Although the name of God is never mentioned in the book of Esther, we can see that He was leading in her story. Sometimes are there people in our lives who it doesn’t appear that God is working...but we need to be patient, have compassion, and show them love. Let’s talk about that today.Contributor: Diane shares her story with us as a new Christian, coming to church and not looking like everyone else. Let’s just say it wasn’t a pleasant experience, yet God spoke to her and helped to HER to be the difference in that church!

Although the name of God is never mentioned in the book of Esther, we can see that He was leading in her story. Sometimes are there people in our lives who it doesn’t appear that God is working...but we need to be patient, have compassion, and show them love. Let’s talk about that today.Contributor: Diane shares her story with us as a new Christian, coming to church and not looking like everyone else. Let’s just say it wasn’t a pleasant experience, yet God spoke to her and helped to HER to be the difference in that church!

Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.

Starting with Jesus

Heather Bennett

Reflect and Renew June 2023

An Orphan Becomes Queen

The Queen Who Saved Her People

Faithful Builders

Patient Job


I did not look like everybody else in the church. Most people would greet someone in front of me, in the pew in front of me, and then pass me by and greet someone behind me. And then 1 Sabbath, I was actually crying in the parking lot. Please God, don't make me go in that church. And he said, it's your church.

You be the difference in that church. Welcome to Reflect and Renew. Hey, I'm Katie. I'm so glad that you'll be joining me today. We will be learning and growing together in our walk with Jesus.

You will surely be encouraged and challenged as we study week by week and hear from the experiences of others. Our plan versus reality. They can be very different. We lived in Michigan and decided to take our kayaks and put in at a river upstream and then follow the river down to a lake that was on the map, paddle across the lake and then take out near a dam. That was the plan and it looked good according to the map and our plan.

So we dropped off 1 of our cars near the dam and I might add we didn't actually get out of the car and go over and look at the lake. It was kind of behind some trees. So you couldn't see it from the parking lot. We just parked the car, jumped in our other car and drove about a mile or 2 upstream, unloaded the kayaks and the inner tubes, our lunches, our towels, you know, everything you would need for an hour or so float down the river, and then we pushed off. As we floated and paddled downstream, it was so relaxing.

The river was very, very windy because the water was following the path of least resistance. Back and forth around this bend and that bend. Avoid the shallow areas, the half-submerged trees, stay in the current, and go with the flow. It was going great until 1 of the inner tubes snagged on a branch and popped. But that was okay.

We had a backup inner tube so we pulled out on a sandy spit of beach, ate our lunch, blew up our spare inner tube And it wasn't long before we were continuing the journey with a little bit of trepidation this time because if this last inner tube popped then what? The water was cold like cold and we would be short 1 flotation device. But we looked on our phones and could see that we were coming up to the lake part of the trip. Or so we thought. Unbeknownst to us, the dam had broken, probably the previous spring, and there was no longer a body of water.

Nope. It was now a small stream that once it reached the area where the reservoir was supposed to be, it was more windy than ever. The water was following the path of least resistance and it constantly hairpinned back on itself, squiggling all around this great big valley. What should have been a quick 10-15 minute paddle to the car would now be an all afternoon ordeal. And then it happened.

The last inner tube popped. It got snagged on a hidden branch under the water and Now what? My husband and I each had a one-person kayak. My little two-year-old would sit in my lap in front of me, and the young teenager who we had brought on this trip had nothing to float on. There was no way, absolutely none, to get 2 people into a kayak.

So my husband climbed up the 12-foot sides of the riverbank and once on top saw that it would be a long way to the car by river, but actually not that far by walking. So he told me to continue on and let the young lady who was with us use his kayak and he would walk back. We all made it back to the car and we were very glad to be back. It was amazing how different our ideas versus reality really were. And this week we're going to talk about the story of Esther and take a quick look at it.

Oftentimes we have this idea about Esther being kind of a sugar-coated story, but reality It was different than what we often portray. And we're going to talk about that today. So just a heads up, Our discussion today could be sensitive for little ears, so I want you to be aware. Have you checked out the devotional this week? You can find it on our website, startingwithjesus.com.

Merle Poirier and her daughter Ellen do a great job with the devotional each week, so go check it out or email us at renew at starting with jesus dot com and you can ask to have the devotional sent straight to your inbox each and every week. Telling the full story of Esther can be very challenging. We often smooth it over for our kids, but the reality is that the king is physically trying out all these young beautiful virgins. But before ever meeting the king for a one-night stand, it's a year of beauty treatments for the young women and I'm sure classes on ways to please the king. Whoever is not made queen will then enter into the king's house as concubines to live out the rest of her days.

The 1 who pleases the king and becomes his wife will live in her queen palace. Think about it. Esther is a Jew. We know from the story of Daniel that Jews did things differently from the heathen people around us. Things like the Sabbath, a special diet, who and how to worship, and the list could go on and on.

Daniel stood up for his faith, but we don't see anything like that in the story of Esther. Was she firm to her faith? Or did she just go with the flow? Her uncle tells her not to let anyone even know that she is a Jew. It's a secret.

