The Escrow Account

If you've read the book of Esther, you know that her uncle Mordecai, was a good man. Once, Mordecai overheard a plot to kill the king. He told his niece, Esther, who told the king. Mordecai's actions saved the king and it was duly noted in the chronicles (or records) of the day. 

Unfortunately, Mordecai had an enemy named Haman who plotted to kill him, as well as all the Jews. When Haman convinced the king to approve his plot and make it law, it appeared that the plot was going to proceed.

It happened, though, that, at just the right time, the king couldn't sleep. He was rambling around in the night and decided to read for a while. (Leanna paraphrase coming up.)

"Bring me the book and records of the kingdom and read them to me," he commanded.

As they read, the story of Mordecai and how he uncovered the plot and saved the king was recounted. 

"What did we do for this good man?" the king asked.

"Not a thing," he was told.

That's when Haman's plan began to unravel. Mordecai received honor and blessings. The Jews were spared. Haman was executed for his tyranny.

In a way, Mordecai's good deed was held in escrow by God. If you've ever bought real estate with a mortgage, you probably know about escrow accounts. The lender establishes an account of funds used to pay for taxes and insurance during the period of the mortgage. 

That's what happened to Mordecai. At the exact moment that the report of his action was most needed, it was revealed, and it became a pivotal point in God's plan.

Peter tells us that, in the time-sense of God, a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day. (2 Peter 3:8) He knows all we do, and He responds promptly... in the divine timetable of His that seems so unusual to us.

If you're like me, you've probably had people comment about how something you said months before has stuck with them. How some action touched them and they could still recall it years later. In a way, those words and actions were stored in an escrow account and used by God in just the way He needed, at just the right time.

As we go about our day, let's remember that God's ways are not our ways. He sees everything. Every good deed. Every kind word. Every sacrifice. Even when we forgot, He does not.

Our good words and deeds are all stored in the mind of God and, at just the right time, He'll use them as He sees fit. It may be that He's waiting to reward us "for such a time as this."

So don't hold back. Say the kind words. Do the good deed. Make the big sacrifice. Even if no one ever notices, God does. And He never forgets.

"But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." 2 Peter 3:8 nasb
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In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: The Biting Cat That Finally Didn't 
Here's the link to the prayer guide: The Prayer List

Here's the link to my Global Outreach page: Leanna Hollis MD
#dailyinspiration

Adding the Prayer on Top

My pastor tends to preach in "series". Recently, we had a series on the "I AM" statements of Christ. That was followed by a series titled "I am Hope Church", designed to help us understand who we are as the church, the body of Christ. 

Every week, Pastor Scooter has issued a challenge. If you accepted and performed the challenge, you could earn a t-shirt. (We don't have a works-based faith, but we do have works-based t-shirts.) The first week, the challenge was to share your testimony with someone inside the church and with someone outside the church. 

I was already scheduled to speak at a nearby church, so that one was easy for me. At Wednesday night Bible study, we had an opportunity to share our testimony "inside". I hopped up, shared, and earned my t-shirt right off. (Yes. I have a long history as an overachiever.)

There have been several challenges. One week, the challenge was to do something nice for someone and pair it with asking, "How can I pray for you?" I was out that Sunday, so I missed the sermon, but I didn't miss the challenge. 

A young man helped me by doing something I didn't know how to do for myself. When we finished discussing it, he asked how he could pray for me. I told him. I asked how I could pray for him. We prayed.

All day, I thought about how sweet he was. How blessed I felt when he prayed for me. How it was so much more like the church Christ intended.

When I do a "good deed", I (in a way) use my own strength and resources. When I pray, I enlist the strength and resources of God Himself, and that's infinitely better than anything I have.

This week, why not accept the Pastor Scooter Challenge for yourself. Find a need and meet it, then ask how you can pray for the person you've helped. Don't just ask how you can pray. Pray. Right then.

It's like the icing on the cake. The sweetest part of all.

"Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." James 5:16 nasb
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In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: The Baptism Excitement

Here's the link to the prayer guide: The Prayer List 

Here's the link to my Global Outreach page: Leanna Hollis MD

#helpinghand #pray

Idolatrous Love

"But woe to you Pharisees! For you pay tithe of mint and rue and every kind of garden herb, and yet disregard justice and the love of God; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the chief seats in the synagogues and the respectful greetings in the market places. Woe to you! For you are like concealed tombs, and the people who walk over them are unaware of it. " (Luke 11:42-44 NASB)

Jesus delivered a series of "woe's" to those in attendance at the luncheon. "Woe" is a word of denunciation and similar to our saying, "You should be ashamed of yourself". Jesus pointed out several things about which the men should be ashamed. First, they were diligent about tithing but they did it without justice or mercy. Love was not their motivation.

In the next woe, He revealed their motivation. Their love was for the chief seats in the synagogues and the respectful greetings they received in the market places. These religious leaders did not simply enjoy the chief seats and the respectful greetings. The word Jesus used for their affection was agapaō. They loved the trappings of honor with the love that should be reserved for God alone. 

What the Pharisees felt for the adulation they received was a form of idolatry. They loved the rewards of their righteous behavior more than the One for whom they were supposed to be doing their acts of righteousness. They were not serving God by their good deeds. They were serving themselves. The good deeds and obedience to a list of rules were done simply for the rewards they brought, not because they pleased God.

The question of motivation is one that must be answered. For the Pharisees, the answer was nothing more than self-serving pride. They loved what right living bought them, not the God they supposedly served.

Theirs was an easy mistake to make. When we are "raised in the church", involved in "church work" most of our lives, it is easy for right living to become a matter of rote. Instead of works that are motivated by a heart filled with love for God, our good choices can become simply habit.

When that happens, it is a very small step to enjoying the benefits of right living more than the relationship that should motivate it. Rules are often easier than relationships, especially if maintaining the relationship requires change in us, and our relationship with God always requires us to change.

We must be constantly on guard against the Pharisaical error of misplaced agapaō. Our love must be focused on God and not the blessings He gives. For today, let's spend a few minutes evaluating our own hearts. Are we more focused on rules than on relationship? On what or whom do we lavish our agapaō? Let's be sure our love is for the One who loved us first.

We love because He first loved us. 

                                                                                        1 John 4:19 NASB