What Does 2 Timothy 2:22 Mean?

 Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

2 Timothy 2:22(NASB)

Though Timothy was younger in the faith than Paul, he had a spiritual maturity that equipped him for the pastoral work that was entrusted to him. However, the old apostle knew the wily ways of the devil who prowls around as a roaring lion seeking to shipwreck the faith of all God's children, through the lust of the flesh and the pride of life.

And so we discover Paul warning Timothy, his son in the faith, to separate himself from wicked men and to shun the many lusts of the flesh, the temptations of the eye, and passions of the heart, that are designed to separate us from fellowship with our heavenly Father and the many negative consequences that sin brings into the life of a Christian man or woman. "Now flee from youthful lusts," was Paul's serious warning to Timothy, "and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, with those who call on the Lord, from a pure heart."

Timothy is urged to flee from every kind of temptation. Not only is he to resist the outward fleshly desires (the external seductions of the flesh), and the inner lusts of the heart (the inner bewitching desire for self-will, pride, power, fame, and fortune), but also the secret sin of unbelief, which so easily besets us and which translates into a lack of trust in our heavenly Father. Paul also encouraged Timothy - and us, to pursue the spiritual fruit of virtues - righteousness, faith, and love.

"Flee from youthful lusts," was his sombre warning, "and pursue righteousness, faith, and love," is Paul's earnest plea. The action to pursue righteousness, faith, and love, is a definite decision of the will which can only be achieved as one purposes in one's own heart to turn away from every kind of fleshly pursuit and craving for self-recognition - and follow after righteousness, faith, and love.

The pursuit of righteousness is characterised by the integrity, honesty, justice, and grace we extend to others - both to the saved and the unsaved. Faithfulness towards our Father and fidelity towards our fellow men, is reflected in a sincere and energetic confidence in the Lord and an unswerving trust in His Word - while the divine love of Christ is manifested through the words we speak and the actions we carry out. A deep love for God and consideration for the needs of others before ourselves, is the criterion that marks a person who is a man or woman after God's own heart.

Only those that eschew evil and seek after good are the ones that have an inner, supernatural peace that flows from God, and enjoy peace with those that call on the Lord with a pure heart. Only those that live as Christ lived and who choose to walk in spirit and truth, through the power of the Holy Spirit, can resist the evil and pursue the good.

Let us live as God intended all His children to live when He created us in His own image. Let us earnestly pursue righteousness, faith, and love, and live in peace with those that call on the Lord with a pure heart - for the honour of His holy name, and for our own eternal benefit.

My Prayer

Heavenly Father, help me to carry out Your plans and purposes in my own life, and live my life as You intended, in fellowship with You and for Your greater honour and glory. Help me flee from all youthful lusts and pursue the spiritual fruit of righteousness, faith, and love. And I pray that my life may manifest Your perfect peace that passes understanding, so that by Your grace I may live in quietude of soul with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. This I ask in Jesus' name, AMEN.

See you next blog,

Ted

What Does 2 Peter 2:4 Mean?

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment;

The focal subject throughout this second chapter of Peter, is false teaching. There always has been and always will be false teaching. There will always be error and deception, side by side with the truth of God's Word. Holy men of Israel spoke the Word of God in spirit and in truth, but alongside them were those that were teaching falsehood, delusion, and deceit

Both in the Old and New Testaments, we discover ungodly lies and satanic trickery, and here, in the first three verses of 2nd Peter, we are given a description of these sins. Peter lists three examples of God's judgement against this deceptive trickery, including the judgement of angels, judgement of the old, pre-flood world, and the judgement of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

God judges sinfulness in every realm of His creation, and we discover that He has even judged the angels who sinned alongside Satan. These fallen angels left their first estate, for we read, "God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them into a place called Tartarus, and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment."

All sin must be judged, and a full payment for sin must be made - which God has determined is the sacrificial death of an innocent victim. The only substitutional sacrifice that was acceptable to God for a man's sin was the death of a close kinsman of the sinner, who must be willing to give his own life to save another. JESUS is that Kinsman-Redeemer who gave His life for us. Jesus is the only acceptable sacrifice for the sin of the world

The sacrificial offering for the sin of mankind was made by Christ - the Innocent for the guilty. Our sin was judged at the Cross, and payment was made through the shed blood of a perfect man - the Man, Christ-Jesus. Fallen members of the human race are redeemed by faith in Christ's sacrificial death. Those who believe are born of the Spirit of God, and have had their sins already judged and paid for - in Him.

The price of sin was paid for at the Cross. Propitiation for our sins was made through Christ, such that all who believe on Him are forgiven of their sin and declared righteous by God. However, Scripture is very clear that Christ died for the sin of fallen human-kind and not for the sin of fallen angelic beings. The angels that sinned against God have no offer of salvation but have been cast into hell and committed to pits of darkness, where they wait for judgement.

Man was made in the image of God, not angels. The only begotten Son of the Father became a man, not an angel. Christ was made in the likeness of human flesh (not angel-flesh). Jesus was born into the human race - not the angelic host. Christ became a member of humanity.. to save MAN from sin, which is why He was called the Son of Man. He was identified with the sin of sinful man and not with the sin of fallen angels, who must suffer the consequences for their own sin - and the almighty God has already purposed an irrevocable judgement upon those angels that left their first estate.

Today these fallen angels are imprisoned in Tartarus until that final judgement day - when they, together with Satan, unsaved humanity, and hell itself, will be cast into the Lake of Fire, which burns with unquenchable fire. This Lake of Fire was originally prepared by God for the devil and his angels, who left their first estate and sinned against the Lord of heaven and earth.

Some liberal teachers like to consider this description of the imprisoned angels to be metaphorical. But there is no indication that this is not a literal place of confinement for this group of sinful angelic beings. It appears that these fallen angels are condemned criminals, who are shackled with the strongest chains in a dungeon of pitch blackness. We are told that they are contained in a section of hell called Tartarus - which means place of punishment.

