Worship the Creator

Today I want to step away from the Book of Ruth to take a look at an article I saw on yahoo yesterday about a polar bear named Knut.  When I saw the title the “The World Mourns the Loss of the Polar Bear Knut” I immediately thought of children who die every day and nobody cares.  How absurd is our culture?  So today I dedicate this short blog to the 1.8 million children around the world who have already died in 2011 that never got to see their sixth birthday and to the already 320,000 American babies who were murdered before reaching their birth.   

Romans 1:25 (New King James Version)

²⁵ who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

Proverbs 6:16-19 (New King James Version)
¹⁶ These six things the LORD hates,
      Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:
       ¹⁷ A proud look,
      A lying tongue,
      Hands that shed innocent blood,
       ¹⁸ A heart that devises wicked plans,
      Feet that are swift in running to evil,
       ¹⁹ A false witness who speaks lies,
      And one who sows discord among brethren.

I cannot tell you how many times I have talked to someone and they tell me about this terrible story of a child who had great parents that tried their very best to live for God and then God took their child or children’s life and they can’t understand why a loving God would do such a thing.  I am telling you this conversation happens to me all the time!  Just this past week I spoke to someone who said they don’t want to serve a God who kills children.  Yet the funny thing to me is how convenient it is to decide on what principals we should and should not go by.  For example some people do not think a loving God would let little children die of starvation yet they do nothing to help those in need.  Of course there are some who give and work and try to save as many as possible and grudgingly hold God responsible for the sorrows in the world.  While they do this they refuse to look at the cause of sorrow and identify the problem.  Sin equals death.  The reason people die is because sin has diseased our world.  Paul said that the daily payment of sin is death in Romans 6:23.  We are all going to die and some will die in the most sad and sorrowful manner.
So why do people hold God accountable for worldly sorrow?  Some may say well if he exists and is loving then why did he not make all things perfect and friendly.  He did and it was called the Garden of Eden.  Man wants to have his cake and eat it too.  You see freewill is the key element that man struggles with.  As long as we are allowed to make decisions we will refuse God.  This is why Solomon said there are none who seeks after God.  We are killing ourselves on this planet.  It is not an unloving God but it is a human race that does not even care for its own.  We serve creatures over the Creator and ignore abortion rates and starvation statistics.  To drive this point I want to share with you Knut the bear.  Below is from the Yahoo article that I referred to above.

The only polar bear to ever be raised entirely by humans—and to have his own Vanity Fair cover photo shoot—died suddenly on Saturday in front of hundreds of his many fans. Knut was only four years old when he collapsed, leaving grieving admirers all over the world to cope with his early death.

The Associated Press reports that mourners flocked to the zoo on Sunday "laying down red roses and white stuffed polar bears, lighting candles or putting up pictures of Knut with personal messages for him." Children wrote farewell poems for him, and a group of "die-hard" fans stayed all day, many of them crying. "I've been crying nonstop since I heard about his death," Ingrid Rommel told the AP. She said visiting Knut weekly since 2006 helped her get over her husband's death.

Meanwhile, the famous bear's fans on Twitter and Facebook are asking why the bear died, and celebrating his short life. "You were far too young to go. You touched everybody when you were the sweetest baby. Now you are missed by so many people! RIP, sweet, big boy!" wrote one mourner.

(A memorial at the Berlin zoo: AP)

Mourners over a bear!  A bear that has fans and followers on twitter and facebook!  Visiting a bear helped a woman get over her husband’s death?!!!!! You see my point is clear and obvious our minds are twisted.  In America this year we will spend more than 50 million dollars taking care of pets, but children are dying because they don’t have anything to eat.  Is this OK?  I have heard people say that man deep down wants to do good.  Really?  Would people who are natural so loving and want to do good allow millions of children die each year?  Is it not fair to ask that question?  If we can set limits on what makes God loving than shouldn’t we be accountable for something?

Check out these numbers below and ask the question who loves.

