Category: It Is Happening

Pastor A is a full-time Pastor and does evangelism work every day with his team in the remote villages. He came from a leading conjurer family background. He and his father were both witch doctors. After he was healed by God he now is one of God’s “Doctors”. He has a base church in his village and 33 house churches in different areas nearby his village.

He is a subsistence farmer and serving the Lord in the remote village where there are no roads, no electricity, no clean drinking water, and no good schools. His people are very poor subsistence farmers, too. But he is making a great impact in his own village and surrounding area. Now, he has more than 360 people worshiping the Lord in his church. He has been praying for a long time for a Church Building because the old church was cracked by the earthquake and small for his believers.

God answered our prayers thru our faithful partners, like you, and now you can see how happy they are and the joy of tears in their eyes. He said, “I am deeply thankful to God and for RHMI for helping us with the church building and now we don’t have to worry for the danger of walls falling and monsoon and I am really grateful to God.” Please continue to pray for his family and his ministry.

Friends, this is all because of your partnership. There are still many more churches needing to be built in the remote villages of the Himalayas. We need your prayer and help. Every village needs one Church. Indigenous church planting is a long-term investment with long-term results. We want to plant where there is no church. Investing in a church planting startup will bring you great joy!

Thank you, Partners, for helping us to start this Sewing Training Center in a remote village of the Himalayas. These women were so excited and have been praying for a long time, so they came to carry all the sewing equipment. It all was heavy but they didn’t care. They are grateful to God for providing these and very much excited. We set up the sewing training center in a spare room in a believer’s house. The first group of women that started training are all widows with children. Their husbands were killed in the earthquakes. Also, there’s a high rate of sex trafficking in that area where the young ladies and children are taken. They are excited to be given an opportunity to learn to sew so they can set up their own shop to support their families so they don’t have to worry for their children and don’t have to be afraid for sex trafficking.

GOSPEL TRAINING ABOVE THE CLOUDS

Less than 10% of the Himalayan Gospel workers have any formal training. Our RHMI pastors and leaders, who are doing a wonderful job in the church, have very little or no education. So, we have had a growing realization that to continue building more and healthier churches in the Himalayas, there are some challenges we face on our way.

Many of the pastors and leaders grew up in strong Hindu or Buddhist families and have a limited education. They are scattered in remote areas without access to the tools and internet to help them learn. Many works at other jobs while pastoring, and have families they need to continue providing for while reaching and ministering in other villages. The greatest challenge we found among our people is discouragement and lack of resources and training. Pastors living in isolated areas, having opposition from non-Christians, and even sometimes from non-believing family members is the greatest hindrance to their ministry. So, with the help of God’s Grace and your partnership we were able to train in 3 villages and train 90 people from the Word of God.

Bahadur Lama walked for 2 full day’s journey to get to our training. Bahadur is a pastor who planted a church in Jung Village but due to high persecution from the Buddhist people their small hut church made of tarps was demolished. Three times they destroyed the little church and, still, he has to face lots of persecution. He said, “I am so blessed to have this training for the first time in my life and I will go and teach my new people what I learned from this training”.

Everywhere we went, people listened with their mouth open absorbing everything we could share from the Word. Some of these brothers and sisters represented 14 different villages where they have their house church and work in many many villages. Please pray for the work in the Himalayas. Our leaders there are serving God with much hardship, lack, and struggle but they continue to reach the village after village walking muddy paths through rough terrain. They continue to take the Gospel to the people who have never heard. They pray for the sick and cast out demons. Those who receive Christ, follow them to one of our churches in the remote villages. This is all the IMPACT of your partnership.

The Bible has many references to the Lord as our Shepherd. Jesus, during His walk here on earth, referred to Himself many times as a Shepherd. In John 10, Jesus refers to Himself as the Good Shepherd. As believers in Him, He knows us, His sheep, and we also know Him.

John 10:14 I am the good shepherd, and I know My sheep and am known by My own.

In Psalms 100, the great psalmist, King David, tells us that we are the sheep of His pasture.

Psalms 100:3 Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

I think that is a very interesting way to state our relationship with Jesus. As the Good Shepherd, He cares for His sheep. He protects them. He comforts them. When they are hurt, He tends their wounds. When they are thirsty, He provides water. When they are hungry, He provides food.

King David, in another psalm, paints a beautiful picture of how the Good Shepherd cares for the sheep of His pasture:

Psalms 23:1-2 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.