Though the angelic host were collectively created in a holy state, placed in a perfect environment, and living in the presence of God, they were not immutable.. and like human-kind, the angelic host were given a free-will. Like humanity, they were afforded the freedom to choose between doing good and doing evil. However, they were not furnished with the opportunity to be redeemed of their sin. They fell according to their own volition.. but they were not tempted to sin. Unlike man, angels were not tempted to sin by another species of God's creation - they were tempted by Satan - one of their own angelic kind.

God purposed in His heart to redeem fallen man, who was tempted to sin by Satan - a fallen angelic being. This prideful cherubim, who determined to ascend to heaven to raise his throne above the stars of God.. to ascend above the starry heights of the clouds and to make himself like the Most High, drew with himself, a third of God's holy angels who joined him in his ungodly rebellion, and have been judged for their sin, "for God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and has committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment."

Adam's sin was imputed to all men, but God in His grace determined that by the sacrificial death of one MAN - the man Christ Jesus, ALL mankind, not angel-kind, would be given the opportunity to be saved by grace through faith in God's own anointed Messiah, Jesus Christ, Whom He would send.

The choice for every man is to believe and be saved, or not believe and be condemned, and one's eternal destiny rests on the choice that each man makes.

Christian, you are a sinner saved by faith through grace, Jesus has forgiven your sin but those you love that have no allowed Jesus' forgiveness are in peril still. Hell is real, sin is real, and more importantly Jesus' love and grace is real. Pray earnestly for them to come to the saving grace of our Lord.

Knowing Jesus is the beginning of wisdom!

See you next blog,

Ted

God Writes the Last Chapter

 Keep Believing Ministries

P. O. Box 257
Elmhurst, IL 60126.

Stay safe, stay healthy, and stay in touch. We love hearing from you.

Ray Pritchard
Keep Believing Ministries
Shawnee, Kansas

God Writes the Last Chapter

Ruth 4:1-12

 
Love is blind, but marriage is an eye-opener.
 
On the night Marlene and I got married 46 years ago, a wise old man took me aside during the reception and repeated those words. Then he smiled and somewhat cryptically said, “Love is blind, but marriage is a can opener.” I’m still pondering that bit of wisdom.
 
We like to say marriage is made in heaven, and it is, in the sense that God established it for our benefit. But as Shakespeare noted, “The course of true love never did run smooth.”
 
Suffice it to say, very little has run smoothly for Ruth. As a little girl growing up in Moab, she could hardly have imagined she would one day marry a Jewish man named Mahlon. Much less did she know he would soon die, leaving her a widow among her own people. Not in her wildest dreams could she have foreseen moving to Bethlehem with her mother-in-law Naomi, a decision that meant leaving her people, her homeland, and her religion.
 
Finally, she would never have expected to propose marriage to Boaz during a midnight rendezvous on the threshing floor.
 
But that’s how it unfolded.
 
Do you ever wish you could know the future? Suppose I offered you an envelope with the next ten years of your life described in detail. It includes the good and the bad, the victories and the defeats, the happy and the sad. Let’s further suppose I say, “You can open it, but you can’t change the contents.”
 
What would you do?
 
I know my answer. If you put an envelope like that in front of me, I would run the other way fast! Life is hard enough living it one day at a time. It’s far better to take things as they come. At some point we have to believe God is at work behind the scenes.
 
Through all the twists and turns, God has been writing Ruth’s story. Now at last we come to the conclusion. A happy ending is just around the corner. Let’s see how God writes the last chapter.  
 

Scene # 1: Preparation (vv. 1-2)

 
Boaz was a man of action.
 
When he made up his mind to get something done, he didn’t waste time. That’s why he went to the gate of the city and sat down. Don’t think of the gate the way we think of a gate in a fence. It’s not like that at all. Every town of any size had a wall to protect the inhabitants. A small village might have only one gate where you could enter or leave. Evidently that was the situation in ancient Bethlehem. That meant the gate was equivalent to what we call Main Street today. The farmers, the merchants, and all the visitors passed through the gate.


It was a place where people went to do business and to settle disputes. The elders of the town gathered near the gate because they would be called upon to act as legal witnesses.
 
In this case, Boaz needs ten men to serve as witnesses for his attempt to redeem Naomi’s land and take Ruth as his wife. There is only one problem. A man who was a nearer relative to Elimelech had the first right to redeem the land. Boaz must find a way to make a legitimate offer and then have him turn it down.
 
But for that to happen legally, he needs witnesses. So that’s why he has come to the city gate. It’s the place where all such transactions took place. He also knows the nearer relative will pass by the gate sooner or later.
 
Boaz is nothing if not a shrewd businessman.

When the other man appears, he calls him “Friend,” and asks him to sit down and talk with him. The other man’s name is lost to history. Although many English versions use the word “friend,” that’s not exactly what the Hebrew says. It’s an untranslatable phrase that means something like, “Mr. So-and-So.” His unwillingness stands in contrast to Boaz’s generous spirit.
 
Mr. So-and-So is about to get an offer he can definitely refuse.
 

Scene # 2: Negotiation (vv. 3-10)

 
Boaz knew how to close a deal.
 
First, he starts with the good news. “Naomi, who has returned from the territory of Moab, is selling the portion of the field that belonged to our brother Elimelech” (v. 3). This evidently means Naomi had to sell the property to ease her poverty. As the nearest relative (possibly a brother or an uncle or a cousin) to Elimelech, “Mr. So-and-So” has the first right of refusal. Boaz could only redeem the land if the nearer relative refused.

On its face, this was a good deal for Mr. So-and-So. He could pick up the land (at a fair price, presumably) and add to his own estate. When he died, it would pass down to his descendants. A good deal now, and a great deal later. That’s why Mr. So-and-So says, “I want to redeem it” (v. 4).
 
However, there was a catch. (There’s always a catch, isn’t there? That’s why you should wait until you have all the information.) It turns out this was a package deal. Buy the land, and you get Ruth thrown in as a bonus. Now, based on what we know about Ruth, this was a good thing because she was a woman of high character. But it also meant whoever bought the land had to marry her and have a child with her.