More than 10 million children die each year, most from preventable causes and almost all in poor countries. Six countries account for 50% of worldwide deaths in children younger than 5 years, and 42 countries for 90%. The causes of death differ substantially from one country to another, highlighting the need to expand understanding of child health epidemiology at a country level rather than in geopolitical regions. Other key issues include the importance of under nutrition as an underlying cause of child deaths associated with infectious diseases, the effects of multiple concurrent illnesses, and recognition that pneumonia and diarrhea remain the diseases that are most often associated with child deaths. A better understanding of child health epidemiology could contribute to more effective approaches to saving children's lives.

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140673603137798/fulltext

God is not the problem instead it is man.  There is a God in heaven who loves us so much that he gave his own son so we could live.  Even though we are wicked and we let people die every day and blame him for it he still loves us.  We have to spread his word and we have to share his love.  We cannot be sharing his love and ignoring those who need us to help!  Jesus said in Matthew 25:31-40

  ³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy^[a] angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. ³² All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. ³³ And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. ³⁴ Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: ³⁵ for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; ³⁶ I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? ³⁸ When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? ³⁹ Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ ⁴⁰ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

There is no way to deny that Christ has called us to help others.  The only way a dying world will experience a Loving God is if his people demonstrate his love!

Look for more on this subject to come!

Jesus Saves,

RR

Ruth Chapter 2 part 2

Ruth 2: 4-10

⁴ Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said to the reapers, “The LORD be with you!”
And they answered him, “The LORD bless you!”
⁵ Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?”
⁶ So the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered and said, “It is the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. ⁷ And she said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ So she came and has continued from morning until now, though she rested a little in the house.”
⁸ Then Boaz said to Ruth, “You will listen, my daughter, will you not? Do not go to glean in another field, nor go from here, but stay close by my young women. ⁹ Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Have I not commanded the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn.”
¹⁰ So she fell on her face, bowed down to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?”

Now we step back into the book and Ruth and we pick up with the day that Boaz and Ruth met.  Notice how Boaz comes into the scene.  Now you have to recognize this to appreciate Boaz.  He walks up to his employees and says “The Lord be with you” and they reply “The Lord bless you”.  Scripture clearly shows us that Boaz is a man who serves God.  Now I know not everyone that says Lord is a servant of God, but you can see in these scriptures he is a man of character and compassion.  I believe he is loved by his people and his employees.  Boaz is different and what I mean by this is he is set apart from the average fellow.  God’s people need to be set apart.  We do not need to affiliate with things that hinder others from obtaining the gospel.

 This is what God expects from us.  We are to be set apart in all walks of life to honor Christ.  Peter said that we are a royal priesthood and a peculiar people.  Today many church people are religious and act the same as everybody else.  We have somehow mixed American philosophy into Church principles in the name of religion.  We need bigger houses so let’s build bigger Churches.  We need fancier clothes so let’s make fancier sanctuaries.  Am I opposed to nice Church buildings?  Absolutely not, but I will tell you God wants the temple to be honorable, and Paul said that we and our “bodies” are the “Temple of God” not a building. Also I have noticed how we honor American ways in the name of patriotism and conservatism.  This is not being set apart it is being a good southern American Christian.  Some preachers sound more like a Republican running for office than a messenger of the true God.  Don’t get me wrong we ministers need to rebuke corrupt political matters that are a danger to the flock of God but I endorse no man only Christ Jesus!  I use to serve the Republican god but now my allegiance is to Christ alone!  Conservative churches who love to sing the praises of America are no different than Liberal churches promoting their liberal platforms.  When Jesus was asked about paying taxes or tithing he said “give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto the Lord what is the Lord’s”.  I think Christ wants us to be concerned about the Kingdom.  Everything else is just noise and a distraction.  If it is not about saving souls then it is nothing more than vain religion.

