Kansas City, Missouri, United States - Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living - "Where Are We Going?" – Monday, 10 November 2014 - Scripture: Ruth 1:6-22

Kansas City, Missouri, United States - Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living - "Where Are We Going?" – Monday, 10 November 2014 - Scripture: Ruth 1:6-7 One day she got herself together, she and her two daughters-in-law, to leave the country of Moab and set out for home; she had heard that God had been pleased to visit his people and give them food. And so she started out from the place she had been living, she and her two daughters-in-law with her, on the road back to the land of Judah.
8-9 After a short while on the road, Naomi told her two daughters-in-law, “Go back. Go home and live with your mothers. And may God treat you as graciously as you treated your deceased husbands and me. May God give each of you a new home and a new husband!” She kissed them and they cried openly.
10 They said, “No, we’re going on with you to your people.”
11-13 But Naomi was firm: “Go back, my dear daughters. Why would you come with me? Do you suppose I still have sons in my womb who can become your future husbands? Go back, dear daughters—on your way, please! I’m too old to get a husband. Why, even if I said, ‘There’s still hope!’ and this very night got a man and had sons, can you imagine being satisfied to wait until they were grown? Would you wait that long to get married again? No, dear daughters; this is a bitter pill for me to swallow—more bitter for me than for you. God has dealt me a hard blow.”
14 Again they cried openly. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-bye; but Ruth embraced her and held on.
15 Naomi said, “Look, your sister-in-law is going back home to live with her own people and gods; go with her.”
16-17 But Ruth said, “Don’t force me to leave you; don’t make me go home. Where you go, I go; and where you live, I’ll live. Your people are my people, your God is my god; where you die, I’ll die, and that’s where I’ll be buried, so help me God—not even death itself is going to come between us!”
18-19 When Naomi saw that Ruth had her heart set on going with her, she gave in. And so the two of them traveled on together to Bethlehem.
When they arrived in Bethlehem the whole town was soon buzzing: “Is this really our Naomi? And after all this time!”
20-21 But she said, “Don’t call me Naomi; call me Bitter. The Strong One has dealt me a bitter blow. I left here full of life, and God has brought me back with nothing but the clothes on my back. Why would you call me Naomi? God certainly doesn’t. The Strong One ruined me.”
22 And so Naomi was back, and Ruth the foreigner with her, back from the country of Moab. They arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.
"Where Are We Going?" by David J. Felter
Vacation with children and you will deal with questions like, where are we going? Where will we stay? Who will be there? What will we do?
Because of her husband’s death, grief-stricken Ruth was about to relocate with her mother-in-law, Naomi. She was about to launch into an unfamiliar culture and community. All the while, the only real constant in her life was her deep, inseparable bond with her mother-in-law.
Dizzying changes and onrushes of events can leave us feeling confused, alone, and disoriented. The questions children are often quite significant. Where are you going? This is an important spiritual question. Our destiny can be assured through our faith in Jesus Christ.
Add the questions of place, community, and purpose, and it’s easy to see the quandary Ruth was facing. But here is deeper insight we gain from studying her life: Ruth was a person of perseverance. She didn’t have to know the answers to all her questions. It was enough that Naomi would be with her.
When we don’t have all the answers, perseverance carries us along because we know the Savior journeys with us.
Hymn for Today:

"Follow On" by William O. Cushing
1. Down in the valley with my Savior I will go,
Where the flow’rs are blooming and the sweet waters flow;
Everywhere He leads me I will follow, follow on,
Walking in His footsteps till the crown be won.
Refrain:
Follow! follow! I will follow Jesus!
Anywhere, everywhere, I will follow on!
Follow! follow! I will follow Jesus!
Everywhere He leads me I will follow on!
2. Down in the valley with my Savior I will go,
Where the storms are sweeping and the dark waters flow;
With His hand to lead me I will never, never fear,
Danger cannot fright me if my Lord is near.
Refrain:
Follow! follow! I will follow Jesus!
Anywhere, everywhere, I will follow on!
Follow! follow! I will follow Jesus!

Everywhere He leads me I will follow on!
3. Down in the valley, or upon the mountain steep,
Close beside my Savior will my soul ever keep;
He will lead me safely in the path that He has trod,

Up to where they gather on the hills of God.
Refrain:
Follow! follow! I will follow Jesus!
Anywhere, everywhere, I will follow on!
Follow! follow! I will follow Jesus!

Everywhere He leads me I will follow on!

Thought for Today:

“Then Jesus went to work on his disciples. “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for?"(Matthew 16:24).
Prayer Needs:
For the development of Christian leaders in the Virgin Islands.
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