Ruth 1:16 And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Ruth was the daughter-in-law to Naomi; at this moment, she is clinging to her mother-in-law, asking her not to force her to leave. The bond between them is inseparable. Their hardship was the cement to their love for one another. Naomi’s husband had died, and t

Ecclesiastes 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. There is no profit in the dust. In the end, the only things that are profitable are what you have laid up in the spirit. Some things do not exist, a belief that there will be no judgment, that after you die, you no longer exist. When I first became a Christian, I asked my friend, Charles, how atheists could believe nothing after death? He said, “look at that

Luke 22:31-32 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. Imagine yourself as Peter sitting here, excited about eating a Passover meal with Jesus. He's just administered communion and announced that the one who is about to betray Him is seated at the table. The twelve apostles begin to self-examine and then get

Luke 17:5-6 And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you. Increase our faith, an unusual request from the apostles. They have just listened to Jesus teach the parables of the Dishonest Steward, The Law and The Kingdom of God, Divorce and Remarriage, The Rich Man and Lazarus, Temp

1Corinthians 10:26-27 For the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof. If any of them that believe not bid you to a feast, and ye be disposed to go; whatsoever is set before you, eat, asking no question for conscience sake. I know that as Christians, we can sometimes get hung up over false but well-intended beliefs, thinking that it is inappropriate to do things with non-believers. I used to go hunting with people that were not totally on board with Christianity; it make

Luke 11:35 Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness. This statement by Jesus seems like an impossibility; how can a person have dark light? Take your modern-day light bulbs; there is such a wide variety of choice. You have your spotlight that wants to illuminate one area. Some preachers only preach about sin; it’s like they burn a hole in the podium. There’s a Christmas light that blinks on and off, dazzling the spectator with an array of cute littl

Luke 7:12-13 Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. Jesus raised the widow's son. What stands out to me is the direction of Jesus's compassion—not directing His compassion at the deceased son. While everyone else was mourning and weeping for the dead, Jesus

Luke 7:19-21 And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou He that should come? or look we for another? When the men were come unto him, they said, John Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou He that should come? or look we for another? And in that same hour He cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind He gave sight. John has been confined in King Herod’s prison, but was John

2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. I used to play on a church softball team. Our pastor, an excellent coach, would occasionally yell out, "Attitude Check!" Unanimously the team would shout back, "Jesus is Lord!" Maybe our nation, our people, need an attitude check? Whose name are you

Mathew 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest, I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. I think we live in a time where Tares and the Wheat are being revealed, coming to maturity. In the early stages of growing, wheat and tares look pretty much the same, but there is a difference, the grass blades of the tares are thinner. (Maybe that’s why we ha