Bibledoorajar shares thoughts from Esther for the Church

     We have learned from the book of Esther that it was necessary for her to move from wonderfully made to beautiful and, therefore, very appealing to the king. For Esther, this meant spending a period of time in which she was washed, perfumed and dressed in fine clothing. She had to become obedient and humble before the king. She reached to touch his extended scepter, asking for the king's favor and mercy.
     The church, too, must be washed in the watery grave of baptism and dressed in robes of righteousness. We must smell as a sweet savor before Him. We must humble ourselves and be willing to relinquish our will and the ways of the world in order to please our King.

     It is no good for the church to be clean and "all dressed up with no where to go." We are gaining from God that quality of mind that is renewed toward doing brave things for the sake of the kingdom. We can measure our fear level by the standard Esther used: "If I perish, I perish." We drink the King's wine, and it must be poured out in His service. And here is the clincher. The Bible says this level of activity must be done joyfully. We come to Him joyfully, we allow the Holy Spirit to improve us joyfully, and we defend the faith joyfully. In deed, the Bible says that "the joy of the Lord is our strength." The Holy Spirit protects us while we are away from our King and the Spirit weeps if we are hurt defending Christ's values. He speedily gives us a DOUBLE PORTION of gifts to sustain us in purity before the king. He has great ability. He can take both the good and the evil that happen to us and work them together for a good end if we love Jesus. We can't have better assurance to make the journey with Jesus than that! It is a wonderful thought to realize that He is with us every step of the way.

     In 1942, C. S. Lewis wrote a book called The Screwtape Letters. In this book the dark force, Uncle Screwtape,  comments on the dark forces' arch enemy, God. He writes the following to his nephew:


      "...He cannot 'tempt' to virtue as we do to vice. He wants them to learn to walk and therefore must take away his hand... Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do our enemy's will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys."