[Ohio-Communities-of-Faith] DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR FRIDAY MARCH 18

[Donnie Parrett]

DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR FRIDAY March 18

WORD OF WISDOM

Just remember, once you're over the hill you begin to pick up speed.

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DAILY DEVOTION

Choose the Right Guide


Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye
have us for an ensample. (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and
now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in
their shame, who mind earthly things.) For our conversation is in heaven;
from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
Philippians 3:17-20

If you have ever traveled with a group to a foreign country, you've probably
had a guide who knew the local language, culture, and historical sites to
take you around and make your visit more meaningful. Choosing the right
guide is crucial. Imagine being in a nation where you don't speak the
language, only to find out that the person who is supposed to be guiding you
can't speak it either. That would be a disaster. Wisely choosing a qualified
guide adds a great deal to such a trip, but having a guide who doesn't know
his way around the country will leave bitter memories.
The same is true in the Christian life. There are lots of people who are
happy to give advice as to how we should live and conduct ourselves. But it
is vital that before we begin to follow them, we make sure that they
actually know what is right and that they themselves are going in that
direction. In Paul's day, there were a large number of people who were not
guiding people toward Christ but away from Him. Paul warned them that if
they followed such guides and examples, they were headed for destruction.
Instead, he told them to follow his example and the example of those who
were also walking in the same way. Paul was not holding himself out to be a
perfect Christian, but rather one who was committed to following Jesus. "Be
ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1).
We must be careful to only follow the example of those who themselves are
following Jesus Christ.

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DAILY BIBLE READING

Ruth 1-4 New King James Version
Elimelech's Family Goes to Moab
1 Now it came to pass, in the days when the judges [a]ruled, that there was
a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem, Judah, went to
[b]dwell in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. 2 The
name of the man was Elimelech, the name of his wife was Naomi, and the names
of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion-Ephrathites of Bethlehem, Judah. And
they went to the country of Moab and remained there. 3 Then Elimelech,
Naomi's husband, died; and she was left, and her two sons. 4 Now they took
wives of the women of Moab: the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of
the other Ruth. And they [c]dwelt there about ten years. 5 Then both Mahlon
and Chilion also died; so the woman survived her two sons and her husband.

Naomi Returns with Ruth
6 Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the
country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had
visited[d] His people by giving them bread. 7 Therefore she went out from
the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they
went on the way to return to the land of Judah. 8 And Naomi said to her two
daughters-in-law, "Go, return each to her mother's house. The Lord deal
kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. 9 The Lord
grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband."

So she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. 10 And they
said to her, "Surely we will return with you to your people."

11 But Naomi said, "Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Are
there still sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? 12 Turn back,
my daughters, go-for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have
hope, if I should have a husband tonight and should also bear sons, 13 would
you wait for them till they were grown? Would you restrain yourselves from
having husbands? No, my daughters; for it grieves me very much for your
sakes that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me!"

14 Then they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her
mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.

15 And she said, "Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and
to her gods; return after your sister-in-law."

16 But Ruth said:

"Entreat[e] 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.
17 Where you die, I will die,
And there will I be buried.
The Lord do so to me, and more also,
If anything but death parts you and me."

18 When she saw that she [f]was determined to go with her, she stopped
speaking to her.

19 Now the two of them went until they came to Bethlehem. And it happened,
when they had come to Bethlehem, that all the city was excited because of
them; and the women said, "Is this Naomi?"

20 But she said to them, "Do not call me [g]Naomi; call me [h]Mara, for the
Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went out full, and the Lord
has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord
has testified against me, and [i]the Almighty has afflicted me?"

22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess her daughter-in-law with her,
who returned from the country of Moab. Now they came to Bethlehem at the
beginning of barley harvest.

Ruth Meets Boaz
2 There was a relative of Naomi's husband, a man of great wealth, of the
family of Elimelech. His name was Boaz. 2 So Ruth the Moabitess said to
Naomi, "Please let me go to the field, and glean heads of grain after him in
whose sight I may find favor."

