deny Jesus. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

Verses 32-42 stood out to me differently today. I have been trying to focus more on prayer and the importance of it and how to pray. This section of scripture is interesting and again, kind of sad. Jesus asks the disciples who were with him to pray while he spent time along with the Father. Three times he comes back to the disciples and they are asleep instead of keeping watch and praying. Jesus actually says "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." Once again - Jesus is foretelling the future - pray so you won't be tempted. Had the disciples stayed awake and prayed - would things have gone differently? I think Jesus knew they would but also knew that they would fall asleep. He was desperate for his disciples, his friends to pray for him while he prepared for his death, but they weren't even able to do that. Kind of breaks your heart doesn't it?

My Bible sheds some insight on the subject. "In the loneliness that comes while awaiting death, Jesus longed for the presence of friends who would pray with him. In addition, the disciples needed to pray for their own benefit, considering their predicted denial, cowardice and abandonment of Jesus. Their boasts of allegiance (v. 31) appear pathetic in the light of their behavior as the night wore on. Their failure to pray would make them an easy mark when assaulted by fear and temptation."

How often have we left the Lord waiting on us... longing for us to talk to him and pray? It's a good wake up call to see how important prayer was to Jesus while he was on earth... it has to be equally important now.

Tuesday & Wednesday

Mark 14 is quite long and there is a lot of information. I don't want us to miss any of it so we will break this chapter into 2 days. For Tuesday we'll do verses 1-42 & then Wednesday we'll do verses 43-72. Jesus bless you as you study!

Mark 13

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend! I only saw a couple prayer requests... hope to hear from the rest of you!

Chapter 13 is about the signs of the end times. I'd love to hear some of the things you got out of this chapter.

The one thing that stood out to me the most in this chapter was verse 32. No one but the Father knows the hour and time of Jesus return. Not the angels. Not even Jesus. Just the Father. One of the remarks I read about this verse says "When Christ became human, he gave up the right to use his divine abilities for his own purposes. Because Jesus submitted to the Father in everything, he left the matter of the timing of his return to the Father, too. People today who claim to know the day of Christ's return are claiming to know more than Jesus did, and are false prophets." I think it is amazing that Jesus gave up his divine abilities in this regard for each of us. What a priceless thing he did for us!

Prayer Requests

Today is prayer request day. Maybe we will make every Friday the same. I know we all have things going on in our lives that we don't get to "see and hear" as much since we are online instead of face to face. So I really wanted to create an opportunity for us to be able to share maybe a little more personally about ourselves. It is a blog so I don't suggest getting "too" personal but if you can tell us the gist of what is going on or what you might like prayer for, that would be great. I'm hoping we can talk more personally when we actually get together soon. If you don't really have a prayer request that's fine, share a praise report. I'm hoping to see at least 11 comments since that is how many followers of Jesus we have through this blog at this point!

Remember to study Proverbs 13 & 14 for Saturday & Sunday & Mark 13 for Monday. Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!!!

Mark 12

OK - for tomorrow let's do something a little different. I would like for each of you to post a prayer request and for all of us to be praying for each other through out this journey. You don't have to make it super personal if you don't want to - but I would like to hear from each of you about a way we can be supporting you in prayer. So tomorrow we will post those and start up with Mark 13 on Monday. Over the weekend we'll read Proverbs 13 & 14 on your own.

I also want to extend another invitation if any of you would like to still come to the Joyce Meyer Conference next week. It is March 18-20. We will leave around 4 from the church carpooling on the 18th and return around 3 or 4 on the 20th. We still have room and would love for you to come but I need to know as soon as possible! It should be a lot of fun!

In Chapter 12 Jesus is asked a lot of tough questions but only reveals the truth to those asking. His answers expose the hearts of the Jewish leaders and it isn't so pretty. They become very irritated with Jesus and want to find a way to kill him even more than they did before.

1-12 This section is about selfishness. They are putting possessions ahead of people. It actually was the law that if there were no heirs that the tenants of the land would inherit the property. So by killing the son, they made the property theirs. That is pretty amazing to me that they can commit murder and awarded land.

The capstone is the stone that essentially holds the building together. Jesus is the capstone - the Messiah. He was the one they rejected.

13-17 This section is about Hypocrisy. Jesus said to pay what is rightfully owed. Acknowledge God's rules but recognize human government as well. They didn't want to pay the taxes but they couldn't argue with Jesus because they agreed with what he said.

