365 Reflections

Ruth 2:20–23 (ESV) And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the LORD, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.” 21 And Ruth the Moabite said, “Besides, he said to me, ‘You shall keep close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.’ ” 22 And Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, lest in another field you be assaulted.” 23 So she kept close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests. And she lived with her mother-in-law. Ruth's haul from the day in Boaz's fields has floored Naomi. He has given her enough grain for weeks after one day and one encounter. It is a picture of the Lord's grace toward us. He is not the Lord who simply gives here and there, He gives extravagantly.  Now there is something deeper to this story here at the...

Don't believe the lie that doing what God wants is impossible. So often people want to say obedience is impossible to justify their disobedience. But God put it writing for His people so that they could bank on His promise - YOU CAN DO WHAT HE SAYS! Look at Deuteronomy 30: Deuteronomy 30:11–14 (ESV) “For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you , neither is it far off. 12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 14 But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it. Before we go any further, please do not take this to mean you will be sinless. All have sinned. All have fallen short. There is no one who does good except Christ! But the words of this book are not mean to destroy your will,...

Deuteronomy 16 is an incredible passage for us today. It outlines the three major feasts of Israels calendar year with astonishing brevity making certain to work precise details into the text so that we learn how to approach their realities in the New Testament fulfillment. Deuteronomy 16:1 (ESV) “Observe the month of Abib and keep the Passover to the LORD your God, for in the month of Abib the LORD your God brought you out of Egypt by night. First, they were to observe the month in which they were to KEEP the Passover to the Lord. This happened every first month of the year. This practice rehearsed the nation's defining moment as God's new born nation from out of slavery. Their time as a people started the day God saved them. Today we celebrate the Lord's table as the start of the new work of God in our lives.  Deuteronomy 16:9–10 (ESV)  “You shall count seven weeks. Begin to count the seven weeks from the time the sickle is first put to the standing grain. 10 T...

Leviticus 23:1–2 (ESV)  The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, These are the appointed feasts of the LORD that you shall proclaim as holy convocations ; they are my appointed feasts. We come now to the 23rd chapter of Leviticus. It is the chapter that outlines the three festivals for Israel's calendar. There are seven feasts listed in Leviticus. The three main festivals are Passover, Pentecost and Booths/Tabernacles. These three feasts represent the three stages of our life with God. Passover represents our deliverance from bondage to sin. Pentecost represents our fulness in the power of the Spirit and Booths represents our ultimate home in heaven with God where the dwelling place (tabernacle) of God is finally and forever with man. The word that is often repeated in the chapter is "convocation", appearing 11 times. When a word appears that often in one chapter, we need to explore it a bit further. "Convocation"...

Acts 2:1–5 (ESV) When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:11 (ESV) -we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” Historically, the day of Pentecost brought more pilgrims to Jerusalem than even Passover did. This may be because of the good weather. But how incredible that God would send the Spirit on the festival where more people showed up? On the day of Pentecost, the priest would take oil, mix it with flour, bake it and present two loaves of bread to the Lord. Think of it this way, all those grains of wheat were crushed down into flour and the individual flour particles were brought togeth...