Completion of Ruth’s Journey

This is the last installment of Ruth’s journey. This chapter relays how she became the great matriarch of Jesus. Clearly, God orchestrated all the things that happened to Ruth’s life so His plan may be fulfilled.

Ruth 4:1-22 (NIV)
Boaz Marries Ruth
[ ] 4 Meanwhile Boaz went up to the town gate and sat down there just as the guardian-redeemer he had mentioned came along. Boaz said, “Come over here, my friend, and sit down.” So he went over and sat down.[2] Boaz took ten of the elders of the town and said, “Sit here,” and they did so. [3] Then he said to the guardian-redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged to our relative Elimelek. [4] I thought I should bring the matter to your attention and suggest that you buy it in the presence of these seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, do so. But if you will not, tell me, so I will know. For no one has the right to do it except you, and I am next in line.”“I will redeem it,” he said.[5] Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the land from Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the dead man’s widow, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property.” [6] At this, the guardian-redeemer said, “Then I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it.” [7] (Now in earlier times in Israel, for the redemption and transfer of property to become final, one party took off his sandal and gave it to the other. This was the method of legalizing transactions in Israel.) [8] So the guardian-redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it yourself.” And he removed his sandal. [9] Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, “Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelek, Kilion and Mahlon. [10] I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, 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 his hometown. Today you are witnesses!”[11] Then the elders and all the people at the gate said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the family of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. [12] Through the offspring the Lord gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.”
Naomi Gains a Son [13] So 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. [14] The 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! [15] He 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.”[16] Then Naomi took the child in her arms and cared for him. [17] The women living there said, “Naomi has a son!” And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

The Genealogy of David
4:18-22pp—1Ch 2:5-15; Mt 1:3-6; Lk 3:31-33[18] This, then, is the family line of Perez: Perez was the father of Hezron, [19] Hezron the father of Ram,Ram the father of Amminadab, [20] Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, [21] Salmon the father of Boaz, Boaz the father of Obed, [22] Obed the father of Jesse,and Jesse the father of David.

Ruth’s Leap of Faith

Today is the 29th of February amd we are in what we call a leap year. This happens every four years only amd it has been a popular belief that old maid’s or spinsters usually take this opportunity to get engaged or married. They would take the “leap” into marriage, as many would say.

With the third installment of Ruth’s journey, we can see how she also took that leap of faith. We will see her obedience to Naomi, following her faithully amd just trusting in her word.

Ruth 3:1-17 (NIV)
Ruth and Boaz at the Threshing Floor

One day Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi said to her, “My daughter, I must find a home for you, where you will be well provided for. [2] Now Boaz, with whose women you have worked, is a relative of ours. Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor. [3] Wash, put on perfume, and get dressed in 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. [4] 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.”[5] “I will do whatever you say,” Ruth answered.
[6] So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law told her to do.[7] When Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he went over to lie down at the far end of the grain pile. Ruth approached quietly, uncovered his feet and lay down. [8] In the middle of the night something startled the man; he turned—and there was a woman lying at his feet![9] “Who are you?” he asked.“I am your servant Ruth,” she said. “Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a guardian-redeemer of our family.”[10] “The Lord bless you, my daughter,” he replied. “This kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier: You have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor. [11] And now, my daughter, don’t be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All the people of my town know that you are a woman of noble character. [12] Although it is true that I am a guardian-redeemer of our family, there is another who is more closely related than I.
[13] Stay here for the night, and in the morning if he wants to do his duty as your guardian-redeemer, good; let him redeem you. But if he is not willing, as surely as the Lord lives I will do it. Lie here until morning.”[14] So she lay at his feet until morning, but got up before anyone could be recognized; and he said, “No one must know that a woman came to the threshing floor.”[15] He also said, “Bring me the shawl you are wearing and hold it out.” When she did so, he poured into it six measures of barley and placed the bundle on her. Then he went back to town.[16] When Ruth came to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, “How did it go, my daughter?”Then she told her everything Boaz had done for her [17] and added, “He gave me these six measures of barley, saying, ‘Don’t go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’ ”
[18] Then Naomi said, “Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today.”

Ruth’s Journey Part 2

As promised, here’s the second chapter of Ruth’s journey to becoming the great matriarch of Jesus.

