Encouragement From the Word

by Becky Wyand

In reading Esther recently I was encouraged to get another glimpse of God’s mercy and to realize that it applies to me.

Throughout Scripture we see the enemy trying to thwart Gods plan and we see God in His power and authority continuing to carry out what He designed.

God truly is fully able to put together the pieces in our lives to make the beautiful picture that He intended for us to be.

Consider these points from Esther:

1. Notice what had to happen for her to become queen of Persia

• Vashti had to disobey the Kings orders
• The King had to hear the counsel of men
• It probably had to be kept a secret that Esther was Jewish
• She had to find favor with the king’s helpers
• Esther had to remain submissive to her relative – Mordecai
• You could think of many other conditions and decisions that were present

2. Notice the events leading to the release of the Jews from the proclamation of certain death.

• The king had to hold out the golden scepter to her.
• Esther had to have the conviction of purpose – willing even unto death.
• Haman had to be dumbed-down enough to not see the banquet plot.

And on and on and on we could list events. But the point is the Jews were God’s chosen people and He would go to all lengths to preserve them.

Praise Him. For so it is with us. God’s love for us is with a purpose. He chooses to bring glory to Himself through us. And He will go to all lengths to see that that happens. Praise Him, again.

Self Worth

We are always looking for helps to make sure our training in self worth is biblical. Some of the thoughts that follow are from Charles Stanley’s ‘Winning the War Within’.

Anytime we seek self worth through programs or anything besides God, we are laying the groundwork for extreme temptation.

Certain people, certain places or certain things will have the power to snare us into sin if we seek our worth through any of them.

What must we do to avoid this lure? Switch from the luring set of values to God’s set..

How?

1. Identify what those luring places, people, things are from which you erroneously draw your worth.

2. Renew your mind to truth. The truth is that your real identity is wrapped in Jesus Christ. One of the ways to renew your mind is reading, meditating and memorizing the word.

Championship Christian Education

One of the outstanding qualities the leads to usefulness and success is responsibility.

Developing responsibility in our children requires that we understand its values. Responsibility is important because it enforces or reinforces so many other qualities such as promptness and dependability.

When training in responsibility, encourage it at a young age. Continue to train and expect a responsible response.

As children get older allow them to receive the natural consequences of the lack of responsibility and the natural rewards of responsible behavior.

A great deterrent in the training for responsible behavior is the making of excuses. Primarily it is the excuse of the irresponsible one that is then accepted by the one in authority OR the excuse of the irresponsible one that is conflicted among those in authority. 

When training, remember your eternal value goal and allow nothing to confuse that.

Reading

Many of you are reporting to me that you are taking turns reading the Word of God in a family circle. That sounds so refreshing. Keep it up. Many times enjoy just the reading of the Word; occasionally ask questions that make the Word fit with who the child is and the struggles your family faces. But, above all, continue to read the Word and enjoy being together.

Projects and Field Trips

Project and or field trips add to what you want your children to learn.

The difference is often that in studying a text topic the child learned ABOUT something. Add a project or field trip to the text information and often you give the child the opportunity to UNDERSTAND the topic.

(Besides it’s more fun!)  

Set your calendar and prepare your projects for expo!