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#53 <><
FROM THE TEXT: ><> (=THINK IT OVER=) Ruth 1:16-18 But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back
from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people
will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I
will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if
anything but death separates you and me.” When Naomi realized that Ruth was
determined to go with her, she stopped urging her. Now don’t we all wish we had a friend like this?? Ruth
was married to Naomi’s son. So once he dies along with Naomi’s husband and
other son, Ruth comes and wants to live with Naomi. And she will not take “no” for an answer!! She says, that she
will live with her and die with her, and then be buried next to her!
Basically she is going to be with her through thick and through thin. Ruth 2:6-12 The foreman replied, “She is the Moabitess who came back
from Moab with Naomi.” She said, “Please let me glean the harvesters. She
went into the field and has worked steadily from morning till now, except for
a short rest in the shelter.” So Boaz said to Ruth, “My daughter, listen to
me. Don’t go and glean in another field and don’t go away from here. Stay
here with my servant girls. Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and
follow along after the girls. I have told the men not to touch you. And
whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have
filled.” At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She
exclaimed, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me; a
foreigner?” Boaz replied, “I’ve been told all about what you have done
for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, how you left your
father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did
not know before. May the Lord repay you for what you have done, may you be
richly rewarded by the Lord the God of Israel, under whose wings you have
come to take refuge. Because I’m so immature, this makes me giggle a little!!
Boaz OBVIOUSLY likes Ruth right off! He’s looking out for her from the
start!! He’s warning all of the other guys to be nice to her OR ELSE! He’s
going to be giving her the good water. Ruth is just in aw! She’s wondering
why on Earth this guy is being so nice to her! But soon finds out he is being
so nice to her cause he has heard of all she’s been through. He knows that
she was nice enough to stick with Naomi- even though that meant that she had
to leave her family, friends and homeland. He also feels sorry for her
because her husband had died. He’s
heard all of this, and he seems to respect her. “May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you
be richly rewarded by the Lord,” that’s a great blessing to give someone!! (By the way: gleaning is the process of looking for the
good stuff left behind. This is what homeless people do when they look through
dumpsters: they’re hoping to find something good enough to eat. For Ruth,
gleaning is walking behind the harvesters in a field, sorting through the
remains of picked-over stalks and grain plants looking for something good
enough to eat!) Ruth 3:1-6 One day Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter,
should I not try to find a home for you, where you will be well provided for?
Is not Boaz, with whose servant girls you have been, a kinsman of ours?
Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor. Wash and perfume
yourself, and put on your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor,
but don’t let him know you are there until he has finished eating and
drinking. When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and
uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do,” “I will do
whatever you say,” Ruth answered. So she went down to the threshing floor and
did everything her mother-in-law told her to do. As I read on in Ruth I come to admire this woman more
and more!!! Okay so now she is going to listen without question. She is going
to do what she is told because she knows it is for the best, even though she
might not understand. To me, someone who is capable of doing this is someone
we can admire. Often when I am told to do something I will do it, but not
before I know why I am supposed to be doing it! Aren’t you all the same way?? Well Ruth isn’t. She gets all cleaned up, puts on her
BEST clothes and perfume. And does everything else that Naomi told her to do. Ruth 4:9-10 Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people,
“Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelech,
Kilion and Mahlon. I have also acquired Ruth the Moabitess, Mahlon’s widow,
as my wife, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property, so
that his name will not disappear from among his family or from the town
records. Today you are witnesses!” Remember as Naomi
said: Boaz is a family member of Ruth’s dead husband. So some where along the
line she was like his cousin by marriage. Can’t you just hear the wedding bells?? Well first of
all let me explain. A Kinsman is a family member, and a redeemer is somebody
that buys back or restores something. In Ruth’s day when a man died, a family
member got all of his land and possessions- including his wife. Yes, that’s
right, he got to marry the dead man’s wife. Boaz was Ruth’s kinsman-redeemer.
