Esther

Esther was a young orphaned Israelite girl from the tribe of Benjamin (Esther 2:5-7) rose from being a former prisoner-exile to Queen of Persia. Originally named Hadassah, meaning myrtle, she later became known as Esther, which is a form of the Persian word satarah, which means a star.

Esther's family had been among those of the southern kingdom of Judah, composed of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin (1 Kings 12:21) who had been conquered by the Babylonians under King Nebuchadnezzar After the Babylonian empire was itself conquered by the Persians under Cyrus the Great, the Jews were permitted to return to Jerusalem - their descendants form the Jewish people today.

When orphaned at a young age, Esther was raised by her older cousin, Mordecai, who worked in the household of the Persian king (Esther 2:5-7). They apparently did not make use of the permission granted by Cyrus for the exiles to return to Jerusalem

In a twist of events, Queen Vashti was summoned to appear before her husband and his ministers at a banquet. The Bible says that she disobeyed her husband because he was drunk and wanted to parade her around inappropriately in front of everyone. Xerxes grew angry over her refusal to obey him and embarrassing him in front of his court. He turns the matter over to his advisors and they fall back on the laws of Persia. Xerxes is forced to decree that Vashti isn’t his queen any more and that begins a search for a new queen.

Beautiful young virgins are gathered up from all over the land and brought to the palace. Esther is one of these girls. They are trained and prepared for months before they are ready to appear for their one night with the king. Xerxes is supposed to make a choice who his next queen will be.

The Bible’s Esther is faced with difficult choices but never looses her trust in the Lord God of Israel. She is put into a position where she can save her own people from the evil plans of Haman, the minister to King Xerxes, who hates the Jews. Most of all he detests Mordecai because he won’t bow down to Haman.

Haman manipulates the King and the laws to call for total annihilation of the Jews still living in the empire. Mordecai appeals to Esther to use her power and position to save her people. She must decide and begins three days of fasting and praying for guidance. Esther realizes that all that has happened in her life has prepared her for this moment in history.

Appearing before the King without being summoned could mean certain death for her. She will have to reveal her heritage and appeal for deliverance for her people in a hostile court. Trusting in God, she asks her husband, King Xerxes, and Haman to a series of three private banquets and then petitions Xerxes. She reveals the truth about Haman and is successful in her plea

 

LESSONS from Book

1. God has sometimes used armies and sometimes flashy miracles in order to rescue His People. But He is not limited to those strategies. He can just as easily use one obscure person - male, such as Joseph, or female, such as Esther - and manipulate the circumstances around them to allow them to be the agent of His salvation.

2. Most western nations appreciate living in basically democratic societies. And rightly so. Christians can thereby be unusually free to worship according to their consciences, and free to obey God without much fear that such obedience will run afoul of the government in most circumstances. But God never in the Bible destroys kingdoms specifically because the form of government is a dictatorship so his servants could have the kind of freedoms we enjoy. Instead, He enables His people to function right within whatever system they find themselves in. Even the apostle Paul notes this:

"Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called. Were you called while a slave? Do not be concerned about it; but if you can be made free, rather use it. " (1Corinthians 7:20-21, NKJV).

Paul is not thereby telling us to give up the freedom we have. He is indicating that God can use us, just as He used the Jewish Queen, wherever we find ourselves, no matter the nature of the government.

3. Serving God and fulfilling the role He called you to is possible even in an environment where almost everyone around you is a heathen. And it can be done without attempting to change everyone around you. Joseph, Esther and Daniel all served totally pagan kings and won favor with them by their exemplary conduct and example. And they were thereby able to accomplish great deeds.

4. God can use young women, like Esther, just as easily as young warriors, like David, to accomplish His plans for His people.

5. It is comforting to know that God can redeem people with unpleasant pasts and use them to advance His plans for His people - witness Rahab the harlot and Paul, the persecutor of Christians. But in some cases His plans particularly call for those who have kept themselves undefiled physically and / or spiritually. Certainly in the case of Esther, it would have been impossible for her to fulfill God's plan if she had not been a chaste young woman.

(approximate dates)

536 BC - the return from Babylon to Jerusalem
536-516 BC - the rebuilding of The Temple
478 BC - Esther became queen of Persia
473 BC - Esther saved the Jews from massacre
457 BC - Ezra went from Babylon to Jerusalem
444 BC - Nehemiah rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem

The lessons that we can learn from Esther are faithfulness, trust in God, and a willingness to follow His will whether we are afraid or not. Esther’s act on behalf of the Jews is a picture of sacrifice.  Her story is a partial illustration of what the Savior, Jesus Christ, would do 500 years later. Esther – Hadassah – was willing to sacrifice herself to save her people
 There is virtually no doubt that Esther was directly chosen by God to avert the destruction of The Chosen People  - from whom came the ancestors of Jesus Christ . To commemorate that deliverance, the Jews began the festival of Purim (Esther 9:18-32), which is still observed to this day.

