Ruth 4:15 - And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age…
Famine impoverished the life of Naomi, an Israelite. But it was the deaths of her husband and two sons that left her completely destitute. (Ruth 1:1–5) Or so she thought, until Boaz, who was a wealthy and close relative, entered her life.
As her kinsman-redeemer, Boaz married Ruth, Naomi’s widowed daughter-in-law. And through that union, Naomi had a grandson. The birth of her grandson gave her a new lease of life, causing the womenfolk in her village to declare that the restorer of life and the nourisher of her old age had come into her life. (Ruth 4:14–16)
Boaz is a picture of Jesus, our kinsman-redeemer. Jesus became our kinsman when He was born into this world as one like us. And He became our Redeemer when He paid with His life and blood at the cross to redeem us.
Jesus gave Himself to us as our restorer of life and nourisher of our old age. When the restorer of life is in our lives, what we have lost can be restored. (Joel 2:25−26) And with the nourisher of our old age in us, our bodies can be gloriously renewed even though we advance in our years.
That is why when Moses died at the age of 120, his eyes were not dim and his natural vigor was not diminished. (Deuteronomy 34:7) Caleb, at 85 years old, could still drive out the giants from the land. God had literally nourished his body and made it strong for war. (Joshua 14:11) Sarah was certainly rejuvenated in her old age by God for she was still desirable to a king at the age of 90. (Genesis 20:1–2) God even renewed her womb. She received strength to conceive seed (Hebrews 11:11), giving birth to Isaac in her old age.
Beloved, God is outside of time and your faith in Him brings you into this timeless zone. There, what the years have stolen will be restored. And even as your years increase, you will not grow weak and weary because the restorer of life and nourisher of your old age is in you!
JESUS - THE NAME ABOVE NAMES
Then he questioned with him in many words; but he answered him nothing. - Luke 23:9
Not only does Jesus' refusal to defend Himself show His humility, but His refraining from venting His wrath against the man who senselessly killed His friend who was the greatest of the Old Testament prophets (Mt. 11:11), also displays His humble nature.
Because of Christ's humility and obedience to the Father, God gave Him a name that is above every name in heaven, earth and under the earth. There is no exemption for anyone or anything from coming under the Lordship of Jesus. He is Lord of ALL.
Jesus has not only been exalted above every "being" that has a name, but He is also highly exalted above anything else that can be named. If you can put a name on it, Jesus is above it. Sickness, poverty, depression, anger - everything has to bow its knee to the Lordship of Jesus.
Every knee of men, angels, and demons will bow and confess that Jesus is Lord. Those who have denied His existence will bow in worship. Those who have spent their lives rebelling His authority will finally bow in submission.
Every being from all ages will ultimately bow and worship Jesus. If we bow our knee to His Lordship now, we will enjoy a wonderful life here on earth, and an eternity in His blessings hereafter. Those who deny His rightful claim to the Lordship of their lives will suffer for it in this life as well as in the next. They still will have to bow their knee to His authority, so there is nothing to gain and everything to lose if they refuse to make Jesus Lord of their life.
WHAT IS A MIRACLE?
And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad: for he was desirous to see him of a long season, because he had heard many things of him; and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by him. - Luke 23:8
Herod desired to see Jesus perform some kind of miracle, and some of the questions he asked Jesus made this desire obvious. However, Jesus did not use His faith to do any miracles for Herod.
Miracles are God's way of meeting the needs of those who seek Him in faith. Miracles will sometimes be used to demonstrate God's ability so that people may believe (Mk. 2:10-11), but they will not happen to skeptics who are tempting God (Lk. 4:9-12).
A miracle is a supernatural intervention of God's power over natural law.
Healings occur within the boundaries of natural law while miracles are not limited to natural law. A person with a high fever who receives prayer and then begins to recover is experiencing a healing. The Lord intervened but in natural ways. The virus, infection, or whatever was rebuked left the body (Lk. 4:39) and then the natural healing process that the Lord built into all of us took over. When something totally supernatural happens, that's a miracle. When Jesus reattached the servant's ear and it was instantly whole after Peter cut it off (Lk. 22:51), demonstrated a miracle. It was also a healing, but it was a miraculous healing.
Feeding the five thousand (Mt. 14:19-20), walking on the water (Mt. 14:25), translating a ship and all aboard to the other side of the sea (Jn. 6:21) - all these are miracles. Miracles are usually instantaneous whereas healings are sometimes gradual.
The Lord has never had anyone who was qualified working for Him. It's by God's grace that He uses any of us. Anyone who claims to be used of God because of his great holiness is either deceived or a deceiver. It's our faith in the grace of God that allows miracles to flow through us.
BLESSINGS ARE COMING YOUR WAY ...
May the Lord, the God of your fathers, increase you a thousand times and bless you as he has promised! - Deuteronomy 1:11
God wants to release favor and blessing into your life. He longs to be good to you. Some blessings are stored up for you because someone in your family line honored Him. It may have been a parent or grandparent, or maybe someone way back in your history that you don’t even know; but because they lived a life of faith, now you are going to reap the rewards. It may have been a hundred years ago, but God wants to increase you a thousand times over your ancestors. When you have those moments where you feel like you’ve received “favor out of nowhere,” that’s the time to thank God for His grace and mercy. Thank Him for His promise to pass down blessings from generation to generation.
We serve a gracious and mighty God, and His favor lasts a lifetime! Open your heart with an attitude of expectancy because blessings are coming your way!
God doesn’t bless you because you have been good. He blesses you because of the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed on the cross for you! Jesus’ precious blood has washed you whiter than snow. That is why God is for you today even when you fail!
And if God Himself is for you, who can come successfully against you (see Rom 8:31)? What adversity or adversary can stand against you? There are none! Hallelujah
CREATION CAN’T BUT REDEMPTION CAN!
John 9:7 - And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing.
When Adam sinned and fell, everything about creation fell. Yet, people today are still putting their trust in creation. For example, they try to become healthy by eating what is called the “Eden diet”—vegetables and no meat. They are acting as if creation did not fall. They also forget that there are people who eat well and exercise regularly, and still drop dead in the prime of their lives!
Thank God that what creation cannot do, redemption can and did. Jesus demonstrated this when He spat on the ground, made clay with the saliva and put it on a blind man’s eyes. (John 9:6–7) Now, it is certainly unusual to put clay on a blind man’s eyes because he would become doubly blind!
So why did Jesus do that?
He was demonstrating to us that all our body parts come from the ground and that because creation is fallen, the work of creation cannot open a blind man’s eyes. But the work of redemption can! That is why He sent the blind man to the pool of Siloam. The word “Siloam” means “Sent”, referring to the sent one, Jesus. When the blind man washed his eyes in the pool of the sent one, he received supernatural healing for his eyes.
Beloved, when we go to Jesus, the sent one who came to redeem us with the price of His blood, and we rest in His finished work, we will receive the miracle we need. If we believe that by His stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5), we will have greater health than those who trust in creation.
Jesus was sent to redeem us from every curse that came upon creation with the fall of Adam. (Galatians 3:13) He has redeemed us from sickness, pain, sorrow, depression, poverty and even death. The world may know Him as the Creator. But today, we know Him as our Redeemer. Where the work of creation cannot save us, His work of redemption can and has!
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