Going back to our story of Ruth, we learn that Naomi’s daughter-in-law is from Moab. A nation just east of the Dead Sea which is now the country called Jordan. A Moabite at that time had received their name from the story of Lot’s incestuous relationship with his daughters from the Moab area “Mo`abi” which was similar to the Hebrew word “me`abi” which means “from my father”. So the Hebrews gave them a disgusting name calling them people who came from an incestuous relationship. In the book of Ruth we learn that the daughter-in-laws of Ruth were unfavorable to Isreaelites and not deserving of recognition. Yet, at the end of the story we see they are redeemed into the line of royalty of the line of King David.

Ruth 1:3–8 (NIV): 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. 

Ruth 4:13 (ESV): 13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went into her, and the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son.

Ruth 4:17 (ESV): 17 And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

Names matter. The bearer of the name must believe from whom the name was given. Many receive names that are despised and bring negative connotations to them. Yet when one is adopted their name can be changed or given new meaning. Even when this happens, the one bearing the name must believe in the new calling on their life. 

So you who have been redeemed by Christ are given a new name. You are now the son or daughter of the most high. Yet most of us still see ourselves by our old name, son or daughter of perdition or dead man walking from sin. To live in the new glory of a son or daughter of the king is to first believe that you are now the son or daughter of a king. Names have meaning and can change your life if you are willing to step into the calling of your new life.

Pastor Aaron

In many ways redemption is about being found. In Ruth chapter three, Naomi tells her daughter-in-law, Ruth, to go and lay at the feet of Boaz who is known as a redeemer to see if he would throw his cloak over her to signify that he was willing to redeem her and the land that was under Naomi’s name. By doing so he would offer her protection, provision, and a name. 

Ruth 3:6–11 (ESV): 6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her. 7 And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down. 8 At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet! 9 He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.” 10 And he said, “May you be blessed by the LORD, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich. 11 And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman.

I am reminded through this story that once I was lost and now I am found. Once I had no purpose and then God said, “You are mine” and He gave purpose to my life. The great story of Christ dying on the cross is a story of being lost and now found. Jesus knew my name and your name. We now have a home and a new name. We have a purpose and a direction. The story of redemption is one we should apply in our own lives too. That which is forgotten and lost we have the ability to redeem and make new. As Jesus has redeemed us to a new life, who is He calling you to help redeem? Who is lost in life that with your involvement you can help give direction and purpose to their lives? Who can you speak their name and provide a new story to their life? Redemption is not just a story from the Bible but a story that we can practice in our own lives with the people we meet.

Pastor Aaron

Our text today is from Ruth chapter 1. Ruth has lost her husband and her two sons. She is now a widow with two daughter-in-laws who are her dependents. There is nothing left. The losses keep coming and there is no future for a lady in this culture who is not married. All three of them need providers and protectors from the culture itself. So Ruth tells both of them to move back home and find a new man and get married. Break up the team and each person for themselves to now make it forward in life. Her daughter-in-law said no way! I am with you to the end.

Ruth 1:15–18 (ESV): 15 And she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” 16 But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.” 18 And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more.

The difference between those who win and those who lose are those who have faith to believe. Sometimes we think winners are the ones who have it easy. The truth is that winners are the ones who do not give up. Perseverance is a trait that is in short supply in this culture. Everyone experiences obstacles, trials, and setbacks. Those who win are those who do not give up. Keep believing. Every day, take it head on. A miracle is just around the corner but you will not see it if you give up and stop believing.

Pastor Aaron 

I’ll never forget having to sit down with someone named Johan once a week for at least two hours. Johan was disciplining me and walking me through My Utmost for His Highest, a devotional written in the 1910s by theologian Oswald Chambers. Johan was an amazing man who was great at asking probing questions, guiding me through scriptures, cross-references, and applying God’s word to my life.

Every week, he would give me a memory verse; this was the first one he ever gave me, and it is the first one I give to our eighth-grade students during bible time. 

This verse is self-explanatory; how can we remain pure in a dirty culture? How can we externalize the cleanliness that God has instilled in our souls? It is simple: read and obey God’s word.

