Endings and Beginnings

The book of Malachi wraps up the Old Testament. It’s also the conclusion of our UPWORD together readings (for now!). Dr. Henrietta Mears wrote: “Martin Luther called John 3:16 ‘the little gospel.’ In the same way, we might speak of Malachi as the ‘little Old Testament’.”

As the ‘little Old Testament’ we see in Malachi the reality of ongoing sin and the tragedy of fallen humanity.  Even though the people had been loved by God and protected by his goodness, they still doubted his love and turned toward themselves and away from him. “‘I have loved you deeply,’ says the LORD. But you retort, ‘Really? How have you loved us?'” (Malachi 1:1) The people had been set free from exile, returned to their homeland, and rebuilt their Temple and walls of their city, yet again fell into a faithless condition.  The people were involved in thoughtless and cold religion (Mal. 1:6-8), preoccupation with money and robbing God of the tithe (Mal 3:7-12), rampant divorce (Mal.2:14-16), evil associations (Mal.2:10-12), and doubting God’s character and justice (Mal 2:17-3:6). As the culmination of the Old Testament, Malachi ends with the word “curse.”  And this is the result of life lived apart from God.

However, “curse” is not the final word of the Bible, just the Old Testament. Malachi promised that God would send a messenger in the future who would be a forerunner to God’s arrival. “Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple,” (Mal 3:1).  The New Testament identifies John the Baptist as that messenger (see John 1:23 and Luke 3:3-4) and it identifies Jesus as God himself who has come to his temple (John 20:30-31).  And while the Old Testament ends with the word “curse,” the New Testament closes with a blessing: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with all God’s people.” (Revelation 22:21).

God continues to send his messengers ahead of Him into people’s lives.  When we allow God to use us to speak his love into lives that have been broken by the curse of sin and selfishness, we help to prepare the way for Jesus to enter in and bring his blessing of grace and life.  We live in a time not unlike that of the time of Malachi — people are still the same, living careless lives with spiritless religion. We, like Malachi and  John the Baptist, can be God’s messengers of the good news that God loves broken people.  Choosing to yield and live Christ-full lives will usher in his deep, profound, and healing love through us to others.  As we receive him daily, we can be used by God just as we are to bless others he puts in our lives.  We can live out the truth that Jesus has come to remove the curse of sin and death with the blessing of new life through grace.  We can offer hope where hope has been lost, restore forgiveness where offense has shut down hearts, and be the presence of Christ to those who are seeking him.  God’s story doesn’t end with Malachi or the Old Testament.  He’s just getting started.

What God Requires

One of the terrible things about this fallen life is how easy it is for us to be consumed with ourselves and to become confused about God. The people of Israel during the time of Micah had become very confused about God and themselves.  They were supposed to know him, but their vision and understanding of who he is and what he wants became clouded by their own deceit and selfishness.  Instead of relying upon God, the people relied upon all kinds of useless things to bring their lives meaning and to attempt to bring them security. They looked to their military strength and their city fortifications to provide their safety (Micah 5:11). They looked to false spiritualities such as the occult, witchcraft, fortune tellers, astrology, and idol worship to bring them guidance (Micah 5:12-14).  Their lives had become bloated by wealth and self-importance and they forgot that it was God who was their Creator and real source of power. “O my people, what have I done to you? How have I wearied you? Answer me! For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery… I the LORD did everything I could to teach you about my faithfulness,” (Micah 6:3-5).

As the realities of their practical atheism and the consequences of their sinful lives began to catch up with them, the people scrambled to appease God. It wasn’t that they honestly feared him or that they reverently worshipped him.  They weren’t interested in holiness or being acceptable to him.  Instead, they were panicked that were losing the temporal and earthly things (health, money, status, power) that they most valued. They thought that if they just got the religious formula right, God would relent and once more become their “blessing” machine. So they postulated a confused religious response to try to buy him off: “What can we bring to the LORD to make up for what we’ve done? Should we bow before God with offerings of yearling calves? Should we offer him thousands of rams and tens of thousands of rivers of olive oil? Would that please the LORD? Should we sacrifice our firstborn children to pay for the sins of our souls? Would that make him glad?” (Micah 6:6-8).