Now look at verse 5 Boaz is saying “Who is that”?  I have a feeling she was one good looking lady.  Now picture this.  Ruth though she is a Moabite she is more than likely dressed like a Jewish girl.  Remember she told Naomi I will make your people my people and your God my God.  She took on their customs and was not dressed like a heathen.  I think even though she is dressed as widow in common clothing she was beautiful.  Why does that matter?  Well the reason it matters is because this entire scene is a picture of us.  You see as I said earlier in one of my post Boaz is a “type of Christ” which means he is an illustration found in scripture that portrays the Savior’s image.  In this picture we see an image of Christ glancing over into the field and the Church catches his eye.  Now the Church isn’t First Baptist or whatever is on the sign as you probably know it is all who believe.  Not only is he seeing believers he sees all who will believe also.  You see Jesus died for all humanity, but only those who believe become joined with him.  Christ pursues us with his love.  The scripture said that “while we were living in sin and pleasure Christ died for us”.  Have you ever chased someone?  Have you guys ever thought man she is pretty and I am going after her, or maybe you gals have said that boy is going to be mine!  Well that is Christ for men and women all over the earth today.  The Bible says that “He first loved us”.  You see Christ sees you as beautiful!  This is why Ruth is pretty because we are beautiful in his eyes and we have caught his attention.

Wow isn’t Gods word moving!  I told you no Hollywood script could write this.  Check out my next post to see more about the story of Ruth.

Jesus Saves,

RR

To Die is Gain!

I have laughed and joked before about people who can set down and read a book and cry.  I am sure I will do it again.  I think how can a book make you cry?  Well I guess that I do not have the imagination and comprehension that many book readers have.  However I have something to share with you today that moved me when I read it.  Recently I have begun to teach our youth on Wednesday from the experiences of Daniel.  I wanted to begin by telling them of martyrs of the faith.  I once read a sermon by John McArthur and he talked about Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley being burned at a stake.  So I found this article below.  I am telling the honest truth I sat and read this in a conference room during a very boring meeting and it was all I could do to hold in the tears.  When I read it to our youth again I had to pause because I could see it.

So today I share with you two heroes.  It’s not about my thoughts today.  Instead it is about two men who refused to waste their life with worldly things and gave it all for Christ!

Enjoy!


Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man. We shall this day light such a candle, by God’s grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out.’ These courageous words from the mouth of Bishop Latimer have reverberated down the centuries, a clarion call of the Reformation and one of the most famous statements ever spoken at an execution anywhere in the world. They were uttered in a ditch outside the walls of Oxford in October 1555, 450 years ago. Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley, two of the heavyweights of the English Reformation, had helped to transform the Church of England from top to bottom according to biblical principles. But now Queen Mary Tudor was on the throne and their reforming work was undone.

With Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, they were taken to Oxford in March 1554, interrogated, condemned as heretics and excommunicated. In the late summer of 1555 events took a new turn. A papal delegation arrived in Oxford and condemned the prisoners over again at St Mary-the-Virgin Church. Cranmer’s life would be spared a few months longer because, as Archbishop of Canterbury, the Pope’s formal verdict was needed before his execution. But Latimer and Ridley could be more easily dealt with. On October 16, Latimer and Ridley were led to the place of execution in a ditch near Balliol College, just outside the city walls (now Oxford’s Broad Street). At the stake Ridley and Latimer joyfully embraced, having not met face to face since their arrival in Oxford 18 months before. Ridley encouraged his fellow martyr: “Be of good heart, brother, for God will either assuage the fury of the flame or else strengthen us to abide it.” Ridley kissed the stake and the two men prayed together, kneeling side by side.

A large number of spectators gathered to witness the execution. Armed soldiers were out in force because the authorities feared trouble from the crowd. Dr Richard Smith, a local Oxford clergyman, preached for 15 minutes from a makeshift pulpit on the predictable text: ‘If I yield my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing’ (1 Corinthians 13:3). The preacher exhorted Latimer and Ridley to return to the Roman Catholic Church and explained to the crowd that they were not martyrs but suicides. The bishops were told they could only speak if it was to recant, but Ridley replied: “So long as the breath is in my body, I will never deny my Lord Christ and his truth. God’s will be done in me.” In a loud voice he shouted out that he committed his cause to God.

Ridley’s brother-in-law, George Shipside, was allowed within the cordon of guards to give a bag of gunpowder to the two men to shorten their sufferings, which they accepted thankfully as a token of the mercy of God. As the fire was lit, Latimer died swiftly and comparatively painlessly. He held out his hands into the flames and was soon overcome by the smoke. Yet Ridley suffered excruciating agony. As the flames began to rise, he called out (first in Latin, then in English): “Into your hands, O Lord, I commit my spirit.” But the fire on his side of the stake burned slowly. The bundles of wood and reeds were packed so tightly that the flames burned only his feet and legs, and he cried out: “I cannot burn.”