The word of God carries divine power because it is the Holy Spirit within you who “judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). The word of God develops spiritual strength, knowledge, wisdom, and renews your mind (Romans 12:2). How did Jesus respond when Satan tried to tempt him? Jesus wielded the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God.

In your life, you are in a spiritual battle with the kingdom of darkness and your flesh. You cannot live a defensive life all of the time; God has given you his word, as well as the power and authority to cut through the enemy’s schemes.

Let me encourage you: you cannot be spiritually healthy while starving for the bread of life (Matthew 4:4). Sometimes in life, you may feel like you need more faith or to work harder, but what you might need more of is knowledge of God’s character, wisdom, and equipping through His word (1 Cor 13:2).

Please do not live the Christian life without hearing God’s voice, experiencing his grace, and power in your life through quiet time in his word. God has given me so much encouragement at a time when I most needed his truth applied to my situation, and it has helped me tremendously.

Many of you are familiar with my experience (P. Chance) and the time when I felt called to ministry. However, as I reflect on my life, I believe God was preparing my heart for that moment. I’ll never forget my grandfather telling me Bible stories about Noah, Moses, and Jesus. This piqued my interest in learning more about God, and I’ll never get bored with it.

Above, in Psalm 78, we see the importance of taking responsibility for training the next generation and not hiding the truth from them, even if it hurts their feelings. Our children can handle it, but it begins sooner than we realize. Have you kept these realities from your children and grandchildren? Are you sitting down with them to teach them God’s message through the Bible or telling them an old Bible story? Are you taking them to church and making it part of their routine and telling them why it’s important? Are you praying alongside them, allowing them to lead the prayer? Are you loving them, demonstrating patience and compassion, and showing genuine signs of grace and encouragement?

In ancient Israel, there was a clear distinction between generations that did an excellent job of teaching the next generation and those who believed it was someone else’s responsibility. The best gift you can ever give your family is Jesus Christ. You do not need to know everything; simply use what God has given you, grow in your knowledge, love deeply, and trust him.

Our love for Jesus should be evident in how we care for others. When Jesus asked Peter, ‘Do you love me?’ and then said, ‘Feed my sheep’ (John 21:17), He was telling us to align ourselves with His concern for people, not to make Him fit into our own agendas. This kind of love is described in 1 Corinthians 13:4–8: ‘Love is patient, love is kind…’ It’s the love of God in action, not just a sentimental feeling.

When we serve others for the sake of Jesus’ name, the Holy Spirit fills us with God’s love, allowing us to share it with everyone we meet. This love keeps us faithful to Jesus, even when it seems irrational to the world. This faithfulness is a result of the Holy Spirit’s work within us.

    but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.” – Psalm 20:7

If you weren’t born under a rock, you’d be aware that today is Election Day. It would be unwise not to share some biblical truth about the setting we find ourselves in. No, I’m not here to tell you who to vote for, but rather to remind you to relax and hopefully provide some perspective.

I love what the Psalmist wrote above; I believe it is still true today. Most people believe in the chariots and horses that we see today. Political systems, political figures, media outlets, and national ideals. Where has this led us? We the people have made politicians idols, sworn more allegiance to a temporary nation than an eternal kingdom, we are more concerned with being right than loving our neighbor, we have become so proud, egotistical, bitter, and self-righteous, and it has all led to so much division.

My question is, would Jesus be pleased with this division? Is being right the greater priority at the expense of obeying the commandment from God himself to love your neighbor, especially when it is difficult?

Please go out and vote according to your faith and conscience. It is your responsibility to care for the nation in which God has placed you. However, I want to remind you that the peace that God provides in knowing that we are citizens of a perfect kingdom and that he rules over everything is priceless. Please rest in that truth.

What I want to convey to you today is that the United States of America is man-made, localized, temporary, imperfect, and led by sinful humans. God created the Kingdom of Heaven, which is universal, eternal, limitless, and perfect, and it is led by the Holy and Sovereign King of Kings. Be cautious about putting all of your hopes in one place.