Psalms Reference to Christ in the New Testament

Psalms 2:7 The Messiah will be God's Son Hebrews 1:5,6
Psalms 16:8-10 He will rise from the dead. Luke 24:5-7

Psalms 22:1-21 He will experience agony on the cross Matthew 26,27
Psalm 22:18 Evil Men cast lots for his clothing Matthew 27:35, John 19:23,24
Psalms 22:15 He thirsts while on the cross John 19:28
Psalms 22:22 He will declare God's name. Hebrews 2:12
Psalms 34:20 His bones would not be broken John 19:36,37
Psalms 40:6-8 He came to do God's will. Hebrews 10:5-7
Psalms 41:9 His close friend would betray him. Luke 22:48
Psalms 45:6,7 His throne will last forever Hebrews 1:8,9
Psalms 68:18 He ascended into heaven. Ephesians 4:8-10
Psalms 69:9 He is zealous for God John 2:17
Psalms 69:21 He was offered vinegar for his thirst on the cross Matthew 27:48
Psalms 89:3, 4, 35, 36 He will be a descendant of David. Luke 1:31-33
Psalms 96:13 He will return to judge the world. 1 Thessalonians 1:10
Psalms 110:1 He is David's son and David's Lord. Matthew 22:44
Psalms 110:4 He is the eternal priest-king. Hebrews 6:20
Psalms 118:22 He is rejected by many but accepted by God. 1 Peter 2:7, 8

Some Foods mentioned in the Bible

In the first chapter of Genesis God said, "See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food." (Gen. 1:29)
Then in the last chapter of Revelation it states: "And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." (Rev. 22:1-2)

God has revealed His plan of nutrition for man. In the Garden of Eden before sin entered into man God gave him herb, seed and fruit. In heaven where there is no sin God also gave man fruit and leaves from the tree. This is an indication that God's nutritious diet for man is herb, seed, fruit and vegetables.
The Bible discusses a wide variety of foods within its pages.
"Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him. For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of the valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey." (Deut. 8:6-8)
Each one of these seven foods is of high nutritional merit.

Wheat
Of all the foods mentioned in the Bible, assuredly none holds a higher position of importance than wheat. Both the Bible and archaeology show that wheat was one of the main staple foods of ancient times and some form of it was probably eaten at every meal. Time and again in the Bible, a bountiful wheat harvest is portrayed as a blessing from God to His people.
"Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion! For He has strengthened the bars of your gates; He has blessed your children within you. He makes peace in your borders, and fills you with the finest wheat." (Psm. 147:12-14)
Wheat was also used as a symbol for the dying and resurrecting Savior. Wheat is the symbol of eternal life. It doesn't really die. It goes into the ground and is transformed and reborn again.
"Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain." (Jn. 12:24)
One wheat berry can be planted in the right soil and from that berry will sprout up a whole stalk of wheat that will contain some 30, 60 or 100 fold new berries. You can see the Lord Jesus Christ, like one wheat berry being planted into the ground by His death, burial and resurrection have produced a whole field of wheat grain over and over again. So it is with the Kingdom of God.
Wheat is a high-fiber grain, loaded with B-vitamins and folic acid, which can help prevent heart disease and certain birth defects. Nutritionally, wheat does seem to contain it all. It is an excellent source of protein, fat, and carbohydrates as well as vitamins, minerals and enzymes. Wheat truly is a special gift from God and every aspect of this sacred grain should be considered for good health.

Barley
Barley, like wheat, is a highly nutritious grain and is mentioned close to 40 times in the Bible. In ancient Israel, its growing season and harvest actually came before wheat and it was the first crop of the year.
In one of the greatest miracles ever performed our Lord Jesus Christ took five barley loaves and two small fish and multiplied the food to feed five thousand people (Jn. 6:1-14)
Barley is rich in in vitamins, minerals, protein and fiber.

Vines
Of all the plants mentioned in the Bible there is none more significant in symbolism of the Lord Jesus Christ than the vine. Our Lord Jesus Christ calls Himself "the True Vine." (Jn. 15:1) In the Holy Communion our Lord used "the fruit of the vine" to spiritually transform into His blood of the New Covenant. (Mt. 26:26-29) Grapes and wine are mentioned many times in the Bible, and are still an important part of Christian and Jewish ritual. Wine was used not only as a beverage, but also as a healing compound; it was used to disinfect wounds and, mixed with myrrh, acted as a painkiller. Grapes are a great antioxidant and grape skins contain a substance called resveratrol, which some researchers think can be beneficial in fighting cardiovascular (heart) diseases and cancer.

Figs
Throughout Biblical lands, the common fig (also known as Ficus carica) was a widely planted fruit tree. Possessing the capacity to live long (up to 200 years), it was often placed close to olive tree – another tree that lived a long time. When the tree grew, it produced many branches that started low on the trunk. The leaves were quite large, growing to about the same size of a human hand. In the springtime, the fig was the last tree to grow their leaves. This characteristic is noted in the Bible by Jesus in Mark 13:28 31: "From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near" [English Standard Version].

