From great to divided...repeats through history...

 From great to divided....repeats through history...

When you read through history, there is so many repeats...do we really learn from the past...in our proudness and pride, we seem to feel our generation, our nation can do it better...so we build, become great, follow God, then follow after other gods, divide, generation after generation after generation...cycle after cycle...

You can see that in Judges, through Kings and Chronicles, through the ages right down to the present...we really haven’t changed...countries, civilizations have come and gone....blossoming for a time, being a light, falling into despair, stumbling downward until fallen...

Reading through the Bible sometimes feels like reading a modern newspaper...

A case in point...and I am not trying to politicize, or take sides, just observations...

I was reading the news and an article about taxes caught my eye...how plans were being put into place for tax increases...could be either party on any given year...how or who the burden was falling onto...and the same day I was reading a portion in scripture which mirrored the article, thousands of years ago...

Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone there to make him king. When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard this (he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), he returned from Egypt. 

So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and the whole assembly of Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him: “Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.” 

Rehoboam answered, “Go away for three days and then come back to me.” So the people went away. 

Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. 

“How would you advise me to answer these people?” he asked. 

They replied, “If today you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants.” 

But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him. 

He asked them, “What is your advice? How should we answer these people who say to me, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us’?” 

The young men who had grown up with him replied, “These people have said to you, ‘Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke lighter.’ Now tell them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist. 

My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.’” Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, as the king had said, “Come back to me in three days.” 

The king answered the people harshly. Rejecting the advice given him by the elders, he followed the advice of the young men and said, “My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. 

My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.” So the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from the Lord, to fulfill the word the Lord had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite.

1 Kings 12:1-15 

Reading further in the same chapter, the people formed golden calves to worship....sound familiar????

The same thing their forefathers formed and worshipped in Mose’s time...

Repeats, repeats down through time...

My take away...my days are numbered as are everyone’s...follow the path that God has planned...Seeking His will, humbly coming before him no matter the times  I live in, in times of plenty and times of want...God is here, He has never left.... He alone is the creator of the Universe, the comforter, the Redeemer...our only hope ....

Thank YOU that You are the same yesterday, today and tomorrow...Your love never fails...

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Hebrews 13:8 

Choose to believe rather than doubt...

 Choose to believe rather than doubt...

One sentence in a devotion for today reads, “whatever you are going through, whatever is consuming you with anxiety, make a choice to believe instead of doubt”-by Cherie Hill, in He Whispers Your Name...

I was reading of David’s return to Jerusalem after fleeing from his son, Absalom who had tried, unsuccessfully, to take over the kingship.

He was met with a variety of people as well as a variety of responses...unbelief, doubt, fear, celebration...he knew God’s call on his life...

And David knew that the Lord had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.

2 Samuel 5:12

Lord, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me! 

Many are saying of me, “God will not deliver him. ” 

But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. 

I call out to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain. 

I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me. 

I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side. 

Arise,  Lord! Deliver me, my God! 

Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked. 

From the Lord comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people.

Psalm 3:1-8 written by David  when he fled from his son, Absalom...

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

James 1:12

There are times, when we doubt, don’t believe....times of frustration, times of anger, times of suffering, times of “downcast”....

Why, my soul, are you downcast? 

Why so disturbed within me? 

Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon —from Mount Mizar. 

Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. 

By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life.

Psalm 42:5-8 

I have to comeback to that underlying, sustaining fact...that God is there...put doubt aside, walk by faith, believe, calm my soul, take a deep breath....listen for His voice...

Thank YOU....

Facing Goliath...

 Facing Goliath....

Yesterday, I started into David who was anointed to be king after Saul...

I just read, “ for the battle is the Lord’s” 1 Samuel 17:47b...when my phone pinged downloading a message from a friend...

(Back story...a friend and I are helping a young lady in Zambia go to college in some kind  of medical field.....not a scam...as the Western union or the bank asks questions faithfully about...the young lady is real, known by my friend, who is a missionary in Mozambique...)

All this to say, the young lady is facing her exams for midterms and is stressing about them...needs prayer for courage, strength, wisdom, a clear mind, fears to diminish....

