Tuscumbia First Methodist Church

05/30/2026

05/29/2026

𝗘-𝗗𝗘𝗩𝗢𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡, 𝗙𝗥𝗜𝗗𝗔𝗬, 𝗠𝗔𝗬 𝟮𝟵, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲

Today’s Scripture Reading - Ruth 3

Scripture

13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When he made love to her, the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. 14 The women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a kinsman-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! 15 He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.” - Ruth 4:13-15

Meditation

I am covering the last two chapters of Ruth today. Tomorrow I will not have time to write a devotion. Please finish reading the story. The story contained in the Book of Ruth is one of the best short stories ever written in any genre. There are so many life principles to be learned from this story. On the redemption history side of things, it has tremendous significance. Boaz not only redeemed Naomi and her family and undoubtedly became famous throughout all of Israel, but their son, Obed, might have become more famous. In fact, Obed became famous throughout every land and nation and in every nation until all eternity. Obed doesn’t sound like a very famous Old Testament character but this son of Boaz and Ruth was the father who was the father of, yes, David. In the line of David comes the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ. This story we have read is not only a story of the redemption of Naomi and her family, but a story of the redemption of the world. In theological speech we say the book of Ruth foreshadows the story of Jesus. When all seems to be lost, when hope is hard to see on the horizon, we have a kinsman-redeemer in Christ. Don’t miss the other important message. The newer translations of the Bible use the word guardian instead of kinsman which somewhat deviates from meaning found in the Law, but the word guardian does broaden the meaning which is helpful. You may not be related to someone, but you may be the instrument of redemption for someone. Not necessarily in terms of family and land and children, but a spiritual redemption for someone without hope whose life appears to be totally lost. We have a kinsman-redeemer in Christ, we can be a guardian-redeemer for the lost in our world. Praise the Lord on both accounts!

Prayer

Heavenly Father, first of all thank you for your Son who is our kinsman-redeemer for the redemption of all humanity. May we receive the beauty of this principle in our life. Place us in a position to recognize those in our life who may not know that we stand in their path with a blanket to cover them, but we are here. May love and compassion pour from us for the redemption of someone’s life. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

05/28/2026

𝗘-𝗗𝗘𝗩𝗢𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡, 𝗧𝗛𝗨𝗥𝗦𝗗𝗔𝗬, 𝗠𝗔𝗬 𝟮𝟴, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲

Today’s Scripture Reading - Ruth 2

Scripture

19 Her mother-in-law asked her, “Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!” Then Ruth told her mother-in-law about the one at whose place she had been working. “The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz,” she said. 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 kinsman-redeemers.” - Ruth 2:19-20

Meditation

Hear me. God is always at work in our life, for our good and we don’t even know it. Ruth didn’t know it, Boaz didn’t know it, but Naomi instantly knew when Ruth told her whose field she had been working in. Ruth didn’t know, but Naomi knew exactly who a kinsman-redeemer was and that Boaz was a close relative. You can begin to put the pieces of the story together once all the facts are revealed, but Ruth and Boaz had no clue when this relationship was first kindled. Naomi would have gone back to her family and become close to her kinfolk once again. Ruth didn’t understand the family dynamic she was part of and certainly didn’t understand the concept of the kinsman-redeemer. She would soon learn and realize the value and power behind the position of Boaz. And we learn. We learn that a kinsman-redeemer named Jesus would come as the Messiah to offer salvation to all who will believe. We learn when we have accepted the offer of salvation by grace and begin to put all the pieces of our life together that God was at work in our life long before we knew it. We’ve learned through life that God continues to be active in each of us even when we don’t understand how He is working. At times we flat out question if He is even present in us. He is. We might not understand and we might question with great anger, but He is at work if we will acknowledge his presence working on our behalf. Ruth had taken a blind leap of faith to stay with Naomi and she was taking a blind leap of faith to foster this relationship with Boaz but she soon learned. The kinsman-redeemer had come. And He comes for us. Again and again and again. Allow Jesus to be your redeemer today.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we want to fall in love with Jesus even more as he embraces us as our kinsman-redeemer, not to be one and done, but in an everlasting way. Let us see your work in our life as good and righteous and may we respond with a spirit of honor and thanksgiving. Forgive us for thinking you have forgotten us at times. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

05/27/2026

𝗘-𝗗𝗘𝗩𝗢𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡, 𝗪𝗘𝗗𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗗𝗔𝗬, 𝗠𝗔𝗬 𝟮𝟳, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲

Today’s Scripture Reading - Ruth 1

Scripture

16 But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” 18 When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her. - Ruth 1:16-18

