My thoughts on life, love, and the Lord

Mostly my reflections on scripture and what the Lord is teaching me as I journey though life.

[kelswarren]

My Bible brought up a good point, how can a law give us freedom? That seems paradoxical. But God's law is different than laws on earth, it offers us a true reflection of ourselves so that we can see our sin, ask for forgiveness, and then truly live in freedom.

[kelswarren]

2 Corinthians 4:17

[kelswarren]

God gives His wisdom generously and abundantly. He doesn't hold back, discriminate, question, or hesitate when it comes to giving us what we need when we ask.

Philip Watkins, James: Practical Wisdom for Everyday Living, in regards to James 1:5-8

[kelswarren]

Let's learn to be thankful every time we feel sorry for even our smallest offense toward someone. God designed conviction to be uncomfortable so that we'd hurry to repentance and find relief in restoration. Feeling is a good thing, Beloved. Nothing is more frightening than a seared conscious.

Beth Moore, Esther, Week 3 Day 5

[kelswarren]

God's Timing is Always Perfect

In Esther 3:12 we learn that Haman has the royal secretaries write out the order that the Jewish people will be annihilated. This order is written on the 13th day of the first month. We then look at Jewish history, specifically Leviticus 23:4-5, and find out that the 14th day of the first month is the Lord's Passover, a yearly day of remembrance celebrated by the Jewish people. As Beth Moore says, "That very evening at dusk, in accordance with God's command, the fathers were to recount to their families the story of Israel's deliverance from the mighty Egyptians. Celebration turned to shock and horror, but for those who were willing, perhaps also hope." How awesome is it that God ensured in His perfect timing that fear and threat of destruction would be met with stories of God's redemptive miracles! I love that my God holds time in his hands and can ordain it perfectly for me, even when Satan tries to create destruction with it.

[kelswarren]

Bad Things

This morning in Esther I'm learning about Haman's decree to "destroy, kill, and annihilate" the Jewish people. The Hebrew word translated into annihilate is "abad". And I immediately though, hmm no wonder we call wrongful things bad! To further make the point, in Hebrew The Bible states Satan's name is "Abaddon" in Revelation 9:11. More "bad", but did you see the scripture, 9:11....like, 9/11 the national tragedy. Part of me wonders if that's really coincidence or not as I do believe 9/11 was a scheme derived from Satan. I know this is heavy, but the section ends in hope. I love this quote from Beth Moore: "When all is said and done, Satan can't win and you can't lose." I'm so thankful that we can claim this as the ending to our stories!

[kelswarren]

Anger that doesn’t quickly subside always ends up hurting people.

Beth Moore, Esther, Week 3 Day 2. See Ephesians 4:26-27 for more.

[kelswarren]

Let's start resisting the bait when we're feeling set up by people who are looking for vicarious drama.

Beth Moore, Esther, Week 3 Day 2

[kelswarren]

No matter how we sparkle at church or Bible study, on earth we still have pain. Instead of going ahead and feeling the pain, processing it before God, and letting Him heal us, sometimes we opt for a trade-in. We swap pain for anger because it's easier for a while, and, boy, can it be energizing! Soon mad turns to mean. Friends turn to enemies. And Agags turn to Hamans.

Beth Moore, Esther, Week 3 Day 1

[kelswarren]

Sometimes providence can be defined as times when God trumps your perfectly good plan with one of His own...then seems to disappear from it. Take heart, Beloved! He's right there and He's there right.

Beth Moore, Esther, Week 2 Day 5

[kelswarren]

Our culture has strangely confused significance with independence and subservience with weakness.

Beth Moore, Esther, Week 2 Day 5

[kelswarren]

I thanked God for being the kind of King who gives a woman dignity instead of taking it, a righteous King whose commands are always for our good and whose ways are always toward our wholeness…our God never asks anything perverse of us. Men who please Him are not promised a harem full of virgins for their sexual enjoyment when they die. Our God views women with purity, not sensuality.

Beth Moore, Esther, Week 2 Day 3. In comparison to Persian kings of the past and in Esther’s story

[kelswarren]

We neither have to be carnal to be likable nor insincere to be endearing. We can love God and still be liked by people.

Beth Moore. Esther, Week 2 Day 2 Ahmen to this!

[kelswarren]

Those of us who know Jesus personally live under divine rule where all us girls get to be princesses.

Beth Moore, Esther Week 2 Day 2

[kelswarren]

Powerful Word Play in Esther

I love, love, love finding out deeper meaning to the word choices used in the Bible. This week as I studied Esther I gained insight into the words subsided, remembered and receded.

Esther 2:1 says “Later, when the anger of King Xerxes had subsided, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what he had decreed about her.” First let’s take a look a history and find our that “later” actually meant 4 years later he is finally realizing this; he must have been really angry! Next, we learn that the Hebrew word for remembered implies compassion. Beth Moore provides a quote that says it could be read as this: “the king has become melancholy in the absence of his wife and regretful of the severity of the punishment.” Beth goes on to say that the use of the passive verb as he looked back and remembered suggests also that he is transferring the blame to his advisors. To bring it all together, Beth says that the world translated into subsided in the above scripture is the same root word translated into receded in Genesis 8:1 as it discussed the waters after the flood (ya know, the Noah’s ark flood). Genesis also uses the same word for remembered as the Esther verse. 

I know that was a a lot! But imagining the waters of the great flood receding back in a powerful way, and imagining God’s compassion on Noah and his family as he remembered to save them, that gives so much more power to the story of King Xerxes as he remembers and misses his wife as his anger finally recedes and his true emotions are able to be felt. Wow - I love how it all ties together!

[kelswarren]

Meaning Behind Esther

So Esther originally had the Jewish name of "Hadassah" which comes from the word for "myrtle" meaning "fragrance". Which makes me laugh because my cousin and I used to call each other Gertrude and Myrtle. But here's the really cool part. Her Persian name was "Esther". This comes from the Hebrew root "str" which means "to conceal". And I haven't gotten to this part in the scripture, but we all know Esther concealed the fact that she was Jewish when she married the king. And this eventually allowed her to advocate for her people and save their lives. How awesome is that?! I love learning How God weaves in these small details that make his story exponentially more powerful!

[kelswarren]

Yes, it's tough being a woman in another's shadow, but sometimes, there in the hiddenness, God builds a woman she'd never otherwise become.

Beth Moore, Esther week 1 day 5