A beautiful word

Our souls and minds need to be refreshed every single day. It is way too easy to forget about the mental recharge that we need daily. It's not healthy to live in a such a way where all we do is wear down our mind.

How do we do that? I believe that one of the ways in which that can happen is by reading things that are beautifully written. In a society where we are surrounded by books about success, leadership, and growth we forget about reading things for fun. 

Reading beautifully written words is flat out good for the soul. 

I came across a passage in Job today that encouraged me to write on this topic. I was encouraged because I haven't really read anything that beautiful written in a couple days and it really stuck out as something that I needed to read. It was refreshing. You know that feeling when you are outside on a hot summer and jump into a cold pool? Or you are hiking to a waterfall and when you finally get close enough to hear the water - you get so excited because the sound is refreshing. 

"He draws up the drops of water,

which distill as rain to the streams;

the clouds pour down their moisture

and abundant showers fall on mankind.

Who can understand how he spreads out the clouds,

how he thunders from his pavilion?

See how he scatters his lighting about him,

bathing the depths of the sea.

This is the way he governs the nations

and provides food in abundance.

He fills his hands with lightning

and commands it to strike its mark.

His thunder announces the coming storm;

even the cattle make known its approach. (Job 36:27-33)

Read through that a couple of times. There is so much power that comes from writing something in such a beautiful and descriptive way. It's simply good for the soul.

My challenge for you for the rest of this week is to read something refreshing. Read something for fun. Take 10 minutes and do it because you want to, not because you have to. 

Be a man like Boaz

As men, I believe that it is easier for us to get off track more than woman. It's easier for us to give into sinful and lustful desires. I believe that our minds are more polluted than most women as well. Apart from lustful desires we have an obsessed with power and recognition in an unhealthy way. It's easy for men to think that is what fulfills them and makes them who they are.

I really don't know why that's the case. It's something that I have always wondered and I believe it's a struggle that all guys go through at some point in their lives. I know that I have gone through it - and to make it through was one of the most rewarding feelings.

Reading through the book of Ruth the past couple of days was really cool. I had never really gotten into a book in the Old Testament and to get a lot out of it was special. The book of Ruth is mainly about Ruth and how even though she experienced a lot of misfortune, she was faithful to God and she played a huge role in the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah.

It was encouraging reading about her and Naomi but that wasn't the main thing that I took away from reading Ruth.

I was encouraged to be a man like Boaz. Boaz was known for a couple of things:

- a man of his word
- sensitive to those in need
- cared for his workers
- responsible and had integrity
- successful and shrewd businessman

Those are a lot of things that I want to be as man. I don't need tons of money, I don't need worldly pleasure, I don't need lots of fancy things, I want to be a man of my word and someone who really cares for people and loves God above all things.

There are a couple of instances where Boaz's character really stuck out to me.

The first time was when we met Ruth was she was gleaning in his field. Ruth was a stranger and came out of nowhere - yet he welcomed her with love and kindness. He made it clear that he wanted her to stick around and didn't want any of his other workers to mess with her. I admire the love he showed a stranger.

The second that really stuck out to me was the way he reacted when he woke up one night and Ruth was sleeping at the end of his bed. Naomi had told Ruth to go to where Boaz was and told her to sleep at the end of his bed and make it known that she was there. Now I would assume Ruth was fairly attractive and Boaz was probably attracted to her based off of the way that he treated her in the fields the first time they met. In the middle of the night when Ruth pulled off the blanket where his feet where at - he reacted in a Godly manner. I feel like most men could have treated that situation very differently, but Boaz was respectful and showed Ruth love and kindness.

The third thing is that Boaz wasn't messing around. He knew that he wanted to marry Ruth. He wasn't  beating around the bush when they first met. He made a decision that he was going to marry her and stuck to that. He was a man of his word and didn't waste any time marrying her.

Lastly, Boaz bought land from her widowed husband in order that his name still be on the land. I find that to be a very honorable decision made by him. How easy would it be for him to think that he was the man now and that Ruth's deceased husband didn't matter. He still cared and respected him and his land.

