Marion Gaskins: March 2012

Saturday, March 31, 2012

Vitamins

Remember to take your vitamins every day!

Vitamin A - Anxious
"All things for together for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose."
Romans 8:28

Vitamin B - Blue
"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His Holy name."
Psalm 103:1

Vitamin C - Crushed
"Cast All your care on Him, because He cares for you."
1 Peter 5:7

Vitamin D - Depressed
"Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you."
James 4:8

Vitamin E - Empty
"Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name."
Psalm 100:4

Thursday, March 8, 2012

A Blue Jay Bird

My favorite bird - the Blue Jay has been hanging out on our back fence.

It reminds me that Spring never fails to show up each and every year.

It won't be long now.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

The Holiday - Purim

During the Hebrew month of Adar (March) Queen Esther helped save her people, the Jewish people from their enemies. When this was complete they rested and set aside a day of feasting and joy. This was on the 14th day. (This year - 2012 it begins at sunset, March 7th and will continue until sunset March 8th.)
King Mordecai at the time declared that "these days be celebrated annually to not only remember the relief they received from their enemies but to remember when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration." He wrote them to not only observe the days with feasting and joy but to give gifts of food to one another and to the poor. This custom was called PURIM from the root word pur....(when the high priests would cast lots - see The Book of Esther.)
Just as other special, "appointed" times, Esther 9:28 (NIV) states, "These days should be remembered and observed in every generation by every family, and in every province and in every city. And these days of Purim should never cease to be celebrated by the Jews, nor should the memory of them die out among their descendants."
So - Happy Purim to all! As you celebrate and reflect today, be reminded as we wrote in our post yesterday - that God is in control at all times. Believe today that just as He performed a miracle for the Jews back then, He is still the same God and He can work a miracle on your behalf today. My God is King of the Jews and the Lord God of Israel. Personally, as a Christian I don't believe we should pick and choose what we wish to observe from The Bible, the anointed Word of God. Sadly, from the beginning of Christianity theologians such as Martin Luther did not like The Book of Esther among other things. Therefore the importance of our Jewish roots has not been passed down through the generations. But, again, as stated in yesterdays post, God is revealing truth to us in these days unlike we have never seen before. Isn't this exciting?
And - one final note.......John 8:32 (NIV)
"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
You hear people say all the time - "the truth will set you free." No. The scripture says that
THE TRUTH THAT YOU KNOW
will set you free. It makes a difference, right? So, read The Book of Esther and the story of Purim. YOU will know the truth. This will turn your sorrow into joy and your mourning into celebration.

Be free! God bless!

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Esther

As a child it is not uncommon to question your parents "why" they gave you a specific name.
The middle name given to me was ESTHER. Of course, I feel honored now that one of my Grandmothers also shared this name. To be honest, the name ESTHER really never set well with me. But, I have had a lightbulb go on in my brain - knowledge revealed - that has changed the way I feel about the name ESTHER.
It may seem like a long story but bear with me........
#1 - In the past year or so I have become interested in the roots of the Christian faith. We all know and understand that Jesus was a Jew. But, why did the Christians not continue teaching us the Jewish roots? The more I study and gain knowledge, I also find written in scripture that "knowledge" will be revealed more throughout the end of times.
#2 - Knowing that God knew us before we were even a twinkle in our parents eyes, I know there was/is a reason that I was given the name ESTHER. Not sure why yet, but one day I will.
#3 - I heard a message the other day that was reminding us that "God is always in control of our lives. Sometimes God is silent - but that He is always working behind the scenes. We just have to trust." The reference in the Bible for this was The Book of Esther. I was interested. As things happen sometimes, the very same day I also tuned in to listen to one of my favorite programs that teach the Jewish roots.
Guess what? They taught on a Jewish holiday - in March (the month of Adar) - the month I was born.
It is celebrated the 14th and 15th days of the month of Adar and is called Purim. Now.....where is
the history of this important date found? In The Book of Esther.

Esther helped save her people, the Jews from their enemies. A wonderful true story!

I urge you to read The Book of Esther. It is not long but is an amazing story that is guaranteed to bring you inspiration and hope. Oddly enough, this entire book in the Bible does NOT mention the name of God. Perhaps as stated above, God is reminding us that sometimes He is silent as far as we are concerned but that He is always in control and working behind the scenes.

Next - Purim - what it means and why we should all be involved.