Esther 9:2 (KJV) The Victory Belongs to Jesus

Esther 9:2 (KJV)

The Jews gathered themselves together in their cities throughout all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, to lay hand on such as sought their hurt: and no man could withstand them; for the fear of them fell upon all people.

The authority of the king held such a tremendous sway. Whether the enemies of the Jews defeated the Jews or whether the Jews defeated their enemies was not up to fate nor up to the strength of one over the other. The king entirely decided the victor.

For a time, it appeared the enemy would win, and the Jews would be exterminated. God had other plans. Circumstances had already been implemented to counter any advantages the enemy seemed to have had.

• Esther was the queen
• Mordecai had saved the king’s life

Though a decree had been signed and the Jews were deeply threatened, what was apparently ordained was countervailed by the further command of the king.

The events of this world are not under the thumb of the greatest power. The victory does not belong to the largest army or the strongest force. The outcome belongs to the decree of the Lord. Many of us have already read it. Though he is seemingly powerful, and with overwhelming forces, Satan hasn’t the authority to win. 

The victory belongs to Jesus. Those who follow Him will partake in and rejoice over that victory.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

Donate to our cause of “Reaching a world of souls with the Word of God.”

For this and, more than 6000 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

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Esther 9:2 (KJV) The Victory Belongs to Jesus

Acts 26:24 (KJV) The Key to Saving Grace

Acts 26:24 (KJV)

And as he thus spake for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad.

Interestingly, Festus said of Paul, “much learning doth make thee mad.” I am often accused of being “unlearned”[1]because of my position on the doctrines of Christ. I find in Paul’s defenses three responses:

Felix trembled[2]
It is unfortunate that he did not come to Christ.

Festus shouted
He thought the doctrines of Christ and His resurrection were ludicrous, insane.

Agrippa waffled
Paul looked into this man’s eyes and pleaded for him to trust. Agrippa replied, “Almost.”

But 

• Almost is not good enough
• Conviction is not far enough

Faith is the key that opens the door to saving grace.

---

[1] I’m in good company. Acts 4:13 (KJV)
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.

[2] Acts 24:25 (KJV)
And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

Donate to our cause of “Reaching a world of souls with the Word of God.”

For this and, more than 6000 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Acts 26:24 (KJV) The Key to Saving Grace

Esther 8:4 (KJV) A Second Blessing

Esther 8:4 (KJV)

Then the king held out the golden sceptre toward Esther. So Esther arose, and stood before the king,

Among the Arminian believers,[1] there is what they call “the doctrine of the second blessing.” They teach that salvation is a first blessing and sanctification, to be perfectly sinless, is a second blessing. When I was in Bible College, my wife worked at a Christian grade school administered by a group that held such a doctrine. I once heard the bishop Conkle, then the leader of this group, teach the doctrine[2] on the radio. His wife was the principal of the school my wife worked at. The bishop’s wife confided in my wife once, “I don’t believe the second blessing is really in the Bible.” She had lived with the bishop long enough to know he was not perfectly sinless!

The doctrine of the second blessing is not biblical, but this second time the king held the golden scepter toward Esther does remind me that our salvation isn’t the only blessing God has for us.

He extended grace before us when He saved us from our sin and made us children of light, not darkness. He has given us victory over sin, over death and made us His own.

He will extend grace before us once again when, in the last day, He raises us with immortal, celestial bodies, seats us together with Christ in heavenly places, and binds Satan eternally in the Lake of Fire.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

---

[1] Arminianism, a theological movement in Protestant Christianity that arose as a liberal reaction to the Calvinist doctrine of predestination. The movement began early in the 17th century and asserted that God’s sovereignty and human free will are compatible. Apr 11, 2023  https://www.google.com/search?q=Arminian&oq=Arminian&aqs=chrome..69i57.283j0j1&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

[2] And claim it for himself.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

Donate to our cause of “Reaching a world of souls with the Word of God.”

For this and, more than 6000 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Esther 8:4 (KJV) A Second Blessing

Esther 6:3 (KJV) Hard Work with Little Reward?

Esther 6:3 (KJV)
And the king said, What honour and dignity hath been done to Mordecai for this? Then said the king’s servants that ministered unto him, There is nothing done for him.

Every month, I’ve put some money aside in an account for about forty years now. In practical life, this practice has accomplished nothing for me. There has been no benefit. There is nothing to show for it. I get a slip of paper, or more recently, an electronic notice, that reports the total, but that is of little good. The fact is, that number costs me. I have to pay taxes on it. It is a practice that they say is good to do. But in real-time, it seems good for nothing.