Boaz was a man who did things in the right way. He never took short cuts. He lived by the rules and laws that were in place. No matter what the case was - he always treated the people that he worked with and others with love and respect. He was honorable and was a solid man of God. A man that I want to be like someday. He loved and cared for people - especially the woman that he married.

Be an honorable God-fearing  man. That is the challenge that I have for all the guys out there who read this.

A beautiful outlook

One of the things I have really been intentional about in my life is loving others - but in reality going deeper than that. I have been intentional about loving others out of respect for the people who love them.

I think when we start to love others with their loved ones in mind it changes the way we love and respect them. Why? When you treat someone with love, kindness, respect, and really care for them - a friendship like that is one that they are going to share and talk about with their parents or close friends.

I remember grabbing lunch with one of my friends dad's this past Spring and he told me that he really appreciates and respects people who love his kids and treat them with love, respect, and kindness.

Those are the things that we need to hear sometimes. When you hear comments like that - you know that you have made some really solid friends. Building up a group of really close friends like that is truly loving your neighbor as yourself and God loves that.

For example - one of the ways in which I love Rachel is treating in and caring for her in a way that her parents and family would appreciate. A lot of the things I say and do for her are out of love and respect for her parents. I love her family greatly too! Not just her.  We set really strict boundaries because I always want to be able to look her dad in the eyes and tell him that I am respecting his daughter greatly.

Loving Rachel a little extra because of the people around her has led to some amazing relationships. If I wasn't intentional about loving her in a way that was showing love to those around her too - who knows if I would be as close to her family and friends. I have a really good relationship with her family and some of her friends because I keep them in mind too.

It's a beautiful outlook when you live a life this way. It provides you with the opportunity to build a lot of relationships and love others. Her cousins have become my friends because of this love...they aren't just cousins.

Why did I write about this topic this morning?

It's all tied back to Boaz and Ruth. Naomi had told Ruth to go to the threshing floor to see Boaz and she was obedient. She went to him and slept at his feet and when she returned, Naomi asked her: "How did it go my daughter?" Then she told her everything Boaz had done for her and added, "He gave me these six measures of barely, saying, 'Don't go back to your mother-in-law empty handed.'" (Ruth 3:16)

I don't want the people I have a relationship with to ever leave a conversation or time spent together empty handed. I want to provide value to people. My hope is that the impact I have on the lives of people is brought back to their loved ones.

That impact comes from having meaningful conversations. Meaningful conversations provide value in our daily lives. Boaz had Ruth bring something of value back to Naomi so she didn't leave empty handed. Naomi was thankful that Boaz had treated her with love and kindness. Value comes from meaning.

I challenge you to find that beautiful outlook and live your lives in that way. I believe that a great reward will come from it. Both on earth and in heaven. On earth you will build more relationships and in heaven I can't even imagine what the reward will be like.

Love others with the intent of loving and respecting those who love them.

Gleaning in the fields

Your reputation follows you wherever you go. Your reputation is formed by those who watch you at work, in town, at home, and in church. A good reputation comes be consistently living out the qualities you believe in - no matter what group of people or surroundings you are in.

In Ruth chapter two, she is introduced to Boaz while she is out working in his field. She was a foreigner so nobody who was out there with her new who she was.

When Boaz noticed Ruth in the field he approached her and said this: "I've been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband - how you left your father and mother and your homeland and cane to live with a people you did not know before. May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge." (Ruth 2:11-12)

Ruth's life exhibited admirable qualities: she was hard-working, loving, kind, faithful, and brave. All of those qualities gained for her a good reputation, but only because she displayed them consistently in all areas of her life. Wherever Ruth went or whatever she did, her character remains the same.

Is your reputation something that you are proud of? If not - change. Remember this - not everybody is going to love you. We mess up and we make mistakes. Sometimes people don't see past your mistakes and don't believe that you may have changed.

When you are right with God you are right with the others. I believe that sentence to be entirely true.

