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Ephesians 2:11-22

30 Aug

11 Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. 12 In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. 13 But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.

14 For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. 15 He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. 16 Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.

17 He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near. 18 Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.

19 So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. 20 Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. 21 We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. 22 Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.

Ephesians 2:11-22

Dear God, the verse of the day from Bible Gateway was just verse 19, but I’m so glad I went back and picked up the context for it. As I slowly read through these 12 verses this morning, I kept thinking, “Oh, that’s great!” There is such good stuff in here. I think I just need to go verse by verse:

  • Verse 11 – There was division among God’s creation. Gentiles were excluded from the blessing you gave to the Jewish people. How does that work? That’s an awful lot of people who lived and died without you. The vast majority, in fact. But it’s also interesting that Paul takes a little dig at the Jewish people saying their were Jewish and your people on the outside, but many were proud of that but did not submit their hearts to be conformed as their bodies were.
  • Verse 12 – I think the key sentence in verse 12 is, “You lived in this world without God and without hope.” Hope in what? I’m sure if you had asked a Roman who was worshipping his or her idols they would have told you they were fine and had plenty of hope. I think part of the uniqueness of following you and your ways is that it’s how you taught us to live and experience your redemptive love for us that brings us a joy and peace we would never know otherwise. Forgiveness. Mercy. Love neighbor. Worship you, a God who loves me and wants me. I don’t know that any of the Roman or Greek idols were perceived to have wanted their worshippers. They needed them for their own egos, but I don’t think the other Gods wanted the people just because they loved them. So the hope I experience in you is wholly different than what an idol offers me. An idol is created to fulfill my desires and worshipped so that the god will agree to give me what I want. In this relationship with you, I am just yours and you are mine. And if I will live by Jesus’s instructions (see the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7), I will find great hope that is beyond what idol worshippers ever experience.
  • Verse 13 – Jesus brought me near to you. Oh, Jesus, thank you for your blood. Thank you for your redemption. I know the Father has a list of the frustrations and pain I’ve caused him and others, including even myself. But he cannot see it through your blood. It’s gone. That’s amazing. He/you had no reason to do that for me except that you love me. Thank you.
  • Verse 14 – We are one creation again. We are your human creation. No longer Jew or Gentile. Male or female. Slave or free. Jesus made us one with each other and you. He gave us that pathway. This whole passage is beautiful!
  • Verse 15 – As I see this verse about “end[ing] the system of law with its commandments,” I can’t help but think about some of the American church who is convinced that children will be drawn to you and your Lordship by posting the 10 Commandments on classroom walls. I asked my wife recently what Bible passage she would put on a school wall if she could pick anything. Here answer was John 3:16. Yeah, I think that’s a better choice than the 10 Commandments too.
  • Verse 16 – Our hostility towards other people is so ridiculous. I was at a college football game last night, and I sat next to two young women rooting for the other team. We had a nice time talking with them. It could have been hostile because we have constructed a division between us by getting behind our respective universities. But we kept is fun and gracious. But isn’t it interesting how much we, as your human creation, find ways to build our tribes so we feel like we can belong to it and get some of our self-worth out of that identification instead of simply getting that affirmation from your love? We are such fools.
  • Verse 17 – Both groups needed your peace. Even though the Jewish people were nearer to knowledge of you, they still lacked the peace of forgiveness and mercy, both received and given. And the Gentiles had much to learn about you. But make no mistake, both groups needed your peace. As I think about the secular Israelis majority in Israel today, I wonder if this passage doesn’t describe both them and the Palestinians.
  • Verse 18 – Jesus prayed for us to be one in John 17. He gave us the path through his redemption of our souls and he taught us what it would look like. Paul, Peter, and the other apostles tried to teach us too. If only we would follow your teaching.
  • Verse 19 – Jesus brought me here to your feet this morning, Father. I am nothing if I wake up this Saturday morning with only my selfishness and need to fulfill my own desires over the next person’s. Help me to worship you and worship others like I should.
  • Verse 20 – The foundation of your house for us (with many rooms?) is made up of the teaching and lives of the apostles and prophets. But Jesus is the cornerstone. You built the foundation for Jesus to build on, but he first standard setting stone sets the stage for the rest of our church.
  • Verse 21 – And now we build from that cornerstone into your holy temple, both personally/individually and corporately. Oh, how we need to do better in both areas! How I need to do better in both areas! I need to be better about continually making you the cornerstone of my individual life, and I need to be better about building your church with you as the cornerstone.
  • Verse 22 – And the temple isn’t just about having a place to perform. It’s a place about building an internal, personal culture as well as being part of building a dwelling where all of us can live under you and your authority.

Father, it was such a delight to spend this time thinking about these things this morning. Thank you. Thank you for all of this. I love you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

P.S. As I was closing, I got to thinking about John’s/Jesus’s letter to the church in Ephesus some years later. They did all the right things, but they lost their first love. And when they are just performing but they aren’t loving you as part of it, then the cornerstone is no longer setting the standard for the house. Help me to keep you as my cornerstone.