The sheep of His pasture do not lack anything. Everything is provided in His pasture! They have still waters to drink from. They have green grass to eat. They have enough that they are full and contented and rest in calm and peace.

Jesus, in Mark 6, provides us with a self-portrait of that same picture David painted:

Mark 6:34 And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. So He began to teach them many things.

He saw the multitude was spiritually hungry with no one to feed them. He was moved with compassion to teach them. And Mark 6 says He taught them many things. As King David said in the 23^rd Psalm, when the Lord is our shepherd, we do not lack anything! He always supplies in abundance.

If you read further in Mark 6, you will find that He did not just meet their spiritual needs. When it was getting late in the day and the people were hungry, He fed them physically as well. From five small loaves of bread and two small fishes, He fed everyone in the multitude until they were full.  And there was plenty left over!

When you look at all the references to the Good Shepherd in the Word, it becomes very apparent that it is good to be a sheep of His pasture! Again, in John 10, He gives us a wonderful promise for being one of His sheep (believing in Him):

John 10:27-28 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.

In His hand, we are safe and secure. In His hand, we find rest and restoration. No one or nothing can ever take us from Him. On top of that, He gives us eternal life. So, we encourage you to be a sheep. Hear His voice and follow Him. He has promised that He will lead us to green pastures and still waters!

The writer of Hebrews tells us in Chapter 8, verse 6 that Jesus is the Mediator of a better covenant that was established on better promises.

I remembered this verse the other day aa I was reading a passage in Psalms and I was struck by just how different the Mosaic Covenant, instituted by Moses, and the New Covenant, instituted by Jesus, really are. So, let’s look at the verse I read, Psalms 27:4, and contrast it with New Covenant verses to see those better promises. This is another real picture of God’s amazing grace.

Psalms 27:4 One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple.

This was a psalm of King David. In his time, people had to go to the temple to worship the Lord. They would spend their times there sacrificing, reading His Word and learning from it, and praying to God. King David loved to do this! He knew it was good to be in the house of the Lord!

Since the New Covenant, we are His temple and the Lord has come into us as His temple. Now He lives in us all the days of our lives. Now we can see His glory and learn from Him directly.

Psalms 27:4 says, “That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life,”

In the New Covenant, it is not just all the days of our lives. He will dwell with us forever.

John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever —

Psalms 27:4 says, “To behold the beauty of the Lord,”

In the New Covenant, we not only behold His beauty, but we are being transformed into the same image.

2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

And finally, Psalms 27:4 says, “And to inquire in His temple.”

In the New Covenant, we will be taught all things through His anointing.

John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

1 John 2:27 But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.

Now, when we set our heart to abide in Him, to connect with Him, to keep our focus on Him, He is there in us to teach us all things. He will reveal what we need to know through His Anointing Spirit. within us.

So, we no longer have to go to the temple in order to be able to worship and be in His presence. We are His temple and we take Him with us everywhere we go. We are always in His presence and can worship Him continually. Now we can have an intimate relationship with Him.

The writer of Hebrews quotes Jeremiah 31:33 to show us God has always had a plan for a new covenant that would restore us to a right relationship with Him.

Hebrews 8:10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

He has always wanted us to be His people. He wants to have an intimate relationship with each one of us. And He planned this new covenant just so that would happen! Better covenant, better promises!

Are you discouraged? Are you fearful? Do you feel like everyone is against you? Do you feel life is not treating you fair? Life can be overwhelming at times. It can make you feel isolated, lonely, with nowhere or no one to turn to. When this happens just pause a minute to reflect. Look into the Bible to see the inspiration of the Lord and see just how the Lord sees you.

We believe that everything in the Bible is there for a reason. There are no insignificant words in the Bible.  God put these stories in the Bible for us to learn from:

1 Corinthians 10:11 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.

The definition of admonition is any word of encouragement or reproof that leads us to correct behavior. Our correct behavior is to see ourselves as God sees us. So, take a look at these examples to see yourself as the Lord sees you:

He sees you like He saw Joseph as he was bought as a slave:

Genesis 39:2 The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.

Read the story of Joseph in chapters 37 to 50 of Genesis to find out just how successful he became!

Even though you may be in physical bondage to drugs or to fear and loneliness, God sees you as He saw Joseph, as a success not a failure!