Shipside ran forward and unwittingly made matters worse by piling on more bundles of wood high up around Ridley’s face and head, which only deadened the fire still further. The martyr’s legs were burned off, while above the waist he was untouched. Still conscious, he shouted out, “For God’s sake, let the fire come to me! I cannot burn! Lord, have mercy on me!” One of the soldiers eventually pulled away a bundle of wood, allowing the flames to rise. Ridley was able to swing himself forward, so that the fire reached the bag of gunpowder around his neck. Archbishop Cranmer was forced to watch the horrifying final moments of his brother bishops and his faith began to waver, though he ultimately also gave his life for the gospel on the same spot.

Yet the martyrdom of Latimer and Ridley had even greater and more far-reaching consequences. By the grace of God, their violent execution did more to promote the growth of biblical Christianity in England than all their sermons and theological treatises put together. Their gospel witness has lived on through four and a half centuries since. May the candle they lit in that Oxford ditch never be put out!

–Church of England Newspaper

 

Today 450 people will be murdered because they will not deny their faith in Jesus Christ!

Jesus Saves

RR

Ruth Chapter 2 part 1

Ruth 2:1-3

¹ There was a relative of Naomi’s husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech. His name was Boaz. ² So Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field, and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I may find favor.”
And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” ³ Then she left, and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.

Now we come to the second chapter in the book of Ruth and Naomi and Ruth have made it back to Judah.  They have returned to Elimelech and Naomi’s family tiny hometown.  You may have heard of it before it is called Bethlehem.  You have to keep in mind when you read this chapter that Ruth and her mother in-law are poor widows.  They cannot work and provide for themselves so they have to do what other poor folks in their time would do to survive.

In verse 1 we meet a new character and his name is Boaz.  Boaz represents what we see all through scripture as what is called a “type of Christ”.  What that means is he redeems.  He does what nobody else can or will do.  Now this does not mean that the man Boaz is equal to Christ.  It is only and illustration and a picture of the coming savior who is the King of Kings.  What makes Boaz special? There are few things.  One is that he is of the family of Ruth’s late husband and that is important because the according to their custom they were to take care of their family by marrying widows to next of kin when possible.  Another thing that helps is that he is wealthy.  Ruth and her mother in-law need to be cared for and wealth helps.  One of the best qualities is found in verse 4 and we will look at it in the next post and that is he serves the Lord.

In verse 2 Ruth is going to get them food.  That is what the scripture means when she is going to “glean” the fields.  In their custom the fields after they had been harvested would have remnants of grain or fruit of what was grown there and the fragments were to be left for the poor.  They were not allowed to pick a field clean.  This is a way to make sure the poor and widows were provided for.  Ruth is going to go out and try and find a place to get them food and hopefully find a land owner that will be kind to them.

In verse 3 we see which field she ends up at and that is Boaz.  This begins the beautiful story of this book that Hollywood could never write.  How did Ruth end up in this field? Proverbs 3:5 says “⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct^[a] your paths.”  What Ruth does not know is that she is walking into the pages of Biblical history that will create a lineage that will change the nation of Israel!

Check back to see what happens next.

Jesus Saves,

RR

Why Joel Osteen is lost and the TBN Family is a Fraud

Well I hope I got your attention!  I am interrupting my series of the study of Ruth to put in this post in regards to the thieves on our television and radio airways that are stealing from the ministry and leading souls astray.  I will have a new post on the book of Ruth this Thursday morning so please check it out.

Isn’t it amazing how the things that are not are and the things that are, are not.   Confused?  Well so is our society.  For example we have something in this generation called reality TV.  Is there anything further from reality than this?  Take for example the bachelor.  Who goes on their first date flying in a hot air balloon over the Napa Valley and has a table set up in the middle of the vineyard with candles lit and imported China set?  Come on man!  What about Jersey Shore? Drunk party then party get drunk then get in the bed with this one and then get drunk party and go to bed with that one.  Sure this may describe some folks but it is shaping the next generation to normalcy.  What about Minute to win it the game show?  That one is normal right?  I mean after all it is a family show.  Well let me ask this why are all the contestants so fit and good looking? Am I the only one that sees this?