Ultimately there is nothing we can do to impress God or win his favor.  What God is looking for is faith — a living, believing, everyday trust in Him that affects our lifestyle and the way we treat other people. “Without faith, it is impossible to please God,” (Hebrews 11:6).  Or as Micah puts it: “God has already told you what is good, and this is what he requires: to do right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God,” (Micah 6:8).  God is not telling us there is a way to earn our salvation through our efforts, but instead is describing what a life lived with him looks like.  He’s not showing the seed that creates faith, but the fruit that’s produced by faith.  He’s describing a life of faith that treats others responsibly, that is merciful to everyone (both those who deserve it and especially those who don’t), and that fully relies upon God for all things.  God has not changed.  He still requires the same thing he has always required.  What he wants from you, what he requires, is living faith.

The Greatest Day of His Life

The greatest day of the prophet Jeremiah’s life is recounted in Chapter 40 of his book. It came immediately on the heals of the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem of which Jeremiah had prophesied for many years. The people were in the midst of being exiled to Babylon just as Jeremiah had predicted. Finally, the lies of all the false prophets who continuously declared, “Peace, peace,” were exposed. The truth and integrity of Jeremiah’s ministry was clearly displayed.

Jeremiah was in chains with the rest of the people as they began the long trip into Babylonian captivity.  Only the weakest and poorest people — the truly worthless people — had been left behind in the destroyed Jerusalem. Suddenly, Jeremiah was singled out of the crowd and given a message by the conquering King Nebuchadnezzar.  Jeremiah’s chains were removed and he was given the option of going to Babylon where he would be given special treatment — a posh retirement of sorts under the protection of the King, or he could return to Jerusalem and live among the ruins with the misfits of the remnant community. “The captain of the guard called for Jeremiah and said, ‘…Now I am going to take off your chains and let you go. If you want to come with me to Babylon, you are welcome. I will see that you are well cared for. But if you don’t want to come, you may stay here…Its’ up to you; go wherever you like,” (Jeremiah 40:2-5).

In Babylon, Jeremiah would have ease and comfort as promised by Nebuchadnezzar himself. He would have respect and dignity (he had been despised and ridiculed by his own people). He would have provision and ease. Essentially, he would have the “good life” and could finish out his days as he well deserved. In Jerusalem, however, he would be starting over. There would be few resources of any kind. The city was in ruins. The temple was a heap. The people were so broken and despicable that they weren’t worth taking as slaves. Jerusalem would mean continued and increased hardship for the rest of his days.

Jeremiah chose Jerusalem. It was the greatest day of his life. He chose a life of faith in the midst of the brokenness. He chose to trust God despite what he could see. He chose to believe that God would rebuild from the ruins. He believed God’s provision and grace would reestablish a people called by God’s own name. Ultimately, Jeremiah chose God.  He chose to live a life with God walking the faith walk –  a life that is not particularly pretty or popular; and certainly is not easy or simplistic.

Everyone of us will face choices throughout our lives as to whether or not we will live by faith. Those choices will always be costly. That is ultimately what this life is about.  Faith or no faith. Belief in God or no belief in God. Trust in his word or trust in the world. Will you choose to trust God and follow him no matter where it might lead?  Will you hold on to him in the midst of confusion and disappointment? Will you remain faithful to him even amidst destruction and calamity? Will you cling to him no matter what the cost?  His promise is the same for everyone who chooses Him, “I will be with you. I will never leave you nor forsake you. I will be with you to the very end of the age.”

