Our Kinsman Redeemer

“And it happened in the middle of the night that the man was startled and bent forward; and behold, a woman was lying at his feet. And he said, ‘Who are you?’ And she answered, ‘I am Ruth your maid. So spread your covering over your maid, for you are a close relative.’ Then he said, ‘May you be blessed of the Lord, my daughter. You have shown your last kindness to be better than the first by not going after young men, whether poor or rich. And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you whatever you ask, for all my people in the city know that you are a woman of excellence. And now it is true I am a close relative; however, there is a relative closer than I. Remain this night, and when morning comes, if he will redeem you, good; let him redeem you. But if he does not wish to redeem you, then I will redeem you, as the Lord lives. Lie down until morning.’” Ruth 3:8-13

The story of Ruth and Boaz is a romantic one. Ruth, the Moabite widow of an Israeli, returned with her mother-in-law (also a widow) to the promised land. The family land had been sold. In that society these two women were in a precarious position. There was little they could do for themselves but to gather enough leftover grain from the field to avoid starvation. The only hope for Ruth and her mother-in-law lay in the Levitical law. If one of their relatives would pay the price to buy back the land and marry Ruth, they could have security and honor again.

Boaz, a man of integrity, was qualified to redeem Ruth and the land of her husband’s family. He was wealthy and able to afford the price. Importantly, he was a kinsman, related by blood. Motivated by love for Ruth, Boaz undertook all the necessary cost to make her his bride in order to restore dignity and honor to her.

This story demonstrates your redemption by Christ. God saw the need of men whom He loved. Christ became our kinsman, a blood relative, in order to qualify as our redeemer. Though Christ could afford to cover our debt - it was expensive.

Hebrews 2:13-15 says, “And again, ‘I will put My trust in Him.’ And again, ‘Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me.’ Since then the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil; and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”

Through His death you were delivered from the power of sin. Christ’s purpose: to present you holy and unblameable, and unreprovable in His sight. Praise Him today.

The Need for Redemption

“No man can by any means redeem his brother, or give to God a ransom for him -- For the redemption of his soul is costly, and he should cease trying forever.” Psalm 49:7-8

When you refer to Jesus Christ as “Redeemer,” you are making a reference to your need before you knew Him. In the Bible, “redeemer” means “deliverer or someone who would buy back an individual (or land) who had perhaps sold himself into slavery to pay his own debts.”

You were, in a very real sense, a slave to sin and to the law. Until one acknowledges his own bankruptcy, there is no way he can go to Jesus Christ in faith and become a recipient of His redeeming power.

Only as you remember where you were before you knew Jesus Christ, can you sing of your Redeemer with a heart alive with gratitude. Trying to understand your previous debt to sin is something like trying to comprehend the federal deficit.

Imagine that your personal financial indebtedness equaled that of the U.S. government and someone writes a check clearing your obligation. How do you feel toward your deliverer? The only debt you now owe is one of love. Love to your Redeemer and to one another.

“...and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.” Eph. 5:2

The Rocks

“You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them; and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” 2 Tim. 3:14-17

“Have you studied Voltaire, Thomas Paine, Ingersol, or any of those fellows?” asked a friend of a Christian steamship captain. “No,” he replied. “Well, you should. You can’t fairly turn down their argument until you have thoroughly investigated for yourself,” argued the friend.

“I’ve been the captain of this ship a long time,” returned the captain. “The chart that was given to me pointed out the deep water that would carry me safely into port. As a young captain, I never considered it advisable to investigate the rocks; the experience I’ve known others to have with them has been sufficient warning for me.

So the Bible I learned at my mother’s knee, in Sunday school, and from my pastor, is my chart for the sea life. It brings me a knowledge of the fathomless sea of God’s love and mercy, which if I cast myself upon, will carry me safely to the heavenly port.”

Love Notes

“But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man shall be blessed in what he does.” James 1:22-25

At an elementary school, each child was asked to make a small valentine, writing on it who they loved the best. A bulletin board was filled with these valentines. Some names recurring there were “Mommy,” “Daddy, “Grandma,” “Pappy,” and so forth. One had in bold letters “ME!” and one had in bold letters “GOD!”

Jesus taught that each one should love the Lord our God with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength. When doing this, it will be easy to love others. Some use flowery words, telling God how they love Him, but all too often they fail to prove their love in service to Him.

Don’t just say you love God - prove it!

Useless Enough to Be Used

“For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised, God has chosen, the things that are not, that He might nullify the things that are, that no man should boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, that, just as it is written, ‘Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.’” 1 Cor. 1:26-31

When someone asked Francis of Assisi why and how he could accomplish so much, he replied, “This may by why. The Lord looked down from heaven upon the earth and said, ‘Where can I find the weakest, littlest, meanest man on the face of the earth?’ Then He found me and said, ‘Now I’ve found him, and I will work through him. He won’t be proud of it. He’ll see that I’m only using him because of his littleness and insignificance.’”

Here is the question for you to answer - How usable are you really in the hands of God? Someone once asked Vance Havner what they would have to do to be used by God. Havner said, “You get usable, and God will wear you out!”

Are you usable, or are you wanting to set the agenda, make suggestions, or pick and choose what you will do? You get a heart that wants to serve, and watch what God will do with you.

Just a Little Bit Off

“Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge; and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness; and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble.” 2 Peter 1:5-10

Two young masons were building a brick wall - the front side of a high house. One of them, in placing a brick, discovered that it was little thicker on one side than the other. “It will make your wall uneven” the other cautioned. “Pooh!” answered the first, “what difference will such a trifle as that make? You’re too particular.”

“My mother,” replied the second, “taught me that truth is truth, and ever so little an untruth is a lie, and a lie is no trifle.” “Oh,” said the first,” that’s all very well, but I’m not lying and have no intention to.”

“Very true, but you are making your wall tell a lie, and I have read that a lie in one’s work is like a lie in his character - it will show itself sooner or later and bring harm, if not ruin.” “I’ll risk it in this case,” answered the first, and he worked away, laying more brick, carrying the wall up higher until the close of the day, when they gave up and went home.

The next morning, they went to resume their work, and found the lie proclaimed. The wall, getting a little slant from the untrue brick, had gotten more and more uneven as it got higher, and had collapsed in the night.

Just so with every little untruth in your character; it grows more and more untrue if you permit it to remain, until it brings you sorrow and ruin.

Remember - “Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.” Proverbs 4:23

Not Impressed

“I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give to each man according to his ways, according to the results of his deeds.” Jeremiah 17:10

On September 26, 1960, the first televised presidential debate between Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy aired. Each candidate put his best foot forward in attempt to impress the electorate. Today, many historians agree that Kennedy’s charisma in that debate won him the election.

Earlier that same day, Cuban strongman Fidel Castro attempted to impress the whole word with his rhetoric. Fresh from his rise to power through revolution, he proudly address the United Nations. For almost four-and-a-half hours, Castro contemptibly droned on about how awful the West was.

It would be interesting to discover how much time we spend attempting to impress others, for good or bad. For persuasive speech, though, Chuck Swindoll suggests “Make it clear; make it simple; emphasize the essentials. Forget about impressing!”

The lesson is that we should stop attempting to dazzle God with our pompous prayers and supercilious service. He said, “I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give to each man according to his ways, according to the results of his deeds.” Jeremiah 17:10

God is the only one to whom we should cater, and He is looking for holiness, fidelity, obedience, and love - not anything that we find “impressive.” God is only impressed with Jesus. Why not let Him do the impressing though you?