Pastor Chance

“Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.” – Hebrews 12:15 NLT

Somewhere along in your journey in life, someone you cared about or admired said things like:

– “You’re awful at this!”

– “Why do you always mess things up?”

– “Can you ever get anything right?”

– “You’re just not good enough.”

Those hurtful words might have been spoken long ago, but they still linger in your mind today, sometimes with the same sharpness as when they were first said. I’ve seen many athletes give up because someone told them they weren’t capable. Instead of refining their skills or addressing their weaknesses, they shut down. Some even walked away from their dreams.

Are you clinging to past remarks that were meant to tear you down? If so, I’m genuinely sorry that happened. But consider if those words bypassed the guard of your heart. Maybe you’re reluctant to start something new because someone keeps reminding you of your past mistakes. Maybe something a parent or an ex said is holding you back.

If disappointment isn’t dealt with healthily, it can turn into bitterness. When we hold onto disappointment, keep discussing it, and remind others about it, bitterness takes root in our hearts. Living a life full of potential becomes unattainable because we’ve anchored ourselves to that negative moment. Instead of replaying the negativity, it might be time to release it. Start listening to the God who has inscribed you on the palm of His hand. 

I love an old quote “Bitterness is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to get sick.” Let me end on this, what God knows about us is more important than what others think, especially when it is in the past. 

Hey Advent Family,

Welcome to the last day of week 4’s devotionals in our series about Hope. Today we focus on Romans 8:28

We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.

Most probably, you’ve heard the funny story about the monks in the Middle Ages, copying very important church documents by hand. Different rooms in the monastery were designated for the copying of different documents. On a day like any other day, one of the monks started shouting from one of the rooms.

“We’ve missed it. We’ve missed it.” All the other monks ran to the room and asked him, “Who has missed what?” He was still shaking his head in disbelief and said, “We’ve missed it. I read the original manuscript. We missed the “r.” The word is: celeb-r-ate.” This is just a funny little story, but words can really make a world of a difference.

That’s also true about today’s verse. Most of us learned it as, “all things work together for good for those who love God.” Just to say quickly, there are quite a few Bibles where the original language is translated as in the translation we used today, and many prominent New Testament scholars also encourage this translation.

Listen again and spot the difference: We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.

The sentence starts with, “we know.” As we’ve journeyed this last week, we know that there’s a knowledge that comes through beholding King Jesus and giving careful consideration to what we discover. We know that God promised to renew his whole creation. We know the resurrection of Jesus shows that this promise is busy going into fulfilment. We know that Jesus is the Christ: the anointed King who leads this project of renewal. Through Jesus and by the Spirit, heaven and earth – the two spheres of God’s creation – have been joined together, and the Kingdom of heaven is coming on earth: Hope as it is in heaven can now be on earth.

For this purpose of God, we are called. And here comes the word that makes a world of difference: we know that in everything God works for good, with those who love Him. God works with his children, who share their Father’s heart and vision for his creation. Children who pray with His Spirit for a world groaning, because it still awaits total renewal. God is at work with those who love Him, for good in everything. Just like when He created in the beginning, God is again busy with a good work. But this time He shares this work with us. 

And remember, new creation, unlike the first creation, isn’t created out of nothing. God is taking the old and making it new. Nothing is too broken, too bad, too far-gone that God cannot bring new life from it. This is the hope we have been saved into, and because God chose to work with us, this is the Hope we represent. I can think of no higher calling and purpose to live for.

Where things are still broken, we partner with God, beginning with prayer. We also give ourselves in prayer to work with God. And then we use our resources, abilities, and gifts to work with God to make things new, trusting the Spirit to lead us.

We have come to the end of this series, but the conversation about how we can be Hope-carriers in homes, places of work, and communities has just started. Please stay engaged and journey together.

And so, we pray: Our Father, let your kingdom come, let your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. By your Spirit, help us to continue to behold King Jesus and learn about your Kingdom. We give ourselves for this hope-bringing mission: empower us and use us. For the glory of the name of King Jesus, we pray this. Amen

And always remember Jesus Loves you and so do I. 

Pastor Will