August 18
Esther 1:1-3:15 | PS 35:17-28 | Prov 21:19-20 | 1 Cor 11:17-34
It doesn't matter who you are or who it is that you received the advice from, after receiving human advice, even from a loved one, a trusted friend, or respected "expert", please take the time to meditate first upon these words. Especially if you are in a bonafide relationship with the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, the Lord, Jesus Christ, take some time to meditate upon human advice with your High Priest, Jesus. Well meaning advice may be wrong. Your expert counsel might be in error. If you take that time to bring it before God and wait upon Him, often you will receive peace or a lack of peace which then should propel our decisions.
We see the king of Persia, Xerxes, make two rash decisions upon the advice of his trusted counsel, both with disastrous consequences. In the book of Esther, chapter 1, we see that in the throws of a six-month feast, when the king was intoxicated, he requested his queen to come so that the men in attendance could "gaze on her beauty". She refused to come which angered the king. So, we read that he approached his trusted advisors in Esther 1:13-22, and without meditating upon the advice, with the result having the consequence of banishing his own wife permanently, he moved forward, later regretting his decision. Later, when Haman, the enemy of the Jewish people (realize that this Agagite was a descendant of King Agag, the Amalekite that King Saul, six hundred years beforehand, was supposed to wipe out, but instead acted in disobedience (1 Samuel 15)) approaches King Xerxes with a decision and the money to eliminate the Jewish race, without time to consider or meditate on such a dire request, the king moves forward and authorizes this potential genocide. In both situations, the advice was poor even from his trusted officials, and the king did not bother to contemplate prior to acting.
For those of us who attend church, communion is part of the service, perhaps weekly or monthly. We read Paul's familiar words concerning communion in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, "For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.” For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again." This is not some cute little church ritual. It represents the transaction which our Savior was willing to do on our behalf. This is what we base our salvation upon. We are not to simply go through the motions, or even simply listen to the pastor or priest. This is time for careful and personal meditation, as we read in 11:27-29, "So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup. For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself." God gave us a mind. If we have repented and accepted this sacrifice, then we are in relationship with God. Better than any wise counselor is God's wise advice. Let's spend time with Him in prayer and carefully consider everything in light of Him. He is always available, it is often us who choose to be too busy to bring items before Him.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: