What a powerful day in the Lord at TVCOG! Three people gave their lives to Christ in the first service. The choir concert and live testimonies was an amazing experience with the power of God! I believe many have been and will be healed.
Take a minute to re-read Ruth chapter two from which yesterday’s sermon was taken. Allow me to share some of Sunday’s highlights:
1. Before Ruth and Naomi had a need, God had an answer.
The laws God had given to Moses in Leviticus 19 and Deuteronomy 24 allowed widows, aliens, and the poor to glean behind the Jewish harvesters.
God allowed Boaz to hear good things about Ruth before she even met him. He promised to provide for and protect her.
2. There is nothing random in the lives of God’s people.
Verse 3 makes it seem Ruth was just “in the right place at the right time” when it came to happening upon the field of Boaz.
God is a God of purpose. He can never be random. There is always a will, always a trajectory, always a plan, always a bigger picture, always a place or experience we are moving toward that is part of a grand design. Yes, we make choices. Yes, we have free will. But God has ways to move us into places and spaces when we yield to Him that have nothing to do with our choices, but rather are the result of His promptings and sovereignty in our lives.
3. God’s grace is available in every circumstance.
In Ruth 2:2 Ruth went looking for food, but she really went looking for favor. She needed grace. She needed someone to bless and help her. She found that favor in her encounter with Boaz.
How many of us who have been saved by God’s grace (Ephesians 2:8) are aware of the grace He daily gives us? We have the favor of God. We have favor with God. God is causing us to triumph. He is setting us up for success. He is enacting blessings on us as we follow Him. He is dispensing power in us. He is talking to the powers of darkness on our behalf and telling Satan to take his paws off of us. He is routing our enemies before us. That is favor! Do you see it? Are you glad for it?
Ask God to show you how He is meeting your needs today. Ask God to help you trust in His bigger plan for your life. Seek the favor of God and thank Him for it today. Everything Ruth learned in Bethlehem is available for us to experience today.
Pastor Melissa