Mordecai had done the right thing. He had reported the betrayal of two of the king’s servants and saved the king’s life. Nothing had been done to reward or recognize him. But it was not as if his service wasn’t worth it. It had been recorded. In time, really, at the right time, the record came to the king, and, at the right time, the king was moved to honor him.

Serving the Lord can sometimes feel like hard work with little reward. But that’s not the case. Serving the Lord is like putting money in the bank. God is keeping a record, and while it might sometimes seem like nothing has been done to repay that service, a day is coming when the account is opened, and the treasures laid up will be more than sufficient.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

Donate to our cause of “Reaching a world of souls with the Word of God.”

For this and, more than 6000 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Esther 6:3 (KJV) Hard Work with Little Reward?

Esther 5:3 (KJV) We Know the End

Esther 5:3 (KJV)

Then said the king unto her, What wilt thou, queen Esther? and what is thy request? it shall be even given thee to the half of the kingdom.

Years ago, I heard of a preacher who saw in the book of Esther a type of the relationship between God the Father, God the Son, and the church of Jesus Christ. I won’t remember his comparisons exactly, but I can see:

• Ahasuerus, as God the Father
• His first wife, Vashti, as Israel
• Ahasuerus, as God the Son
• His second wife, Esther, as the church
• Haman, as Satan

There are a million holes in the picture, and I hate the idea of Ahasuerus as a type of God. But allow me this grace.

God would have loved to have made much of Israel. She is the apple of His eye. She is loved simply because He loves her. But she has spurned His love.

Israel is currently set aside. The Bible says she is divorced from God. In her place, God today, is preparing a bride for His Son, the church of Jesus Christ.

As the bride, Esther appeals to her husband through days of fasting and prayer. She puts on her royal apparel and awaits the grace of His call to bid her to Himself.

In the meantime, she faces a terrible enemy.

Satan, the fallen angels, and those taken captive by him at his will plot to destroy the object of Christ’s love. Satan and those who belong to him boast of their wealth, power, and position. Pride is the primary characteristic of the devil.

As he prepares his victory over the love of God, she prepares her appeal to the king of kings. It may look bad for her now.

But we know the end of the book!

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

Donate to our cause of “Reaching a world of souls with the Word of God.”

For this and, more than 6000 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Esther 5:3 (KJV) We Know the End

Esther 4:4 (KJV) The Devastation the Devil is Doing

Esther 4:4 (KJV)

So Esther’s maids and her chamberlains came and told it her. Then was the queen exceedingly grieved; and she sent raiment to clothe Mordecai, and to take away his sackcloth from him: but he received it not.

It is common among Christians today to put on a false front. It is, in many cases, even expected that Christians would behave as if everything in the world was fine. A smile, a disposition of joy is the premium American Christianity sells today.

I do believe that Christians are overcomers.[1] I agree there is both a joy and a peace that passeth understanding[2] available for the Christian. But I also believe that too many of us are, like Queen Esther, living in the palace and unaware or else purposely ignoring the devastation the devil is doing in our world.

• Would to God we had more believers in sackcloth and ashes.
• Would to God the Queen Esther’s of this world would be the ones corrected of their celebrations rather than the Mordecai’s being chided for their mourning.

What Christian doesn’t know the eventual end of this world?

Perhaps we would see a great revival before the Great Tribulation if we also saw a great mourning among the believers.

---

[1] 1 John 4:4 (KJV)
Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

[2] Philippians 4:7 (KJV)
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

Donate to our cause of “Reaching a world of souls with the Word of God.”

For this and, more than 6000 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Esther 4:4 (KJV) The Devastation the Devil is Doing

Esther 1:13 (KJV) Study to Know Right

Esther 1:13 (KJV)

Then the king said to the wise men, which knew the times, (for so was the king’s manner toward all that knew law and judgment:

I am reminded of Psalms 1:1-2 (KJV)
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

The king had access to the wisest men of his day. But when he asked them for counsel in the matter of Vashti, all they gave him was:

• Their concern for cultural norms
• Their consternation over gossip and
• Their care for their reputation

No one even considered what would be morally, emotionally, or spiritually right.

Herein is the challenge with the wise men of the world. They study to know how to get along or to be successful. They do not study to know what is right.

Better to be an expert in right and at a loss in the world than the other way around.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

Donate to our cause of “Reaching a world of souls with the Word of God.”

For this and, more than 6000 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Esther 1:13 (KJV) Study to Know Right