Meditation

In the midst of terrible circumstances, a great story is discovered. That often happens in life, doesn’t it? Here is one to consider. There isn’t a worse circumstance imaginable for Israel. Judges were ruling and everybody was their own moral police and chaos was prevalent. It got worse when a famine arose. One Israelite and his family went to Moab and made it home for ten years for survival’s sake. Tragedy strikes and the husband and two sons die. Need I go on? Can it get any worse? Naomi, an Israelite, is left with two Moabite daughters-in-law in a foreign land. It was home but survival would have been tricky. Naomi decides to return to Bethlehem when she heard the famine was over. She begs the two to stay in their homeland and return to their families to pursue a much better life than living as Moabite (an enemy of Israel) widows. It would have been allowable and right for them to stay in Moab but Ruth wasn’t having it. In her mind it was the right thing and a better thing to go with Naomi. It wasn’t just a flippant decision to go. Ruth was all in! She declared she would be an Israelite and Yahweh would be her God. It doesn’t get any more “all in” than that! On paper there was no hope for Ruth in this scenario, but she was going all in with Yahweh and the people of Israel to provide and show blessing and favor in their life. By Jewish law people were commanded to take care of the widows and children, but remember, everyone was doing what they thought was right. When that is the rule, people tend to become selfish and only take care of themselves. Two women were walking into Bethlehem and their only hope was that Yahweh would provide. They became giants of faith in an instant. Naomi knew Yahweh as Jehovah-Jireh and they were about to grab hold of every word of meaning in that name. When your circumstances appear spiraling out of control, go “all in” with Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord will provide. Even when there is total chaos. God might be writing a great story.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank you for writing the story of Naomi and Ruth and allowing us to grow in our faith as a result of reading their story. May we all become giants of the faith and be all in with You. Help us to take steps of faith when we see no logical step to take. Help us to fully depend on you in all things. You have done it before, you can do it again. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

05/26/2026

𝗘-𝗗𝗘𝗩𝗢𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡, 𝗧𝗨𝗘𝗦𝗗𝗔𝗬, 𝗠𝗔𝗬 𝟮𝟲, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲

Today’s Scripture Reading - Judges 19-21

Scripture

24 At that time the Israelites left that place and went home to their tribes and clans, each to his own inheritance. 25 In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit. - Judges 21:24-25

Meditation

We have all experienced anticipated events or days when they went just like we planned. It could not have been any better. If you were writing a story of the event or day it would have a perfect ending. The last verse of Judges paints a completely different picture as we conclude the description of what we know about this period of rule under the authority of judges. It was a terrible way to end this season of history. The story picks up in 1 Samuel with the beginning of a process of restoration for Israel. The end is a textbook definition of chaos and confusion. When there is no king and everybody is their own king, what ensues is the worst case scenario. Think about it for a minute. Another way to interpret that last phrase is “everyone did what they thought was right.” When human beings are individually determining what is right is bad enough. When they are doing it without any guidance or leadership whatsoever, it becomes worse and will only result in absolute chaos to the point of evil prevailing at every turn. Israel had no king and indeed they needed a king. We know the story and clearly understand they didn’t know what type of king they needed, but they needed a king. We need a king and there is a King, his name is Jesus. We needed a king who would show us the way to living life abundantly and bring order out of a chaotic mess of humanity. We needed a king who could transform lives. We needed a king who would die on a cross for our sake. We needed a king who would never leave us alone to do whatever we thought was right. We needed a king whose Father loved us so much he sent the Holy Spirit to make his power and presence in us a reality for us. We have a King who will be with us until the last verse of our story. There will be a perfect ending to our story which will usher us into eternity with Him. That’s my King! That’s our King!

Prayer

Heavenly Father, convict us so we never think it is right to live doing only what we think is right in our eyes. Help us to live daily seeking your direction and guidance for our life. Direct us to live under the authority of King Jesus in each and every part of our life trying to hide nothing from you. May it be said of us that we are doing what you see fit for our life. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

05/25/2026

𝗘-𝗗𝗘𝗩𝗢𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡, 𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗗𝗔𝗬, 𝗠𝗔𝗬 𝟮𝟱, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲

Today’s Scripture Reading - Judges 17-18

Scripture

1 Now a man named Micah from the hill country of Ephraim 2 said to his mother, “The eleven hundred shekels[a] of silver that were taken from you and about which I heard you utter a curse—I have that silver with me; I took it.” Then his mother said, “The Lord bless you, my son!” 3 When he returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, she said, “I solemnly consecrate my silver to the Lord for my son to make an image overlaid with silver. I will give it back to you.” - Judges 17:1-3

Meditation

It certainly seemed like the right thing to do. Returning something that was stolen from his mother seems like the best choice. Until it wasn’t. In the excitement of the moment and Micah’s mother wanting to bless him for returning what was lost, made the worst decision ever. She would have an idol made out of the silver and give it back to Micah to keep in his house. It gets worse. It’s then referred to as a shrine and he installs one of his sons as the priest of the household. Why would he do such a thing? There was no king and everyone did as they pleased. It gets worse. Micah lures a lost Levite into the story and hires him, note hires him, to be the priest of his household. He made his son a priest because thought he could, then hired a Levite, who was a priest by birthright, to oversee the mess being created. Yes it was a mess because of an idol. The idol shifted or solidified the possible spiritual center of the household from a heavenly frame of mind to a silver idol sitting in the corner. It eventually sucked a Levite into the cesspool of idolatry which led to further obliteration of godliness in the land. What began as a simple act of gratitude turned into a shift in focus away from God which resulted in multiple problems as we read today and will continue to read about tomorrow. Of all the possible results, ignoring Ten Commandment number two forbidding making idols, what was meant for good turned out to be a disaster in the end. For us, it is not about the construction of a silver idol, our task is to be very wise and discerning and see what is shifting our focus away from God and onto what is of this world. It can start out well-meaning, but it can violate commandment number two. Whatever is dominating our attention, if replacing our attentiveness to our relationship with God, has become an idol and will lead to difficult consequences somewhere down the road. Guard your heart and mind from idols of this world.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, guard us from being deceived to believe that idols are harmless and will do no harm. Give us revelation of wisdom to see when we are creating an idol and may not even know it. Make the idols of our heart easily recognized. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.