Yesterday Word Keeper added a “Prayer Wall” page!!
Maybe you got the email I sent out, but here’s a more public announcement.
The link to it is at right under the heading on each page of the blog. 
Enjoy.
Sorry I’m late again.
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Are You Washed by the Blood of the Lamb will be our song this time.
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When you follow God’s plan for your life, you position yiurself and your family to experience God’s Providence. … Providence litteraly means “foresight.” This basically means that God will protect you and your family in the future if you follow His plan for your life.
1:22 – Harvest had just started when Ruth and Naomi arrived. Poor ladies could glean the fields and pick up what ever was dropped by the workers who were harvesting.
2:1-6 – So they still had at least one relative, Boaz, in Naomi’s home nation. Boaz owned a barley field. The field that Ruth goes to just happens to be owned by Boaz and Boaz comes out to greet his workers and then he sees Ruth.
So right away we know that God is looking out for Ruth and Naomi…. Look at all that Providence so far.
In their relationship, Ruth and Boaz model seven virtues that enable us to experience God’s blessing:
1) 2:6-7 – Courtesy … Ruth did not have to ask permission to glean, but she did. How often do you say “please” or “thank you” when asking or recieving something? I don’t do it enough. … And as Barney would say, “please and thank you are the magic words.”
2) 2:7 – Hard Work … There are two extremes of how hard people work. On one side there are the “workaholics” and on the other side there are the “no work” people. … Neither extreme is good. As far as the “workaholics” are concerned, I am reminded of the story of Michael Gates Gill. The other extreme is harder to find a good example of, but maybe it’s the guy standing on a street corner or maybe the guy walking out of the skyscraper carrying a few boxes of miscellaneous stuff. … 2 Thessalonians 3:11-12 gives a little food for thought on this subject.
3) 2:8-10 – Humility … Philippians 2:3 flat out tells us to be humble. Ruth was humble and grateful towards the actions of Boaz.
4) 2:11 – Loyalty … Character does not go unnoticed. Ruth’s loyal character preceded her and made an impact on Boaz before they had ever met. When Ruth was loyal to Naomi, she had a sense of team that she wanted between them. That sense of team should be noticeable in all of our close relationships.
5) 2:12 – Faith in God … This is easy for some (who have grown up in church) but extremely difficult for others. … I imagine it was really tough on Ruth as she left the gods of the Moabites for the one true God. She had lived her entire life worshiping other gods and goddesses and then she suddenly puts Faith in God. Wow!
6) 2:13 – Respect … Boaz and Ruth were total social opposites, but they respected each other. … Ephesians 5:33 tells us a marriage relationship comes down to two things: love and respect. … (But Boaz and Ruth weren’t married yet)
7) 2:13-20 – kindness …They were kind to each other and went beyond what was necessary or expected. Boaz was especially kind as he showed favor on Ruth.
I’m living in the days ahead
I’m already dancing on the streets of gold
Can’t stop celebrating in my soul
I’m living in the days ahead
Nothing on earth could ever compare
Can’t wait for the day when I get there
When I see Jesus face to face
Tell me what could be better?
Tell me what could be better?
Sorry this is so late… I left the laptop at home Sunday morning.
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We had a few awesome songs in church today! Here’s two …
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Three responses to crisis are modeled in this story:
v. 8-14 – Like Orpah (not to be confused with Oprah), you can give up. … So, both daughters-in-law were insisting that they go back with Naomi, but Naomi told them to stay. So Orpah stayed. … She gave up on what could be simply because of bad advice. Naomi’s reasoning for telling them to stay is simple. By law (Deut. 25:5-6), if Naomi had another son, he would have to marry his brother’s wife. Naomi was old and didn’t expect anymore children and even if she did bear a son, her daughters-in-law would have to wait for him to grow up. … Naomi forgot that they might have kin still in Judah, in which case the closest kin would marry.