And she said to her, "Go, my daughter."

3 Then she left, and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And
she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of
the family of Elimelech.

4 Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said to the reapers, "The Lord
be with you!"

And they answered him, "The Lord bless you!"

5 Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, "Whose
young woman is this?"

6 So the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered and said, "It is
the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. 7
And she said, 'Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the
sheaves.' So she came and has continued from morning until now, though she
rested a little in the house."

8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, "You will listen, my daughter, will you not? Do
not go to glean in another field, nor go from here, but stay close by my
young women. 9 Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after
them. Have I not commanded the young men not to touch you? And when you are
thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn."

10 So she fell on her face, bowed down to the ground, and said to him, "Why
have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I
am a foreigner?"

11 And Boaz answered and said to her, "It has been fully reported to me, all
that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband,
and how you have left your father and your mother and the land of your
birth, and have come to a people whom you did not know before. 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."

13 Then she said, "Let me find favor in your sight, my lord; for you have
comforted me, and have spoken [j]kindly to your maidservant, though I am not
like one of your maidservants."

14 Now Boaz said to her at mealtime, "Come here, and eat of the bread, and
dip your piece of bread in the vinegar." So she sat beside the reapers, and
he passed parched grain to her; and she ate and was satisfied, and kept some
back. 15 And when she rose up to [k]glean, Boaz commanded his young men,
saying, "Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not [l]reproach her.
16 Also let grain from the bundles fall purposely for her; leave it that she
may glean, and do not rebuke her."

17 So she gleaned in the field until evening, and beat out what she had
gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. 18 Then she took it up and
went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. So she
brought out and gave to her what she had kept back after she had been
satisfied.

19 And her mother-in-law said to her, "Where have you gleaned today? And
where did you work? Blessed be the one who took notice of you."

So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, and said, "The man's
name with whom I worked today is Boaz."

20 Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, "Blessed be he of the Lord, who
has not forsaken His kindness to the living and the dead!" And Naomi said to
her, "This man is a relation of ours, one of [m]our close relatives."

21 Ruth the Moabitess said, "He also said to me, 'You shall stay close by my
young men until they have finished all my harvest.' "

22 And Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, "It is good, my daughter,
that you go out with his young women, and that people do not [n]meet you in
any other field." 23 So she stayed close by the young women of Boaz, to
glean until the end of barley harvest and wheat harvest; and she dwelt with
her mother-in-law.

Ruth's Redemption Assured
3 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter, shall I not seek
security[o] for you, that it may be well with you? 2 Now Boaz, whose young
women you were with, is he not our relative? In fact, he is winnowing barley
tonight at the threshing floor. 3 Therefore wash yourself and anoint
yourself, put on your best garment and go down to the threshing floor; but
do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and
drinking. 4 Then it shall be, when he lies down, that you shall notice the
place where he lies; and you shall go in, uncover his feet, and lie down;
and he will tell you what you should do."

5 And she said to her, "All that you say to me I will do."

6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her
mother-in-law instructed her. 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.

8 Now it happened at midnight that the man was startled, and turned himself;
and there, a woman was lying at his feet. 9 And he said, "Who are you?"

So she answered, "I am Ruth, your maidservant. Take[p] your maidservant
under your wing, for you are a [q]close relative."

10 Then he said, "Blessed are you of the Lord, my daughter! For you have
shown more kindness at the end than at the beginning, in that you did not go
after young men, whether poor or rich. 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. 12 Now it is true that I am a close relative;
however, there is a relative closer than I. 13 Stay this night, and in the
morning it shall be that if he will perform the duty of a close relative for
you-good; let him do it. But if he does not want to perform the duty for
you, then I will perform the duty for you, as the Lord lives! Lie down until
morning."

14 So she lay at his feet until morning, and she arose before one could
recognize another. Then he said, "Do not let it be known that the woman came
to the threshing floor." 15 Also he said, "Bring the [r]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 [s]she went into the city.