The fig tree is also known to generate several crops in the span of just one year. There were different varieties of figs as well –producing black, green, and red fruits. Because of a high concentration of sugar, the people were able to dry figs and store for later use. This practice is additionally mentioned in the Bible. An example of this is found in Scriptures: "Abigail lost no time. She took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred cakes of raisins and two hundred cakes of pressed figs, and loaded them on donkeys" [New International Version; I Samuel 25:18]

The Bible places the fig in a medical light when a poultice made with fig was used to treat a boil. The importance of the fig is seen when the prosperity of the grape and the fig together is a blessing for Israel. An example of this reference is found in Micah 4:4: " Everyone will live in peace and prosperity, enjoying their own grapevines and fig trees, for there will be nothing to fear. The LORD of Heaven's Armies has made this promise!" [New Living Translation]

Pomegranates
With an attractive appearance, the pomegranate appears in the Bible, and is seen as one of the five species in Deuteronomy 8:8. During the first part of August, the fruits of the pomegranate start to reach maturity. The fruit is referenced when speaking of the garment of the high priest and within the temple, as bells and pomegranates alternate on the skirt of the high priest. This is mentioned in Exodus 28: 33: "And on the skirts thereof thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and purple, and scarlet, round about the skirts thereof; and bells of gold between them round about." The pomegranate tree is also mentioned in I Samuel 14:2: "Saul was staying on the outskirts of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree in Migron. With him were about six hundred men," [New International Version]

The fruit tree was elevated in prominence when 200 pomegranates were engraved on the capitals of the two pillars that decorated the front of Solomon's temple. Lilies were found above the pomegranates. When taken into captivity, the fruit on the pillars is specifically referenced. This is seen in Jeremiah 52: 22-23: "The bronze capital on top of the one pillar was five cubits high and was decorated with a network and pomegranates of bronze all around. The other pillar, with its pomegranates, was similar. There were ninety-six pomegranates on the sides; the total number of pomegranates above the surrounding network was a hundred. [New International Version]

In the Song of Solomon pomegranates were used to describe the beauty of his beloved. (Songs 4:1-3) King Solomon is reported to have cultivated a large pomegranate grove as a display of his wealth. (Songs 4:13) Eaten whole or juiced, these delicate fruits are potent antioxidants, and some studies suggest pomegranate juice may contain almost three times the antioxidant ability of green tea or red wine.


Olives
References to the olive are scattered throughout the Bible: The olive branch was a symbol of peace brought to Noah after the Great Flood, and olive oil was poured into the wounds of the man on the road by the Good Samaritan. Considered a fruit, olives were eaten whole as food and pressed to make oil for cooking and medicinal uses. Today we know more about the healing benefits of olives and olive oil: They contain monounsaturated fatty acids, which can lower cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Honey
In the Bible honey is mentioned quite often. It is most frequently used to say how sweet something is. "And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey." (Rev. 10:10) John the Baptist depended on honey for his survival: "And John himself was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey." (Mt. 3:4)."
Honey is a sweet fluid made by honeybees. The bees make honey to feed the baby bees (larvae). Also, they need honey in order to stay alive during the winter. It is stored in aged honeycombs by the bees.
There is no mention of beekeeping in the Bible, but wild honey was plentiful. It's a store house of natural energy. Honey contains boron, a vital mineral sadly lacking in the modern diet. It has tranquilizing powers, and can aid in healing wounds.

Apple
The Song of Solomon takes place within the setting of a garden. The person responsible for penning the Song of Solomon had an interest in plans and was accomplished in the science of plants (as told in I Kings 4: 33). Throughout the test, more than 20 different plants are mentioned, which is more than any other book in the Bible – with the exception of Isaiah.

In the Song of Solomon, the apple appears in the following places:

"Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest is my lover among the young men. I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste." [New International Version; 2:3]

"Who is this coming up from the wilderness Leaning on her beloved?" "Beneath the apple tree I awakened you; There your mother was in labor with you, There she was in labor and gave you birth." [New American Standard Version; 8:5]

The apple is also mentioned in Joel 1:12 ("The vine is dried up and the fig tree is withered; the pomegranate, the palm and the apple tree--all the trees of the field--are dried up. Surely the joy of mankind is withered away" – New International Version) and Proverbs 25:11 ("Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken in right circumstances" – New American Standard Bible).

The apple and apple tree is a popular plant in many parts of the world. It is respected for its beauty, fragrance, and ability to produce an abundance of fruit.

Other references to the apple in the Bible include:

"Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye." [New International Version; Proverbs 7:2]

"For thus says the LORD of hosts, "After glory He has sent me against the nations which plunder you, for he who touches you, touches the apple of His eye." [New American Standard Bible; Zechariah 2:8]

Melon
When you think of the Bible, you probably did not envision melons being a part of the ancient diet. There is only one verse that mentions melons, and that is in Numbers 11: 5-6: "We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick" [King James Version]. The melon in the reference may point to the common watermelon. In Biblical days, this melon was most likely much smaller than the fruit we see in today's North American crops.

Almond
The almond tree is a native of Syria and Palestine. Its blossoms are very pale pink and appear before its leaves. Its Hebrew name, shaked signifies “wakeful, hastening” because it blossoms so early, generally in February, and sometimes even in January. In Eccl. 12:5, it is referred to as illustrative, probably, of the haste with which old age comes. There are others, however, who contend for the old interpretation here. “The almond tree bears its blossoms in the midst of winter, on a naked, leafless stem, and these blossoms (reddish or flesh-coloured in the beginning) seem at the time of their fall exactly like white snow-flakes. In this way the almond blossom is a very fitting symbol of old age, with its silvery hair and its wintry, dry, barren, unfruitful condition.”

