Verse from Ruth

“拿俄米 对儿妇说：「愿那人蒙耶和华赐福，因为他不断地恩待活人死人。」拿俄米又说：「那是我们本族的人，是一个至近的亲属。」”

路得记 2:20 

““The Lord bless him!” Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. “He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead.” She added, “That man is our close relative; he is one of our guardian-redeemers. ””

Ruth 2:20 

“How can you be so kind if you don’t even know me!”

By making some wrong decisions, Linda had ended up in jail in a country not her own. For six years she remained in prison, and when she was set free she didn’t have anywhere to go. She thought her life was over! While her family gathered money to buy her ticket home, a kind couple offered her lodging, food, and a helping hand. Linda was so touched by their kindness that she willingly listened as they told her the good news of a God who loves her and wants to give her a second chance.

Linda is a reminder of Naomi, a widow in the Bible who lost her husband and two sons in a foreign land and thought her life was over (Ruth 1). However, the Lord hadn’t forgotten Naomi, and through the love of her daughter-in-law and the compassion of a godly man named Boaz, Naomi saw God’s love and was given a second chance (4:13–17).

The same God cares for us today. Through the love of others we can be reminded of His presence. We can see God’s grace in the helping hand of people we may not even know well. But above all, God is willing to give us a fresh start. We just need, like Linda and Naomi, to see God’s hand in our everyday lives and realize He never stops showing us His kindness.

Verse from Ephesians

“上帝能照着运行在我们心里的大力充充足足地成就一切，超过我们所求所想的。”

以弗所书 3:20 

“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,”

Ephesians 3:20 

Sometimes God takes His time in answering our prayers, and that isn’t always easy for us to understand.

That was the situation for Zechariah, a priest whom the angel Gabriel appeared to one day near an altar in the temple in Jerusalem. Gabriel told him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John” (Luke 1:13, italics added).

But Zechariah had probably asked God for a child years before, and he struggled with Gabriel’s message because Elizabeth was now well beyond the expected age for childbirth. Still, God answered his prayer.

God’s memory is perfect. He is able to remember our prayers not only for years but also for generations beyond our lifetime. He never forgets them and may move in response long after we first brought our requests to Him. Sometimes His answer is “no,” other times it is “wait”—but His response is always measured with love. God’s ways are beyond us, but we can trust that they are good.

Zechariah learned this. He asked for a son, but God gave him even more. His son John would grow up to be the very prophet who would announce the arrival of the Messiah.

Zechariah’s experience demonstrates a vital truth that should also encourage us as we pray: God’s timing is rarely our own, but it is always worth waiting for.

Verse from Psalms

“愿万国都快乐欢呼；因为你必按公正审判万民，引导世上的万国。（细拉）”

诗篇 67:4 

“Let the nations be glad and sing for joy; For You will judge the peoples with uprightness And guide the nations on the earth. Selah.”

Psalms 67:4 

At a conference in Asia, there were two eye-opening sharing in the span of a few hours. First, a pastor told of spending eleven years in prison for a wrongful murder conviction before he was cleared. Then, a group of families shared how they had spent a fortune to escape religious persecution in their homeland, only to be betrayed by the very people they had paid to bring about their rescue. Now, after years in a refugee camp, they wonder if they will ever find a home.

In both cases, victimization was compounded by an absence of justice—just one evidence of our world’s brokenness. But this vacuum of justice is not a permanent condition.

Psalm 67 calls on God’s people to make Him known to our hurting world. The result will be joy, not only as a response to God’s love but also because of His justice. “May the nations be glad and sing for joy,” says the psalmist, “for you rule the peoples with equity and guide the nations of the earth” (v. 4).

Although the Bible writers understood that “equity” (fairness and justice) is a key component of God’s love, they also knew that it will only be fully realized in the future. Until then, in our world of injustice, we can serve to point others to our God’s divine justice. His coming will see “justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” (Amos 5:24).

Verse from Matthew

“所以，凡自己谦卑像这小孩子的，他在天国里就是最大的。”

马太福音 18:4 

Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 18:4

Thomas Epting's young body began showing its first signs of leukemia when he was only two years old. By age four, there was no doubt. And after the disease had ebbed and resurfaced once again at age seven, his family understood that Thomas's childhood was not going to be normal ... at least not in the way our world defines "normal." 

They were right. But not just because of the complications and chemo treatments. 

