Naomi, O' Naomi

Heart of Roots

Did Naomi wonder what was wrong with her that every man she held close died? Did she feel cursed? The root of rejection is so powerful : "See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many" (Hebrews 12:15). Hebrews cautions about a bitter root of judgment, but what about when we judge ourselves? Paul tells us not to compare ourselves to others because all we have comes from Christ anyway. Yet, when I look in the mirror, how can I keep myself from judging myself based on  a self-perceived scale of perfection.

Naomi rejects herself when she rejects her name of  'pleasant' and asks to be called bitter or Mara. Naomi must have feared that something was intrinsically broken and damaged in her that all that she loved died. She left her home, her community, and country. She embraced a new life with her small family unit, without the benefit of the extended clan that was so essential in Middle Eastern culture. Now, she had nothing. No husband to comfort her in the night watches; no sons to defend her in the city gate. A widow, alone in the world, in the truest sense of the word. I can understand that sentiment a bit.

Did Naomi feel abandoned? I am sure she did. In her mind, she had merely been simply an obedient wife who followed her husband to Moab. Here is the context of the story, "there was a famine in the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab." ( Ruth 1:1) . Eventually^{, "}Naomi was left without her two sons and her  husband" (v.2). With no offspring from her sons' unions, her husband's name and those of her sons would not continue. She now had no one to care for her in her old age.

With despondency in her heart, she even urges her daugther-in-laws to return home: “Go back, each of you, to your mother’s home. May the LORD show you kindness, as you have shown kindness to your dead husbands and to me.  May the LORD grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband" (v.9). She was empty-handed, nothing left to offer, in her mind. She declares, "It is more bitter for me than for you, because the LORD’s hand has turned against me!”(v.13). Is that possibly why she so vehemently pushed her two daughter-in-laws away? Maybe as a friend thought, she feared something would happen to her daughter-in-laws as well if they remained with her.

Eventually, Naomi finally gives into Ruth's request to return to Bethlehem. Once there, Naomi illustrates such chutzpah few of us have the courage to express. She was angry with El Shaddai and let everyone know it. She didn't put a pretty face on it. No plastic Fruit of the Spirit. She wastes no time and setting the record straight, “Don’t call me Naomi, she told them. “Call me Mara because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. ²¹ I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The LORD has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.”  The term afflicted can also be understood as testified against. She felt that God was a witness for the prosecution. El Shaddai is the term used in the scripture; Shaddai is a derivative of a term that means breast; God's name here signifies the Almighty one who nourishes, replenishes, and satisfies.  Despite, her misgivings, I have to wonder if God did not bring Naomi home to fill her with Himself?

I guess I can be both Ruth and Naomi. Like Ruth,  I can look to God for help and sustenance. Yet, I can also be Naomi and wonder why God has been brought me into such a hard place- yet,He wants to give me His best. I am in such place at present. I thank God for all those Ruths that walk beside me at present.  We have much more to glean from Naomi. So, until next time.

God asks Naomi, me, and you:
When did I stop being enough?
Obedience without love

quickly becomes disgruntled compliance

Why I am not enough for you?

With joy, we say You will always be enough for us, O'Lord
M.J.

Confession, Anyone?

People say confession is good for the soul. The psalmist agrees, “If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened” (Psalm 66:18). God says if we confess our sins, He will forgive them.  So go on, confess it to a confidant and to God.  Forgiveness is a tremendous gift. However, God whispered something also into my ear. He promised to go one step further- not only will He forgive us, He will heal us. James 5:16 declares, "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.  The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” God promises not only to forgive, but to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I John 1:19, ensures that “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

Confession opens the door to greater sanctification and transformation; in essence, healing eventually begets sanctification or at least it should. Leviticus 5:5, “And whoever is responsible for any such sin, let him make a statement openly of his wrongdoing.”  Shame, guilt, and condemnation are all useless.  These acts of self-scourging are impotent.  Jesus took the scourging with 39 lashes to his back to purchase our Shalom- wholeness- spirit, soul, and body.  Bask in walking out of the dark corners of shame into the light of right relationship. Most people repent to God and stop there. Some may even ask others to forgive them. Ultimately, we need to get healing, and finally, we need to be transformed.

God is transforming us into Christ’s image through our confession and our petition for His empowerment over sin. Jude 1:24 declares, that Christ “is able to keep you from falling and to ... [and] is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy.” How does Jesus do this? I am glad you asked. He does it through our confession and the application of His blood or by the theological term, propitiation.   