In Jer. 1:11 “I see a rod of an almond tree [shaked]… for I will hasten [shaked] my word to perform it” the word is used as an symbol of promptness. Jacobwanted his sons (Gen. 43:11) to take with them into Egypt of the best fruits of the land, almonds, etc., as a present to Joseph, probably because this tree was not a native of Egypt.
Aaron's rod yielded almonds (Num. 17:8; Hebrews 9:4).
Moses was directed to make certain parts of the candlestick for the ark of carved work “like unto almonds” (Ex. 25:33-34).
The Hebrew word luz, translated “hazel” in the King James Bible (Gen. 30:37), is translated as “almond” in the Revised Version, New King James Version, New International Version and the New Revised Standard Version. It is probable that luz means the wild almond, while shaked means the cultivated variety

Tabitha also called Dorcas

Tabitha (also called Dorcas, meaning “gazelle”) lived in the city of Joppa, approximately thirty-four miles from Jerusalem, where she was a follower of Jesus. The first mention of her is in Acts, which states that Tabithawas a woman “…full of good works and almsdeeds which she did. And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick, and died…” (9:36–37). Many widows cried over the loss of the woman who, among other things, made cloaks for the poor.

Her body was placed in an upper room, so that it might be washed with water and smeared with aromatic oil in preparation for burial. Some of the disciples of Jesus in Joppa knew that Peter was nearby, in the city of Lydda. They sent two men to entreat him to come to Joppa. It's unclear whether the disciples thought Peter might attend Tabitha's funeral, or if he might perform a miracle upon the lifeless body
Peter went to Joppa. Perhaps he heard the widows wailing through the windows of the upper room. Perhaps they were wearing some of the clothing Tabitha had sewn. The widows showed Peter the cloaks. How could he not be moved by the loving work this woman had done for the poor in her community?

Holy Scripture mentions and remembers her for “abounding” deeds of kindness and charity. What a wonderful way to be remembered 2000 years later. She must have been extraordinary! With all of the women who were alive, Luke mentions her actions and how those around her felt when she died. It’s in Acts that we read that the community was so saddened by her death that they summoned Peter to come.

Peter, just as Jesus had done when he raised Jairus's daughter from the dead, asked everyone to leave the room. He knelt and prayed. Then, using the words that Jesus had used with the child of Jairus, Peter said, “Tabitha, arise” (Acts 9:40), and she opened her eyes. Finally, as Jesus had also done, Peter gave the woman his hand and lifted her up. He called the people in the house and presented Tabitha to them…alive.

WHAT DID SHE DO?

a) SHE DID "GOOD WORKS"-A BENEFACTRESS
She was always doing good - "always" means "full"; from a word meaning to swell from a burn, i.e. bursting: she was bursting with deeds that were generous and stemmed from feelings of pity.

b) She helped the poor (ACT 9:36)

c) She sewed clothes (ACT 9:39)

d) She helped widows (ACT 9:39)


Clearly Dorcas was a servant of the Lord. She was a true comforter to those around her. It seems that Dorcas was always ready and willing to “EXTEND HERSELF.” It shouldn’t surprise us that she is the only woman in Scripture to be given the label of “disciple.” If we look at what a disciple is, we’ll discover that the word comes from Greek and English words that link it to the verb, “to learn.” A disciple after all takes in all that they can from their leader. In this case Dorcas has learned all that she could from the life that Jesus led and became a true follower. A disciple listens and learns. Dorcas listened, learned and then she went out and lived out the traits that she had learned from what she knew of her Lord, Jesus. As the only woman referred to as a disciple, her character demonstrated those traits of mercy and kindness which made her a reflection of Jesus. (Acts 9:36)

We don’t know much about Dorcas from Scripture. In Acts, we are not told if she is married or how old she is. We do know, however, that she is the only woman in Scripture to be called a disciple. That alone tells us she was passionate. Passionate as a doer and follower of Jesus. She lived for others, earning the honor of the title “disciple
Dorcas was different. The community called Peter in at the time of her death. Her life impacted her community and thus Luke mentions this story. It seems that what set her apart was her passion for the cause. She was truly a disciple in word and deed. What set her apart was that she was unceasing in her commitment to discipleship. She was a woman living in desperate times, and yet she found a way to live passionately for Christ, by serving and tending to the needs of those around her. It’s not that she did it occasionally, but continually. One word, made all the difference. “Continually” doing for others, not occasionally, as the mood strikes, but ALL the time. She was the one who noticed who needed what and simply did what she knew to do. She chose to DO, all the time! And, continually she lived the life of a disciple, not just when SHE was in the mood.

Dorcas lived a life that glorified God. Her acts of goodness and kindness are done to help others in the name of Christ. Then God does as He will, and He allows her to be raised from the dead by Peter, again glorifying His name through her willingness to be used in any way God needs her. Dorcas was not a woman of nobility. The account given in Luke tells us only that she was a believer. That was enough for God to use. She was a willing vessel through with God could freely flow.

WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM HER?

1. God requires believers to do good to others, especially the poor and widows.

GAL 6:10 "Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."

JAM 1:27 " Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
1TI 6:18 "Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share."

2. Our good works testify about our faith: they prove that we are believers.

JAM 2:26 "As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead."

3. God will use our good works to not only benefit others but to bring glory to Himself.

MAT 5:16 "In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

4. God can use our lives to draw men toward salvation.

What fruits of the Spirit can we see in her?

A. love

B. kindness

C. goodness

Dorcas was a woman that is remembered in Scripture for her kindness and mercy. What wonderful traits to be remembered 2,000 years for. If you were to no longer exist, what would those around you say about you? Would they attach adjectives such as merciful, gracious, hospitable, and kind to your name? Reflect on these traits and ask God to guide you in the areas that would help you to be a better disciple.

