Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil. 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 NRSV.

“Lord, I will follow You, but…” Luke 9:61.

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. Ephesians 6:18.

And continuing our 351 Old Testament prophecies, promises of God, fulfilled in Jesus Christ, we come to number 46: Christ, our kinsman, has redeemed us. Ruth 4:4-10: “So I thought to inform you, saying, ‘Buy it before those who are sitting here, and before the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if not, tell me that I may know; for there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am after you.’” And he said, “I will redeem it.” Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also acquire Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of the deceased, in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance.” The closest relative said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, because I would jeopardize my own inheritance. Redeem it for yourself; you may have my right of redemption, for I cannot redeem it.” Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning the redemption and the exchange of land to confirm any matter: a man removed his sandal and gave it to another; and this was the manner of attestation in Israel. So the closest relative said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself.” And he removed his sandal. Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon. Moreover, I have acquired Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, to be my wife in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance, so that the name of the deceased will not be cut off from his brothers or from the court of his birth place; you are witnesses today.” And, Ephesians 1:3-7: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing on the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise and glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace…

And through the line of Boaz and Ruth came David and Jesus, the Son. And through Jesus, Creator God, come all of us redeemed, to the Father.

I thought a lot about praying itself as I was praying this morning. My thoughts can turn so quickly to worry and yet as I pray I remember – and God – I AM – is right there with me and I am with Him. When I am with Him in prayer, which is conversation with Him, His peace is with me. It’s as though I am physically turning away from worry and see Him; and as I see Him, I am comforted because I know He is Truth and He is Holy and He is my anchor of truth in a world of confusion. Last night on the news they showed a movie to be released soon made entirely from AI. It had the appearance of real but felt empty and violent and I realized that is exactly what the Deceiver is – artificial, empty, violent. That’s the world we live in under his influence. But as I prayed for each member of our family and extended family, for friends, brethren, for those who don’t yet know God and need Him, I lived in what is real. At the end of my devotional, Devotions for Women, by Ann Spangler, after showing so beautifully how prayer brings us in close to Creator God, she wrote: “Tonight as you close your eyes, remember that one day you will open them to find that you have passed from death to life, enjoying the gift of God’s forever peace. Lord, as I close my eyes, help me to close my heart to all that does not bring me closer to You – fear, unbelief, and anger. Instead, may I rest in Your presence, I pray.”

Last night we watched the movie Case for Christ which is the true story from the book of the same name written by Lee Strobel. He was an atheist and happily so until his wife told him she believed in God and his world was turned upside down. As an investigative reporter he sought to prove how wrong religion is to save her from the cult of religion so he could have his wife back. He found instead proof of Jesus Christ and the attestation of Scripture. It takes faith to believe and it takes faith to not believe in God. Atheism is faith there is no God. God’s love is our attestation of all He is doing in His Will for us. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. And Paul goes on…In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation – having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory. Ephesians 1:8-14.