Daily Bread Pastor Mike Anderson

Reflection: Today we learn about the Jewish festival called “Purim”, which is still celebrated today by Jewish people!   It falls on the 14 th day of Adar in the Hebrew calendar, which falls on different dates throughout the Jewish year. It usually falls in March, but this year falls on February 24 th .   The term “purim” comes from the word “lots”, which Haman cast for the date of the annihilation of the Jews.   The festival involves feasting just as Mordecai had proclaimed, but also remembers prayer as Esther had fasted and prayed before going before King Xerxes.   Like the Passover, it is a one of the central Jewish holidays that remembers God’s intervention to deliver the Jews.   Tomorrow is Easter, also called “Pascha”, which is related to the Jewish Passover.   Paul writes in Ephesians that “Christ is our Pascha”, meaning Christ is our Passover Lamb. Easter is a moveable feast, meaning it is not fixed in relation to the civil calendar. The First Council of Nicaea (325)

Good Friday Reflection:   Today on “Good Friday”. the day we remember Jesus’ death on the cross for us, we see all three passages today have one thing in common.   All three are different people in history looking for one thing … salvation .   The psalmist David is looking for salvation from his enemies and his own sins; which keep piling up against him until he is overwhelmed.   He prays that God would not withhold His mercy from Him and not count His sins against him.   He utters, “Be pleased to come save me, Lord. Come quickly, Lord, to help me.”     In Esther, we see finally the great turnabout when Esther’s wish to have Mordecai protected turns into Mordecai having the power of the signet ring, which the King took from Haman and gave to Mordecai.   The ring gave Mordecai power to make decisions on behalf of the Jewish people who were on the edge of annihilation, and granted them salvation from their enemies.   With the King’s power behind Mordecai, the Jews were able to d

Reflection:   Today again we see God’s sovereignty in all things.   In the beautiful story of Esther, we see this young Jewish girl who courageously goes into the king’s court upon her cousin Mordecai’s request.   She takes her own life into her hands even though she is the queen, and at the end of chapter 4 she proclaims boldly, “If I perish I perish”.     Notice too before she makes this bold declaration that she asks the whole town of Susa where she is from to “fast and pray” for 3 days.   Esther knows that if her plan is to work, it needs to be worked out in the heavenly realm before the earthly realm.   We will see tomorrow how God will use Esther for such a time as this!   In Romans 9, Paul does some more teaching on the sovereignty of God, as he explains that it is not just physical descendants of Abraham that are the children of God, but those who are children of the promise.   That is why even though Rebekah had twins through Issac, God declared that the older would s