Take time out of your week to extend yourself to someone in need. It can be a simple act of kindness or an impromptu extension of mercy. Write out

Matthew 6:3-4.
“When you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

Allow this verse to guide you this week as you strive to live a disciple’s life. The glory is God’s, not ours. Look around you and meet the needs of those that you may not otherwise extend yourself to. Remind yourself that Dorcas did continually, not conveniently. A wonderful example of discipleship for us to follow.

Attaining the Righteous Life by the Word: Part- 2

James 1:19-21
19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you

Humbly accept the word planted in you.
You have a divine word, and it is planted in your life. It came at the conception of your spiritual life, when you became a believing member of God's family. That word is God-breathed, and it can thoroughly equip you for every good work. When every person is born from above that word is planted in their lives. There is not one Christian who is aware of all the consequences of that. You simply "opened your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ," or you prayed, "God save me." How ever you expressed your need of Jesus Christ the divine answer was exceeding abundantly above all you asked for. God planted his word in within you. James is pleading with us here to accept that word. Welcome its presence. Strengthen and educate it. Read the Bible, and sit under the best ministry you can, and read the finest books that will help you. Do not resist it and then the word will lead you into new thoughts, and they in turn into new habits that move out into your life from within you. The key to change is your willingness to accept the planted word. Only a person in whose life is planted the word of God is capable of overcoming a single sin. Without the aid of the Spirit and the word we are powerless and ignorant.

How does James describe your acceptance ? "Humbly," he says. That is the required attitude - with meekness, and teachableness, and submission. While you resist it, that is, while you fidget and whisper and refuse to listen to the preaching you are not going to conquer your anger, or any other sin. The reason is obvious - you are grieving the Spirit. There is an indivisible union between the Spirit and the Bible. The Spirit works through the Bible being joyfully heard and obeyed. Don't expect change apart from the word. Are you humbly accepting the word ? By loving that word you will change.

Jay Adams points out how we have already learned how to control our anger - in a few seconds. For example, we have lost our temper with a member of the family and we are ranting at them and flashing our eyes in rage, and suddenly the door-bell goes, and it's the minister coming in, or the phone rings and it's your boss, and you have suddenly controlled your tongue, and calmed your anger. You knew you could not act like that with your preacher watching you, or carry on raving away on the telephone to your managing director, but, you thought you could get away with it at home. You have learned to control yourself in one situation, and you have learned not to do it in another. Humbly accept that word !


Bring your conscience to that word. Pray for the convicting work of the Holy Spirit, that he would use the law of God to convince you of the greatness of your guilt. Let the terror of God's law sink into your conscience. Think of how righteous God would be if he punished you for every time you were angry. Don't allow your deceitful heart to argue that God's law cannot condemn you because you 'are not under the law but under grace.' Humbly accept the word ! If you do this it will make you tremble and bring you to your knees. If you really want to put to death anger and all your sinful attitudes, let the law of God disturb your conscience until you are convinced of your desires. Don't be content before you can say with repentant David,

"I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me."

Or think how that word speaks to you of Christ your great High Priest in heaven. Think about his merciful, tender, kindly nature. Be sure that he pities you in your distress. Remember that the Lord Jesus has the tenderness of a mother to her infant child. Remember that because he himself has suffered he is able to aid those who are tempted. He felt the heat of men's anger, and so he knows your pain that you have directed your anger to other people.
That implanted word especially tells you of the death of Christ, and the fundamental reason for putting to death sinful anger is the death of Christ, The great aim of the death of Christ was to "redeem us from all iniquity, and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good." He died to free us from the power of our sins and to purify us from every sinful desire that defiles us. Focus your faith on Christ as he is set forth in the gospel as dying and crucified for us. Look on him as he prays, bleeds and dies under the weight of your sin. By faith humbly accept this crucified Saviour to control all your life. By faith apply his blood to all your sinful desire. Make this a daily practice. This is what it means to humbly accept the word planted in you.
It can "save you," James says (v.21). That is how our text closes. That is, obeying the word can save you from anger, or from any sin. There is no need that anyone go on crippled through life by a sin that is twisting and destroying them. Do the three things that James says,

(1) be slow in becoming angry,

(2) get rid of all the sin in your life, and

(3) humbly accept the word planted in you.

You will be saved from deep-rooted sins, and long established patterns of conduct that hurt you can be eradicated. The word can save you from the sins that beset you.
But the word can save you from hell. God has every right to send me to hell; he has ever right to send you to hell. We are sinners who deserve eternal death. But God, in his love, has chosen to take care of our sins by sending his only son to die for our sins. God's love is marvellous because it is totally effective. It is this love, shown in the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, that is presented by the Bible and celebrated among Christians.



Do you believe in this Jesus Christ as your Saviour ? Do you ? I ask you this directly, and I challenge you to face this question squarely. Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ ? If you have never believed in him and asked him to become your Saviour, it is my happy task to urge you to do so. This word can save you. Once it has been planted into your heart and life it will start to change you. Once you know you are a forgiven sinner you will start forgiving others. You will get rid of all moral filth, and you will be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.
God has every reason to be angry with us; yet he saves us. Now, instead of anger, we need to develop love and joy and peace and gentleness. You have had long-term anger deep inside you that has to get out of your system. You may be a person who is making life miserable for yourself and for everyone around you by the way you act. The living Christ can change you. He can change you by overwhelming you with such love if you confess your sins and turn to him in faith. He can change you by sending his holy word and planting it in your heart by the power of his Spirit.

