R.E.A.L. Women Devotional - REALationship Recap

A few years ago now, our women's ministry focused on friendships. The Lord gave me this word about the importance of relationships through the book of Ruth. I had the privilege of teaching this at our women's retreat that year. For those of you who were at that retreat, this will be a recap. For those of you who are new to our church family, this is the heart of our women's ministry that we call R.E.A.L. Women.

I have always thought Ruth's story was a nice story, kind of a Cinderella type story. But this time rather than look at it through the eyes of "the fair maiden meeting her prince charming," I read it this time as an example of an authentic relationship between women. I like to call it a "real-ationship." As I was reading it I discovered the four building blocks to a R.E.A.L. women friendship. R.E.A.L. being the acronym for respect, encouragement, accountability and love.

The first block being respect. In Chapter 1 verses 15-18 it says "'Look,' said Naomi, 'your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her.' 16 But Ruth replied, 'Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, bit ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.' When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her." Ruth obviously respected Naomi for the kind of life she lived. She respected her enough to want to follow her to a foreign land. In return, Naomi respected Ruth enough to allow her to go with her.

The second block is encouragement which is found in Chapter 2. Beginning with verse 2, Ruth says to Naomi, "Let me go to he fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor." Naomi said to her, "Go ahead, my daughter." 3 So she went out and began to glean in the fields behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she found herself working in the field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech." This man Boaz was a relative of Naomi's late husband. Most of know the end of the story. If Naomi had not encouraged Ruth to go to the field to pick the up the leftover grain, she would have never met Boaz. I look at encouragement as a form of blessing. Naomi was giving Ruth her blessing by encouraging her to go.

The pillar of accountability is found in the second portion of Chapter 2. After Ruth returns from spending the day in he fields, Naomi says beginning in verse 19 "Where did you glean today? Where did you work?" Blessed be the man who took notice of you!" She again encouraged Ruth to stay close to him. All those questions are the stepping stones to accountability. One might think Naomi was being nosey, but if she hadn't asked those questions, she would have never known that Ruth had been working in Boaz's field, who was her close relative.

In Chapter 3, Naomi tells Ruth to dress up in her finest clothes and put on perfume. To go to the threshing floor and wait until Boaz falls asleep and lie down at his feet. I believe this is another example of respect. Respect requires trust. Ruth had to trust Naomi enough to do this. Personally, I don't know if I could have done that. It's one thing to get all dressed up, but to lie down at the feet of a man you barely know would seem a bit odd. Yet Ruth did not even question Naomi's plan. She responded in verse 5 by saying "I will do whatever you say."

The last portion of Chapter 3 is another time when accountability is found. After Ruth returns from the threshing floor, Naomi she asks her how it went and what happened? Like most of us women, we want details.

But Chapter 4 clearly speaks of the fourth pillar of love. After Boaz marries Ruth in verse 14 it says "The women said to Naomi: 'Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a kinsman-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! 15 He will renew our life and sustain you in your old age. Four your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons has given him birth." Because of the real-ationship between these two women, not only one of them, but both of them were blessed far beyond their wildest dreams. Ruth found a husband and Naomi was now a grandma which I'm sure she never thought would come to pass since she lost both of her sons.

As I've thought about this for the past several days, I also thought about the idea of gleaning. I believe there is some hidden message there as well from God to us. Ruth was not an Israelite, she was a Moabite, a gentile. By allowing Naomi to lead her, who was an Israelite, Ruth found God and married an Israelite for a second time. But what I believe is symbolic here is the fact that after they had harvested the grain, she would go behind and pick up the left overs. It says she returned to Naomi with an ephah which is about 22 liters. Thats quite a bit of grain. Okay, stay with me here. Jesus referred to himself as the "bread of life". What is bread made from? Grain. Ruth didn't get the first round of grain, she got the left overs. By the time Jesus came on the seen, the Religious Leaders had been doing their jobs for so long, they missed "the bread of life." Jesus was giving the first portion to his people. So who got to receive the left overs when He wasn't recognized by the Pharisees? The Gentiles. It was after Jesus ascended to Heaven that the Gospel got out to the new group of people who wanted to hear about "the bread of life." Thus we now have Christians. When Jesus ascended to Heaven, he told the disciples to go and make disciples of all nations which is Jesus leaving the left over grain to feed the gentiles. (Matthew 28:19). To this day, people every where have the opportunity to glean from the life and death of Jesus.

Take some time today to think and pray about the real-ationships you have. Are they built on the foundation of Jesus and are the walls of respect, encouragement, accountability and love holding those friendships secure? God didn't mean for us to live our lives alone. God gave us the gift of relationships. Also, think about those relationships that are not yet built on Jesus, are you leaving some "grain" behind that they might taste and see that the Lord is good? When we are in healthy relationships, they help shape who we are. When we are in Godly relationships they keep us pressing to become more like Jesus.

