365 Reflections

Ruth 4:18–22 (ESV)  Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron, 19 Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminadab, 20 Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon, 21 Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed, 22 Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David. Decisions shape our lives. Then they shape other people's lives forever. No Ruth, no David. Yes, God would have worked through another lineage to bring about the righteous king and ultimately, the Messiah. But Ruth changed not only her story but the story of countless others because she made good and hard decisions. Her sister-in-law Orpah goes down in history with the person in the Bible whose name most closely resembles a modern celebrity. Ruth goes down in history as a woman of courage, loyalty, kindness, hard work, dedication, purity, and strength. What will your story be? We are living in an age when feelings define most people's decisions. This is sad but it is also dangerous. M...

Many Christians are still spiritual babies. They need someone else to speak wooing words over their lives. This is not Christian maturity. Christian maturity means that I have learned how to speak to myself in words of confidence regardless of my feelings or emotions. This was what David did in Psalm 42-43. In his sorrow, he spoke to himself and encouraged himself to hope in the Lord even in the midst of sorrow and sadness. Psalm 42:5–6 (ESV) Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation 6 and my God. My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar. David does something else in this Psalm. In the midst of sorrow and longing, he not only speaks to his soul, he prays to his God.... Psalm 42:8–9 (ESV) "a prayer to the God of my life. 9 I say to God, my rock...." Prayer is always an answer in the times of desper...