Day 231: One Body

Welcome to Day 231 of the Bible 365 Podcast! I'm so excited you are joining me on this journey through the entire Bible this year. Reminder that each episode in 2026 will have a brand new devotional.

Today we'll be reading through Esther 4-7; I Corinthians 12:1-26; Psalm 36; and Proverbs 21:21-22. Invite a family member or friend to join you as we grow in our knowledge of God through His Word.

I'm so glad that you are here!

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Welcome to day 231 of the Bible 365 podcast. My name is Randy Gudo and today we're going to be reading through Esther chapters 4 through 7, 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verses 1 through 26, Psalm chapter 36, and Proverbs chapter 21, verses 21 and 22. The translation I'm using throughout this podcast is the Berean Standard Bible, also known as the BSB. Let's read. Esther chapter 4. When Mordecai learned of all that had happened, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the middle of the city, wailing loudly and bitterly. But he went only as far as the king's gate, because the law prohibited anyone wearing sackcloth from entering that gate. In every province to which the king's command and edict came, there was great mourning among the Jews. They fasted, wept, and lamented, and many lay in sackcloth and ashes. When Esther's maidens and eunuchs came and told her about Mordecai, the queen was overcome with distress. She sent clothes for Mordecai to wear instead of his sackcloth, but he would not accept them. Then Esther summoned Hathak, one of the king's eunuchs appointed to her, and she dispatched him to Mordecai to learn what was troubling him and why. So Hathak went out to Mordecai in the city square in front of the king's gate, and Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, including the exact amount of money that Haman had promised to pay into the royal treasury in order to destroy the Jews. Mordecai also gave Hathach a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for the destruction of the Jews, to show and explain to Esther, urging her to approach the king, implore his favor, and plead before him for her people. So Hatha went back and relayed Mordecai's response to Esther. Then Esther spoke to Hathak and instructed him to tell Mordecai, All the royal officials and the people of the king's provinces know that one law applies to every man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned, that he be put to death. Only if the king extends the gold scepter may that person live. But I have not been summoned to appear before the king for the past thirty days. When Esther's words were relayed to Mordecai, he sent back to her this reply, Do not imagine that because you are in the king's palace, you alone will escape the fate of all the Jews. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows if perhaps you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this. Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai. Go and assemble all the Jews who can be found in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day, and I and my maidens will fast as you do. After that I will go to the king, even though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish. So Mordecai went and did all that Esther had instructed him. Esther chapter 5. On the third day, Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the palace across from the king's quarters. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the royal courtroom facing the entrance. As soon as the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she found favor in his sight. The king extended the gold scepter in his hand toward Esther, and she approached and touched the tip of the scepter. What is it, Queen Esther? The king inquired. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given to you. If it pleases the king, Esther replied, May the king and Haman come today to the banquet I have prepared for the king. Hurry, commanded the king, and bring Haman, so we can do as Esther has requested. So the king and Haman went to the banquet that Esther had prepared. And as they drank their wine, the king said to Esther, What is your petition? It will be given to you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be fulfilled. Esther replied, This is my petition and my request. If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, may the king and Haman come tomorrow to the banquet I will prepare for them. Then I will answer the king's question. That day Haman went out full of joy and glad of heart. At the king's gate, however, he saw Mordecai, who did not rise or tremble in fear at his presence. And Haman was filled with rage toward Mordecai. Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home, and calling for his friends and his wife Zerash, Haman recounted to them his glorious wealth, his many sons, and all the ways the king had honored and promoted him over the other officials and servants. What is more, Haman added, Queen Esther invited no one but me to join the king at the banquet she prepared, and I am invited back tomorrow along with the king. Yet none of this satisfies me as long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate. His wife Zeresh and all his friends told him, Have them build a gallows fifty cubits high, and ask the king in the morning to have Mordecai hanged on it. Then go to the banquet with the king and enjoy yourself. The advice pleased Haman, and he had the gallows constructed. Esther chapter six. That night sleep escaped the king, so he ordered the book of records, the Chronicles, to be brought in and read to him. And there it was found recorded that Mordecai had exposed Bigthana and Tirash, two of the eunuchs who guarded the king's entrance when they had conspired to assassinate King Xerxes. The king inquired, What honor or dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this act? Nothing has been done for him, replied the king's attendants. Who is in the court? The king asked. Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the palace to ask the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows he had prepared for him. So the king's attendants answered him, Haman is there, standing in the court. Bring him in, ordered the king. Haman entered, and the king asked him, What should be done for the man whom the king is delighted to honor? Now Haman thought to himself, Whom would the king be delighted to honor more than me? And Haman told the king, For the man whom the king is delighted to honor, have them bring a royal robe that the king himself has worn, and a horse on which the king himself has ridden, one with a royal crest placed on its head. Let the robe and the horse be entrusted to one of the king's most noble princes. Let them array the man the king wants to honor, and parade him on the horse through the city square, proclaiming before him, This is what is done for the man whom the king is delighted to honor. Hurry, said the king to Haman, and do just as you proposed. Take the robe and the horse to Mordecai the Jew, who is sitting at the king's gate. Do not neglect anything that you have suggested. So Haman took the robe and the horse, arrayed Mordecai, and paraded him through the city square, crying out before him, This is what is done for the man whom the king is delighted to honor. Then Mordecai returned to the king's gate, but Haman rushed home, with his head covered in grief. Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened. His advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him, Since Mordecai, before whom your downfall has begun, is Jewish, you will not prevail against him, for surely you will fall before him. While they were still speaking with Haman, the king's eunuchs arrived and rushed him to the banquet that Esther had prepared. Esther chapter 7. So the king and Haman went to dine with Esther the queen, and as they drank their wine on that second day, the king asked once more, Queen Esther, what is your petition? It will be given to you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be fulfilled. Queen Esther replied, If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, grant me my life as my petition, and the lies of my people as my request. For my people and I have been sold out to destruction, death, and annihilation. If we had merely been sold as men servants and maidservants, I would have remained silent, because no such distress would justify burdening the king. Then King Xerxes spoke up and asked Queen Esther, Who is this, and where is the one who would devise such a scheme? Esther replied, The adversary and enemy is this wicked man, Haman, and Haman stood in terror before the king and queen. In his fury, the king arose from drinking his wine and went to the palace garden, while Haman stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life, for he realized that the king was planning a terrible fate for him. Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining. The king exclaimed, Would he actually assault the queen while I am in the palace? As soon as the words had left the king's mouth, they covered Haman's face. Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said, There is a gallows fifty cubits high at Haman's house. He had it built for Mordecai, who gave the report that saved the king. Hang him on it, declared the king. So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the fury of the king subsided. Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. Therefore I inform you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, Jesus be cursed, and no one can say, Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit. There are different gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different ministries, but the same Lord. There are different ways of working, but the same God works all things in all people. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in various tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same spirit, who apportions them to each one as he determines. The body is a unit, though it is composed of many parts, and although its parts are many, they all form one body, so it is with Christ. For in one spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free, and we were all given one spirit to drink. For the body does not consist of one part, but of many. If the foot should say, Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body, that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body, that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? And if the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact, God has arranged the members of the body, every one of them according to his design. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, I do not need you, nor can the head say to the feet, I do not need you. On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts we consider less honorable we treat with greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with special modesty, whereas our presentable parts have no such need. But God has composed the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its members should have mutual concern for one another. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it. If one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Psalm 36. An oracle is in my heart regarding the transgression of the wicked man. There is no fear of God before his eyes, for his eyes are too full of conceit to detect or hate his own sin. The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful. He has ceased to be wise and well-doing. Even on his bed he plots wickedness. He sets himself on a path that is not good. He fails to reject evil. Your loving devotion, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, your judgments are like the deepest sea. O Lord, you preserve man and beast. How precious is your loving devotion, O God, that the children of men take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from your river of delights. For with you is the fountain of life. In your light we see light. Extend your loving devotion to those who know you, and your righteousness to the upright in heart. Let not the foot of the proud come against me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away. There the evildoers lie fallen, thrown down and unable to rise. Proverbs twenty one, verses twenty one and twenty-two. He who pursues righteousness and loving devotion finds life, righteousness, and honor. A wise man scales the city of the mighty and pulls down the stronghold in which they trust. Today's devotional is coming from First Corinthians chapter twelve, and I'm not going to get into any type of you know theological waters today. I know we have people that listen to this podcast from many different denominations and camps, Reformed, uh, Calvinist, Armenian, Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, Catholic, uh, even some Orthodox people. When I'm looking at this chapter today, um, especially when I came to verses seven on down, I was reminded of something that happened to me years ago when I had a a band. I've been in several different bands, and in this particular band um would play different, you know, instruments. The drums, guitar, piano, and I'm not like an expert at any of those instruments, by the way. But I can play 'em. And I had a friend, Shane, and he could not play one instrument. He could not uh keep a beat at all. We had to work hard to keep him, you know, in rhythm while he was singing, but he had such a beautiful, really just a very beautiful voice. And I was about twenty one years old, and I remember stopping while we were practicing, and I was so frustrated. And because I can't sing. My singing is what you call solo. Solo you can't hear me. That's the only way I need to sing. That's my opinion of myself anyway. And I told my friend, I said, Shane, I'm so frustrated, man. You can sing so good. I would give up every instrument that I play. Never play the drums again, never play the guitar or piano. If I could just sing like you. And he said, I'm so glad you can't sing, Randy. And I hope that you never can. I just looked at him and he just, you know, there's a pause, an awkward pause, and then he finally said, If you could sing, then you wouldn't need me anymore. I can't play anything, I can't keep a beat, but I can sing. And because you can't, I get to be a part of this. And I realized that was so powerful. I realized how true it is that God never designed for one person to have everything. In verse 4 of chapter 12, 1 Corinthians, Paul says, There are different gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different ministries, but the same Lord. There are different ways of working, but the same God works all things and all people. Verse 7 is so important. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. Then in verse 11, all these are the work of one and the same Spirit who apportions them to each one as he determines. And when you look at that list, verses 8 through 10, notice that Paul doesn't say, and to the pastor is given all of these gifts of the Spirit. Or, hey, this one person over here has four or five gifts of the Spirit. And maybe, maybe, maybe that real spiritual person over there. No, today as I read through this chapter, I'm blown away to think of how awesome our God is to bring groups of people together in the body of Christ, in churches all over the world, placing unique gifts in this one, and that one, and this one, and that one. And so that when they come together, beautiful things come forth. Let's pray. Father, I come to you in the name of Jesus, and I thank you for the gifts that you've placed inside of each and every one of us. That when those gifts come together with others in your body and our church families, great and powerful things can happen. Your word says, To each one, the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. Draw us close by the presence of your Holy Spirit and reveal your Son to us. We ask all these things in the precious name of Jesus. Amen. Well, I sure hope you enjoyed today's devotional. If you're getting something out of the Bible 365 podcast, consider sharing it with your family and with your friends. Please continue to pray for me. I am praying for you. Have a great day, and I'll see you tomorrow with day two thirty two.