Messes & Miracles: Grace In The Grind: Ruth 2:1-23

 

1. Grace Approaches Me

Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Don’t go and gather grain in another field, and don’t leave this one, but stay here close to my female servants.
Ruth 2:8 (CSB)

GRACE SHOWS UP AT UNEXPECTED TIMES
GRACE SHOWS UP IN UNUSUAL PLACES

For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.
Luke 19:10 (CSB)

2. Grace Protects Me

See which field they are harvesting, and follow them. Haven’t I ordered the young men not to touch you? When you are thirsty, go and drink from the jars the young men have filled.”10 She fell facedown, bowed to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor with you, so that you notice me, although I am a foreigner?”
Ruth 2:9-10 (CSB)

For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— 9 not from works, so that no one can boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9 (CSB)

God has revealed his grace to save the whole human race.
Titus 2:11 (NJB)

3. Grace Blesses Me

At mealtime Boaz told her, “Come over here and have some bread and dip it in the vinegar sauce.” So she sat beside the harvesters, and he offered her roasted grain. She ate and was satisfied and had some left over…She picked up the grain and went into the town, where her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She brought out what she had left over from her meal and gave it to her.
Ruth 2:14;18 (CSB)

So the king asked, “Is there anyone left of Saul’s family that I can show the kindness of God to?” …So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table just like one of the king’s sons.
2 Samuel 9:3;11 (CSB)

4. Grace Uplifts Me

She fell facedown, bowed to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor with you, so that you notice me, although I am a foreigner?”11 Boaz answered her, “Everything you have done for your mother-in-law since your husband’s death has been fully reported to me: how you left your father and mother and your native land, and how you came to a people you didn’t previously know. 12 May the Lord reward you for what you have done, and may you receive a full reward from the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.”
Ruth 2:10-12 (CSB)

5. Grace Favors Me

Then she said, “I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants.”
Ruth 2:13 (CSB)

source https://edgechurchcolorado.com/messes-miracles-jaded-on-the-journey-ruth-11-22-2/

Messes & Miracles: Jaded On The Journey: Ruth 1:1-22

 

1.         God can bless me when I’m hurting

During the time of the judges, there was a famine in the land. A man left Bethlehem in Judah with his wife and two sons to stay in the territory of Moab for a while.
Ruth 1:1 (CSB)

Naomi’s husband, Elimelech, died, and she was left with her two sons.
Ruth 1:3 (CSB)

Both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and the woman was left without her two children and without her husband.
Ruth 1:5 (CSB)

Return home, my daughters. Go on, for I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me to have a husband tonight and to bear sons.
Ruth 1:12 (CSB)

She and her daughters-in-law set out to return from the territory of Moab, because she had heard in Moab that the Lord had paid attention to his people’s need by providing them food.
Ruth 1:6 (CSB)

Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me, and do so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.
Ruth 1:17 (CSB)

Naomi took the child, placed him on her lap, and became a mother to him. The neighbor women said, “A son has been born to Naomi,” and they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.
Ruth 4:16-17 (CSB)

I would have despaired had I not believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living.
Psalm 27:13 (AMP)

2.         I can return to the Lord when I’m questioning

She and her daughters-in-law set out to return from the territory of Moab, because she had heard in Moab that the Lord had paid attention to his people’s need by providing them food.
Ruth 1:6 (CSB)

3.         I can embrace personal faith when I’m struggling

Naomi said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods. Follow your sister-in-law.” But Ruth replied: Don’t plead with me to abandon you or to return and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.
Ruth 1:15-16 (CSB)

source https://edgechurchcolorado.com/messes-miracles-jaded-on-the-journey-ruth-11-22/

What Are You Sowing: Judges 9; Galatians 6:7-10

 

One day Gideon’s son Abimelech went to Shechem to visit his uncles—his mother’s brothers. He said to them and to the rest of his mother’s family, 2 “Ask the leading citizens of Shechem whether they want to be ruled by all seventy of Gideon’s sons or by one man. And remember that I am your own flesh and blood!”3 So Abimelech’s uncles gave his message to all the citizens of Shechem on his behalf. And after listening to this proposal, the people of Shechem decided in favor of Abimelech because he was their relative. 4 They gave him seventy silver coins from the temple of Baal-berith, which he used to hire some reckless troublemakers who agreed to follow him. 5 He went to his father’s home at Ophrah, and there, on one stone, they killed all seventy of his half brothers, the sons of Gideon. But the youngest brother, Jotham, escaped and hid.6 Then all the leading citizens of Shechem and Beth-millo called a meeting under the oak beside the pillar at Shechem and made Abimelech their king.
Judges 9:1-6 (NLT)

Then Jotham escaped and lived in Beer because he was afraid of his brother Abimelech.  After Abimelech had ruled over Israel for three years, 23 God sent a spirit that stirred up trouble between Abimelech and the leading citizens of Shechem, and they revolted. 24 God was punishing Abimelech for murdering Gideon’s seventy sons, and the citizens of Shechem for supporting him in this treachery of murdering his brothers. 25 The citizens of Shechem set an ambush for Abimelech on the hilltops and robbed everyone who passed that way. But someone warned Abimelech about their plot.
Judges 9:21-25