Colossians 1:22 declares, “But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical ... he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him.”  Jude and Colossians promise that God will present us blameless at the day of Christ – this work is the completed work of sanctification. Ephesians 5:27, “He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.” How will this happen? The Truth will set us free. As we confess our sins, He removes that stain. We confess another sin; we work in tandem with the Holy Spirit and place another sin under the Blood. God begins to change our natures so that they resemble His. This character transformation is actually a part of our transformation from glory to glory: “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Who do I think I am actually fooling? God already knows my heart. Lying to myself is as productive as sewing fig leaves together.  Do I want to lose weight?  I must confess and ask for forgiveness. I must make restitution to the people I have hurt.  I process the pain and let the healing begin.  I am being transformed into His image.

A Fellow Penitent,

M.J.

The Winter of My Discontent

My garden is proof that a hard winter is not all it seems to be; without pushing or prodding, or digging or fertilizing, things that should have died and left no remembrance, are inexplicably alive and flourishing. Our lives are like that when placed in God’s hands. If you have been reading my blog for any time, you will understand why I draw an analogy between my life and the season of winter. Like plants, our emotional and spiritual roots can get snowed over. We can become brittle, dry, and seemingly dead and lifeless. Some people may think me foolish when I admit that this year I did not cover any plants at any time during one of the hardest winters to hit the U.S., especially Texas. Yet, God brought back the blooms anyway.

See, I understand very well the temptation to hide under the covers, to shield myself from the elements of betrayal, loss, and grief. But the crazy thing is that by facing this harsh winter in my soul without  protective ‘covers’, I gained resiliency; my roots went down deep. I learned to love others, to move outside by thoroughly black and white; compliant and non-compliant ideology, to embrace people where they lived without judgement- outside of my way of obeying and living for God. In essence, I gained a strength I would have never known if I had done what seemed logical and made utter logical sense. Yet, remaining exposed and vulnerable to pain actually increased my inner strength.  I learned how to forgive and accept myself with the same mercy I offered others.  Old jealousies and insecurities gave way to maturer and healthier thinking and behavior.  The compassion and mercy fruit I have always had were freer to manifest without fear of being taken advantage of by someone who really needed the fruit. There is an old song that says the harder the winds blow, the deeper my faith grows Lord in you.  Stay with me for I want to share some crucial truths from my garden.

Pull off the dead

When faced with sin or dead works that lack  spiritual fruit or the power of God’s initiative, that’s time to dead-head. Pull off the rotten moldy mildewed growth, and start a fresh with a heart swept clean of sin through confession (to a trusted friend - James 5:16) and repentance (to God- Psalm 32 and 56). There is no point in putting good seed in an old mulch bed full of ants and white-rot. Be sure, however, what you are weeding are things and not people.

No roots and it still survived! Yahoo!

Incredibly, I had two antique roses that survived this winter- one without roots. It is a testament to relationships, timing, and purposes that God holds securely in His hands because there is no one else who can keep rootless things and people alive. When we do nothing, God still keeps His promises.

That Impossible Hose!!!

I have several kinks in my hose; that’s annoying, especially because I purchased one of those expensive kink-free ones. The power and supply of the Holy Spirit are available, but often we have a kink in our  spiritual hose as well. We can't seem to get the power from the Source to our lives without interruption.  Sometimes, it gets caught on everything.  The sin nature is like that. It tempts, binds, entangles, strangles, and tries to keep us from God’s best.  Keep an eye out for those booby-traps: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us” (Hebrews 12:1).

Surprise! Surprise!

The fig tree will blossom. This tree was run over by a tractor, but it has come back. Wow! The desert will become a watered garden and all flesh shall see it together (Jeremiah 31:12).  The righteous will declare the marvelous works of God.  Even in the middle of  a painful interlude like a bleak winter, God has promised to breathe afresh on us and awaken new life. According Habakkuk 3:17,

For the fig tree shall not flourish,

And there shall be no fruit on the vines;

The fruit of the olive shall fail,

And the fields shall supply no food:

The flocks shall be cut off from the fold,

And no herds shall be found in the stalls:

Yet in Jehovah will I exult;

I will joy in the God of my salvation

May you flourish wherever God has you planted,
M.J.

P.S. Forget the fig leaves, too!

You Meant This For My Good? Yes!

