Archive for the ‘kindness’ Category

God is My Spotter

Posted: October 11, 2020 in James, kindness, laziness
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Under Gods Command

Who is your Spotter when your having trouble getting the weight up? 

I will put more on you than you can bear.  Not a typo, it means exactly that.

The other morning, I was working out listening to Pandora Donne McCurkin Radio.  This song played with the lyrics “He will put no more on you that you can bear”.  I said, wait a minute, something ant right about that.  I been hearing that for years.  He will put no more on you that you can bear.    That statement is no where in the bible.  I believe that God puts more on you that you can bear.  This way it makes us stronger and keep us coming to him.  Just like when we are on the bench press, and we are trying to get stronger.  We tend to lift more than what we can bear and the spotter helps us to go the extra mile.  After a while, we do not need the spotter because we reach the strength level, we need to push that weight.  So now we are operating in our own strength, and that is where we get into trouble when someone slips more pounds on the bar without us knowing it.    I do believe that is the attitude today. When God rescues us, we tend to forget and go back to working out everything in our own strength, and when we think we do not need that Spiritual Spotter any longer who is God, He comes around and puts more weight on the bar or lets say more trials to keep that relationship with Him realizing that you need God.  Once we master the new weight, we must continue to put more weight on the bar and keep God as our spotter to make us stronger.  So yes, God does put more on us than what we can bear.  

Here is a scripture to back up what I am saying. 

James 1:2-4 States consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

James does not say if you face trials, but whenever you face them.  He assumes that we will have trials and that it is possible to profit from them.  The point is not to pretend to be happy when we face pain, but to have a positive outlook (consider it pure joy) because of what trials can produce in our lives, James tells us to turn our hardships into times of learning.  Tough times can teach us perseverance.  

We can’t really know the depth of our character until we see how we react under pressure.  It is easy to be kind to others when everything is going well, but can we still be kind when others are treating us unfairly?  God wants to make us mature and complete.  Not to keep us from all pain.  Instead of complaining about our struggles, we should see them as opportunities for growth. 

Thank God for promising to be with us in our rough times.  Ask him to help us solve our problems or to give us the strength to endure them.  Then be patient.  God will not leave us alone with our problems; he will stay close and help us grow. 

Book of Ruth (Introduction)

Posted: March 10, 2015 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Faithfulness, Inspiration, integrity, kindness, Personal Growth, protection, Ruth, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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RUTH

WHEN someone says, “Let me tell you about my mother-in-law,” we expect some kind of negative statement or funny anecdote. That’s because the mother-in-law caricature has often been used in humor and comedy. The book of Ruth, however, tells a different story. Ruth loved her mother-in-law, Naomi. Recently widowed, Ruth begged to stay with Naomi wherever she went, even though it would mean leaving her homeland. She ended her plea with, “Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God” (1:16). Naomi agreed, and Ruth traveled with her to Bethlehem.     Not much is said about Naomi except that she loved and cared for Ruth. Obviously, Naomi’s life was a

powerful witness to the reality of God. Ruth was drawn to her—and to the God she worshiped. In the succeeding months, God led this young Moabite widow to a man named Boaz, whom she eventually married. As a result, she became the great-grandmother of David and an ancestor in the line of the Messiah. What a profound impact Naomi’s life made!     The book of Ruth is also the story of God’s grace in the midst of difficult circumstances. Ruth’s story occurred during the time of the judges—a period of disobedience, idolatry, and violence. Even in times of crisis and deepest despair, there are those who follow God and through whom God works. No matter how discouraging or antagonistic the world may seem, there are always people who follow God. He will use anyone who is open to him to achieve his purposes. Ruth was a Moabite, and Boaz was a descendant of Rahab, a former prostitute from Jericho. Nevertheless, their offspring continued the family line through which the Messiah came into our world.     Read this book and be encouraged. God is at work in the world, and he wants to use you. God could use you, as he used Naomi, to bring family and friends to him.
KEY VERSE: “But Ruth replied, ‘Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God’” (1:16).
KEY PLACES: Moab, Bethlehem
When we first meet Ruth, she is a destitute widow. We follow her as she joins God’s people, gleans in the grain fields, and risks her honor at the threshing floor of Boaz. In the end, we see Ruth becoming the wife of Boaz. What a picture of how we come to faith in Christ. We begin with no hope and are rebellious foreigners with no part in the kingdom of God. Then as we risk everything by putting our faith in Christ, God saves us, forgives us, rebuilds our lives, and gives us blessings that will last through eternity. Boaz’s redeeming of Ruth is a picture of Christ redeeming us.

EXPLANATION: Ruth’s faithfulness to Naomi as a daughter-in-law and friend is a great example of love and loyalty. Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz are also faithful to God and his laws. Throughout the story we see God’s faithfulness to his people.

IMPORTANCE: Ruth’s life was guided by faithfulness toward God and showed itself in loyalty toward the people she knew. To be loyal and loving in relationships, we must imitate God’s faithfulness in our relationships with others.

Kindness

EXPLANATION: Ruth showed great kindness to Naomi. In turn, Boaz showed kindness to Ruth—a despised Moabite woman with no money. God showed his kindness to Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz by bringing them together for his purposes.

IMPORTANCE: Just as Boaz showed his kindness by buying back land to guarantee Ruth and Naomi’s inheritance, so Christ showed his kindness by dying for us to guarantee our eternal life. God’s kindness should motivate us to love and honor him.

Integrity

EXPLANATION: Ruth showed high moral character by being loyal to Naomi, by her clean break from her former land and customs, and by her hard work in the fields

IMPORTANCE: When we have experienced God’s faithfulness and kindness, we should respond by showing integrity. Just as the values by which Ruth and Boaz lived were in sharp contrast to those of the culture portrayed in the book of Judges, so our lives should stand out from the world around us.

Protection

EXPLANATION: We see God’s care and protection over the lives of Naomi and Ruth. His supreme control over circumstances brings them safety and security. He guides the minds and activities of people to fulfill his purposes.

IMPORTANCE: No matter how devastating our present situation may be, our hope is in God. His resources are infinite. We must believe that he can work in the life of any person—whether that person is a king or a stranger in a foreign land. Trust his protection.

Prosperity/Blessing

EXPLANATION: Ruth and Naomi came to Bethlehem as poor widows, but they soon became prosperous through Ruth’s marriage to Boaz. Ruth became the great-grandmother of King David. Yet the greatest blessing was not the money, the marriage, or the child; it was the quality of love and respect between Ruth, Boaz, and Naomi.

IMPORTANCE: We tend to think of blessings in terms of prosperity rather than the high-quality relationships God makes possible for us. No matter what our economic situation, we can love and respect the people God has brought into our lives. In so doing, we give and receive blessings. Love is the greatest blessing.