Guest Speakers - Tricia Mason & Stella Bokare - ICCM

 
 

Every so often, we will have a guest speaker at CrossView Church. We are so grateful for the gifted women and men that serve the Lord through teaching the word. This week we hear from Special Guests Tricia Mason & Stella Bokare from ICCM. ICCM is a ministry of the Free Methodist Church, helping vulnerable children worldwide to reach their fullest potential, as they embody Jesus’ love through partnerships to provide holistic care. We are so excited to have then with us this week. If you would like to learn more - click here.

Usually, when we have a guest speaker, we will not have a weekly devotion. We encourage you to watch the message again at some point throughout the week and to check out the resources listed below.

Blessings on you and your week.

Pastor Kyle

Living the Hope Shaped Life - 1 Thessalonians Series

 
 

Every so often, we will have a guest speaker at CrossView Church. We are so grateful for the gifted women and men that serve the Lord through teaching the word. This week we hear from our very own Casey Flitsch. Casey serves as the Worship Director of CrossView Church. Casey also serves as the Area Director for Snohomish County Young Life.

Usually, when we have a guest speaker, we will not have a weekly devotion. We encourage you to watch the message again at some point throughout the week and to check out the resources listed below.

Blessings on you and your week.

Pastor Kyle

Guest Speaker - Helri & Phuong Caadan

 
 

Every so often, we will have a guest speaker at CrossView Church. We are so grateful for the gifted women and men that serve the Lord through teaching the word. This week we hear from Special Guests Helri & Phuong Caadan. Helri & Phuong serve as SE Asia International Missionaries. We are so excited to have then with us this week. If you would like to learn more, or support Helri & Phuoung - click here.

Usually, when we have a guest speaker, we will not have a weekly devotion. We encourage you to watch the message again at some point throughout the week and to check out the resources listed below.

Blessings on you and your week.

Pastor Kyle

Children of the Light - 1 Thessalonians Series

This devotion is written by Matt O’Reilly from his book, “The Letters to the Thessalonians.” Matt O’Reilly is a contributing author at seedbed.com. We hope you will be encouraged.

1 Thessalonians 5:4–7 But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; 5for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. 6So then let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober; 7for those who sleep sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night.

Key Observation. Christian behavior should reflect Christian identity.

Understanding the Word. “Remember who you are.” My grandmother spoke those words to me and my brother as she handed us our jackets. We were heading out the door to meet some friends. I have no idea what she thought we might do. Nevertheless, her point was clear. She wanted us to remember that our family had a good reputation. She didn’t want us to damage it. Our grandmother expected our behavior to accord with our family identity.

That’s also what Paul expects of the Thessalonians. You can see his logic in the movement from 1 Thessalonians 5:5 to 5:6. He begins by reminding the Thessalonians of their identity. He wants them to remember who they are. And here Christian identity is described in terms of the future. Christians are “children of light and children of the day.” To identify believers as light-people was Paul’s way of saying they belong to Jesus. For Paul, God has lifted the blinders and led believers out of darkness to “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6). Light-people know God because they’ve seen God in Jesus.

Notice also that Paul uses family language to describe believers. They are children of light and of the day. Paul’s original Greek actually used a word that means “sons,” but translators rightly render it “children” to be inclusive of men and women. The importance of family relationships in the ancient world cannot be overstated. You take your identity from your family, and you owe your loyalty to your family. Paul’s use of family language to describe the identity of the group reinforces the deep emotions that would be attached to this new family of God.

Not only are they identified as light-people, they are also day-people. The day in question is the day of the Lord. They belong to Jesus. And the day of his return will be the day that all the implications of their identity in Christ will be revealed. For the Thessalonians, their identification with Jesus makes them a mockery among outsiders. They suffer for it. But on the day of the Lord, they’ll be vindicated. They’ll participate in his resurrection. Their union with him will come to its fullness. But if they are going to make it, they’ve got to remember who they are in Christ and who they are together.

A Life Pleasing to God - 1 Thessalonians Series

This devotion is written by Matt O’Reilly from his book, “The Letters to the Thessalonians.” Matt O’Reilly is a contributing author at seedbed.com. We hope you will be encouraged.

1 Thessalonians 4:1–3a NIV “As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. It is God’s will that you should be sanctified.”

Key Observation. Holiness is God’s will for your life.

