Sadly, this phrase has been woven into the very fabric of our society today. When a man has no fear of GOD, he is prepared for any crime. Total depravity is not too strong a term to describe such human wickedness. Evil people who have no fear of GOD, in reality have no affection for others, all they care about is their own satisfaction.
Ruth 1:6-22
Two Widows Journey to Bethlehem
Ruth is a poignant story of faithless disobedience, that leads to death, sorrow, bitterness, and then loyalty and finally redemption. It's my prayer that you will realize that if an inconspicuous Moabite peasant woman could achieve royalty for her descendants in Israel, then anyone can gain Salvation. The story of Ruth contains secrets to the Kingdom of Heaven that point directly to the work our Savior, Jesus Christ, would one day accomplish for us all on Calvary. Ultimately God will reward Ruth's faith and obedience by making her the great grandmother of King David and a place in the genealogy of Jesus that Matthew records in his Gospel.
“Leaving God's Blessing's Behind”
An Introduction Outline For Ruth
Ruth 1:1-5
The book of Ruth is a beautiful love story of a woman who left home and country to follow a woman she loved dearly. Ruth was a widow, who loved her mother-in-law so much she told her,
“Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God.
Ruth 1:16
It is only one of two books named after a woman, and the only one named after a Gentile. A Gentile who would become a Hebrew, and be placed in the genealogy of her greatest descendent, Jesus Christ. Ruth is true story that gives us a powerful lesson in redemption. A lesson that points to the love of GOD for HIS creation. A love so powerful that HE would give HIS only begotten SON so that we may all have everlasting life.
by Chuck Ness
"But we are all like an unclean thing, and all of our righteousnesses are like filthy rags." Isaiah 64:6
The Prophet Isaiah summed up the reprobate state into which God's chosen people had sunk. Though they had the blessing of the Law given to them by Moses, when he conversed with God on Mount Sinai, they had turned from their Lawgiver and become more wretched than the people who did not have the Law. God's chosen people were worshiping false gods. Isaiah 42:17 They were reveling in idolatry so much so that the prophet called Jerusalem a harlot that was as evil as the Sodomites. Isaiah 1:21 & 3:9.
Yet, the people had an illusion of righteousness. Many, especially the religious leaders who helped lead them into sin, professed to be "holier than thou," all the while burning incense on strange altars. Isaiah 65:3-2 However, God did not look upon their self righteousness as anything but pollution. He even told them He hated the Sabbaths and feasts that He had Himself ordained. Isaiah 1:13-14 The house of Jacob had rendered even its best acts of religious activity to nothing but apostasy in God's eyes. They were all unclean and dead like the leaves of fall, and their iniquities were like the wind that would cause them to be carried away. Isaiah 64:6.
by Chuck Ness
So many times we all wish we had a gift to peer into the future. All men desire that gift so they can live their life accordingly. They want to be able to avoid the pitfalls, and get right to the great things that will happen. They desire the gift so they will make the right choice. Well, we have that gift, it comes from God. All we need to do is have the faith in God to do for us that which He promises. If he gave us a gift to see the future outright, then He would not expect us to live by faith. We need to have faith that God will direct our path.
The desire to take things into our own hands becomes strong at times. Many times I see GOD leading me into a storm and my mind tells me to grab the rudder to steer around it. Yet if I listen to that voice in my heart that tells me to give it to the Lord, my flesh becomes comfortable. Ever notice that when you allow God to control things, that by the time you get to where the storm was, it's calm. That's because sometimes GOD will take you to a place your brain thinks will be a storm, when in fact it's the one place you will be safe. Then you think, "WOW, thanks GOD. Had I taken the path that seemed better, it would have been disastrous." GOD will often times save us from our own stupid self by bringing us into what looks like a storm.
See, God knows the future. All we can do is guess, and without Him in control our guesses are usually wrong. The flesh is a controlling deceiving creature. Through the years, I have learned from my own trials and tribulations, that the Scriptures are always correct. To truly trust in the LORD is love HIM with all our heart, soul, and mind, (Matthew 22:37) because when we put our faith in our own heart and brain, then we are leaning on our own understand, and not HIS.
