Father’s Day Message
 For Such a Time as This
Esther 8-10
We have come to the close of our study of the book of Esther.  Haman is dead, his estate is given to Queen Esther and Mordecai becomes second in rank to King Xerxes.  But the story isn’t over.  The decree to destroy the Jews cannot be revoked.

The solution was to issue another edict to grant the Jews the right to defend themselves. This turned the tables and the Jews were able to destroy their enemies.  It was a great time of celebration and became an annual event for the Jewish nation to remember the time when their sorrow was turned into joy.

This story teaches us that it takes hard work to fulfill the purpose God has for you.  What better example could there be on Father’s Day for fathers and for everyone?  The stories of the Old Testament point to the Gospel that is revealed in the New Testament.

Three things you need to become a godly father (or a godly anybody):

Point 1: Embrace the second edict.   We are under a spiritual edict of death because of sin but Jesus gave His life for our salvation, the second edict to override the first.
Point 2: Choose daily to live by the second edict. The first edict is the wages of sin is death but the second edict is the gift of God is eternal life in  Christ Jesus our  Lord.  Romans 6:23.
Point 3: Work at remembering and sharing it with yourself and your family. A number  of places in the Torah (Pentateuch, first 5 books of the Bible) tell us that memorial stones were set up by Israel to remember God’s deliverance.  Likewise, we need to establish family traditions to celebrate God’s goodness and grace in our lives.