Meta: Meta Faith: Mark 12:41-44

 

Sitting across from the temple treasury, he watched how the crowd dropped money into the treasury. Many rich people were putting in large sums. 42 Then a poor widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little. 43 Summoning his disciples, he said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 For they all gave out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had —all she had to live on.”
Mark 12:41-44 (CSB)

Meta Faith…

1. Stretches Me

Sitting across from the temple treasury, he watched how the crowd dropped money into the treasury. Many rich people were putting in large sums. 42 Then a poor widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little.
Mark 12:41-42 (CSB)

The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help.
1 Timothy 5:5 (NIV)

2. Motivates Me

Sitting across from the temple treasury, he watched how the crowd dropped money into the treasury. Many rich people were putting in large sums. 42 Then a poor widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little.
Mark 12:41-42 (CSB)

3. Inspires Me

Summoning his disciples, he said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 For they all gave out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had —all she had to live on.”
Mark 12:43-44 (CSB)

source https://edgechurchcolorado.com/meta-meta-faith-mark-1241-44/

Messes & Miracles: Atomic Choices: Ruth 4

 

4 Choices that Shape your Life

1) Faith Choices

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.
Ruth 1:16 (NIV)

2) Community Choices

With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah.
Ruth 1:7 (NIV)

Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side, a man of standing from the clan of Elimelek, whose name was Boaz.
Ruth 2:1 (NIV)

So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When he made love to her, the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son.
Ruth 4:13 (NIV)

3) Family Choices

…both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.
Ruth 1:5 (NIV)

Who are you?” he asked.“I am your servant Ruth,” she said. “Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a guardian-redeemer of our family.”
Ruth 3:9 (NIV)

So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When he made love to her, the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son.
Ruth 4:13 (NIV)

4) Attitude Choices

“…My daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord’s hand has turned against me!”
Ruth 1:12-13 (NIV)

“Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. 21 I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty.
Ruth 1:20-21 (NIV)

He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.” Then Naomi took the child in her arms and cared for him.17 The women living there said, “Naomi has a son!” And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.
Ruth 4:15-17 (NIV)

This, then, is the family line of Perez: Perez was the father of Hezron, 19 Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab, 20 Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, 21 Salmon the father of Boaz,Boaz the father of Obed, 22 Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David.
Ruth 4:18-22 (NIV)

source https://edgechurchcolorado.com/messes-miracles-atomic-choices-ruth-4/

Messes & Miracles: Lovestruck: Ruth 3:1-18

 

Love Is…

1. Submissive

Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi said to her, “My daughter, shouldn’t I find rest for you, so that you will be taken care of? 2 Now isn’t Boaz our relative? Haven’t you been working with his female servants? This evening he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor. 3 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.”5 So Ruth said to her, “I will do everything you say.”
Ruth 3:1-5 (CSB)

Yield to obey each other because you respect Christ.
Ephesians 5:21

That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.
Genesis 2:24 (NIV)

“This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends .”
John 15:12-13 (CSB)

2. Bold

At midnight, Boaz was startled, turned over, and there lying at his feet was a woman! 9 So he asked, “Who are you?” “I am Ruth, your servant,” she replied. “Take me under your wing, for you are a family redeemer.”
Ruth 1:8-9 (CSB)

3. Generous

She went to her mother-in-law, Naomi, who asked her, “What happened, my daughter?” Then Ruth told her everything the man had done for her. 17 She said, “He gave me these six measures of barley, because he said, ‘Don’t go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’”
Ruth 3:16-17 (CSB)

4. Loyal

Boaz replied: The LORD bless you! This shows how truly loyal you are to your family. You could have looked for a younger man, either rich or poor, but you didn’t.
Ruth 3:10 (CEV)

5. Protective

But if he doesn’t want to redeem you, as the Lord lives, I will. Now lie down until morning.”14 So she lay down at his feet until morning but got up while it was still dark. Then Boaz said, “Don’t let it be known that a woman came to the threshing floor.”
Ruth 3:13-14 (CSB)

For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb.
1 Peter 1:18-19 (CSB)

source https://edgechurchcolorado.com/messes-miracles-lovestruck-ruth-31-18/

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/