As I’m preaching through The Book of Esther, it’s clear that God is active in ALL the events of Esther’s life. She was a chosen woman; chosen by her cousin Mordecai to raise after her parent’s died leaving her an orphan. She was chosen to represent one of the Persian provinces as “Miss Persia” and she was chosen by the leader of the King’s harem for special privileges. She ultimately was chosen by the King himself as his NIQ - “New Improved Queen.” He chose her by remembering her name. Not an easy thing to do with the number of women he had “met.” God has chosen us as well! He has called us by name –not for selfish purposes but noble ones. He has chosen us to be a part of his family and to represent him in this world!

Esther is an amazing book, full of divine surprises and painful realities as well. It’s hard to imagine the hatred the Jews have endured throughout their history. Haman’s evil desire was to eradicate all the Jews in Persia on one day. Thankfully, his plan was thwarted miraculously, as we’ll discover in the week ahead. Hitler tried to do the same with his Final Solution in Nazi Germany. He too was thwarted. Though six million Jews lost their lives in the process. At that time, Jews were not even allowed to read the Book of Esther, though many in the concentration camps had memorized it and shared it with one another. Today, we have the president of Iran saying the Holocaust was a myth and vowing to wipe Israel off the map. Our own country seems to be distancing itself from Israel; no longer offering the support we historically have given since 1948 when Israel became a nation again. We must never forget the Covenant promises given to Abram in Genesis 12:3: “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” May we always bless the people of Israel as a church family and a nation! I thought you might enjoy reading this account of “Hitler and the Cookie” from PERCEPTIONS, Volume IV, by Tom Harrison.

Adolph Hitler was whipping the Nazi crowd into a frenzy as he described how he was going to annihilate his enemy, the Jewish race. Halfway through his hateful speech, a Jewish man who was seated on the front row began to smile at Hitler. By the time Hitler was finished the man was beaming. Furious, Hitler approached him afterwards and yelled, “Why were you smiling at me? Didn’t you hear what I said I’m going to do to your horrible religion and to your people?” The Jewish man said, “A long time ago there was a man named ‘Pharaoh.’ Because of him we celebrate the Passover with a four-cornered cookie. Later, there was a man named ‘Haman.’ Because of him we celebrate Purim with a three-cornered cookie. As you spoke, I was just wondering what type of cookie we’d have in honor of you.”

Faith visualizes the future by trusting in God. With faith we can face any adversity, any difficulty or any monster. When we know we’re going to win the war, our confidence enables us to smile regardless of our foe.

God is at work in all of our lives. May we unashamedly live our life for Him!

Blessings to you!

Yours for Christ’s sake,
Mark

P.S. Remember our special offering this week to assist those impacted by disasters in our own church family. Thanks!