Ruth went to her mail box and there was only one letter...
She picked it up and looked at it before opening, but then she looked at the envelope again.
There was no stamp, no postmark, only her name and address.
She read the letter:
Dear Ruth:
I'm going to be in your neighborhood Saturday afternoon and I'd like to stop by for a visit.
Love Always ,
Jesus
Her hands were shaking as she placed the letter on the table. 'Why would the Lord want to visit me?
I'm nobody special. I don't have anything to offer.'
With that thought, Ruth remembered her empty kitchen cabinets.
'Oh my goodness, I really don't have anything to offer.. I'll have to run down to the store and buy something for dinner.'
She reached for her purse and counted out its contents.. Five dollars and forty cents.
Well, I can get some bread and cold cuts, at least.'
She threw on her coat and hurried out the door.
A loaf of French bread, a half-pound of sliced turkey, and a carton of milk...leaving Ruth with grand total twelve cents to last her until Monday..
Nonetheless, she felt good as she headed home, her meager offerings tucked under her arm.
'Hey lady, can you help us, lady?'
Ruth had been so absorbed in her dinner plans, she hadn't even noticed two figures huddled in the alleyway.
A man and a woman, both of them dressed in little more than rags.
'Look lady, I ain't got a job, you know, and my wife and I have been living out here on the street, and, well, now it's getting cold and we are getting kinda hungry and, well, if you could help us Lady, we'd really appreciate it.
Ruth looked at them both.
They were dirty, they smelled bad and frankly, she was certain that they could get some kind of work if they really wanted to.
'Sir, I'd like to help you, but I'm a poor woman myself.. All I have is a few cold cuts and some bread, and I'm having an important guest for dinner tonight and I was planning on serving that to Him..'
'Yeah, well, okay lady, I understand.. Thanks anyway..'
The man put his arm around the woman's shoulders, turned and headed back into the alley.
As she watched them leave, Ruth felt a familiar twinge in her heart.
'Sir, wait!'
The couple stopped and turned as she ran down the alley after them. Look why don't you take this food, I'll figure out something else to serve my guest."
She handed the man her grocery bag..
'Thank you lady. Thank you very much!'
'Yes, thank you!' It was the man's wife, and Ruth could see now that she was shivering
'You know, I've got another coat at home. Here, why don't you take this one!
Ruth unbuttoned her jacket and slipped it over the woman's shoulders.
Then smiling, she turned and walked back to the street.....without her coat and with nothing to serve her guest.
'Thank you lady!
Thank you very much!
Ruth was chilled by the time she reached her front door, and worried too, the Lord was coming to visit and she didn't have anything to offer Him.
She fumbled through her purse for the door key But as she did, she noticed another envelope in her mailbox.
'That's odd. The mailman doesn't usually come twice in one day.'
Dear Ruth:
It was so good to see you again.
Thank you for the lovely meal.
And thank you, too, for the beautiful coat.
Love always, Jesus
__________________________________________________________
Little Zachary was doing very badly in math.
His parents had tried everything...tutors, mentors,
flash cards, special learning centers.
In short, everything they could think of to help his math.
Finally, in a last ditch effort, they took Zachary down and enrolled him
In the local Catholic school. After the first day, little Zachary came
home with a very serious look on his face. He didn't even kiss his
mother hello.
Instead, he went straight to his room and started studying.
Books and papers were spread out all over the room and little Zachary
was hard at work. His mother was amazed. She called him down to dinner.
To her shock, the minute he was done, he marched back to his room
without a word, and in no time, he was back hitting the books as hard as
before.
This went on For some time, day after day, while the mother tried to
understand what made all the difference.
Finally, little Zachary brought home his report Card. He quietly laid it
on the table, went up to his room and hit the books. With great
trepidation, His Mom looked at it and to her great surprise, Little
Zachary got an 'A' in math.
She could no longer hold her curiosity. She went to his room and said,
'Son, what was it? Was it the nuns?' Little Zachary looked at her and
shook his head, no. 'Well, then,' she replied, Was it the books, the
discipline, the structure, the uniforms? WHAT WAS IT?'
>
Little Zachary looked at her and said, 'Well, on the first day of school
when I saw that guy nailed to the plus sign, I knew they weren't fooling
around.'
What Is Most Important?