That’s a complicating factor.
 
Which is why the man suddenly changes his tune: “I can’t redeem it myself, or I will ruin my own inheritance” (v. 6a). This probably means he was already married with children who would be the natural heirs to his property. Adding Ruth and a son to the mix would complicate everything. In an instant Mr. So-and-So realizes he’s got to say no to the opportunity of a lifetime. He’ll be buying nothing but a future headache, which he can’t afford. So he says to Boaz, “Take my right of redemption, because I can’t redeem it” (v. 6b).
 
I imagine Boaz trying to hide a smile because his plan has worked to perfection. He knew Mr. So-and-So would have to say no. Sure, there was always a chance he might say yes, but Boaz knew what he was doing. If the man said yes and followed through, he would take care of Naomi and Ruth. That’s what Boaz wanted. But in his heart, he hoped and prayed the man would say no because then he could redeem the land and marry Ruth.
 
In those days, a property sale was sealed by one man giving his sandal to another man (vv. 7-8). It’s like selling your home and then handing over the keys to the buyer. Giving the sandal meant, “I am giving up my right to walk on this property because it now belongs to you.”
 
With the deal done, Boaz twice says to the ten men who had watched this transaction, “You are witnesses” (vv. 9-10). He intended to do everything by the book because he was an honorable man. He even makes it clear that he wants to honor the name of Ruth’s dead husband Mahlon. Any son born to Boaz and Ruth would be perpetuating Mahlon’s name, not his own.
 
Does Boaz love Ruth? Absolutely!
Has the plan worked? Definitely!
Is it legal? Totally!
 
By the way, where is Ruth? She is at home with Naomi. Neither woman knows what is happening at the city gate. She follows Naomi’s advice to wait, knowing Boaz would settle the matter one way or the other. Did she pray for him? We don’t know, but I think she did. I’m sure Naomi was praying too. No matter what happened at the gate, this would be Ruth’s final day as a single woman. She would soon be the wife of Boaz or Mr. So-and-So.
 
Boaz stands out as a man of action, wisdom, and integrity. He doesn’t wait around for something to happen. He takes the initiative and presents the matter in a clever way that causes Mr. So-and-So to say yes and then no. He makes sure there are multiple public witnesses once the deal is done.
 
What a good man he was.
 

Scene # 3: Acclamation (vv. 11-12)

 
If this were a modern wedding, the organ would start playing and people would stand and cheer. Boaz has taken Ruth as his wife even though she is not present.
 
The people who watched all of this (passers-by plus the ten men) now pronounce three blessings on Boaz and Ruth. First, they ask God to make Ruth like Rachel and Leah. Those two women (along with their maidservants) gave birth to Jacob’s sons, who became the leaders of the twelve tribes. They “built the house of Israel” (v. 11) from the ground up through the children they bore. This is a prayer for children from Ruth’s womb who will carry on the family name into future generations.
 
Second, they pray Boaz will prosper in Bethlehem: “May you be powerful in Ephrathah and your name well known in Bethlehem” (v. 11). Boaz was already well-known in Bethlehem, but now they pray his prosperity will increase so that his name will be even greater. The people understood how extraordinary it was for an older Jewish man to care so deeply for a younger Moabite woman (who was a widow). All the odds were against it. How would they meet? How would they fall in love? In God’s providence that’s exactly what happened.
 
Third, they pray for future generations to be blessed “like the house of Perez, the son Tamar bore to Judah” (v. 12). This is the most amazing blessing because it brings up a shameful event in Israel’s history. If you don’t know the story, read Genesis 38. Just know this. Judah (son of Jacob) sleeps with a woman he thinks is a prostitute, but it turns out she is Tamar (his daughter-in-law), who married his son Er (now deceased). She does it to preserve the family line, but her means are less than noble (masquerading as a prostitute). To say the least, it’s unseemly and highly irregular. From that illicit union came Perez, and from him came descendants who built up the “house of Perez” within the tribe of Judah.
 
All of us have things in our family history we don’t like to talk about. I often tell people, “If you go back far enough, you’ll be embarrassed by what you find.” We all have rascals and scalawags in our family tree. Judah didn’t cover himself with honor by sleeping with a woman he thought was a prostitute. But in Ruth 4, we see good fruit from a bad seed. It’s Romans 8:28 in action, Old Testament-style. Some people think we should skip Genesis 38 in our preaching because it’s “untidy.” But God has a way of redeeming our untidiness. In this case, he uses a Moabite widow who marries a Jewish man. Together they will have a son who will be part of David’s family tree.

A thousand years later, Jesus will be born. He will come from Abraham and David, by way of Perez and Boaz and Ruth. God uses the unlikeliest people in the unlikeliest ways to fulfill his promises.
 

Lessons for Today

 

What should we learn from this story?
 
From Boaz, we learn about the importance of integrity in all things. Just as Boaz refused to take advantage of Ruth at the threshing floor, he also refuses to take advantage of the unnamed relative. Mr. So-and-So must have the first choice. If he redeems the land and marries Ruth, so be it. Better to live with disappointment than with a guilty conscience. He follows the letter of the law by accepting the sandal from the nearer relative. Twice he informs the ten men that they are witnesses.
 
There is nothing hidden because there is nothing to hide. He is a man of unquestioned integrity.
 
From Ruth, we learn the importance of waiting on God. Having met Boaz at midnight and having asked him to marry her (for that is certainly what she intended), she has done all she can do. Naomi’s advice to “sit tight” turned out to be the course of wisdom. She doesn’t appear at the gate because she wasn’t needed there. Only Boaz (as one of the “family redeemers”) could be there. She has no place in this part of the unfolding drama.
 
When you have done all you can do, don’t feel guilty because you cannot do more. At some point, we must “leave room for God.” Try as we might, we cannot orchestrate all the affairs of life. It’s wise to do what we can do and wait for the Lord to take care of the rest.
 
