HAVE YOU REALIZED YET HOW YOU HAVE CHANGED HISTORY?

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HAVE YOU REALIZED YET HOW YOU HAVE CHANGED HISTORY?

RUTH 1-4

Today I would like us to take some time to reflect and realize the amazing partnership you and I have with God so we will accept the responsibility that partnership requires too.

I would ask you to read the Book of Ruth. It only has 4 chapters so isn’t too long but I would like you to read it now and again after reading this blog. I hope, if you do that, you will realize something amazing you might not have thought about before.

David Jeremiah is sharing the story of Ruth currently on: http://www.davidjeremiah.org/site/radio_archives.aspx

I would also encourage you to use link to listen to his series starting with April 1st, 2016 and then continue as have time and interest.

Anyway, let’s start considering the story of Ruth. Naomi and her husband, Elimelech, left Bethlehem to go to Moab due to a drought instead of staying believing and trusting God to provide. You see, because of Israel’s sin, the drought had come.   Those who stayed and remained faithful got through the drought. Naomi and Elimelech were wealthy and had two sons. Moab was a pagan country. Yet they decided to leave and go there to flee the drought (God’s judgment).   Sounds like a sensible thing to do but there was no indication they sought God’s will before leaving.

While in Moab their two son’s married and things seemed to be going well. Then Elimelech got sick and died and then both sons. Naomi and her two daughters-in-law were left alone without a way of supporting themselves or each other.

Naomi decided she needed to return home to Bethlehem but told her daughters-in-law to go back to their families for support and to seek other husbands since they were still young.   Ruth, however, decided to follow Naomi to not only live in her home country but also to serve and worship her God.   She not only respected and loved Naomi but had discovered Naomi’s God was real and wanted to serve Him instead of the gods her family served and worshipped.

She had a choice, as did Naomi. Together they chose to follow God and submit to His Will not knowing where it would lead or what would be the results. They decided to partner with God instead of trying to fix problems on their own.   They decided to listen to Him first.   Naomi had realized if she had stayed, she would not have lost her husband or her two sons. Yet God used their foolish choices to redeem her and her family once she decided to again follow God and return home. Ruth was not a Jew nor knew and followed God but when she decided to make the choice to seek God and to follow Naomi, she too started down a path of faith and obedience that was to change her life forever as well as change history. I want you to hold that thought and let it soak in a bit as we continue this journey together.

Ruth’s famous response to Naomi when Naomi tried to discourage her from going with her are recorded in Ruth 1:16-18. Most weddings have music with these words sung as a love song between the two people being married. Yet those words were between a widowed daughter-in-law and her widowed mother-in-law but were also a pledge to God. It also established a covenant between them and God that would change their lives and history forever in a way they could not have dreamed. They were simply two defenseless women who had nowhere else to go and no one to provide for them. Nothing special about them except they decided to follow God and God honored their choice and faith in Him.

As we begin to unwrap the rest of the story, which I’m sure you know as well as me, I want you to start thinking about your story and how God has already and also will continue to change history through you.  

So let’s reflect on what happened once they got to Bethlehem. Ruth had to glean the fields. It was an accepted practice for the really poor to harvest grain at edges of fields. Land owners were expected to allow the poor to do so, which would not compromise the bulk of their crop nor hinder it’s harvest. Yet God was working. Ruth’s heart and devotion won Boaz’s heart. Ruth did not understand the culture she was in but Naomi guided her.   Boaz didn’t understand Ruth’s background but knew Naomi’s background and trusted her. By both being obedience to God’s leading, God guiding a romance second to none.

If you ever thought God is not a romantic, read the book of Ruth.                                           In these chapters is a love story second to none but a lot more than a simple love story. It is a story of God’s provision transforming the lives of a family and a nation and a world…

So you know what happened. Ruth and Boaz married and had a son, Obed. Obed then became the father of Jesse. Jesse became the father of David.

If Ruth had not followed Naomi and obeyed her and God, she would never have become the Great Grandmother of King David and that link to Christ Himself. Yet she was a Moabite. The Moabites were pagans, not Jews. They were judged to be unworthy of God’s inheritance.

Because of her, David was born and prophecy concerning him and Christ’s became a reality. It is because of her choices, we have a Savior and because of her that salvation has been received by countless millions over the past two thousand years and continue to do so. Consider the impact her choice has made over the centuries and the example her life has been. Also consider what it will be like to meet her and all those who lived after her and discover how their stories perfectly completed her’s. This is just one example of countless ways God used simple people to make a eternal positive difference in history.

THAT IS HOW GOD HAS WORKED AND CONTINUES TO WORK!! He loves to use unlikely unprepared unworthy common people for very uncommon purposes.

THAT IS WHY GOD HAS AMAZING DREAMS AND PLANS FOR YOU AND ME TOO!!

Ruth didn’t do anything more than raise a son to know and love God and continue to live a good example for him and her husband and others in her community. Her impact wasn’t broad or viewed that significant in her lifetime. But look at how God used her life in His economy and time.

