Ruth-day 1

To My Girls~
I began reading Ruth, with the purpose of looking at her character, who she is as a woman who loves God.  Wow.  What I've found has been so cool.  Here are some things so far:

Ruth:
*"clung to Naomi"-This shows me that she was loyal and devoted.  She could have let this "old woman", her mother-in-law leave, and she could have returned to her family's home, with hopes she could remarry.  Widowed women weren't looked very highly upon and were poor.  She chose to stay with Naomi.

*knew God-She told Naomi that Naomi's God would be her God.  Ruth was putting a stake in the ground, choosing God, over her family and people.

*wasn't afraid to make oaths.  She had strong convictions, stating that God would be her God, Naomi's people would be her people.  She wasn't afraid to take a stand, and she wasn't afraid she'd fail.

*was a Moabite-not from God's original people-her origin is mentioned several times

*hard worker-gleaned in the fields from morning until now (2:7)

*humble (maybe a little bit hungry?)  She wasn't afraid to humble herself and glean in the field for what she and Naomi needed.

*submissive-listened as Boaz spoke to her, asked to glean in the field

*heart of gratitude-Ruth was thankful for the way Boaz provided

Loved these verses today: (starting at 2:11)
"But Boaz answered her, "All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people you did not know before.  The LORD repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!"

*Have been meditating on Psalm 34-Today:
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!  Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

Lessons from David

David, just a teenager, was asked by his father to take food to his brothers, who were in the midst of a battle with the enemy, the Philistines.  When David's father asked him to go, to leave his sheep, the thing the Lord had given him to do, he didn't just leave.  He left them with a keeper.

This reminds me, Julia, of being asked to step out in wherever God leads, for me, now, on the worship team, but to never leave the people whom God has given me, to never forget, they are my first priority.  This means I make provision for them as I'm gone.  I keep them first in my prayers.  I don't forget.  I choose to spend time with them first.  God, Husband, Children, Work, Ministry-always this order, Julia.  Get this right and it will immediately give the answer to hundreds of questions.

This quote:  (from My Utmost for His Highest)

*At your peril, you allow one thing to obscure your inner communion with God.  Drop it, whatever it is, and see that you keep your inner vision clear.

Meditating on this today:

Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of armies of Israel, whom you have defied.  This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head.  Ad I will give the dead bodies of the hospt of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beast of the earth, that all the earth may know that THERE IS A GOD IN ISRAEL, AND THAT ALL THIS ASSEMBLY MAY KNOW THAT THE LORD SAVES NOT WITH SWORD AND SPEAR.   FOR THE BATTLE IS THE LORD'S, AND HE WILL GIVE YOU INTO OUR HAND.

Idols of the Heart

Dear Julia,

I have had the habitual sin of placing people above God in my heart.  In other words, I've made a habit of trusting people, looking to people's opinions, thinking about and meditating upon people, consistently.   People have been my "functional god" for all of my Christian walk. A functional god is one you think you can control, much like a lucky rabbit's foot-just pull it out, rub it, and get what you want when you want it.  

God did not design "relationship" for this purpose.  All relationships are in place to glorify Him, not to glorify self.  If you are looking to fulfill some need that you perceive you have, in any-one or any-thing, outside of God, it will fail.  Here me again:  your search will fail.  

I praise God for not giving me what I've asked for, for 13 years. God has lovingly shown me how I've loved people repeatedly over time. I missed the boat often.  

But God. His steadfast love sustains.   

He has done a great work these last few months and this past week and into the weekend, He has given me tools to fight.  Perhaps the tools were always available and  because of my pride, my thinking I know better, God would not, could not, put those tools in place, knowing I wouldn't know how to effectively use them for His glory.  Sort of like giving a child a butcher knife.  Butcher knives can do great work, but if used incorrectly they can be deadly.  God's Word is powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword-it must be used correctly.  Use it to glorify the wrong god and it will lead to destruction.  

Julia, I love you and desire that you love you God above all others, above all else.  May you know Him and His love for you.  May you know the gospel, understand the gospel.  Out of that understanding of who He is and the gospel, HE will overflow into the lives of others.

~Love you, dear one.