v. 13, 19-21 – Like Naomi, you can become bitter. … She blames God even though she brought this upon herself by allowing her family to move away. … Our pastor told a story about this guy who parked his car on the side of the road and went inside. After a while, another car came flying down the road, hit the parked car, and ran off. When the man and his friend came outside they saw the damage and then saw some fluid on the road. They jump in the friend’s car and go after whoever hit the parked car because they couldn’t have gotten far with a leak that bad. So they finally come up to this nice Mercedes that has broken down on the side of the road with two teens beside it. The men decide they would have mercy on them. When talking with the teens they discover that the Mercedes was taken without permission from a father. The teens have trouble being grateful for the mercy of the two men, because they’re so worried about how the father may react. The son even says to the man, “Why would God do this me?” … The son was bitter even though the entire accident was his fault. … She even told people to call her Mara (meaning “bitter”) instead of Naomil (meaning “pleasant”). … Hebews 12:15 tells us to not be bitter.
v. 14-18 – Like Ruth, you van cling to your commitments and to God. … Ruth clung to Naomi. The word translate as “clung” here is the same word used in Genesis 2:22-24 about marriage. … She mus have done something right, she has book of the Bible named after her. There’s not a book of Naomi or Orpah, but there is a book of Ruth. … She can’t control everything, but she can do everything within her power to make sure the relationship does not fail.
These verses would make awesome wedding vows even though Ruth wasn’t discussing marriage when she said them…
Four marks of a Christian marriage commitment: (v. 16-17)
1. It is an unconditional commitment. …
Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay.
Ruth was committed and would not leave her commitment for any reason.
2. It includes a relationship to the community of Faith. …
Your people will be my people
They didn’t think they had any family left in Judah, so Ruth couldn’t have been talking about family. She must have been talking about the people, the friends, that they would be living near, people who believe in God.
3. It includes a relationship to God. …
and your God my God.
I’ve been taught all my life that a relationship between two people without God involved in both lives will not last. I’ve seen this turn true time and time again just by observing the relationships that my friends get into. There may be a few exceptions, but it stands as a general rule and usually shows to be true.
4. It is a lifelong commitment. …
Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.
That’s pretty self-explanatory.
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I’m adding this a little late…
v. 22 -
the barley harvest was beginning.
After all they’ve been through, they’re about to get a new beginning. … God’s timing is impecable and we should pay more attention to time in the Bible.
Charlotte Elliott wrote the song “Just as I Am” after a minister led her to a new beginning in Christ. … It’s never too late for a new beginnig.
Happy Mother’s Day!
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To God be the Glory is this week’s song.
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v. 2 – Some info on the names of each family member. … The name Elimelech means “God is King.” Naomi means “pleasant, beautiful, and nice.” Elimelech and Naomi had two sons, Mahlon (meaning “sickly”) and Kilion (meaning “failing,” “puny,” or “leaving”).
Your family can head in the wrong direction:
1. When you take your cues from the culture around you (v. 1). … We see in Judges 21:25 that everyone was doing as they wished to do, much like today. And unfortunately, the culture normally goes against Christian beliefs and ideals.
2. When you allow tough times to weaken your family unit (v. 1). … They were going through a famine, again, a little like our economy today. They had a choice to make: “let the famine weaken us” or “let the famine strengthen us.” … It’s easy to grow weak in tough times, but it’s also the best (and maybe the only) way to really grow strong.–As my soccer coach says when we’re tired at the end of practice or a long run, “this is where you grow strong.”–You see, It’s easy to do anything when you’re not wore out, but when you get tired and those muscles start to ache with your heart pumping fast, it gets hard. You may feel like quitting, but then you’d be cheating yourself and your team (your brothers and sisters in Christ as well as God). … So I urge you to not give up, but to push through whatever pain you may feel.
3. When you distance yourself from the community of Faith (v. 1). … Judah was given to these people by God and they left to go to Moab! Genesis 19: 30-38 tells us Moab originated when Lot’s daughters got him drunk and the elder daughter had a child not too long after named Moab. … Anyways, this family moved away from the community of Faith and began to head from God.