Ruth 2:1-23 (NIV)
Ruth Meets Boaz in the Grain Field

Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side, a man of standing from the clan of Elimelek, whose name was Boaz. [2] And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor.”Naomi said to her, “Go ahead, my daughter.” [3] So she went out, entered a field and began to glean behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she was working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelek. [4] Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, “The Lord be with you!”“The Lord bless you!” they answered.[5] Boaz asked the overseer of his harvesters, “Who does that young woman belong to?”[6] The overseer replied, “She is the Moabite who came back from Moab with Naomi. [7] She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters.’ She came into the field and has remained here from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter.”[8] 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 the women who work for me. [9] Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the women. I have told the men not to lay a hand on you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled.”[10] At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She asked him, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me—a foreigner?”[11] 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. [12] 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.”[13] “May I continue to find favor in your eyes, my lord,” she said. “You have put me at ease by speaking kindly to your servant—though I do not have the standing of one of your servants.”[14] At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar.”When she sat down with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over. [15] As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, “Let her gather among the sheaves and don’t reprimand her. [16] Even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don’t rebuke her.”[17] So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. Then she threshed the barley she had gathered, and it amounted to about an ephah.
[18] She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gathered. Ruth also brought out and gave her what she had left over after she had eaten enough.[19] Her mother-in-law asked her, “Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!”Then Ruth told her mother-in-law about the one at whose place she had been working. “The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz,” she said.[20] “The Lord bless him!” Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. “He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead.” She added, “That man is our close relative; he is one of our guardian-redeemers. ”[21] Then Ruth the Moabite said, “He even said to me, ‘Stay with my workers until they finish harvesting all my grain.’ ”[22] Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It will be good for you, my daughter, to go with the women who work for him, because in someone else’s field you might be harmed.”[23] So Ruth stayed close to the women of Boaz to glean until the barley and wheat harvests were finished. And she lived with her mother-in-law.

Ruth’s Journey

I was reading the Book of Ruth tonight and it fascinated me. Her story is a perfect illustration of God at work. And so, I thought of posting her story here in parts so we can all be inspired by Ruth’s faithfulness.

Ruth 1:1-22 (NIV)
Naomi loses her husband and sons
In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. [2] The man’s name was Elimelek, his wife’s name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there. [3] Now Elimelek, Naomi’s husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. [4] They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years, [5] both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.

Naomi and Ruth return to Bethlehem
[6] When Naomi heard in Moab that the Lord had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, she and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there. [7] With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah. [8] Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back, each of you, to your mother’s home. May the Lord show you kindness, as you have shown kindness to your dead husbands and to me. [9] May the Lord grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband.” Then she kissed them goodbye and they wept aloud [10] and said to her, “We will go back with you to your people.” [11] But Naomi said, “Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands? [12] Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons— [13] would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord’s hand has turned against me! ” [14] At this they wept aloud again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her. [15] “Look,” said Naomi, “your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her.” [16] 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. [17] Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” [18] When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her. [19] So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?” [20] “Don’t call me Naomi, ” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. [21] 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.” [22] So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.

Amazing Love

I just posted about how God’s love is blind, that He’s willing to overlook our sins and allowed Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. Isn’t this kind of love amazing?

During the week of fasting in our church, I actually realized how amazing God really is! Imagine loving someone who didn’t do anything for you! Someone who most of the time won’t listen to you, someone who would only remember you when they need something, someone who almost has no time for you… Imagine loving someone like that tirelessly… Isn’t it amazing?

God’s love is indeed amazing, far beyond what we can fathom. Even though we are sinners, He never gave up on us and instead sent us a redeemer. I am really fascinated and amazed. I am actually in awe of God and how He loves us. It’s just heart warming that someone out there loves us for who we really are, without even expecting anything in return. His is the kind of love that we can rely on even when we feel that others don’t love us anymore, when we feel rejected and lonely.

God’s love is amazing and the fact is, He loves us always and forever.