He sees you like He saw Gideon, full of fear, hiding in a wine press:

Judge 6:12 And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!“

Read chapters 6 through 8 of Judges for the whole story of Gideon. See how he went from fearful to fearless! In Gideon, see yourself: Fearful to fearless! More than a conqueror in Christ Jesus!

He sees you like He saw the woman caught in adultery:

After all of the woman’s accusers left because they were convicted by their own consciences, Jesus spoke to her:

John 8:10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

Read John chapter 8 verses 1 through 11 for the complete story of the adulterous woman.

You are not condemned by anyone. Not by your relatives, not by your friends, not by the people you know, not even by your own mind. The only person that could condemn you (Jesus) would not because He came to save you! You are not condemned!

He sees you like He saw Lazarus when He raised him from the dead:

John 11:43-44 Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!”  44 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”

For the full story of Lazarus read John 11:1-44 and see the dead man come to life. As you read, see yourself as alive in Jesus. Jesus saw him as a man alive that needed to be loosed from his bonds. See yourself as your bondages and things that overcome you are loosed and removed. See yourself as free from them, forever.

He sees you like He saw you when He raised you from the dead:

Ephesians 2:5-7 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Like Lazarus, you were dead but He made you alive. He raised you to sit next to Jesus in the heavenly places. He did all of this for you so that He could show the richness of His free gift to you. He loves you more than you can even understand. Not just in the ages to come, but right now in this present world!

Right now, you are successful, even if you are in bondage. Right now, you are fearless, even if you feel afraid. Right now, you are healed, even if you are sick or told you have a disease. Right now, if you believe in Jesus and submitted your will to his, you are saved, even though circumstances or your behavior say otherwise. Right now, you are not under any condemnation, even if others and your behavior say you are. Right now, you are alive, even if you feel hopeless and lost. Right now, your spirit is seated with Jesus at the right hand of the Father, even if your physical body is going through terrible and painful conditions.

And, right now, in this world, in this very place, at this very time, you are an overcomer through Jesus Christ our Lord! An overcomer now and forever!

In this Easter season of celebrating the resurrection of Jesus, let’s take a look at a message about Jesus that Peter delivered to worshippers at a temple. It is just as timely today as it was when he delivered it some 2000 years ago.

If we look in the Book of Acts at chapter 3, we see Peter and John going to worship at the temple when they saw a lame man begging for alms.

Acts 3:6 Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”

The lame man was healed. He began walking around and leaping and praising the Lord in the temple. As you can imagine, this drew quite a crowd.  So, Peter used the opportunity to preach the name of Jesus to the worshippers there.

Acts 3:16 And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

Now Peter preached very direct to them. He did not sugar-coat any part of his message. He told them they delivered up and killed Jesus. Now he could have kept going in that manner and told them they would burn in hell for what they did! He could have preached fear into them. But like Paul said in Romans 2, Peter knew that God’s goodness towards men is what causes true repentance. Look at what he said in verse 19:

Acts 3:19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,

Not “Repent or burn forever!” Not “Repent or your sins will find you out!” No, he told the crowd, “Repent so that your sins will be blotted out and times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord!” He was saying, “You want to repent so that your sins will be completely obliterated. You want to do this so that times of refreshing in the presence of Jesus will flow.”

As Peter continued preaching Jesus from the Scripture. He told them of the prophecies that point to Jesus. And he called the people “children of the covenant,” speaking of the covenant of God with Abraham. Look how he wove the prophecies of the coming Messiah in Scripture together into a personal invitation for people to turn from their sins and be blessed by Jesus.

Acts 3:26 To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.”

As Peter said, God personally sent His Son Jesus to us to bless us as we turn from our sins. He wants to intercede in our lives with what He planned to do for us.

Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

Because of Jesus, we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing. Because of Jesus, we are God’s masterpiece to do good works.

Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

God is telling us that He wants to bless us, to act in our lives. He sent His Son to blot out our sins. Then He chose to put those iniquities from His mind. Now, through Jesus, He sees us as His righteousness. Now He can do what He always wants to do, to bless us:

Galatians 3:9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.

So, we come back to the beginning of Peter’s message that day in the temple. That is: Have faith in the name of Jesus. Those that have faith in the name of Jesus are blessed. Choose Jesus. He has the power to heal you. He has the power to refresh you. He has the power to bless you. So, reach out and take those blessings and let Jesus work in your life. He wants to heal you. He wants to refresh you. And He wants to bless you!