Because of her lack, Naomi attempts to dissuade her two daughter-in-laws from accompanying her to Bethlehem. Orpah finally gives in to her requests after Naomi enumerates all of her deficiencies:  no husband, no sons, no ability to have children, no money, and no revenue from the land.  Confused and disillusioned, Naomi announces, "the hand of the Lord has turned against me"(1:13). Oy vey!  Naomi believed that she had nothing to give Ruth or Orpah; she was absolutely right.  She had nothing to offer. We, sinners, had nothing to give God either, so God sent Jesus  or Y’Shua in Hebrew.  Y'Shua walked our paths on earth to reach us-that was the only way. Let’s see, this period in Israel's history was one in which there were no kings, just judges, and none righteous (Judges 21:25). Therefore, every man did what was right in his own eyes. Yikes! There exists the problem.  Here comes God’s solution: famine.  Naomi's family decides to flee to Moab, but then they hear that God has relented and  brought the harvest back to the nation of Israel. God hopes to draw His people back to Him through the trial of lack and the hope of restoration. Even into this difficult situation, Ruth willing returns with Naomi.  She cleaves to her mother-in-law and begs her to remain by her side. She empathetically declares, "don’t ask me to leave you: Your God will by my God; your people will be my people; may God do so to me if anything other than death separates us” (Ruth 1:16).   Ruth vows, “Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried" (1:17).  In essence, she states, "there is no point in sending my bones back to Moab; I will become one with the soil of your people."

Little does Naomi realize that her value came from her relationship with Adonai- being a part of the chosen people of Israel. Similarly, our value comes from being God’s creation, and if we have entered into a relationship with Jesus, we are now His children: "The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children" (Galatians 4:4). In reality, “when the time had fully come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons" (Galatians 4:5). This divine adoption is mirrored in the story of Ruth.  In a sense, Naomi adopted Ruth first by accepting her as a daughter-in-law; then it was Ruth’s turn to reaffirm her covenant and love for Naomi by adopting her God, family and kinsmen, and a nation that was her native country’s enemy. Y’Shua did the same, "but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. " According to Philippians 2:17, Y’Shua “Instead [. . .] gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. However, the International Standard Version distills it best: “Instead, poured out in emptiness, a servant's form did he possess, a mortal man becoming. In human form he chose to be.”  Jesus chose to become other so that He could reach us; Ruth did the same- she became a servant to Naomi and a servant to the nation of Israel. We, too, became servants to the people and family God gives us as well.  May we have the courage or chutzpah and the grace or chesed to do so.

Let's go in God's chesed and do likewise,

M.J.

P.S. Check out the video of "Love Never Fails" on the blog (February)- you will be blessed.

Kept By His Power

Ruth works long and hard and brings everything home to Naomi.   She literally pours her grain offering into Naomi's lap. She takes the food from her own mouth to feed Naomi. I understand this feeling. Many times, I have lain awake praying, warring, and crying out for others. I do not say this to boast or to seek commendation, but when God awakens you on the behalf someone else and you are in desperate straits yourself, you begin to understand a tad bit better the concept of agape  or unconditional love. My friend, V. X., calls it 'paying the price in prayer for someone." Most of us are willing to pay the price in gossip, but not intercession and fasting. Oops, now I am meddling.

Have you ever been in a relationship where you seem to bring everything to the table: the financial, emotional, and spiritual resources? You look over at the other person and wonder what will she bring? Well, the truth is we all have benefited from Christ’s gifts for He has given us everything that pertains to life and godliness (2 Peter 2:13). We had nothing, but Christ died for us while we were yet sinners (Romans 5:8). In fact, He came to earth to do just that -to die and give us abundant life (John 10:10). Of course, He did that because God so loved the world (John 3:16)

Rev. Byrn MacPhail offers these encouraging words, “The book of Ruth reminds us that, in the most difficult of times, we are kept by the power of God. We are reminded in this book that there is no such thing as an ordinary event in the lives of God's children. Everything we do, or don't do, is significant. We learn from Abraham, from Joseph, from Moses, and from Ruth, that everything we do "is a part of a cosmic mosaic which God is painting"(John Piper). For the Christian, what many would call "ordinary events" are really events that are connected to a perfect eternal plan.” Romans 8:28 encourages us  to , "know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."  Joshua 1:9 tells us, “Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go”- even on new journeys.

God works through the burdens we carry for others- the offerings of prayer, tears, and emotional, physical, and financial consolation that we pour into the laps of those who are unable to return one ounce of what we have given.Those hours of prayer and tears for a wayward child or a spouse overtaken in sin truly affect change because they touch the heart of Jesus. My friend, J.T., speaks of a monument that  we erect in God's presence rock by spiritual rock. We know that God captures every tear in a bottle labeled with our names (Psalm 56:8). This idea of  memorial comes from the following scriptures: 

Joshua 4:6-7 "That this may be a sign among you, when your children ask in time to come, 'What do those stones mean to you?' Then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial for ever."

