Day 123: The Pure Gospel

Acts 26:1-18; Ruth 3-4; Psalm 48

"And by faith in me they will become part of God's holy people." This is what Jesus told Paul, and what Paul is sharing with the court.  It is faith that makes us a member of God's family; it is believing in who Jesus says he is; it is trust that his death and resurrection covers our sins.  If anyone tries to make you or me think that we have to go on a mission, give so much money, be a better person, live a certain way, follow a certain rule--then they are not following the teaching of Jesus Christ.  You don't have to be a better, nicer, cleaner, smarter person to be accepted into The Lord's family.  All you have to do is believe, not with your head, but completely with your heart and soul, that Jesus is Lord and he saved you from your sins on the cross.  He was completely God and completely man.  THAT is what the gospel is.  Sometimes as Christians, we feel like we aren't doing enough to serve or love The Lord.  That may be true if we are just sitting on our bum, keeping all our money to ourselves, and being a jerk to people.  But, you don't HAVE to do anything for the Lord's saving grace to cover your sins.  What happens is when a person has truly believed in the message of Jesus, they are transformed.  Then, a life of generosity, service, and love follow.

The  story of Ruth and Boaz is such an uplifting story in the middle of the Old Testament.  People are doing things honorably!  Finally! But we have to remember that not long before this, Naomi and Ruth were facing dark times--their husbands had died and they had no means to provide or support themselves.  But God had a plan.  And they were blessed.  I love the part at the end of chapter four, where the people are blessing Boaz and saying that they hope that the children of this marriage will be famous.  It's like they were prophetic, because, from this line came King David and ultimately Jesus.

There's so much more I could write about Ruth and Boaz:  how she was respected and must have lived her life beautifully for people to think that; how Boaz was a man who fiercly protected those under his care; how they respected each other and remained pure before they married; how they do things the honorable way.  May we live our lives in a way that people know of us for our belief in The Lord and the humble way we live our lives.

This psalm just reminds me that even though people are going to try to attack the things of the Lord, God is more powerful.  We have got to have faith, complete faith, that The Lord has good plans and that he is mighty enough to carry them through to completion, no matter how hopeless or terrible the circumstances appear to be.