Then Abimelech attacked the town of Thebez and captured it. 51 But there was a strong tower inside the town, and all the men and women—the entire population—fled to it. They barricaded themselves in and climbed up to the roof of the tower. 52 Abimelech followed them to attack the tower. But as he prepared to set fire to the entrance, 53 a woman on the roof dropped a millstone that landed on Abimelech’s head and crushed his skull.54 He quickly said to his young armor bearer, “Draw your sword and kill me! Don’t let it be said that a woman killed Abimelech!” So the young man ran him through with his sword, and he died. 55 When Abimelech’s men saw that he was dead, they disbanded and returned to their homes.56 In this way, God punished Abimelech for the evil he had done against his father by murdering his seventy brothers. 57 God also punished the men of Shechem for all their evil. So the curse of Jotham son of Gideon was fulfilled.
Judges 9:50-56 (NLT)

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
Galatians 6:7-10 (NIV)

1. We Reap What We Sow

Don’t be under any illusion: you cannot make a fool of God! A man’s harvest in life will depend entirely on what he sows.
Galatians 6:7 (PT)

Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
Galatians 6:8 (NIV)

2. We Reap Later And Sooner Than We Sow

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Galatians 6:9 (NIV)

3. We Reap More Than We Sow

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Galatians 6:9 (NIV)

source https://edgechurchcolorado.com/what-are-you-sowing-judges-9-galatians-67-10/

All About Jesus: Jesus Is My Lion and My Lamb: Revelation 5:1-6

 

I also saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” 3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or even to look in it. 4 I wept and wept because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or even to look in it. Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Look, the Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered so that he is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.” Then I saw one like a slaughtered lamb standing in the midst of the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent into all the earth.
Revelation 5:1-6 (CSB)

Judah is a young lion—my son, you return from the kill. He crouches; he lies down like a lion or a lioness—who dares to rouse him? The scepter will not depart from Judah or the staff from between his feet until he whose right it is comes and the obedience of the peoples belongs to him.
Genesis 49:9-10 (CSB)

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
John 1:29 (CSB)

1) Love The Lion and the Lamb

2) Live Like a Lion and a Lamb

source https://edgechurchcolorado.com/all-about-jesus-jesus-is-my-lion-and-my-lamb-revelation-51-6/

All About Jesus: Jesus Is My Victory: Revelation 19:11-16

 

JESUS IS MY VICTORY…

1.         Because He’s Constant

Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True, and with justice he judges and makes war.
Revelation 19:11 (CSB)

2.         Because He’s Magnificent

His eyes were like a fiery flame, and many crowns were on his head. He had a name written that no one knows except himself.
Revelation 19:12 (CSB)

3.         Because He’s Transformative

He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God.
Revelation 19:13 (CSB)

For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12 (CSB)

Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
Proverbs 30:5 (CSB)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created.
John 1:1-3 (CSB)

4.         Because He’s Triumphant

And he has a name written on his robe and on his thigh: King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Revelation 19:16 (CSB)

Then I fell at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers and sisters who hold firmly to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God, because the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
Revelation 19:10 (CSB)

source https://edgechurchcolorado.com/all-about-jesus-jesus-is-my-victory-revelation-1911-16/

All About Jesus Part: Jesus Is My Star: Revelation 22:16

 

A star will come from Jacob, and a scepter will arise from Israel.
Numbers 24:17 (CSB)

“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to attest these things to you for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright Morning Star.”
Revelation 22:16 (CSB)

1. JESUS THE MORNING STAR GIVES DIRECTION

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star at its rising and have come to worship him.”
Matthew 2:1-2 (CSB)

If we say, “We have fellowship with him,” and yet we walk in darkness, we are lying and are not practicing the truth. If we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
1 John 1:6-7 (CSB)

2. JESUS THE MORNING STAR GIVES PERSPECTIVE

Jesus spoke to them again: “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.”
John 8:12 (CSB)

3. JESUS THE MORNING STAR GIVES HOPE

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints.
Ephesians 1:18 (CSB)

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:16 (CSB)

source https://edgechurchcolorado.com/all-about-jesus-part-jesus-is-my-star-revelation-2216/

All About Jesus: Jesus Is My A-Z: Revelation 1:8; 22:13

 

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “the one who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Revelation 1:8 (CSB)

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.
Revelation 22:13 (CSB)

1. Jesus Reveals Spiritual Truth

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning.  All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created.
John 1:1-3 (CSB)

For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through him and for him.17 He is before all things, and by him all things hold together.
Colossians 1:16-17 (CSB)

The one who has seen me has seen the Father.
John 14:9 (CSB)

2. Jesus Knows Everything

“Now we know that you know everything and don’t need anyone to question you. By this we believe that you came from God.”
John 16:30 (CSB)

3. Jesus Provides What I Need

But I have received everything in full, and I have an abundance. I am fully supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you provided—a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. 19 And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:18-19 (CSB)

4. Jesus Finishes What He Starts

I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Philippians 1:6 (CSB)

…looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising shame, and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:2 (ASV)

source https://edgechurchcolorado.com/all-about-jesus-jesus-is-my-a-z-revelation-18-2213/