T[he end wil be better.[ Psalm 30 v5 ]

And so Boaz and Ruth married and God blessed them with a child,they called him Obed,who was the father of Jesse, who was the father of David.A story that started out so painfully ended so wonderfully,not only for Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz, but eventually for Israel, and in Davids greater son Jesus, for the very world. In Ecclesiastes 7 v8, we read,/Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof/. Today you may be experiencing pain,loss,poverty,take encouragement from this story in the book of Ruth, trust God to bring you through to a better day. A better day,dont despair,in Psalm30 v5, we read,weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. You cannot see this with your natural sight, look with faith ,yes even through your tears, to God who can work all things or your good. It can happen now, dear child of God,but it will happen for ever child of God ,when we stand on heavens shore, there God will wipe away all tears.The great apostle who had his share of pain,wrote,/For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us[Romans 8 v18 ]/,so dear child of God hang in there, joy will come in the morning.

A prayer..../ Dear God grant us the grace we need to come through our troubles, and help us to trust Your providential care, and faith to see through our tears,a time when You will bring us to that time of deliverance,from all our cares, in Jesus name we ask this Amen /

Ask and you will recieve. [ Matthew 7 v 7 -11 ]

In chapter 4 we see Boaz going through the proper procedure as was required,he didnt elope, and it looked like ,someone else was going to marry Ruth, but it didnt happen. No this godly man was going to marry Ruth, it appears that he desired her to be his wife,we are told that,if we make God our delight,that God will delight to grant us the desires of our hearts[Psalm 37 v4 ]. We see this so often in the bible,Abraham desire for an heir,Jacob the blessing of God, Solomon his desire for wisdom,Nehemiah the restoration of Jerusalem.What is the desire of your heart? ,sometimes it seems impossible ,that you could ever have that desire,you may been to weak in faith ,even to let God know your desire, never mind anybody else. Well God knows this, could it be He is just waiting for you express this desire to Him?,mybe He will say to you why did you not come to me sooner, I was waiting for you to ask, and you would have recieved, the very desire of your heart. I am your loving heavenly Father, one who delights to bless you , my child,yes you are my child, you are not a beggar. Consider, as earthly fathers,give their children so much, how much more will I give unto you,for I am your loving heavenly Father.

A prayer...../Dear God we rejoice in Your Fatherhood,and we bring our desires unto believing that as we delight ourselves in You ,You will grant us the desires of our heart in Jesus name Amen /

If God is in it.[Isaiah 43 v13 ]

When Ruth returned to Naomi ,she told her what had happened , how Boaz had shown favour unto her,Naomi sees in this providential meeting ,a way out of their difficulties.Boaz was related to Naomi through marriage, and according to Deuteronomy 25 v 5-10, it stated that a near relative could marry the deceased husbands widow, if he chose not to,the next relative could take his place. It was not by chance that Ruth had come into contact with Boaz,so Naomi gives Ruth advice how to act ,that it would go well for her. Naomi gave the advice, Ruth was humble enough to listen ,take the advice, and act upon it. So the story unfolds, Ruth goes to where Boaz was,and informs him that he is a near relative,Boaz understands the implications,that Ruth would become his wife. It would appear that Boaz was an older man[3 v10 ], but this did not matter for God was in it, and that is whats inportant in every thing. Ruth returns to Naomi who again gives wise advice, sit still[3 v18],there is a time for action and time for waiting,may God help us to know the difference, and respond accordingly.

A prayer.... / Dear God help to see beyond the difficulties that we are facing, and to believe that if You are for us then all will be well, in Jesus name Amen /

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 /