Hebrews 3:1 (NIV) Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest.

God has determined that in His plan, one Person–His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ–must be everything. Our attention must be focused solely, wholly, and unconditionally on Christ, the One into whose fellowship we have been called by God.

1 Corinthians 1:9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Jesus was crucified for us, and we are baptized into the name of Jesus Christ. God has given us His Son, and He has called us to be in fellowship with Him.

Romans 3:22-24 22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

We have all sinned, we have all fallen short of God’s glory but, in spite of all the wrong we have done, we are all justified freely by His grace. It is by His grace that we have that fellowship with Jesus Christ.

1 John 1:3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

We have not been called into religious doctrine. We have not been called into the traditions or rituals of men. We have been called into the fellowship of God’s Son. We have been called into a closeness in which we are one with Him. We are also told that focus on Jesus promotes unity among believers.

1 John.1:7 (NIV) But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

2 Corinthians 13:14 (NIV) May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Our only focus is on Jesus Christ. As we study the Bible, His holy Word, and in our prayer times, we pursue that relationship, that fellowship, with Him. God’s love for us is so great that He desires us to be in that fellowship with Him.

As you enter in to 2017, did you make resolutions concerning something you wanted to change for this new year? How many of them do you keep? Well, here is a word from the Lord spoken through Isaiah many centuries ago that is applicable to you today. This resolution can change your life!

Isaiah 61:1″The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

Jesus fulfilled this prophecy about Himself when He declared this in the temple in Luke 4:18. That is exactly what He did. He preached to the poor. He healed the brokenhearted. He has declared liberty to captive people. He restored sight to the blind. And He set free people who were oppressed.

He continues to fulfill that prophecy through you today. In John 14:20, He tells you that you will be in Him and He will be in you. Therefore, you are anointed just as Jesus is anointed. He is the Chosen One. You are His chosen ones. He is consecrated (the Holy One). You are His consecrated ones. You are holy, acceptable to the Lord. Because Jesus is anointed, you are anointed. You are anointed for the same purposes that Jesus is.

Isaiah 49:8-10 This is what the Lord says: “In the time of my favor I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will help you; I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land and to reassign its desolate inheritances, 9 to say to the captives, ‘Come out,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Be free!’ “They will feed beside the roads and find pasture on every barren hill. 10 They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the desert heat or the sun beat upon them. He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water.

You have God’s blessing. You have God’s help. You have God’s protection. You have God’s command. You are God’s covenant to people. A covenant is a commitment, a pledge, or a promise. Therefore, you can preach good news. You can declare freedom from bondage. You can heal the sick and the lame. You are God’s anointed! His power and anointing are in you.

Isaiah 40:9 O Zion, You who bring good tidings, Get up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, You who bring good tidings, Lift up your voice with strength, Lift it up, be not afraid; Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”

Declare to the people you meet, your God reigns!

Isaiah 52:7 How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

You are declaring peace and glad tidings as you do as Isaiah said in Isaiah 12:3:

Isaiah 12:3 Therefore with joy you will draw water From the wells of salvation.

And from those wells, God will do things through you that you never thought possible:

Isaiah 41:18 I will open rivers in desolate heights, And fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, And the dry land springs of water.

Isaiah is not just speaking of ordinary rivers of water in this verse. In Holy Spirit, rivers of the Living Water will flow through you as you minister to people. You are anointed of the Lord. His Words, flowing through you, will bring salvation to people, break bondages, heal sick bodies and bring peace. Remember, you are His chosen ones. Resolve to let the rivers flow in 2017!

We are about to embark on a brand-new year. Some of us worry and are afraid because we face uncertainty and overwhelming helplessness. But let’s look at the Book of Ruth in the Old Testament. Ruth was destitute. Her husband had died. She followed her mother-in-law to a foreign country. She was surrounded by people that were not her own. Yet let’s look at how she coped with this adversity.

We first see that Ruth made a commitment to her mother-in-law Naomi. She left her country, her family and her friends to follow Naomi.

Ruth 1:16 But Ruth said: “Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God.

Ruth made a commitment to follow Naomi wherever she went. But even more importantly, she committed to make Naomi’s God her God. Because of that commitment, God protected Ruth.

Boaz, a relative of Naomi, in whose field she was gleaning, told her this:

Ruth 2:12 The Lord repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.”

