Devotional

Ruth, Day 4 RUTH and The Kinsman Redeemer Ruth Chapter 4 We come to the end of the story of Ruth, the Moabite. She has endured much after departing from her home. If not already mentioned, this book explains the providential ancestry of David, who would become such a great king. On of the “key themes” of Ruth is redemption. “Redeem” in Hebrew is ga a,“redeemer” (Hebrew: go el, and “redemption” [Hebrew: ge ullah], appear 23 times in Ruth).  What…

Ruth, Day 3 Ruth 3 Every relationship has expectations and duties. The vast majority of the time I mow the lawn at my home. Currently, mowing the lawn is at the top of my to-do list. It’s been neglected too long and needs to be addressed. Even though it needs to be addressed and it’s my “job” to do it, if my wife were to come to me and demand that it be done, I wouldn’t appreciate a request made…

Ruth, Day 2 Chosen for Abundance Ruth 2 ” . . . those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs.
You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy. You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it. You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with…

Ruth, Day 1 There Is a Redeemer “The Decision To Follow” — Chapter 1  Background The book is named for its central character, a Moabite woman who married the son of a Judaean couple living in Moab. After the death of her husband, Ruth moved to Judah with her mother-in-law, Naomi, instead of remaining with her own people. Ruth then became the wife of Boaz, a wealthy kinsman of her former husband, and bore Obed, who, according to the final…

Esther, Day 7 Esther 9:18 – 10:3 How good is your memory? Mine is terrible. The other day, I was picking up a prescription for my daughter and I had to give her birthday — I got the month and day right but the year was a struggle. That night at youth group, students and I were reminiscing about a trip we took a few years ago, and one of the students told a story about how she got sick…

Esther, Day 6 Jewish Victory Today’s Scripture Passage: Esther Chapters 8 – 9:17 I like sports. I always have. Ever since I can remember, I played sports. It didn’t matter if it was basketball, baseball, football, or hockey. Having four brothers and neighborhood friends, there was always someone around to play with. As I got older, golf came into the picture. Now, let me be clear. Just because I played a lot does not mean I was good. It is…

Esther, Day 5 ESTHER CHAPTER 7 KARMA: “such a force considered as affecting the events of one’s life” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary) Remember this old saying: “What goes around, comes around!”?  There are four main characters to focus on in Esther 7. They are Esther, Mordecai, Haman, and King Ahasuerus. They all play a significant part in how God saves His people. Esther and Mordecai may not have been noble in the way Daniel and his friends were; nevertheless, they both illustrate…

Esther, Day 4 Esther 6 As I grow older, I find myself gaining a greater appreciation for God’s timing. The reason for this is that I continue to encounter moments where things line up in a way that I could not orchestrate. In our text for today, there is a series of events that God lined up that reveal to a family the futility of their efforts. The king could not sleep, which leads to him asking for a book…

Esther, Day 3 Risk and God’s Sovereignty Esther 4:13 – 14 “Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, ‘Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a…

Esther, Day 2 THERE IS A PURPOSE IN GOD’S PLAN Mordecai Foils a Plot — Chapter 2:19 – 23 Haman’s Plot — Chapter 3  Esther Chapter 2:19 – 23 The newly-crowned Queen Esther was a Hebrew. She was instructed by Mordecai to keep her background and nationality a secret because she was now the queen of Persia. Mordecai continued to hang around the king’s gate while trying to keep tabs on Esther and to advise her through the beginnings of…