You are being observed!

History - Old Testament
S - Scripture
Ruth 3 v. 16 And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, "How did you fare, my daughter?" Then she told her all that the man had done for her.

O - Observation
You are being observed. This is the story of Ruth. What set this story in motion was Ruth's decision to stay with her Mother-in-law even after her own husband died, even though she was in a foreign country. She had a choice. Stay with her Mother-in-law, stay in her beliefs, in the one true God, or go back home. She chose to stay. People saw that and talked. The word got to Boaz, and he gave Ruth special privileges in gleaning wheat for food. So it is with us. We are being observed. The things we do are being discussed. Our actions our decision in life, will impact us and our immediate circle, but it will also cause ripples beyond what we are aware.

A - Application
My life, my choices, what sort of ripples am I sending out?

P - Prayer
Jesus, Let my actions and my choices reflect you.  Love Will

Photo by José Martín Ramírez Carrasco 

When facing troubles - face the Lord

History - Old Testament
S - Scripture
Judges 3 v. 16 And Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit in length; and he girded it on his right thigh under his clothes.

O - Observation
God will send a deliverer. Prior to his verse the Israelites were under the rule of an evil King. The Israelites cried to the Lord for help. Judges 3 v. 15a, "But when the people of Israel cried to the Lord, the Lord raised up for them a deliver, Ehud." Ehud ended up slaying the King and leading the Israelites over his army. The result was 80 years of rest. We need to realize that when we face troubles, we need to instead face the Lord. Psalm 50 v. 15, "And call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me." I love the logic of this verse. Call upon God, He will deliver, we will sing his praise. Makes me think of the ultimate deliver. Jesus. How awesome it is that God sent his only son to deliver us from our sins.
 
A - Application
Am I calling upon the Lord in the Day of trouble?

P - Prayer
Jesus, Thank you for sending your son to save me from eternal damnation. Love Will

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Losing in Order to Save

 Guest Blog by Gary Riedel

S - SCRIPTURE: Luke 9:24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me will save it.

O - OBSERVATION: At first glance this would seem like a very controversial verse, but one has to consider that these are the words of Jesus as He is speaking to His disciples. Immediately preceding this verse is verse 23 which says; “If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” It is not an easy task to follow Jesus and give up everything that you have been doing as the disciples did, hence the reference to taking up their cross daily. They could never go back to doing their own thing, but only the things of Jesus.
Therefore we must lose our own life, our old way of doing things in order to be saved. Romans 6:4 speaks of how baptism works in us to help us live a new life.

A - APPLICATION: Following Jesus is just as difficult today as it was at the time Jesus spoke these words. Laying down our old habits, our old ways of doing things for ourselves, saying no to all of the electronic distractions, is indeed difficult, but if we want to allow Jesus to save us, we need to put Him first! We need to lose our ways so the space can be filled with His ways. The first Commandment is; “Thou shalt have no other Gods before Me!” If we put our desires ahead of Jesus, we are not losing our life in order that it be saved. To lose our lives, brothers and 
sisters is a daily discipline, which requires the help of Jesus.

P - PRAYER: Heavenly Father, help us Lord to lose our old selfish lives in order to find the new life in You. Help us to lose in order that we might be saved by faith in Jesus! In Jesus Name, Amen

Live dangerously for the Lord!

History - Old Testament

S - Scripture
Joshua 3 v. 16  the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap far off, at Adon, the city that is besides Zarethan, and those flowing down toward the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, where wholly cut off; and the people passed over opposite of Jericho.

O - Observation
God will do mighty things if you live dangerously for him. In this verse, God instructed Joshua and the Israelites to go into the land of Canaan. But the problem was the Jordon river was flooded. God gave Joshua strict instructions on how to deal with this, have the Ark of the Covenant go first. When the feet of the men carrying the Ark touched the water, verse 16 happened. It was complete trust in God's power and control. Jesus tells us in Matthew 7 v. 20b, "If you have faith of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there', and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you." With God on your side, who can be against you?
 
A - Application
So.... Am I living dangerously for the Lord? Do I accept that God can do mighty things in my life?

P - Prayer
Jesus, Give me the faith and courage to live my life dangerously for you. Love Will

Photo by Casey Horner on Unsplash

Get Plugged in!!!

History - Old Testament
S - Scripture
Deuteronomy 3 v. 16   and to the Ruebenites and the Gadites, I give the territory from Gilead as far as the valley of the Arnoun with the middle of the valley as a boundary, as far over as the river Jubbok, the boundary of the Ammonites. 

O - Observation
God cares for his people when they are plugged in. Prior to this verse, the Israelites just defeated the armies of the land that is being divided up. This is right before they entered into the Promised Land. Two of the tribes of Israel, Ruebenites and Gadites really like the land they had just fought for. The key to this verse is that the Israelites were lock step in with God. They were dialed in. And when your in tune with the Maker of Heaven and Earth, mighty things happen, as the Israelites found out. Check out what happened prior to this verse. Deuteronomy 2 v. 24a, "Rise up take your journey and go over to the valley of Arnoun; behold I have given into your hand Sibon the Ammorite, king of Hesbon and his land."

A - Application
Am I plugged into the Maker of Heaven and Earth?

P - Prayer
Heavenly Father, Were you go, I will go, I will follow.  Love Will.

Photo by Rod Long on Unsplash

Listen to what God tells you and then do it!

History - Old Testament
S - Scripture
Numbers 3 v. 16 So Moses numbered them according to the word  of the Lord as he was commanded.

O - Observation
Listen and do. In this verse God instructed Moses to number all the males of the house of Levi. This may have been mundane compared to some of his other commands, but Moses did it. Today we have been given a Commandment by God. Matthew 22 v. 37,39, "And he said to him, 'You shall Love your God with all your HEART and with all your SOUL and with all your MIND. The second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Just as a census (numbering) provides the foundation for organizing, so do these commands. They provide the foundation for living a Christian life. If we strive to follow these commands, they will assist us in following God's greatest instruction, Matthew 28 v. 19a, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations."

A - Application
Am I doing what God has commanded me? Especially the foundational commands?

P - Prayer
Jesus, Give me the strength, wisdom and desire to do the things you command me to do. Love Will

Photo by Sean Foster on Unsplash

God loves a cheerful giver!

History - Old Testament
S - Scripture
Leviticus  3 v. 16  And the priest shall burn them on the alter as food offered by fire for a pleasing odor. All fat is the Lords.

O - Observation
All fat is the Lords. An interesting comment in today's fitness driven culture. But if we think about it, back in Moses time, fatted animals were a sign of abundance or plenty. Otherwise the animals would be scrawny. We can apply that concept, fatted animals to today. All of our blessings, the things we have is a Gift from God. Recognizing this helps us put perspective on the things that we have. We need to remember it is not ours, its not because of our great skills, but it is a Gift from God. So in recognition of this we should give back to the Lord. So what is our approach to giving? 2 Corinthians 9 v. 7, 'Each one must do as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for GOD LOVES A CHEERFUL GIVER.' A cheerful giver provides a pleasing odor for the Lord.

A - Application
Do I recognize the 'fat' I have is the Lords? Am I a cheerful giver?

P - Prayer
Jesus, Thank you for all my blessings. Love Will.

Photo by Blake Carpenter on Unsplash