Bitterness. ( Hebrews 12 v15)3

 We will carry on looking at the book of Ruth and the lessons we can learn,we now look at Chap 1 v 19 -20.Namoi and Ruth have arrived at Bethlehem, it caused a bit of a stir ,can this be Namoi ,they asked?,Her reply was this,'Don't call me Naomi, call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter ', Naomi's name means ,'pleasantness,now she calls herself Mara, which means bitter,because of all she had suffered. Consider all she suffered,she had to uproot and go and live in a foreign land, the first tragedy was the death of her husband,well she still had her two sons they had married two Moabite girls,'Orpah and Ruth, so things weren't to bad,but then tragedy struck again,her sons died. So that meant she was left  with no means of  support.She describes her experience like this ,'I went out full, but the Lord has brought me back empty',( 1 v21)The bitterness she experinced was like drinking vinegar,but a whole lot worse,she was not bitter at the Lord, but the cup that she had to drink was bitter,even though it was from the Lord. Yes it was all from the Lord,are you surprised at that,well we shouldn't be, Sometime His discipline can be severe, but whatever God puts us through,He has his reasons, commenting on Hebrews 12v 5-6 someone writes,  'My dear child,don't shrug off God's discipline,but don't be crushed by it either.It's the child He loves that He disciplines,the child He embraces,He also corrects'.

                                                     'Every joy or trial falleth from above,

                                                     Traced upon our dial by the Son of Love,

                                                                  'Words F.R,Havergal'

                                                 

                                                      

They are watching.(Acts 16 v 22- 25 )2

 So Naomi decides to go back home,but she  was a considerate woman,and she looked at her two daughter-in-laws,and spoke to them urging them to go back to their mothers home,she kissed them goodbye,but they were reluctant to leave,asking her  to let them return with her to her people. Again she reasoned with them,they were both crying,Orpah decided to return, so she  kissed Naomi and left,but Ruth clung to Naomi refused to leave and this is what she said  'Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you.Where you go I will go and 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 will I be buried.May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so s'everely, if even death separates you and me.( Ruth1 v16-17)  Ruth is no longer talking like a gentile,but like a child of God, It does not record when the change came,but it is obvious that the godly family she had married into had made a deep impression on her ,she grew to love her mother-in-law,but also to leave her false religion.She had lived with Naomi,had witnessed  as one writer puts it ,'Nomi's experience of grace through affliction as a persuasive testimony '.How we endure in our trials  can have a  profound affect on the Ruth's of this world.People are watching us not so much in our prosperity,but in our trials, may God help to be a Naomi.

                                                     'Let us be a light shining in the darkness'

 

His time. ( 3 v 1 )1

The book of Ruth has much to teach us,it takes place at the time of the Judges,that time when everyone did  that what was right in their own eyes,instead of God's.It tells us their was a famine in the land of Israel,we are not told why there was a famine,it could be that God was dealing with his people because of their wrong ways,but we don't know.Elimelek and his wife Naomi,and their two sons ,went to live in the land of Moab . Let us keep in mind God's overriding purpose in all that would happened. Some of it would be painful,for we read that Elimelek died.The two sons married  Gentile girls,but then another tragedy struck ,they to died, leaving Naomi with her two daughter -in -laws.No explaation is given by God, God is not duty bound to give us a reason, what he does require of us is 'Trust'. That's is very,  very important, we forget that to our cost,He has a plan,the plan for Jesus was a cross,remember God has a plan for all our lives,and in it all ,we are to trust Him. Naomi had no one to support her,but just at time she heard that the famine had ended in Israel,God's timing was perfect,it always is, I'm sure Naomi that godly woman prayed,and God made a way,whatever you are facing ,and crying unto God to help you with,it will come in His time,so trust Him,and so the story unfolds,(we will continue with this next time.)

                                                            'In His time,in His time

                                                             He makes all things beautiful

                                                             in His time,

                                                             Lord show me everyday

                                                             As You're teaching me Your way,

                                                             That you do just what you say

                                                                   ' in Your Time'  (Words by Diane Ball)

What Karl Marx said. ( John 4 v 1- 14 )

Nitrous Oxide was  used by dentist ,but it is not used now ,we know it more by its other name ,'Laughing Gas'.unfortunately it has become what we could call,a recreational drug used by many young people.It is classified as an illegal drug.Like most illegal drugs they cause a person serious harm.  I worked for a mental health team for twenty years,I have witnessed the effects of illegal drug taking,  people becoming mentally ill,and once that happens you don't get better. The advice is this don't mess with drugs,they will mess up your life,the risk is not worth it .Recently a famous entertainer in America  died caused by his drug taking, he was vey popular,  and loved,but somehow that was not enough,he needed more  ,fame and all that went with it, could not satisfy him.I remember a lady who every day when she woke up  wanted that  something that would make her happy,she never seemed to find it,so she went on her sorrowful way, seeking ,seeking,and never finding. It was Karl Marx who said religion was the Opium of the people ,liken it to a drug, It is not, well Christianity is not,it brings us into a reality of what life's about,it brings us unto the meaning of life,and the source of eternal life and brings us into freedom, and fulfillment of life.and it comes to us when we trust the one who is the Way the Truth,and the Life.' Jesus.'

