“There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28, NIV).

 A Story of Hope: Part 2 of 4

            Life comes at you fast. Naomi had no sooner taken her bridal dress to the seamstress when the terrible news came. Eli had died. The wedding ceremony was postponed. The festivities would be preempted by a funeral. Tears of joy now gave way to tears of sorrow.

A Story of Hope:  Part 3 of 4

May the Lord reward you for your deed. May you receive a rich reward from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you’ve come to seek refuge” (Ruth 2:12, CEB).

            Gregory House, M.D. once said, “People don’t get what they deserve. They get what they get.” True. Yet sometimes they get pleasantly more than they deserve. Such is the definition of favor, and favor is exactly what Ruby received.

A Story of Hope: Part 1

“Who are my neighbors?” (Luke 10:29, CEV).

       Her name was Ruby. Her eyes radiant. Her face was kind.

        Ruby lived in the Eastern Country. The land was lush and fertile. The nation’s economy was the envy of the world.

“As we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18, ESV).

              I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. I opened the curtain, and daylight was nowhere to be found. I asked Alexa to play a song. She obliged with the following dirge:

“I appeared to them from far away. People of Israel, I have always loved you, so I continue to show you my constant love” (Jeremiah 31:3, NIV).

Author, David Prince, once told of a family who adopted an older child from an unspeakably horrific orphanage in another country. When they brought the little girl home, one of the things they told her was that she was expected to clean her room every day. When she heard about that responsibility, she fixated on it and saw it as a way she would earn her family’s love. Every morning when her parents entered her room, it was immaculate and she would sit on the bed and say, “My room is clean. Can I stay? Do you still love me?” The child’s words broke her new parents’ hearts.

“Whenever I am anxious and worried, you comfort me and make me glad”  (Psalm 94:19, GNT).

     Control is a good thing. Controlling one’s temper is a must for those who follow Jesus. Controlling one’s food intake is critical for maintaining a healthy body. Controlling the expenditure of money is crucial for any family on a tight budget.