 
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Posted by on August 30, 2025 in Ephesians

 

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John 6:22-71

28 Aug

22 The next day the crowd that had stayed on the far shore saw that the disciples had taken the only boat, and they realized Jesus had not gone with them. 23 Several boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the Lord had blessed the bread and the people had eaten. 24 So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went across to Capernaum to look for him. 25 They found him on the other side of the lake and asked, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”

26 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. 27 But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.”

28 They replied, “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?”

29 Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.”

30 They answered, “Show us a miraculous sign if you want us to believe in you. What can you do? 31 After all, our ancestors ate manna while they journeyed through the wilderness! The Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”

32 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven. 33 The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

34 “Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.”

35 Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But you haven’t believed in me even though you have seen me. 37 However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. 38 For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will. 39 And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. 40 For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.”

41 Then the people began to murmur in disagreement because he had said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph? We know his father and mother. How can he say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”

43 But Jesus replied, “Stop complaining about what I said. 44 For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up. 45 As it is written in the Scriptures,[i] ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. 46 (Not that anyone has ever seen the Father; only I, who was sent from God, have seen him.)

47 “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes has eternal life. 48 Yes, I am the bread of life! 49 Your ancestors ate manna in the wilderness, but they all died. 50 Anyone who eats the bread from heaven, however, will never die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh.”

52 Then the people began arguing with each other about what he meant. “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” they asked.

53 So Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you. 54 But anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise that person at the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57 I live because of the living Father who sent me; in the same way, anyone who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 I am the true bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will not die as your ancestors did (even though they ate the manna) but will live forever.”

59 He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

60 Many of his disciples said, “This is very hard to understand. How can anyone accept it?”

61 Jesus was aware that his disciples were complaining, so he said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what will you think if you see the Son of Man ascend to heaven again? 63 The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But some of you do not believe me.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning which ones didn’t believe, and he knew who would betray him.) 65 Then he said, “That is why I said that people can’t come to me unless the Father gives them to me.”

66 At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him. 67 Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?”

68 Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. 69 We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God.”

70 Then Jesus said, “I chose the twelve of you, but one is a devil.” 71 He was speaking of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, one of the Twelve, who would later betray him.

John 6:22-71

Dear God, this is a long passage, but it’s too easy to take one or two verses out of context so I didn’t want to not look at all of it together. The verse of the day from Bible Gateway was just verse 29, but since this all seems to be part of one scene on one day I wanted to link it all together.

I almost feel like I need to outline this to really see what John’s trying to communicate to us through his telling of this story:

  • It’s the day after walking on water the night before.
  • The crowd is surprised to see Jesus gone and they go looking for him. I wonder how big that crowd was.
  • They found him and John tells us they explicitly asked him to solve the mystery of how he ended up there without a boat.
  • Jesus doesn’t answer. He changes the subject and starts to challenge them. Was he frustrated with them? I think so. What frustrated him? Was it that they were still only wanting to use him for themselves. He tells them they are just wanting a sign and fun miracles. Jesus claims to have your seal of approval, and says they need to seek the eternal life that he can give.
  • They change it back to works and miracles. I think they are saying they would love to be able to do some miracles. That would be cool and fun.
  • Here is the verse of the day (verse 29). Jesus tells them to let go of the flash and glory of being able to do cool things and simply believe in him.
  • They hold onto the miracles and the show. They want to see a sign so they can believe in him. I have to admit, I would not have believed in Jesus if I had been there. Not just because he told me to.
  • They want him to be like Moses. At that level. That’s the kind of liberator they are looking for. Maybe he can do what Moses did and bring on some food.
  • Jesus deflects the glory from Moses and even himself to you, Father.
  • They still want bread.
  • Jesus challenges them a little more by claiming to have come to them directly from you.
  • They aren’t buying it.
  • Here’s a fun one that causes controversy even to this day. From Jesus: “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.” (NASB1995) Predestination? I’m not going there today. Your ways are too complicated for me to fully understand.
  • And now the divisive issue that permeates the church even to this day. The idea of us eating Jesus’s flesh. The living bread. Again, I have my thoughts on this, and people I love and respect have other thoughts. I’m going to trust you with our disagreements and simply move on and love you.
  • Most of the crowd leaves. He finally culled the herd a little. It’s interesting that you don’t seem to want to have every last one of us in the fold. I think you want each of us as individuals. You love us all. But it’s almost like hiring someone to work for me. I love each person, but I can’t have them all work for me. There are some that I know would be a bad fit for our team and our work. Is it the same for you? You can’t have just anyone in the fold? You need each one to be bought in and working together?
  • Jesus looks at who’s left (the twelve) and asks if they are in.
  • Peter looks beyond the tricks and miracles and simply says, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.” (NASB1995)
  • Jesus affirms his selection of them including Judas, indicating he knew all along what Judas would do.

