Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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JESUS : THE ULTIMATE INFLUENCER

Bible Reading: :  Esther 4: 12 – 17

Key Verse:  4:14, 16(b)


“For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish.  And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this? (4:14)
 “Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”(16b)


DEVOTION

 We live in a world which is controlled by social media influencers to a great extent, which make positive and negative impacts on our lives.  Influencers who make a positive impact are heroes who step up to provide comfort and safety when we need it most.  But many of us become prey to the negative impacts of social media, and in the process, many lives are adversely affected and lost. But Jesus Christ, our Lord, is the ultimate influencer, who kindles positive impacts in our lives, even though we are passing through adverse circumstances.
The book of Esther presents the event of an unsuccessful attempt to kill the Jews living in the Persian empire when king Ahasuerus ruled the country during the period BC 486 – 465. The portion we meditate today (Esther 4: 12 – 17) speaks about risking the life of Esther, the queen of Persia, and thereby saving the lives of Jews from genocide.  By the “accident” of former queen Vashti’s dismissal, and by the “accident” of Esther’s beauty, she found herself as the queen of one of the greatest powers of world of that time – the Persian empire. As a successful racial minority in the Persian empire, Esther’s people, the Jews, had not melted into their surroundings.   A revengeful prime minister, Haman, made up his mind to annihilate them.  He issued an edict of Government sponsored genocide. The threat was averted by the courage and shrewdness of queen Esther, and her cousin Mordecai. One becomes a hero because one takes quick action at the ‘right time’, while others stand watching in horror.  Lives of Jewish people have been saved by the right and timely interference and the courageous influence exerted by queen Esther.
What God did back in Esther’s day was just a taste of what he did about 500 years later when He sent his only begotten Son Jesus Christ to this world at the right appointed time to redeem and rescue both Jews and gentiles from the judgement of sin, and eternal doom.    Luke 19:10 explains the purpose of coming of Jesus Christ to this world. “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost”. Esther and Mordecai were temporary saviors/rescuers but Jesus Christ is our Eternal Savior. He is the Ultimate Influencer, who influences our lives more than anybody.
1. Jesus Christ: the Influencer of being the Light. In John 8:12, Jesus declared “I am the
light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light. of life.” Jesus Christ is the Light, and those who follow Him, will not walk in darkness, but
will walk as children of light. 
Jesus Christ: the influencer, who changes hearts:  According to Acts of the Apostles chapter 2: 37 – 41, one powerful sermon of St. Peter in the presence of other disciples, influenced the hearts of more than 3000 people. They all repented, and believed in the saving grace of Jesus Christ.   Jesus continues His mission through us today.  We are commissioned to proclaim the unchanging Gospel to influence the hearts and minds of those who are lost.   
Jesus Christ: the unique influencer:  No man has ever born like him; no man has ever lived like him; no man has ever died like him; no man has ever resurrected like him; no man but Jesus has ever promised that he would come again for the second time in glory.  No man has ever influenced the lives of Jesus Christ.  God became man to become our unique influencer.
Therefore, Jesus is the ULTIMATE INFLUENCER, who has promised his presence with us in all the life situations. “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).

                                            PRAYER

Thank you Lord for being the ultimate influencer in our lives, making us a new creation, and helping us to lead a victorious life in Christ Jesus.  Let the light of Jesus continue to illuminate our hearts and minds, and let his unique influence continue to guide us in this turbulent world , Amen.

 

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

     Are we able to risk our lives for Jesus Christ and His Ministry?       
Philip Jacob
        The Mar Thoma Church Staten Island, New York.

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