To God be the glory. [ 1 Corinthians 10 v 31 ]

Boaz not only protects the vulnerable but showed kindness and he did it in an anonymous way,he told his workers to permit Ruth to have free excess to his crop, and to also to leave some heaps of corn on purpose. As evangelicals we stress that we are not saved by good works,but good works are an evidence that we are saved[ Ephesians 2 v8-10 / James 2 v 18] As to our good works, of whatever kind,we are to do all to the glory of God,we are not to broadcast what we do,that includes praying,doing and giving. Our Saviour stressed the importance of doing things secretly,the result ,our Father in heaven will reward us openly.[Matthew 6v6 ]Our Saviour was speaking to religious people who took great delight in showing how religious they were, and they were religious, but it was mans religion,done by man as unto man. Whatever we do, and we must do good works,God must get the glory,when we take the glory we are robbing God,of what is His due.

A prayer..../ Dear Heavenly Father help me never to rob You of Your glory in Jesus name Amen /

Vulnerable people. [ Matthew 5 v 7 ]

Chapter 2v9 we see an Boaz protecting Ruth from unwanted advances from the men who were working for him,have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee. Ruth was a woman on her own ,very vulnerable ,Boaz took the neccessary action to prevent her coming to harm. I read of children who are neglected and abused, with no one to care or protect them,and I pray for them, pray that God will raise up people like Boaz. There was a time in England that many dear children,were sent to work in awful conditions,in the mills and in the mines,were uneducated,hungry uncared for and unloved.God raised up men and women who made a difference,people like ,George Mullier,Barnardo, Shaftesbury,and many others. We thank God for such people, people who made a difference,to the vulnerable,to the weak, to the poor,and in so doing,were showing the heart of God.In this broken needy world,there are so many vulnerable people,who are being destroyed, and damaged,let us be a Boaz.

A prayer..../Dear God have mercy upon the vulnerable ,use us to be like Your servant Boaz in Jesus name Amen /

Be a Boaz. [ Ruth 2 v 11 ]

Boaz the owner of the field comes along and sees Ruth and asks who she was,and he is told ,he speaks kindly to her shewing her favour.He informs her that he is knows about her , and how she had left all,and of her support of Naomi,and speaks these words to her./The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust/. What lovely words spoken to this dear girl ,what an encourgement they must have been to Ruth,let me say this, we all need to hear encouraging words, so often I go to Gods word, and I just need to hear an encouraging word,likewise when I meet with believers. Judge not by appearance as you meet with people,many people are carrying burdens,so today speak encouraging words,be a Boaz today.

A prayer..../ Dear God help me to be guided by Your Spirit in all I say in Jesus name Amen /

God in-cidents. [ Proverbs 20 v24 ]

Ruth asks to go to and gather the left overs ,and so she goes ,and it just so happens she went to a field owned by a man called Boaz, who was related to Naomi,and this would have a deep significance , for Ruth and Naomi. It was not by chance that Ruth came to this particular field, it was not a coincidence that this happened.Last week we bought a wardrobe ,or a potential wardrobe,for the pieces came in a flat pack. Before we started it,my wife and I, I prayed for help. There came a point in the assembling that we got into difficulties, now my wife had phoned my oldest lad Paul about something ,he lives about 90 miles a way,only to discover that he was visiting a friend , locally. Was this a coincidence?, well you can guess the rest, I phoned him and asked for his help,he came round and the job got finisfed. Archbishop William Templer said, when I pray, coincidences happen, when I dont,they dont. Philip Yancey writes of coincidences as God-incidents,with God things dont just happen, everything by Him is planned.

A prayer....../ Dear God we thank You for Your involvement in our lives , in Jesus name Amen /

The poor. [ James 2 v 14 -17 ]

Now here we have two women with no means of support, in other words they were poor,what could they do?. Real poverty is sad, when you have nothing to feed your children,how do you look on the poor? our Saviour said the poor would be always with us[ Matthew 26 v11 ]. We need to to take our responsibility very serious as regards helping the poor,a famous actor was arressted for speaking out strongly, in relation to a terrible situation in a part of Africa, like hm we need to do something, to help the poor. One of the most challenging stories our Saviour told was about a rich man who ignored a man in desperate need. This needy person lay just outside the richmans gate, the rich man gave him a few crumbs, yet there he lay until he died ,our Saviour describes the fate of this cruel mean person[ Luke 16 v 19 -31 ].Getting back to Ruth and Naomi these poor women , what could they do ?well God had it all worked out, in His law, God commanded that when the fields were harvested,the harvesters were to leave some of the crop for the poor [ cp Leviticus 19 v 9-10 ]. Here is a interesting verse in Proverbs 19v 17./He that hath pity upon the poor, lendeth unto the Lord, and that which he hath given will He pay him again/. We will never loose out in helping others ,the Lord Himself will repay us with interest.

A prayer..../ Dear God,help us to help the needy, to not be judgmental,but to have a loving attitude, in Jesus name. Amen /

He is in control. [ Job 2 v10 ]

Naomi declares ,I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me home again empty [1 v21],for those ancient Israeles there was no second causes,no, to them God was in control of life, and although He may use different means, He is in overall control. Is there not a saying God laughs at us when we make our plans, so many people are making their plans,they have taken into account every eventuality,all except God. Naomi acknowledged Gods hand in the events of her life, likewise Job[ cp 1 v21],who declared ,the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away. Spurgeon tells the story of a little girl who was born deaf and dumb, she was sent to a special school to be educated. A visitor came and was asked to question the children, he would write the question down and the children would write the answer down,he asked the little girl, why were you born deaf and dumb?. A look of anguish came over her face, but then it cleared,and she wrote her answer,even so Father , for so it seemeth good in thy sight.

A prayer..../ Dear God we thank You that although life at times appears to be out of control,that is not so,that You are in control of all our lives, even the painful times, help us to trust in You at all times, in Jesus name Amen /

/ I will not be blogging tomorrow/

Bitterness. [ Ruth 1 v20-21 ]

So Naomi returns home to Bethlehem with Ruth , Bethlehem the birthplace of our Saviour, what was happening to Naomi and to Ruth had a deep significance. Naomi was greeted by the people in Bethlehem,by the words ,is this Naomi?,ten years had passed ,she had changed, and Naomi replies to their enquiries, call me not Naomi which means pleasant, but call me Mara which means bitterness. Now I dont believe that Naomi had a bitter spirit, but simply what she had experienced had been bitter,loosing your husband and two sons,was a bitter pill to swallow. There is a few words of a song I remember from years ago, a cry to God,/ Keep me sweet/, there is nothing so awful as a bitter spirit. I think of a woman who was unkind to me,and sought to hurt me,yes she was a Christian, but she was a bitter Christian, most who knew her would dismiss her behaviour as, that was just her. Yes it was just her, her bitterness of spirit, she had been stunted in her Christian growth, by a bitter spirit,failing to grow in grace and love.In Hebrews 12 v 15, we are warned of the dangers of a root of bitterness taking hold of us,the Hebrew Christians like Naomi were suffering. Being bitter helps no one, and can if we let it destroy our whole lives, so beware of the dangers, and damage of such a spirit, seek to overcome it before it takes root, asking God to forgive you, and renew a right spirit within you.

A prayer..../ Dear God when I am faced with difficulties,and experiencing hurts,keep me sweet in Jesus name Amen ./