Father, I am grateful for the successes you give me in life, but I know they are for your glory and not mine. If you are blessing me with good things it is so I can give them away and do good for others. I don’t think your desire for me to be your ambassador and hands and feet in the world takes a break. You just want me to love and worship you. To love and share you with others. Help me to be your love to others today.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 28, 2025 in John

 

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1 Thessalonians 2:9-13

27 Aug

9 Don’t you remember, dear brothers and sisters, how hard we worked among you? Night and day we toiled to earn a living so that we would not be a burden to any of you as we preached God’s Good News to you. 10 You yourselves are our witnesses—and so is God—that we were devout and honest and faultless toward all of you believers. 11 And you know that we treated each of you as a father treats his own children. 12 We pleaded with you, encouraged you, and urged you to live your lives in a way that God would consider worthy. For he called you to share in his Kingdom and glory.

13 Therefore, we never stop thanking God that when you received his message from us, you didn’t think of our words as mere human ideas. You accepted what we said as the very word of God—which, of course, it is. And this word continues to work in you who believe.

1 Thessalonians 2:9-13

Dear God, it seems Paul was leaning on his credibility to get the right to speak into the lives of the Thessalonians. It’s as if he was saying, “Hey, I didn’t just show up and tell you what to believe. I worked with you. I took nothing from you. I wasn’t a huckster for personal gain. I was there to give to you, not to receive from you.” And I think that does make a difference. It’s one thing for Paul to have been run out of town by the Jewish leadership if he was going town to town like a traveling evangelist looking for money from the people (which he wasn’t doing). It’s another thing when he shows up to invest in the community, give more than he takes, and then share the message he wants everyone to know.

There are a lot of ideas that float around within the church right now. Some of them are varying shades of progressive. Some of them are varying shades of conservative. In both cases, both politics on the left and politics on the right have seeped in. I could name liberal issues that I think are steering the people of the church away from you, and I could name conservative issues as well. And it is hard to know where, on the spectrum of ideas, you would fall.

I think the thing I keep coming back to is when we start asking ourselves if something is a sin or not I go back to the Sermon on the Mount when Jesus gave the series of “You have heard it said ____, but I say ____.” He raised the bar on hate and equated it with murder. Lust and equated it with adultery. So when we talk about some of the political issues and start to wonder how close we can get to the fire without getting burned, I wonder if we aren’t asking the wrong question. Not only how far from the fire can we get, but how do we lovingly show people who don’t want to let go of those things the why behind it?

And then what are the blind spots I have? Where am I still too close to the fire? Am I willing to let you reveal those parts of my life to me through your Holy Spirit?

Father, it’s funny because this all started with Paul working with the people to get credibility with them, and it ended with me asking you to reveal my own sin to me. Maybe that’s exactly how all of our prayers should be: being led by you into repentance. So help me to see. I hope you can be gentle with me as you reveal my sin to me. And help me to be your man with others so that you can touch their lives and draw them closer to yourself as well.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 27, 2025 in 1 Thessalonians

 

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Ruth 3

26 Aug

3 One day Naomi said to Ruth, “My daughter, it’s time that I found a permanent home for you, so that you will be provided for. 2 Boaz is a close relative of ours, and he’s been very kind by letting you gather grain with his young women. Tonight he will be winnowing barley at the threshing floor. 3 Now do as I tell you—take a bath and put on perfume and dress in your nicest clothes. Then go to the threshing floor, but don’t let Boaz see you until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 Be sure to notice where he lies down; then go and uncover his feet and lie down there. He will tell you what to do.”

5 “I will do everything you say,” Ruth replied. 6 So she went down to the threshing floor that night and followed the instructions of her mother-in-law.

7 After Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he lay down at the far end of the pile of grain and went to sleep. Then Ruth came quietly, uncovered his feet, and lay down. 8 Around midnight Boaz suddenly woke up and turned over. He was surprised to find a woman lying at his feet! 9 “Who are you?” he asked.

“I am your servant Ruth,” she replied. “Spread the corner of your covering over me, for you are my family redeemer.”

10 “The Lord bless you, my daughter!” Boaz exclaimed. “You are showing even more family loyalty now than you did before, for you have not gone after a younger man, whether rich or poor. 11 Now don’t worry about a thing, my daughter. I will do what is necessary, for everyone in town knows you are a virtuous woman. 12 But while it’s true that I am one of your family redeemers, there is another man who is more closely related to you than I am. 13 Stay here tonight, and in the morning I will talk to him. If he is willing to redeem you, very well. Let him marry you. But if he is not willing, then as surely as the Lord lives, I will redeem you myself! Now lie down here until morning.”

14 So Ruth lay at Boaz’s feet until the morning, but she got up before it was light enough for people to recognize each other. For Boaz had said, “No one must know that a woman was here at the threshing floor.” 15 Then Boaz said to her, “Bring your cloak and spread it out.” He measured six scoops of barley into the cloak and placed it on her back. Then he returned to the town.

16 When Ruth went back to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, “What happened, my daughter?”

Ruth told Naomi everything Boaz had done for her, 17 and she added, “He gave me these six scoops of barley and said, ‘Don’t go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’”

18 Then Naomi said to her, “Just be patient, my daughter, until we hear what happens. The man won’t rest until he has settled things today.”

Ruth 3

Dear God, still following this theme of Ruth not having any guile about her, this is the part of the story where Naomi teaches her to have a little strategy, and I think that’s okay. But there are still a couple of things I noticed about Ruth’s character here.

  • Boaz is right in that it would have been the more obvious path for her to have pursued younger men. Excitement. Happiness. Frivolity. I don’t know how old Boaz was. Maybe as young as 40. Maybe as old as 80. It’s difficult to say. But Ruth wasn’t waking up in the morning looking for a young husband. Maybe she had already been there and done that with her first husband, Kilion. She had been to the circus and looked behind the curtain. Now she just wanted to serve Naomi, and this is what Naomi was asking her to do.
  • There was no reason for Ruth to be there except to present herself to Boaz. It’s not like this was the end of a long harvesting day. Ruth got washed up, perfumed up, and dressed up. She went down after everyone had been drinking. I wonder if it was typical for women to come and offer themselves to men in some way at times like this. I’ll need to look that up.
  • This whole scene is probably a little more risqué than I give it credit for. How much was Ruth jeopardizing her reputation in the community by doing this? At least to some extent because she had to sneak away before daylight.

Father, I just love Ruth’s gentleness. She is just waking up and doing in each moment what she things is best. And you were using her and this situation this whole time. And this is actually the last story we get about Ruth herself interacting with someone in the book. The last chapter is about what Boaz does and then the fruit of their lives. I read one time that your design for us is to be born, grow up, have babies, and then get out of history’s way. And to some extent that is true. We are also called to love you and love others while we are here. That’s what our children are to do as well. Help me to simply love you and love others today.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 26, 2025 in Ruth

 

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Ruth 1:19-2:23

25 Aug

19 So the two of them continued on their journey. When they came to Bethlehem, the entire town was excited by their arrival. “Is it really Naomi?” the women asked.

20 “Don’t call me Naomi,” she responded. “Instead, call me Mara, for the Almighty has made life very bitter for me. 21 I went away full, but the Lord has brought me home empty. Why call me Naomi when the Lord has caused me to suffer and the Almighty has sent such tragedy upon me?”

22 So Naomi returned from Moab, accompanied by her daughter-in-law Ruth, the young Moabite woman. They arrived in Bethlehem in late spring, at the beginning of the barley harvest.

2 Now there was a wealthy and influential man in Bethlehem named Boaz, who was a relative of Naomi’s husband, Elimelech.

2 One day Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go out into the harvest fields to pick up the stalks of grain left behind by anyone who is kind enough to let me do it.”

Naomi replied, “All right, my daughter, go ahead.” 3 So Ruth went out to gather grain behind the harvesters. And as it happened, she found herself working in a field that belonged to Boaz, the relative of her father-in-law, Elimelech.

4 While she was there, Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters. “The Lord be with you!” he said.

“The Lord bless you!” the harvesters replied.

5 Then Boaz asked his foreman, “Who is that young woman over there? Who does she belong to?”

6 And the foreman replied, “She is the young woman from Moab who came back with Naomi. 7 She asked me this morning if she could gather grain behind the harvesters. She has been hard at work ever since, except for a few minutes’ rest in the shelter.”

8 Boaz went over and said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Stay right here with us when you gather grain; don’t go to any other fields. Stay right behind the young women working in my field. 9 See which part of the field they are harvesting, and then follow them. I have warned the young men not to treat you roughly. And when you are thirsty, help yourself to the water they have drawn from the well.”

10 Ruth fell at his feet and thanked him warmly. “What have I done to deserve such kindness?” she asked. “I am only a foreigner.”

11 “Yes, I know,” Boaz replied. “But I also know about everything you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband. I have heard how you left your father and mother and your own land to live here among complete strangers. 12 May the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge, reward you fully for what you have done.”

13 “I hope I continue to please you, sir,” she replied. “You have comforted me by speaking so kindly to me, even though I am not one of your workers.”

14 At mealtime Boaz called to her, “Come over here, and help yourself to some food. You can dip your bread in the sour wine.” So she sat with his harvesters, and Boaz gave her some roasted grain to eat. She ate all she wanted and still had some left over.

15 When Ruth went back to work again, Boaz ordered his young men, “Let her gather grain right among the sheaves without stopping her. 16 And pull out some heads of barley from the bundles and drop them on purpose for her. Let her pick them up, and don’t give her a hard time!”

17 So Ruth gathered barley there all day, and when she beat out the grain that evening, it filled an entire basket. 18 She carried it back into town and showed it to her mother-in-law. Ruth also gave her the roasted grain that was left over from her meal.

19 “Where did you gather all this grain today?” Naomi asked. “Where did you work? May the Lord bless the one who helped you!”

So Ruth told her mother-in-law about the man in whose field she had worked. She said, “The man I worked with today is named Boaz.”