I pinged back that verse...not sure where it went, how it was received ....whatever...but was just encouraged again that not matter where in the world we are, we can encourage, pray for one another...God can use a verse on one side of the world to fit into the life of another anywhere on the planet...who may be facing a Goliath in their lives...

David  had tried on the armor of Saul, but declined, then picking up his staff, 5 stones from the the brook, his sling, went up against Goliath, the challenging giant of a man...

But, David had faith that the living God was with him, facing a giant, facing the circumstances...

David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.” 

Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” 

But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 

Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 

The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” 

Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.” 

David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 

This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. 

This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 

All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”

1 Samuel 17:32-37,45-47

Goliaths....we all face them...from time to time or for some, all the time...we can be defeated by their claims, the fears that surround,  ...but we can pick up our five little pebbles, “the battle is the Lord’s” and move forward,  claiming victory...knowing that God will take care of “Goliath” for us...

I have put on that armor that didn’t fit, untried, false bravery in myself and found it didn’t work...needed to get back to the basics of what I knew to be true... God will take care ...He will strengthen when I am weak...thank YOU...

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. 

We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 

Colossians 1:9-12

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

Colossians 2:6-7 

But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.

2 Thessalonians 3:3 

No glory...

 No glory...

Yesterday I finally did something I have been putting off...not that I haven’t been thinking about...

I can procrastinate when I want to...

But, this week is the first week of “Griefshare “, a video class to help those who are grieving the loss of a loved one...

I needed to review the video again...clear out my notebook, get ready for new participants...get online again to register the class, invite those who signed up, invite those who may just watch the video online...just get ready...

Popping the video into the tv, I watched it while I treaded on the treadmill...

The theme, “from mourning to joy, a journey” kept coming through, an oxymoron, as I was treading, going nowhere, which can be what we feel when into grieving...no clear path out of the craziness and pain...but, there is a path out...there is hope...

It was pouring rain outside...the buckets of tears we may spill...in this process...

Then I had to clear out my binder from past classes...I read each name as I pulled the registration sheets out...remembering their faces, their stories, their tears, their journeys toward joy after mourning...praying that the new people would face their grief and move forward...

Then this morning, I was reading  the beginning of 1 Samuel...grief...

And a calling...Samuel is called and hears the Lord...his mentor, Eli is old, whose sons are killed in battle, grieves and dies...Eli’s daughter-in-law grieves for her husband, her father-in-law, the nation who has lost the Ark of God in battle...giving birth to a son and dies as she is naming her baby...”Ichabod” which means “no Glory”...

Grieving is no fun...it is hard work...it affects us physically, emotionally, spiritually...there is “no glory” in it...we have lost a loved one by some means....but we can choose to walk the path to healing, recovery...and maybe on to Joy...the journey may be fraught with battles, setbacks, tears, regrets...we may lose a few battles, but we can win the War against grief...God is there with us, for us, comforting is we choose...His Glory does come through as we work through the grief...

Thank YOU...

His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and near the time of delivery. When she heard the news that the ark of God had been captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she went into labor and gave birth, but was overcome by her labor pains. As she was dying, the women attending her said, “Don’t despair; you have given birth to a son.” But she did not respond or pay any attention. She named the boy Ichabod, saying, “The Glory has departed from Israel”—because of the capture of the ark of God and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband. She said, “The Glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”

1 Samuel 4:19-22 

Ruth...5...the blessing of the elders....

 Ruth...5....The blessing of the elders...

Long, long ago in a far away place, a man I was dating  called my father asking for his permission to marry me...

I don’t know what was said, but, we got married...

I remember when we got a call from, now a son-in-law, wishing to speak to my husband for that same permission...

I know each time there was a blessing on those marriages...full favor for those unions...

My dad liked my husband, respected him, trusted him...as we did our sons-in- law...

The elders and others at the gate gave their blessings to Boaz as well,  not knowing the far reaching implications of that blessing and union...

Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, “Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelek, Kilion and Mahlon. I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from his hometown. Today you are witnesses! ” 

Then the elders and all the people at the gate said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the family of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. Through the offspring the Lord gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.” 

So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When he made love to her, the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. 

The women living there said, “Naomi has a son!” 

And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. 