 

The Power of Denial

Denial is a psychological defense mechanism that can lead to real and lasting devastation. Basically, denial is the refusal to acknowledge the existence of an unpleasant reality.   Denial was active in the lives of the people of Judah and particularly their king, Jehoiakim of Jerusalem. Jehoiakim absolutely refused to listen to the prophet Jeremiah’s predictions of the coming destruction by the Babylonians. He preferred to listen instead to the lies of the false prophets who continuously declared peace and low-cost deliverance. Jehoiakim wanted to believe that no harm would come to him despite how he lived. He wanted blessing without accountability. He was committed to keeping up the charade that God would not bring correction to His own people who had rebelled against Him. Jehoiakim’s denial was so complete that he even burned the scroll on which Jeremiah had recorded the Lord’s message. “”Whenever Jehudi finished reading three or four columns of the scroll, the king took his knife and cut off that section of the scroll. He then threw it into the fire, section by section, until the whole scroll was burned up. Neither the king nor his officials showed any signs of fear or repentance at what they heard,” (Jeremiah 36:23-24).

Jehoiakim was like so many us who pretend our sins will not catch up to us and who deny the consequences of our actions by ignoring them. As the old saying goes, denial is not just a river in Egypt—it is a force in all of our lives.  But to be whole people who live in freedom, we must face the truth about our actions. The only way to overcome our problems is to deal with them squarely before the Lord. Had Jehoiakim heard the words of the prophet and turned away from his sin, God would have spared him and brought healing. We know this is the case because that’s what happened with Johoiakim’s father Josiah.  When Josiah heard the words of the Book of Deuteronomy for the first time he tore his clothes in repentance and committed himself to a program of change.  Josiah received the merciful love of God because of his heartfelt and true response to God’s corrective word.  But such was not the case with his son. Jehoiakim chose instead to listen to the lying prophets and to reject God’s clear warning.

A life of freedom always comes through a commitment to truth.  Essentially, committing to truth is committing to God. We must be willing to hear what God’s word has to say about our lives and then respond accordingly.  Jesus said, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free,” (John 8:32). Are there any “false prophets” in your life calling you away from the truth? Are you struggling to accept the reality of your actions and therefore living in a dangerous kind of denial? Are you rejecting what God has clearly pointed out to you as sin in your life?  May I encourage you to allow the Holy Spirit to search your heart and help you gain God’s perspective on what is really going on within you.  And then honestly turn to the Lord to be healed. Commit yourself to him and ask him to give you the power to change. With God, we never receive what our sins deserve. Instead we receive grace and mercy because God specializes in restoring that which is broken.

Who Do You Love the Most?

When I was in elementary school I had many notes passed to me by my fellow students.  These notes sought out crucial relational information. They said things like, “Do you like me? Check the box yes or no.”  “Who are the three cutest girls in the class. List in order below.”  Then there was the most serious kind of note — the love note questionnaire.  It invariably inquired: “Who do you love the most?”  There would either be a list of 3 or 4 names from which to select or there would be a blank line on which you could scribble the name of your choice. The greatest thing in the world was discovering (or being shown by an accomplice) that your name was selected at the top of the list. Likewise, there was nothing more crushing, no matter how much you denied it, than finding yourself rejected.

God asks each of us a variation of the same question. He doesn’t ask it in a juvenile or needy way.  But he does ask:  “Among all the options you have in this world for your affection and allegiance, who or what do you love the most?”

God’s great desire is that each one of us would live in an intimate love relationship with him. He longs that you would select him from the list of all the options that exist. He desires that you would write Jesus’ name on the blank line.  As Rick Warren says in his book What On Earth Am I Here For?, “God made you to love you, and he longs for you to love him back.”  But there are many other “lovers” in this world from which we can choose.  The Living God is only one among many options.  The world itself competes with God for your allegiance and alliance.  The apostle John warns, “Don’t love the world’s ways. don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father,” (1 John 2:15 The Message).

Today I pass a note to you in the form of this blog.  I urge you to make your choice. Choose to love the Lord above all other options.  And then make your selection known by living in such a way that your love for God is easy for everyone to see.