What about our heroes?  There are the sports figures that go on strike because millions are not enough and actors who pledge their loyalty to communism and musicians who serve the god of drugs and alcohol.  Oh by the way, they don’t even know you exist! 

With that said nothing is worse than the false prophets called Preachers on the airways!  Joel Osteen leads the pack in popularity and $$$ bling bling! He is bringing money that is unheard of in the range of 70 -72 million a year in which he says is used to operate their ministry.  So you may ask well what is wrong with the money they bring in?

Here is the problem Joel Osteen does not teach Biblical salvation and repentance of sin.  If you do not believe me then do this for me.  Watch this weeks broadcast and write down the title of his message.  Then write down a couple of notes and summarize what his sermon was about.  Then repeat that three more times.  Here is what you will have:  God loves you and he wants to bless you, your are the image that he has created, he longs to please you like a father does his children, you have to believe God is going to heal you, you have to believe God loves you, you have to believe that God is waiting to bless you, you need to sow success, you need to sow victory, you need to claim his authority, you need to magnify your God and not your problems and so on and so on.  What is wrong with that?  He refuses to address the truth.   Sure God is awesome in every way, but we have issues in our life for a reason.  We are sinners and we are a generation that is blessed more than any other and Osteen is teaching us to pray for God to bless our finances and boost our careers.  There could be nothing more Biblically unsound than his teaching.  When asked by Larry King is Jesus the only way to heaven he would not answer because he said that he was not at Liberty to decide whom God would let in.  What a joke!  I guess that means apostle Paul is the heretic!

This is the concept of TBN.  John Hagee, Rod Parsely, Jenzen Franklin, Creflo Dollar, and any of them who associate with Paul and Jan Crouch are phonies.  If you don’t know whom the Crouch family is then just think of big pink hair!  All of these are running rackets.  Now some people may read this and say I am too harsh.  There are some Biblical principles that you can learn from some of these men, but they are not teaching the true Gospel.  They teach God wants you to be rich and healthy.  The Bible teaches us that we are the clay and God is the potter and we have no right to ask why God has made us the way we are.

Where are these men when a young married couple has to bury their child who was born dead?  They say oh Isaiah said by my stripes you are healed and God is going to heal you in 7 days!  They take the scripture of the lashings Jesus took before he went on the cross to pay for the sins of humanity and sensationalize it to heal from colds to cancer.  It is absurd.  If Benny Hinn is a man of God would somebody take him to St. Jude’s hospital and lock him in there until all the kids are healed?

There is no way that anyone can say that these people are true teachers of Christ based on the Bible.  The only way you can claim that they are of God is by excluding the Bible.  Anyone who would do that doesn’t know God!

So is Joel Osteen lost?  Worse he is an Apostate.  Paul warned Timothy of men just like this.  II Tim 3:1-8

1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! 6 For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, 7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Now I close with what inspires me.  Why bring these fallacies up?  Because there are men all over the world giving their all for Christ and in return very little is give to them.  Tonight as I write this there is a man in Mexico named Hilarano Gonzalez who is seeking God about whether or not he can continue his ministry much longer because he serves dual roles as a Pastor in Monterrey and serves as the head of a Seminary in Reynosa.  What is one of his biggest issues?  He drives a 23-year-old vehicle that is about to fall apart.  I guess he just doesn’t have enough faith!  Right Pastor Hagee?  Right Reverend Parsely?  What about you Joel should he believe that his little 1988 4 cylinder van is going to turn into a new car as long as he smiles big enough?  Maybe he just has started living his “Best Life” yet No of course not, but you know what the message of the cross will be preached through the entire world no matter what! 

Jesus is Lord!  We are sinners and we deserve eternal punishment, but God saw fit to spare us.  Although our sins equal death he sent his son who is “The Life” Your sins are many but Christ blood is greater.  To think he couldn’t or wouldn’t save you is to shake your fist at God.  What does he have to do to prove his Love?  He sent his son and he gave himself for you.  What else do you want from him?  If you have never given yourself to him do so now because he is coming soon!

