The book of Ruth tells us
the story of two widows who are willing to live in poverty to do the will of
God for their life. They moved from Moab to Canaan with no means of support and
no prospects. Thankfully, Jewish law stated that the poor could glean the
leftover grain from the fields in order to have enough to eat. Due to Ruth’s
submission to her mother-in-law, she met and married the owner of the field,
one of Naomi’s distant relatives named Boaz. God blessed the women through two
years of gleaning and now even more through this marriage to Boaz.
Due to their obedience, God
gave Ruth and Boaz a son named Obed. Obed had a son named Jesse, who was the
father of King David (Ruth 4:17).
Mary came from this family lineage and she gave birth to the Savior of the world,
Jesus Christ. God has a master plan for each and every life, which He designed
before we were even conceived in our mothers’ womb (Jeremiah
1:5). Once we surrender our life to God, He uses us to do
miraculous deeds for His Kingdom.
The instant we ask Jesus
Christ to save us, He showers us with His forgiveness and places His hope,
peace and joy in our lives. Our spirit, which was formerly dead in sin (Ephesians
2:1), is Born Again and shall never die (1 Peter
1:23). We are a new creation
spiritually. Then, He changes us from within as we walk through His sanctification process.
We are now dead to the power
of sin and
alive to the things of God through Jesus Christ (Romans 6:11). Our former way of life is ended. We crucify our old
sinful self, which was corrupted by its deceitful desires. Now we are made new
in the attitude of our mind and created to be like Jesus in true righteousness
and holiness (Ephesians 4:22-24). Never
underestimate the power of your obedience to God’s call on your life.
We may work in the church
nursery, usher, attend the parking lot, greet people, teach a class, sing in
the choir, count the offering, serve on a committee, direct a ministry, help in
the children’s ministry, run the lights and sound during the service or
volunteer in the church office. Each position in the church is vital and
depends upon every other position. Did you realize that the Pastor could not
preach if competent people who love the Lord did not fill these other
ministries?
In the same way, the human body could not
function without the innermost parts that we rarely give any attention to. In
fact, think about our big toe. It stabilizes the entire body. Without this tiny
part on our body, we would have trouble walking, standing and keeping our
balance. In the Body of Christ every part is equally necessary to
the balanced ministry and function of the church (1 Corinthians 12:12-16, 24-25; Ephesians 4:16).
We may not recognize during
our lifetime the immense contribution our service made to the Body of Christ,
but in eternity we will be surprised at all the lives we touched by our
faithfulness. Consider this scenario: If you smile at one person as they enter the church sanctuary,
and that person feels so comfortable during the service because of your smile,
that he/she accepts God’s gift of salvation.
Then that same person goes out and leads hundreds of others to serve the Master. You had a direct influence on all of those lives believing in Jesus for Salvation. Never underestimate the multitude of ways that God can use you to advance His Kingdom on the earth. Freely you have received, so freely give in obedience to the leading of His Holy Spirit moment by moment throughout the day (Matthew 10:8; Galatians 5:16-25).
Then that same person goes out and leads hundreds of others to serve the Master. You had a direct influence on all of those lives believing in Jesus for Salvation. Never underestimate the multitude of ways that God can use you to advance His Kingdom on the earth. Freely you have received, so freely give in obedience to the leading of His Holy Spirit moment by moment throughout the day (Matthew 10:8; Galatians 5:16-25).
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, Your blessings
for us on earth now far outweigh any tribulation life may send our way. You
sustain us and keep us as Your own through every trial and temptation. You work
everything, even the negative things out for our good (Romans
8:28). We look forward to living with
You for eternity as well, and to sharing with You an inheritance of all that
God had for mankind from the beginning. Satan stole Paradise from us, but he
will be defeated in the end by Your glorious triumph over him. Help us to live
in faithful obedience to Your call on our life.
Thought for the Day:
It
is only when each part of Christ’s Body functions in obedience to His will that
we can enjoy harmony and accomplish the work of the Lord.