The Champions Spirit
Volume 69, Issue 10
March 14, 2010
A Ray of Sunshine
Whether the ray of sunshine breaks through the rain-filled clouds in Houston, or through the dreary, cold day in Slovakia, it is a most welcome sight. It catches our attention as we are enchanted by its contrasting light and striking beauty.
Such a ray of sunshine was Ruth! The book that bears her name sets her story as being in the “time of the judges.” Since our Look At The Book program has just taken us through the reading and study of Judges, we don’t have to guess what those times were like—they were abysmal! Never faithful long, Israel was constantly being disciplined by God as He sent various armies, seemingly as often as the sudden storms of the Galilee, bursting down upon the people to oppress and trouble them, trying to get them to return to Him in faithful living. But, Judges tells us, they would not—at least for long.
The book of Ruth begins not with war, but with famine. Since we find that one of the blessings God would give His people if they would be faithful to Him was a bountiful harvest, reading of the great famine in the land depicts a nation once again in the throes of sin. Things were so dismal one Israelite family left Bethlehem (the “city of bread”) to find substance in the land of a long-standing enemy—Moab. Dark, cold days to be sure!
It is in just such conditions that the ray of sunshine comes. Into this troubled family of Naomi
(who lost her husband and both sons to death), Ruth appears. The daughter-in-law of Naomi (who changes her own name from “pleasant” to “bitter’), Ruth—a foreigner—is the picture of faithfulness. To the bereaved mother-in-law Ruth would cling, and, in those now famous words, pledge unfailing and undying love. To this pledge she was faithful—even when it meant leaving her father and mother to travel and live in a foreign land. She was true—even when it meant gathering the grain left for the poor and needy. She was obedient—even when it meant humbling herself to ask a man to marry her. Ultimately, through her faithfulness, Ruth was blessed to be married to Boaz, and became a mother in the lineage of none other than Jesus!
In a time of death, she devoted her life. In a time of unfaithfulness, she was faithful. In a time of dreary darkness, Ruth was, not only for her own day, but for us all—A Ray of Sunshine!
—Larry Keele
FAMILY MATTERS...
We welcome our guests to today’s services of God’s family in Champions! Your coming blesses us. We pray that as these classes and worship are conducted today that all will grow closer to our Lord and God. Please come again.
It is hard not to notice the busy Sunday afternoons at Champions! What a great number of young people and adults are dedicated to spiritual growth as the opportunity is presented in Leadership Training for Christ. That our adults will give themselves to guiding and training those younger and that those from 3rd grade through high school are willing to give of their talents and to grow is a true blessing indeed!
Men, sign up for Men’s Day! It promises to be a day to help us grow into a deeper relationship with our Lord, one another, and men from sister congregations.
The Trices, Janet and I have completed our work in Kosice and Nitra. In the next few days we will provide assistance for Roman Halamicek (our missionary in Bratislava) as he presents a seminar on Love Languages. Hopefully, this will provide additional contacts for further study. It should be an interesting week. Please remember us and the work here in your prayers.
Look at the Book: 1 Samuel.
Parting Thought: "There can be no spiritual health without doctrinal knowledge." —J. I. Packer
HAVE A BLESSED WEEK!
Aubri Geurin Thank You
Last weekend, I had a wonderful opportunity to encounter God through the ladies of the Church of Christ in Champions. I helped plan the Ladies Retreat again this year, but so many beautiful ladies played a huge part in making the retreat a success for myself and others.
Jessica Tate poured her heart and time into researching, planning, advertising, coordinating, delegating, decorating, shopping, and so much more. One of the highlights of the weekend for many of us was the devotional talk she presented on Friday night around the campfire. She truly is a blessing to our church in so many ways, and I am so thankful for her help and guidance.
Lori Ball used her talents to create the incredible posters and other advertisements that you’ve seen around the church building the last few months.
Darlene Bounds, a newer member who some of you may not even have had the pleasure of meeting yet, worked tirelessly on recruiting and registration.
Stephanie Harris spent hours making sure that our folders with all the songs and information for the weekend were just perfect. As someone who tends to break copy machines more times than not, I really appreciate her hard work.
Rebekah Johnson braved the cold with Jessica and Laura Mize to greet ladies when they arrived and direct them to the building and parking area.