When your family heads in the wrong direction:
1. Tragedy leaves you without spiritual support (v. 3).
2. Little choices can have big consequences (v. 4). … This family moved because of a famine and then the sons end up marrying Moabite women. Maybe someone today would choose to go a little over the speed limit (just for fun) and then BAM! he hits and kills someone else or even dies himself. (I know that’s a little extreme, but it happens.)
3. Temporary choices can become long-term patterns. (v. 4). … They went to Moab to get away from the famine, but it’s been ten years! … Today, someone may get a job (an extra job maybe or just more work time) to pay for something they want, like a new car. This job makes them work on Sunday and they miss church. Eventually they get that new car, but they keep working on Sundays because it’s what they are used to now, it’s a pattern. … Make going to church a pattern.
You can turn your family around if you will:
1. Respond to the activity of God (v. 6). … There’s a keyword here: “prepared.” … Prepare –> Arise –> Take initiative. Naomi got fired up and got ready when she heard that God was feeding His people.
2. Return to your spiritual roots (v. 6-7). … Then she got her daughters-in-law and went home! The word “return” is the same as “repent” and it is never too late to return to your spiritual roots or to repent from your sin.
Maybe you noticed the Daily Bible Verse gadget in the sidebar. I added it the other day in hope that it would be a daily encouragement for you.
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I wanted to find the version of Be Still and Know that the girls’ ensemble sang this morning, but no luck.
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Today was the graduation ceremony for UT-Chattanooga which meant our pastor was there for his son’s graduation. Our youth minister filled in for him behind the pulpit today.
v. 1 – A Christian knows real strength comes from God’s grace. … The Greek text had the word for “you” emphasized here. Paul is enthusiastically telling Timothy, and us, that we can only gain a strength that really through Christ. The only strength that really will make a difference is inner strength. An inner strength will make it easier to forgive, love, have joy, and live for God. Also, God’s grace is constant, which also means the strength we can gain from it is constant.
v. 2 – A Christian should be like a teacher that invests in the lives of others. … Titus 2:1-8 reinforces this teaching. … Think of your favorite vegetable. Say you planted it’s seeds in your garden and you don’t invest any time into taking care of it. What happens? It doesn’t grow or it turns out to be a lower quality. Now let’s say you plant the seeds and take care of them, investing time into it. It grows larger, healthier than normal and tastes amazing! … People can be the same way. If we take time to care for someone and to teach them, then that person is more likely to sprout into a better person who will plant and care for more seeds. … Also, investing in the lives of others may yield a great reward for the investor.
v. 3-4 – A Christian should be like a single-minded soldier. … Everyday is a battle. Satan attacks us in various ways, and he can be either very blunt or sly about it. We need to focus on our Commanding Officer (C.O.), that is Jesus. When focus on and listen to our C.O., we are more able to succesfully battle the enemy. … Jesus gives us strength to fight! All we have to do is “get out of the ditch, engage the enemy!”
v. 5 – A Christian should be like an athlete who competes by the rules. … We need the rules. Golf Digest had an undercover operation a few years ago where they counted the number of rule violations committed by golfers. There were quite a few , and surpridingly, many offenders claimed they had no idea that what they dd was aginst the rules. Sounds like they should read the rule book. As Christiasns, our rulebook is the Bible. … We must then be disciplined enough to follow the rules. Jim Thorpe won several medals in the Olympics but had them taken away when the Olympic Committee found out he was a professional athlete, being paid around $35/week. The rule book for the 1912 Olympics clearly stated a participant could not be a professional athlete. The small things count too. So, just be weary of what you do.
v. 6 – A Christian should be like a hard working farmer. …. Let’s revisit that favorite vegetable. It’s time to harvest. You go and you pick the vegetable off the plant. While you harvest, you eat a few of them. You are the first to taste reward for your hardwork. … If you try to help out other people, they will usually help you out too eventually.
v. 7-8 – Jesus gives us understanding. And the Gospel is simple and true.
Find your identity in Christ.
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