God gives Us a Future

Scripture: Ruth 4:15

“May he also be to you a restorer of life and a sustainer of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.”

Insights: In today’s verses we see Naomi not only receiving life, but also being taken care of in her old age.  In other words, she is given a future.  Once again, we go back to the spiritual correlation which is we are also given a future in Jesus.  Now there is a sense in which there is a future here on earth, but the primary focus of our Lord is not on our time on earth, but rather our time with Him in eternity.  If we are born again, if we have received Jesus as Lord and Savior, then we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit and we will one day enter into eternity with the Triune God.  In this eternity we have a good future with this most gracious and perfect God of glory.  We will work for Him, but without the pains and frustrations found in this imperfect world which is bound by sin.  The part I think I am looking forward to the most is the continual learning of new things about this wonderfully infinite God whom we love and adore.  I used the word infinite to describe our glorious God.  Here is what I want you to understand about our God being an infinite God.  There is no end to Him and His greatness.  After we have been there for a billion years our Father is going to call us over and say to us, “Watch this!”  And after He displays His power and might we are going to be like, “WOW, I did not know You could do that!”  Beloved, it is my prayer we take as many people with us to this great future we have in Jesus.  If one does not have this relationship with Jesus, they will not spend eternity in joy and grace, but in the lake of fire separated from the love of God.  They will not have a future and a hope there.  Pray for God to draw on their hearts and pray for Him to give you boldness and courage to share the truth of the gospel with them.  May God be brought glory for your faithfulness.

Questions:

1. Do you ever think about your future in Christ?

2. Who do you long to see there?

Prayer: Father, one of the mysterious of eternity is Your infinite nature.  You will for all times amaze us with Your great power and goodness.  I long for that day.  Amen.

God give Us Offspring

Scripture: Ruth 4:13

So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife, and he went in to her. And the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son.

Insights: In today’s verses we see Ruth gave birth to a son.  In the spiritual sense we are also to be procreating.  Think for a moment how the apostle Paul addressed Timothy and Titus.  He called them true sons in the faith.  They were not his biological sons, but he was their spiritual father.  Whenever we lead someone to know Jesus Christ as his/her Lord and Savior, we become that persons spiritual father or mother.  We are the ones who become responsible for them and their growth in the Lord.  We need to take on an active role of discipling them in the ways of the faith.  It is not the responsibility of the church staff to feed this baby in Christ, but of the one leading that person to Jesus.  It is for this reason I really personally prefer for the person who lead the individual to Jesus to perform the baptism of this new believer.  It gives a sense of spiritual blessing being passed on to the next generation.  Beloved, I fear we have grown very impotent in our proclamation of the gospel.  In a recent survey quoted on Thom Rainer’s podcast it stated it used to take fifty church members to lead one person to Christ.  Today it now takes eighty church members to lead a person to Christ.  What that survey was stating was not that eighty individuals have to go and share the gospel with a person before they get saved, but rather in a church of eighty they will likely have one conversion in that calendar year.  A church of 160 may have two conversions in a year.  A church of 240 may have three conversions in a year.  This statistic is the current average, but it does not have to be normative.  Any church, at any time, can say, “That is not good enough,” and can start to have an evangelistic zeal for the lost in this world.  I pray you will begin now asking the Lord to give you opportunities to share your faith and become a spiritual father or mother.  May the Lord richly bless you with a full quiver of spiritual children and grandchildren.  May His name be praised in all the world as a result of your faithfulness to Him.

Questions:

1. Are you actively sharing your faith with people?

2. Have you ever had the blessing of leading someone to know Jesus Christ?

Prayer: Father, thank You for every opportunity You have given me to lead someone to Jesus.  Lord, I pray You open doors every day for me to share my faith with those around me and let Your love pour through me into their lives.  Amen.

God gives Us a Husband

Scripture: Ruth 4:13

So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife, and he went in to her. And the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son.

Insights: In today’s verses we see Ruth became Boaz’s wife.  In other words, we have a wedding taking place in this verse.  As with yesterday’s verse, today’s verse also is pointing us to a spiritual truth found in the Lord Jesus.  If we have received the gift of life we learned about yesterday, then we become members of the church.  When I say church in this context I am not referencing FBCBG, but the church universal.  I am referencing any person who has entered into a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus.  When one has that relationship, then they are a part of the church.  The church is called the bride of Christ.  Jesus tells us He has gone home to prepare for His bride.  In the book of Revelation we are told about the marriage feast the Lord Jesus is preparing for His bride, the church.  So, just as Ruth was given a husband, so we, who are a part of the church will also receive a husband.  I will readily tell you I do not understand the dynamics of how billions of saved souls through the ages become one bride, but then I also cannot fully comprehend how Jesus is One in Three.  I take these two concepts by faith because the Scriptures are abundantly clear this facts to be true.  Beloved, here is what I do know.  I know I long for the day in which Jesus returns to take His bride home with Him for this wedding feast.  I know that day will be a day of great rejoicing for Jesus’ bride.  I know on that day we will be changed and not be hindered by our old sin nature any longer.  It will be a marvelous day.  It is my prayer that every person that has not entered into this relationship with Jesus will do so and do so quickly because we do not know the day in which the Lord will return.  May God be glorified with a feast pact full of people and may we be intentional about reaching those people.

Questions:

1. Do you long for the day when you will experience the wedding feast with the Bridegroom?

2. Is there anything preventing you from attending this wedding feast?

Prayer: Father, thank You for Your grace to allow me to be a part of this wedding feast as a member of Your church, the bride.  I long for the day of our union together and ask You to come quickly.  Amen.

God gives Us Life

Scripture: Ruth 4:15

“May he also be to you a restorer of life and a sustainer of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.”

Insights: This week we will be looking at the parallel between Boaz the kinsman redeemer and Jesus the Kinsman redeemer of all who will receive Him.  The first aspect we will look at today is the fact that the kinsman/Kinsman redeemer gives life.  Notice in today’s verses the women of the community say to Naomi her grandson is her restorer of life.  You will recall in chapter three there is an interchange where Naomi identifies herself among the dead, but now she is being identified as one having life restored to her.  This picture is the same of all humanity.  We are all born dead in our trespasses and sin because all have fallen short of the glory of God and the wages of sin is death.  Yet, God loves us and extends to us the offer of heaven as a free gift.  One of the problems is many people try to save themselves, but this notion is a joke because no one can save themselves.  In order for us to understand some of this idea regarding salvation and the sin of humanity we need to understand a little about God.  God is love and does not want to punish us, but He is also holy and must punish sin.  How then does God solve this apparent problem?  He solves it in the sending of His Son, Jesus Christ to the earth.  In the Old Testament we are told  all things are cleansed by blood and without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin.  Because our sin is an eternal problem, God needed an eternal sacrifice which was perfect.  Jesus was the answer to this apparent problem.  Jesus died on the cross, was buried, and three days later, He rose from the dead to live forevermore.  All one has to do is confess with their mouth Jesus died for his/her sins and believe in their heart God raised Him from the dead and he/she will be saved.  This faith is not just head knowledge.  The demons believe God exists, but they shudder because they know their eternal destiny is in the Lake of Fire.  Belief without repentance is NOT saving faith, but an intellectual activity.  Faith changes who we are and how we interact in this world.  Faith is not just temporary either.  In other words, too often people run to God in their time of trouble, but as soon as the trouble passes, they return to life their way.  This kind of faith is not saving faith either.  Saving faith is trusting Jesus Christ alone for one’s salvation.  If you have never received Jesus offer of life, let me challenge you to call out to Him today for salvation.

Questions:

1. Are you trying to earn your own salvation?

2. Are you willing to receive Jesus Christ as Your Lord and Savior?

Prayer: Father, thank You for my salvation.  Grant me boldness to tell others about Jesus and His saving grace.  Amen.

Evaluations from 2015, Part 2

Yesterday I reflected on the first lesson I learned in 2015 which was focus and intentionality are vital for success.  The next one is similar to the first, but with a slightly different nuance.  The second lesson is priorities must constantly be evaluated.  Everything is bidding for our time, but our lives must have a proper alignment.  The alignment for me that I verbalize is God first, family second, work third and recreation last.  Recently I watched a Michael Hyatt video on priorities and it caused me to think about my list.  Not only does my list not have a provision for my personal health, but my list is just lip service.  If you were to poll my family, they would say my list would be God first or work first and vice versa, then would come the family.  As a result, I am asking the three important questions Michael Hyatt has challenged me to ask and am evaluating my priorities and their proper placement for the fulfillment of my life goals.  I recommend his three part video to you.  You can find it at the following link https://bestyearever.me

The third lesson I learned this year was partnership and team-building are an absolute must.  I am absolutely incapable of accomplishing my goals without the help of others.  For example, Kristy’s and my financial goal for our adoption would not have been met if it had not been for two other couples with whom we partnered.  A second example is in regard to the vision FBCBG has just passed unanimously.  If the strategic planning team had not worked as hard and as diligently as they had, we would never have been able to present the proposal to the church.  As for the team-building aspect of this lesson, it is something the staff at FBCBG are constantly striving to develop in our lives.  We read books, listen to leadership cd’s and videos and spur each other on through conversation and reflection.  If it were not for this staff helping me stay focused and prioritized, then I would be drifting through my ministry and that would be an absolute failure.

The final lesson I learned was pleasure can be experienced vicariously.  As I have already stated, Kristy and I adopted three precious girls this year.  I have experienced more joy and pleasure in watching them tackle life than I believe I ever did living it myself.  I recall going to the beach with them and watching them play in the Gulf.  The thrill of watching them play soccer or show me artwork.  The pure fascination of listening to a child giggle with uncontrolled pleasure from playing and wrestling.  I had believed I was capable of rationalizing the joy of parenting, but to actually do it is a completely different matter.  It is far greater and more fulfilling than I could have ever dreamed.  I am truly a rich man because of these three young ladies.

