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The Daily Fountain Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 21 July 2023 – Learn To Celebrate Your Victories
TOPIC: Learn To Celebrate Your Victories
READ: Esther 9:20-10:3 (NKJV)
20 And Mordecai wrote these things and sent letters to all the Jews, near and far, who [were] in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus,
21 to establish among them that they should celebrate yearly the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar,
22 as the days on which the Jews had rest from their enemies, as the month which was turned from sorrow to joy for them, and from mourning to a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and joy, of sending presents to one another and gifts to the poor.
23 So the Jews accepted the custom which they had begun, as Mordecai had written to them,
24 because Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to annihilate them, and had cast Pur (that [is,] the lot), to consume them and destroy them;
25 but when [Esther] came before the king, he commanded by letter that this wicked plot which [Haman] had devised against the Jews should return on his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.
26 So they called these days Purim, after the name Pur. Therefore, because of all the words of this letter, what they had seen concerning this matter, and what had happened to them,
27 the Jews established and imposed it upon themselves and their descendants and all who would join them, that without fail they should celebrate these two days every year, according to the written [instructions] and according to the [prescribed] time,
28 [that] these days [should be] remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city, that these days of Purim should not fail [to be observed] among the Jews, and [that] the memory of them should not perish among their descendants.
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29 Then Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter about Purim.
30 And [Mordecai] sent letters to all the Jews, to the one hundred and twenty-seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, [with] words of peace and truth,
31 to confirm these days of Purim at their [appointed] time, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had prescribed for them, and as they had decreed for themselves and their descendants concerning matters of their fasting and lamenting.
32 So the decree of Esther confirmed these matters of Purim, and it was written in the book.
10:1 And King Ahasuerus imposed tribute on the land and [on] the islands of the sea.
2 Now all the acts of his power and his might, and the account of the greatness of Mordecai, to which the king advanced him, [are] they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia?
3 For Mordecai the Jew [was] second to King Ahasuerus, and was great among the Jews and well received by the multitude of his brethren, seeking the good of his people and speaking peace to all his countrymen.
THE MESSAGE:
The episode in today’s passage presents before us the outcome of the fasting of the Jews by which they called on God for divine intervention and deliverance from the hand of Haman, their enemy (4:15-16). God answered their prayer with massive victory over all their enemies and turned the events in their favour. They gained victory and rest, joy, happiness and peace of mind. Their sorrow turned to joy, fear to faith, and depression to great dependence on God. Mordecai therefore wrote to all the Jews to make their day of victory a national holiday in commemoration of the divine victory they had enjoyed through God’s intervention. He instructed them to share gifts among themselves and to take care of the poor (9:22).
Beloved, we need to celebrate our victories and appreciate God for His mercies. The celebration is not the type associated with orgies, drunkenness or noise. As children of God, our celebrations are to be done to give glory to God. Remembering to take care of the poor and needy around us during our celebrations brings joy to God and spiritual blessings to us. Learn to rejoice in the Lord as you celebrate your salvation in Christ; the day you gave your life to Christ marks your deliverance from the bondage of the devil, your arch-enemy just like the Jews were delivered from the power of Haman. Celebrate your anniversaries (wedding, birthday, promotion, healing, landmark achievements, breakthroughs, etc.) with a heart of praise to God and sharing good things with the people around you, especially the poor and the needy.
PRAYER: Dear Lord, I appreciate You and celebrate the victories and blessings You have given me.