R.E.A.L. Women Devotional - PG 13

Disobedience, idol worship, a woman doing a man's job, deals, deception, murder, rebellion, lust, and violence are found in the book of Judges. This past week, as we began reading the book of Judges and all I can say is, it has the makings of a Hollywood movie. From the Israelites turning from God to Baal worship, Jael driving a tent peg through a man's temple, Gideon putting out his fleece and Samson, the man of strength yet weak in spirit, losing it all because of a woman. This book should have a rating of PG 13.

Judges has been known to be a graphic book. There was a story in Chapter 11 that was a bit disturbing to me. I read it a few times before and even noted in my Bible "be careful what you ask for." Starting in verse 30 and it reads like this: And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD : "If you give the Ammonites into my hands, 31 whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the LORD's, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering."

32 Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the LORD gave them into his hands. 33 He devastated twenty towns from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel Keramim. Thus Israel subdued Ammon.

34 When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of tambourines! She was an only child. Except for her he had neither son nor daughter. 35 When he saw her, he tore his clothes and cried, "Oh! My daughter! You have made me miserable and wretched, because I have made a vow to the LORD that I cannot break."

36 "My father," she replied, "you have given your word to the LORD. Do to me just as you promised, now that the LORD has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites. 37 But grant me this one request," she said. "Give me two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry."

38 "You may go," he said. And he let her go for two months. She and the girls went into the hills and wept because she would never marry. 39 After the two months, she returned to her father and he did to her as he had vowed. And she was a virgin.
From this comes the Israelite custom 40 that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite."

I don't know what this man, Jepthah, was thinking when he told God that whatever comes out of the door of his house he would give to God as a sacrifice. Now, I don't know if they had dogs and cats as pets in those days and possibly he was hoping his family pet dog (maybe he barked too much) would come running to him. The scripture says that he had no other children. So I wonder if he and his wife weren't doing so well and maybe he was hoping that she'd come walking through the door to greet him. I think that is why this story bothered me so much. What was he expecting to come through his door?

The story of Samson is quite a disturbing one as well. Here is another barren woman desiring a child. She conceives this child who is to be set apart from everyone else for God. He is to have no wine or unclean food and most of all, never to cut his hair. So what happened to Samson? A rebellious teen who is probably had such strict parents that he rebelled and did as he pleased. God gave him strength unlike any other and he abused his gift. It is possibe he was very prideful. The fact that he stopped at the lion carcass that he had mamed earlier with his bare hands and reached in, with the bees swarming, and ate the honey, tells me something was not right with him. (Judges 14:5-9) Would you eat honey out of a dead animal? Then he defiles his family by giving it to them to eat too. I wonder if they knew where the honey came from? Maybe his parents were too permissive because he was their only child and spoiled him rotten. Maybe they didn't know what to do with him. No Dr. Phil in those days. In chapter 14:1 & 2 says, "Samson went down to Timnah and saw there a young Philistine woman. 2 When he returned, he said to his father and mother, "I have seen a Philistine woman in Timnah; now get her for me as my wife." Pretty demanding if you ask me. He intermarried, the very thing God had warned the Israelites about. Here is a Nazirite man who is supposed to be set apart, doing exactly what God had told him not to. Yet when he called on God to help him out of a bad situation, God was there. Then what does he do? He goes to Gaza and spends the night with a prostitute. Only to end up meeting Delilah who deceives him and as the scripture says, "nagged him day after day until he was tired to death" to tell her the secret to his strength.

I have to ask the question, what is the strength of my spirit? It must be like when my kids keep wearing me down about something and then finally after the third time, I either give in or put my foot down and say "no!" I do know that when I'm tired my spirit it tired and I find myself much more easily swayed. It says that Samson was asleep when Delilah tested what he said. Over and over she tested him and wore him down. Although he was physically strong, his spirit was weak. He abused his gift of strength from God for his own purpose. Jesus said that we are to pray and watch because the "spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. (Mark 14:38) In Samson's case it was just the opposite.

Finally the end of the story, after he's lost not only his strength, but his eye sight, which I believe is significant. Everything he did prior to this event, it was what he wanted because he "saw it". Now he was blind to everything and could only focus on his purpose as to why God chose him. This is why it is better we choose to humble ourselves before God sooner instead of later so we don't bring humilation on ourselves. Now Samson was ready destroy the Philistines that God had originally intended for him to defeat. He destroyed more Philistines that day than in all of his "strong" years. You see, no matter what, God's purpose will prevail, even if we mess it up. I think that is the moral of the stories in this book. We can learn a lot of lessons from the people in this book so we don't have to learn the hard way.