It was just lucky that they loved each other. Or maybe it wasn’t luck, maybe
it was God! ~~~ *~TAKE ON THE CHALLENGE*~: Don’t you wish we could all have faith
like that?? To take up all you have and basically put your life in someone
else’s hand?? When she did that, God rewarded her big time and everything
turned out for the good! Probably not what she had expected, and that’s how
we need to be in our relationship with God. We need to put our life in his
hands and then he will provide!! ~~~ &+PRAY ABOUT IT+&: Dear Lord, I thank you for the
inspiration of Ruth. Sometimes it seemed like she was fearless! I want to be
like Ruth and trust in you that you know what you are doing. So that’s how
it’s going to be from here on. In Jesus’ name, amen. ~~~~ *********************************************** <><
FROM THE TEXT: ><> (=THINK IT OVER=) This week we are going to talk a little bit about
suicide, why people do it, why you shouldn’t do it, and other things like
that. Have you ever heard “you shouldn’t kill yourself because
you will go to hell!” well I totally disagree. Romans 8:38-39 says “For I am convinced that neither death,
nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to
come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing can separate us from
the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. I have heard numerous times that people who commit
suicide will automatically go to hell. Even if they were saved before they
killed themselves. I have always disagreed with this statement because of the
two verses in Romans. It says above that neither death, or demons or anything
else will be able to separate us from the love of God. I’m not saying it is okay to kill yourself, it is so
obviously not!! The 6th commandment says: ‘Thou shalt not
kill”(Exodus 20:13) meaning you aren’t supposed to kill other people OR
yourself. We only brought up Romans this week to give comfort to those
who have friends that once believed in God, but have since committed suicide. Here is why you shouldn’t do it… “Peace
I leave with you, My peace I give to you, not as the world gives, do I give
to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” (John 14:27) That has to be the most comforting verse in the Bible
right there!!!! I know that I have had doubts about being here, but we all
have a hope in Jesus! That’s why he came here! He is our newfound hope, and
we need to trust in Him ALWAYS. Because when you don’t cling to that cross
and know that in Jesus’ care you are safe… then the world and the devil will
try to get you! What to do when you are having those thoughts again… “Cast
all your cares upon Him for He cares for you.” (1st Peter 5:7) That
sounds way too easy doesn’t it?? But you know; once you sit down and pray to
God about what’s been going on… you can just sit there and cry and talk to
God about it and once you’ve finished you will feel one million times better
GAURENTEED. You
have a friend that cares dearly about you, has a plan for you, and wouldn’t
want you to waste your life like that… “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his
life for his friends.” (John 15:13) And
that is exactly what Jesus did for YOU. He showed you the ULTIMATE love, and died
in YOUR PLACE. There is no greater love than that, just like that
verse said. And the key word in that verse is “friends” Jesus wants to be
your best friend!! He died so that you could know how much he loves you and
that you would be his friend. He cares for you sooooo much! So next time just
remember: “For Thou art my hope, O
Lord God, Thou art my confidence from my youth.” (Psalm 71:5) ~~~ *~TAKE ON THE CHALLENGE*~: We have done this many times but I am going
to ask you to do this again just because it works every single time!!! Do you
have something that has been bothering you? You’ve been worrying about it and
can’t sleep from it?! Write all of it
down on a piece of paper… then pray about it and cast it onto the Lord. Once
you are finished praying… rip up that paper, stomp on it, then throw it away,
burn it, whatever you need to do to not worry about it anymore. ~~~ &+PRAY ABOUT IT+&: Dear Lord Jesus, I cast my cares upon
you right now! Anything that I have been worrying about, or anything that has
been bothering me, I let it go and I give it to you and I won’t worry
anymore!! I thank you for taking away my sorrows and my burdens!!! Thank you
Jesus!!! In Jesus’ name, amen. ~~~~ *********************************** <><
FROM THE TEXT ><> Exodus 20:4-5 “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in
heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your
God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to
the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, Exodus 20:17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your
neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or
anything that belongs to your neighbor.” (=THINK IT OVER=) I looked up the meaning of the word jealousy in a dictionary and the
meaning for the word is: jealous- feeling or showing resentment toward a
person whom one thinks of as a rival. I also looked up the meaning for the
word “covet”, Covet - to desire eagerly, especially something belonging to
another person. So, in Exodus 20:4-5 God talks about him being a “jealous God”: A God
who feels resentment toward our ideas of other Gods. And he is by all
means “allowed to be jealous of that!!” For 1) He is the one who actually
DID create us. And for us to give credit to ANYONE else is just wrong! And
secondly- He IS GOD!!! He owns everything!!!! What does God have to covet??? Then He goes on to say in Exodus 20:17 that we’re not to covet
things. At first when reading this I was really confused! I mean how can God
say that he’s jealous and then tell us not to be!?? I knew there had to be
something wrong there! So I looked up the meaning for the word: covet. And as
you know now, to covet is to desire something eagerly, belonging to our
neighbor. We’re not supposed to do that! In my opinion, this means to be
thankful for what we DO have and not spend all of our time wishing and hoping
that we had what someone else has!! For instance, maybe a couple of weeks ago your mom bought you your first
car. Sure it’s just an old Chevy, but it IS a running car!! Now your best
friend’s mom has just bought your best friend a brand new Jeep!! You forget
all about your old Chevy, and immediately want your best friend’s new Jeep!!
