Naomi and Ruth

“When she(Naomi) saw that she(Ruth) was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her.” Ruth 1:18

Naomi was a Hebrew woman who was married to Elimelech. They had two sons named Chilion and Mahlon. Because there was famine in the land of Judah the family moved to Moab to make a living out there. While they were living in Moab the two sons got married to Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth.

As time passed by, all the men in this family died and there was just Naomi, Orpah, and Ruth left. One day Naomi heard that the LORD was providing food to the people in her homeland and she decides to return back with her two daughters-in-law. As they were on the way Naomi reasoned that there was no point in taking Orpah and Ruth to go with her. They were Moabites. They were still young and they could find new husbands. Naomi told them to return back. Orpah and Ruth both said they wanted to go on with their mother-in-law. Naomi was firm. She once again told them to return back to their homeland of Moab. At this Orpah kissed Naomi and return. But Ruth didn’t she was yet firm with her decision to go to Judah with Naomi. When Naomi realized how determined she was, she gave up convincing and the two of them went to Judah.

When I look at this I am impressed with both Naomi and Ruth. Judah was a foreign land with a different culture and with a different religion. Yet Ruth wanted to know about the God of Naomi. Transitioning to a new environment is very challenging but for Ruth it was worth a try. Eventually, Ruth becomes the great grandmother of the great King David.

But what impressed Ruth so much that she was willing to move to Judah with Naomi? I believe it was Naomi herself that impressed Ruth. The lifestyle and character must have impressed Ruth so much. Her life of faith was speaking to Ruth. Her character showed the love of God. Naomi influenced Ruth through her actions.

That teaches us a lot. Our actions will speak a lot. It will speak to people around us. It will influence others.

Lift up your eyes

“And at that time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever.” Daniel 4:34

There is one chapter in the book of Daniel that is written from a different perspective, and that is chapter 4. It is written in the perspective of King Nebuchadnezzar, a pagan king. God allowed this pagan king to take part in writing a portion in the Bible for his experience he had with God.

The king had everything. He was powerful and he was the conqueror of the whole world. The city of Babylon was magnificent and glorious. Nebuchadnezzar was so proud of himself for the things he had achieved in his life. He was full of himself. In fact he was so full of himself that there was no place in his heart for no other being.

One day the king walking in his royal palace and he said, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?” At that moment God made him mad. The king was driven from the people and was left outside like an animal and he “ate grass like oxen; his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.”

That is what happens when there is no place for God in your heart. You are full of yourself and God cannot come into your heart. You don’t need (or want) to look up to where God is. You just look down, and only beasts do that. When we do not have God in our lives, what makes us any different from the beasts?

All things returned to the king only when he “lifted his eyes to heaven,” and “and his understanding returned to him.” What Nebuchadnezzar did after that is amazing. He praised God. He completely emptied himself to make space for God to come in. That is what we need to do. We should look up. We should acknowledge God and praise Him for that is why we exist.

Pray to change the world!

“Now it came to pass in those days that he went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles: Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus and Simon called the Zealot; Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor.” Luke 6:12-16

Jesus came down to this earth with a mission. He came down to us with a mission to save us. Because of His death on the cross we can be saved. As Jesus returned back to heaven, He passed on the mission to His disciples to spread the gospel. Jesus used His disciples to change the world.

The whole book of Acts talk about how these disciples went out and shared the gospel of truth, the message of Jesus Christ. Because of what these disciples had started in the first century, millions of us today are influenced, changed, and saved by the gospel of Jesus. We have become Christians and we dearly await the second coming of Jesus Christ.

What started this? Luke 6:12 tells us that the night Jesus chose the 12 disciples, He spent all night in prayer. It was the prayer of Jesus that ignited the movement to change and saved the whole world. Jesus prayed and He chose His 12 disciples to have them trained for 3 and half years. After Jesus returned to heaven, these disciples were the ones that changed the world. The first part of Acts tells us that the disciples gathered to pray. And the Holy Spirit was upon each of them.

We need to pray. Jesus commissioned us to go out and make disciples of all nations(Matthew 28:19,20). Jesus doesn’t do any background checks on us. We don’t have to be smart. All it takes is a prayer to ignite ourselves, to kindle a fire of the Holy Spirit. We need to pray.

Jesus Walks on the Lake

“But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.’” Matthew 14:27

Just when I thought spring was coming we are now alerted with a severe winter storm warning and we are expecting at least a foot of snow! When I saw the alert in the morning I had to cancel my visits. I like to stay on my schedule and so I don’t like cancelling. I feel like I am discouraging people when I tell them I cannot come today because of the weather. But what can I do about that? I am no super hero where I can just fly through the storm. All I can do is just sit in and wait until the storm stops.

But you know what? Jesus was different. After Jesus performed the miracle of feeding the 5000, Jesus told the disciples to get on the boat to go ahead to the other side of the lake. Jesus wanted to spend some time alone to pray. Jesus was to meet the disciples again later.

While the disciples were going across the lake, there was a windstorm. How unlucky it was for them to meet such a strong wind. If they had weather forecast like us today, they might not have been on the lake. But they were on the lake, a great windstorm came by, and they were now being tossed here and there. At that moment, Jesus appeared on the lake! Jesus was walking on the lake towards the disciples in the middle of the windstorm! None of this made any sense to them. It still does not make any sense to us today either. Walking on the water? Making your way in the middle of a storm? The disciples freaked out and they thought this Man was a ghost! I would have thought so, too! This man suddenly spoke up: ‘Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.’ When Jesus got onto the boat, the “wind ceased.”

Whether it is a physical storm or a spiritual storm, Jesus will come to you. Jesus will tell you, ‘Do not be afraid.’ And He will stop the storm for you.