                                                         'None but Christ can satisfy'

Holiness. ( 1 Corinthians 6 v19)

 What does it mean to be holy?, it means being separate or set apart. from  evil, all that's unclean ,it means  our outword and inner life. In Romans 12 v1 we read,' 'Therefore,I urge you brothers and sisters, in view of Gods mercty,to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice,holy and pleasing to God' Why should we do this?what is the incentive to be holy? the mercies of God,John Stott says ,'there is no greater incentive to holy living than a comtemplation of the mercies of a God'.Without the mercies of God  we would not be saved,saved from the bondage of sin,and the consequence of sin.As we cast our mind back to our unsaved days,and the bondage of sin our Saviour delivered us from, He said ,' 'Everyone who sins is a slave to sin' (John 8 v34).Someone has said we do not become sinners because we commit sins; we commit sins because we are sinners.I often point to the history of mankind the wars and the daily toll of gratuitous violence,rape,  abuse,torture,and murder in every corner of the globe .'Jesus said that he had come to set us free,and when He saved us by His mercy He sets us free. The consequences of sin is seen in so many ways,broken homes a the ultimate consequence is eternal damnation in hell.So Paul says in veiw of God's mercy we should offer our bodies as a living sacrifice,holy and pleasing to God.

                                                     'Oh, the love that drew slvations plan!

                                                      Oh,the grace that brought it down to man.

                                                      Oh,the mighty gulf thast God did span

                                                                           At Calvary.

                                                        Mercy  there was great,and grace was free;

                                                         Pardon there was multiplied to me,

                                                          There my burden soul found liberty

                                                                               At Calvary,  (Words W.R.Newell.)

Don't despair (Psalm 31)

 David wrote many of the Psalms, Psalm 23 is a great favourite it is a calm and peaceful Psalm,that has blessed generations of God's people .But many  of his other Psalms,are filled with feelings of distress, the  31st  Psalm is David experiencing a great deal of distress caused by his enemies .They were trying to trap David,in many ways,he is troubled, and consumed with grief, his strength is also failing him. He feels very isolated,broken, forgotten, and slandered. From v 14  a change for the better sets in, as he focuses on God,yes things can change ,as we look beyond  our dire situations. In verse 15 we have these wonderful words,here is what he declares,'My times are in Thy hand'.Henry F.Lyte  wrote a wonderful hymn based on those words,here it is.

                                      'My times are in thy hand; my God I wish them there;

                                       My life, my friends, my soul I leave ,entirely to Thy care.

                                       My times are in thy hand; whatever they may be;

                                       Pleasing  or painful, dark or bright,as best may seem to Thee.

                                       My times are in Thy hand,why should I doubt or fear?

                                       A Father's hand will never cause, His child a needless tear.

                                       My times are in Thy hand, Jesus the crucified

                                       The hand my cruel sins have pierced, is now my guard

                                        and guide.

Be alert. ( Matthew 13 v 25 )

 We have to be on our guard all the time,just recently, my son and his wife visited us,he was preaching in our church,later on the day,they drove home,Later that evening I received an email, it appeared to be from my son,Telling me he had been in an accident,but he wasn't hurt,  I immediately phoned my son and to my relief he had not been in an accident,it was a scam.My wife told me recently  she had received a text, stating that she was being fined for a parking offence,another scam.Yes we have to be on our gaurd,or we will find ourselves in deep trouble,and loose a lot of money. Likewise in the spiritual realm we must be alert ,why?, 1 Peter 5 v 8, tells us,''Be alert and of a sober mind,Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion,looking for someone to devour',We must not let down our guard for one moment,if we do we might just be the next victim,Stay awake and stay alert, take this warning seriously.People often ignor warnings and suffer the consequence, they get fined for speeding,they go through a red light,and so it goes on. Our Saviour was facing His coming crucifixion,He was in the garden praying ,when he had finished praying the first time, He returned to the disciples,but He found them sleeping, at such a time as that, and He especially spoke to Peter,'Watch and pray so that you do not fall into temptation,and He added,'the spirit is willing but the flesh is week'  ( Matthew 26 v 41),and we know what happened to Peter. 

                                                'Be warned,be alert,and stay awake'