R.E.A.L. Women Devotional - Hopelessly Devoted

The book of Joshua has a special place in my heart. The Lord has used this book to speak to me many times in my life. It was especially so when we began praying in 1998 about moving back to California from Tennessee. This book has encouraged me so much, that my daughter's name is Jordanne because in order for the Israelites to posses their promise, they had to cross the Jordan River.

It seems this season as I am reading through the Bible, the Lord has been highlighting words and phrases that seem to stick with me all week. In this past week's reading through Joshua, the two words "devoted things" have been simmering in my spirit.

It all begins with God giving Joshua the plan on how they were to take the city of Jericho. A pattern that I see with God is that He is very specific with His plan and it is to be followed exactly. In taking the city of Jericho, God wanted the Israelites to dispose of everything there. Joshua 6:18 God is very clear that they are not to take for themselves any of the devoted things. It says, "But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it."

The Canaanites were completely rebellious against God. They worshiped pagan idols and were probably very materialistic. God told Joshua before entering Canaan that they were to destroy everyone and everything that belonged to the Canaanites in order for them to live peacefully there.

In chapter 7, Joshua and his army go out to fight the Amorites. Unlike the previous battles, the Israelites were losing. Joshua was so distraught that he fell face down before the Arc of the Covenant and asked God what was causing them to lose this battle? God's response was "Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. ¹² That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction. ¹³ "Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, 'Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: That which is devoted is among you, O Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove it. "(Joshua 7:11-13)

Achan, who was from the tribe of Judah, had taken some of the devoted things. Achan finally confesses to his sin. He says,"It is true! I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: ²¹ When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, ^f]">two hundred shekels ^g]">of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath." (Joshua 7:20 & 21)

God told the Israelites that all the gold and silver, bronze and iron articles were sacred and were to be put into the Lord's treasurey. (Joshua 6:19) Achan had not only disobeyed God's command, but he lied and stole from God as well. Achen said he "coveted" those items and in doing so broke the Law that God had given.

I share this with you today by asking you what are your "devoted things" that you are keeping hidden. Although we live in a "nation under God", not everything in this land is "of God." These things we devote ourselves to will only leave us feeling hopeless. When we devote ourselves to things that are exalted above God then we are breaking the first commandment. Jesus said in Matthew 22:37 & 38, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' ³⁸This is the first and greatest commandment." It's not only material things we can be devoted to. We can be devoted to television shows, book series, music, social activities, etc. These things, especially when it comes to secular television, books and music feed our minds and spirits. Often these things are completely contrary to the Word of God. Ask yourself if God would be pleased at some of the things you watch, read or listen to. It seems the more I understand the Bible, the more sensitive I have become to things in the media, whether it's books, magazines, television or music. In verse 11, God said "they put them with their own possessions" which is compromise.

Chapter 7 concludes with Achan losing more than what he had taken. His whole family and all of his belongings were brought before Israel to the Valley of Achor (Achor being Trouble). There Achan was stoned to death and buried there. My understanding is his family was left there as well. Therefore, his mistake became their consequence.

Do you ever feel at times that you can never win the battles you are fighting? Does it seem as though the enemy has the upper hand when it comes to your physical life, and even your spiritual life? Maybe it's time to take an inventory of your "devoted things." The definitian of devoted is "zealous or ardent in attachment, loyalty or affection."

Take an inventory by asking the Holy Spirit to show you what things you might be devoted to. How difficult is it for you to do away with something that God might disapprove of? If it's difficult to let go, then maybe it is one of those "devoted things" in your life. I'm not saying that we are to be legalistic, but the bottom line is, are the things you are devoted to leaving you feeling hopeless or hopeful? God wants us to be devoted to Him and not things. He wants us to enjoy the good things in life, but not the things that will lead us to our own destruction. Whether it is individually or as the Body of Christ. Think about this, God allowed one man's disobedience to effect the whole nation of Israel. Romans 12:5 says that we being many all form the Body of Christ. When one of us is disobedient, it effects the rest of us. So together let us get rid of the "devoted things" that God does not approve of. We can be victorious by staying hopefully devoted to Him.

(Photo above is looking from the road the city of Jericho)

R.E.A.L. Women Devotional - "Do" teronomy or "Do Not" eronomy

I love the book of Deuteronomy. It is the final book that Moses wrote that sums up Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers. It is a shortened version of the "do's" and "don'ts" of the three other books. I noticed how often the words do and do not appear.

Towards the end of the book, Moses concludes with the blessings if you fully obey the law that has been given and it is so encouraging. It is found in Deuteronomy 28:1-14. It reads, "If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. ² All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God: ³ You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. ⁴ The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. ⁵ Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. ⁶ You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. ⁷ The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven. ⁸ The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you. ⁹ The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the LORD your God and walk in his ways. ¹⁰ Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will fear you. ¹¹ The LORD will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground—in the land he swore to your forefathers to give you.