Debbie Bolin did a wonderful job as our emcee-she has a great sense of humor and a lot of wisdom to share!
Julia Sammons and Stacy Wyatt served as our group discussion leaders. The women in their groups were truly blessed by their insight and guidance.
Debbie and Brittany Jones coordinated our singing and prayer times. We were all encouraged and uplifted by the worship times and are so thankful for their involvement.
Dwan Reed, who spoke for us last year, delivered another powerful message to us about overcoming the obstacles to encountering God in our lives. We also had a new speaker this year: Rachel Sherwin. Her beautiful, heartfelt lesson was encouraging to all of us and gave us a new perspective on the “piles of rocks” in our lives.
Thank you to all the ladies who came and made this a special weekend! I am so blessed to be a member of this family!
“I thank my God every time I remember you! In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now, being confident in this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart.” (Phillipians 1:3-7)
—Aubri Geurin
John’s Jogs
NAOMI AND RUTH
Naomi and Ruth is one of the most astounding friendships of all history. This friendship ultimately has an effect of tremendous proportions on the history of mankind.
In the time of the Judges, Israel had a severe famine. A man of Bethlehem in Judea named Elimelech, his wife Naomi and two sons Mahlon and Kilion went to live in Moab. Moab was a nation descended from the son of the unholy relationship of Lot and his oldest daughter. While in Moab the two sons married local girls. Kilion married Orpha and Mahlon married Ruth.
Within a 10-year period all three men died leaving behind widows without children. In this male-dominated society, women without a father, husband or son to care for them could quickly become destitute; they had few rights.
Naomi, hearing that the famine in Judah had ended, decided to return to her homeland. So Naomi urged Ruth and Orpah each to return to their mother’s home and begin looking for another husband. Initially they both rejected the idea; but after Naomi reasoned with them further, Orpah agreed to return. She left with a tearful goodbye. We are now ready to see the most astounding commitment: Ruth absolutely refused to leave Naomi when she replied,
“Do not urge me to leave you or to turn back from you.
Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay.
Your people will be my people and your God my God.
Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried.
May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely,
If anything but death separates you and me.”
Can you think of any stronger statement of commitment? And this from a daughter-in-law to a mother-in-law. Talk about a FRIEND!
When the two women reached Bethlehem, the entire town was moved with sympathy for Naomi and no doubt with admiration for Ruth’s unfailing loyalty toward her aging mother-in-law. According to Mosaic Law, the poor are allowed to collect any crops that were missed during the first pass of the reapers. The barley harvest had just started, so Ruth decided to go gleaning behind the reapers.
Fortunately, she chose the field of Boaz. This man had heard how Ruth had refused to abandon Naomi and he took an immediate liking to her. He even left orders that the workers leave extra grain for her and that the young men not bother her. When she returned and reported what happened, Naomi was elated. Naomi explained that Boaz was not just a friendly neighbor but one of their nearest kin. The law of Moses obliged a man to marry his brother’s widow to produce children to carry on the dead brother’s family name and to claim the deceased man’s property. Apparently, the rule could be extended to include relatives other than brothers.
When wise old Naomi saw that Boaz had taken favorable notice of Ruth, she decided that it was time to see if a marriage could be arranged. Actually Ruth had a certain legal claim on Boaz as a near kinsman to her dead husband. Boaz appears to be really impressed of her commitment to raise up children to her dead husband's inheritance rather than going after younger men whether rich or poor.
So, with the blessing of the people, Boaz took Ruth to be his wife. She bore him a son, Obed, who became the grandfather of King David. In one of the final scenes of the book Naomi holds her grandson on her lap and cares for him. A thousand years later JESUS a descendant of Obed, was born in Bethlehem; He is described as one who gives: “LIFE FOR ALL MEN.” (Romans 5:18). Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus lists only four women and RUTH is one of them. Jews today still honor Ruth by rereading her story during the annual “Feast of Weeks” that marks the end of grain harvest.
Because of the love, loyalty and commitment Ruth had, without ever knowing it, she mothered a host of kings and ultimately the King of Kings, the Savior of the world. A JUST REWARD FOR A FAITHFUL FRIEND!!
—John Qualls