Jesus Saves

RR

To help out Pastor Gonzalez go to http://www.bereaministries.com/

Ruth Chapter 1 conclusion

Ruth 1:14-17

¹⁴ Then they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
¹⁵ And she said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.”
¹⁶ But Ruth said:

      “ Entreat me not to leave you,
      Or to turn back from following after you;
      For wherever you go, I will go;
      And wherever you lodge, I will lodge;
      Your people shall be my people,
      And your God, my God.

 ¹⁷ Where you die, I will die,
      And there will I be buried.
      The LORD do so to me, and more also,
      If anything but death parts you and me.”

As we continue on and take a close look at Ruth it is important to realize who Ruth represents.  She represents every believer.  She is in a helpless state and she needs to be redeemed.  There really is nothing she can do to help herself.  In American culture we seem to think we can get ourselves out of any mess.  The truth is we all are in need of a Redeemer. 

However Ruth is not torn in her decision.  She is determined to go with Naomi, but why?  I believe it is because Naomi lived a life of a believer.  My guess is that nobody ever treated Ruth the way Naomi and her family treated her.  Many people today mock Christianity and deny the deity of our Lord while they protect every other religion in the liberal lusts.  The funny thing is that there is no society in the world that treats women greater than Christian cultures.  In most cultures around the world women are possessions, but in the Christian culture women serve an equal role as men.  It is the Bible that says that a man and woman are joined together to be one flesh.  It is the Bible that says that a man is to love his wife with the love that Christ has for his Church.  You will not find this in the Koran or Buddhist teachings.  Will you here that on your local news?  Will Bill Maher bring up that point in one of his useless hours of programming?  No.  Instead we will continue to be mocked and put down, but let it be an honor to to be ridiculed for Christ.

Ruth has rejected the old world.  She is dead to her upbringing and now she is fixed on the God of Abraham.  She says to Naomi I am going to go where you go your people are mine and your God is my God”.  She is not looking back.  She is changed.  This represents faith and it is required in order to be a believer.  Today in our Churches with have believers and pretenders.  Believers are controlled by the Spirit and are people of faith.  Pretenders are just like cattle that follow the paths of the believers but they really don’t know where they are going or who is leading.  Ruth is going to live her life for God and she knows that the only person who she can count on to help her do that is Naomi.  Even if this means she has to move to a land that she will not be welcomed in and she has to live a poor foreign widow.  Jesus said that we must be willing to deny our mother and father and anyone for him.  This is not the typical mainstream Christianity teaching, but it is the truth.  Christ is first! 

Today in our area there are several Mexicans who have migrated here for work.  Many people dislike them simply because they are foreigners and look different.  Did you know that there are Ruth’s out there?  We walk by them all the time.  This is kind of how Ruth will fall into the background in Judah.  She is not going to be desired.  People will look down at her because she is a foreigner to make matters worse a Moabite.

We love the story of Ruth because she committed to God and was unwavering in her faith.  Our challenge is how we as the Church bring more in like Ruth.  This means that we look in more areas than just the typical new family in town.  We must look for any who will believe! God provides the increase, and we can not grow any believers if we are not sowing seeds in the field.

Jesus Saves,

RR 

Ruth Chapter 1 cont.

Ruth 1:10-17

And they said to her, “Surely we will return with you to your people.” ¹¹ But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Are there still sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? ¹² Turn back, my daughters, go—for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, if I should have a husband tonight and should also bear sons, ¹³ would you wait for them till they were grown? Would you restrain yourselves from having husbands? No, my daughters; for it grieves me very much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD has gone out against me!” ¹⁴ Then they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. ¹⁵ And she said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” ¹⁶ But Ruth said:

      “ Entreat me not to leave you,
       Or to turn back from following after you;
      For wherever you go, I will go;
      And wherever you lodge, I will lodge;
      Your people shall be my people,
      And your God, my God.

 ¹⁷ Where you die, I will die,
      And there will I be buried.
      The LORD do so to me, and more also,
      If anything but death parts you and me.”

As I read these verses I stand in awe of his Love!  Even though I just finished several weeks of teaching from this book it is like tomorrows newspaper.  The Word of God is so lovely!

