Sunday, September 13, 2009

A Man of Standing (post on Ruth)

Oh my goodness! We just started our first week of Bible Study, A Woman's Heart by Beth Moore and man, is it good! So, I have been busy busy this week! I hope you all have had a great week. I was wondering if there were any of you out there who are starting a fall Bible Study and if so, which one? I'd love to hear which ones we are all currently taking! Well, the last post I did on the book of Ruth, (which was Aug. 26th), we met a man named Boaz. We also learned the purpose of gleaning and the reason why God commands it. Our scripture reading for today will be Chapter 2:1-13. As you read the passage of scripture, look for the term that is used to describe both Boaz and Ruth. (I'll give you a few minutes....!)
In verse one, as it introduces Boaz, it says that he was a man of "Standing". As you read the story about Ruth gleaning in the fields, you get to verse 13, and then again, the same term is used to describe Ruth except in the opposite way. Boaz was a man of "Standing"; however, Ruth describes herself as not even having the "Standing" of one of his servant girls.
Okay, so, what does it mean when they are using the term standing. They are talking about their social and financial status. Boaz was man of wealth and was well known amoung the people. Ruth was very poor, less that one of his servant girls, and she also was a foreigner, so her social status was very low as well. But look at what Boaz says to the people in verse 4.
Boaz, a man of standing, comes to the fields that he owns, and calls out to the people who are there working for him, in his fields, and that is how he greets them by calling out, "The Lord be with you"! Then they respond back to him, "The Lord bless you!"
It seems to me that Boaz was not only a man of standing but he was a man of compassion. He cared about the people who worked for him. Fortunately, I work for a Christain owned company and the managers and supervisors that I am "under" are very compassionate people and care about their employees. How about you? If you are the employer or if you are in a position of management where you work, how are you at managing your employees? Do you show compassion and manage your employees the way God would want you to?
Now, employees, it's your turn! In verse 5, Boaz notices a young woman in the field gleaning, and he asks his foreman, who is that? He notices her right away? Why? Could it be that she was a foreigner? She was new on the job? She was a hard worker? In verse 7, the foreman says these words about her, "she went into the field and has worked steadily from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter." Boaz had already heard what Ruth had done for Naomi and now here she is working hard, steadily, to provide. Not asking for a hand out. Not complaining about having to glean the fields after everyone else. She was humble, grateful, hard-working, and committed. What kind of employee are you? Do you work for your employer as if you were working for God?
As you read through to verse 14, you see that because of her hard work and committment, she found favor in the eyes of Boaz, even though she didn't even have the standing of one of his servant girls.
Boaz and Ruth both show strong character traits about how to handle people and relationships.
How we treat people and handle people mean alot. Whether employer, employee or coworker, we have to remember to have compassion and show concern for the people around us, whether we consider them to be "standing" or not.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Commission prayer from the Beth Moore Conference

My Dear Sister
God has not overlooked you
He has not ignored you
He hears every petition
And intimately knows
The heart beneath it.
Give Him full accessTo all your longings
Pray every single day
To become a person who delights in Him.
When it seems to disappear
Remember to check your JAW
Are you jealous?
Are you angry?
Are you worried?
Roll it all on Jesus
He's strong enough to carry it
Big enough to handle it.
Trust God with all your heart
Now leave this place
And go into the world
And do some GOOD.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Okay, I went to the Simulcast this weekend and heard Beth Moore! Yeah! I am so glad that I was able to go. I really needed a fresh WORD! I just want to take a few minutes to tell you about some of what she ended with because it made me think of the last post I did earlier this week. One of the points she made was that we need to do good. She asked us these two questions: Who can we help? What good can we do? Here's the part that really got me. She was not talking about doing what is right. She was talking about doing some good! She brought up an interesting point. She said we get so caught up in doing what is right, and we think as long as we are doing what is right we are ok. (i am paraphrasing here!) We hear stories, see people, watch the news, and we think, "well, we are doing what is right". Just because we are doing what is right- if we do not do good- what good did it do? She brought up the fact that this is the reason so many people don't like us! They see us doing what is right but not doing anything good! There are people out there who are hurting, who are facing loss, who need our help. What good are we doing? We were studying Psalm 37:4 but the verse we were referring to here was verse 3. Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. some translations say feed off of his faithfulness! Nursing Homes, Children's Homes, children in our church and schools who need mentoring, pregnancy crisis centers, hospitals, jail, neighborhood... these are just some suggestions... Here is the last statement I wrote down. God will deal with evil... we need to worry about doing some good. Feed off of His faithfulness...dwell in the land He has you in...enjoy safe pastures... and DO SOME GOOD! I want to thank the ladies at my church. You all mean so much to me and I love Bible Study and I love hanging out with you! You are all such an encouragement to me and I love each one of you. Can't wait till Tuesday! (BTW-we are meeting Tuesday night for a special time! you won't want to miss it!) LOVE YA!~