Waiting time is not wasted time if you are waiting on the Lord. In this case, Ruth won’t have to wait much longer.
 
When we follow God’s plan, we should expect God’s blessing. Everything about this story seems unlikely, yet it was part of God’s plan from the beginning. No one could have scripted it but God. If you roll back the clock to the famine in the land, Elimelech’s decision to go to Moab seems questionable at best. Yet God used it to bring Ruth and Naomi together. When Ruth said, “Where you go, I will go. Where you stay, I will stay. Your God will be my God,” she had no inkling of what was to come. The future was as much a mystery to her as ours is to us.
 

From Ruth to Jesus

 
Ruth didn’t conspire to live with Naomi so she could meet Boaz years later. She committed herself to Naomi’s God and took the next step of faith. Those steps led to Bethlehem and then to the field of Boaz. Later they led to the threshing floor. Soon they will lead to a wedding and later to childbirth.
 
Generations will come and go, and the road will lead to David and then to Jesus. That part of the story was hidden from Ruth. Faith means taking the next step with God and leaving the results with him. We won’t live long enough to see the outcome of our faith. We hope to see our children grow up, and if we are fortunate, we may see our grandkids grow up. We may not live long enough to see our great-grandchildren.

It doesn’t matter because Psalm 100:5 says God’s mercy endures “to all generations.” It means God’s mercy goes from one generation to another. Suppose we line up a grandfather, a father, a son, a grandson, and a great-grandson next to each other. What God is to the grandfather, he will be to the father. What he is to the father, he will be to the son. What he is to the son, he will be to the grandson. What he is to the grandson, he will be to the great-grandson. And so it goes across the centuries. Generations come and go, one after the other. Only God remains forever.
 
I am 67 years old, heading for what? 70? 75? 80? Maybe 85 or even 90 years old if God blesses me with long life. But I won’t live forever. As the years roll by, I find myself realizing how much of my life is wrapped up in our sons, their wives, and our grandchildren.
 
Will God still take care of them? Will he be there when they need him? Yes, because God’s faithfulness doesn’t depend on me but on his character, which spans the generations. After I am gone, and even if all my prayers have not been answered, I can trust God to take care of my children and grandchildren. What a comfort this is. I can do my best to help them while I’m here, and after I’m gone, God’s faithfulness will continue for my great-grandchildren yet to come.
 
As we near the end of Ruth’s story, our eyes focus on the God behind the scenes. A journey that started with a famine and three funerals will soon end in a wedding, a baby, and a happy grandmother. The story stretches on over the horizon, reminding us that only God sees the big picture while we see life through a keyhole.
 
Have faith, child of God. Do not despair if you feel like you are alone. Trust in God and take the next step. If your current situation seems hard, remember that you are not home yet.
 
God writes the last chapter.

See you next blog,

Ted

How Do You Want This Country To Be...

 Thomas Jefferson warned repeatedly about the emergence of an out—of-control judiciary that would destroy the Constitution and, along with it, America's fundamental freedoms. It appears he was right.

Justices and judges are constitutionally charged to interpret the law, not make law. But again, and again, they have overstepped their authority and brought us atrocities such as abortion on demand, same-sex marriage, and the so-called "separation of church and state," which doesn't appear in the Constitution.

I can only imagine what our founders would think of the state of our judicial branch today. Our judges face ever increasing pressure to make law rather than interpret law. Too often they have succumbed to that pressure, functioning as super-legislators rather than neutral arbiters. Given recent rulings, we know that judicial overreach has almost ruined this great nation.

In the last few years, we've seen an increasing number of judges who understand their constitutional obligations. The current administration, led by President Donald Trump, has appointed nearly 200 Article III judges to the bench, including two justices on the U.S. Supreme Court. This is good news! However, the battle for the soul of the judiciary is far from over.

Please don't vote for politicians who will expand, rather than limit, the power of the judiciary.

The democrats have said they want to open all borders and let everyone in and we will pay their medical...not for the US citizen who works and pays taxes but instead for illegals! They, not you, will be given a free education! The dems call them undocumented and they are allowed to drive and hold office! They want to defund police, ICE, and every law-enforcement branch of government. Look at all of those they have let our of prison! Joe Biden recently said 'police need to learn to de-escalate a situation and if required to shoot, shoot them in the leg! That fool has never been in a gunfight with a bad guy with ill intention!

Remember the above: Thomas Jefferson warned us against such fools and activist judges!

Until next blog,

Ted

 