There were other lessons I have learned this year, but these four I have written about yesterday and today are of the most important.  They are going to be tools by which I will judge and determine what I will do in 2016.  

Merry Christmas and may God bless you richly this day!

Evaluations from 2015, Part 1

Today is the first blog of this nature for me.  I began to ponder earlier in the month about my blogging process and procedures.  As you readers of my blog know, I blog summary statements from the sermon I preached the preceding Sunday.  There are, however, times in which I only have three points or possibly even four.  In the past, I have not blogged on the remaining Thursday and Friday of that particular week.  As I pondered my blogging I made a decision and that is to blog Monday through Friday even if I only have three or four points.  The last day or two of a week in which I don’t have five or more sermon points will consist of random Thoughts by Scott.  The subjects could deal with leadership, vision, relationships, or a host of other topics I sense the Lord would have me to write about that particular day.  I will still keep my words to around 500, but I am sure there will be times in which it will be less than that and times in which it will be more (like today).  On these days the format will be just this plain block paragraph look with no section division like my sermon blogs.

For today and tomorrow I wish to be reflective about 2015 and next week I will be using the remainder of the week to write about 2016 and various thoughts I have.  As you know Kristy and I adopted three girls this year and it has caused me to rethink my life.  There are four lessons I have learned and they are:

• Focus and Intentionality are Vital for Success
• Priorities Must Constantly be Evaluated
• Partnership and Team-building are an Absolute Must
• Pleasure can be Experienced Vicariously

Let me clarify these four lessons.  Here is what I mean by focus and intentionality are vital for success.  In this world there are all kind of good things which fight for our time and attention.  There are funny television shows.  There are good work projects.  There are enjoyable relationships.  There are a lot of good things, but I am reminded of Jim Collins book Good to Great which was written in 2001 in which he talks about why some companies become great and others just remain good.  Jesus Himself did not give us the good commission or the good commandment.  Rather He gave us the great commission and the great commandment.

As a result of this thought process it has made me evaluate and make certain decisions this year and I can tell it will already be making an influence on my decision in 2016.  Let me list a few here for you.  I have not watched television (this does not mean Friday night movie night with my family) since June of this year.  I have chosen to stop scrolling through Facebook feeds.  There were two game apps I used to play and one of them was not relaxing and it took too long to accomplish the daily task.  As a result, I quit playing it.

The point I am attempting to make is we need to focus the use of our time and be intentional about doing things that will help us meet our life objectives.  There were a couple of television shows I found enjoyable.  Facebook did help me keep up with friends and family (though more often than not, I was frustrated with what I would read).  As for the game, I really have no idea why I played it.  These activities though took up too much time and did not help me meet my life objectives.  As a result, I had to get rid of them.  In order for me to succeed as a father and a pastor, I needed become more focused and intentional about the activities in which I chose to participate  Tomorrow I will elaborate on the remaining three lessons I learned this year.

Characteristic #3 of REAL Worshippers Motivated by Love is Blessing

Scripture: Ruth 4:11-12

All the people who were in the court, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel; and may you achieve wealth in Ephrathah and become famous in Bethlehem.  “Moreover, may your house be like the house of Perez whom Tamar bore to Judah, through the offspring which the Lord will give you by this young woman.”

Insights: The third characteristic of a real worshipper motivated by love is blessing.  What I mean by that sentence is we are blessed by the Lord when we live a life of integrity and commitment.  Notice in the passage today the elders of the town dispense three blessings on Boaz.  Firstly, they blessed him with the phrase about Ruth bearing him children like Rachel and Leah.  You will recall these two ladies are the mothers of the twelve sons of Jacob and they become the twelve tribes of Israel.  In essence these men have blessed him with a mighty nation.  Secondly, they bless him with wealth and fame.  Thirdly, they bless him with a descendent of whom would have power just as Judah was a source of power for Perez.  So, through these elders God was promising Boaz many children, wealth and fame and ultimately power through his great grandson David who would be the king through whom the Messiah would eventually come into the world.  Beloved, when we read a passage like this it ought to make us thankful for the Lord with whom we serve.  The old hymn Count Your Many Blessings ought to resinate in our hearts and in our worship.  It also ought to spur us on to seek the Lord’s favor and reap even further blessings.  I think much of the churches problem in America is a lack of gratitude to the Lord for His blessings and a failure to request more blessings because of our self-sufficient attitude.  Let me challenge you, especially as we approach Christmas day on Friday, to count your blessings and name them one by one.  Let me also encourage you to seek the Lord with a whole heart and ask for His favor to be on your life with rich blessings.  May your life resemble that of Boaz and have a heritage follow behind you, to receive great wealth and fame, and to be a person of influence to those around you.  May God bless you in this light as you draw closer and more dependent on Him.

Questions:

1. When was the last time you counted your blessings and named them one by one?

2. Do you regularly pray for the Lord to bless you with His favor?

Prayer: Father, thank You for the blessings You have given me in the past.  I pray also for Your hand of favor to be on my life now and bless me with Your great provision and grace. Amen.