Esther 4:14b “’And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?’”

QUEEN FOR A REASON

Mordecai needed Esther to respond to Haman’s threat against all the Jews by going to her husband, the king, without being summoned. This could have resulted in her death, but Mordecai said, “And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?” She was in the right place at the right time to intercede for her people.

Have you ever been in the right place at the right time? I mean, have you ever had the opportunity to do something meaningful at just the moment you were somewhere? You had not planned it. It just happened. We need to be ready at all times to respond when given the opportunity.

TEACHING MOMENT

How do we prepare our children to be ready at all times? How do we help them know when God wants to use them “for such a time as this”? That’s done by preparing them EVERYDAY. Each and every day we teach them to look for opportunities of service. That might be helping someone pick up something they have dropped on the floor. That might mean comforting someone who is upset. That might mean helping Mom prepare dinner. There are all kinds of ways to be of service.

Children love to help. Our challenge is to find the tasks that fit their abilities and their giftedness. Not every child wants to cook. Not every child can do yard work. But every child has some desires AND abilities to serve. We just have to figure that out, with the Lord’s help.

Watch them closely, and the Lord will reveal to you how to lead them in areas of service. They may never have to go before a king to plead for their people (I certainly hope not), but they may be given an opportunity to impact many lives for Christ.

Acts 26:29 “And Paul said, ‘I would wish to God, that whether in a short or long time, not only you, but also all who hear me this day, might become such as I am, except for these chains.’”

BOLDNESS

Don’t you just love the boldness of Paul? Even while standing before Agrippa and Festus in chains, he is proclaiming the truth of the Gospel and begging them all to come to Christ. He knew these men held his life in their hands, but that did not matter. What mattered more was the eternal condition of their soul.

What Paul had discovered through his own conversion and subsequent journeys is that nothing is more important than knowing Christ as Savior and telling everyone about Him. He wanted to spread the news of Christ to as many as he could. Perhaps that is part of the reason he appealed to Caesar. He wanted to share Jesus with Caesar himself in Rome.

TEACHING MOMENT

How important is sharing your testimony? Do your children know how you came to Christ? Have you told them your salvation story? They need to know that. They need to see how you have grown in your faith. They need to know their own faith heritage.

Educating your children about your family’s faith is so important. They need to know who in your family loves the Lord and who is trying to live for Him. They need to know which of their uncles, aunts, cousins or grandparents are lost so they can pray for them and perhaps share with them. I have known grandparents who were saved through the witness of a grandchild.

Witnessing can be hard sometimes, especially when it is to a family member who knows all your faults. But who deserves your witness more than those who are closest to you? Pray for your family, but also be diligent with your children to win them all to Jesus.

Nehemiah 13:19 “It came about that just as it grew dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut and that they should not open them until after the sabbath. Then I stationed some of my servants at the gates so that no load would enter on the sabbath day.”

NOT JUST ANOTHER DAY

I am not going to argue about whether the Sabbath is Saturday or Sunday. At the time of Nehemiah the Sabbath was from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday. The vast majority of Christians recognize Sunday as the day of worship. Enough said about that.

The reason I chose this verse was more about how we treat our Holy Day. I am not a Legalist. I don’t have a problem with people who have to work on Sundays. Society has changed since I was a boy in Pelham, GA. I remember on Sundays every store in town was closed. There was a “Blue Law” which required businesses to close that day. Our downtown was a literal ghost town on Sundays, except for church traffic. This allowed everyone a chance to rest and recognize that this day was different.

TEACHING MOMENT

We do need to teach our children that every day is holy to the Lord. However, there is a day we choose to meet with fellow believers to worship. Your day may be Saturday or Sunday, but whatever day it is, make it special. Set aside some time that day to gather with other believers. The Word tells us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. We need fellowship with other believers.

Your children will learn the joy and peace that comes from worshipping together as they watch you doing the same. Explain to them why you are going to church this Sunday. There will come a time when they will have to choose on their own whether church is important to them. But while they are with you in your home they need to know how important it is to be there.

Let God lead you this week as you seek to serve Him. He gets pleasure in seeing His children worship Him.

Acts 24:24-25 “24 But some days later Felix arrived with Drusilla, his wife who was a Jewess, and sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. 25 But as he was discussing righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix became frightened and said, ‘Go away for the present, and when I find time I will summon you.’”

DID I OFFEND YOU?

Felix thought he knew what Paul was all about. He liked listening to him until…   When Paul started discussing righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come he got scared. Was he convicted? Did the Word offend him? Did he think Paul was trying to convert him?

We need to be bold in our witness to others. There is no time to diddle daddle about the Gospel. People are dying and going to hell. That’s right. Right before our eyes a lost world is busting hell wide open. What can we do about?

TEACHING MOMENT

Teach your children to share the Good News by doing it yourselves. Look for every opportunity to witness. Witness at the ballpark. Witness in the line at the grocery store. Witness when you are behind the wheel of your car. Witness! Witness! Witness!