Our loving God, who has taken from us all the guilt of our anger and placed it on his dear Son and condemned it in him, now asks us to be kind and compassionate and forgiving as we live together. It is his amazing grace that can enable us to be that way.

Attaining the Righteous Life by the Word :Part-1

2 Timothy 3:16-17

16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. New International Version (NIV)

We have no alternative but to heed them. We have to change. God expects change. That's why we have the Bible. There is this insistence in Christianity on changing people by the Scriptures.

Be slow in becoming angry. Stop ! Think ! Why are you so angry ? Analyse your life in terms of your anger. What is it that makes you angry ? How many minutes are you angry in a week, and why ? Much of our anger is caused by our being in a hurry. We might have to slow down physically. When you are in a hurry to get to church, or to get to work, and traffic is slow in pulling out of your side-road, you become angry. At what ? An inanimate object like a red light, or a cautious old lady going to church ? You are just angry, and you are the loser.
The key idea for handling anger is simple: we should be slow in becoming angry. Of course ! When you feel your irritation rising, you have most of the battle won if you can buy some time for yourself by introducing slowness into the situation. Because once you do that the anger itself vanishes or it takes a form so different from what it was earlier that you don't recognise it. You see, one of the major characteristics of our anger is the sheer speed with which it makes its appearance. We speak of anger 'flaring up' and 'igniting' - like a match put to some paraffin. We say that someone 'erupted' with rage, or 'he exploded with anger.' There are certain people who are nice one minute and the next have flown off the handle. Suddenly you are furious. All our emotions are fast but the fastest is anger. So when the Bible talks about being slow to anger it is talking about an approach that will control anger, and defuse it, and help us to avoid the destruction that anger can cause. If we slow things down, for example, we can avoid misunderstandings. We think we know what people are going to say because we have known them so long, and so we jump to conclusions about them and that makes them angry with us. Go slow. Don't jump to conclusions and say some things you may live to regret.


Get rid of all the sin in your life. "Get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent”. The verb is the same one used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament book of Zechariah where the High Priest discovers himself to be covered in dirty clothes, and he is being accused by Satan. Then an angel speaks; "Take off his filthy clothes" (3:4). If all your clothes are stinking you can't be selective and take off some of them, and put on fresh clean clothes. They all need to be removed, and you need to be washed before you put on clean clothes.
So it is with this particular sin of anger. The apostle Paul has shown us that it is part of a whole family of sins and they all have to be dealt with. The greatest of all English theologians, John Owen, points out that we will not get rid of any sin unless we sincerely and diligently seek to deal with every sin. We are not given the option of deciding which sin in our lives needs to be got rid of. Unless we are committed to dealing with each and every sin in our lives we will never succeed in getting the victory over any of them. Imagine a foolish medieval yokel going into battle and saying, "I am only going to worry about arrows," and he pays no attention to spears, and swords, and crossbows, and maces, and bludgeons, and cannon, and knights with lances. That man will be a dead man before he knows it. He is battling with many dangers not one.
Imagine a young Christian who has brought into the Kingdom of God with him a fearful temper, and this troubles him. It repeatedly defeats him and plagues him so that he longs for complete deliverance. Not only that, but he actually strives against it, prays and mourns when he is defeated by his anger. But at the same time there are other duties in the Christian life that he doesn't take very seriously, and other sins to which he is turning a blind eye. He is attempting to kill some sins only. What he has to learn is to hate sin as sin, not only the disturbing consequences of his anger. Our Saviour bore all the guilt of all our sins and shame. When we love the Christ of the cross we will declare war on all the sins he bore. Otherwise to select anger only is to be moved by self-love, because our anger is bothering our peace and our sense of well-being. You are just battling with your anger simply to regain your composure.
There are other sins in your life other than anger. Jesus bled for those sins too. Why don't you make an effort to conquer them also ? Don't live at peace with any of them. Do you really expect the Holy Spirit to help you get rid of anger when you show no concern to deal with the other sins that grieve him as much ? If you concentrate all your efforts on one sin because that troubles you then God will leave you to struggle on in your own strength

The commandment is "get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent." That is the theme of all Scripture, for example, 2 Corinthians 7:1 "let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates the body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God."

I think God can employ sinful anger in a Christian as a means of chastening him. Anger can become a plague and a burden to us and the reason is that we have grown careless and lukewarm in the faith. We are not taking seriously the warnings of Scripture. God is using our sinful anger to chasten us for our disobedience, and he is awakening us to consider just where are we spiritually, "You, a Christian, behaving like this ?" he is saying. God is calling us to get rid of "all moral filth and the evil that is prevalent." Then there are actual times when God may even use the plague of a sinful temper to prevent or cure some other evil. The apostle Peter was left to shout and swear in a rage denying his Lord as an indispensable means of correcting his over-confidence in himself.
So to be delivered from anger and to achieve the righteous life you must know that every other sinful desire is like a piece of filthy clothing in the nostrils of God.

John Owen says, "As long as there is a treacherous heart that is prepared to neglect the need for obedience in every area, there is a weak soul that is not allowing faith its whole work."

