"Fear God, Love God, Serve God": "Your God Will Be My God!"

"But Ruth replied, Don't ask me to leave you and

turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you

live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and

your God will be my God."

(Ruth 1:16)

One can hardly think about Harvest time without thinking about the Book of Ruth in the Bible. It happened over 3000 years ago; there was a famine in the land, and a man named Elimelech from Bethlehem in Judah went to stay in the country of Moab, along with his wife, Naomi, and two sons, Mahlon and Chilion. Moab was on the opposite side of the Dead Sea and was a separate state, and the people there did not worship God.

Names were very important in those days and had definite meanings; the name Elimelech means, "My God is King," The name Naomi means, very aptly, "pleasant." The happenings in Naomi's life did not match her name. It came to pass that Naomi's husband, Elimelech, died, and Naomi's two sons married girls from Moab, Orpah and Ruth. The family stayed in Moab for about 10 years and then, Naomi's two sons died also. News came from Judah that God had helped his people, so Naomi set out to go home to Judah. Her daughters-in law were going with her, now that they had no husbands, and it was just the three of them, Naomi, Ruth and Orpah. But, Naomi, realizing that her daughters-in-law should stay with their own families, told Ruth and Orpah to go back to their mothers in Moab, that she had no more sons for them and they would be better off there. Orpah kissed her, wept and went back to Moab. But, Ruth would not leave Naomi, and she said to her those forever famous words:

"Do not ask me to leave you or not to follow you.

Where you go, I will go. And where you stay, I will

stay. Your people will be my people and your God

will be my God. Where you die, I will die. And,

there they will bury me."

Naomi knew that Ruth was very serious, so they journeyed together on to the city of Bethlehem. Ruth chose to belong to Naomi's people and to worship Naomi's God. The story rises to a Kingly crescendo: Ruth goes and gleans in the field of Boaz and eventually marries him; they have a son named Obed; Obed was the father of Jesse, who was the father of King David, who was in the lineage of Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ! Oh, Ruth, when you chose to worship Naomi's God, you really said, "Be it unto me, according to thy will," the words of Mary ...

Naomi was a harvester, a soul winner, a woman, like David, one after God's own heart! The "Jesus Christ" people see is the Jesus Christ they see in us. Naomi had such character and consecration that her daughter-in-law longed to worship the God she worshipped. Oh, that we could all be that kind of soul winner ... the "kind" that people grab us and say, "I want to worship Your God." But, You say, "Everybody pretty much worships the same God." Really? Look at this:

"The number of major gods recognized around

the world and recorded in world history is

in the hundreds. The number of religions, current

and past, centered on these gods, is in the thousands.

The number of lives lost in attempts to advance

or defend religious beliefs is in the millions. The

number of humans negatively affected by this

cultural anomaly is in the billions."

(bibleufo.com/worldgods)

There is a world of Ruth's ready to be loved, ready to hear about the One true God, Jesus Christ our Lord, ready to hear the gospel: the virgin birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, ready to hear that He is alive and coming back, ready to hear that His arms are open wide to forgive the sins of the world for whom He shed His blood, ready to hear that they can be filled with His Spirit, ready to hear that they can be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, ready to hear ...

You say, "I worship God in all I have been taught; does it really matter what God I worship?" It infinitely matters! The truth matters! The "way" to eternity in heaven matters!

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and

the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

(John 14:6)

There is only ONE God and His name is Jesus Christ. There is only ONE God who died and shed His blood for all mankind; His name is Jesus Christ. There is only ONE God who rose the third day after death; His name is Jesus Christ. There is only ONE God who will rapture, or catch away, His Church in the air; His name is Jesus Christ. There is only ONE God who is coming back to earth to set His feet upon the Mount of Olives in the near future; His name is JESUS CHRIST! It was a plan beyond all plans and the fulfillment is about to be complete. We're waiting for the trumpet to sound; we working gathering the Harvest; we're reaching out to every Nation, kindred and tongue with the love of Jesus Christ, because He is not willing that ANY should be lost or perish!

Before long, the whole world will say to the Christian the words of Ruth, because the harvest is "on;" the fire on the altar has begun; the fields are white; the door is open; the Regions are in place; the New Church Order is formed; the Father of the Nations has assumed position; and now will come the cry from every Nation, kindred, and tongue, because we're coming, the Church is coming; the Father of the Nations is coming to hear those words very appropriate for this hour: "Your God Will Be MY God!"