¹² The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. ¹³ The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. ¹⁴ Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them. "It doesn't get more encouraging that that. If anything, this passage should ignite the enthusiasm to do what is right in the eyes of the Lord.

On the flip side, Moses then writes the consequences of what will happen. It only took 14 verses to explain blessing, but it takes 53 verses to explain the curse to come if any of the law is broken. Here is a sample of verses 15-19. "However, if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you: ¹⁶ You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country.¹⁷ Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed. ¹⁸ The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. ¹⁹ You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out."

I want to encourage you to read the rest of chapter 28. It will open your eyes to as to why some of us Believers just can't seem to move into the blessings that God has promised. Little compromises here and there begin to sneak in. When we compromise we "curse our promise". God is pretty clear on His expectations of us on the obedience issue. Deuteronomy 22:9 says, "Do not plant two kinds of seed in your vineyard; if you do, not only the crop you plant but also the fruit of the vineyard will be defiled. " How many followers of Jesus tithe and then spend the rest of their money on things that are unpleasing to the Lord. Galatians 5:19-21 tells us not to be given to sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. As New Testament children of God, it is about inheriting the Kingdom of Heaven rather than the Promised Land.

I am as guilty as anyone on compromise. Those times when I told God that I couldn't tithe because my car payment was due or because I just bought a new outfit and if I tithed it would put my checking account in the red. Or allowing certain music and movies to feed my spirit.

The good news is that I can ask for forgiveness and my compromise will no longer bring curses into my life. But there is a consequence to my action and sometimes I have to live out the consequence before the promise can take effect.

I challenge you today to take an inventory of your life. Jesus died to break the curse of this world so we might walk in blessing. Ephesians 1 is the new Covenant version of Deuteronomy 28. It's about the spiritual blessings we have received. Take some time to read Ephesians 1and "do" be blessed!

R.E.A.L. Women's Devotional - By Appointment Only

Over the past week we've been getting an understanding of what the requirements that God had for His children by giving them instructions on "cleaning up their act" so to speak. My understanding is that the book of Leviticus is an instruction manual for the Levites who were called to be the priests of the tabernacle. The book of Numbers was a counting of how many "kids" God had and then the subtraction of those who lacked faith. Deuteronomy is a recap of the law and the consequences to follow on obedience or disobedience.

As I have been reading this time around, something caught my eye in particular. The first time it was mentioned was back in Genesis 18:14. It says, "Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son." Something about the phrase "appointed time" caught my attention.

Several times throughout Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, God uses the phrase "appointed time." You might even notice how often He appoints people throughout scripture. This says to me that God keeps an appointment book. He has a plan and He does not miss appointments. He tells us where He is going to be. If we want to be apart of what He's doing, we better show up ready for whatever He says to do. Psalm 37:23 says, "The steps of a good (good meaning righteous, in right standing with God) man are ordered (by appointment only) by the Lord. And He delights in his way." (NKJV)

What else I have discovered is that God does not go by our appointment books. He has the bigger picture in view as He did with the Israelites. If you have been reading these three books, you will see all of the requirements that needed to be instilled in these people in order to make and keep them holy. Obviously God knew ahead of time, this would be too difficult for man to uphold so He had to prep them for the final road to holiness which was through His Son, Jesus Christ.

A few years ago, it occurred to me as I was sharing with a friend who had been disappointed by a relationship, that maybe that relationship was not an appointment set by God. This is where the Romans 8:28 factor comes in to reschedule our appointments. As I was consoling her, I heard the Holy Spirit tell me to divide the word "disappointment" apart. In today's culture to "diss" someone is a form of rejection. Webster's definition says, to show disrespect. We all know what an appointment is, but the definition means, a fixed mutual agreement for a meeting. In the spiritual sense, our dissappointments are the times we've set the appointment and expected God to show up and He doesn't.

I am learning in my walk not to be so discouraged with my disappointments. I can't say that I have mastered the art of not being disappointed, but it is definitely something that has been brought to my attention. I try not to allow them to upset my whole life anymore. God knows not only your future and my future, but the future of all of mankind. I believe that God is setting up "appointed times" for us as well, just like He did for the Israelites. He set them up for the Israelites for the purpose of sending His Son the first time. Galatians 4:4 says, "But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, under the law,". Now He's setting us up for the purpose of sending His Son the second time. We have to make sure we live by God's appointment book rather than ours because Matthew 24:36 and Matthew 13:32 says, "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." Jesus says quite often through scripture to be ready (see Luke 21:34-36). The return of Jesus is by appointment only and I don't think we'll want to miss it.