Compete Or Converge

Ruth 4:13-22

The Genealogy of David

13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. Then he went to her, and the LORD enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. 14 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 your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth."

16 Then Naomi took the child, laid him in her lap and cared for him. 17 The women living there said, "Naomi has a son." And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

18 This, then, is the family line of Perez:
Perez was the father of Hezron,

19 Hezron the father of Ram,
Ram the father of Amminadab,

20 Amminadab the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon, ^[a]

21 Salmon the father of Boaz,
Boaz the father of Obed,

22 Obed the father of Jesse,
and Jesse the father of David.

Reflection of Bee:

The recent devotions seem to have a central theme on love such as:

• Amazing Love
• Joy of True Friendship and Love
• Love in Action
• Love Goes Beyond Liking
• What is Love

Tonight again we read about Ruth's love for her mother-in-law, Noami. How did Ruth demonstrate her love?

Love is being faithful
Love is being courages
Love is being trusting
Love is being obedient
Love is doing, not just talking

When we obey God's command to love, God will see to it that our rewards will be great.

Dear Lord,
You are the author of love. Without you, all 'love' will become self-love instead. Teach me to love more and more in Your way each day.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Reflection of Tommy:
The speaker in today’s home fellowship gave an amazing highly concise and informative history of Christianity within 2 hour! It was about how the early Christianity spread since the days of the apostles to what it is now. I can see how God has meticulously planned everything since the beginning, His sovereignty and amazing works in lives of believers throughout the centuries.

Like Ruth, we will never know the full purpose or importance of our lives until we are able to look back from the perspective of eternity. But, by living in faith, we can make daily decision to live in faithfulness and obedience to God, even though we may have to endure hard times or couldn’t see all the results. We should always remember to have God’s eternal values in mind, knowing the significance of our lives will extend beyond our lifetime.

Dear Father, thank You for the wonderful lesson tonight. And thank You for the speaker and those brothers and sisters who has spend time and effort to invite and did all the necessary preparation for the gathering. May Your blessings be upon them always and continually guiding their walk with You. Lord, I pray You will also continue to lead my path, changing me each day and reminding me to focus on things with eternal values. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.

When Instructions Seem Stupid

2 Kings 5:1-14

Naaman Healed of Leprosy
1 Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy. [a]

2 Now bands from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman's wife. 3 She said to her mistress, "If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy."

4 Naaman went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said. 5 "By all means, go," the king of Aram replied. "I will send a letter to the king of Israel." So Naaman left, taking with him ten talents [b] of silver, six thousand shekels [c] of gold and ten sets of clothing. 6 The letter that he took to the king of Israel read: "With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy."

7 As soon as the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his robes and said, "Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me!"

8 When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his robes, he sent him this message: "Why have you torn your robes? Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel." 9 So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha's house. 10 Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, "Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed."

11 But Naaman went away angry and said, "I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them and be cleansed?" So he turned and went off in a rage.

13 Naaman's servants went to him and said, "My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, 'Wash and be cleansed'!" 14 So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.

Reflection of Bee:

Just like Naaman, when we don't understand why we are told to do certain things that seem illogical, we become very defensive and even angry with those who said them. Pride also makes it hard to accept comments from others. Sometimes we also react the same way when God asks us to do certain things we don't wish to do. We tend to rationalize them to our likings.

However, God says He will use the foolish things to confound the wise and that His ways are higher than our ways. We need to humble ourselves and not rely on our intellects so as to receive healing from God.


Dear Lord,
I know that Your ways and thoughts are higher than mine. As I reflect on all the events that happened in my life and all the people I met along the way, I know You have a purpose for me through them. Though I may not fully comprehend them, I see Your hands guiding me, keeping me, protecting me from harms, and bringing me into something more meaningful each day. Help me not to cry for the past. Help me to stay close to You.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.



Reflection of Tommy:

Like Naaman, our pride and self-will sometimes rob us from receiving God’s healing. Although we may not be in a rage like Naaman, but we do quietly go our own ways ignoring God’s clear commands to us. We may even doubt His way is the best way for us when we do not understands how He works and when results are few.

But, in today passage we learn that obedience to God begins with humility. It is about acknowledging God’s way is always better than ours and knowing that God wants our obedience more than anything else. By humbly obeying, God in His time and way will bless and heal us from all our infirmities.

Dear Father, thank You for teaching me to always humble myself to You and Your way. Teach me to obey and abide in You, seeking each day to be more like Christ. Continue to guide me, setting aside my pride that I may see the better way to live for You and Your people. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.

Can I Run Away?

Psalm 139:7-16

7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?

8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, [a] you are there.

9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,

10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.

11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"

12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.

14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

Bee's Thoughts:

When I was a young Christian (also young in age), there were a few times I tried to 'run away' from God when I felt depressed by things in my life. I thought I could and I didn't want to talk to God. But when I read the above passage one day, tears just rolled over my cheek. I knew that I couldn't run away from God...wherever I go God will be there (v7-12).

Yes, He never let me go even though I tried to run away from Him many times... His love always drew me back to Him.

Yes, He knows me through and through... He knows me even before I was formed, He knows how I feel, what I need, what I will be. He knows me better than I know myself (v13-16).


Dear Lord,
Thank You for not letting me go.
Thank You for drawing me back to You each time.
Thank You for loving me.
Thank You for knowing and supplying all my needs.
Thank You that I can't run away from Your presence.
Praise be Your name. Amen!



Tommy's Thoughts:

As I was talking to my brother and his friend on self-condemnation, I realized there are many whose life were shaped by what other said about them; often bad and negative things that influences the person’s every thoughts and actions for the rest of their lives. They easily feel inferior or worthless due to the harmful experiences they had in the past.

There are also those who hate and sick of their own self because of their failures and flaws. They feel greatly ashamed of them selves and think they are beyond help. They stop seeking help from others and even God, going spirally downward to further self-degradation.

In today’s Psalm, David tells us that God’s character goes into every details of the creation of a person; never an accident but created meticulously with love and care; each stands unique from another.

Whenever we feel to degrade and condemn ourselves because of our failures or our pasts, we should remember that our Maker has so much respect for us that we should respect our selves similarly. We should also remember that His Spirit is ready and willing to work within us whenever we feel disappointed with our selves.

Dear Father, thank You for teaching me not to give up when I fell or disappointed You. Lead me to allow the Spirit to work within me when I failed, changing me from within. I pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.