20 “May the Lord bless him!” Naomi told her daughter-in-law. “He is showing his kindness to us as well as to your dead husband. That man is one of our closest relatives, one of our family redeemers.”

21 Then Ruth said, “What’s more, Boaz even told me to come back and stay with his harvesters until the entire harvest is completed.”

22 “Good!” Naomi exclaimed. “Do as he said, my daughter. Stay with his young women right through the whole harvest. You might be harassed in other fields, but you’ll be safe with him.”

23 So Ruth worked alongside the women in Boaz’s fields and gathered grain with them until the end of the barley harvest. Then she continued working with them through the wheat harvest in early summer. And all the while she lived with her mother-in-law.

Ruth 1:19-2:23

Dear God, I’ve read this story several times, but it’s amazing to see what I never noticed before. Today, what stands out to me is that they arrived in late spring for the barley harvest (1:22) and she worked through the early summer of the wheat harvest (2:23). And it makes a point that she lived with Naomi the entire time. I don’t know what her options would have been and why she wouldn’t have lived with Naomi, but the author is pointing out that she was working hard and she was loving on Naomi.

Again, there was seemingly no guile in her. She was just loving Naomi and working hard. People were kind to her. She was grateful to them and for them. I am curious that Naomi wasn’t out in the field with her. I suppose Naomi was probably in her 40s at this point, and maybe she was infirm for some reason, but I know a lot of 40-, 50-, 60-, and even 70-year-old women who would be capable of gleaning in a field. And maybe there were cultural reasons Naomi wasn’t out there. I don’t want to judge her ignorantly. My point is, “Mara” was getting good care from you through Ruth.

Let me spend a little time with Boaz for a moment. Coming off a famine, he now had fields with plenty. I would imagine this harvest was much more enjoyable than the previous years. He was able to employ men. He was probably anxious to gather the crop, sell some and then save some just in case this year was a one-year aberration. But then he was a hardworking woman who was loving one of his family members and he appreciated her. He literally gave from his harvest to her and Naomi and he expected nothing in return. His first instinct was to reach out in love. A legacy of honor to pass to Obed, Jesse, and David later.

Father, I will have choices to make today. Help me to make the ones that turn loose of my own ambitions or even self-preservation, but do what is right by those around me. You know the needs I have at home. You know my needs at work. Even my needs in the things I do in the community like Rotary and Christian Men’s Life Skills. Help me, Father, be the man you need me to be in each of these areas. My wife needs a man who will love and serve her. My coworkers, clients, volunteers, and donors at work need a man who will love and serve them. My community needs a man who cares for it and will serve it. Make me that man, but do it for your glory and not mine. When people see me, I pray they simply see a reflection of you and are drawn to know you, worship you, and serve you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 25, 2025 in Ruth

 

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Ruth 1:1-19a

24 Aug

1 In the days when the judges ruled in Israel, a severe famine came upon the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah left his home and went to live in the country of Moab, taking his wife and two sons with him. 2 The man’s name was Elimelech, and his wife was Naomi. Their two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in the land of Judah. And when they reached Moab, they settled there.

3 Then Elimelech died, and Naomi was left with her two sons. 4 The two sons married Moabite women. One married a woman named Orpah, and the other a woman named Ruth. But about ten years later, 5 both Mahlon and Kilion died. This left Naomi alone, without her two sons or her husband.

6 Then Naomi heard in Moab that the Lord had blessed his people in Judah by giving them good crops again. So Naomi and her daughters-in-law got ready to leave Moab to return to her homeland. 7 With her two daughters-in-law she set out from the place where she had been living, and they took the road that would lead them back to Judah.

8 But on the way, Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back to your mothers’ homes. And may the Lord reward you for your kindness to your husbands and to me. 9 May the Lord bless you with the security of another marriage.” Then she kissed them good-bye, and they all broke down and wept.

10 “No,” they said. “We want to go with you to your people.”

11 But Naomi replied, “Why should you go on with me? Can I still give birth to other sons who could grow up to be your husbands? 12 No, my daughters, return to your parents’ homes, for I am too old to marry again. And even if it were possible, and I were to get married tonight and bear sons, then what? 13 Would you wait for them to grow up and refuse to marry someone else? No, of course not, my daughters! Things are far more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord himself has raised his fist against me.”

14 And again they wept together, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-bye. But Ruth clung tightly to Naomi. 15 “Look,” Naomi said to her, “your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods. You should do the same.”

16 But Ruth replied, “Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. 17 Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!” 18 When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she said nothing more.

