Speaking about the end times, Jesus said,
“I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne…..” Matt. 19.28
The word “renewal” has similar meaning to renovation. So Jesus is going to renovate all things.
We are currently renovating our church facility…. painting, adding new blinds, etc.
We are not chucking the building. We are adding to what was already there. Renovating.
As we look to our future in the New Heavens and New Earth, we see God renovating all things, not throwing things away, but making them the way they are supposed to be. And I believe that God is in the process of doing that now. I believe He is renovating me to be like He created me to be.
And as I continue on this journey of following Jesus, I pray that He continues to renovate me to be like Him. And one day I know that He will finish the project, and I will be as He wants me to be.
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I have been meditating on Esther 2:1-18, I wonder what was going on in mind of Esther. She was a jewish girl who was thrusted into harem life. As the night with the king approached, I wonder what was on her mind. Any thoughts?
Perhaps Esther hated her circumstances with all her heart.
Perhaps she felt that life in the harem violated every conviction and moral principle Mordecai had instilled in her
Maybe she wondered how God could have let such a horrible thing happen to her.
On the other hand, perhaps Esther loved life in the harem
Perhaps the sensuality of harem life appealed to a part of her nature.
Perhaps she was swept off her feet by the attention of her most powerful man in the empire.
Maybe she knew her lifestyle violated the Torah, but didn’t really care.
Maybe she thought this was the bet thing that ever happened to her.
Would such an attitude have pleased God?
Was Esther in God’s will or out of it?
It is very easy to put Esther up as role-model, or even judge her. But we really don’t know what was on her mind. It was a very tense situation. Even though, God is not mentioned in the Book of Esther, I believe that He was involved, working in the midst of crazy circumstances.
What do you think was on the mind of Esther?
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Amena Brown – “The Tension is Good”
We don’t lead from
the safety of the fringe,
We take up residence
in the fray.
Where change is happening
Where change is necessary
There we find ourselves
in a unique tug-of-war
between what was,
what is, and what could be.
We are faced with
the reality that we are
the catalyst in the moment.
A tension ensues between
our ambitions and fears
We are tempted
to bail on our goals
but discover
that under pressure
our vision becomes
remarkably crystallized.
A hundred voices
attempt to sway us
and we find we must
lean into God with
a faith deeper than we
have ever known.
Change happens
in the very place
where many leaders
flinch, fear, and fail.
The tension we resist
is actually by design
It tests us, it tries us,
It conforms us to His image.
The tension is necessary,
The tension makes us strong,
The tension is good.