This, then, is the family line of Perez: Perez was the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz, Boaz the father of Obed, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David.

Ruth 4:9-13,17-22 

They prayed for Ruth

-They blessed  her comparing Ruth to Rachael and Leah, who bore the twelve tribes of Israel....so many sons...

They didn’t compare her to others, like Sarah or Rebecca, who had few sons..

They prayed for Boaz

-that he would have good standing, reputation...be famous..

-his family be extended...

I know we were prayed for and I know that we prayed for our children and their spouses...and then grandchildren should they come...

We didn’t pray that they would be famous, but of good standing...and they all are...gifted in so many ways...trusted, beloved...

Back to Ruth, the book...it ends with David... but, going to Matthew 1, in the New Testament...

Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David. 

David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife, Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa, .....

and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah. ....

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 1:5-7,16,20

You never know where those blessings will go...century’s later or even the next generation...Boaz and Ruth may have known David, a great grandson...seen him toddle around, laughed at his baby antics...been blessed to see generations...we don’t know if they had any more children, but we know that their story of redemption, reputation, bitterness to joy was worthy enough to be included in the greatest Book ever written...it is a God-breathed story...

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

Thank YOU....

Ruth...4...reputation...

 Ruth...4...reputation...

Almost everyday, there is a post on the neighborhood posting site asking for  information on a service/business who do good work in this or that...it is soon followed by a favorable account of people, businesses that have a good report...a few “do not use stories” as well... 

With many receipts from businesses, there is included a website to tell how the service was or was not...when I take online classes, I get surveys for how well the instructor taught...

And just lately, I had the privilege to take surveys on various doctors and medical services that I was a part of...

Reputation...it can make a break or break...trust or not trust...

So finding Ruth out in the field gleaning, working for her and Naomi’s daily bread and maybe some future sustenance...back breaking stooping, gathering from early morning to dusk, then threshing it to eat...day after day...probably feeling a bit shy in new company, a new country, but willing to work...

When the owner of the field asks about her and then speaks to her....her reputation has gone before her and speaks well of her...

Boaz replied, “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband —how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge. ”

Ruth 2:11-12 

Boaz blesses her with food, with safety amongst his workers...and eventually becomes her husband...her redeemer...father of her children...spoken of in the list of generations of  King David and down to Jesus, the Messiah...

Oh, for a good reputation ...

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Psalm 139:23-24 

A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.

Proverbs 22:1

Think how you have instructed many, how you have strengthened feeble hands. 

Your words have supported those who stumbled; you have strengthened faltering knees.

Job 4:3-4

In the same way, the women are to be worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything.

1 Timothy 3:11

For what you have done I will always praise you in the presence of your faithful people. And I will hope in your name, for your name is good.

Psalm 52:9 

Thank YOU ....your name is above all...

Ruth...3...a great commitment...

 Ruth....3...a great commitment....

These words uttered by Ruth in desiring to follow Naomi back to Bethlehem are used for many a marriage ceremony...the couple, or more, the wife promises to go with the husband wherever he leads...til death parts them and then the promise even to be buried together...a huge commitment, a life long commitment...and many do this...

Ruth loved and was loved by her mother-in-law, Naomi...

....Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, 

and where you stay I will stay. 

Your people will be my people and 

your God my God. 

Where you die I will die, 

and there I will be buried. 

May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” 

When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.

Ruth 1:16-18 

But this commitment is so much more...

She is leaving a land where she had parents, family...

She is leaving as a widow...having lost her husband, Mahlon

She is moving into an unknown, to her, country where she may be not welcomed...

She is leaving her gods to follow God...

She is taking on the responsibility of another, one who is bitter...

She is willing to live and die in a foreign country...

She, potentially, has no hope of remarriage because of her status or age or culture....

She will be called, known as, “the Moabite”...

She is walking away from all she has known...

It reminds me of the disciples...who upon hearing the the call of Jesus, left their nets and followed...known for the unknown...

At once they left their nets and followed him. 

Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. 

They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Matthew 4:20-22

29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.

Matthew 19:29

They not only followed in Jesus’ life, but later died for their commitment to Him...

They left their livelihood...

They left families...