You are NOT happy with what was given to you! You just want more! Now that’s
greedy. And at times we’re all like that. But we need to work at not doing
that, and being thankful for what was given to us! ~~~ *~TAKE ON THE CHALLENGE*~ It’s hard not to get jealous sometimes
or to covet. It just happens! I have done it before, not so much now because
I realized that I have everything I need and have no want for more! I think
that we all really need to realize that everything we need God has given us.
He provides for us all the time! ~~~ &+PRAY ABOUT IT+& Dear Lord, I thank you for all that
you have given me, and I realize I don’t need anything more. I have seen I
have everything I NEED. There are things that I want but aren’t necessary and
sometimes you provide, them for me if you think that it is good for me. And I
thank you for that. I just pray these things in Jesus’ name, amen. ~~~~ ************************************* <><
FROM THE TEXT ><> Deuteronomy 14:5 The deer, the gazelle, the roebuck, the
wild goat, the ibex, the antelope, and the mountain sheep. Psalm 10:9a He lurks in hiding place as a lion in
his lair. ~~~ (=THINK IT OVER=) We have been told that a lot of you like the story of Bailum’s
donkey, which gave us the idea of doing an issue about animals in the Bible! Ever wonder, why Eve didn’t get scared of the talking
snake? She just stood there and listened to what it said! Sometimes it makes
me wonder if animal’s talked before Eve sinned. Animals are mentioned a lot
in the Bible, dogs were defined back then not as pets, but as animals that
ate the scraps from the table that you threw out or as sheep dogs. Their
horses were used in war and to pull chariots, which we use kind of the same
way today but not as much as we used to. Now, it’s mostly corralling and also
for rodeo purposes. There are also deer, roosters, cattle, lions, lambs and
other animals mentioned in the Bible. I often wonder how they knew what lions and other things
like that looked like. Maybe they had a zoo, or possibly people shared
pictures that were drawn of the animals? Most of the time when you read about lions in the Bible
they are referred as majestic hunters prowling around to catch their prey.
(Psalm 10:9) Well this issue didn’t have much of a point to it, just
a neat subject to think about! ~~~ *~TAKE ON THE CHALLENGE*~ We challenge you to sit down with your
Bible, a pencil, and a piece of paper, and try to find as many different animals
as you can! If you like you can e-mail us all the different animals that you
find along with your name and we will list who found the most animals at the
top of the newsletter! Good hunting! ~~~ &+PRAY ABOUT IT+& Dear Lord, I thank you for this day,
and that I am living until this day. I thank you for all of the different
animals that you gave us to look at, rule over, and enjoy. In Jesus’ name,
amen. ~~~~ ******************************** <><
FROM THE TEXT ><> Romans 8:12-13 So then, brethren, we are under
obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh – for if you
are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are
putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. Romans 14:11-12 It is written: “As surely as
I live,” says the Lord, “every knee will bow before me; every tongue will
confess to God.” So then each
of us will give an account of himself to God. Ecclesiastes
4:9-13 Two are better
than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls
down, his friend can help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will
keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves. A cord of three stands is not quickly broken. 1 Peter 3:15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared
to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope
that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. ~~~ What does that mean? Accountability – n. the state of being held responsible for
carrying out one’s obligations; responsibility. (=THINK IT OVER=) Accountability
is being responsible to someone or something. It’s being held responsible for
things that you have done. Ever heard of accountability partners? Where you
and another person check up on each other and make sure that you are both
reading your Bible and praying and stuff? Well that’s sort of what we are talking
about. We are responsible for our actions and the way we live and in the end,
God will be our accountability partner, and check up on us making sure we
were living the right way, if we weren’t we go one way, if we were we go the
other! I am sure you get what I mean. The reason
we included Romans chapter 14 in this is because we want you all to know
this: The day WILL come when you will have to stand in front of the Lord and
be accountable for the things that you have done. And we all will have to appear
before God and give an account for what we did in this life. Whether it is
good or bad. We included
Ecclesiastes in this also. I personally REALLY like those verses. It talks
about your friends and how good they are to have. It gives us a little insight
on why we need to be accountable to the people on the Earth as well as to God. I think
that the “cord of three strands” means that Christians are stronger together!