19 So the two of them continued on their journey.

Ruth 1:1-19a

Dear God, there’s actually so much here to see that it can be hard to keep up with. Questions that came to mind this morning as I read this story for the umpteenth time:

  • How did Elimelech’s people feel about him and his family leaving Bethlehem to find food and sustenance in Moab? My first thought was that they might see it as an act of betrayal and leaving when the going got tough, but I suppose it could also be seen as a kind act because there were four fewer mouths to feed in Bethlehem during the famine. And later in the rest of verse 19 the women seem to be happy to see Naomi and there’s never an indication that anyone bears her or Ruth ill will for having left.
  • The boys were married for about 10 years before they died. Why no children? Were they both sterile? Children, on the one hand, would have complicated the story. On the other hand, they might have given Naomi a male heir to return to Bethlehem with and not need Boaz as a kinsman redeemer later in the story. Then that would have kept Ruth from needing Boaz. That would have kept them from getting married. That would have kept them from having Obed. That would have kept Obed from having Jesse. Jesses having David. David being the lineage of Jesus. Did you keep them sterile and save Ruth as a mother for Boaz and Obed? I have no idea, but it’s interesting to consider.
  • Both Orpah and Ruth started the journey back to Bethlehem with Naomi. They were obviously close. I was talking with my wife over breakfast this morning about how they had probably bonded as Mahlon and Kilion died. Perhaps they worked together to care for the boys. Perhaps they were killed at the same time in a raid. Maybe they got the same disease and died. Regardless, it’s obvious the women were close and so they all packed up together and headed to Bethlehem.
  • Somewhere along the way Naomi has some sort of guilt about dragging these two women back to Judah/Bethlehem. Maybe it was something they said along the road. Maybe she started to get beyond the fog of grief she was in and started to just see how this would likely play out for these two young women, probably in their 20s. She tells them to go home and start new lives. She doesn’t only tell them that. She blesses them for their goodness. They all weep. It’s a very emotional scene if I allow myself to just sit with it a little bit.
  • They want to go with her. They must have a positive view of her people–the Jewish people from Judah. Maybe they had terrible home lives. Maybe they had complicated their futures by marrying men from Judah. Whatever it is, they both petition to go with Naomi.
  • Naomi makes a case for them to stay. She helps them play the tape to the end. The road ahead is likely difficult. The road behind has hope. Go with the road behind.
  • Verse 13 is the first time we get the view of Naomi’s anger and frustration towards you. She felt like you had raised your fist against her. Part of her argument to the young women was, “Save yourself. It’s me God is after.” I wonder if she thought there was some sin she had committed that had earned your wrath.
  • Orpah agrees to leave, but you can still feel her reluctance to go. These women have obviously bonded and they know they will never see each other again after this. Life can have pain like this. There are times when we see someone we love for the last time. All of these women had already lost husbands. There are some people I love still living that I wonder if I’ve seen for the last time. It’s heartbreaking. Oh, Father, reunite us in your kingdom. Make this wait worth the pain! Please!
  • When Ruth stays, Naomi makes an interesting argument to her. Not only does she encourage her to go back to her people, but to go back to her people’s gods. She doesn’t say, “Take the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob with you.” Is Naomi ready to trade you in for another god too?
  • Ruth declares her intention to stay with Naomi no matter what. I’m going to assume this is out of pure love for Naomi. Ruth felt like she needed to care for her maybe? I don’t know. But Ruth was all in with this path, including worshipping a God Naomi was not making a good sales pitch for.
  • Naomi sees Ruth is unmovable and accepts her decision. Was Naomi relieved or more stressed in that moment? I think she was relieved. I’m sure she felt loved. On a much larger scale, it’s like when people fight over a check at a restaurant and one person finally relents and accepts the blessing. To much greater depths, that’s what this feels like.

Father, what I said about Ruth yesterday still fits this morning. It just doesn’t feel like she has any guile about her, and I like that so much. She has completely pure intentions and she lays them all out on the table. She’s not manipulating anyone. In fact, today’s gospel reading is about Jesus saying the way to salvation is to strive for the narrow path. Now that I think about it, that’s Ruth. Without even knowing she was doing it, she was striving for the narrow path because she was drawn to it by following love of her neighbor. I guess she would learn to love and worship you more personally as she assimilated into Bethlehem society. So help me to guilelessly settle into that path today. Help me to just be a man who strives for the narrow path. Help me to lead with love for you, love for my neighbor, and mercy for all.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 24, 2025 in Ruth

 

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Ruth 2:1-3

23 Aug

2 Now there was a wealthy and influential man in Bethlehem named Boaz, who was a relative of Naomi’s husband, Elimelech.

2 One day Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go out into the harvest fields to pick up the stalks of grain left behind by anyone who is kind enough to let me do it.”

Naomi replied, “All right, my daughter, go ahead.” 3 So Ruth went out to gather grain behind the harvesters. And as it happened, she found herself working in a field that belonged to Boaz, the relative of her father-in-law, Elimelech.

Ruth 2:1-3

Dear God, I wonder if I don’t need to spend some time with Ruth. I’ve spent a lot of time with Naomi, but I don’t know how much I’ve thought about Ruth.