To follow Jesus, an awaited Messiah...

Which leads to the question...would leaving the “known” for the greater “unknown”, Jesus, be worth the risk?

The  manmade gods for the God of the universe, Creator, redeemer, Savior, the Provider, the Comforter, the “I AM”, etc.,.....

Ruth chose to turn her back on the past, walking into the future, following God, such a picture of redemption...changing, transforming her life into something new...with God as her God...

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is —his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Romans 12:2

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:18

Thank YOU....

Ruth...2...bitterness...

 Ruth...2...bitterness 

I didn’t get very far in Ruth this am...just past the part of Ruth begging to go back toBethlehem  with Naomi...

Here is Naomi, husbandless, childless after the death of her husband and two sons...those who usually take care of the elders...but she has Ruth...a daughter-in-law who clings to her, wanting to continue their close relationship...

Naomi is bitter...away from home...

When I think back of the first of my widowhood, there were times of bitterness, longing for former times, the “way things were supposed to happen”, anguish that was so deep that is was hard to comprehend...ambushes over and over of the phone ringing, a familiar truck, dealing with my children’s anguish, the edge of tears...loneliness...

I wanted to go home, to something familiar,  I wanted  back to what we had lost...I had family to fill some moments but, not all the time...they had their lives and we needed to move ahead...some sought counseling from Professionals, others sought counsel from friends, others cried silently on their own, some were angry-lashing out at anything...we all grieved differently, but deeply...there are still ambushes 9 years later...there is still grief for loss...but there is new joy, new lives as well...

Naomi wants to go back home, a place where family may be, familiar...but she returns bitter, but in the care of 

Ruth...returning in a time when food is available after leaving when there was a famine...in the ensuing times, she helps 

Ruth through “courtship, customs” of finding a redeemer, a husband...both for their land and to carry on the line of their family...

as she finds joy in becoming a grandmother, gaining a son, mothering and grandmothering...gaining new perspective in life, finding new purpose...getting away from the “stuck” in bitterness....

“The women “ who first saw her bitter, see her with joy...I like to think they helped her along the journey from sorrow to joy...through their presence and concern...

Thank YOU that you bring us through sorrow...You hold our hands, comfort, You bring others to help...until we see Joy in the Morning again...

...It is more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord’s hand has turned against me! ”

Ruth 1:13b

So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?” So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.

Ruth 1:19-22

So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When he made love to her, the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. The women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.” Then Naomi took the child in her arms and cared for him. The women living there said, “Naomi has a son!” And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

Ruth 4:13-17 

Famine in Judah...provisions...

 Famine in Judah....provision...

We have trudged through the books of law, the wanderings in the desert, the wars, the taking of the land, the judgements of the people, the back and forth of the turning away and the crying out to the Lord by 

the Israelites....to a little book tucked in amongst the bigger ones...Ruth...

Somewhere in the time of the judges, this family had its own drama...my Bible notes say...”Ruth shows how God’s people can experience his sovereignty, wisdom, and covenant kindness. These often come in hard circumstances and are expressed through the kindness of others.” ESV Archeology Bible

There was a famine, so a man took his wife and two sons into another county to live...during that time, the father, and the two sons, who had married, died...leaving the mother and two daughters in law...the mother was ready to go home...she encouraged the two younger women to stay with their people...one did and the other, Ruth, wanted to go with the mother, Naomi, back to her original home...

The famous quote, uttered from a daughter in law to her mother in law...must have been a very special bond between these two...did Ruth not have family to return to?...Or was she concerned for Naomi making the trip by herself...were others retuning to the land?...it doesn’t say...

But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.”

Ruth 1:16-17

but, they did go Bethlehem in the time harvest...so God provided the gleanings from the fields that Ruth  was able harvest, taking care of herself and Naomi ...because the law allowed...

“When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.

Leviticus 19:9-10 

“When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over them again. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it afterward. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this.

Deuteronomy 24:19-22 

Ruth is one of my favorite books...so many connections on different levels of life...

Am I the kind of mother in law who my daughters in law would desire to live with and care for?

God’s provision through the thick and thin...

A small glance at the bigger picture/place  in history...

Redemption...

Love...

....

Thank YOU....