Today's Devotional

Brought to you by Prayer Team member Bobbi Heffel

^{Ruth Chapter 1}

¹IN THE days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem of Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, his wife, and his two sons.  ²The man's name was Elimelech and his wife's name was Naomi and his two sons were named Mahlon [invalid] and Chilion [pining]; they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem of Judah. They went to the country of Moab and continued there.  ³But Elimelech, who Naomi's husband, died, and she was left with her two sons.  ⁴And they took wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They dwelt there about ten years;  ⁵And Mahlon and Chilion died also, both of them, so the woman was bereft of her two sons and her husband.   ⁶Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in Moab how the Lord had visited His people in giving them food.

¹⁴Then they wept aloud again; and Orpah ^[a]kissed her mother-in-law [good-bye], but Ruth clung to her.    ¹⁵And Naomi said, See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.   ¹⁶And Ruth said, Urge me not to leave you or to turn back from following you; for where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. ^[b]Your people shall be my people and your God my God.   ¹⁷Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts me from you.  ¹⁸When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she said no more.   ¹⁹So they both went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred about them, and said, Is this Naomi?  ²⁰And she said to them, Call me not Naomi [pleasant]; call me Mara [bitter], for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.  ²¹I went out full, but the Lord has brought me home again empty. Why call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?

Ruth Chapter 4  

 ¹⁴And the women said to Naomi, Blessed be the Lord, Who has not left you this day without a close kinsman, and may his name be famous in Israel.    ¹⁵And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher and supporter in your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him.    ¹⁶Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her bosom and became his nurse.   ¹⁷And her neighbor women gave him a name, saying, A son is born to Naomi. They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David [the ancestor of Jesus Christ].

A well-known speaker started off his seminar holding up a $20.00 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?" Hands started going up. He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this." He proceeded to crumple up ...the $20 dollar bill. He then asked, "Who still wants it...?" Still the hands .........were......... up in the air. "Well," he replied, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. "Now, who still wants it?" Still the hands went into the air. "My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who DO LOVE you. The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by WHO WE ARE. You are special-Don't EVER forget it." Count your blessings, not your problems...

Author Unknown

Romans 5:7 – 9

New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)

⁷ Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  ⁹ Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!

PRAYER

Father, thank you for loving us with an everlasting love beyond our understanding! How marvelous is it that we never lose our value. We may be crumpled or dirtied. We may have to struggle for a time. But we never lose our value. Forgive us when sometimes we are like Ruth, and want to change our names to Mara. Help us to remember that you valued us and sought us while we were still in the depths of our sin. And, that there is no sin that is too hard or too messy for You. Thank you that you are in the restoration business and that you have great plans for us! Amen

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