Read the Book, Win the Fight

We are two weeks into our sermon campaign on the book of Ruth. As we learned in the opening scenes, there are devastating consequences when a person seeks satisfaction or fulfillment in an empty world [Ruth 1:1-5]. The world offers promises and hopes, but will always fail to provide something only God can give. It's what we see in Genesis 3, at the Fall, and it's what we experience everyday as we sojourn in a world not our own. It's a daily fight to live as a disciple of Jesus.

Where The Fight Begins

For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.

1 John 2:16

One of the ways, we fight against buying into the world’s empty promises is filling ourselves with God’s Word. The Scriptures are the means by which we are filled with reminders of who God is, what God has done through Christ, who we are in light of God’s work, and how we are to live if we truly trust God in all of life. The Bible is an anchor for our hearts in a stormy sea of temptation, desires of our flesh, the devil, and the world.

Pick Up The Sword & Fight

In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Ephesians 6:16–17

Much like Samwise charged the cave of Shelob's lair with the sword of sting to rescue Frodo, as God's people we must charge into this world with the Sword of the Spirit. For that reason as we continue in the Ruth Campaign, I want to challenge every person in the body of Doxa Church to read Ruth every week through the whole campaign. It will require the very same thing we see embodied in the life of Ruth:

But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.

Ruth 1:16-17

This was Ruth’s confession of faith. She willingly surrendered her cultural comforts, family, and theological system to put her trust in God. Her faith overflowed into action. Our ability to grow in our trust of God is directly related to how well we know God. Our minds inform our hearts. We get to know God better through the Word He has given to us. Therefore, read Scripture and may your heart be enflamed with faith and trust in God through the testimonies you behold there.