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In the book of Esther, the wise uncle of the queen encouraged his niece to petition the king for the life of her people at risk to her own life. To communicate to her the urgency of the moment he said the following, "For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? (Esther 4:14 )" Mordecai could see God's purposes in God placing his niece, Esther, in her position as Queen. As always, God is right on time. He could also see that this was an opportunity to obey God and seize the blessing of obedience by acting in faith as an advocate for God's people. He is clear that God is big and if Esther will not act, God will find deliverance from some other place.

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:31) This admonition comes at the bequest of the author of Hebrews, who I believe is the apostle Paul. He encourages us to enter into the throne room of Gos -- a fearful place for those who are not covered by the blood of the Lamb, but a privileged duty of a child of God. We who are born again are called Priests and Kings in Revelation 1:6. It is our responsibility to process the purpose of our existence at such a time as this and enter boldly before the King and make petitions that fulfill his will on this earth while we represent him here as ambassadors of Christ.

We are tempted to look around us with a dim and grim view despite knowing that we live in the last days before the catching away of the church and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are tempted to groan and complain, bury our heads in the sand or stay in a holy huddle until Jesus comes. Circle the wagons lest we walk in wisdom toward them without. Build an ark lest we live with an abandon that says we are careful for nothing. Hide from our persecutors lest we be so forward as to love our enemies and bless those which persecute us and despitefully use us. The devil would like us to be so docile, so domesticated. so apathetic that we cower in fear of the shadow of death instead of believing Jesus has conquered sin and death, overcoming the grave by the light of his gospel.

It is here in this place, at this time, that we must decide what kind of impact our lives will have for we only have one life to invest. Will we engage the world like a warrior for God? Going forth into the battle fearlessly walking by faith and not by sight, laying aside the weight and sin that doth so easily beset us and running with patience the race that is set before us? Will we trust our sword and our shield? Will we stand as a buckler and cut through the waves of false doctrines and philosophies of man that batter our brains like a 15-round match with former heavyweight Mike Tyson? Will we gird up the loins of our mind and stand fast? This is a question only the individual Christian can answer, but first they must be awake and realize what time it is for our salvation is nearer than when we believed.

Romans 13:11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.

Esther needed her uncle Mordecai to give her a wake-up call, a challenge to do what she could because it was in her hand to do it. (Proverbs 3:27) I am so blessed to see all those who participated in the Bible Publishing ministry and the Burnt District outreach. We are tempted to be weary in well doing but it God who has called us for such a time as this!

A time to reach up so we can reach out to those who will otherwise perish in a lost and dying world. Please pray about your role in the Harvest Party, which is the next Community Connection at HBF. Perhaps God is calling you to volunteer to man a booth run the sound, help set up or tear down, cook food or some other task. Like Esther, you don't have to help but you get to help if you seize the opportunity to be used of God. If you want to seize upon an opportunity to be used of God contact Tom Feurt and see what opportunities are still available to serve.