Ruth’s story isn’t unique nor is her story limited to those who lived in bible times or to those recorded in our Bible either. That is the most amazing thing to think about and realize. That will be the most amazing thing to discover as we walk the street of heaven talking to and learning from those before and after us one day.

OK, that is a lot to think about and let soak in, but I want you to do that with me as we continue. 

So here goes. If you are like us, you are married and have children and maybe even grandchildren. Do you realize your choice in a mate and choice of when to have children and how many children has impacted and changed their lives forever.   OK, that isn’t a big revelation and maybe some of those choices were more accidents than deliberate choices but none the less, choices we made resulted in the miracle of their births, right?   God used our choices to do a miracle, right? Have you ever thought if it that way? Well, maybe we should. That would make us think a lot more seriously about choices we make and to maybe start to make wiser choices?   Yet even foolish choices can be used by God in wonderful ways too.

THAT DOESN’T MEAN OUR CHOICES DON’T MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE. Wise choices are always better both for us and those who follow us.   But foolish choices can be and will be fixed by Him sooner or later if we seek His help and follow His lead.   Think a bit about how God used Elimelech’s and Naomi’s poor choice to leave Bethlehem for great good. OK, if they had stayed, Ruth would have missed out on opportunity and blessing she enjoyed. Well, I can’t help but believe God would have done something even better both for Ruth and for Naomi. We have no idea how God orchestrates or can orchestrate His Will in our lives. We also have no idea how He uses both our good and bad choices to accomplish His will in spite of or because of us.  Yet, it is always better to follow His will than to rebel against it.

Remember the story Jesus told of the Prodigal (Luke 15:11-32).   The prodigal brought great pain and suffering to his father and himself and cost their family much. That could have been avoided if he would have remained faithful. But redemption and healing came when he returned and repented. Jesus is telling us through that story God is in control but we do have choices with consequences beyond our control but not beyond God’s control.

THAT IS THE GOOD NEWS OF THE GOSPEL AND THE GOOD NEWS OF REDEMPTION JESUS PAID DEARLY FOR!!

So, that means what we do, the choices we make going forward will have eternal value and impact no matter what or how many mistakes and sins we’ve committed in the past.   But, the longer we continue to make poor choices, the less time we have to make wise choices and the more consequences we have to deal with and for Him to fix. Do we really want to continue to make life harder for us and others and continue to make messes we need God to clean up for us? Or are we going to take responsibility for our actions and be accountable to Him. Are we going to start seeking Him before making life’s choice and follow His lead.

I know, most days do not require life changing choices. Most days are doing the same thing and going the same places and seeing the same people.

But when is the last time you’ve visited an elderly relative or neighbor or friend? When is the last time you’ve gone to church and been a part of their worship and ministry? When is the last time you’ve helped a friend or neighbor or invited them to church too? When is the last time you have given time to charity or helped a friend instead of doing only what is on your agenda? Yea, I know life is crazy and demanding. But how much time do we waste in a week that could have been better used?   How about taking inventory and see what could be changed.

I know you probably say I do a lot and you probably do. But when is the last time you’ve sincerely and openly sought God’s will and plan when giving that time and, yes planning your day or to plan it at all.

So how about you and I each day start setting time aside to seek God’s Will for our days and looking for opportunities He gives us to do good or even better, His Will. How about doing some reflection and looking at good and, yes, bad choices you’ve made and asking Him to help by fixing the bad ones and helping you not to continue to make them. But also asking Him to bless both the bad and good ones and use you to make an eternal difference in the lives of others.

We just might be amazed at what He will do and opportunities He will give us. Well, even if we don’t see results, there is plenty of evidence to convince us He doesn’t work on our time clock and doesn’t have to do great things through us even in our lifetime. Doesn’t really matter. Our egos aren’t what is important. What is important is His Will. Afterall, it is ALL ABOUT HIM AND NOT ABOUT US, right?

 Do go shine today!   We really don’t know how many more days we have to shine before we die or He returned. Either could happen today.

Each year in the U.S. there are 4 million births and 2.4 million deaths. That is 11,000 births each day and 6,600 deaths each day in U.S.   That may not seem like a lot but our birth was one of those births one day and those we were responsible for.   And one day one of those deaths will be us unless He returns first. No guarantee it will be 20 years from now, but I’ll guarantee you it will be sooner than 100 years from now for everyone alive now reading this.

