April 8, 2016

“God creates out of nothing. Wonderful you say. Yes, to be  

sure, but he does what is still more wonderful: he makes saints out of sinners." 

~ Soren Kierkegaard

RUTH

Ruth and Naomi are widowed and though the story looks bleak...Ruth's faithfulness to her mother-in-law results in them being saved through Boaz and this union produces King David...

13So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When he made love to her, the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. 14The women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! 15He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.”

16Then Naomi took the child in her arms and cared for him. 17The women living there said, “Naomi has a son!” And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

LUKE 11:29-54

Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for their hypocrisy...

37When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. 38But the Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus did not first wash before the meal.

39Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 40You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? 41But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.

42“Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.

43“Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces.

44“Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which people walk over without knowing it.”

45One of the experts in the law answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also.”

46Jesus replied, “And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.

JOURNAL

The story of Ruth is so encouraging because it proves that God is in the business of defying man's traditions and man's thoughts of "how things should be" in order to accomplish his purposes.  

The line of King David goes through prostitutes and foreign women.  That same line is the one that produces Jesus.  This is the heart of God, redeeming the "lowest" of humanity with the honor of family...

8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 

EPHESIANS 2:8-9