As we continue on in this chapter we see these two young ladies who do not want to let go of their loving mother in-law.  American culture teaches us that mother in-laws are the bride of Satan, but the Bible suggests that they are like anyone else.  Believers belong together.  There are some believers that don’t always work well together we see that with the apostles in the early Church, but when we share a fellowship with God it is so much easier to get along.  There are two young women here.  Orpah leaves and goes back home, but Ruth “clung” to Naomi.  Orpah is a picture of the normal reaction.  Ruth is a picture of the road less travel.  I don’t think there is evidence to condemn Orpah but most commentators do.  However we cannot deny that she was leaving a Godly woman going back to very ungodly village to live among heathens.  The thing is Naomi told her to do that and she would not have been welcomed in Judah because she was Moabite.  I want to pause with that thought.

How many times have we criticized the ungodly for being heathen but yet if they had walked by the Church doors we squirm?  Recently we went into our auditorium at Church and prayed around the area that the teens sit.  We asked God to bring in the lost.  We don’t care what they wear or what they look like, but we want to tell them about Christ.  I believe we can not compromise the principles of the faith under any circumstances, but if someone is lost it is our job to go out of the way to lead them to Christ.  Homosexuals are not welcomed in most Churches today.  How will they get saved?  Are you witnessing to them?  Paul said that “we are saved by grace obtained by faith”.  In Romans he said that “faith comes by hearing of the Word of God”.  Therefore we have to compel the lost to come in.  Orpah knew she was not welcomed in Judah because Judah and Moab had been to war to many times.  We compel not by compromise and change of the moral standards and teaching principles of the Laws of God, but rather we love!  In my experience in Church there are those who have the Churches who allow open sin and then you have those who are too good to admit they have ever sinned.  It is sometimes hard to find balance.  Where the spirit of the Lord is there is Liberty!

The Calvinist says well if there called of God they will be saved no matter what.  Jesus said “I have come for the lost sheep of the House of Israel”.  He then told the apostles after he resurrected to go to Jerusalem and from there the entire earth.  In other words it is our job to share the gospel. 

Well here once again I started preaching and got off track.  Please check back as we look at Ruth’s decision to stay with Naomi.  Until then go serve The King!

Jesus Saves,

RR

Ruth Chapter 1

^{I am finally back to my blog spot!  I have missed it.  Recently I taught a series to our youth from the book of Ruth.  In my last post I began the blog version and now I am going to try to complete it as my schedule will allow.}

^{Ruth 1:6-9}

⁶ “Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the LORD had visited His people by giving them bread.

 ⁷ Therefore she went out from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah.

 ⁸ And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each to her mother’s house. The LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me.

 ⁹ The LORD grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband.”
So she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept.”

This story continues into a very dark and sad series of events.  This is one of those moments that if you read the scripture to fast you miss years of events.  Naomi has lost her husband and both of her sons.  She is a widow in a land that is not kind to her people.  The Moabites have long been an enemy and now she is widowed with no children and two daughter in-laws. They were not permitted to work because of their gender so this is a very poor family who is dependent on others.

I want to stop here for just a moment.  Reflect on this.  Seriously!  There are people in our community today who are in the same situation.  Sure things have changed to the point where women can work but think about how many people who are in desperate situations that need help from the Church.  The need has not changed with time.

Now as we look further into the scripture notice the imagery her in verse 7 “they went on their way to Judah”.  They are packing what little they have and are heading back to Judah because the famine is over and there is plenty in the land.  Based on the law of God from Leviticus chapter 26 this would indicate that Judah has repented of sin and experienced Revival.

Now look at verse 8.  Naomi tells these young ladies “you need to go back to your people”.  Naomi knew she could not provide for them and that they would be outcast in Israel. They were unclean women in the eyes of the Jews.  They have no income and they would be better off going back home. 

Now look at verse 9.  Tears of broken women!  Why did these two girls (Orpah and Ruth) weep when Naomi bid them farewell?  I think the answer is simple. Love!  Paul says “love suffers long and is kind” (I Cor 13:4).  Wow is that not powerful!  Look at the passion these women have for one another.  There is no jealousy or envy.  Only love.  This is what makes this book so great and this is only the beginning.

Jesus Saves,

RR