Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Cor. 15:58

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Monday, May 21, 2012

day 336: Ruth-- And my new book :)

Ruth 1:14
 And again they wept together, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-bye. But Ruth clung tightly to Naomi.

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This is one of my favorite verses in the book of Ruth. It shows how different Orpah and Ruth were. Orpah gave in and kissed Naomi. Ruth clung to her.

In my new eBook, I described it this way:

I feel bad for Orpah. She chose what would be tempting to us all: security, family, familiarity.

This is the end of Orpah’s story. That’s it. She went back home, probably found a husband, and had a good earthly life. But the people of Moab didn’t worship God and unless she kept the faith she learned from her years with Naomi, she died a sinner.

Orpah made the ‘easy’ choice.

Ruth made the hard one: choosing the unfamiliar, the far from home, the scary, the unknown, the way that took faith.

One woman had a good life. One had a book named after her. (Which lady would you rather be?)
I underlined clung in that verse because Ruth clung to Naomi. Have you ever had a kid cling to your leg? There is no way under the sun that you can get out of that death grip. You can be a 300 pound wrestler and if a 30 pound tike gets his/her arms and legs wrapped around you, you’re done for-- tapped out, unable to move, kid wins.

Ruth clung to Naomi to let her know that there was no way she would be able to move without her. Wherever Naomi walked, Ruth would walk to (since she was attached and all). Naomi had no choice but to relent. 

There are so many things to learn about and be inspired by in the book of Ruth. I wrote a 5 part Bible Study on it for the church's women's group, and I thought I'd publish it online for anyone who wanted to read it.  It's free, and you can share it if you want (if you decide it might be a good fit for one of your own Bible Studies).




Ruth:Faith, Loyalty, Love, Redemption

(Click the picture to go to the book homepage).
A five part Bible Study on the book of Ruth. This humorous and heartfelt study brings the verses to life and shows how love and respect can change the world. 

Like I said, it's completely free and can be downloaded on many formats. 
If you get it, I'd love some feedback. What did you like? What didn't you like? What did you find helpful?

God Bless You :)

~Kelly

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