Where wisdom is found

Elizabeth Elliot, in her book Let Me Be a Woman, records the story of Gladys Aylward. Gladys grieved deeply over the physical appearance God had given her. As such, she struggled mightily to accept herself. Ms. Aylward told how when she was a child she had two great sorrows. One, that while all her friends had beautiful golden hair, hers was black. The other, that while her friends were still growing, she had stopped. She was about four feet ten inches tall.

Eventually, God called her into the foreign mission field.  When at last she reached the country to which God had called her to be a missionary, she stood on the wharf in Shanghai and looked around at the people to whom He had called her. “Every single one of them” she said, “had black hair. And every one of them had stopped growing when I did.” She was able to look to God and exclaim, “Lord God, You know what You’re doing!”

Without exception, human wisdom always falls short.  We simply cannot see all that God sees. We cannot understand all that God understands. He alone can see the end from the beginning, while we are limited by time and our circumstances. He alone knows the plans and purposes that he has set in place and unless he reveals them to us, we will always come to the wrong conclusions about life.

In Job 28, we encounter a stalemate between Job and his friends.  The friends have applied every bit of human wisdom they can muster to the problem of Job’s suffering.  They have no answers. Job is also dumbfounded. He simply cannot understand why his life is filled with pain and loss. Job finally turns the conversation to the question: “Where can wisdom be found?” (Job 28:12). Job declares that wisdom cannot be found among the most precious elements of this earth (gold, jewels and precious metals). Neither can wisdom be purchased. Ultimately, wisdom is found only in God (vv 20-27). God alone is all knowing, all powerful, and all wise. He is the Creator of all things and from him everything moves and has its being. Job concludes, “The fear of the Lord – that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding,” (Job 28:28).

What each of us needs, in the confusion and finiteness of our lives is the wisdom that comes from God alone.  His wisdom brings understanding to the confusing messages the world continually gives us. His wisdom helps us to see through the darkness of life. His wisdom helps us to discern the difference between the true and false.  His wisdom illuminates our minds to deception and danger.  Ask the Spirit of God to give you the wisdom you need today.

Get Real With God

I was studying in Spain the summer before my junior year in college when my grandmother died.  After returning to the States, I made it a point to go to her graveside.  I was terribly sad to lose her; she had lived 90 years well.  She had a deep, abiding reverent faith in God.  She was very proper and formal.  She and my grandfather had served in ministry together for nearly 70 years.  I can remember her telling me as a child that I needed to dress up for church to show my respect for God in his house.  So, when I decided to see her grave, out of respect for her viewpoint, I put on a dress.  I thought she would approve.  I drove over to the cemetery and parked the car.  Her grave site was a long walk across the graveyard.  I made my way through the fence and past dozens of graves to her gravestone when I realized I had a huge wad of bubble gum in my mouth.  In my angst of visiting, I was smacking it loudly to myself.  Mortified that perhaps she could hear me, I turned and ran out of the cemetery and looked for the nearest trash can to throw it out.  As I returned, I realized how foolish I was.  First of all, Grandmother was not watching me.  What I wore to visit her grave was of no consequence.  She was in a much better place where style and etiquette simply don’t matter.  Second, she couldn’t hear me popping my gum, either.  I didn’t need to waste it throwing it out before the flavor was gone.  Finally, while my Grandmother was right about nearly everything, I don’t agree that God cares for reverent piety and an outward show of respect through clothing.  I do think, though, that  Grandmother would agree that He looks upon the heart.  Where we differ is that she would challenge that your outward piety demonstrated an inward reverence.  But I disagree.

And I’m in good company.  Job is having quite a dialogue with his buddies.  Repeatedly, they call him on the carpet for addressing God so irreverently and speaking to God as if he were mortal.  Eliphaz scolds him,

“Would a wise person answer with empty notions or fill their belly with the hot east wind? Would they argue with useless words, with speeches that have no value? But you even undermine piety and hinder devotion to God,” (Job 15:2-4).

