God often uses man as a vessel for His own Holy purposes. But He not just uses people for His purposes, God also shapes them into a particular vessel so that His children can fulfill their intended purpose in life. In this passage, we learn how God is a potter, and we are His clay who are shaped into Christlikeness as vessels of His glory.
We live in a culture that is very hostile to Christianity, perhaps increasingly becoming hostile. This is also because the Lord Himself prophesied about persecution. The Lord prophesied about it because the world was already hostile to Him. In this passage, the Lord teaches us how we can endure persecution.
In this final section of the Book of Ruth, we see an extraordinary event that takes place. It’s a remarkable testimony of God’s grace in His people’s life. It’s an event where God turns people’s mourning into a season of joy, and a great fulfillment of God’s promise to be with His people at all times. This passage also teaches us to be patient in our suffering and trust in the Lord.
Christian life is always about believers strengthening each other in the Lord. Sometimes a Christian need to initiate or be the source of encouragement in another’s life. In this passage, we see how Ruth’s godliness and her devotion revives Naomi’s Spiritual health, which in turn enables Naomi to take initiative in progressing Ruth’s life.
What do you do when there ‘seems’ to be no answer from the Lord in your current situation? Would you still remain committed to God? Would you still have a level of trust in the Lord without any bitterness against Him? In this passage, we see three characters from the book of Ruth, who respond very differently to God’s providence in their lives. Their responses teach us what genuine commitment to God looks like.
God abundantly blesses those who seek to live obedient lives. Obedient living does not allow for “accidents” in God’s plan. He orchestrates events in our lives to bring us to Himself, even through our misery and hopelessness. In the book of Ruth, we see Him working out His perfect plan in Ruth’s life, just as He does with all His children.
Every Christian is called to suffer and to expect persecution in this life. The Bibles places such expectation because God knows that we live in a sinful world among fallen people, who do not like to worship The true and living God of the Bible. In this passage, we learn how we can respond during persecution.
The God of the Bible is a promise keeping God, therefore our hope shouldn’t be dependent on our ability to manage life, or our distorted commitment to God, but on His faithful and unending commitment to us.
As human beings, we all experience stress, anxiety, fear and worry. This is also a reminder that we cannot control everything in our lives. This reveals our limitation, but also should point us to the God of the Bible. In this passage, we learn through the trials of David, how to handle stress in a way God commands.
Every local church is a collection of individual church members. Therefore, fostering a healthy church depends in some measure on fostering healthy church members who understand the centrality of living and working together as one body for the glory of God. Most importantly, it requires members of the church to live out the implications of the gospel within the context of a local community.