Esther 4: 10-16

Then Esther spoke to Hathach, and gave him a command for Mordecai: “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that any man or woman who goes into the inner court to the king, who has not been called, he has but one law: put all to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter, that he may live. Yet I myself have not been called to go in to the king these thirty days.”  So they told Mordecai Esther’s words.  And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: “Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews.  For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”  Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai:  “Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!”

Life has many twists and turns especially for those whom God has set His eyes on; Mordecai was distressed very much, when he learned that Haman intended to exterminate all Jews yet not for his own sake but that of his brethren in Shushan and all the provinces in the kingdom of Persia. He sought to save his race, people from total annihilation from Haman who had connived with other palace officials and made the king to issue and sign a decree to exterminate all Jews.

Esther had already ascended to queen ship in the kingdom and was the ideal person to assist her kinsmen, but she was not aware of such a decree. Therefore Mordecai took it upon himself to inform the queen; who was his cousin, and almost a daughter because he had brought her up. All this no withstanding, the queen could have turned a blind ear and eye on the plight of the Israelites but again Mordecai had a solution for that eventuality when he told the queen that she should not think she was safe and that God would save them in any He could but her safety was not guaranteed.

Mordecai didn’t spare the spare queen or himself the anguish of what was about to happen. He was not afraid of the repercussions of being insolent before the queen. He was ready for any consequences should the queen feel insulted by his insistence for intervention. Mordecai put his own life on the line by refusing to leave the palace until the queen gave him an ear, so to speak but he was not afraid for himself. He turned down the queen’s offer of clothing and the idea of self aggrandizement didn’t appeal to him, neither did he ask for anything in favor of himself, he totally sought help for others sake.

The queen’s heart was touched by the predicament of her people, and she decided to risk all she had gained in order to save her people. The law was clear about how and when anybody could enter the royal court. One had to be summoned by the king himself and no other circumstances.

This is didn’t stop Esther from making that hard decision, to expose herself to such danger. Not many people could have jeopardized their position; it takes somebody very brave spiritually to do this kind of a thing; Esther forfeited her life and position just like her cousin Mordecai to save others.

We are the Esther’s and the Mordecai’s of this age (author inclusive) and I want us to do a simple self assessment regarding other people’s distresses:

• As born again Christians are we ready to move out of our comfort zones for the sake of other mankind?
• Are we ready to be inconvenienced for the sake of others?
• Are we ready to forgo your sleep to pray for others?
• Are we ready to part with your hard earned money to help a needy person?
• Are we ready to forgo a meal or two to fast in order to stand with others, know or not known to us?

The gravity of the situation may not be as grave as that of Esther and Mordecai’s time, but the implication is still the same.

Christians of today need to go back to the drawing board in matters of remembering others among who are in need both spiritually and materially. Our world is beset with much hardship, hurts and suffering, brethren need to go an extra mile to show the love of Christ to the hurting people of this world. We have to be ready and willing to be inconvenienced for the sake of others. I am aware that there are brethren out there who are doing a splendid job of supporting the less fortunate. To you all I say may the Lord bless you mightily.

It is of uttermost importance that Christians of our time to remember that we are in the end of time and require an extra effort to save others. We should leave our comfort zones; evangelize our environs because for by so doing we will be heeding the most important part of our call to salvation, give the Word to those who require the Word, a meal, clothing and shelter to those who need them when God put us in a position to offer such.

We need to reach out in more ways than one, I always marvel at the Samaritan woman, after a brief encounter with Jesus she became a totally different person. She forgot all her inhibitions and went about the city that held her in contempt an hour or so before. She couldn’t go to the well to fetch water when other women were there but now she was running around the city, shouting to everybody to come and see the Man who told everything she had ever done. Her curriculum vita until then wasn’t that good in the city of Sychar, but this was no longer her problem for her burdens were lifted off by Jesus. Anybody who thought of her as a husband snatcher was in for a surprise.

Can we be that radical Christians, who are willing to go beyond our normal boundaries and limitations for the sake of other people? If you haven’t already, start planning to do so because your salvation is not complete until you have done something out of love and not out the abundance of you possessions or knowledge. Like Queen Esther, she prayed, fasted and put her head on the chopping block, so to speak by going before the king before she was summoned.

Her declaration is equally fascinating; “And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish! This is a very determined, purposeful person and nothing could stop her from accomplishing that which she set out to do, danger or no danger. Like Esther, we can also make such declarations for the sake of the others. Until we get there for the sake of people, the sooner we get there, then the sooner our salvation will have a real meaning. Totally disconnecting ourselves from the selfish self and going against the normal for the sake of Christ elevates one to a different level of spiritual relationship with God.

My prayer and plea to we all, is that lets start questioning the status quo in our lives of salvation and start reaching out to the less fortunate for the sake of Jesus Christ. I don’t know what reason you might have but I want to encourage you that you’ll be giving a purpose to your life. Somebody, I can’t remember who, once said, your wealth is not countered by how much you have stashed away but by how much you have given away. I am not sure that these were the exact words used but I understood them to mean so.

We need men and women of God who are not afraid to walk the talk, getting some dirt under that nails for the sake of the gospel of Christ, the gospel of grace that touches all corners of the world without any discrimination. Let’s share and share equally, the love of God is plenty and more than enough for all humanity, let spread some around, in Word and in deed. God meant us to do that; that’s why He has given us many examples to go by, I have quoted just two of three incidents, you have read yours too; can we add all  experiences together and see the urgent need that is in our world now, more than ever before?

^{Matthew 14:15-17}

When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food.”  But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” And they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” He said, “Bring them here to Me.”

When it was evening, evening always refer to a desperate time in our lives, even them Jesus is still there for us as we are there for others. The disciples put the need of the multitude before their own, this was an act of self denial on the disciple’s part, and such actions were not limited to the Old Testament. The Disciples of Christ didn’t need to have plenty to offer, so as to share with thousands of people, they didn’t wait until the time was right either. They actually didn’t have enough for themselves as it were, but they were willing to give up their only meal for the sake of others. It didn’t take much for Jesus to perform a miracle that multiplied the fish and bread; it only took His compassion and the generosity of His disciples.

When we reach out in our small ways, Jesus multiplies the same to meet the needs of many. Far more than we ever dreamt possible, by the selflessness of the disciples saved more than five thousand people for the account is five thousand men, not including women and children. I urge us all to stop looking at the size of what we have and give it out in the name of Jesus who will multiply that little to meet the needs of others.

Don’t misunderstand me; I am not talking about material things only but the Word of God as well. You don’t have to wait until you qualify from a Bible school before you tell your family, friends and colleagues that they need Jesus as Savior and Master of their lives. The Samaritan women is a good example on this, she got out of her way to preach to the whole city. It is the high time we shared out the love of Jesus to many that need it more than ever before because of the state of our loveless times that we live in, in the same way you don’t need wait until you have enough to help a needy person or wait until you know somebody better before you can say a kind word to somebody who needs it.

When we reach such a point in life that we are mindful of others both materially and spiritually. Not considering age, gender, color, nationality, individual status, situations and circumstances. When we abandon our selfish selves; generously giving and committing ourselves to support others, Jesus does the rest both in the lives of those receiving our help and in our own lives we experience the power of Jesus as well. May God bless you as you read this and act on it accordingly. Amen

This devotional was written by Bishop Joseph Koburu Mukiira of Maximum Victory and Joy Worship Centre; It is brought to you courtesy of Journey 2 Joy International Ministries Inc. USA