Today's Proverb tells us that when we give HIM control, "He shall direct our paths." After all, HE is the one who knows the end and has since the beginning of time. HE knows when we will succeed, when we will fail. when we fall in love, and when we will be confronted by tragedies that could break our spirit. This should give us all the confidence we need to boldly move forward, because if we truly have faith and follow HIS direction, then we can know it's the right path. Oh it may not be the easiest path, but it will lead us to the goals HE wants us to reach and thus the blessings HE has waiting for those of us who are good and faithful servants. After all, we all want to hear HIM say to us one day, "Well done good and faithful servant, enter into joy of the LORD and my rest." (Matthew 25:23; Hebrews 4:11)
As evil as the world is, and always has been, we need proper direction and that direction can only come from God. Being in the world without God as your guide is like being out on the ocean without a compass or on land in a white out snow storm. In your life I know you have seen many who have had to go back to square one, because of the bad choices in their life. As a young man I myself was a stubborn as a billy goat as I continuously kept kicking at the goads. I would trudge along until I finally hit a wall, just to ultimately awake to the fact that my way had again lead me to nowhere.
Like myself, there are way too many men and women just sailing along on a course they know not where it will end. They may seem happy and content, but eventually the path they are on will only take them into circles until they end up right where they began. The problem is they are in control, and they are proud of it. Truth is, unless His hand is on the wheel, one's end will be sadness and despair. Even if they get through this life, their end will be a separation from God forever. Many a soul will be singing, "I did it my way," all the way to hell.
"Lean not on our understanding." Ever get into a pickle, or something terrible happens and your mind starts thinking, "I can't understand why God allowed this to happen to me?"People are always trying to second guess GOD by trying to understand all His ways. We should be happy that HE only calls us to trust and have faith HIM and not to understand. If we knew half the trials and tribulations that were in store for us, many of us would be no different than the Israelites who perished in the desert due to their lack of faith.
Imagine if Moses tried to get the Israelites to understand that GOD was going to take them to the shore of the Red Sea, while being chased in the desert by Pharaoh's army? Then your told, it will be OK, because GOD is going part the waters for us and we will walk across an underwater sand bridge HE has been preparing for us for over a thousand years. OH, and don't worry about Pharaoh's s army, because GOD is going to drown them in the same sea you will be walking across. I doubt many would have followed him out of Egypt, even after all the miracles they saw. Many times the Israelite's questioned Moses and HIS God as they traveled through the desert for 40 years. Sadly only two men from that generation had the faith of a mustard seed. The rest were buried in the desert and never saw the promised land.
Our understanding is so limited, and based only on what we know, which is more times than not very faulty. Our understanding is similar to that of those on the Titanic. All they saw was a small iceberg floating in the water. They had no clue that small iceberg was but 5% of what they hit. Even today, men see the temperatures rise and they claim the world is at an end. No matter how smart and educated men get, they still ignore GOD by leaning on their own understanding, and the they claim there is no GOD, the more GOD makes a fool out of them.
"In all your ways acknowledge Him." Not in some ways, but in all ways. Acknowledge Him, by asking Him what you should do in any situation. Acknowledge Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Turn everything over to Him during the day as situations arise. Learn to look to Him for guidance, and "He shall direct your path." Have faith in the One who created you, and HE will direct your steps through the world He expects you to live in. Proverb 16:9 Remember, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 So lean not on your own understanding, but lean on Him and He shall direct your path.
I pray that those who have ears to hear will hear His voice and call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I created a new chart that lists 23 women from the Scriptures. There are more than 23 women I could cover, but I took the 23 I felt were more recognizable to most Christians. Now, we all know who these women are, and their stories. From Eve to Mary, these women have had as great an impact on mankind as the men. Three, or maybe 4, are not known for their love of the One true GOD, while the others are remembered for their strength and courage in the face of adversity.
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