{"id":15364,"date":"2013-10-23T00:01:51","date_gmt":"2013-10-23T05:01:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/?p=15364"},"modified":"2013-10-22T20:29:25","modified_gmt":"2013-10-23T01:29:25","slug":"esther-chapter-87-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/2013\/10\/23\/esther-chapter-87-8\/","title":{"rendered":"Esther &#8211; Chapter 8:7-8"},"content":{"rendered":"<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness,<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"GINGER_SOFATWARE_correct\">faithfulness<\/span>, gentleness and self-control.\u00a0 Against such things there is no law.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Galatians 5:22-23 NIV <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Oh, how I love this scripture, sisters! \u00a0We looked at it when discussing our \u201cbeauty regimen\u201d in chapter 2 and now, as we revisit it, we see those \u201cfruits\u201d are also the proof of the Holy Spirit living and working <span class=\"GINGER_SOFATWARE_correct\">in<\/span> you! (But first, let\u2019s get back to Esther&#8230;.)<\/p>\n<p>Things are FINALLY looking up for her, Mordecai, and the Jews!\u00a0 Haman is gone, Mordecai and Esther have been redeemed and in verses 7-8 we see that the estate of Haman has been given to Esther.\u00a0 Moreover, another decree is now being written in the King\u2019s name on behalf of the Jews which not only allowed the Jews to protect themselves, but also to destroy anyone that attacked them AND plunder the property of their enemies.\u00a0 This decree we see is sealed with the King\u2019s signet ring and\u00a0signifies the irrevocable nature of the new decree.\u00a0 Hooray!<\/p>\n<p>Darlene then <span class=\"GINGER_SOFATWARE_correct\">compares<\/span> this seal to the seal, or mark, of the Holy Spirit, which is given to us when we become a child of God. \u00a0Let\u2019s look at the Scripture she provides: 2 Corinthians 1:21-22.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ.\u00a0 He anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. (NIV)<\/p>\n<p>My Study Bible gives this further explanation regarding the <i>seal of ownership:<\/i> \u201cIt was both the first installment on a loan and a guarantee of its complete payment\u201d (Quest Study Bible). \u00a0So if the Holy Spirit is a deposit <em>and<\/em> a guarantee of future payment \u2013 how amazing will the payoff be??\u00a0 How exciting!!<\/p>\n<p>The Holy Spirit is <i>vital<\/i> to your life as a believer!\u00a0 Darlene provides a sampler of Scriptures to discuss the role He plays in our lives.\u00a0 We see:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"GINGER_SOFATWARE_correct\">that<\/span> He is\u00a0a <i>counselor<\/i> (John 14:16)<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"GINGER_SOFATWARE_correct\">that<\/span> He will <i>convict<\/i> the world in regard to sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:7-11)<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"GINGER_SOFATWARE_correct\">that<\/span> He is a <i>guide<\/i> into all truth (John 16:13)<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"GINGER_SOFATWARE_correct\">that<\/span> He <i>glorifies<\/i> Jesus (John 16:14)<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"GINGER_SOFATWARE_correct\">and<\/span> He <i>testifies<\/i> about Jesus (John15:26)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Think of the Holy Spirit as the ultimate Guide to help you navigate your way in this life and help you enter Heaven with as many rewards as possible!\u00a0 In fact, different versions of the Bible will translate \u201cCounselor\u201d in John 16:7 as \u201cAdvocate\u201d or \u201cHelper.\u201d \u00a0(For an incredible, in-depth study of the Holy Spirit and His role in your life, may I recommend \u201c<em>The Helper<\/em>\u201d by Catherine Marshall.)\u00a0 But just like Jesus, the Holy Spirit <strong><em>will not work in your life against your will<\/em><\/strong>. We must <em><b>choose<\/b><\/em> to cooperate with the Holy Spirit. \u00a0Example: My GPS will give me the correct directions to reach my destination, but if I don\u2019t turn it on, or if I ignore its instructions, it can\u2019t help me!<\/p>\n<p>How do we know if the Holy Spirit is guiding us down the right path?\u00a0 How do we know that He\u2019s working?\u00a0 Well, that brings us back to Galatians 5:22-23, the first Scripture mentioned today.\u00a0 When you see a tree, you know what kind of tree it is because of the fruit that is hanging from it.\u00a0 Likewise the \u201cfruits of the Spirit\u201d are evidences that can be seen in our lives that we are allowing the Holy Spirit to work in us.\u00a0 The more we allow the Spirit to shape our lives, change our thinking, and mold our behavior, the greater the evidence \u2013 the greater the harvest of fruit!<\/p>\n<p>So\u2026. H<span class=\"GINGER_SOFATWARE_correct\">ow<\/span> are YOU doing??\u00a0 I\u2019d love to know!\u00a0 Is there a fruit that is your favorite?\u00a0 And which one do you need to cultivate more often in order for it to grow in your life?<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Let\u2019s Pray<\/span>:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Heavenly Father \u2013 You are a kind and gracious God!\u00a0 Thank You for redeeming us from our enemies.\u00a0 Thank You for sealing us as Your children and giving us the Holy Spirit, not only as a promise for the future, but to help us in the present!\u00a0 I ask You to help me listen to the guidance that Your Spirit longs to give me and help me to blossom into a beautiful, fruit-filled tree for all to see!\u00a0 Thank You for Your blessings, Your goodness, Your grace and Your love.\u00a0 May I be able to show those qualities to someone who needs them today.\u00a0 In Your Son\u2019s name we pray.<\/p>\n<p>Amen.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.\u00a0 Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23 NIV Oh, how I love this scripture, sisters! \u00a0We looked at it when discussing our \u201cbeauty regimen\u201d in chapter 2 and now, as we revisit it, we see those [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":15377,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8],"tags":[4195,4194,147,3511,4202,4204,4193,3475,2052,3512,367,4192,408,2262,425,4205,436,2261,4207,4191,3685,3819,506,554,4198,4201,3640,4200,4199,577,2260,3492,620,2054,724,4197,744,746,875,3474,4196,2263,4206,4203,1141],"class_list":["post-15364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-womens","tag-2-corinthians-121-22","tag-advocate","tag-bible-study","tag-book-of-esther","tag-catherine-marshall","tag-convict","tag-counselor","tag-darlene-schacht","tag-esther","tag-esther-the-beauty-of-courageous-submission","tag-faithfulness","tag-fruits-of-the-spirit","tag-galatians-522-23","tag-gentleness","tag-girlfriends-coffee-hour","tag-glorifies","tag-god","tag-goodness","tag-gps","tag-guidance","tag-haman","tag-helper","tag-holy-spirit","tag-jesus","tag-john-1416","tag-john-1526","tag-john-1613","tag-john-1614","tag-john-167-11","tag-joy","tag-kindness","tag-king-xerxes","tag-love","tag-mordecai","tag-online-bible-study","tag-ownership","tag-patience","tag-peace","tag-redeemed","tag-robin-caddell","tag-sealed","tag-self-control","tag-testifies","tag-the-helper","tag-womens-online-bible-study","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Wk8_Caddell_Esther.png","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p39pHp-3ZO","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15364","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/132"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15364"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15364\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15413,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15364\/revisions\/15413"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}