Religion dictates that certain rules and forms be followed.  But Job is not interested in religion.  He knows religion is useless to him.  What he is desperate for is answers from God himself.  The only way to get answers is to ask questions.  When you’re whole life has turned inside out, you are going to have some emotional questions to ask God.  What further torments Job is that he can’t hear God.  Eliphaz adds insult to injury when he say, “Are God’s promises not enough for you, spoken so gently and tenderly?” (Job 15:11).  At this point in Job’s story, God hasn’t entered the conversation yet so I have to assume Eliphaz thinks his own words are directly from God.  Hardly gentle or tender.  Job rebukes him as such in chapter 16,

“I’ve had all I can take of your talk. What a bunch of miserable comforters! Is there no end to your windbag speeches? What’s your problem that you go on and on like this? If you were in my shoes, I could talk just like you. I could put together a terrific harangue and really let you have it. But I’d never do that. I’d console and comfort, make things better, not worse!    (Job 16:1-5)

I love Job’s engagement here.  He differentiates himself and maintains his position.  Job speaks clearly and directly to God venting his frustration and bewilderment over his suffering.  He is serious about understanding God.  He wants truth and he wants answers.  His heart is blameless.  Nowhere does he curse God or trivialize God.  If fact, he does just the opposite.  He addresses God head on.  I see Job’s intensity and volatility representing a deep passion for true relationship with his Creator.  Nowhere do I see impropriety or an inappropriate familiarity.  He is simply getting it all out to get to the bottom of his despair.  He cannot get to the bottom of it by piping out platitudes and religious cliches.  He knows the pain is not going away until God himself removes it.  He knows his situation is not going to change unless God himself changes it.  So he takes everything he’s got and goes all out to question and understand God.

We’re only halfway through Job’s story but I’ve already peeked at the end.  And Job ends well.  God is okay with Job venting his frustration because Job’s heart is pure.  Job isn’t looking to trash God or belittle him, he’s looking for a way out of a pretty extraordinary situation.  And God can handle his anger.  He can handle yours, too.  We get into trouble when we minimize our troubles and snack away on pious, pithy Christian expressions.  Put all that away and simply pour out your heart to God.  He can handle your anger and he can handle your questions.  Nothing you’ve got is anything He hasn’t seen before.  If you can’t hear him just yet, then strengthen yourself by waiting.  Trust that at his very core, God is good.  Good things are coming.  They always do.  I’ve peeked at the end.

Outrageous Nonsense

For believers and non believers alike, James 2 hits us where it hurts.  James was the brother of Jesus and an influential leader in the early church.  He knew and understood his brother’s heart well.  He knew the battle that all of us face in walking out our faith.  He also knew that our battle in walking out our faith is one of the key stumbling blocks to people coming into the faith.  We say we believe in Jesus and that we’ve received his salvation but we sit still twiddling our thumbs in our Spirit life.  We receive the greatest gift there is of love and mercy but leave it barely opened on the table when it’s time to share it with others.  We acknowledge we have this new life of faith and call ourselves believers yet we return to life as if nothing has changed.  Do we really believe or not?

We cannot expect others around us to believe we’ve actually received this life giving gift of love and mercy if we cannot show evidence of it.  Its like telling your friends you just won the lottery but you continue to live in the ghetto and walk everywhere.  Who would believe you?  Wouldn’t you buy a home and a car and invite friends over to share your new fortune?  How can we tell people that we are owners of the greatest love that has ever been yet fail to love them with it?  As James asks,  “Isn’t it obvious that God-talk with out God-acts is outrageous nonsense?’ (James 2:17 the Message)

At the same time, showing evidence of the love without believing the One who loves us is equally absurd.  It is a waste of eternity.  Eternity starts this very minute.  We believe in our hearts and the love we’ve received overwhelms us to flow into the lives of others through our actions.  Our actions must be consistent.  James reminds us that treating society’s best differently from society’s outcasts is dangerous.  God’s love is for one and all.  Equal treatment.  If we love him, we love all equally.  Here is where it hurts.  Do I really believe Jesus died for every single person in order to reconcile us to God our Father and to enjoy the freedom and abundance of His love for us?  Or did he die for the ones with whom I’m comfortable and able to connect.  This is hard.  It is a pruning of sorts.  I must allow God to prune back all that blocks me from loving every person he allows on my path.  Some are easy, many simply are not.