28-34 The greatest commandments - Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind & strength. Love your neighbor as yourself. These are fairly simple commandments that Jesus gave us but sometimes they can be the hardest for us to keep. I there are many times I don't love the Lord like I should and sometimes I don't love those around me well enough or even myself. But that is something we should constantly strive to do and ask for God strength in doing it.

41-44 I love this part. I think it is interesting in the Bible some of the shortest stories of faith are about women. There is just a little blip about them but it is so powerful and such a great lesson. In the temple there were actually boxes for "temple taxes" and boxes for "freewill offerings." The woman gave out of her poverty (all she had to live on she gave) to the freewill offering. It wasn't even required of her... taxes are required but the offering is a choice. I firmly believe in giving out of our own need. I believe the Lord can and will honor this in ways we can't imagine because of our obedience to trust him and rely on him. I know that we can attest to that in our lives. God has been SO good and really does know each of our needs.

Hope you all have a blessed day today! If you have friends would would like to participate with us in finishing the book of Mark - please ask them to join us! I'll be posting where and when our first get together will be when we are finished with the book of Mark!

Mark 11

The fig tree had leaves but no fruit. It wasn't even the season for leaves so naturally you might think if it did have leaves it would also have fruit. How else can we look at this? If we say a lot of christian words but don't have the actions behind it, we are like the fig tree. If we attend church on Sunday but don't really listen and apply the message to our lives, we look a little bit more like a fig tree. If we make promises or commitments that we don't keep or talk behind someones back, we just grew a whole lot of fig leaves and no fruit. It's no wonder the Lord found there was no fruit.

The fig tree actually represented Israel and it's "spiritual unfruitfulness". There is an explanation in my Bible that I love... it says "The one who prays correctly will leave room for God's will to overrule any request." (Matt 6:10) That is definitely praying with faith that our Heavenly Father loves us and wants His best for us! What big things are you having faith for?

Mark 10

Come on Ladies, I haven't seen any comments in a couple days. Are you still with me? Let's hear what you have to say.

Two points I want to make from Chapter 10... 17-31 Jesus point is not to tell us that we all have to give everything up in order to follow Him. His point for the Rich Man was that his wealth was keeping him for a full and complete relationship with Jesus. Jesus wants to bless his children but it is so important that we don't put things above Him.... our home, our car, even our relationships.... there is no material possession that can be better than a relationship with Jesus. He doesn't want us to be overly attached to our possessions and may ask us to sacrifice things at times in order to teach us or show us to trust and obey Him.

46-52 A very simple point can be made here. A blind man sees what other's can't. He calls Jesus "the Son of David" (the prophesied Messiah). I think it is such a precious thought to think of the man running over to Jesus and not begging him for sight but just simply saying - "Rabbi, I want to see!" His faith healed him and he followed Jesus along the road. I don't know why but that just puts a smile on my face and I can almost see him bouncing down the road behind Jesus so excited to take it all in.

What did you take away from this Chapter?

Mark 9

This chapter has so much in it! 3 disciples got to be with Jesus and share in seeing the glory of the Son with their own eyes. The other 9 disciples were in the valley and trying to cast out demons. They both had very different experiences but I can imaging they all learned a lot. The 3 on the mountain got to see the scriptures being fulfilled. The 9 in the valley got a glimpse of not being prepared for ministry. They didn't understand why they weren't able to cast out the demon but Jesus taught them that only through prayer would they be able to do this. They needed to spend that time with the Father.

I think it is kind of funny that the disciples were arguing over who was the greatest. None of them were able to cast out the demon so I'm not exactly sure what they were arguing about. I love how Jesus gently reminds them that "if anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all." Don't we all need this reminder at times. Sometimes we get so self focused that we put our needs, our hurts, our trials, our circumstances, our situations, our families, our feelings above everyone else. I know there are so many times when we would have just served our neighbor or someone in our lives, it would have taken the focus off of whatever we were doing and going through and would have been such a blessing to both. "True greatness is found, not in rank or possessions, but in character and service." Phil. 2:1-13

Jesus is holding us to a higher standard here. He wants us to get rid of the sin in our lives so that we do not cause others to stumble. It is so important to be the servant of others and to live with true Christian character and integrity (having salt in our lives). We all fail and come short of the glory of God, but here Jesus is calling us to love the lost the best we can and not cause them to stumble.