                                                                        Don McDaniel

                                                                        April 5, 2016

Published by donsdevotions

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Don McDaniel - Who am I? Hello everyone and welcome to my devotional journal blog. In order to get acquainted and help you get to know me a bit better before considering following my blog, let me give you some background. I am a 74-year-old male and a retired engineer. I worked for a major supplier of underground mining equipment for nearly 40 years before retiring in 2012. Arlene and I have been happily married since April 1978 and have two grown – married children, one granddaughter and 2 step grandsons. I joined the local United Methodist church at age 12 after accepting Christ as my Savior at age 10 during revival services in that same church in 1961, so I have been a “Born Again” Christian all my teen years and adult life. Christ has helped and guided me all that time. He guided me in choosing my wife and life’s career. My life journey has included regrets and failures, but God has picked me up and protected and spared me from life threatening consequences and dangers more times than I can recall or count. But many I do recall and encourage and motivate me to trust and follow Christ with more passion than ever. Christmas 2011 our daughter gave Arlene and I each a devotional journal. Journals were books with devotion for each day and space to give personal impressions and thoughts related to each devotion. Her desire was to have a lasting legacy she could refer back to and share with her children and grandchildren especially after we are gone. I was touched by that gesture. My parents and Arlene’s were devout Christians, so we would have greatly treasured having that from them, so we felt a sense of urgency to honor her request. I finished my journal first and returned it to our daughter the following Christmas. I’m glad I did it then because Parkinson’s has caused my hand writing to deteriorate since then. The exercise was such a blessing for me. Discipline of keeping journal helped me gain a deeper walk with Christ and greater discipline in honoring my time of prayer and devotion with Him each day. So, I decided to continue the practice but since I could not find a paper journal I liked, I decided to create my own. I had already been receiving electronic devotions by email every day from several sources, my favorite being “Turning Point” from Dr. David Jeremiah. What I decided to do was to include devotional scripture but add my own thoughts and comments only so there would be no issue of copyright infringement. Creating and maintaining journal by computer also addressed my deteriorating handwriting ability. I started an electronic devotion journal January 1, 2013 and have been faithful to that practice every day since. I prayed about method and level of distribution. My initial intent was to only share it with my two children by email, but quickly discovered others in my family, my church, and friends from work (both retired and still working) who knew me and wanted to be included in distribution when they learned what I was doing. I now distribute by email my daily journal at the beginning of each month to over 150 friends and relatives. God has richly blessed and encouraged me. I am concerned with the state of our church and nation, and world for that matter, believing we are living in the end times the prophets of old and Christ have talked about in scripture, so time is short. I desire to be true to my Savior and a witness to help others come to a saving knowledge of Him and equipped to share His Good News too. If my journal can encourage and help others, I believe God wants me to share it. I struggled, for a time at first, because I know many others keep similar journals but only for their own edification and do not want to share them because they are private. However, Christ has stirred my heart to share it as a witness tool. Our son and daughter have a long-time friend who grew up with them who we also befriended nearly 25 years ago. He had a lot of family problems, so would gravitate to our family as a refuge and eventually thought of us as his adopted parents and he as our adopted son. We lost contact with him for some time when he grew up and left home. He traveled around the U.S. and eventually ended up in Ukraine where he resided for next 10 years. He had to return to the US to renew his visa and took opportunity to recommend I begin a blog of my devotions and helped me set it up. He is also an active blogger and has been an email subscriber to my journal for several months, so he has been suggesting I expand my distribution by starting a blog to get broader exposure. After reflection and prayer, I concluded God was in this, so he is helping me set up my blog site. This brief autobiography is my first entry. He returned to Ukraine, then resided there until circumstanced made him decide to move back to US with his young son. This biography was my first post February 29, 2016 . I have published 600 posts from 2016-2023 automatically sent to all my Facebook friends, published on WordPress to be accessible to anyone curious or seeking a deeper walk with God. I decided to take a sebatical to prepare for a new chapter. In 2014 I was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease which affects patient ability to walk, drive, do physical work, and eventually talk. By mid 2023 it became evident our home for last 42 years (previously owned by my parents for previous 44 years and by my mother's grandparents for 39 years before that) would eventually not meet my needs so we decided to sell it and move into 1st floor of a duplex we also owned that was the town school from 1855-1913. Likewise, the property was requiring more maintenance that I was no longer able to keep up with. 2023 involved selling our home and moving into apartment next door and then in early 2025 an opportunity to move closer to our daughter and granddaughter in Kentucky which was completed in May 2025. For a number of months I have been seeking direction seeking God's direction and timing to return to blogging as my journey with Parkinson's continues to unfold with God's guiding hand in mine. I hope and pray my devotions will continue to be a blessing for you. God certainly has become closer and more real to me since started this blog in 2016. I have spent time with Him studying scripture and praying and listening and writing this journal. I will continue seeking God’s help and will welcome your input to make this site as meaningful as I can and true to God, who is motivating me to create and maintain it. I will also welcome input in order to make format more meaningful going forward. Don & Arlene McDaniel In His Service, Email: mcdanieldonald769@gmail.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Don1951 If you wish, you can access my blog at “https://donsdevotions.wordpress.com“. There you will find 600+ blog posts I have made plus a link to my devotional journal material archives from 2013 to present (https://donsdevotions.wordpress.com/2016/03/02/link-to-dons-devotional-journal-entries-2013/ ) You may also access my Facebook page and request to be my friend and automatically receive my daily journal publications daily. My Facebook page is: https://www.facebook.com/Dondevotionals/ Many thanks to a pastor and dear brother in Christ in Nepal who set up the above Facebook page to help and encourage and give opportunity for more to explore and use my devotional blog materials.

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