I think what I like about Ruth is that there is no guile in her. She doesn’t think about manipulating or scheming. She just got up and worked with earnestness. She loved Naomi with earnestness. She didn’t sign up to return to Bethlehem with Naomi so that she could have any material gain. If anything she was setting herself up for an even more difficult life. But she loved her and wanted to help care for her. Then she got to Bethlehem and she had a job to do. So she got up and did it. Then when it came time later to approach Boaz, she doesn’t seem comfortable with Naomi’s plan (scheme?) but she goes along with it in the most humble way possible. She’s simply a good woman who does the best thing she knows to do in the moment without much regard for what the next moment will hold.

Father, help me to be like that. Help me to not let what I think the future will hold impact my decisions now. Help me to solve the problems that exist in front of me, not the problems I fear later. Help me to make the best decision you are guiding me to now without worrying about what it might cost me later. I think I’ll spend the next few days with Ruth. Teach me through this amazing example from thousands of years ago. Thank you that her life and the decisions she made literally led to the lineage of Jesus.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 23, 2025 in Ruth

 

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Romans 8:26-32

22 Aug

26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. 28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. 29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.

31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?

Romans 8:26-32

Dear God, this is another example of the importance of context. The verse of the day from Bible Gateway was just verse 32. And that’s great, but what are we talking about here. We are talking about how good you are and how you answer our prayers even in our ignorance. You know better than to give us everything we ask for. You know more than our eyes can see or minds can comprehend. Your Holy Spirit is with us and he knows how to pray for us. He knows how to intercede for us. And what is he saying in his intercession? Groanings that communicate beyond words. It’s those things you just can’t put into words. It’s just beyond language. That’s how deeply the Holy Spirit is pairing with me even right now as I sit and attempt to put my prayer to you in typed out words on a laptop.

I’m praying in a limited language with a limited mind and limited vision. But my prayer goes through the Holy Spirit filter to you. I pray about my daily bread and the Holy Spirit knows more about what my daily bread need is. I pray that you will forgive me of my sins, but those are usually only just some of the ones of which I’m consciously aware. The Holy Spirit is turning that into deeper healing for me. I pray for my wife and children, but the Holy Spirit knows more about what they need than I do. I pray about my community, state, or country, but the Holy Spirit knows the depths of the need and more about what you are doing in the world that is so much bigger than the needs I can think of.

I wonder how Paul got this revelation. How did he get this knowledge of how the Holy Spirit prays for us? Did you meet with him more often than just on the road to Damascus? Did he get words of knowledge like prophets?

Father, I have relatives for whom I want to pray this morning. Some are struggling with life in general. Some are healing from medical conditions. Some are hurt and angry. Some are wounded and need healing. Some are just trying to serve you and need encouragement. Holy Spirit, you know each life I’m thinking about right now. Help me pray to the Father for them. My community, state, country, and world need you. Each of the 7 billion people on this planet right now needs you. I don’t know how your plan works or how this all works out, but I know you are working a plan. But I see suffering locally and overseas. Please be merciful and move the men and women with power to address the suffering. The horrendous things going on. I have some problems to solve at work. Please lead me to solutions. Lead me to your solutions. Holy Spirit, you know more about what we need and who we need than I do. Please pray for me. My family and community need you. Show me my role in being your presence to them. Holy Spirit, walk with me in every moment today.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with the Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 22, 2025 in Romans

 

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Acts 2:14-41

21 Aug

14 Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven other apostles and shouted to the crowd, “Listen carefully, all of you, fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem! Make no mistake about this. 15 These people are not drunk, as some of you are assuming. Nine o’clock in the morning is much too early for that. 16 No, what you see was predicted long ago by the prophet Joel:

17 ‘In the last days,’ God says,
    ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
    Your young men will see visions,
    and your old men will dream dreams.
18 In those days I will pour out my Spirit
    even on my servants—men and women alike—
    and they will prophesy.
19 And I will cause wonders in the heavens above
    and signs on the earth below—
    blood and fire and clouds of smoke.
20 The sun will become dark,
    and the moon will turn blood red
    before that great and glorious day of the Lord arrives.
21 But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord
    will be saved.’[c]

22 “People of Israel, listen! God publicly endorsed Jesus the Nazarene[d] by doing powerful miracles, wonders, and signs through him, as you well know. 23 But God knew what would happen, and his prearranged plan was carried out when Jesus was betrayed. With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed him to a cross and killed him. 24 But God released him from the horrors of death and raised him back to life, for death could not keep him in its grip. 25 King David said this about him:

‘I see that the Lord is always with me.
    I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.
26 No wonder my heart is glad,
    and my tongue shouts his praises!
    My body rests in hope.
27 For you will not leave my soul among the dead[e]
    or allow your Holy One to rot in the grave.
28 You have shown me the way of life,
    and you will fill me with the joy of your presence.’[f]

29 “Dear brothers, think about this! You can be sure that the patriarch David wasn’t referring to himself, for he died and was buried, and his tomb is still here among us. 30 But he was a prophet, and he knew God had promised with an oath that one of David’s own descendants would sit on his throne. 31 David was looking into the future and speaking of the Messiah’s resurrection. He was saying that God would not leave him among the dead or allow his body to rot in the grave.