We exist to equip and encourage people to keep believing in Jesus. Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. Risky Business Monday, August 17 Greetings from Shawnee, Kansas, on a sunny Monday afternoon. After a few hot days, we're enjoying the cooler temperatures. That means this is excellent bike riding weather.   This letter arrived from a prisoner in Illinois who is serving a 25-year sentence. He read An Anchor for the Soul three times. Here is his story: Your book answered a question I had. That question was there is no way I will or can be forgiven for this kind of crime. This has got to be the unforgivable sin. When I read Chapter 5, I felt a burden just drop and I felt lighter. When you said it doesn't matter what your "sin" is, God stamps your sin with "Paid in Full," I realized that God doesn't label any sin worse than the other. He treats all sins the same. As long as we trust and believe in Jesus Christ, God stamps my sin "Paid in Full." I have come closer to the Lord, and I have put my trust in Him. Even though I am in prison and have years to go, I believe as long as I stay following Christ, my life will turn around completely, and I will stop making such dumb decisions. God bless this man who is in prison for many years to come. His testimony proves again that prison bars can't keep out the Holy Spirit. Near the end of his letter, he said, "Once you hit rock bottom, you can only look up." That's what he has done. He looked up and found Jesus! Pray for him and for multitudes like him who are finding and following Christ in prisons across America. Thank you for your faithful giving that makes this ministry possible. We've had a terrific start to our online series on James. Here are the links to the first five sessions: Handbook for Hard Times Don’t Blame God for Your Problems Three Mistakes that Block God’s Blessing The Man with a Gold Ring Autopsy of a Dead Faith I'm teaching at 7 PM Central Time Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday this week and next week.  You can watch each lesson on the Keep Believing Facebook Page.  Here are the topics for this week: August 18 How to Tame the Terrible Tongue August 19 Why Are We So Angry? August 20 Six Ways to Jumpstart Your Spiritual Life We will post the videos on Facebook and on the Keep Believing website so you can watch them whenever you like.  In these uncertain times, remember your local church in your giving. Your church needs your prayers and your support.  We depend on your generosity to keep going. Thank you for your love, your prayers, and your support. If you would like to help out financially, you can donate online, or you can mail your gift to: Keep Believing Ministries P. O. Box 257 Elmhurst, IL 60126. Stay safe, stay healthy, and stay in touch. We love hearing from you. Ray Pritchard Keep Believing Ministries Shawnee, Kansas   Risky Business Ruth 3   A good man is hard to find.   That’s the backstory of Ruth 3. It’s all about the strangest marriage proposal in the Bible. If you’re looking for ways to ask someone to marry you, the strategy Ruth employed will likely be at the bottom of your list.   Here’s what we have: a woman asks a man to marry her, and he agrees. That’s a bit unusual. But there’s more to consider. A foreigner asks a Jew to marry her. That’s extremely unlikely. If we peer a little closer, we realize that an employee asks her boss to marry her. Stranger yet. Finally, it’s a younger woman who approaches an older man at midnight--on the threshing floor!--to ask him to marry her.   All of this is highly irregular, to say the least. This story teaches us that God has his ways, and sometimes those ways seem very strange indeed. We’ll come back to that in a second.   The Predestined Empty Space   If you are married, how did you meet your spouse? My wife and I met while attending a Christian college in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It started when I noticed this cute girl who seemed to be popular on our campus. I tried to think of ways I could meet her, but nothing worked. One Monday night, I came late to a basketball game on campus, arriving at halftime because I had been leading a Word of Life Bible Club. When I got to the gym, it was packed with students, but I saw that Marlene was sitting in the bleachers with an empty space to her left. Summoning all my courage, I walked up and tried out my best line: “Anyone sitting here?” She smiled and said no. So I sat down, and the rest is history. We celebrate our 46th anniversary this week.   When I tell that story to an audience, I like to say that the empty space to her left was put there in the sovereign, predestined, eternal plan of God. People laugh, but I believe it’s true. Had I been thinking about her before that night? All the time. When I got to the gym, was I hoping to see her? Yes! Did I know there would be room to sit next to her? No, it just happened. I believe God did whatever he needed to do to keep that space open for me.   When we contemplate the future, we like to say, “Anything can happen.” That’s true because “anything” happens all the time, but you can’t predict it in advance. That goes for empty space in the bleachers, and it goes for midnight meetings at the threshing floor.   Before we jump into Ruth 3, let me add that the way couples meet is infinitely varied. These days it often happens online, through some dating app like Match.com or “eharmony” or “OKCupid.” I know a Christian man who met his wife that way. They met online, fell in love, got married, and now have four children together.   Sometimes people are introduced by a mutual friend. Or they may meet through work or at church or at a party. Occasionally people don’t want to say how they met because it embarrasses them. Perhaps it happened because of sinful choices. Sometimes the way couples meet each other seems so strange as to be almost unbelievable.   That leads us back to the story of Ruth and Boaz. Nothing about their meeting or their marriage seems normal, at least by modern standards. Ruth didn’t have many good options. Today she might write an ad like this: “Widowed woman from Moab seeks godly Israelite man of character for long walks in the barley fields and quiet evenings by the fire. Must like children” (Iain Duguid Esther & Ruth, Loc. 2215). That wasn’t an option 3000 years ago.   A good man is hard to find. That’s true. But a good woman is also hard to find.   Ruth 3 tells us how a good man and a good woman found each other and ended up getting married. It’s proof positive that God works in, with, and through our choices to accomplish his will.   This story seems so unlikely that it must be true. File it under “Truth is Stranger Than Fiction.” The chapter divides into three scenes: A Risky Plan A Midnight Proposal A Providential Pause   The whole episode happens overnight. It begins one evening, the main event happens around midnight, with the final scene taking place early the next morning.   Scene # 1: A Risky Plan (vv. 1-6)   Harvest time had come.   That’s key to everything else that happens in this story. After many years of famine, there was a good harvest at last. That’s why Naomi knew Boaz would be at the threshing floor. When you read “threshing floor,” don’t think of a barn, but imagine a flat spot near the top of a hill where the winds could separate the barley from the chaff.   It was the happiest time of the year for farmers because it meant their hard work was about to pay off. Months earlier they had planted barley and then waited for the rains to come. As owner of the land, Boaz would be at the threshing floor to oversee his workers. He would also spend the night there to protect the crop from thieves.   That’s why Naomi knew where to find Boaz on this particular night.   That brings us to her plan, which she hatched to provide “rest” for Ruth, her Moabite daughter-in-law (v. 1). She and Ruth had already experienced kindness from Boaz. Now it was time to take the next step. Her plan was risky, to say the least:   “Wash, put on perfumed oil, and wear your best clothes. Go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let the man know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 When he lies down, notice the place where he’s lying, go in and uncover his feet, and lie down. Then he will explain to you what you should do” (vv. 3-5).   Why would she suggest such a preposterous scheme? We find the key in verse 2: “Isn’t Boaz our relative?” Naomi has already taken Ruth in and made her part of the family, even though she is from Moab. That’s an astonishing statement by itself. But then she calls Boaz a “relative.” In some way or another, he was related to Elimelech, Naomi’s late husband. A cousin? An uncle? A more distant relative? We don’t know. But he shared the same family tree as Elimelech, which means he was qualified to be a “kinsman redeemer.” To fill that role, he must be a relative able to take on the responsibility, and above all, he must be willing to do it. The “kinsman redeemer” stepped in during a time of great need (the death of Elimelech would qualify) to preserve the family property and to maintain the family line.   Naomi knows all this, and she knows Boaz could rescue Ruth and provide a home and a future for her. He and Ruth could also have a baby, which would preserve the name of her late husband. All of this was no doubt in her mind.   Some Bible commentators take a dim view of Naomi’s plan because they think it was borderline immoral. Some even think she wanted Ruth to convince Boaz to sleep with her. I’ve already said the plan was risky. It was dangerous for a young woman--a foreigner!--to go to a threshing floor at night dressed in this fashion. You can think of a dozen ways this might go wrong. This story is in the Bible because it is true, not because we need to do what Ruth did.   