J.T.  talks about the beauty of unexpected friendship. The unexpected friendship of Ruth and Naomi is striking, because these two seemingly different and incompatible people will become part of God’s plan of redemption. Moabites were not even allowed in the assembly until that generation. It was God exact timing to bring Ruth there. God often uses us to bring people into His kingdom and ultimately, to their destinies. It is Ruth who brings Boaz to redeem Naomi’s land- her inheritance.  Naomi is not even thinking how to help herself, forget about Ruth. She is simply existing and when she gathers  the wherewithal to ask where Ruth has been after a hard-day's labor, she lights on the idea of  hmmm a kinsman redeemer. If it hadn't been for God's intervention (right time and right place), this story would have ended differently.

 In an earlier devotion, we spoke of her role in the lineage of David and thus Christ.  God used Ruth not only to redeem Naomi’s life in old age, but the larger purpose of bringing the Messiah. No Ruth, no Obed, no David, no Messiah. When God is weaving our tapestry, we can only see a portion of the quilt- and that not so well. But the real revelation comes when I see, I am only one square in the larger quilt called humanity, touching and embracing others and causing change- a precious gift given to me by the Father.

So Don't Give Up,
M.J.

P.S. I am elated to say, I have two more travelers on the road back to Bethlehem- God’s House of Bread. God’s Provision always rests in His will. The safest place to be is in the center of His will –even the dusty road back to Bethlehem.

The Ruth Saga Continues- Can you Imagine?

Well, I promised five days with Ruth. Well, forget that. The saga continues- that little book keeps yielding powerful lessons. Two weekends ago, I went to what I assumed would be a simple party to celebrate a friend's daughter's 16th birthday. Instead, it was a four-hour celebration of God's provision in the family's life. You see my friend and her daughter almost died during labor. The doctor who saved both of their lives flew in from Miami to see the living miracle in which he had participated so many years ago. In the interim time, pain had come into his own life. He had lost his own daughter. At the end of the service, my friend's daughter made this declaration: "Dr. C., you have not lost a daughter. You have gained me."

I felt that these words were remarkably mature for a 16 year-old girl.  She laid down her own wants. She was saying to the doctor, "in your old age, I commit to care for you and stand beside you and your wife."  Remarkable! She was ostensibly saying what Ruth had said when she handed Obed into Naomi's arms to care for as her own. This unconditional love struck a chord of Ruth in me, and I told her how impressed I was with her maturity and true devotion. She then told me something that almost brought me to my knees. My knees buckled as she related the deceased daughter's name: Ruth. Would this book  ever stop teaching me? Its impact far greater than its small dimensions.

When most people read Ruth, they look at  Boaz as the Christ-figure. But, God showed me that Ruth is the true Christ-figure because she laid down her life. Ruth walked Naomi through her transition from pleasant to bitter back to pleasant; I am in such a season now. I assure you that it is not easy. Ruth, as I have said, had her own reasons to be bitter: she was a widow and had no children from her marriage.  But she put down her own grief and walked with Naomi through her pain. Yet, she did not absorb the arrows and barbs that Naomi through her away.  Ruth did not absorb Naomi's toxicity. Can you imagine being hurt and bruised and living with a disgruntled and selfish person? Waiting and worrying; waiting, but disengaged; waiting and hopeful :those are our choices. In order to stay encouraged, we must stay engaged. Wow! Not only, thriving, but growing in your faith, and walking with God, gaining favor with man. Ruth, did it. So can  you and I.

Ruth's sacrificial love looks so like Christ's. She walked a foreign land. In the same way, Christ walked this earth- an alien world. She became a servant, doing the humble task like Christ. She loved Naomi back to her original purpose. In the same way, Christ loves us back to our original position as children of the Most High. She became the least so that Naomi could receive her covenant rights. She lies at Boaz's feet so that Naomi's rights are restored with her husband's portion. She helps reconnect Naomi to the God of her Father's. She brings hope not only to Naomi but to the community and joy to her husband who must have felt like a dried up plant. She had so many reasons to be disappointed, but she moved past that to embrace her future. Fear and faith; fear and love; fear and hope- are hard to do. But, sometimes, we must cry out like the man who wanted to be healed so badly: "Lord, I believe; help thou, my unbelief" (Mark 9: 24).

A friend of mine told me it's time to put my Ruth shoes back on again. The truth is that I don't think I have ever taken them off. Today, I celebrate the beginning of another year, not just numerical, but spiritual.



Signing off,
M.J.

Hillsong - The Stand