But you are, of course, welcome to your own opinion!! We know
that we are going to have to stand in front of the Lord one day, and this
should be enough to make us be good, but it’s not usually. We know that God
knows everything and sees and hears everything, but we still make mistakes!!
That is why it’s sooo important to make yourself accountable to the people
here on Earth as well, and not only to God. ~~~ *~TAKE ON THE CHALLENGE*~ What do we learn about responsibility as
a witness in 1 Peter 3:15? Take out a piece of paper, and rewrite this verse
in your own words. How can you apply the truth of this verse to your life
today? ~~~ &+PRAY ABOUT IT+& Dear Lord, I know I am accountable to
you in the end. And I pray that you would help me to live a life like you
would want me to. In Jesus’ name, amen. ~~~~ *************************************** #59 <>< FROM THE TEXT ><> 1 Samuel 17: 1a, 2-4, 8-11,17, 20, 23, (some summarized) 1. Now the
philistines gathered their armies for battle. 2-4. And Saul and the men of Israel were
gathered. And the philistines stood on one mountain and the Israelites stood
on the one across from them with the valley between them. Then their champion
came out from the armies of the Philistines names Goliath, from Gath, who’s
height was six cubits and a span. 8-11. And Goliath stood and shouted to
the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come pout to draw up in battle array? Am I
not the Philistine and you the servants of Saul? Chose a man for yourselves
and let him come down to me. If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then
we will become you servants, but if I prevail against him then you will
become our servants.” Again he said, “You are cowards! Send me a man so that
we may fight!” When Saul and all Israel heard the words of Goliath they were
dismayed and very afraid. 17. Then Jesse said to David his son,
“Take now for your brothers and ephah of this roasted grain and these ten
loaves and run to the camp and give these to your brothers to eat. (He also
brought some other things for them.) 20. So David arose early in the morning
and left the flock with a keeper and took the supplies and went as Jesse had
commanded him. And he came to the circle of the camp while the army was going
out in battle array shouting the war cry. 23. As he was talking with them, behold,
Goliath was coming up from the army of the Philistines, and he spoke these
same words; and David heard them. 26-29. Then David spoke to the men who
were standing by him, saying, "What will be done for the man who kills
this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this
uncircumcised Philistine, that he should taunt the armies of the living
God?" --David defeats Goliath— 31-51. When the words which David spoke
were heard, they told them to Saul, and he sent for him. ~~~ A fact: Goliath was a little over 9
feet tall! Always remember: there is nothing too
big for God. &+PRAY ABOUT IT+& Dear Lord I thank you that you are
there when we need you, you help us to defeat our enemies, and with you there
is nothing that can stand against us. In Jesus’ name, amen. ~~~ *********************** <><
FROM THE TEXT ><> Psalm 4:2 How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame? How long
will you love delusions and seek false gods? ~~~ =) THINK IT OVER =) Great question!! How long are we going to continue to
turn God’s glory into shame? How long will we love all of these delusions? A couple of weeks ago, at church, we were talking about
this topic. Why do you think it is that Jesus died such a painful, long
death, if we are just going to ignore the reason WHY he died for us? I wonder
all the time why Jesus can be so loving: forgiving, and just so selfless! And
in comparison we have given him close to nothing. Why are we so into all of these delusions? What a
delusion is: is a false belief or opinion. A great example of that are magic
tricks. The magician can lead you to believe that rabbits are stuffed into
hats, or that you actually can cut people into 3rds and then make
them magically be put back together. But sadly to say, that isn’t reality.
Those things are just tricks. You can’t always trust what you see, because
there are illusions everywhere. Just as there are delusions everywhere. “How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame?”
That is the first part of the Psalm 4:2. It was written by David, it was at a
time when David was just so incredibly frustrated by everything. He was
asking the Lord how long we would keep on denying the truth. “… How long will
you love delusions…” we talked about this already, with the magic tricks: in
a way, life is like a show. We are in the audience and Satan is the magician.
He is constantly trying to trick us with all of his illusions. “… and seek false gods?” David wants to know how long we
are going to continue seeking all of these false things. Like Muhammad and
let’s not forget about Yoga. Don’t get me wrong- I am all for the stretching
and getting into shape, and being at peace. But when you start worshiping the
“Ancient Yogis” you’ve gone WAY too far. So please just keep this in mind: Don’t worry so much
about all of these people here on Earth, and what they might think of you.
