Ruth went to her mail box and there was only one letter.
She picked it up and looked at it before opening,
but then she looked at the envelope again.
There was no stamp, no postmark, only her name and address.
She read the letter:
Dear Ruth,
I'm going to be in your neighborhood Saturday afternoon
and
I'd like
to stop by for a visit.
Love Always,
Jesus
Her hands were shaking as she placed the letter on the table.
"Why would
the Lord want to visit me?
I'm nobody special.
I don't have anything to
offer."
With that thought, Ruth remembered her empty kitchen cabinets.
"Oh my goodness, I really don't have anything to offer.
I'll have to run to the store and buy something for dinner."
She reached for her purse and counted out its contents.
Five dollars and
forty cents.
"Well, I can get some bread and cold cuts, at least."
She
threw on her coat and hurried out the door.
Loaf of French bread, half-pound of sliced turkey,
and a carton of milk...leaving Ruth with a
grand total of twelve cents
to last her until Monday.
Nonetheless, she
felt as she headed home,
her meager offerings tucked under her arm.
"Hey
lady, can you help us, lady?"
Ruth had been so absorbed in her dinner plans,
she hadn't even noticed
two figures huddled in the alleyway.
A man and a woman, both of them
dressed in rags.
Look lady, I ain't got a job, ya know,
and my wife and I
have been living out here on the street, and, well, now
it's getting cold and we're getting kinda hungry,
well, if you could
help us,
we'd really appreciate it."
Ruth looked at them both.
They were dirty, they smelled bad and, frankly,
she was certain that they could get some kind of work
if they really
wanted to.
"Sir, I'd like to help you, but I'm a poor woman myself.
All I
have is a few cold cuts and some bread,
and I'm having an important guest
for dinner tonight.
I was planning on serving that to Him."
"Yeah,
well, okay lady, I understand.
Thanks anyway." The man put his arm around
the woman's shoulders,
turned and headed back into the alley.
As she
watched them leave,
Ruth felt a familiar twinge in her heart.
"Sir, wait!"
The couple stopped and turned as she ran down the alley.
"Look, why don't you take this food.
I'll figure out
something else to serve my guest."
She handed the man her grocery bag.
"Thank you lady. Thank you very much!"
"Yes, thank you!"
It was the man's wife, and Ruth could see
that she was shivering.
"You know, I've got another coat at home.
Here, why don't you take this
one."
Ruth unbuttoned her jacket and slipped it over the woman's
shoulders.
Then smiling, she turned and walked back to the
street...
without her coat and with nothing to serve her guest.
"Thank you lady! Thank you very much!"
Ruth was chilled by the time
she
reached her front door, and worried too.
The Lord was coming to visit and
she didn't have anything to offer Him.
She fumbled through her purse for
the door key.
But as she did, she noticed another envelope in her
mailbox.
"That's odd. The mailman doesn't come twice in one day."
She took the envelope out of the box and opened it.
Dear Ruth,
It was so good to see you again. Thank you for the lovely meal.
And
thank you, too, for the beautiful coat.
Love Always,
Jesus
The air was still cold, but even without her coat, Ruth no longer noticed.
We can be like Jesus and help others see Jesus in us.
Our lives are open books and are read daily by others.
Be careful how you re-act to things,
someone may be watching that doesn't know Jesus as their personal Savior.
Do you want to be responisable for their down fall?
"For He will command His angels concerning you in all your ways..."
(Psalm 91:11, NIV)
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"Jesus is our bridge to God and His perfect love."
To do the will of God involves a disciplined application of
our will in the matters of life.
This begins with a goal of doing good rather than evil
to other persons no matter how they treat us.
It rests on an attitude of love and respect for others.
It involves personal humility.
Enthusiasm for God's work fuels our will to do His will.
Faithful prayer enables us to endure the dark hours of life.
Then we can share with others in need.
Humility allows us to do God's will
rather than center life on pride in personal achievements.
Humility lets us seek to please others and live without fighting or quarreling.
Worship is more than feeling good about God.
Worship includes the matter of applying faith to everyday life.
We worship as we pattern life after God's ways and
not the world's.
This is possible when God changes our mindstyle.
God's Spirit works in us so we can test and judge to determine God's will.
The Sovereign God works through all things to bring good to His people.
God is good, righteous, faithful
God who does not cause evil and suffering.
God loves His children and calls all men unto Him.
Some people can't hear what you say, for the life you are living.
For us to fail to forgive, is to imply that we have a higher standard of forgiveness than God.
Leaving God out of things only hurts Him.
We don't like to be left out, do we?
Our weaknesses are God's opportunity to demonstrate His power.
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"Go therefore and make disciples of all
the nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to
observe all things that I have
commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:19 & 20, NIV)
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"Fear thou not; for I am with thee:
be not dismayed; for I am thy God:
I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee;
yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness."
(Isaiah 41:10, NIV)
Don't let your time on earth waste away and not
learn of and KNOW Jesus Christ.
The clock is ticking!
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