Today, we would like to reflect on the calling of Gideon. How was he called by God? From Gideon, we experience the truth of 1Cor 1:27 “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong,” so that no man can boast before God.
Psalm 95 is an invitation card, inviting us to worship the Lord together. It is a wonderful thing to be invited. Sometimes, when we are not invited, we feel we had been overlooked. If the President of the Philippines invited your whole family to the Palace, will you accept the invitation and go? Today, it is not an earthly king inviting you, but the Heavenly King, the King of kings and Lord of lords; how glorious this is! Psalm 95 is God’s invitation to us.
The most important verse in the ‘Parable of the Prodigal Son’ is verse 20. ‘But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.’ There are five words of action in this verse: 1. saw 2. filled with compassion 3. ran 4. threw his arms around him 5. kissed him. The father didn’t say a word, but he did all these. May the Lord help us bring out our love through the example in this parable.
The Book of Ruth records the story of how a Moabite, originally an outcast according to God’s Law, entered God’s kingdom. It is stated in Deuteronomy 23:3 “No Ammonite or Moabite or any of his descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord, even down to the tenth generation.” Ruth used to worship the gods of the Moabites, but she turned away from the gods of the Moabites to worship the one and only True Living God. This is the greatest reason for Ruth’s blessings. However, just because God blesses a person doesn’t mean he or she no longer has responsibilities. Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz experienced wonderful blessings because they did their best to fulfill their own responsibilities in the face of God’s grace.
