Brown's Daily Word 5-19-10

Good morning,
Praise the Lord for this new day. This is the day the Lord has made. We will gather for our mid-week meeting today at 6 PM. Sunita flew to the Republic of Georgia on assignment yesterday. Georgia, an exquisitely beautiful country of 5.5 million people, is ringed by the Caucasus Mountains and set at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. It lies between the Black and Caspian Seas and borders on Turkey, Russia, and Armenia. Since recorded time, Georgians have been famous for their hospitality to strangers. The ancient Greeks knew Georgia as the land of the Golden Fleece. It was a woman, St. Nino, who brought Christianity to Georgia in 330. The Bible depicts how the Lord uses both men and women in His plan for His divine purposes.
I watched the election returns last night... I love a good comeback.
Those of you who are reading the Bible in one year, the Book of Ruth is part of the reading for today. I love it when the underdog wins. It does our hearts good to see someone get back up after they've been knocked down by the tragedies of life. That’s the story of the book of Ruth.
The story begins when Ruth was a young woman. Her life seemed to hold a bright future. She married a husband with strong family ties. They began building a life together. But in a few short years her family was demolished by death. Ruth’s husband, father-in-law, and brother-in-law all died over a short span of time. Ruth and two women with whom she had no blood relation were forced to start over.
Psychologists have noticed five stages grieving people go through: denial and isolation; anger; bargaining; depression; and acceptance. We don’t know what stage Ruth was going through when her mother-in-law announced she was returning to Bethlehem in Judah. I imagine, however, that she had not yet had enough time to feel like starting over.
The story of Ruth then is not just about the redemption of one Moabite woman named Ruth. IT IS THE STORY OF THE REDEMPTION OF US ALL! The story of Ruth contains a very powerful principle for STARTING OVER WHEN YOU DON’T FEEL LIKE IT. That is, what your heart desires won’t come from looking only after yourself; it comes from looking after the needs of others. I know the Bible repeats this truth often but it is necessary because we are constantly being bombarded with the world's message, "look out for #1". The problem with that philosophy is that it never provides spiritual fulfillment. How ironic that fulfillment is found in looking out for others first. We must love our neighbor as ourselves. (Mt. 22:39)
Somewhere beneath the surface of this story there’s a motivation for Ruth staying with her mother-in-law, and I think the first clue is that, surely, her mother-in-law must have treated her like she was her own daughter. There must have been quite a bond of love between them for Ruth to go back with Naomi to a land she didn’t know anything about. I don’t think it’s hard to see that, between people who love each other, COMMITMENTS are made. Ruth made a commitment. In verses 16 and 17 of chapter one again:
"And Ruth said, ’Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go: and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.’" (That’s commitment!)
It is remarkable and even amazing! What would cause someone to make a commitment like that? True godly commitments are made when we’re also thinking about the wellness and needs of others! That’s a powerful piece of information! It is also one of the reasons God blessed Ruth in the end of this story. God USES and BLESSES people who don’t get all wrapped up in themselves all the time! When we focus on ourselves, we tend to see all the gloom and doom, but when we focus on meeting the needs of someone else, we ourselves are ministered to. God made it that way on purpose. He wants us to be like Him, and He is always giving, always unselfish, and always ministering to the needs of others. That’s where our joy in life comes from.
When you DON’T FEEL LIKE STARTING OVER, when you can’t get motivated, look for a hurt and heal it. Find a need and meet it. Find a fellow pilgrim who is discouraged and try to give him or her comfort.
Adoniram Judson was one of America’s first Missionaries. He was a living example of someone who made a commitment to live by faith and risk all in serving the risen Lord Jesus. He fell in love with the daughter of a wealthy aristocrat. He approached Nancy Hazeltine’s father seeking to ask his permission to marry her. He asked Mr. Hazeltine if he was prepared to never see his daughter again because of the risks associated with missionary service abroad. Hazeltine appreciated the candor of Judson, but said the decision was entirely up to his daughter.
Nancy Hazeltine responded to her family, “I have made my decision to walk away from all the comforts of family and friends to go to a land I have never been and where I may never return…to die there alone and maybe lose all. I have made my decision. As God is my witness, I will not decline the offer and privilege to give my life to rescue the perishing.”
Nancy Hazeltine Judson never did see her father again. She died on the mission field a young wife and mother, with no regrets. She was willing to risk all for the sake of the Kingdom of God. And because she did history records that many people came to Faith in the Lord.
In Christ the Light of the world,
Brown

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtIIFJIxdUw

Today in Christian History


1662 England's King Charles II approved a bill requiring all ministers to assent publicly to the Anglican "Book of Common Prayer."

1740 English revivalist George Whitefield wrote in a letter: 'True faith is not merely in the head, but in the heart.'

1885 The complete Old and New Testament English Revised Version (EV or ERV) of the Bible was first published in England. After a promised 20-year wait, U.S. scholars on the ERV committee published an "Americanized" edition in 1905, known afterward as the American Standard Version (ASV) of the Bible.