James 1:19 - 21

"My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry" (v.19). Our tongues are a barometer of whether we are living a righteous life or not. James is helping people who are facing trials of many kinds. We all regret that in past trials our fears were stirred, and we became confused and began to doubt God, and we did not behave as James says here. We were slow in listening to others, quick to speak and quick to get angry. We blew it. Especially during trials we need one another as Christians, and this is the only way we can help one another - being quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. Let us look at these three exhortations.

i:A righteous man is quick to listen. He listens first to God. Particularly in trials, but at any time when he feels his temperature rising, and he's getting utterly frustrated, and everybody seems to be acting in an utterly stupid way - then it is he makes sure that he listens to God. He listens to what the Bible says, and especially when the Bible is being preached. He'll be saved from an absolute disaster if he will listen. If the apostle Peter had listened to what the Lord had said there wouldn't have been hot tears and sobs of sorrow the following day.
When the Word of God was preached and God gave us a new birth then Scripture became our mother. Listen to your mother ! "Be quick to hear ". You must not linger, hesitating, debating, quibbling about her meaning. Your mother speaks plainly about the matter; listen to her and be quick to understand and obey. There is nothing ambiguous about what she says. Grasp her meaning and learn to obey. Christians often fail to grow and gain the mastery over their tempers because of their disposition. There is little eagerness to hear. But eagerness to listen to one's mother comes from a love for her. Love listens. It grows out of a proper relationship to her. This relationship, in turn, is maintained by obedience. One is eager to learn more of God's Word when he loves it. And he will love it all the more as he obeys it"
Before he speaks to anyone else he must learn to listen to God. It seems that anyone with some notoriety who makes a profession of faith is in a pulpit speaking to other people the very next day. It does not matter how prominent a position he has held, and how quickly he is learning the Christian faith, when he is given a divine birth he is a new-born babe, and he has a child's attitudes and faith. Let him promptly give himself to the Word of truth and pass through the stage of a novice before he speaks to others. Hasty births make poor preachers. Christians must first become quick to listen before they can become useful in teaching others.. "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Rom. 10:17). How many sermons did the Lord Jesus hear in the synagogue before he began to preach ? John the Baptist was thirty years old before he spoke first, and so was our Lord.

Let a man learn to listen to others. James is not exhorting us to listen a lot, as it were to be just sitting and letting a monologue of someone's stream of consciousness flow over and around us while we say nothing at all. Of course, times come when we have to forfeit our right to interrupt and to dictate the direction of the conversation. We let the person talk away, and it may seem an utterly unedifying exercise to us. But that grace is not what James is talking about here. He is urging promptness in attending to what someone is saying to you. "Drop everything you are doing and listen," is James' meaning. He is talking about the respect you pay to someone who is speaking to you, that there is a genuine interest, because by this you are showing that you are loving your neighbour as yourself. You don't fidget, as you give yourself to someone. Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones was once addressing a group of clinical medical students at the British Medical Association House, London, in 1972, about counselling patients, and he told them, "the first basic requisite is patience. If you are not able to exercise such patience you will be a very bad counsellor. If you appear to be only half-listening, and give the impression that your mind is somewhere else, and that you think that this interview is a waste of time, you will do no good at all. You must be ready to give yourself to listening. Above everything else you must listen to what the patient says. It is astonishing to note the way in which people are helped merely by having someone who will listen to them" (The Doctor Himself and the Human Condition, "The Doctor as Counsellor", p.44). Someone said, "We have two ears and only one tongue in order that we may hear more and speak less."

A wise old owl lived in an oak.
The more he knew, the less he spoke;
The less he spoke the more he knew;
Does that same thing apply to you ?

Unfortunately, many old people are not like that owl, and have never learned to listen. They will give young people no time to finish what they are saying before interrupting, as though age alone has made them wise:- "Yes, yes, young man ..." Let's be careful we don't patronise young people by cutting them down in mid-sentence. "Let no man despise your youth." Let us learn early to be swift to hear old and young.

ii] The righteous man is slow to speak. How different is the spirit of our age where there is this emphasis on expressing your feelings, and letting everything hang out. Be slow to speak, says James. You know that he is not commending drawling speech ! Nor is James exhorting us to take vows of silence. How could a Christian - who has good news to tell every person he meets - take a vow of silence without sinning ? We are urged to, "Exhort one another daily, while it is called today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin," In the days of Israel we are told, "those that feared the Lord spake often one to another; and the Lord hearkened and heard it." There are truths that need constantly to be brought forward. Who will bear witness to them if we are silent ? There is such an entity as a guilty silence for which many of us cowards must answer to God. Nor is James with these words encouraging an unsociable taciturness. How refreshing it is when a group of Christians gather and someone can break the ice and speak, answer questions in a Bible Study, or make helpful comments about a matter of concern. James is not commending unmortified shyness. An open-faced young Christian who will volunteer answers in an unsurly manner is a joy to a congregation.
James is concerned here about blurting out words thoughtlessly. The Lord Jesus speaks of 'idle words' and having to give to Almighty God an account of them. "For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned" (Matt. 12:37). There is an old saying, "many a man has had to repent of speaking, but never one of holding his peace." James' concern is that we might never be rash, but speak when we see our duty clear, and then carefully weigh what we are going to say. "Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding" (Prov. 17:28). There was a time when the Lord Jesus was being pressurised into passing the ultimate sentence upon a woman caught in adultery. They were using the woman as a snare with little genuine concern for her or the word of God. "But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger" (John 8:6). How unbearable that long hush, as the woman stood there, and the Lord Christ said nothing, and the minutes went by. When they persisted he merely said, "If any of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her" (v.7). Then in another silence that followed those words they drifted away, the older ones went first because they knew they had more years of sin to take to the Judgment. We, under those circumstances, might have wordily discussed the ending of the requirements of the old covenant's capital requirements, and the new covenant's stipulations about church discipline for immorality. But with this woman dehumanised into becoming a lure in order to trap the Lord Jesus how powerful was his lengthy deliberation before speaking. How slow he was to speak ! Then he focused upon the consciences of those men, who were more excited by the woman's sexual guilt than their own sin, and his silence and then those few words drove them to a more serious spirit. With his exhortation to the woman to go and sin no more the Son of God dismissed her. He did not condemn her because God had not sent his Son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved.