This feeling of awe is perfectly captured in the lyrics of this song by Lincoln Brewster:

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Love is Blind

It has been very busy for me last week so I went on a sort of hiatus from blogging. Now, recovering from all that Valentine’s Day mania, I have a lot of things to write about.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Yesterday, during the service, the Pastor discussed about how love can be blind. He went on preaching about one’s feelings when in love:

• you seem oblivious to other people around you
• you seem to float in Cloud 9
• you seem content just being with the one you love
• you feel very happy and ecstatic
• you usually have a smile on your face that can’t be wiped away
• you seem to think that everything about the person you love is perfect
• and a lot more 🙂 well, we all know how it feels to be in love 🙂

Given the “symptoms” above, we can say that when we’re in love, we have this certain shield on our eyes – putting everything in bright colors. When we’re in love, we can only see what we want to see and usually refuse what others have to say about the person we love. Maybe that’s why they say “Love is blind” because when you’re so into it, you’re just so immersed with that person that you only see them the way you want to see them – up on that pedestal. But, how long would this “love is blind” thing last? How long can you overlook that person’s flaws and imperfections? How long can you stay by their side given their weaknesses?

When we are blinded by love, how long would it take before we wake up from that stupor? I’m not being cynical here or something. I’m just thinking, when we love someone so much, we are willing to forego a lot of things as long as we get to keep them. But a time comes when even if we’ve held on so tightly, that someone lost the passion and doesn’t want to be kept by us anymore. The same goes vice-versa. There are times that we’re loved by someone but that someone reaches a point that he/she can no longer take it and would very much love if we go on separate ways.

When we are willing to overlook weaknesses and accept them because we love someone, how long can we keep going that way? I’ve seen couples so in love, believing that they can accept their other half for whatever they are but after a few years end up in separation. I think the answer to my question is this: when you know that you have an unlimited supply of love to give, you can go on forever loving someone despite their flaws and really accept them for who they are.

Where can we get an unlimited supply of love? Where else but from the ultimate source of all love, God. As it is written “Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love” 1 John 4:8 NIV. If we have that relationship and understanding about God and how He loves us, then we can surely love another in God’s way. He is the source of our love and we have this ability to love because He loved us first as stated in the Bible: “We love because He first loved us” 1 John 4:19

Photo Credit: Getty Images

I honestly believe that love can really be blind. I can attest to that. Nobody’s perfect and even I have issues with my husband (I know it goes the same way for him about me) and we would always argue and fight. I would always harbor ill-feelings for a time and would not speak to him. I would sometimes grow weary and tell him that it’s tiring to love someone like him. Imagine saying that to your husband without him leaving your side permanently! Well, of course, all those statements were very spur of the moment and were uttered out of very strong emotions. But after each fight, we would make peace and forget about what happened. I am lucky because my husband’s love for me is blind. He’s willing to overlook my temper and my hurtful words because he knows that I don’t mean them; because he knows that deep down, I love him and that I was saying those words because I was hurt. He knows that behind all that is a loving wife who just wants a better marriage. He knows that God is the center of our marriage so he can let go of my tantrums. The same thing goes for me. I may be irritated and annoyed to the highest level but I never hated him for all the things we fought about. I gloated, yes, but I never hated my husband no have I been angry enough to ask him to leave the house for good. Yes we always fight and bicker but we both know that we have God as source of our love and we will always be willing to overlook each other’s offense because of that fact. God loved us despite our flaws – that’s the one thing we always keep in mind. It’s this fact that we’re trying to emulate in our marriage – to love each other like the way God loves us despite our sins.

Therefore, I can say that God’s love is blind. He is the perfect example of a lover who’s so in love, He will overlook your sins and even send His Son over to save us from death.

“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”

Romans 5:8 NIV.

Yes, love is indeed blind and I thank God for that!

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A Promise to Love

Exactly 198 days ago, I exchanged wedding vows with my husband in a Christian ceremony. This is our first Valentine’s as a Christian married couple(since we were only civilly married 4 years ago).

A picture of me giving my husband a big hug on our wedding day

Looking back, I thank God on how He had orchestrated everything for us. How He brought us together through the most peculiar situation (a phone call to the wrong number by a complete stranger – my husband), how He made us stay together for seven years, how He brought new people into our lives to make us re-think our relationship, how He separated us for two years while bringing us both closer to Him at that time; and, how He finally brought us back together again and this time it’s for life…

God really does move in mysterious ways. Our love story is one that you can only watch in dramas or movies. A friend even told me it’ll make a good novel. Throughout the sixteen years that I’ve known my husband, I can say that God has been with us through it all. And it is real when they say “in God’s perfect time”. Ours is a story of a never ending walk of faith with the Lord. It was through our faith that we are together this day, happily married; and will also be through our faith that we’ll build a God-centered marriage and family.