Doesn't sound like the story is starting out too well, does it? But as Merle says in her devotional, God is not mentioned by name in Esther at all, but his presence is felt. He guides Esther in her story, not just, not only in the end, but also in the beginning, that seems in direct opposition to what he desires for his daughters. And that's where we ultimately must land. Not only with the story of Esther, but also the story of our daughters, the ones struggling to find their identity, knowing that God has yet to finish their story.

Do you know someone who's just starting their story with God? They need our support. They need our love, our care. But oftentimes they're looked on and judged for how they look or they act or they speak. But we need to remember God is taking them on a journey and he wants us to help encourage them along the way.

This week we hear from Diane as she shares her story with us as a new Christian coming to church and not looking like everyone else. Let's just say it wasn't a pleasant experience, Yet God spoke to her and helped her to be the difference in that church. Hi, my name is Diane and I wanted to share with you an experience how 1 Peter 3, 3 and 4 affected my life. It says, do not let your beauty be that outward adorning of arranging the hair, of wearing gold, or of putting on fine apparel, but let it be the hidden person of the heart with the incorruptible ornament of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God." When I first came to the Lord, I was in my late 20s. It was an answer to prayer to my mother, who had herself and along with the whole church praying for me.

I had come in through 1 of the Net series in the late 90s. After I came, I found a church that I thought, Oh, okay, I'll start attending there. But I wore the best I thought for God on Sabbath, and that happened to be a very short skirt. My ears had been pierced for many years, so I wore lots of earrings, and I had lots of different rings on, and bracelets, and necklaces, and I did not look like everybody else in the church. So when I would go in and sit down, most people would greet someone in front of me in the pew in front of me and then pass me by and greet someone behind me.

And that was really hard for me because I was brand new and I hadn't been baptized yet. I had just learned the truth of the Sabbath and accepted it. And so I was really excited about the word. I was excited about learning about Jesus Christ, but I was being avoided. And I presumed, I don't know for sure, but I presumed it was because of the way I was dressed.

I looked like nobody in that church. So every Sabbath I would find myself in the parking lot begging the Lord, please God, don't make me go in that church. Don't make me go in there. Let me do something else. I know it's Sabbath.

I had already been tested with my job. The job had given me the day off. And I said, Lord, please just don't make me go in. And I would go in though, and then 1 Sabbath I was actually crying in the parking lot because I said, I just can't stand it. These people are not friendly, they're not kind, nobody greets me.

I try to smile at them, but they turn away from me. And you know what God told me? He said, whose church is that, Diane? And I said, that's your church. And he said, whose daughter are you?

I said, I am your daughter. And he said, then it's your church. You be the difference in that church." So I walked in after wiping my tears in the same outfit, my mini skirt and high heels and dressed like I was, and I went up to every person in that church and extended my hand and said, happy Sabbath, good morning. People all of a sudden kind of, I have to say they looked a little shocked. They didn't seem to want to shake my hand, a couple of them, but they did.

And 1 elderly woman came up to me later and she said, would you like to come home for lunch with me? And I didn't want to, I'll be honest with you. Most of the people had not been kind, so I didn't really want to, but I did. It was a turning point in my relationship with the Lord. So from every time since then, and it's been a lot of years since my late 20s, I'm in my 50s now, and the Lord has reminded me when I see someone that maybe looks or feels like they might be out of place in the church, that I should approach them, but also to encourage those that feel that way, that's your father's house.

You can be the difference in that house. And remember, you can be the bright light to others. I will be honest, my initial motivation for growing to greet people was not the best. I hadn't been changed in the heart in that attitude towards people, but now I love to find people I haven't greeted or met or seen and I just want to go up and I'm a hugger so if they let me I hug them, if not I'll shake the hands, but I want to be the difference in my father's house so everybody feels welcome and everybody knows it is their house too because it is God's house. I hope this encourages you to be the difference in your church and in the body of believers you worship with and never look on the outside of someone because you don't know the journey that God has got them on.

God bless you all. So what are we doing? There was 1 young pastor's wife who was feeling snubbed by her church members. She didn't know what to do and reached out to ask a group of pastor's wives and their advice? You reach out.

You make the effort. You be the difference. And I think that's good advice for each and every 1 of us. When we reach out to those around us, and we take that first step, it's going to make an impact and we will not only be the difference, but we will see a difference. This week, our challenge is to affirm those in our church.

There are so many, both young men and young women, who are often struggling with confidence. Affirmation that comes from someone they know in church can help them to walk a bit taller and feel more a part of their church family. So that's your challenge this week. Reach out to such a young person in your church and if you have a neat experience as you are reaching out to those in your church, why don't you write and tell us about it? Write to us at RenewAtStartingWithJesus.com.

We would love to hear from you, even how this podcast is impacting your life or how you're sharing it with others. We'd love to hear. Go ahead and write to us, Renew at StartingWithJesus.com. Let's pray to close. Dear Lord, there are so many around us who are struggling.

Help us to reach out to them, to help support them, to encourage them, to be the difference in the lives of those around us. That it starts with us. Help us to be brave, to take that first step, even if it's a little uncomfortable, but to help and affirm those around us. In Jesus' name, amen. This podcast is sponsored by Starting With Jesus.

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Reflect and Renew June 2023

An Orphan Becomes Queen

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Parent Series

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Other Teachings in Series

An Orphan Becomes Queen

14m

The Queen Who Saved Her People

15m

Faithful Builders

14m

Patient Job

20m

Sound Doctrine