Beyond the risk factor, I see no evidence Naomi had bad motives. Remember that Ruth and Boaz had already met in the harvest field, and she had already made a positive impression on him (Ruth 2:11). He knew about her loyal love for Naomi and how Ruth had left Moab to live with her. Plus, he saw how hard she worked in the field. Her reputation had preceded her. He had already welcomed her, had warned his men not to bother her, had invited her to his table, and had sent her home with grain.   Perhaps thoughts of romance had already entered Boaz’s mind. Certainly he appreciated how difficult it was for a woman from her background to come to Bethlehem. But think about it for a moment. Boaz couldn’t approach Ruth.   She was young. She was a widow. She was from Moab. She was now working for him.   In that culture, at that time, it couldn’t happen. Understanding that, Naomi hatches her audacious scheme. Was she a matchmaker? If so, who could blame her for wanting to see Ruth and Boaz get married? Boaz was a good man, and Ruth was a good woman. That much has already been established.   If Boaz can’t propose to Ruth, then she can propose to him.   The details about her dress and the perfume simply set the scene. They would show Boaz how serious she was. Far from being some sort of midnight seduction, here was a way (perhaps the only way) for this man and this woman to come together as husband and wife.     Note how specific Naomi is. She knew Boaz would sleep with his head facing inward and his feet facing outward. Ruth had to find a way to arrive at the threshing floor undetected, figure out where he was sleeping, and wait until he had finished eating and drinking. Finally, she was to uncover his feet because that would guarantee he would eventually wake up.   Perhaps the most surprising part is Ruth’s response in verse 5: “I will do everything you say.” She knew the risks involved. There were many reasons to say no, but she said yes. Thus does God’s plan unfold for his children. When Walt Kaiser preached on this chapter, he called it “risky providence.” That’s a fine phrase that perfectly balances both sides of the story. For Ruth to say yes meant taking a big risk. But behind Naomi’s plan stood God who orchestrated every detail, including Boaz’s cold feet that woke him up at midnight.   Faith means taking a risk for God and leaving the results in his hands. When the sun went down and Ruth left for the threshing floor, Naomi was pacing nervously, not knowing what would happen next. That’s how faith works. We take a step forward, following the light we have, trusting God to bring us out in the right place. Sometimes things don’t work out as we planned, but that’s okay too. Our part is to take the first step. God can take care of the rest.   Scene 1 ends with Ruth stepping into the evening darkness, wondering how Boaz will respond. Her future hangs in the balance.   Scene # 2: A Midnight Proposal (vv. 7-15)   Midnight comes, and all is quiet at the threshing floor.   Suddenly a man stirs, realizing his feet are uncovered. Peering into the darkness, Boaz makes out the form of a woman lying at his feet. That was startling and troubling. Was she a prostitute? After all, it was known that a man could buy sexual favors at the threshing floor. So Boaz asks (in a whisper, we presume), “Who are you?” No doubt her answer shocked him:   “I am Ruth, your servant,” she replied. “Take me under your wing, for you are a family redeemer” (v 8).   It was a straightforward marriage proposal. The phrase “Take me under your wing” can also be translated as “Spread your covering over me.” It was Ruth’s way of saying, “Marry me, and bring me under your protection.” She uses the same Hebrew word Boaz used in Ruth 2:12 when he described the God of Israel, “under whose wings you have come to seek refuge.” He knew exactly what she meant: “As I have come to God for my spiritual refuge, I now come to you for my personal refuge.”   If Boaz had been a lesser man, he might have tried to take advantage of her. He could have said, “Let’s sleep together, and I’ll think about it in the morning.” But he didn’t do that. He responds in three ways that show the greatness of his character:   First, he prays that God will bless her because this kindness to him is greater than her earlier kindness to Naomi (v. 10). She could have married a younger man (for passion or for money), but she didn’t.   Second, he agrees to do what she asks because everyone knows she is a woman of noble character (v. 11). It’s the same word used in Proverbs 31:10 of the “noble” or “virtuous” or “excellent” woman. Though Ruth doesn’t know it yet, Boaz has agreed to do more than she asked. She wanted him to marry her, but he has promised to guarantee her future--with him or without him.   Here we hit a sudden detour in the story. Boaz is willing to marry her, but there is another man who is a closer relative. He must have the first choice in the matter.   Stay here tonight, and in the morning, if he wants to redeem you, that’s good. Let him redeem you. But if he doesn’t want to redeem you, as the Lord lives, I will. Now lie down until morning” (v. 13).   Boaz cares so much for Ruth and Naomi that he is willing for the other man to redeem Ruth, even if it meant Boaz could never marry her. He only wants her needs to be met.   Third, he protects her reputation and provides a pledge to Naomi (vv. 14-15). She is to leave in the pre-dawn darkness so that no rumors could get started. The gift of grain is like a dowry payment to Naomi. Six measures of barley might weigh 60-90 pounds. Boaz's extravagant gesture to Naomi was intended to show his commitment to both women. A lesser man might say, “I’ll marry Ruth and not worry about Naomi,” but Boaz was not a lesser man.   The second scene ends as the sun rises over the mountains to the east.   Scene # 3: A Providential Pause (vv. 16-18)   If we were writing the story, we would go straight to the wedding, but that’s not how life works. Every relationship has its ups and downs, its sudden twists and turns. No doubt Ruth went home elated and deflated.   She had every reason to smile because Boaz had not only welcomed her, he had promised to marry her if he could. If he could.   Those three little words hung in the air. There was another man, a mystery man, a closer relative who had the first right of refusal. Boaz couldn’t be the “kinsman redeemer” until the first man turned it down. How would that happen? What if the other man decided to marry her? Would she have to do the whole threshing-floor-at-midnight routine again? So many questions flooded her mind.   That’s when Naomi offered some very sensible advice:   “Naomi said, “My daughter, wait until you find out how things go, for he won’t rest unless he resolves this today” (v. 18).   The word translated “wait” can mean to “sit down.” We would say today, “Sit tight.” Sometimes the godliest thing you can do is to sit down and wait.   Waiting time is not wasted time if you are waiting on the Lord.   As the chapter draws to a close, it seems like the story has hit a snag. But it is a providential pause that sets up the final act. It gives us time to think about each person in this story.   Naomi’s heart has been warmed by the Lord. The woman who came home bitter and empty now sees God at work behind the scenes. When she returned to Bethlehem, she was hungry and penniless. That’s about to change for good.   Ruth has taken the daring step of proposing marriage to Boaz. She does it in a way that gives Boaz the option to say no, but he is not about to refuse her. Clearly, the Lord has stirred up love between these two unlikely people.   Boaz has acted with the highest character when another man might have taken advantage of the situation. No matter what happens next, Ruth will have a husband, and Naomi will never want again.   So what about this snag? As Shakespeare said, “The course of true love never did run smooth.” Faith waits for what it wants. How different that is from the way most of us live. Waiting is one of the hardest parts of the Christian life. Thousands act who cannot wait. Yet we all spend a big chunk of our lives waiting for things to happen. For every green light, it seems like there are five yellow ones and a dozen red ones. We all must wait whether we like it or not.   In this case, Ruth must wait for Boaz to take care of the matter. Perhaps it will be resolved favorably. But maybe not.   When it cannot do anything else, faith waits on the Lord. Oh, how hard that it for most of us! But waiting has its uses. It slows us down, it gives us time to think and pray, and it teaches us God is in charge, not us.   Was it daring for Ruth to approach Boaz at midnight? Without a doubt. Could she have been seen by others? Definitely. Was it risky to put on an attractive dress and wear perfume? No question about it. So many things might have gone wrong.   I began by saying a good man is hard to find, but a good woman is hard to find too. In Ruth 3, a good woman finds her good man, and it happens through a risky plan that leads to a midnight proposal that ends with a providential pause. The fingerprints of God are all over this story.   Ruth 3 shows us how God works through our choices to accomplish his will for our lives. He used Naomi’s plan, Ruth’s daring, and Boaz’s integrity to bring them to the brink of marriage. Though they don’t know it yet, that union will produce a child who will be the ancestor of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World.   This story is going to have a happy ending, but we’re not quite there yet.   Stay tuned. You won’t believe how Boaz solves the snag and clears the way for a happy wedding day. See you next blog, Ted

