Please Accept the Gifts that your faith & effort deserve: Study of Ruth Part 3

Key passage:
Ruth 2:1-19
James 1:17

Discover how unwavering faith can lead to unexpected blessings in this week's episode of the Jessi Morgan Devotions for the Christian Heart Podcast. Ever wonder how a simple act of faith can transform your life? Join me as I unravel the inspiring journey of Ruth from the Bible, a Moabite woman who bravely ventured to Bethlehem with her mother-in-law, Naomi, and embraced the God of Israel. We'll explore Ruth's courageous decision to glean in the fields as a foreigner and widow, and how her steadfast faith and hard work caught the eye of Boaz, a godly and generous man. 

This episode promises to deepen your understanding of how faith and effort can manifest into tangible blessings. As we examine Ruth, chapter 2, verses 1 to 19, you'll hear how Boaz's kindness and recognition of Ruth's loyalty remind us of God's unwavering appreciation for our efforts. Through personal stories woven with scripture, I aim to inspire you to remain open-hearted and receptive to the gifts that may come your way when you least expect them. Join me for an enriching discussion on faith, effort, and the way God sees and values our dedication.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hello, hello.

Speaker 1: 0:01

You're listening to the Jesse Morgan Devotions for the Christian Heart Podcast, episode 28. This week's devotional is titled Please Accept the Gifts that your Faith and Effort Deserve. Study of Ruth, part 3. Let's go. Hi. I'm Jesse Morgan. I used to just share home decor and renovation tips on social media, but now I'm sharing something even closer to my heart my journey and love for Jesus Christ, my Savior. Welcome to the Jesse Morgan Devotions for the Christian Hawk Podcast.

Speaker 1: 0:30

This is a weekly devotional. I started back in May 2024, but the inspiration for it came much earlier. It was rooted in a faith journey that began when my daughter was born four months early in 2023. Through that challenging time, god worked in ways that truly amazed me. On this podcast, I share personal stories of faith, woven together with scripture, to show just how incredible God's word can be in our everyday lives. My hope is that through these stories, you'll be encouraged, uplifted and reminded of God's love and presence, no matter what you're going through. So I invite you to spend less than 15 minutes with me each week as we reflect on these devotionals together. Let's all pray within.

Speaker 1: 1:14

Ruth, part three please accept the gifts that your faith and effort deserve, episode 28. Welcome back to the Jesse Morgan Devotions for the Christian Heart Podcast. I'm Jesse, and today we're diving into Ruth, chapter 2, verses 1 through 19. In this part of Ruth's journey we see how her faith and effort led to unexpected blessings. Our theme today, or like the focus today, is understanding and accepting the blessings that faith and effort can bring and the importance of receiving them with open hearts. So here's a quick recap from the last two sessions about Ruth.

Speaker 1: 1:54

To set the stage, ruth was a Moabite woman, a foreigner and a widow. She had married one of Naomi's sons, but after he and Naomi's husband passed away, naomi, ruth's mother-in-law, decided to return to Bethlehem. Despite her own hardships and the choice to stay in her homeland, ruth courageously journeyed with Naomi to take a place where she was likely unwelcomed. She trusted Naomi's God, the God of Israel, our Heavenly Father, to guide her through this uncertain path. So let's start with Ruth 2, 2-3. And it says and Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor. Naomi said to her Go ahead, my daughter. So she went out, entered a field and began to glean behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she was working in a field belonging to Boaz. Once Ruth and Naomi settled in Bethlehem, as we see, they needed to figure out how to survive, so Ruth decided to go out and glean. Gleaning was the process of gathering leftover grain after the main harvest, a way for poor widows and foreigners to find food.

