$\"\"$ <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t know what the women of Persia said but the above paragraph might be pretty close. We don\u2019t know if she was scared, scrawny or sick. All we know is that she had a praying older cousin named Mordecai. His Hebrew name meant warrior and the Talmud lists him as a \u201cprophet\u201d. What was so great about this exiled older relative? Why didn\u2019t the book get named after him? I mean by tradition and because of his lineage it would normally be a guys name. The Targum says he was from the birth line of Mephibosheth which was a relative of Jonathon and King Saul. In Israel he would have been quite popular but here \u2013 he\u2019s just another Jewish guy sitting by the Kings gate. Did he sit there longing for the good ol days? Was he there praying for the Temple and Kingdom back home to be restored? Were the 60 years missing in Ezra and Nehemiah being fulfilled as he sat and prayed?<\/p>\n

Two things stood out to me as we read this book this week. Overall, God\u2019s sovereignty and the power of prayer is seen. Anyone who thinks God isn\u2019t in this book doesn\u2019t know Him or His people because He is everywhere! The first thing was that wine and drinking were mentioned quite a bit. After reading Nehemiah and the importance of the cup bearer this became clear. Nehemiah was called more often a eunuch or castrated one than he was a cup bearer. He really gave his all to protect the King and help his people. Go back and read the mention of wine and insert an extra person and it makes more sense. The king left his wine\u2026 true but the cupbearer would have stayed there. Who was that guy and is that where we get the rest of the story and validity to Esther as she talked to Haman? Who shows up and puts a hood over Hamans head? Why was that part redacted? These unwritten guys seem to do an awful lot of work behind the scenes. How many of them came forward for such a time as this? Ready instant in season and out plays out for many men and women in this book. There are several guy heroes yet Esther is the star. Are we ready for God\u2019s appointment for us in our generation? Will we be found faithful doing what He has called us to do? It just seems that those who are in step with mundane, insignificant things step into being a \u201cstar\u201d not by planning to be front and center but by walking into obedience to the Lord. Fame comes with a steep price but faithfulness\u2026 that\u2019s something very different for a martyr, a child of God. On the other side of death comes success. On the other side for taking a stand for Christ comes either persecution or victory. Some walk into grandiose glory as they obey God and others get beheaded. Hebrews 11 and 12 declare that some don\u2019t get a reward until Heaven. I wish we could to choose which one of those we got. It\u2019s hard to choose the joy of Heaven when we haven\u2019t seen it. Many are afraid not to die but to struggle or suffer in pain until they get there. I recently read the end of the lives of the disciples and was shaken at how NOT ready I am to suffer like they did. Boiled alive, beaten, thrown down a cliff, Esther was not merely being bold she was risking her life. Her precious life, her only life. Her parents would NOT be proud of her on that day. Why?<\/p>\n

Esther was an orphan. No mom, no dad. There would be no one to walk her down the aisle or mourn that she was exiled to another country. No one to give her that woman talk when she married a Persian king. Mordecai stepped up to honor God and give her a heritage. He committed to pray for her. While everyone else celebrated the wealth, Mordecai would have been mortified that she married a Gentile. So he prayed, and prayed and prayed. When we adopt orphans we give them a new heritage, a new name. No longer are they on the trajectory of their birth but they are positioned for blessing from the prayers of their new parent(s). Mordecai marked Esther (The star) for God. Mordecai would have prayed God\u2019s blessings over her. Mordecai would have asked God to use her for His glory and their people. Boy, did he not fully see what he was praying for? They were words, words he meant but did he realize how big, how bold, how prophetic those words really were in those days?<\/p>\n

Our friends are celebrating the adoption of their little girl today. We had to stay home and finish some funeral arrangements and family things so we could not attend. I was so disappointed as I had prayed for that day for over a year. I pictured in my mind the shoes, the dresses, the books that would be carefully wrapped and tied with a bow given to the girl and her new family. I could just hear the well wishes and see the pink ribbons. I missed out on buttercream frosting and ice cream and cake. She would be loved, celebrated and honored. Secure in their love she will have a childhood of giggles and dancing and joy. I wonder how many Hamans will be sent her way to make her strong, test her resolve, display her spiritual power? Does God see this even now? If we truly believe God answers prayers when we pray for spiritual blessings, gifts and fruits –will we be surprised when she challenges governments, faces armies, moves mountains? Already we can see a tenacity in her little spirit. What battles will she fight in the name of her God? Did God place her in the loving care of her new home because of her parents and grandparents prayers or did God place them in her hands so she would one day deliver them? Awesome is the Lord God Almighty, sovereign over all.<\/p>\n

James 1:27 says, \u201cReligion 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Orphan. Immigrant. Woman in a home where the last wife died due to domestic violence. <\/p>\n

Mordecai had religious things to do, he was a descendant of King Saul after all. What was he thinking taking on the care of a little girl? But he was also from the line of Mephibosheth, the crippled one. I\u2019m so glad in the family line there was mercy, grace, compassion enough to care what happens to others. Somehow that care and concern grew enough for an old Jewish guy who was not a yes man, to muster up the courage to single handedly raise a little exiled girl. He\u2019d have to learn how to braid hair, kiss boo-boos. I’m thinking Torah school didn’t teach those things! Who cares about immigrants, orphans, women in danger? Those who PRAY. It\u2019s a mark, a signifier, a tell tale sign that something holy is going on in their lives and hearts. Prayer stirs hearts to action.<\/p>\n

We have two amazing little boys that we took the challenge to raise and we are so thankful. I don\u2019t know a lot but after watching our lives and the lives of our friends, my guess is that the battle for Esther and her destiny started long before she arrived on the steps of the palace. No wonder they call Mordecai WARRIOR! The first battle is always waged in the HOME.<\/p>\n

God bless all you adoptive parents. God bless all you who take your pro-life energy and invest it into children that are born and need support. God bless all you who pray for orphans that God will accomplish everything in their lives He intends and wills to happen for His kingdom and glory. Build YOUR kingdom in all the orphan kids and their parents Lord we pray. For the rest Lord \u2013 bring them forward as shining Stars in Your season, for Your purposes and in Your time (2 Peter 2:12). The Kingdom needs those who pray — to be Mordecai type praying warriors more than ever before. Help us Jesus today! Amen.<\/p>\n

RenaeRoche 2019<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Another immigrant. She came to our country from God knows where (literally) and wins the grand prize and beauty competition. She must have spent a lot on all that perfume and make-up. What\u2019s she got that I don\u2019t? Then she gets chosen to be the queen and she is sweet but she won\u2019t be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"bgseo_title":"","bgseo_description":"","bgseo_robots_index":"index","bgseo_robots_follow":"follow","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/homeplateadvantage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/881"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/homeplateadvantage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/homeplateadvantage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homeplateadvantage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homeplateadvantage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=881"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/homeplateadvantage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/881\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":883,"href":"https:\/\/homeplateadvantage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/881\/revisions\/883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/homeplateadvantage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homeplateadvantage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homeplateadvantage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}