Author: livinghopeny

Esther part 7 – “With Him or against Him, the choice is yours.” “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” Luke‬ 11‬:23‬ ESV‬‬‬ Jesus is not making this statement because He is trying to be tough or discouraging, He’s making this statement out of love, kindness… Continue reading Weekly Reflection 11/6/23

Esther part 6 (Chapter 5) – “A Living Sacrifice” Are you living your life as a living sacrifice for the glory of God and the advancement of His Kingdom; or are you living your life trying to sacrifice others for your glory and the advancement of your kingdom? A Living Sacrifice ““Go, gather all the… Continue reading Weekly Reflection 10/30/23

Esther part 5 – “Will You Be the Somebody?” Is there something in this church or in this community you are hoping “somebody” will do?  Do you ever think to yourself, “somebody” ought to ______________________or, I wish “somebody” would ________________________?  Will you be the “somebody”?  In Esther 4 Mordecai will challenge Esther to be the “somebody”… Continue reading Weekly Reflection 10/23/23

Esther part 4 – “God Controls the Dice” Esther 2:21 – 3:1 Remember that at the end of chapter 2 Mordecai happened to overhear a plot to assassinate king Ahasuerus while he was “sitting at the gate.”  Mordecai foiled the assassination plot by reporting it to Queen Esther, who in turn reported it to the… Continue reading Weekly Reflection 10/16/23

Esther part 3 – “Still at War” “In Hebrew narrative the characteristic described when a character is introduced is key to understanding his or her role in the story.” (A Commentary of Esther, Karen Jones) When Mordecai is introduced in chapter 2 verse 5 he is identified not as a wise man or as an… Continue reading Weekly Reflection 10/10/23

Esther part 2 – “God’s Invisible Hand” How many of you have experienced someone making a promise to you that they did not or were not able to keep?  I wonder, if maybe even more than we recognize, the broken promises we have experience affect our trust in God? The book of Esther is meant… Continue reading Weekly Reflection 9/25/23

Esther Part 1 – “Where’s God?” Esther is unique among the sixty-six books of the Bible because it is the only book in God’s Word that does not contain the name of God.  God’s presence is on every page of Esther, but His name is nowhere to be found. Which raises the question of why… Continue reading Weekly Reflection 9/18/23

Weekly Reflection – Courage Under Blessing 2 Samuel 23:20-23 Because we’re reading these stories thousands of years after the fact, and because we know how every story ends, we lose the element of surprise, the element of danger, the element of risk. That’s how it is with this story in 2 Samuel 23:20. We know that… Continue reading Weekly Reflection 9/11/23

Fish Stories | Jonah: A great fish, a greater God The great story arc of the Bible points to Jesus and the work being accomplished by the Holy Spirit to bring together people in whose attention, worship, is centered on the glory of God & the Lamb forever. After this I looked, and behold, a… Continue reading Weekly Reflection 9/5/23

Fish Stories – “I am going fishing.” You have not failed so badly that you cannot be restored by God and used by God. Here's what's happened a few weeks before the account in John 21: Jesus is arrested. And Peter is there. And during Jesus arrest, Peter is confronted and asked three times, “Aren't… Continue reading Weekly Reflection 8/28/23