Esther 9:16-32 16 The remainder of the Jews in the king's provinces gathered together and protected their lives, had rest from their enemies, and killed seventy-five thousand of their enemies; but they did not lay a hand on the plunder. 17 This was on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar. And on the fourteenth day of the month they rested and made it a day of feasting and gladness. 18 But the Jews who were at Shushan assembled together on the thirteenth day, as well as on the fourteenth; and on the fifteenth of the month they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness. 19 Therefore the Jews of the villages who dwelt in the unwalled towns celebrated the fourteenth day of the month of Adar with gladness and feasting, as a holiday, and for sending presents to one another. 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. 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. There was joy and celebration.  God had answered their prayers; God had delivered them from their enemies.  God had done a lot – Pur.  They set aside a day to feast and celebrate every year so that their children – and the world – would know that God had delivered them.  God was to be glorified.   God enjoys the sacrifice of praise.  God does not want our hearts to be heavy; He wants us to praise His name. Hebrews 13:15-16 (HCSB) 15 Therefore, through Him let us continually offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of our lips that confess His name. 16 Don’t neglect to do good and to share, for God is pleased with such sacrifices. Jeremiah 33:11 (KJV) 11 The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the LORD of hosts: for the LORD is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the LORD. When we praise the Lord, we teach our children and others that God is good; His mercy endures forever.  Jesus came to bring abundant life and a light yoke.  The way we enjoy these benefits is by praising Him.  We confess His name in the House of the Lord, in our homes, in the grocery store, in the department store, in school, at work – everywhere we go our lives are to be a continual sacrifice of praise. Romans 12:1 (KJV) 1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. Jesus died for us; is it so hard to live for Him?  Paul said it is our reasonable service. Often we miss the benefits of the Spirit-filled life because we do not practice the principles taught to us in Scripture. Try it!  Praise God!  Praise Him with your whole heart – with your whole life! Psalms 146:1-10 (HCSB) 1 Hallelujah! My soul, praise the Lord. 2 I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing to the Lord as long as I live. 3 Do not trust in nobles, in man, who cannot save. 4 When his breath leaves him, he returns to the ground; on that day his plans die. 5 Happy is the one whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, 6 the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them. He remains faithful forever, 7 executing justice for the exploited and giving food to the hungry. The Lord frees prisoners. 8 The Lord opens [the eyes of] the blind. The Lord raises up those who are oppressed. The Lord loves the righteous. 9 The Lord protects foreigners and helps the fatherless and the widow, but He frustrates the ways of the wicked. 10 The Lord reigns forever; Zion, your God [reigns] for all generations. Hallelujah! Say it again and again and again… Psalms 146:1 (NKJV) 1 Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul!