The resources God has given us to live a thriving life are His Word, Spirit, and People.
Read God’s Word:
Ruth
Act 2: God’s Covenant People
Scene 4: The Land: God’s place for his people
Background Information: Ruth
Finally, a breath of fresh air. In Ruth we have an important time stamp. We know that this was the dark days of the Judges. Naomi is a short version of Job; she suffers tragedy upon tragedy. She is also a woman of faith and character like Job. She puts the interest of her daughter-in-law Ruth ahead of her own. The life of a widow in Israel is going to be hard, so she urges Ruth to stay in her home country. Ruth shows herself to be a woman of character and faith as well. She commits to go with Naomi, even though it was likely going to be a costly choice. Then we have yet another person of faith and character in the story, noble Boaz. Not everyone in Israel is a mess. However, we have seen in our reading that the sins of some often prove to be costly in the lives of others. Possibly the famine itself was the result of sin. Remember in Judges where the marauding Canaanites would swoop in at harvest time and take the crops?
Sin is costly for everyone, but we always have the personal choice to remain faithful. Ruth is described by Boaz in a term used in Proverbs 31: she is a woman of noble character. Ruth’s faithfulness is rewarded, and we get to see it real time. The book of Ruth is unique in that the narrator never mentions God directly, but instead we are to see his providence in the whole story. God is at work in and through tragedy, famine, and the human faithfulness of toiling in a field. God’s grace and human grit is fully on display. The book concludes with a genealogy, and we are amazed to find that Ruth is in the line of King David, and more importantly, of King Jesus. In the mundane activities of everyday life: suffering, grieving, and working in fields, God is at work to accomplish his purposes. Be encouraged today. You may not see with your physical eyes all that God is up to in your life, but you can see with the eyes of faith, the providence of God. Be faithful in the small things, for God is at work even there.
Pray:
Praise God for…
Thank God for…
Confess your sins to God
Pray for the Easter Sun Run. Pray that it would be a successful event for Youth Horizons.
Ask God for… (what else concerns you?)
Reflect:
Write down one passage of scripture that stood out to you today.
Write down why this passage stood out to you.
Engage Community:
Text or call some now and tell them…
– What you are praying for.
– What stood out from God’s word today.
Review the Storyline Map: Where we are in the Bible
Act 1 God’s Plan for All People
Scene 1: The Creation: The God of all of life.
Scene 2: The Fall: Rejecting God’s vision for life
Scene 3: The Flood: God judges and makes a covenant to preserve life
Act 2 God’s Covenant People
Scene 1: The People: God calls a Covenant People
Scene 2: Deliverance: God rescues his people.
Scene 3: The Sinai Covenant and law: God embraces and instructs his people
Week 13:
Scene 4: The Land: God’s place for his people
Day 1: Judges 2-5
Day 2: Judges 6-9
Day 3: Judges 10-13
Day 4: Judges 14-18
Day 5: Judges 19-21
Day 6: Ruth
Scene 5: Kings and Prophets: God shapes a kingdom people
Scene 6: Kings and Prophets: God divides the kingdom people.
Scene 7: Kings and Prophets: The southern kingdom as God’s people
Scene 8: Exile: God disciplines his people
Scene 9: Return: God delivers his people again
Act 3 God’s New Covenant People
Scene 1: Christ’s coming: God’s true king arrives
Scene 2: Christ’s ministry: God’s true king manifest his kingdom
Scene 3: Christ’s deliverance of his people: God’s work through the death, resurrection, and enthronement of his king
Scene 4: Christ’s church: God’s people advance the kingdom
Scene 5: Christ second coming: God future for the kingdom