Put God and, his glory first ~~~ &+PRAY ABOUT IT+& Dear Lord, I pray that you will help
me to lay down any pride that I may have, I want to stop worrying about what
others think, and instead worry about what YOU think. I also pray that you
will help me to see satan’s illusions when they are flashing in front of me.
In Jesus’ name, amen. ~~~ ******************************* <><
FROM THE TEXT ><> John 8:44 “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires
of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in
the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he
speaks it from his own nature; for he is a liar and the father of lies. Proverbs 19:9 A false witness will not go unpunished, but he who tells
lies will perish. Leviticus 19:11 You shall not steal, nor deal falsely nor lie to one
another. Colossians 3:9 Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old
self with its evil practices. ~~~ =) THINK IT OVER =) Lying is everywhere, I am sure you cannot go one day
with out hearing a lie. We all know its wrong; it’s in the ten commandments.
But why do people lie? There are many reasons and all of them aren’t very
good excuses at all!! For one thing, people lie so that they won’t get in
trouble, or to get someone else in trouble, they lie to get things, or to get
rid of things. It happens everyday millions of times a day (and that’s just
in about a 100 mile radius) Just imagine if God had lied to us… we would be
in a WHOLE lot of trouble!! Our whole lives would be going down the drain.
But no, God doesn’t do that!! So we shouldn’t do that either. All through the
Bible you hear “don’t lie” and a lot of the time you hear people say “don’t
lie or you’ll go to hell” but then again those same people who say that turn
right around and lie to someone. I am sure you have seen it too. On of the
worst kinds of lies there are, are ones that spread bad things about someone.
Popularly known as rumors, they are everywhere, and they are AWFUL. Lies
corrupt, not only other people but also you. So the next time, you are in a
situation where you could lie if possible; TELL THE TRUTH. It’s not easy, and
you or someone else could get in trouble, but it’s what you should do. Refer to Proverbs 19:9. HE THAT SPEAKETH LIES
SHALL PERISH! Does this mean that once you lie, you are doomed to
perish? Of course not! Remember we as Christians are forgiven,
but need to ask for the forgiveness and consciously know we did wrong.
Just remember that one lie can lead to many more lies to cover up the first
one. Refer to Proverbs 19:9. HE THAT SPEAKETH LIES SHALL PERISH! Does
this mean that once you lie, you are doomed to perish? Of course
not! Remember we as Christians are forgiven, but need to ask for the
forgiveness and consciously know we did wrong. Just remember that one
lie can lead to many more lies to cover up the first one. ~~~ *&*TAKE ON THE CHALLENGE*&* God needs us to tell the truth, not only just about the little
worldly things, but the truth about the Bible! The truth of God’s word and
how much he loves everyone. Don’t twist God’s word either, THAT’S A HUGE
MISTAKE, tell it just like the Bible says it. ~~~ &+PRAY ABOUT IT+& Dear Lord, I thank you for this nice
day, I pray that I have a good day, and I pray that when I am faced with the
truth or a lie, I that I would pick the truth. I thank you that I know right
from wrong and I can CHOSE to do the right thing. I pray this in Jesus’ name,
amen. ~~~ ******************************* <><
FROM THE TEXT ><> Psalm 13:1 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will
you hide your face from me? Psalm 22:1-2 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so
far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by
night, and am not silent. ~~~ =) THINK IT OVER =) Okay, now I know that each and everyone of us can relate
to what David wrote! Most of us have had those days where we feel like God
couldn’t be any farther away. Like he has forgotten us and our problems
because he’s busy dealing with bigger more important things. Well he isn’t! So when we have days like that, it is so important to
talk to God about it. For instance, I have a journal. It’s where I write
EVERYTHING practically. And its got to be a magic journal or something
because usually whenever I write about problems or things in it, I will feel
better about them. I think in a way, my journal is one of the ways I
communicate with God. And always remember this: Even when God seems really far away he isn’t! He will
never leave us. And that is one thing in life that you can really count on! ~~~ *&*TAKE ON THE CHALLENGE*&* Sometimes God can feel like he is sooo far away! It’s
usually when we are going through hard times. But really, God was with us the
WHOLE TIME and we just didn’t give him credit. I know that in the hard times
in my life, there have been points where I felt like God didn’t care about
me, just because I didn’t feel better instantly. But God has his own timing,
and we just need to keep hope and know that he is with us the whole way. ~~~ &+PRAY ABOUT IT+& Dear Lord I thank you that even when
it felt like you were far off, that you were actually right beside me holding
my hand. In Jesus’ name, amen. ~~~
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