The Sign Of The Times

Zechariah 14:3 - "Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle."

There are many biblical signs pointing to the end times, but there are no biblical prophecies that have to be fulfilled before the rapture of the Church, when Christ comes to escort His bride into heaven, but we are not left uninformed! We are told about the times, and seasons! However, we're exhorted to occupy 'til Jesus comes. We are to watch for Him, recognise that the consummation of the age is very close, and be ready for His imminent return... when, in the twinkling of an eye, the dead in Christ will be raised imperishable, and all who believe on the Lord for salvation will be changed into the likeness of Christ.

Israel, on the contrary, are given many hundreds of prophecies relating to both Christ's first advent - when He was born of a virgin in Bethlehem and also His second coming, when Jesus returns to the earth, in clouds of great glory, to set up His millennial kingdom that will never end. All prophecies relating to Christ's first coming have been fulfilled, while those connected with His return are currently being set up for their eventual fulfillment during the Great Tribulation - sometimes called the 70th week of Daniel or the Time of Jacob's Trouble.

At His second advent, Jesus will come with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him. He will be riding a white horse and coming in the clouds of heaven - and on His robe and thigh will be written “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. Every eye will see Him and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. These prophecies speak of the time when national Israel will repent of their past sin - and the Gentile nations will know that God is the Lord.

Zechariah is one of many prophets that give some very stirring and specific prophecies to Israel, about the return of Christ. He warns of the day when Jerusalem will become a cup of trembling to all the surrounding nations. He describes the siege that will be laid against Judah. He speaks of the day when the Lord will destroy all the nations that attack the Holy City. Zechariah relates how God will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled.

He is speaking of a time in Israel's future history when all hope seems to have evaporated. He is prophesying of the time that Christ is about to return to earth, for Zechariah is delivering a message of great hope to God's people, as well as a warning... for he said, "THEN the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle."  And today we are seeing things being set up for the coming Day of the Lord.

Having gone through terrible times of trouble and great tribulation, and despite seeing their Holy City captured, it's wealth taken, it's people enslaved, and the rebuilt temple of God desecrated by the man-of-sin, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship - Zechariah gives God's people a message of wonderful hope. God, Himself, will stand up and fight against those nations, and manifest His great power.

He will fight all those who have come against His people Israel, "on the day of slaughter". He describes the day when Christ will stand on the Mount of Olives, which will split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley, in which half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half toward the south. He tells of a unique day, known only to the Lord, when there will be neither day nor night - but living waters will flow out, from under Jerusalem, to cleanse the earth. Amidst all the wrath of God being poured out on the Godless people who refuse to believe - this prophet of doom delivers a message of hope. "Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle."

The Lord is the divine Warrior, Who stood up and fought for His people on many occasions in Old Testament times. The Lord will once again display His awesome strength to Israel, as also to the people who refuse to acknowledge Him as God. He will display His righteous judgement before the nations and will destroy Israel's enemies and FINALLY, salvation will visit His people. On that day, Israel will call on the name of the Lord, recognise their Messiah, and repent of their sin.

