The Joy of Glory

Esther 3-4 (click here)
Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.” (Esther 4:13-16)

Reflection
A murderous plot because of wounded pride.

This is what we encounter in the book of Esther. Because one lone Jewish man, Mordecai, wouldn’t bow the Haman, the enraged leader decided that all Jews must die. Through masterful manipulation and bribery, he received the permission he needed from the king, and it looked as though this story would come to a quick, bloody close.

But… God was at work.

Unlike any other book of the Bile, the name of God is never mentioned in Esther. Yet, God is so very present… providentially at work to save his people. Long before this evil plot was ever being planned, God placed Esther in the palace as queen. She was in a position to be a mediator on behalf of her people and take her plea to the king.

But… this was not allowed.

No one could see the king unless the he summoned them. To come into his presence uninvited would likely mean the death penalty. What would Ether do? God had clearly put her in this place at this time, but the laws of man seemingly tied her hands. Who would she trust? Who would she fear?

Esther called upon all the community to fast and pray… then, even if it meant her life, she would sacrifice herself for the sake of her people.

In Esther’s story we can hear echoes of the Gospel… echoes of Christ’s sacrifice on behalf of his people. Can we hear those same echoes in our own lives? When God calls you and I to sacrifice for the sake of serving and loving others… but man threatens us if we should follow… who do we trust? Who do we fear?

When we cannot see God at all, like his name is nowhere to be found, do we trust that he is still providentially at work. Does our voice unite with Esther’s to declare that we will follow God no matter what and if we perish, we perish!

God has called us to lay down our lives for the sake of our brothers and sisters… and so the world may know him. He has called us to be a cruciform community. Your life has been providentially planned to bring you to where you are today for such a time as this.
 

*All previous devotionals may be found at www.thejoyofglory.com
*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

1 Chronicles 30 (click here)
And many people came together in Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month, a very great assembly. They set to work and removed the altars that were in Jerusalem, and all the altars for burning incense they took away and threw into the brook Kidron.

So there was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. (2 Chronicles 30:13-14 and 26)

Reflection
The Kingdom of God’s people had long been divided.

The Northern Kingdom of Israel barely even exited after its decimation by Assyria… and the Southern Kingdom of Judah was anything but a faithful people.

Then the Lord moved in the reign of Hezekiah.

An invitation was extended to anyone left in Israel to reunite with Judah around the feast of the Passover. As many gathered in unity, focusing on the sacrifice love of God in saving his people from Egypt so long ago…an amazing thing began to happen.

The people tore down their pagan altars, repented, and returned to the Lord. They literally drowned their pagan ways by throwing their former altars in to the brook Kidron. Joy erupted amongst a long-divided people as they were reunited before their God!

We have seen that idolatry destroys community (Exodus 32 – Listen here). When we make a god who is all about us, we will try to create a community that is also all about us. If corrupt worship corrupts community… it makes sense that purified worship would lead to purified community.

That is exactly what unfolds in 2 Chronicles 30! As the people return to the Lord, they reunite! As they worship, they welcome one another! As they repent of their idolatry, they are reconciled to God and to one another.

Could it be that the cure for our communities begins with worship? Reconciliation with one another begins with reconciliation to God. Just as the Jewish people gazed upon the sacrificial love of God through Passover, we gaze upon his sacrificial love in the cross. In light of such sacrificial for our forgiveness and reconciliation, how could we ever refuse forgiveness to others who have not sinned against us nearly to the extent we have sinned against God.

In beholding the love of Christ extended to us in the cross, our hearts are filled with love to extend to others. In beholding our reconciliation that happens through the cross, we are moved to demonstrate that same reconciliation to our brothers and sisters. In behold the cross, our lives transform and become cruciform.

Do you take time each day to behold the cross? Have you taken time today, right now to behold the cross? The cross of Christ is the only the means by which we become a cruciform community.

Behold the cross of Christ… today… tomorrow… and forever.
 

*All previous devotionals may be found at www.thejoyofglory.com
*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

1 Chronicles 16:8-36 (click here)
Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name;
make known his deeds among the peoples!
Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wondrous works!
Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice!
Seek the LORD and his strength;
seek his presence continually!
Remember the wondrous works that he has done,
his miracles and the judgments he uttered…

Sing to the LORD, all the earth!
Tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!

Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and joy are in his place. (1 Chronicles 16:8-12, 23-24, and 27)

Reflection
Why do we gather to worship as a community?

I mean… all of life is worship, right? I can worship all on my own, right? As a believer, I am untied to Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit and can approach the Father… why in the world do I need to gather with other believers to worship?

“Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name;
make known his deeds AMONG THE PEOPLES!” (1 Chronicles 16:8)

There are certain things that happen within the context of communal worship that simply cannot happen anywhere else. Part of the purpose in our gathering is to sing, pray, and proclaim to one another the deeds of the Lord. Through song and speech we remind each other of the faithfulness of our God. We hear from his Word, of how he has always been faithful to us as a people, and we hear from one another current experiences of that faithfulness.

In the dark night of my soul, I need the community of faith to sing over me of the sovereign faithfulness of God. I need to be able to look across the room and see the tears streaming down the face of a mom I know has lost a child… and yet through the pain she is singing for joy in Christ. I need to sit beside the man dying of cancer and hear him sing, “whatever my lot, though hast taught me to say… it is well… it is well with my soul.”

Why do “I” need to gather with other believers to worship? That question is self-centered. It only sees value in the communal gathering because of what it can offer the self, but we gather to sacrifice ourselves for one another and minister to each other. We gather as a cruciform community.

…and we don’t just gather in this manner for one another, but as a witness to the watching world.

“Sing to the LORD, all the earth!
Tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!” (1 Chronicles 16:23-24)

Communal worship offers a untied witness to the world that we stand together to declare the glory of our God to all peoples! As different people, from different backgrounds, education levels, socio-economic levels, races, ages, etc come together… the binding love and supernatural unity of the Gospel is put beautifully on display.

As we worship together, we equip and encourage one another to take the Gospel from within our wall out into our world. We remember that we are not alone, and we go forth with a clear calling and mission.

When we worship with the people of God with the goal of helping others and the world to behold God’s glory… I believe it is then that we find ourselves caught up into the joyous presence of God in a way that cannot be experienced in any other context.

“Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and joy are in his place.” (1 Chronicles 16:27)

It is as if everything is amplified and intensified when we gather together. Our voices unite, our hearts unite, and our joy unites.

So why do we worship together? There are a million beautiful reasons… but the three-fold answer we’ve seen is this… 1) In worshipping together we are able to participate in cruciform community as we sacrifice our own preferences to encourage others with our presence and participation… 2) We are able to participate in cruciform community as we stand united in sacrificial love as a witness to the world… and 3) We are able to be ministered to by the cruciform community as we see, meet, and are helped by Christ in them!

*All previous devotionals may be found at www.thejoyofglory.com
*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.