In Genesis 34, we have a bit of a family crisis, and that’s an understatement. Jacob’s daughter Dinah is raped. Her brothers exact brutal, disproportionate revenge for this and kill many men in the process. What must Jacob have felt about this? I don’t know exactly what, but it is likely he was grieving the pain of his daughter as well as the disappointing way … Continue reading Go back to the beginning again
“Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done.” Revelation 22:12 As we face a new year, we don’t know what to expect. Worldwide, we see chaos, brutal war, and bloodshed. Many people are being affected, and losing their homes, or lives, or children. Personally, our hopes for 2023 might not … Continue reading Expectation – January 1, 2024
Ruth 4:1-12 (NIV) Meanwhile Boaz went up to the town gate and sat down there just as the guardian-redeemer he had mentioned came along. Boaz said, “Come over here, my friend, and sit down.” So he went over and sat down. Boaz took ten of the elders of the town and said, “Sit here,” and they did so. Then he said to the guardian-redeemer, “Naomi, … Continue reading Ruth #8: Redemption
In the previous blog in this series, we saw that God gives grace to the empty. In order to receive grace, it’s good to be open to it. Receiving grace often involves asking for help. Asking for help can make many of us uncomfortable. We share our weakness, so we could get hurt in the process. In essence, it makes us vulnerable. Brené Brown has … Continue reading Ruth #7: Shelter
How do you pray? Do you pray like a person who pleads mercy from a far off ruler? That pleads for the time and blessings God may have to “spare”? Or do you pray like you are God’s beloved child? As Christians, we know we’re God’s beloved children. So we can be confident! A father takes care of His children. We are very valuable and … Continue reading Praying with confidence
Last blogpost, we read about how God showed His grace through Boaz. There’s something else about grace. Grace can only be properly received by the empty. At the beginning of the book of Ruth, we see that Naomi complains. She went away full, but has come back empty, she says. Ruth too was emptied. Emptied of her old life. She had lost her husband. This … Continue reading Ruth #6: Blessed are the empty
In the last blogpost we saw that Boaz blessed Ruth. He said: “May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.” (Ruth 2:12). We see similiar metaphors elsewhere in the Bible. These are pictures of God as a mother bird where the chicks find shelter under God’s wings. It is a picture of … Continue reading Ruth #5: Grace upon grace
Last blog, we saw that God blesses us when we are at the end of our rope. This blog, we’ll look at the first sign of new hope in the book of Ruth! Ruth 2:1-13(NIV)Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side, a man of standing from the clan of Elimelek, whose name was Boaz. And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me … Continue reading Ruth #4: new hope
In the last blog, we saw Ruth’s extraordinary love for Naomi. You could say that Ruth’s faithfulness showed something of God’s love for us. Jesus loves us persistently, even when we try to shut Him out of the doors of our hearts. Naomi tried to withhold Ruth from showing love to her, from giving her the grace of extraordinary faithfulness. She tried to convince her … Continue reading Ruth #3: God’s faithful love
In Ruth 1:1-22 (ᐊ first blog), you can see that Naomi was very bitter after her many losses. Ruth had a very different reaction. She too experienced big losses, as she was a childless widow. So what was so different about Ruth? Why did she react differently than Naomi did? And why was she willing to go through even more losses, leaving her family and … Continue reading Ruth #2: the way of hope
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