Be slow to speak especially when you are making judgements about people or behaviour or doctrine. Is it not a fact that when we pass judgment upon others we are suggesting how far above them we are ? As we dispense moral judgements, so, by that very act, we acknowledge ourselves to be moral men. "He is so careless," we say, implying that we are careful people. "I don't like his pride," we say to a close friend, implying that we ourselves are models of humility. Or if their meanness is getting under our skin, are we announcing our own generosity ? When we talk of a great man's doctrinal aberration are we parading our own theological superiority ? Be slow to speak !

iii] The righteous man is also slow to become angry. Of the three this is the most important barometer to the God-pleasing life, because a reason is appended to this command.
Everyone knows that not all anger is wrong. Christians point out that in Psalm 7 and verse 11 righteous anger is attributed to the Lord himself. God is angry with unrighteousness, injustice, and false religion. We remember Jehovah Jesus making a whip and driving the moneychangers out of the temple. Then the apostle Paul exhorts the Ephesian congregation not to allow righteous anger to become sinful anger by letting the sun go down on their wrath (Eph. 4:26). There is a right display of anger, we are correctly told, like the display of every emotion which God has created and given to us. A husband is justified in being angry with someone who has violated his wife. Parents are justified in being angry with anyone who introduces their children to drugs, or laces their drinks in a party. We don't appreciate a religion which teaches people to be as devoid of anger as a Buddha or a Sphinx, but, then, we are interested in one that will tell us how to control and purify that emotion.
My concern is this, that rarely is man's anger righteous. Anger doesn't do ourselves or anyone else any good, in fact, the very reverse. Think of what the world does when it's enraged. How horrible a sin anger is, and allied to the deceit of our own hearts, how quickly we justify to ourselves every display of our rage as righteous. When I hear of one Christian becoming angry with another I am utterly depressed. When I witness anger in church meetings or officers' meetings - which events have been extremely rare - I will never forget those nights. How I groan over other times when I lost my cool. .
The sin is of anger lies in this, it gets angry for the wrong reasons, Cain was angry with Abel out of envy, and so killed him. Moses fell into nationalistic hatred when he saw a taskmaster beating a fellow-countryman in Egypt and he murdered the Egyptian. What retaliation did Pharaoh take for that action against the Israelites ? It was not a popular act, and for its wildness Moses had to spend the next forty years living on the edges of a wilderness. Again, if our pride is hurt we fall into anger. "Do you see a man who speaks in haste ? There is more hope for a fool than for him" (Provs. 29:20). And a husband who clams up and will not apologise to his wife for an angry outburst before they go to sleep has also fallen into wicked anger. We might prefer to have a discussion about legitimate anger, but God is pressing us to go down on our knees and confess to him and one another our sins of anger. I fear our fine debates about righteous anger become a loophole in which we hide the convictions of our conscience.
I want the biblical warnings about anger to rub my conscience that they may prevent me from ever being angry. I never want to be angry again. James says, "man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires" (v.19). How is God honoured, and our own Christian lives strengthened, and the church advanced, and the world saved, and the Bible become easier to understand by our anger ?

Consider some of the ill-consequences of anger:
1. Anger hinders men's prayers. I Timothy 2:8, "I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing." How can you speak to a loving merciful God when your heart is seething with anger ?
2. Anger gives the devil a foothold in your life by filling you with guilt and destroying your walk with God. Ephesians 4:26 "Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold."
3. Anger is frequently out of control and leads to other sins. Proverbs 29:22, "An angry man stirs up dissension, and a hot-tempered one commits many sins."
4. Anger keeps bad company. Ephesians 4:21 tells us that anger keeps company with bitterness, rage, brawling, slander, and all kinds of malice. That's a grim gang.
5. Anger is incompatible with the teaching of the Lord Jesus. In the Sermon on the Mount he says, "Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also ... I tell you love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you ... I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool,' will be in danger of the fire of hell" (Matthew 5:39, 44, 22).
6. Anger usurps the role of God who is the only judge. If you're under pressure the only response is patience, meekness and endurance, not retaliation. Think of the Lord Jesus: "When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate: when he suffered, he made no threats" (1 Peter 2:23). He was the lamb not a wolf. We are to be a congregation of lambs. The only hope for the future of the church in fiercely Islamic lands is that it remembers its Lord has sent it out as sheep amidst wolves.
James is telling us here you have to choose between achieving the righteousness of God or giving in to the anger of man. You have to choose between going for the blessedness of the peacemaker or the strife of rage. You cannot have them both. You can have your anger and go to hell, or you can be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry and go to heaven. Getting angry does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. Anger does not meet with God's approval, but righteous living does.