by Pastor Cecil | Feb 5, 2016 | Ruth
Ruth 2:8
“Then Boaz said to Ruth, ‘You will listen, my daughter, will you not? Do not go to glean in another field, nor go from here, but stay close by my young women.'”
It is hard to make a list of beloved hymns without encountering Fanny J. Crosby. This blind little lady composed well over 8,000 hymns and poems in her life. It is sad that many churches never sing these songs anymore. They are the losers!
As I think about the life of Fanny J. Crosby I am humbled. With her physical limitations she expressed her longing to be more and more like the Master she served. This hymn seems to highlight her aim to draw closer to Him.
In today’s Scripture, Boaz instructed Ruth to stay near the women who worked for him. He was her kinsman redeemer even though she did not know it. Christ is our Kinsman Redeemer and we know it because the Bible tells us so. Are we like Fanny J. Crosby having a desire to be closer to Him?
Close to Thee
Thou my everlasting portion,
More than friend or life to me,
All along my pilgrim journey,
Savior, let me walk with Thee.
Refrain:
Close to Thee, close to Thee,
Close to Thee, close to Thee;
All along my pilgrim journey,
Savior, let me walk with Thee.
Not for ease or worldly pleasure,
Nor for fame my prayer shall be;
Gladly will I toil and suffer,
Only let me walk with Thee.
Refrain:
Close to Thee, close to Thee,
Close to Thee, close to Thee,
Gladly will I toil and suffer,
Only let me walk with Thee.
Lead me through the vale of shadows,
Bear me o’er life’s fitful sea;
Then the gate of life eternal
May I enter, Lord, with Thee.
Refrain:
Close to Thee, close to Thee,
Close to Thee, close to Thee,
Then the gate of life eternal
May I enter, Lord, with Thee.
Enjoy this free inspirational video of, “Close to Thee” by going to:http://www.gloryscapes.com/closetothee/
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 18, 2012 | Ruth
Ruth 1:20-21
“‘Don’t call me Naomi,’ she told them. ‘Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The LORD has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.’”
I have been a Christian counselor for so many years I have stopped counting. One of the many things that continue to confound me is how and why some people seem to enjoy wallowing in misfortunes rather than thanking God for His blessings.
This was the case with Naomi, the mother-in-law of Ruth. In no way do I wish to downplay the losses she had experienced: She, her husband and two sons had experienced such famine that they left their home and went to live in Moab, a country that was not known for treating the people of Israel with compassion. When Naomi determined to return to her home in Bethlehem, her daughter-in-law Ruth insisted to remain with her to care for her.
When she arrived back in Israel she told the women of Bethlehem that they were no longer to call her “Naomi”, which means “pleasant”, but to call her “Mara”, which means “bitter”. Naomi was so fixated on her loss that she failed to appreciate Ruth as a daughter-in-law who was devoted to her. It was Ruth who suggested that she be allowed to go into the barley fields and glean food for the two of them. When Naomi agreed to her request, it was the first spark of hope—a close family member, Boaz, who could become their kinsman redeemer.
What a joy it is to read the last few verses of the Book of Ruth and see that Naomi holds Ruth’s boy, Obed, on her lap and cares for him. She becomes his granny! Praise the Lord! Oh, and by the way, this tiny bundle of joy becomes the grandfather of David, the second king of Israel and also a part of the lineage of our own Kinsman-Redeemer, Jesus!
It would be well to examine our own circumstances. Are we allowing the things in our life to make us bitter or better? My prayer is that we will stop looking only at the present and allow God to bring His work to fruition in His own good time.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Nov 18, 2009 | Ruth
Ruth 1:20-21
“‘Don’t call me Naomi,’ she told them. ‘Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The LORD has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.’”
I have been a Christian counselor for so many years I have stopped counting. One of the many things that continue to confound me is how and why some people seem to enjoy wallowing in misfortunes rather than thanking God for His blessings.
This was the case with Naomi, the mother-in-law of Ruth. In no way do I wish to downplay the losses she had experienced: She, her husband and two sons had experienced such famine that they left their home and went to live in Moab, a country that was not known for treating the people of Israel with compassion.
For reasons, of which we are not told, her husband and two sons died. The two sons had married so Naomi at least had two daughters-in-law. When Naomi determined to return to her home in Bethlehem, her daughter-in-law Ruth insisted to remain with her to care for her.
It seems that Naomi was so fixated on her loss that she failed to appreciate Ruth. She told the women of Bethlehem that they were no longer to call her “Naomi”, which means “pleasant”, but to call her “Mara”, which means “bitter”. The name is a derivative of the name of the springs of bitter water that the Israelites encountered. Read Exodus 15:22-25.
Naomi had no means of providing for Ruth and herself, and it was Ruth who suggested that she be allowed to go into the barley fields and glean food for the two of them. When Naomi agreed to her request, it was the first spark of hope — suddenly she remembered that there was a close family member, Boaz, who could become their kinsman redeemer.
What a joy it is to read the last few verses of the Book of Ruth and see that Naomi holds Ruth’s boy, Obed, on her lap and cares for him. She becomes his granny! Praise the Lord! Oh, and by the way, this tiny bundle of joy becomes the grandfather of David, the second king of Israel and also a part of the lineage of our own Kinsman-Redeemer, Jesus!
It would be well to examine our own circumstances. Are we allowing the things in our life to make us bitter or better? My prayer is that we will stop looking only at the present and allow God to bring His work to fruition in His own good time.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