Our culture and society tell us that who we interact with matters and we must connect with the right people.  This is true; we do need to connect with the right people. The “right people” in the world’s eyes aren’t necessarily the same as those God calls “right”.  To God, the right people are those who are hungry and needy and desperate for his kindness to reach them.  “God chose the world’s down-and-out as the kingdom’s first citizens, with full right and privileges,” (James 2:6). These are often the difficult people in our lives; the ones who cut us off, who smell bad, who do not fit in.  If we’re a part of God’s kingdom and his culture, then we love everyone He loves regardless of how they look, smell or succeed in life.

The world doesn’t know Jesus Christ in large part because we don’t love others with the love we say we have from him.  We speak one thing and go and do something entirely different.  We stay in our small safe circles of friends, we walk on our narrow safe path through life, we avoid those who might challenge our routine.  We tell people we’re saved but we’re unwilling to extend salvation to those who most desperately need it.

Let’s live lives with integrity.  “Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove.” (James 2:18).  Who is in your life that is desperate to know God’s love?  Who  do you need share His heart with? Sometimes the neediest can be the most offensive.  Loving them could be a gesture as small as a smile or as large as inviting them over to eat.  Who is God putting in your path that needs his peace and hope.  If you believe, then you are filled with his Spirit and He wants to pour out his love out through you.  How is he calling you to love others today?

 

Wanna Please God?

There is only one way to please God and that is by: FAITH.

Hebrews 11:6 says, “For without faith it is impossible to please God.”  Let’s flip that statement around and look at it from a positive angle.  For with faith, it is possible to please God. God is pleased with those who have faith. God is only pleased by faith. He delights in it and those who exercise it.

God is not impressed with our self-referential achievements. He doesn’t respond to our religious posturing. He is not swayed by our relentless striving. He loves it when we  trust him.  That’s what faith is.  A loving trust in the living God that moves beyond the realm of ideas and into the essence of life.  Faith has to be lived to be real. It’s an everyday trust that shows itself throughout every aspect of life.  Faith is seen most clearly when it causes us to go against the grain of the way the rest of the world does things.  And that’s usually when our faith costs us.

When I worked for a software company many years ago, I was placed in charge of a project that had fallen way behind schedule.  I worked relentlessly to salvage the assignment.  That meant that I was working 7 days a week and 12 to 15 hours a day.  I was neglecting my young wife and baby.  The Lord began to convict me that I wasn’t honoring him and I wasn’t loving my family. So I began to put some boundaries in place.  My boss, whose bonus was tied into the project completion date, was not pleased with me.  In fact it ultimately cost me a significant promotion.  But, in honoring God and my family, my core relationships stayed healthy.  Oh, and God made it possible for us to complete the project on time to everyone’s surprise.

It’s interesting that throughout Hebrews 11, the ancients were commended for their faith. “For by faith the people of old received their commendation,” (Hebrews 11:2). God rewarded faith.  God responded to their trust in him. God recognized their actions as praiseworthy. He loved the cooperative trajectory of their lives.

And what did their faith consist of?  It wasn’t a perfect set of doctrines… It doesn’t say Abel was commended for understanding grace.  Or that Enoch was rewarded for defining the Trinity. Or that Noah received God’s approval for his spectacular theology.  I’m not against doctrine — I just want to see doctrine applied to life.   Essentially what the ancients were rewarded for was their relationship to the living God. They listened to him and believed what He told them.  They trusted what he said and they dared to believe that God would fulfill his promises to them.  Even when what He told them looked impossible and especially when they couldn’t figure it all out ahead of time.  Believing Him, they acted accordingly.