I encourage you to be consistent in all that you do and you will be greatly rewarded just like Ruth.

Oh baby...Ruth

I want to begin this post by telling you a little story about one of the most influential people that I grew up around...my friend Natalie.

Back when I was homeschooled until 5th grade I had two friends. My brother Jack and my friend Natalie. From the time we first met in Sunday school when we were little kids until senior year of high school she always had an impact on my life.

When I look at the time when I was in high school it was really easy to conform. You wanted to fit in, have lots of friends, and be cool. There was a line that I would never cross but it was close call sometimes. I had really good friends but some of the time I hung out with them because they were really cool in my eyes.

You had a couple groups of people:

- cool kids, know-it alls, athletes, 4.0 students
- cool kids, athletes, solid Christians
- good people, smart, Christians
- solid people, very strong Christinas
- rough around the edges, not really strong in their faith

Those five categories are what it seemed to be like...I liked to be a cool kid, who was an athlete, somewhat smart, and loved Jesus. The issues that I had was that I wouldn't make decisions that were completely honoring to God. The simple way to put it is that God wasn't the number one priority in my life.

You know whose life God was number 1 in? Natalie's. From day one she was never ashamed of her faith. No matter how badly she might have wanted to fit in better. No matter what people said about her. No matter what the case was, she always put Jesus above it all.

I admired her from afar. There were times were I would think she was a little crazy. I saw other things as more important and fulfilling than God. So I really wondered how she could put God above everything that there was.

She seemed to never conform to the world. She was comfortable in her own skin and who she was. She never crossed the line to fit in. Something I had done many times.

I never realized how much of an impact she had on my life until last year.

Why do I share this story?

As believers in Jesus Christ - we know what is to come someday. We are going to die and go to heaven. The path that we travel along the way is where it gets difficult. We are faced with temptations, hardships, struggles, and sorrow everyday. Satan is always trying to deceive us into thinking that the Christian life isn't worth it.

We go through things everyday that might make you question Jesus or why you do what you do. I would bet that if you thought long and hard about it - some people would come to mind who have stuck through it all and have persevered and always kept God first. No matter how difficult life got, no matter how badly someone wanted to fit in, they stuck to their faith.

I bet you can think of someone who is like a Natalie. Someone who had a tremendous amount of faith. If you know some of those people - cling to them! Don't leave their sides.

That is exactly what Ruth did. The book of Ruth is a story about God's grace in the midst of difficult circumstances. Ruth is a book that we should read to be encouraged. God is at work in the world, and he wants to use you. God used Ruth's mother-in-law to bring her to him.

Naomi had recently lost her husband and her sons...

Naomi had two daughters-in-law who had just been recently widowed. There was almost nothing worse than being widowed in the ancient world. You were taken advantage of or ignored. God's law, therefore, provided that the nearest relative of the dead husband should care for the widow; but Namoi had no relatives in Moab, and she did not know if any of her relatives were alive in Israel.

In her selfless attitude, Naomi encouraged the widows to stay in Moab and start their lives over, even if that meant more hardship for her. Naomi was putting her needs above others.

The widows really wanted to go with her, but she was persistent in her answers. She was not going to let them come with her.

Look at what Ruth says to Naomi: 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 will be my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me." When Namoi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her. (Ruth 1:16-18)

I believe we can learn form two people here. First - have strong faith like Naomi. No matter what circumstances were thrown her way she remind faithful. She lost her husband and sons and remained faithful to God. Second - be loyal and persistent like Ruth. As believers we are all technically a family. Families are meant to be loyal to each other no matter what. Ruth wasn't going to let her circumstances affect her loyalty to Naomi. Ruth also was persistent. She stuck right by Naomi and wasn't going to leave her side.

Find your Natalie's, and be persistent when you are going through tough times. You never know who God might bring into your life that you will help bring right back to Him.

Practice what you preach

A lot of people put up a wall when it comes to their faith and what they think of Christians. Why do you think that is?

