This morning I am not going to write about what is going on right now, nor about the Rajneesh.

In my morning devotions I was given an insight to God I had not really understood or embraced.  To me it was powerful.

I know that my writings are long and many of you must skip over some of them because of time.  But, I think you will find this one worth the time.

Luke 8:19-21  Then came to him his mother and his brethren, and could not come at him for the press.

²⁰ And it was told him by certain which said, Thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to see thee.

²¹ And he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.

I once listened to a person expounding on how this was a cruel denial of his mother by Jesus.  They couldn’t believe He actually said this and felt the writer did not accurately state the comment made by Jesus.

However, I have come to understand that He was not trying to belittle His mother or His siblings, but was saying that when we accept Him and follow Him we are their equal.

Mary and His siblings had no special standing above and beyond those of us who love and serve Him.  That doesn’t mean that He doesn’t honor His mother, but it does mean that He includes us in His family.

This morning I was reading the book of Ruth.  It is an amazing testimony of a daughter-in-law honoring her mother-in-law and remaining a part of her family and embracing her God.  She was obedient and in being obedient she was used mightily by God. 

Ruth 1:16-17  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:

¹⁷ 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.

As we know family is extremely important in the Jewish Culture.  They trace their ancestry back to the beginning and of course they call Abraham their father based on the promises God made to Him and His wife Sarah that through their son Isaac their offspring would become a mighty nation, chosen by God to be His special people.

Naomi had encouraged her daughter-in-laws, who were widows, to return to their mothers – but Ruth wanted to stay with her – finally Naomi agreed.

Naomi came back to her home as a pauper; she felt that God had turned against her.

As you read through the book of Ruth you find a young woman who served her mother-in-law and took council with her.  You see a mother-in-law giving sage advice.

You see the hand of God working as Ruth obeyed and did as she was told.  In the end she became the wife of a wealthy man and bore a son to him.

All of these actions were according to Jewish law at the time and ordained by God.

We never know when we serve God, just what He has in store for us.  As Ruth did as she was instructed, so must we follow the instruction and guidance of the Holy Spirit in our service to Him.

I am sure that when Ruth gave birth to her son, no one knew just how important that son would become – it was prophesied that he would be famous but he became one of the most famous of all the Jewish people. 

Ruth 4:14-17 And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be the Lord, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel.

¹⁵ And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of thine old age: for thy daughter in law, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath born him.

¹⁶ And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it.

¹⁷ And the women her neighbours gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David.

Because Ruth gave her life to her mother-in-law and to her God; because she obeyed her, we can trace her son to the powerful man after God’s own heart, King David; and from him to Jesus, the Christ.

What powerful emotions wash over me this morning.  Ruth married into the family of Naomi – Naomi was Jewish, Ruth was not but she accepted Naomi and her God as her own.

Let me repeat that, Ruth was not Jewish when she married Naomi’s son.  She chose to follow Naomi and to accept her God.

Ruth was one of us in as much as we were not part of the chosen people, but they became our brethren through Christ.

She gave up all she knew that she could go with Naomi to her country.  When she arrived she found that they were the lowest of the low and she had to go to the fields to pick up what was left over after the field had been harvested.

She did so willingly, as a service to her mother-in-law out of love.  She obeyed and became part of the lineage of Jesus.

Her life was directed by God, but anywhere along the line she could have said, no.  Instead she listened and obeyed.

Jesus, our Savior, our brother.  We are connected by God’s adoption of us through the blood of Jesus Christ. 

We are connected with all of these great men and women who served God through the ages.  They are our brethren.

We are connected to those that have not been named, but have upheld the faith of God before Jesus’ coming and to those who have served Jesus after His coming.  We are family.

We are connected to all the Christians all over the world.  They are family. 

Those that are undergoing persecution, prosecution, slavery, suffering from the loss of their home and biological family members; Christians that are being forced from their homelands, being tortured, killed and starved for their faith – ALL are our brethren through Christ and deserve our prayerful support.

From the covenant that God made to Abraham, to the new covenant with man from Christ’s death on the cross to our current existence we are connected to all of God’s people.

What a heritage we have in Christ!

We truly are part of the family of God!

Later, Art :-)

From the ColumbiaRiverGorgeous
May Our Good Lord Bless and Keep YOU....’til we meet again