GOD’S PLANS
Today’s Reading: Ruth 3-4
Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).
Boaz was from Bethlehem. The fields of Boaz (in the foreground) are now taken up with communities, roads and tunnels with protective walls such as this one. You can see Bethlehem just behind the first hill on the right.
GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.
Key Verse: Ruth 4:13
So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife; and when he went in to her, the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son.
Ruth had little reason to expect anything good from life. As a young widow she travelled with her mother-in-law, also a widow, to a land completely foreign to her. There the two widows had no human reason to expect anything other than a harsh, hand-to-mouth existence. In Bethlehem they would glean some grain to make bread and live on the generosity of others. But God had a different plan. Ruth is redeemed by Boaz. This redemption is a picture of what our divine Redeemer, a descendant of Boaz and Ruth, Jesus of Nazareth, has done for us. Naomi, who had lost her husband and two sons, would now have a grandson, Obed, and a great-grandson, Jesse, followed by a great-great-grandson, King David.
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord Jesus, You are my Kinsman Redeemer. You were born right there in Bethlehem, where Ruth gave birth to Your ancestor, Obed. Help me, dear God, to trust Your long-term plans which are for my good. Also, help me to trust Your short-term plans. You had everything arranged for Naomi, Ruth and Boaz. I’m trusting You to guide each step I take. In Your caring Name I pray, Amen!
100 PERSONAL WORDS:
My sister-in-law, Evelyn, lost her first husband and her only two children in a tragic car accident many years ago. She could have been in total depression, and one would’ve expected her to withdraw from life. But instead, she went from church to church telling of the grace of God which she was experiencing. As a result, many came to faith in Christ, including members of her family. Like Ruth, she declared her faith in God and God restored her. She married my brother-in-law, Ralph Rutledge, and God gave her three more children, Ruth, David, and Jonathan. Malachi 3:6 tells me about God’s faithfulness, “I am the Lord, I do not change.”
Yours for trusting God in all things,
David
Dear Lord help me to trust You no matter what my circumstances may look like. May I have an unshakable faith and commitment to Your unfailing Word.
May You be exalted throughout the earth and Your Spirit convict the hearts of those who have not yet come to faith in Your Son, Jesus!
Blessings on all bloggers, today!
Amen Luisa. Our first grandchild is named Luisa Joy. The Lord took her immediately to Himself and I look forward to meeting her in heaven! God directs our paths. Help us Lord, to walk that path well. Blessings all on this Lord’s day. Amen
Doreen,I’m a day behind on my devotions but I hope you will see this so that it will give you some comfort.Do not credit me for this for I am only His pen,like me giving you an envelope with this ‘poem of comfort’ inside.May God bless
Writes For Me (4 Grieving Mothers)
My dear Mommy my friend writes for me,
He knows my thoughts and what I see,
And answers questions on earth’s misery,
But as a child I can’t know what is to be.
I am so very happy here with lots to do,
So many friends and some you knew,
We play and laugh and we worship too,
And through the Bible,every word is true.
So Mommy dear I do not know of grief,
But He tells me soon you will know relief,
For in your dreams you may not yet know,
That’s it’s me with him but at dawn we go.
I hug you close then your hand I seek,
And shake it too but I dare not speak,
For I want for you to have that peek,
At the man with me as I kiss your cheek.
He smiles and hugs each time we greet
And tells me a story of the Devil’s deceit,
But then I see that on his hands and feet,
Are scars he says prove Satan’s defeat.
G W (Bill) Marshall / Aug 22,2012
The book of Ruth is so uplifting. Thank You, Lord God, for people of faith and good will, people who trust in You. Bless each one, in Jesus’s name, amen
Doreen, Luisa Joy is a pretty name and you will see her one day. What joy is ours knowing we will be reunited with our loved ones.
Have a blessed day, dear sister. 🙏💐
I loved reading the lesson today, reading Ruth is such a inspiration to me. It gives us hope no matter what our circumstances are.
Have a blessed day everyone. To God be the glory great things He has done.
Amen,Luisa and ditto,Eleanor.God bless