Equip your children, once they are saved, with the basic truths of the Gospel which they can share with their friends. Children love sharing good news. They love seeing their friends come to Christ. Why not help them prepare to share the best news ever?

If we will invest in the lives of our children by equipping them to be bold witnesses, they will be prepared to face the unknown. They will be prepared to take on the gates of hell with a water pistol if necessary. Encourage them to invite friends over to the house and make sure you plan some time to get to know them. Plant seeds in their friends’ lives.

Be like Paul was before Felix. He didn’t care whether he lived or died. He only cared about sharing the news Christ had given him.

Nehemiah 10:39b “Thus we will not neglect the house of our God.”

HOUSE KEEPING

Nehemiah and the believers in Jerusalem made vows that they would take care of the rebuilt Temple. It had gone so long in ruins that many had forgotten their responsibility to provide for the Priests and for the basics such as wood for the sacrifices and oil for the lamps.

Our children today normally do not get the opportunity to help clean or provide for the church in tangible ways. I remember earlier in my ministry when many church members would show up on Friday or Saturday at church to clean windows, sweep, vacuum and other basic duties. We have lost some of that today. That’s too bad. There are ALWAYS things that need to be done.

TEACHING MOMENT

In fact, why don’t you, Moms and Dads, ask a Pastor or the Facilities Director at your church what you as a family can do to help. I guarantee they have needs you can meet. Now, I must warn you. It may be cleaning toilets and mopping a floor. It may be setting a room for Sunday or cleaning out a closet. But these are all tasks around God’s House that need tending to.

Teaching our children to give of their time and energy is just as, if not more than, important as teaching them to give of their resources. Both are expected and both are needed. Ask your children tonight if they could help at church what they would want to do. Then find a way to get them to the church to do it.

There is just something about watching kids serve. They do it without expectation or reward. They just like doing it. How about you?

Acts 23:1 “Paul, looking intently at the Council, said, ‘Brethren, I have lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day.’”

AIN’T NOBODY GOT TIME FOR DAT

You have probably heard the statement “I have a clear conscience.” Here in this verse we see Paul saying that very thing. But what does that mean? How can someone really have a clear conscience? Isn’t there something in everyone that they feel bad about?

Think of all the evil Paul did before he came to Christ. He stood by while Stephen was stoned. He pursued believers to jail and even kill them. But when he met Christ on the road to Damascus all those sins were forgiven. He was completely cleansed, not just his heart but also his conscience. The Lord gave him a new mind with instructions not to dwell in the past.

TEACHING MOMENT

Our children sin. Let’s admit that. Most of us see them make bad choices daily. Usually their sins at an early age are “little” sins, like lying or hitting their brother. But sin is sin, and the devil wants them to feel bad about it. So bad in fact, that they can’t forgive themselves sometimes.

But if your child is a believer, every sin they have committed in the past and all those they will commit in the future are under the blood of Christ. What a conscience clearing statement! Moms and Dads, you have to teach your kids that. They need to know that no matter what they do, Christ loves them and has died to forgive them.

That doesn’t give them (or us) the license to do as we please though. You have to make that distinction with them. As a believer, the Holy Spirit will convict them when they have sinned to drive them to repentance, not to guilt. We are free as believers to do AS WE SHOULD.

The next time your child sins and you have to correct them, afterwards celebrate the fact that the guilt is gone once they repent. There is no burden to bear. Hallelujah!

Nehemiah 4:3 “Now Tobiah the Ammonite was near him and he said, ‘Even what they are building-if a fox should jump on it, he would break their stone wall down!’”

NAME CALLERS

Get the picture! Nehemiah had returned to Jerusalem from exile and was leading the people to rebuild the walls around the city. They had worked hard for days and were seeing progress. However, the enemies of God did not want to see this accomplished.

Tobiah mocks them by saying even a fox could knock down the wall. If I had been Nehemiah I may have said, “I’ll show you what a fox can knock down!” But not Nehemiah. He was a humble servant, bent on doing what was right on behalf of his God. He was patient and deliberate. He simply prayed that God would take care of them.

TEACHING MOMENT

Our children are going to encounter people who will make fun of them. Kids can be cruel at times. They make fun of people’s hair, nose, glasses, weight – you name it. Teaching our children to not take these insults personally is a skill every parent must have.

So what do you say? Use the Word. God made each of us in His image. So any remark against them is an insult to God’s creativity. That is your child’s comeback, if you want to call it that. They need to be reminded, time and time again, that they are perfect in the eyes of God. He made them just like He wanted to. God does not make junk.

Now, I realize that sounds awful easy. But when the tears come after they have been ridiculed or insulted, you want to show that other person “what a fox can knock down.” Don’t! Instead, like Nehemiah, let God handle it for you. Pray for the other person. Better yet, lead your child to pray for them. Now that’s power!

