Judges & Ruth

I had a busy day yesterday with flying back home from California and then we went out for a celebration meal because Jon & Tiffany found out they were having a baby girl in February!  My wife and mother were able to go with her as well so it was good to have grandmother and great grand mother there.  This Sunday we will celebrate twenty-five years for Grand View Baptist Church!  It has been a blessing!  I'm looking forward to it.  Here are some thoughts for today: 1) LACK OF LEADERSHIP- Leadership is something you don't miss greatly until you don't have it.  Then it is sorely missed.  In Judges 17:6, it says:  "In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes."  This is what lack of leadership turns into.  Everyone does what they think is right and there are no absolutes,  no rules to follow for society and it all starts to fall apart.  Chaos it the results! 2) WICKED AND FOOLISH TRIBE- The tribe of Benjamin had some foolish men who did some wicked things in Judges 19, but instead of judging the men who were so wicked, they defended them and fought for their "rights".  (Sounds like America to me!)  But then they found themselves fighting against their own people.  They were fighting for wrong!  Well, it cost them and they were greatly killed off by Israel coming together against them and they were not allowed to marry any women from Israel.  Later, Israel came up with a plan for them to "steal" off wives for the tribe of Benjamin so that a tribe of Israel would not be missing.  If a tribe wants to do so wicked, it would not bother me to loose it!  3) SIT STILL- In Ruth 3:18, Naomi gives Ruth good advice.... "sit still".  Now everything was up to the LORD and Boaz.  They would find out what the future would hold for Ruth.  She had done all she could and it was in other hands.  So many times the very best advice for us is to "sit still" and let the LORD work out the problems and future of our lives.  It is not easy, but it is the best path..... sit still! Tomorrow is Sunday!!  Yeah!!  I will see you then.  Pastor Mike Mutchler