I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!—Esther 4:16

The book of Esther tells [a] story of love, sacrifice, and God’s timing. Mordecai, a Jew in exile, refused to bow to Haman, second in command to King Ahasuerus. Haman became furious and plotted to destroy Mordecai and all the Jews. So Haman deceived the king and persuaded him to issue an edict condemning the Jews to deth. When Mordecai told his cousin Queen Esther about the edict, he urged her to intervene. “Who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” he said (v.14). Approaching the king uninvited was punishable by death. But Esther seized the moment to save her people!

When we are able to rescue others, we should do so at all costs. Ask God for His direction and act! He may have placed you here “for such a time as this.”—Marvin Williams

Now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.–1 Cor. 13:13

Comedian Henny Youngman used to say, “I’ve got two wonderful children—and two out of five isn’t bad.”

When children reach adulthood, most parents have an opinion about how their offspring have “turned out.” Some are proud of everything their kids have done, while other parents express misgivings or disappointment about the choices their children have made. How can we continue a positive parenting role after the birds have left our nest?

In 1 Corinthians 13, often called “the love chapter” of the Bible, Paul writes that the greatest gifts of speaking, understanding, and sacrificial service are worthless without love (vv.1-3). Love itself is the foundation of winsome behavior, and its influence never ends. “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails” (vv.4-8).

When our children no longer seek our advice, they still value our love. In every stage of parenting, it’s not only what we say but what we do that counts.—David McCasland

He made us accepted in the Beloved.—Ephesians 1:6

By God’s design, each of us is an absolutely unique person, a Christ-redeemed human being who can never be replaced or duplicated.

Do you condemn yourself because you aren’t as spiritual as you think you ought to be? Do you see yourself as a second-rate disciple, lacking the gifts and graces possessed by fellow believers who seem to be models of prayer, witness, and service? We can rise above the mood of self-rejection and enjoy grateful self-acceptance when we put our lives into the nail-pierced hands of Jesus. “In Him we have redemption through His blood, [and] the forgiveness of sins” (Eph. 1:7). We are accepted and chosen by Him (vv.4-6).

If the Lord has accepted us, surely we can accept ourselves! That’s the liberating truth.—Vernon Grounds

A man of understanding is of a calm spirit.—Proverbs 17:27

Quarrels among believers in Jesus Christ bring dishonor to Him. They create wounds in our brothers and sisters, leaving scars. “It is honorable for a man to stop striving, since any fool can start a quarrel,” says Proverbs 20:3. And “He who has knowledge spares his words” (17:27).

How much better it is when we speak gentle words of peace, not angry words of strife!—Dave Egner

Through love serve one another.—Galatians 5:13

The apostle Paul encouraged the Christians of Galatia: “Through love serve one another” (Gal. 5:13). Some of them believed that the ceremonial practices of the Old Testament were still binding on the church. Paul wrote that salvation is by grace through faith. It is by faith we live out our new life in Christ. He reminded them that the law was fulfilled in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (v.14).

As followers of Jesus, we’re here to serve Him out of love—to “bless God for blessing us.”—Anne Cetas

Why are you cast down, O my soul?. . .Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him.–Ps. 42:5

The high school commencement speaker was the president of a large corporation. He was chosen for the occasion because of his success. Yet his speech came with a most unusual wish for the graduates.

The speaker told the students sitting before him in their graduation gowns, “If I could have one hope for you as you go out into the world, it would be this: I hope you fail. I hope that you fail at something that is important to you.” He went on to say how his own early life had been one failure after another, until he learned to see failure as an effective teacher.

Many of the songs of Israel were born in seasons of failure. Out of desperation came the cry, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God” (Ps. 42:1-2).

Sometimes we are not ready to see the wonder of God’s wisdom and strength until we are gasping for breath in the exhaustion of our own strength.

A recurring story of the Bible is that mountains of faith rise from the valleys of failure. Before discovering the high ground we are looking for, we may need to see the failure of the dreams we hold in our hearts and trust instead in the love, wisdom, and guidance of our God.—Mart De Haan

Our life begins with the union of a man and a woman, our earthly Father and Mother. Our earthly father figure we most come to know as Daddy. I was privileged to have a wonderful Daddy for the first forty eight years of my life. When my Daddy passed away, it was a very heart-breaking, sad day. He is no longer there for me to visit on Father’s Day, but I thank the Lord that I was privileged to be able to “know” him all that time. I have those memories from the days spent with my Daddy to last me a lifetime. Not all are so well-blessed.

Do you want to make your Daddy’s eyes light up with joy on this Father’s Day? “What can I get” is usually the first thing that comes to our mind on special days such as this. But I would venture to say, from experience, a gift is not always what a parent looks for from a child. They want your love, a visit or maybe a phone call if you aren’t where you can be there on that special day. I remember how my Daddy always smiled when we entered the house and saw him sitting in the Den in his favorite chair. He loved to see the grandchildren/great grandchildren come in and run into his arms. Sure he loved those cards and gifts, but he would demonstrate that the love shown to him meant so much more. Why not take time out this Father’s Day to call your Daddy or go to see him and put a sparkle in his eyes? You will be glad you did in years to come when Daddy is no longer there in your presence.

We also have a heavenly Father who is there regardless of whether we have our natural father in our lives or not. He will never leave nor forsake us in our need.

Psalm 68:5 A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, [is] God in his holy habitation.

Every child wants a Daddy he or she can look up to, maybe set on his lap, share the day with him and just know he will be there when we need him. For those not so blessed, there is a Father that is always there for us, never judges us, and loves us more than anyone.

Psalm 36:7 How excellent [is] thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings .

Psalm 61:4 I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings . Selah.

Matthew 15:26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

Remember, that regardless of our age, to our parents, we are always their “child”. To God, we mean so much he had his only begotten Son lay down his life for us.

John 10:14 I am the good shepherd, and know my [ sheep ], and am known of mine. 15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep .

Copyright @1997 by Barbara Sanders

Thank you, dear friend, for sending this to me

An elderly woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across the back of her neck.

One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water.

At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishment.

The poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream. ‘I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.’

 

‘That’s because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them.’ ‘For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table.

Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.’

Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it’s the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding.

You’ve just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.

SO, to all of my crackpot friends, have a great day and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path!

Don’t forget the Cracked Pot that shared this with you!!

 

 

 

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There is none righteous, no, not one.—Romans 3:10

If [we] can break such a clearly defined law as a speed limit, think how easy it is to break God’s perfect law, which covers every aspect of life. No one, no matter how moral or religiously fervent, can keep it perfectly.

Paul wrote, “By the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Rom. 3:20). Keeping the law can’t save us; rather, through the law we become aware of our sin (3:7-12). That’s why God sent His Son to save us. We need the righteousness of Jesus, because we can’t be justified through our good deeds. Paul concluded, we are “justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law” (v.28).

If you have put your faith in Christ, you can say with Paul, “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin” (Rom. 4:7-8).—C.P. Hia