By Demarcus Williams
For some time now I have encountered my own struggles in maintaining a consistent walk with Christ, and every time I make a mistake I find myself begging God for forgiveness for the same thing over and over again. You’re probably wondering what’s the big deal? “Only God can judge me” and “God knows my heart” right? These monikers often serve as defenses to those we feel are judging us; however deep down we know they are merely bandages to our wounded and seared conscience. If you don’t mind I’d like to share with you what God gave me pertaining to what I call the “matters of the heart”.
In my repeated moments of crying out to God for forgiveness, I heard in my spirit “Hide my Word in your heart”. I was familiar with the scripture (Psalm 119:11) but what did that mean? Let’s explore this:
The “Heart” in this connotation as defined by Webster as being “one’s innermost character, feelings or inclinations”. It is the central or innermost part. It is the essential or most vital part of something. In other words, it’s the REAL “you”. It’s the “you” nobody knows but you and God.
To “Hide” means to put out of sight or to conceal for shelter or protection. In Biblical times if someone hid something it was because it was valuable. Hiding usually referred to the burying of treasures or things that were considered precious. (Josh. 7:21 Matt. 25:18)
Here’s how one commentator put it:
“One is said to hide the word in one’s heart when one has it continually present with him not merely as an outward precept but as an inward motive power in opposition to selfish action”(Keil & Delitzsch: Commentary on OT v.5 pg. 246)
In other words the word of God has to be hidden(treasured) or demonstrated as the most important thing in your life. If the word of God is not most important it will always take the backseat to what currently is. (Job 23:12, Matt. 6:22)
So now you’re probably saying well who is anybody to tell me what I believe is most important to me? The answer is nobody—nobody but God. It is true that “God knows our hearts”, no one can truly know a man’s heart but God. (Jer. 17:9) The problem is that although God knows our heart(intentions), He judges us according to what we do. (Jer. 17:10, Heb. 4:12, Matt. 15:19, Rev. 20:11-15)
Ok so why is it important to “Hide” the word in my heart? Why is it that I haven’t gotten over these problems? Well due to the fact that by nature the “heart” is not just our REAL self, it is also the most sensitive part of us. Once someone or something has our heart we are liable to do anything for them or it no matter how ridiculous it appears to others. With God it is no different. Because our hearts are so sensitive, it is easily influenced by circumstances pertaining to jobs, friends, relationships, etc. to at times do things that we know God doesn’t like. So what’s the solution? We PROTECT our hearts by making the Word of God our #1 Priority. (Prov. 4:23, Psalm 119:11)
If the word of God is the most important thing in our lives, anything that God has for us is ours when we come to Him first for it. (John 15:7, Matt. 4:4, 6:33) As we get closer to God, we increase our confidence in the plan He has for our lives. (Romans 10:17, Heb. 11:6, 1 John 5:15-16)
With an increased confidence in God’s word, we can prioritize it over anything else that is around us, which opens doors for our prosperity and success in both this lifetime and life everlasting. (Josh. 1:8, Psalm 1:2, Luke 18:28-30)
I want whoever is reading this to know that God has a plan for all of us and He wants to be the most important thing to you. Is He? Does He understand that you’re busy? Of course, but is there someone or something that could use a little less of your time? Take a look at where your time is currently being spent. Is there room for God? Even if it is for 15-20 minutes a day, I challenge you to give God your time, your dreams, your goals and ambitions. God’s word is full of promises that He has for your life, if you dare to believe Him. The next time you find yourself struggling with a situation, instead of looking at it just in terms of right or wrong ask yourself—What is most important?
This message was written by Demarcus Williams. He is a business owner in Raleigh, NC. His company name is Freshdesignz, LLC. Freshdesignz provides communication and media related services, as well as, consulting services, design related services and printing needs. If you would like to comment on the above message you may do so by sending him an e-mail at demarcus@freshdesignz.net
Holy Alphabet
A- Although things are not perfect
B -Because of trial or pain
C -Continue in thanksgiving
D - Do not begin to blame
E - Even when the times are hard
F - Fierce winds are bound to blow
G - God is forever able
H - Hold on to what you know
I- Imagine life without His love
J- J oy would cease to be
K - Keep thanking Him for all the things
L - Love imparts to thee
M- Move out of 'Camp Complaining'
N - No weapon that is known
O- On earth can yield the power
P - Praise can do alone
Q - Quit looking at the future
R - Redeem the time at hand
S - Start every day with worship
T - To 'thank' is a command
U - Until we see Him coming
V - Victorious in the sky
W - We'll run the race with gratitude
X - X alting God most high
Y - Y es, there'll be good times and yes some will be bad, but...
Z - Z ion waits in glory...where none are ever sad!