Boaz, a type or symbol of Jesus, provided for her safety. He fed her, and gave her water. She worked so hard the whole day gleaning the fields. For all that self-effort, she collected about an ephah of grain. An ephah has been said to be anywhere from 22 liters to about 35 liters. That was a lot more than most gleaners could gather. So, she felt good about her efforts.

Ruth 2:17 So she gleaned in the field until evening, and beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.

But Naomi wanted a deeper relationship for Ruth with Boaz. She wanted her to be secure and cared for.

Ruth 3:1Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, shall I not seek security for you, that it may be well with you?

According the standard custom of the day, Naomi proposed that Ruth uncover the feet of the sleeping Boaz and lay down at his feet. This was a symbolic way of telling Boaz Ruth desired to marry him to fulfill his role as a redeemer of the estate of Ruth’s deceased husband. This was a customary practice to demonstrate subjection and submission.

Ruth 3:7 And after Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was cheerful, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain; and she came softly, uncovered his feet, and lay down.

When she laid down at the feet of Boaz she was expressing her vulnerability to him and her desire for a closer relationship. Boaz accepted her offer.

Ruth 3:11 And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you request, for all the people of my town know that you are a virtuous woman.

Boaz gave her six ephahs of grain to take home to Naomi. By submitting herself to Boaz, she was rewarded greater than all her long hours of toil in gleaning the fields.

Ruth 3:15 Also he said, “Bring the shawl that is on you and hold it.” And when she held it, he measured six ephahs of barley, and laid it on her. Then she went into the city.

Ruth went home to Naomi and Boaz went to work for her cause while she rested. Naomi told Ruth to wait on Boaz.

Ruth 3:18 Then she said, “Sit still, my daughter, until you know how the matter will turn out; for the man will not rest until he has concluded the matter this day.”

The near kinsmen-redeemer that Boaz went to talk with could not or would not redeem the inheritance from Naomi and Ruth. But Boaz did. He did all he said he would and more. Ruth became his wife and now she was no longer a beneficiary of Boaz, but she was now a co-owner of all his riches.

And further, she eventually became the grandmother of King David, who had a heart after God. The Bible does not tell us, but do you suppose the boy David, as he was growing up, learned something from his grandmother? Look what he wrote many years later:

Psalm 37:7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.

So, what is the significance to us of these verses we just looked at?

We started out with Ruth working hard to glean the grain. She had made a commitment to her mother-in-law and to her mother-in-law’s God. And God protected her and allowed her to find favor with Boaz and all of Bethlehem. Through her self-effort, she was able to collect an ephah of grain. And she thought that was good.

That is just like us. When we make a commitment to follow Jesus, He will guide and protect us. And we will find favor with men, even though we work largely through our own self-effort.

Next we saw Ruth submitting fully to Boaz and lying at his feet. Boaz’s response was ready acceptance and a reward of six ephahs that she did not have to work hard for. She just had to accept them.

As it applies to us, when we progress in our commitment to Jesus, we desire more of Him. We come to sit at the feet of Jesus to learn from Him. We read and study His Word. We submit our will to Him and give the control of our lives to Him. We start seeing wonderful things happen in our lives as He works through us to accomplish His will. We just have to thank Him for working in us and through us.

And lastly, we saw that Ruth followed the advice of Naomi and rested. She was confident that Boaz would do all he had promised. His word to her was golden. He did just what he said he would do. He redeemed the debt that Ruth could not pay. And Ruth became his wife. Now she owned not only all the grain, but all of the grain fields as well. She was an owner of all his riches.

And for us, when we come to understand fully what it means to rest in Jesus’ finished work, we stop our self-effort. We realize God is in charge of our lives and we do not have to strive to be good. It is then that God goes to work for us. He positions people and things in our lives to accomplish His will and purpose. That is according to His riches, not according to our work. We respond by putting our trust fully in Him and do not rely on ourselves any more. We begin to understand and appreciate the love He has for us and how He shows it to us over and over again and again.

Ephesians 1:3-5 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,

We have every blessing because He chose us as His sons and daughters. We are rich in Christ Jesus.

2 Corinthians 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.

So, let’s consider how we can apply this lesson about Ruth and how her obedience and submission led to security and riches without all the sweat and labor. She triumphed amid poverty and uncertainty. As long as we are resting in Jesus Christ, we are secure and blessed. There is no safer place to be.

And one day, when Jesus comes for His church, we will be taken home as the bride of Christ!