And isn’t that what faith is, really?  An active, tangible engagement with an invisible but real God.  In fact, Hebrews 11 is one of the most active and exciting chapters of the bible.  It’s all about trust with feet on it.  That’s my definition of faith.  Trust with feet on it.  Belief that acts in response to God.  Each of the heroes written about has responded to God with trust and enjoyed an incredible adventure with him.  Enough to write home about!

So how do you live by faith?  You begin by believing God exists and that he rewards those who seek him (Hebrews 11:6). You study and listen to his word and allow it to shape your life.  You spend time with him in prayer listening to him and seeking his will for your life… and then doing what he says. Ask him to lead you through each decision you make during the day.  When you move from finishing one task, ask him about the next.  Watch him show up and lead you.  Trust that he will even when you can’t see him.  That’s what will please him and that’s what he will reward.

Don’t Hold Back

Today’s readings contain a distinct message repeated in three different ways. Essentially the message is: “Don’t hold back.”

The Book of Esther is a dramatic story about a nobody from nowhere raised by a simple, godly man named Mordecai. In an extraordinary act, King Xerxes’ chooses Esther to be his queen.   She withholds her identity as a Jew in deference to her uncle Mordecai’s wishes.  With a history of persecution as long as the Jews’, no doubt Mordecai gives his advice to protect her.  In a short span of time, Esther receives extraordinary influence over Persia.  Yet this privilege does not come without cost.  It comes with the high price of responsibility.  She is responsible to her people and to her God. Within five years of her promotion, Esther’s people, the Jews, receive a death sentence.  It is an unfair, unjust ruling that threatens genocide.  And the sentence applies to Esther as well.  Maybe her title will save her, maybe not.  While she may be able to continue hiding her identity for awhile, then again she might be found out.  Her uncle Mordecai challenges her, “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14).

He’s telling her, “Don’t hold back, Esther!”

In Isaiah 12 we read about the Lord’s day of Salvation.

And you will say in that day, “I thank you, God. You were angry but your anger wasn’t forever. You withdrew your anger and moved in and comforted me. “Yes, indeed—God is my salvation.
I trust, I won’t be afraid. God—yes God!—is my strength and song, best of all, my salvation!”Joyfully you’ll pull up buckets of water from the wells of salvation. And as you do it, you’ll say, “Give thanks to God. Call out his name. Ask him anything! Shout to the nations, tell them what he’s done, spread the news of his great reputation!“Sing praise-songs to God. He’s done it all! Let the whole earth know what he’s done! Raise the roof! Sing your hearts out, O Zion! The Greatest lives among you: The Holy of Israel.”

Because of God’s great salvation, the people rejoice. Sing out! Shout out! Let the world know how great God is! Let your life be an out-loud life of gratitude.  Let go of your fears of what people will think. Make God famous in the world as He rightly deserves! In other words, “Don’t hold back!”

Lastly, in Hebrews 9 we see how God has changed the rules for how to access Him.  We see how much greater Jesus’ sacrifice is then the relentless cycle of animal sacrifices prescribed under the Old Testament. Instead of  earthly sin covering us and a temporary stay of judgment that the blood of animals provided, Jesus provides a heavenly and eternal cleansing that establishes a permanent amnesty for those who come to him. No more shadows and types, the real thing has come! Jesus did this through his sacrifice on the cross. He then entered into heaven to offer his blood to God as payment for sin. Since that time, it’s been a new day with God! There’s a new relationship with Him that’s available.  There’s nothing separating us from him anymore.  It’s possible because of the total sufficiency of what Jesus has done. Nothing can be added to it. Nothing more is needed. He gives us an access to God never before imagined.    In Christ, you’re forgiven and free to worship and love God with all your life. “Don’t hold back!”