We can be so hypocritical.  We say we are believers and that everything we do is honoring to God but we don't always live our lives this way. Most Christians know what to say. With reading the Bible comes knowledge and proper things to say. We as humans have the dangerous ability to pretend what we know we are talking about.

You could have someone who reads the Bible everyday and knows it from beginning to end and their lives aren't reflecting this.

As Christians it's easy to talk about ourselves and about how our lives are changed and how we live our lives everyday. The problem that is happening is that nonbelievers watch this from a far and see that our lives aren't reflecting the way in which we talk.

We are missing a pretty big point here....We can't forget about the power, significance, perfection, and grace of God. We are broken people trying to preach to broken people that we aren't. Why would we talk this way? We need to tell other people about how God is all-powerful and loving.

Jesus was the only-perfect human to ever walk this earth. As much as we try to be, we aren't, as much as we want to be, we can't.

We all strive to be the very best for people and that is what we want. We want to be enough for everyone. We see people who have needs, and want to fulfill those needs....We can't fill those needs completely.

This is really cheesy but think of this like macaroni and cheese. God is the cheese you put it. You boil some water really well, put the noodles in, the butter and the milk, and you will just have some decent noodles. What makes that macaroni and cheese delicious and complete? The packet of cheese that you put it in.

We all have the power in ability to impact lives of people to a great extent, but we cannot do it all and when we share who God is we need to not forget that God is the only one who can fill that gap.

Practicing what we preach goes beyond living a life that is honoring and pleasing to God everyday. It's doing that plus making it known that we are not perfect. I read my Bible everyday, I pray, and talk about Jesus and I am not perfect. Only Jesus was perfect and that is what we cannot forget to say.

Why would Christians be inspired by someone who doesn't recognize that they are still broken? I respect people who are vulnerable, and recognize that only God is perfect.

We are pretty great, but not as great as we think we are...practice what you preach my friends. We all need Christ Jesus equally. I don't need Him anymore than the people sitting here in Einsteins. We all need Jesus more than anything.

A handful of witnesses

Paul made three visits to the Corinthians. Meaning that going once just wasn't enough. He needed to go more than once in order to try and save as many people as he could. Paul could've been content going once, but he knew more needed to be done.

In whatever we do in life we have to establish credibility.

Anybody can do something once and do a good job at it. Those who stick to what is difficult and continue to do it over and over again are the people that establish credibility in my eyes.

For example, all through high school and college I loved to work out in the mornings. It was my favorite time to get after it. I rarely worked out alone in the mornings because I enjoyed having somebody with me and helping those around me achieve their goals as well. There had been a handful of guys who would work out with me in the morning once or twice.  On the other hand there were two or three who stuck to it with me everyday. Some of those guys who worked out with my every morning are some of my best friends.

If you have ever tried to wake up extra early in the morning to work, workout, or get things done, it was always easy the first time. The second day was usually more tough, you had in your mind you wanted to keep this up so you got up. The third day is where it was the most difficult to keep it going. The third day was when some of these morning workouts would stop.

My example is just like Paul's. He had to be persistent with what he was doing in order to establish credibility with the people around him.

This is my third visit to you. "Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses." (2 Corinthians 13:1)

You can't just show up and do something one time. You can't just be a Christian one day of the week and not do anything the rest. This is about building persistence, good habits, and self-discipline so that in all we do we are glorying and honoring God and loving those around us.

Another way that I look at this is asking myself this question: "How many people are getting to experience my true authentic self?"

I can't just be me around one person and expect everyone to know me the way that Rachel does for example, or my parents, or some of my best friends. I believe that true authenticity is being yourself around more than just a coupe of people.

Paul writes that every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.

Are there two or three people right now in your life who could sit down face to face with God and tell Him that you are living a life that is honoring and pleasing to Him?

If not- let that motivate you! Get to the point where you know that there are people around you who see that you honor God in everything you say and do. We aren't called to live life for human recognition, but we are called to love. When we are loving others, it will be noticed and that is obedience. Love because God first loved us.