Acts 21:13 “Then Paul answered, ‘What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.’”

NO LOOKING BACK

After Agabus prophesied that Paul would be bound in Jerusalem, the people he was with begged him not to go. They were weeping and distressed, but Paul simply says, “I am willing to die for Christ.” That’s what I call being totally sold out for Christ. No regrets! Total surrender!

Have you ever completely sold out to something? Years ago I worked at a Children’s Home in TN that had a Ropes Course. This course was used to build teamwork and self confidence in the children and staff. I was privileged enough to be one of the staff who ran the course. I loved it.

We had one station on this course called the Pamper Pole. It was so named because you needed a diaper once you got up on top. Lol It was a 30 foot telephone pole that you had to climb and then gingerly stand on top of. All the time you are hooked to a harness and people below are belaying you, so you are safe. You just don’t feel very safe. Hanging in front of this pole was a trapeze handle. It was just far enough out that it required you to jump straight out to grab it. There was only one way to get to it. You had to sell out. You could not reach that trapeze with a half hearted jump.

TEACHING MOMENT

In the same way, we need to dive into Jesus with everything we have. Our children need to see us abandon everything to follow Him. They need to see us walk the walk with no regrets. They need to see us jump toward Jesus whenever anything in our lives causes us fear. They need to see us, well, sold out for God.

Total surrender is costly. But the benefit of surrender is perfect peace and rest. I cannot tell you the feeling I got when I dove off that Pamper Pole and was able to grab that trapeze. But even when I dove and missed, I knew those below holding the rope would keep me safe. Jesus will keep you safe. Just let Him hold the rope!

Ezra 9:5-6 “5 But at the evening offering I arose from my humiliation, even with my garment and my robe torn, and I fell on my knees and stretched out my hands to the Lord my God; 6 and I said, ‘O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to You, my God, for our iniquities have risen above our heads and our guilt has grown even to the heavens.’”

WOE

Ezra begins a prayer in these two verses that continues the rest of the chapter. I encourage you to read chapters 9 and 10 to get the whole story. Bottom line – the Jewish people had intermarried with the pagans of the land against God’s commands. And this wasn’t just done by the ordinary people. The religious leaders had been some of the worse offenders, thereby leading by example, poor example. Ezra is grieved at the sins of the people and greatly fears God’s wrath.

Have you ever been grieved for the sins of others? When you see those whom you love err on the side of direct disobedience to God’s Word, how do you feel? We should be just as grieved as Ezra was for them. I am not advocating tearing your clothes, but I am saying we should fall to our knees and stretch out our hands to the Lord.

TEACHING MOMENT

Our children can learn much by observing our prayer life. There are times when it is appropriate to pray alone. Those are my special times when it is just me and my Father conversing. But when we pray with our children they learn to articulate their own prayers. I don’t been we should pray in King James language (there is nothing wrong with the KJV, by the way). But we should allow them to observe us praying.

During this time in our country they need to hear us praying for our national, state and local leaders. They need to hear us praying for our military and law enforcement officers. They need to hear us praying for their teachers and principals. They need to hear us praying for our Pastor(s) and Sunday School teachers.

Our children need to learn to pray for others first, especially those in authority. In our anti-authority world today, we parents must be the ones to teach them respect for authority and what better way than to pray for them. Amen? Amen!

Acts 19:16-17 “16 And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. 17 This became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, who lived in Ephesus; and fear fell upon them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified.”

RUNNNG NAKED

The sons of Sceva were trying to cast out demons in the name of Jesus without knowing Jesus. They wanted some attention. Well, they got it. The possessed man jumps up and whips them all and they run out naked. Don’t you know for the rest of their lives whenever they went to town people would point and sneer? They got more attention than they bargained for.

Have you ever had an embarrassing moment? Most of us have. Sometimes we are lucky enough that only a few close friends witness it. Other times it seems the whole world knows. It’s one thing to be embarrassed over an innocent mistake. It’s another when it happens while we are caught doing something we shouldn’t have. The sons of Sceva (notice we don’t even know their names) were trying to do something they had no business trying. Their motive was all wrong.

TEACHING MOMENT

Our children must learn to rely on the Holy Spirit for their guide. He is the One who will lead them safely through life’s challenging moments. As parents, we have to help them finetune their hearing. Listening to the Spirit is something that requires sacrifice. We must die to ourselves to hear from the Lord. When all we think about is self, the Spirit’s voice is drowned out.

When your children come to Christ, their hearing is adjusted by the Spirit. He begins to speak into them the truth of the Word. He begins to direct them in life’s choices. When they learn to trust the Spirit, those embarrassing moments are avoided. They aren’t caught in situations that bring shame and reproach.

Won’t you today give your children a hearing test? Won’t you make sure they know the importance of listening to Him? How about you? How is your hearing?