Long time no post (4 in 1!)
Ruth 1-3
Naomi’s story reminds me that in Christ, there is always hope. There’s always the potential for a bad situation to turn around completely. Naomi started out with the same initial attitude of Gideon: if the Lord is really with us, why have all these things happened to us?
But God is always working things out, using our present trials to achieve something greater. And this is why our walk must be one of consistent faith and constant expectation.
The phrase that stands out for me today is in Ruth 2:3 - ‘As it turned out ...’ Isn’t it interesting that Ruth set out to gather grain, and it just so happened that the field she chose was that of Boaz, Naomi’s rich, kind relative who would later marry Ruth? As it turned out. Things just turn out the way they are meant to because the stores of a righteous man are ordered by the Lord. So I should expect many such ‘coincidences’ in my life. The woman that Naomi was trying to drive back to her home and to her previous gods was actually destined to be in the lineage of David and Christ. Lord, help me do that I’m not embittered and blinded by circumstances and in the process end up disrupting your amazing plan for my life!
I’m expecting this to just be ‘turning out’ in my favor as I align myself with God (which is what Ruth did). May I ‘coincidentally’ enter the right places, meet the right people, and embark on the right projects. May I be more aware of God working in my life every minute. Amen.
1 Sam 3:7 - ‘Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.’
1 Sam 3:21 - ‘The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word.’
Lord, as I read your word in 2018, reveal it to me, and in the process, reveal yourself to me, that I may know you. May my reading and pondering not be in vain. Amen.
I Sam 8: I didn’t realize that Samuel’s sons didn’t inherit his integrity and godliness. How sad!
Also, the grass always looks greener on the other side. The Israelites wanted a king. It didn’t seem like a bad thing; after all, Samuel’s kids weren’t walking with God. Little did they know that the king they asked for would be worse.
God revealed who the next king was to Samuel in advance. Again, God chose someone from the smallest clan of the smallest tribe.
Luke 9: interesting how even when Jesus was praying ‘in private,’ he took the disciples along with him each time. Such intimacy and such modeling/mentoring.
Lord, I pray that my children would remain rooted in you, firmly planted and blossoming. That they would know you for themselves, have their own experiences with you and seek you ardently. I pray that I would always recognize your voice and follow it rather than what looks attractive; that I would walk in godly wisdom and not worldly wisdom. I pray that you would teach you to pray; that you would draw me into prayer, Holy Spirit, and that as I live a life of prayer, that you would reveal to me the things I need to know.
Luke 10
I relate to Martha’s distractedness. I’m reminded this morning that despite the multiple distractions that get me worried and upset, only one thing is really needed: sitting at the Lord’s feet and listening to what He has to say.
Lots of things are good, but this is better. I submit my distracted heart to you, Lord. Make it amenable to listening.
What are you saying to me today, Lord? What were you saying yesterday that i didn’t listen to?
Naomi’s story reminds me that in Christ, there is always hope. There’s always the potential for a bad situation to turn around completely. Naomi started out with the same initial attitude of Gideon: if the Lord is really with us, why have all these things happened to us?
But God is always working things out, using our present trials to achieve something greater. And this is why our walk must be one of consistent faith and constant expectation.
The phrase that stands out for me today is in Ruth 2:3 - ‘As it turned out ...’ Isn’t it interesting that Ruth set out to gather grain, and it just so happened that the field she chose was that of Boaz, Naomi’s rich, kind relative who would later marry Ruth? As it turned out. Things just turn out the way they are meant to because the stores of a righteous man are ordered by the Lord. So I should expect many such ‘coincidences’ in my life. The woman that Naomi was trying to drive back to her home and to her previous gods was actually destined to be in the lineage of David and Christ. Lord, help me do that I’m not embittered and blinded by circumstances and in the process end up disrupting your amazing plan for my life!
I’m expecting this to just be ‘turning out’ in my favor as I align myself with God (which is what Ruth did). May I ‘coincidentally’ enter the right places, meet the right people, and embark on the right projects. May I be more aware of God working in my life every minute. Amen.
1 Sam 3:7 - ‘Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.’
1 Sam 3:21 - ‘The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word.’
Lord, as I read your word in 2018, reveal it to me, and in the process, reveal yourself to me, that I may know you. May my reading and pondering not be in vain. Amen.
I Sam 8: I didn’t realize that Samuel’s sons didn’t inherit his integrity and godliness. How sad!
Also, the grass always looks greener on the other side. The Israelites wanted a king. It didn’t seem like a bad thing; after all, Samuel’s kids weren’t walking with God. Little did they know that the king they asked for would be worse.
God revealed who the next king was to Samuel in advance. Again, God chose someone from the smallest clan of the smallest tribe.
Luke 9: interesting how even when Jesus was praying ‘in private,’ he took the disciples along with him each time. Such intimacy and such modeling/mentoring.
Lord, I pray that my children would remain rooted in you, firmly planted and blossoming. That they would know you for themselves, have their own experiences with you and seek you ardently. I pray that I would always recognize your voice and follow it rather than what looks attractive; that I would walk in godly wisdom and not worldly wisdom. I pray that you would teach you to pray; that you would draw me into prayer, Holy Spirit, and that as I live a life of prayer, that you would reveal to me the things I need to know.
Luke 10
I relate to Martha’s distractedness. I’m reminded this morning that despite the multiple distractions that get me worried and upset, only one thing is really needed: sitting at the Lord’s feet and listening to what He has to say.
Lots of things are good, but this is better. I submit my distracted heart to you, Lord. Make it amenable to listening.
What are you saying to me today, Lord? What were you saying yesterday that i didn’t listen to?
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