How normal is it for a young boy to never complain about shot needles and hospital stays—not even once? How normal is it to hear a child say, after being told of his need for yet another procedure, "I just want God to be glorified in this, and I don't want to embarrass Him"?

Thomas was a remarkable boy, indeed. 

There was a period of years when Thomas's physical suffering was graciously relieved by the hand of God. His leukemia was gone. Undetectable. He used the time to read every book written by A. W. Tozer. He wrote profound Christian poetry. He took the SAT at 13 and outscored his parents' high-school marks. 

But at 15, he received bad news. Not one but five malignant, inoperable brain tumors had been seen on an X-ray. The setback sent his mom and dad into a parent's tailspin. 

But his mom, Amy, remembers a day, barely a month before his death, when she was talking with Thomas about how she should pray for him. He flashed those twinkling eyes at her and said, "Mom, you think too much! God sent His Son to die for me! If He never did anything else for me, sending Jesus is enough for me to praise Him as long as I live. Just focus on that, Mom, and quit worrying about the tumors!"

Verses from Psalms

“耶和华啊，你忘记我要到几时呢？要到永远吗？你掩面不顾我要到几时呢？

但我倚靠你的慈爱；我的心因你的救恩快乐。”

诗篇 13:1, 5 

“How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?

But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.”

Psalms 13:1, 5 

We may be surprised to hear a cry of abandonment coming from David, a man who knew God intimately. Psalm 13 describes David’s struggle. He was threatened by powerful enemies and distressed by God’s seeming prolonged apathy and absence, feeling forsaken in the time of his greatest need. 

“How long, Lord?” he asks. David questioned if God would ever come to his rescue (vv. 1–2). Even as he felt the sting of abandonment, David turned his turmoil over to God, asking Him for a deeper understanding of his circumstances (vv. 3–4). Anchoring himself in God’s unfailing covenantal love, David renews his trust in God (vv. 5–6).

Like David, you may be going through a rough patch, engulfed by feelings of dread and abandonment. God may seem silent, but He is never absent. Scripture confirms He will never leave or forsake anyone who calls on Him (Heb. 13:5–6).

Verse from Romans

“爱弟兄，要彼此亲热；恭敬人，要彼此推让。”

罗马书 12:10 

“Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.”

Romans 12:10 

Romans 12:3–21 describes the attitude of humility and love that should permeate our relationships with each other as followers of Jesus. “Don’t cherish exaggerated ideas of yourself or your importance, but try to have a sane estimate of your capabilities by the light of the faith that God has given to you all. . . . Let us have real warm affection for one another as between [family], and a willingness to let the other [person] have the credit” (vv. 3, 10 J.B. Phillips New Testament).

Pride in our past accomplishments can blind us to the gifts of others. Arrogance can poison the future.

John the Baptist, whose mission was to pave the way for Jesus, said, “He must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:30).

That’s a good motto for us all. 

I admit, Lord, that I have a lot to learn about humility. 

Help me to see You for who You are so You and others have their rightful place in my life.

Always be humble before God and allow Him to be your all in all. Oswald Chambers

Verse from Mark

“他们就大大地惧怕，彼此说：「这到底是谁，连风和海也听从他了。」”

马可福音 4:41 

“They became very much afraid and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?"”

Mark 4:41 

In Mark 4, we read that Jesus’s day, which started with teaching by the seaside (v. 1), ended with a time of testing on the sea (v. 35). The boat that had been used as a teaching platform was used to transport Jesus and a handful of His followers to the other side of the sea. 

During the journey (while an exhausted Jesus slept in the back of the boat), they encountered a swirling storm (v. 37). Drenched disciples woke Jesus with the words, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” (v. 38). Then it happened. The One who had exhorted the crowds to “Listen!” earlier in the day (v. 3), uttered a simple, powerful command to the winds of nature—“Quiet! Be still!” (v. 39).

The wind obeyed and the wonder of fear-filled disciples was displayed with the words, “Who is this?” (v. 41). The question was a good one but it would take them a while to honestly and correctly conclude that Jesus was God’s Son. 

Sincere, honest, open-hearted questions and experience lead people to the same conclusion today. He is more than a teacher to listen to; He is the God to be worshiped.

Father, 

thank You for Your Word that helps us to see Jesus as Your Son. 

Please help us to listen to You and to trust that You are in control.