Hill Country Bible Church Leander

Most of the time we live very calculated lives. When we do take risks, we often take them to further our own interests. But there's a different kind of risk worth taking. Taking a kingdom risk means putting our benefits on the line to further God‘s purposes. The outcomes are never guaranteed in this life, but risking our own benefits, makes us a part of a far bigger story than our own. 

Esther is a signpost, pointing to God's salvation for the world. Ester makes the choice to rick her life in the hopes of saving the people, while Jesus knowingly gave His life to secure salvation and reconcile us to God. Our response is participation through obedience and dependence, not because God needs us, but because He invites us into His mission.

How we should engage under earthly authority and under God's ultimate authority isn't always easy to navigate. When Mordecai refuses to bow down to Haman he is risking his own interests and influence which ends up putting the lives of other people on the line, as well. What do we do when submission to earthly authority conflicts with God's ultimate authority, especially when it goes against our own interests to honor God?

The book of Esther is set 100 years after the Babylonian exile. While some of the Jewish people returned from exile (Ezra/Nehemiah), others stayed. This takes place in Susa, the capital city of the Persian empire. The primary characters of this account are Mordecai and Esther. The most obvious and poignant observation about this book os that God is not mentioned in it, at all. This becomes an invitation for us to look for God's activity throughout the entire book. It's also an invitation for us to look for God's activity in our own world and our own life because God is actively working even when His presence is not apparent.

We tend to not recognize the forces that shape our values, falling into the trap of thinking that just because something is important to us, it must be equally important to Jesus. However, Paul was not satisfied with allowing the Roman church to gather around its predetermined value systems. Instead, he called them to step into the tension of pursuing relationship with those who hold differing values because they come from different backgrounds. they In doing so, they would begin to better reflect picture of the gospel and be formed into a people more centered on Jesus. One of the key ways we are shaped is by rubbing shoulders with other people in the family of Jesus who come from different backgrounds. By seeking to understand and honor one another, we become more like the Lord in whose family we are a part. 

When we talk about habits, it can sound like self-help, but in Romans 12:9-14 Paul gives instructions for us that are meant to be continual and ongoing; actions that are habitual in our life. Things like continual prayer, being diligent in zeal, and clinging to what is good aren't about coldly going through the motions of obedience. Instead, they are about offering ourselves as a living sacrifice to God and done out of a desire to experience God and be changed by Him.