I hope you have a very blessed week! Please remember to be praying for each other!

Mark 8

Today I am posting from West Virginia!

Isn't amazing how God provides for us? Jesus provided above and beyond for the people who were following Him and were hungry. How often does He provide for us above and beyond? So often in my life!

It is also amazing to me how often we forget what the Lord has provided for us... just like the disciples did even after seeing Jesus multiply the loaves and fishes.

The healing of the blind man is such a great reminder to us that sometimes our healing is gradual and not always instant. Are there things you have prayed for for a long time? Me too. I know the Lord hears every prayer though and wants us to continue to pray and wait on His timing.

Now comes the sad part where Jesus begins to reveal the ultimate plan of "the Son of Man suffering". What an amazing gift He gave us!

I hope you have a very blessed weekend and enjoy studying Mark if you need to catch up or Proverbs 6 & 7 for the weekend! We'll see you back here on Monday! Love ya!

Mark 7

How's everyone doing? Not seeing a ton of comments flying around. Is everyone doing OK? Are you able to keep up or is the pace too fast? Hopefully having the weekend "off" so to speak helps you to catch up if you've fallen behind. Don't give up though! I know the Lord has something amazing to tell or show each one of you.

This Chapter has a lot to do with tradition. When I hear the word tradition I tend to think of the movie Fiddler on the Roof and can hear the man singing "Tradition!" We can get so trapped and wrapped up in tradition. Some traditions can be great... my husband and I have some wonderful traditions for Christmas time and other times of the year. Those are precious to me. But the traditions that are talked about here are actually destructive. The hand washing ceremony is more about the Pharisee thinking they are better than others than anything else. It had nothing to do with actually cleaning their hands. It was a ceremonial tradition to get rid of whatever defilement the Jews accidentally picked up from the Gentiles or Samaritans. They thought these people were "unclean."

Col. 2:8 warns us against man-made traditions. It says that we should keep the traditions handed down by God to his people. So what are some of those traditions? If we look at the life of Jesus was can see how he treated all people. He healed and spoke to whomever he was with. He did not discriminate.

Is man's tradition and not God's truth controlling any part of your life?

Corban is a gift devoted to God. This sounds good right? The problem was they were using this s a way to hold onto their "stuff" instead of letting it go. Once it was declared "corban" - they kept it until death. It couldn't even be passed on. It was a scam. How could it be a gift devoted to God if it couldn't be shared? I know there is so much "stuff" we hold on to sometimes. Silly things. Precious things. Heart warming things. But sometimes I wonder what the Lord thinks of our "stuff." Are we holding too tightly? Is there anything He wants me to let go of?

Hard questions. I pray that you hear from the Lord about anything you might be holding on to.

Mark 6

There are so many things I want to comment on about this chapter. However, I feel like I'm only supposed to put a couple little thoughts out there and let you guys read and study this chapter however the Lord shows you.

This chapter is about opportunities...
Some that are missed because of unbelief and some that are enjoyed because of faith. I know I can relate to both.

What spoke to you from this chapter?

Mark 5

There is a common theme in Mark 5. Going to the feet of Jesus.

The demon possessed man, the woman & the man with the daughter all had faith that Jesus could and would heal them. They all came to the feet of Jesus.

What are you believing Jesus for? What are you on your knees about? What causes you to sit at the feet of Jesus and just wait on Him? I know we all have big things going on in our lives but I hope we also take time to sit at His feet just to know Him better, just to soak Him in, just to be in His presence, just to hear His voice. Please take some time to sit at His feet today. He is always waiting for you and loves you so much!

Mark 4

It's Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend! How are you doing with studying Mark? I hope you are enjoying it and getting something new out of it.

Today I'm only going to post a couple comments... I really want to hear from you about what caught your attention in Mark 4.

4:1-20; 26-34 So much can get in the way of God's harvest. However, there are those seeds that are planted that really can take root and continue to quietly grow. You just never know how the Lord is going to use your story, your prayers, your caring for someone else. Never underestimate the impact you can have on someone life .... even if it doesn't come until years down the road.

4: 35-41 He never said we wouldn't have storms, just that he would be with us through them. What circumstances has God been greater than in your life? "Faith means trusting that we never face dangers alone. Knowing God is present keeps fear from paralyzing us."

I pray you have a very blessed week!