Speaker 1: 3:11

As a woman and foreigner, ruth's decision to work among strangers in the fields took bold faith. She trusted that God would lead her to someone who would show her kindness. This faith is something we all hope for when we put in effort right, hoping it'll be seen and valued. In Ruth's case, god led her to the field of Boaz, a godly, wealthy man, and he noticed her hard work and speaks to her in Ruth 2, 8 through 9, and he says my daughter, listen to me, don't go and glean in another field and don't go away from here. Stay here with the women who work for me, watch the field where the men are harvesting and follow along after the women. I have told the men not to lay a hand on you and whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled. Wow, boaz sees Ruth's faith and dedication In shock. Ruth asked him why he would show such kindness to a Moabite and Boaz replies in verses 10 through 11, which I always loved I've been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of her husband, how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with the people you did not know before. So Boaz recognized Ruth's loyalty, her effort and sacrifice. He blesses her and Ruth is surprised, as we often are, when someone offers help without expecting anything in return. But sometimes we have to allow others to bless us and be open to receiving the good things God has in store. This reminds me of a story about my mom, my wonderful mommy. My wonderful mommy. She's always giving selfishly to others, often putting herself out to make someone else's life easier. She always inconveniences herself to make it easier for someone else, even if it's a stranger.

Speaker 1: 5:21

A few years back I planned a surprise birthday trip to Orlando with her two best friends, wanda and Johnny. I wanted it to be a gift, a chance for her to relax and enjoy herself. She does so much for me, my daughter, my husband, my dad. It was time for her to enjoy herself. But when she found out about the hotel costs, which I don't understand how she got that to this day. She immediately offered to pay half. I said, mom, this is for you. Let me and your friends take care of this. For once, just accept it as a gift. Let us bless you, please. For her it was challenging to simply accept the gift. She wondered why are you giving me such a nice gift? She's always so concerned about others and wanted to make sure I was okay financially doing this. But for me it was a joy to give my mom a gift.

Speaker 1: 6:21

What's amazing is that later God showed his hand in this situation for me specifically. Shortly afterward I received an unexpected bonus at work. God demonstrated that giving in his name is something he honors and receiving his blessings is just as important. It's just as important. Everyone. I felt like God was showing me the reward of loving and honoring my mother. I felt like God was showing me the reward of loving and honoring my mother. Just as Boaz saw Ruth's heart and wanted to bless her, god honored my effort to bless my mom. It's a beautiful reminder that God places blessings in our path when we least expect them. In the same way Boaz sees Ruth's heart and offers to support her, god places him there to bless her, and this kindness would change both their lives in ways they couldn't have foreseen. The key, though, is Ruth's openness to accepting Boaz's help. So what's your takeaway?

Speaker 1: 7:26

When we put in our faith and effort and trust in God, he often uses others to bless us, and when those blessings come, we need to receive them with gratitude. Don't block your blessings by pushing them away due to guilt or doubting the intent. Every good gift comes from God, who honors our faith and our effort. So I just want to close with this verse James 1 17. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

Speaker 1: 8:09

Blessings are from God. When you receive them, keep them and enjoy them, praise God for them, knowing they come from such a loving father. And let me tell you this, you will know when God is blessing you by somebody else, because if you are spending the time with the Heavenly Father every day, daily devotionals, you will have the discernment to know that God is blessing me right now. You'll know that, and that is so important to understand Connecting the relationship, the time that you put in to connect with the Lord, so then you can see the amazing blessings and opportunities he's giving you through others and then understanding that when you accept that blessing, when you're excited about it, when you praise God about it the person that blessed you they are going to be blessed in return. So when you don't accept a gift that you know you're supposed to because God gave it to you, you're also prohibiting somebody else from possibly being blessed too. So it's like a domino effect. So just remember that.

Speaker 1: 9:23

Let's pray Lord. Thank you for the example of Ruth, for her faith and courage. Help us to trust you deeply, to give our best and to accept the blessings you bring. Lord, open our hearts to receive your gifts with humility and gratitude. In jesus name, we pray amen. Thank you for joining me for today's study on ruth. Tune in next week for part four, as we continue to uncover the ways god uses this amazing book to just drive us to want to worship the Lord more and just understanding his holy word even more. Thank you guys. See you next week. Well, that wraps up this week's episode. I hope these devotions help you draw closer to God each day. If this episode encouraged you, please share it with someone who might need the same message and don't forget to subscribe so you never miss a weekly episode. For more information or to reach out, check the show notes or visit jessimorganhomecom or find me on Instagram at jessimorganlife. Remember God's timing is always perfect. Keep trusting him Until next time. This is Jesse Morgan praying off.