32 “God raised Jesus from the dead, and we are all witnesses of this. 33 Now he is exalted to the place of highest honor in heaven, at God’s right hand. And the Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today. 34 For David himself never ascended into heaven, yet he said,

‘The Lord said to my Lord,
    “Sit in the place of honor at my right hand
35 until I humble your enemies,
    making them a footstool under your feet.”’[g]

36 “So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!”

37 Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”

38 Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away[h]—all who have been called by the Lord our God.” 40 Then Peter continued preaching for a long time, strongly urging all his listeners, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation!”

41 Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all.

  1. 2:17-21 Joel 2:28-32.
  2. 2:22 Or Jesus of Nazareth.
  3. 2:27 Greek in Hades; also in 2:31.
  4. 2:25-28 Ps 16:8-11 (Greek version).
  5. 2:34-35 Ps 110:1.
  6. 2:39 Or and to people far in the future, or and to the Gentiles.

Acts 2:14-41

Dear God, I have so many thoughts, but I want to start with quoting Psalm 16:8-11 because that’s why I’m here. I was praying about that psalm yesterday when I realized Peter quoted it as part of this powerful sermon in Jerusalem shortly after Jesus’s ascension. David is worshipping you, his powerful God. And that includes Jesus even if David maybe didn’t completely understand that in the moment. But Peter recalls it. I wonder if, for Peter, it was like when I pray to you and sometimes start quoting a hymn or song I know in the middle of the prayer. Was this a psalm/song he knew from church and the lyrics were buried in him and just came out? It’s kind of fun to think about.

Other thoughts.

  • Peter referred to his time as the last days by linking their present moment to Joel’s prophecy. Why is it that we always think our times are the “last days?” We have such recency bias.
  • Along those lines, Peter refers to the people in their time as a “crooked generation.” Were they really any more crooked that the generations before? Than we are now?
  • The message was simple. This dude was God’s Messiah and you killed him. God visited you and you rejected him. Now believe and follow what he taught. They started with a reverence for you and a knowledge that they needed to submit to you. They just had to be brought the extra step. Our situation is a little different now. I need to help people to see your love for them and the freedom you offer through the extension of mercy to them and them not only receiving that mercy but offering it to others.

Father, I have a relative right now who is struggling. I love that person. Help me to know my role in loving them and reaching out to them. Help me to know how to pray for them. Help me to know how to introduce them to you in a new way. Help me to know how to worship you as well. You are my God. I love you.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 21, 2025 in Acts

 

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Psalm 16

20 Aug

Psalm 16

A psalm of David.

1 Keep me safe, O God,
    for I have come to you for refuge.

2 I said to the Lord, “You are my Master!
    Every good thing I have comes from you.”
3 The godly people in the land
    are my true heroes!
    I take pleasure in them!
4 Troubles multiply for those who chase after other gods.
    I will not take part in their sacrifices of blood
    or even speak the names of their gods.

5 Lord, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing.
    You guard all that is mine.
6 The land you have given me is a pleasant land.
    What a wonderful inheritance!

7 I will bless the Lord who guides me;
    even at night my heart instructs me.
8 I know the Lord is always with me.
    I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.

9 No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice.
    My body rests in safety.
10 For you will not leave my soul among the dead
    or allow your holy one to rot in the grave.
11 You will show me the way of life,
    granting me the joy of your presence
    and the pleasures of living with you forever.

Dear God, I might need to come back to this tomorrow and approach it from a different angle because I just realized Peter references the last part of this psalm in his sermon in Acts 2 after the Holy Spirit falls on the disciples. I will spend some time with David today as he wrote it, but tomorrow I want to see what Peter was leaning into in his message.

With that said, I want to see what David has to say this morning. First, this is so worshipful. I can almost feel the state of David’s heart as he wrote this psalm. Focused on you. Worshipping you. Appreciating those who worship and love you. And I feel those things.

Next, thinking of verse 3, I have some people I know in our community whose faith I admire. I delight in them every time I see them or think of them. I had lunch with a man yesterday I admire. He loves you. He loves his wife and children. He serves his community. His life isn’t perfect. It’s stressful. It’s hard. He has challenges every day. But he faces them with earnestness, honor, and humility. He inspires me. Knowing him makes me better.

The rest of this psalm is just worshipping you, and I’m hear for it. It’s such a great joy to be able to sit here this morning and still my heart before you. And maybe typing this prayer to you isn’t quite making my heart still, but it keeps me focused on this moment with you. It keeps my mind from wandering off. It keeps me present in the present.

Father, I am about to participate in a discussion for a community forum about healthcare. I need your words for it. There might be one or two people in the room who can actually put their thumb on the scale from a national perspective. If there are words you can give me this morning that will move the needle in the direction you want it to move, please give them to me. I want to only bring glory to you this morning. I want to make this moment count for you and your love for others. I want to be used by you no matter what it costs me. You are God. I am just 1/7 billionth of the earth’s population. Use this little life however you will.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 20, 2025 in Psalms

 

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