And she said, ” These six ephahs of barley he gave me; for he said, ‘Do not go empty-handed to your mother-in-law.'” Ruth 3:17 [NKJV]

While partaking of my spiritual food this afternoon, the subject of gleaning came to my attention. In this particular verse, Ruth was sharing with her mother-in-law how she was blessed by gleaning in the fields of Boaz. He specifically encouraged her to pick up enough from the gleaning to feed her family member, also. Things looked pretty bleak for Ruth as she started out as a gleaner in the field; but, she listened to her “employer” and took Boaz up on his offer, obtaining the necessary provisions for herself and Naomi.

God is telling all of us to feed on Him/the Word. He has graciously given us salvation, and each day’s provisions. In order to be filled with His Spirit, have life in us, we are to take time to seek His face and to gather His truths. When we partake of HIm and His goodness, we will have enough for ourselves and the needy. We lack because we do not reach out and take in faith his grace.

I want to close today’s blog by recalling what my Father told me to do…”Bloom where you are planted.” We will be productive when we take to heart each truth and provision He has blessed us with each day. It is not smart to overlook what has been placed in our reach just because it is not a great amount of blessings. We really should “count each day’s blesssings.” Partaking of Him involves things like communion and prayer.

Hebrews 3:13 {NIV} : Encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today.

While looking at this verse that showed up on my calendar, it reinforced what was talked about today at Church. It mentions how we are to be comforters or encouragers to each other, daily. It then got me think about how it is humanly impossible to be the comfort for someone constantly. That is where the Holy Spirit steps in. He is the Comforter.

It is amazing how it boils down to pointing people back to Christ and His Spirit. Pastor Kevin was mentioning today how the Law/Covenant, shows us how we do not measure up to His standards. By God’s grace, He did not leave us alone but has provided a way to become right in His eyes…we are now able to fulfill His commands. He has walked before us and lived a blameless life, and gave Himself over to the Father’s will. Now He is mediating for us before God in Heaven a New Covenant. Thanks to Christ, we are able to speak and hear from God. He is amongst His believers, and we are able to now know Him more and more each day {Hebrews 12:18-29). We do not have to fear approaching the Father, like the Children of Israel were experiencing with Moses, but have direct access to His throne. We are able to encourage each other daily to approach the Creator!

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Job 12:12 {NKJV}: Wisdom is with aged men; and with length of days understanding.

This Scripture correctly explains what is off kilter with our young people these days. They are encouraged to disregard things that are brought up by the older generation…as if they knew more than their elders. By absorbing and thinking through what is experienced over time, it will save individuals wasted years of mistakes.

Some parents have been misled to believe that they need to let their children make their own decisions by themselves. I agree that a goal should be to see the kids making their own way in life; but, how are they going to make wise decisions without parents and authority figures teaching and modeling the right way to go? It is an awesome responsibility!

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I John 3:16

This is  how we know what love is:  Jesus Christ laid down His life for us.  And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.

     This Valentine’s Day, I am sure there are some out there who are asking the question whether there is true love anywhere.  The answer lies in the Creator of the Universe…He came and displayed what true love is supposed to look like.  He humbled Himself and became a servant.  He did not come into the world to gain accolades and recognition.  He sought the face of God, and placed His Fathers’ will above what He desired at the moment.  This was shown in the Garden of Gethsemane, talked about in the Gospels.  He sweat great drops of blood while placing His will before the Father.

     I wanted to give a shout out to my lovely Parents, who have showed their love for each other and their family by placing each other before their separate conveniences.  Despite financial hardships and illnesses, they have remained stable in the assurance that God’s love was going to bring our family out to the other end.  They obeyed God.  I observed my Father believing in the love he and Mom had, despite her illnesses.  Mom and Dad also placed their daughters’ educational cost before their own pleasures.  It enabled me to graduate with a Bachelors of Art Degree from Vanguard University. They could have thrown in the towel and left…they did not!  This coming September they are going to be celebrating 54 years together!

     What a testimony! They were modeling to us and to the world how it ought to be. Focusing on the love the Spirit gives, that enables us to give and receive the love He first displayed.  There are many times I wrestle with the problem of loving myself and others.  I believe I need to totally focus on the message that the love of Christ is not based on our deserving it in any regard.  It is given by grace, and not worked for.  It is then up to us to have faith enough to put it into action each day.  Our Lord asked us to seek God and to become servants.  We will all experience the desired love here on Earth, when we base it on believing that mankind was loved from the beginning of creation.  If Christ did not give up on us, then why should we give up on ourselves or each other?  Let us become Kingdom Builders and display that agape love.  His love should be the motivator in sparking love.  Thank you, Alan Sweet, for coming back to me!  May we continue being an example of Christs’ sustaining love! Happy Valentines’ Day!