Friday Reading: Ruth 1 19-22

Key Verse: Ruth 1 21
21  I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?

Devotion:
It is quite easy in rough and tough times to turn your blame onto someone else and to try and make yourself feel better in some way by knowing or thinking that it is because of someone else that you are in the position you are in. That was not the case for Naomi because she knew that she was in this place because God had allowed it to happen that way. She was not blaming God for what had happened but rather accepting that God had allowed something terrible to happen for some reason. It did not mean that she was happy about her situation; far from it because she wanted to be known as ‘Mara’, meaning bitter instead of Naomi meaning sweet.

It is not for us to blame God for anything that does happen in our lives but rather to look back to Him for the support and guidance that he can supply to us so that we can get through our trials and tribulations. Naomi had lost a terrible lot in not just losing her husband, but both of her sons as well. Her hopes for grandchildren looked rather bleak from this moment onward. But that did not mean that she gave up on God. Instead she looked back to Him for that support and guidance. She returned back to the land of her God to find out what He had in store for her next. Her attitude was to submit to God’s lot that He had given her and not to moan about it or to blame anyone for it. Things just happen in life and we have to live through them!

But notice also that Ruth continued to stand by Naomi’s side throughout all of this. She saw the strength and faith that Naomi had in her God and Ruth wanted to be a part of that. She wanted to get to know this God that made such an impact on Naomi’s life. I wonder, when people look at us, do they see an attitude that makes them wonder what it is about the God that we server, or do they just see and attitude that seems to need fixing? We need to take a leaf out of these two women’s lives and aim to be more like them in standing up for our God no matter what comes our way.

Points to Ponder:
How do others see God through you?

Are you a visible witness for God?

Thursday Reading: Ruth 1 15-18

Key Verse: Ruth 1 16
16  And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:

Devotion:
If you had the choice as to whether you would put everything behind you and follow the will of someone else, what would you do? It may be easy to glibly say that if we were faced with a question like that that we would drop everything and follow the one that we loved – but when reality strikes, we tend to do something else! Many have fallen and given in to their feelings, wants, desires or even greed and have gone off in the other direction – and who are we to say otherwise to what others have done?

We do need to know when we have said one thing and done another. We do need to recognise when others have done the same. We do need to stand by the truth and make sure that we allow others to see that we will stand up to the truth. But, alas, many of us will continue to trip and fall just when the crunch comes. It is little wonder then that we have books like this in our bibles – to make sure that we recognise that good will come out of persistence. It can be difficult following the persistence of the prophets because of the amount of information we have to pick up to see their works, but a love story like this will give us more than just encouragement in God.

Ruth was a woman who said she would stick by her mother in law and that is exactly what she did. She made sure that she stood by Naomi throughout everything. She had an insight into just how special the love between a person and their God can be because she was willing to give up everything just to make sure that she could stay with Naomi and her God! She must have seen a tremendous love there that made her stop and think about how much God must actually mean to someone who trusts in Him. We may marvel at what she was strong enough to do, but I believe that her trusting in God gave her the strength that was required to love and support Naomi. It is that sort of love that I long for, and thankfully it is that love that I find in my Lord and Saviour. I marvel at His great love for me and all that He does for me even though I am weak and still give in…

Points to Ponder:
What does your love mean to you?

How much do you rely on God’s love?

Wednesday Reading: Deuteronomy 5 16

Key Verse: Deuteronomy 5 16
16  Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

Devotion:
You didn’t think you could get away with it that easily did you? If I had the space I would write a devotion that would last all week when it comes down to this one Commandment. It is one upon which so much is dependent on and one which follows on from the most important Commandment which reminds us to love and honour God alone! If we are going to listen to that first commandment then we have to listen to every single one because they must be followed if we are going to try to honour Him in any manner!

One of the hardest things to do is to try to change the way that you are and I’m sure that no matter how hard we try to do that alone, we will not succeed for very long. It takes support to be able to make changes and for us to be able to make any changes means that we are going to need support. That support will come from God but should also come from those people around you who love and care for you; the very people that we may well take for granted most of the time. It is not a case of sticking with what you are comfortable with either because none of us would get very far doing nothing!

God has given us families so that we can have support from people no matter what the circumstances. He has started us off in the right manner and continually encourages us to walk in that same manner. So when we are reminded that we need to honour our family members it is because God knows what we need in our lives!

Yes we can run off and have fun. Yes we can run off and do our own thing. Yes we can separate ourselves from others. Yes we can leave our parents to go and set up home with a partner. But that basic truth remains – that we honour our families because they are the ones who will stick by us when things fall down. God has given us love that we may use it wisely. Use it and don’t abuse it!

Points to Ponder:
Can you describe how much others have done for you?

Do you know how much God has done for you?

Tuesday Reading: Deuteronomy 5 1-22

Key Verse: Deuteronomy 5 1
1  And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep, and do them.

Devotion:
Could you ever imagine what it would be like to be given the original 10 Commandments? I’m not talking about the words written in Exodus 20 or the words written here in Deuteronomy 5 but the actual tablets that God wrote on! What would you do with them? How would you treat them? More to the point, what would you do with the rest of your life knowing that you were holding what God Himself required from you?

That is a bit of a scary thought when you think of it in that way! Those were the actual Commandments written down and they were what God wanted from mankind! And what have we done with those rules and regulations? Well, we have written them down and we used to hang them up in churches, schools and even in court rooms and the like. What has become of them lately? Well, most people have started to hide them in cupboards or throw them away saying that they are old now and that we have new rules and regulations which keep up more with society…

How sad it is that we have taken the very Word of God and started to keep it from our own children. How sad it is that we have turned our backs on the rules which God set down before us so that we could live a better life. When Moses called the people together this time he was calling them together knowing that he would not be going with them over the river Jordan and he would not be receiving the land that God had promised to their children. But that did not stop him from lifting up God’s Words one more time and reminding the rest of the people about the solemn promise and duty that each of them had toward God. We have to be reminded of these rules and regulations otherwise we will set them aside and forget about them allowing corruption and all manner of vain things into our lives. Without the rules we will never be able to identify what is wrong.

God has given us the chance to get things right and we have blown it time and time again. Don’t you think that it is about time that we turned our backs on the corruption, the man made rules and turn back toward the actual truth and the actual rules that God gave us in the beginning? Don’t you think it is about time that we turned and respected not just our peers but our parents and people who came before us and ultimately respected God our Heavenly Father?

Points to Ponder:
What rules do you follow?

Do you rules look anything like God’s original set?