The hand that will hold mine for life

To honor God’s goodness in my life and to remind myself of that goodness, I am sharing with you my wedding vow inspired from my favorite Bible verse on love – 1 Corinthians 13.

“My dear… during the darkest days of our relationship, the biblical definition of love saved us and brought us back together. Today, as we begin a much blessed chapter of our lives, I, with God’s grace, pledge to give you my love – a love that embodies patience, kindness, humility, selflessness, honesty and respect. With my love I will always seek to protect you, to trust in you, to be always hopeful and to always persevere. My sweets, like what I said last night, my vow is simply this – I will always love you no matter what. You are my answered prayer and I thank God for the love He has given me to share with you. I love you, sweets and I always will.”

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Promises kept

I’ve read the book of Joshua and was just encouraged by this verse towards the last chapters of the book:

“… You know with all your heart and soul that NOT one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; NOT one has failed.” – Joshua 23:14 NIV

Photo Credit: Getty Images

All the things God promised to Abraham and Moses, He completed them during the time of Joshua. Every single promise was delivered, was kept.

We would usually hear people say that promises are meant to be broken – but not with our Father! He makes sure that we get what He promised us. It may be days, months or even years but He will definitely keep His promises. He’ll have them delivered at the most appropriate time, when our hearts are most receptive and trusting. Given this, we can rely on His word when He tells us that He has plans to prosper us and give us hope and a future (as stated in Jeremiah 29:11).

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Most of the time we get antsy and anxious when our prayers don’t seem to be heard. We tend to doubt our Lord – if He’s even listening, if He even loves us, if He even cares… Yes, He does hear us, He does love us and He does care. His delays are never His denials – well most of the time… As long as what we’re hoping for is according to His will, then we can expect this to be given to us if we just remain in faith. Remember that sometimes, we don’t get the promise for certain reasons like when our hearts are not right, when we doubt His ability to deliver or when we don’t seek Him enough. But this doesn’t mean that He has rejected us. Just like any parent, He just wants the best for us and He wants us to understand that too.

So for everyone out there who’s waiting for God’s promises, keep the faith and don’t give up on Him. It may healing from sickness, a promotion in your career, a new job or business opportunity, a future spouse, a future child, a future home or financial freedom that we’re seeking from God and they may all seem elusive this time. But don’t waver in your faith for He will definitely keep His promises – it’s just a matter of time, His timing. Let us keep a prayerful and faithful attitude, just believing in God’s word and faithfulness in us.

Lord, I pray for all of us who’s waiting for Your promises to be delivered. May we be reminded of Joshua’s words that You have completely fulfilled Your promises to them, not a single one was not accomplished. May we keep a prayerful and faithful heart towards You. May we surrender all our circumstances to You and just rely on You and Your word. May we never falter in our faith. May we seek You more and more as we wait for the fulfillment of Your promises. These we ask in Jesus’s name. Amen.

 

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Through You, Nothing is Impossible!

“I’m not gonna live by what I see, I’m not gonna live by what I feel.

Deep down I know you are with me. I know that You can do anything. 

… Through You, I can do anything

… Nothing is impossible”

Today I really need You, beside me, Lord. I am faced with a task that I have never done before. I know I can do this but it’s more reassuring that I know that I have You and You are the Lord of all. Just like what the song is saying, through You, I can do all things… You can do anything… Through You, nothing is impossible.

You have shown me the way towards this direction, my God. I don’t have the credentials for this position, but I do have the heart and the passion. You have shown them this passion during the first screening and today, Lord, I just pray that once again I will be able to shine through. Let them see my heart and enthusiasm again in teaching these kids. Let them see my willingness to learn again and my eagerness to be these children’s mentor. Teaching has always been my passion, Lord, and it was not just until this year that You have given me concrete evidence that I am meant for this. You have opened doors for me in this field, when least expected. You have turned their hearts to see and I implore of You again to help me out today.

Through You, I can do anything, Lord. Through You, nothing is impossible. You are the God of possibilities and I am claiming Your grace today!

My spirit is hopeful and faithful… and my heart sings this song today…

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I have to keep dancing

Here’s a nice love story… of how love can make us smile, make us excited, make us feel complete, make us satisfied, and how it can break our heart but eventually fuel us to stay strong and live our lives fully…

This is a heartwarming story of love…

I have to keep dancing.