When God chose Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Israel to be His chosen nations, through whom the Messiah would be born, He also promised them the land of Israel and many blessings besides. When the Lord called David to shepherd His people Israel, He promised to build him a house. He promised that one of His descendants would sit on his royal throne, forever.

The Lord will chasten them for a brief time, BUT He will never go back on His promises to Israel. They will never fail, for His word is altogether sure and He can be trusted. And how we rejoice as well, for His promises to the Church are equally true and altogether righteous - for they are all "yes" and "amen" through Christ Jesus our Lord.

My Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You that Your word is trustworthy and true, and that Your promises, to both Israel and the Church, stand fast forever and ever. Thank You that in Your goodness and grace You purposed to save Your rebellious people and have set out Your battle plan, in the pages of Scripture. Thank You, that despite their rebellion, You will not forsaken Your people Israel, and that a day is coming when salvation will come to that whole nation. Thank You, also, for Your many precious promises to the Church. May I be a worthy witness to Your goodness and grace, and stand fast on the Word of truth. This I ask in Jesus' precious name, AMEN.

Source: https://dailyverse.knowing-jesus.com/zechariah-14-3

See you next blog,
Ted

The Delay of Unanswered Prayer

I've thought about this more lately than ever before. I'm not afraid for myself with this virus. Don't get me wrong I dread going through it at my age and it could certainly very well kill me slowly and miserably. Now, my concern is for those I love. Yep, I said it. Now, my deepest concern is for those I love! You see, I don't love very easily. I have always distanced myself from loving too deep because I have never been able to keep what I love for one reason or another. Losing is so very painful that now I just bury it, hide it and keep on keeping on! I served my country and lost the two best friends I ever had. I've never allowed anyone to get too close but then I dropped my guard and paid the price. They are gone. Well, I've done it again after all these years and my concern is for all of you who don't know what is going to happen. I was a Shepherd of the Lord once but in name only. My heart wasn't in it. NOW IT IS! So, I will finish telling on myself:

Infatuated with women several times but never allowing myself to love deeply even when married. I was good provider each time but deep love is something I held back. I was really good in sales thanks to my Dad but he and I could not sit in the same room together two days in a row. We just never really got along. I loved him but I never told him. He died while I was away. I didn't know he was going to die that quickly but cancer waits for no one. I never got to say goodbye and in great anger at something he said I told him I wished he would die miserably. The real sad fact of his death is that many years before I had accepted Jesus as my Savior and yet I was filled with anger when he needed me most. I didn't know the day he died so I never made to the funeral. I was honestly sick inside for what I had said...I still am!

In the past I haven't allowed myself to have close friends and almost all those I called friends have gone their separate ways or died when I was somewhere else and didn't find out till later. I've been divorced several times and never really mourned their passing because they went to other men. Maybe they knew me better than I thought. I thought I had disguised my deepest feelings and I guess I was too good at it. How many of you had a caring person you loved that has tried to talk to you and get you to open up...no way on God's green earth could I do that...until a while back I finally gave in a little. Now, I risk losing her to disease. 

God is sovereign and He will always prevail. He always has our best interest at heart. Sometimes it is not always the way we want it. Still, there is faith and hope.  That has to stay first and foremost in our minds. We pray the prayer of faith and wait on God's sovereignty to show. Paul, the apostle, said in the first chapter of Philippians that for me to live is Christ and for me to die is gain-which is best Christian? He spoke the truth, we must look beyond this life. 

My prayers in all honestly have been about 50/50 in being answered when I call on the Lord. Now, in looking back I'm glad most of those weren't answered the way I wanted even though I prayed some of them with great emotion. I even tried to make deals with God even though I knew better. I ran across this article by Alistair Begg that I think is worth using here. These are tough times but in tough times the tough need to get prayed up and get going! Who do we really trust...not politicians! Where is our faith better placed?

The Delay of Answered Prayer
by Pastor Alistair Begg

I called him, but he gave no answer.

 Song of Songs 5:6

Prayer sometimes lingers, like a petitioner at the gate, until the King comes with the blessings that she seeks. The Lord, when He has given great faith, has been known to test it by long delays. He has allowed His servants' voices to echo in their ears as if the heavens were brass. They have knocked at the golden gate, but it has remained immovable, as though it were rusted upon its hinges. Like Jeremiah, they have cried, "You have wrapped yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can pass through."1

In this manner true saints have continued to wait patiently without a reply, not because their prayers were not strong, nor because they were unaccepted, but because it so pleased Him who is a Sovereign and who gives according to His own pleasure. If it pleases Him to test our patience, shall He not do as He wishes with His children? Beggars must not be choosers either as to time, place, or form.

But we must be careful not to take delays in prayer for denials. God's postdated checks will be punctually honored; we must not allow Satan to shake our confidence in the God of truth by pointing to our unanswered prayers. Unanswered petitions are not unheard. God keeps a file for our prayers—they are not blown away by the wind; they are treasured in the King's archives. This is a registry in the court of heaven in which every prayer is recorded.

Struggling believer, your Lord has as it were a tear-bottle in which the costly drops of your sacred grief are put away, and a book in which your holy groanings are numbered. By-and-by your case shall prevail. Can you not be content to wait a little? Will the Lord's time not be better than yours? By-and-by He will comfortably appear, to your soul's joy, and will cause you to put away the sackcloth and ashes of long waiting and put on the scarlet and fine linen of full fruition.

1) Lamentations 3:44

Hang in their folks, the Lord ain't done yet! All the prognosticators have spoken of great doom. We will see because our faith isn't in them. It is in the one who saves us. He, who gave himself for us. He, who died and rose again victorious over death. He is our comfort when there is nothing or no one else to call on. We are all in this together and our prayers though delayed for many will be answered one way or another. I would encourage you to read Ephesians 6:14-17! There are many scriptures that tell us to be strong and full of courage. 

See you next blog beloved,

Ted