16 When she came to her mother-in-law, she said, [t]"Is that you, my
daughter?"

Then she told her all that the man had done for her. 17 And she said, "These
six ephahs of barley he gave me; for he said to me, 'Do not go empty-handed
to your mother-in-law.' "

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."

Boaz Redeems Ruth
4 Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there; and behold, the close
relative of whom Boaz had spoken came by. So Boaz said, "Come aside,
[u]friend, sit down here." So he came aside and sat down. 2 And he took ten
men of the elders of the city, and said, "Sit down here." So they sat down.
3 Then he said to the close relative, "Naomi, who has come back from the
country of Moab, sold the piece of land which belonged to our brother
Elimelech. 4 And I thought to [v]inform you, saying, 'Buy it back in the
presence of the inhabitants and the elders of my people. If you will redeem
it, redeem it; but if [w]you will not redeem it, then tell me, that I may
know; for there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am next after you.' "

And he said, "I will redeem it."

5 Then Boaz said, "On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you
must also buy it from Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to
[x]perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance."

6 And the close relative said, "I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I ruin
my own inheritance. You redeem my right of redemption for yourself, for I
cannot redeem it."

7 Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and
exchanging, to confirm anything: one man took off his sandal and gave it to
the other, and this was a confirmation in Israel.

8 Therefore the close relative said to Boaz, "Buy it for yourself." So he
took off his sandal. 9 And Boaz said to the elders and all the people, "You
are witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech's, and all
that was Chilion's and Mahlon's, from the hand of Naomi. 10 Moreover, Ruth
the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, I have acquired as my wife, to
perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance, that the name of
the dead may not be cut off from among his brethren and from [y]his position
at the gate. You are witnesses this day."

11 And all the people who were at the gate, and the elders, said, "We are
witnesses. The Lord make the woman who is coming to your house like Rachel
and Leah, the two who built the house of Israel; and may you prosper in
Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. 12 May your house be like the house of
Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring which the Lord
will give you from this young woman."

Descendants of Boaz and Ruth
13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife; and when he went in to her,
the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son. 14 Then the women said to
Naomi, "Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a
[z]close relative; and may his name be famous in Israel! 15 And may he be to
you a restorer of life and a [aa]nourisher of your old age; for your
daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has
borne him." 16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her bosom, and
became a nurse to him. 17 Also the neighbor women gave him a name, saying,
"There is a son born to Naomi." And they called his name Obed. He is the
father of Jesse, the father of David.

18 Now this is the genealogy of Perez: Perez begot Hezron; 19 Hezron begot
Ram, and Ram begot Amminadab; 20 Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot
Salmon;[ab] 21 Salmon begot Boaz, and Boaz begot Obed; 22 Obed begot Jesse,
and Jesse begot David.

Footnotes
Ruth 1:1 Lit. judged
Ruth 1:1 As a resident alien
Ruth 1:4 lived
Ruth 1:6 attended to
Ruth 1:16 Urge me not
Ruth 1:18 Lit. made herself strong to go
Ruth 1:20 Lit. Pleasant
Ruth 1:20 Lit. Bitter
Ruth 1:21 Heb. Shaddai
Ruth 2:13 Lit. to the heart of
Ruth 2:15 Gather after the reapers
Ruth 2:15 rebuke
Ruth 2:20 our redeemers, Heb. goalenu
Ruth 2:22 encounter
Ruth 3:1 Lit. rest
Ruth 3:9 Or Spread the corner of your garment over your maidservant
Ruth 3:9 redeemer, Heb. goel
Ruth 3:15 cloak
Ruth 3:15 Many Heb. mss., Syr., Vg. she; MT, LXX, Tg. he
Ruth 3:16 Or How are you,
Ruth 4:1 Heb. peloni almoni, lit. so and so
Ruth 4:4 Lit. uncover your ear
Ruth 4:4 So with many Heb. mss., LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg.; MT he
Ruth 4:5 Lit. raise up
Ruth 4:10 Probably his civic office
Ruth 4:14 redeemer, Heb. goel
Ruth 4:15 sustainer
Ruth 4:20 Heb. Salmah