Understanding the Word. Most of us want to know God’s plan. We want direction. We want purpose. What’s God’s will for me? If you’ve asked that question, you may be surprised to discover God’s will is the same for everyone. And it’s summed up with one word—sanctification. Sanctification refers to the process of becoming holy. For Paul, everything else is secondary. If you want to know God’s will for your life, start with holy.

If you’re wondering why Paul thinks this way, consider that he grew up immersed in the Old Testament. One passage that fills in the picture is found in Ezekiel 36, which anticipates the day God will rescue his people from exile. How did they get to the point of exile? They had given themselves to sin for so long that God had to do something drastic to get their attention: he allowed foreign powers to conquer them and take them out of their land (vv. 18–19). We’ve already learned from Paul that God never gives up on his people, and that’s Ezekiel’s message too. Ezekiel promised the Hebrew people that God would rescue them. But the plan was not simply to rescue them from foreign captivity; God intended to rescue them from their sin—all of it. After all, sin was the root problem. To do that, God would have to change them from the inside out, give them new hearts. He even promised to give his own Holy Spirit to empower obedience. God will make his people holy. And here’s the reason: “the nations shall know that I am the Lord . . . when through you I display my holiness before their eyes” (Ezek. 36:23). Catch that? God’s plan is to show the nations the beauty of his holiness, and the bodies of his people will be the theater where that holiness is enacted.

That means that God must deal with our sin. He must show us the ways our lives aren’t aligned with his character. If we surrender to that work, we get the remarkable privilege of showing God’s holy love to the world. God is faithful. He always does what’s right. He always tells the truth. There’s no duplicity in him. No deceit. He wants those aspects of his character to consistently define the lives of his people. And that’s how God intends to make his character known to every nation on earth, which means holiness is ultimately about mission.

Do you want people to know God’s holy love? Because he wants to show his holy love to other people through you. Think about that. The world will know God is God when his people embody his holy character. That’s his will for all of us. Everything else is secondary.

A Living Witness - 1 Thessalonians Series

This devotion is written by Matt O’Reilly from his book, “The Letters to the Thessalonians.” Matt O’Reilly is a contributing author at seedbed.com. We hope you will be encouraged.

1 Thessalonians 2:1–8 NIV You know, brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not without results. We had previously suffered and been treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition. For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts. You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness. We were not looking for praise from people, not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles of Christ we could have asserted our authority. Instead, we were like young children among you. Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.

Key Observation. All of life should be lived to please God alone.

Understanding the Word. Most of us live under constant pressure to please people. Employers, coworkers, our spouse, friends, church members—we want others to be happy with us. That desire is reinforced by constant immersion in social media, which always leaves us craving one more “like.” Paul offers a vision of Christian life that is radically countercultural. He doesn’t live to please people. Paul lives to please God. That’s the focus of 1 Thessalonians 2, and it has big implications for Paul and us.

First, living to please God meant Paul would suffer. His message about Jesus faced opposition. He mentions they had “suffered and been treated outrageously” in Philippi. We learn in Acts 16 that Paul was accused of disturbing the city and encouraging illegal activity. So, the city authorities had him stripped, beaten, and jailed. But Paul didn’t live to please them; he lived to please God. And God called Paul to preach Jesus. Paul lived courageously into his calling, despite the suffering.

We don’t always think of following Jesus as something that takes courage. In North America, we aren’t in danger of being arrested for going to church. We can follow Jesus without fear of physical harm. But there are places in the world where following Jesus does take courage—great courage. In some parts of China, people who become Christians risk being disowned by family or reported to the local government. Evangelism was recently criminalized in Bolivia. If you attempt to lead someone to Jesus in that country, you could be imprisoned for five to twelve years. It takes real courage to follow Jesus in places like that.

Second, living to please God motivates integrity. All of us can think of preachers who are known as tricksters. They promise health and wealth to those who give money to their ministries, and they end up looking like they’re in it for the money. Paul doesn’t want to give that impression. He’s not preaching for the payoff. He’s not doing it for public acclaim. He’s not out to be a celebrity. He simply wants to be faithful. You see, Paul understood that our lives will either commend the gospel or undermine it. If we’re going to tell people Jesus loves them, we need to also embody that love. If we appear to seek our own gain, we hinder the gospel and create barriers to faith for others. Living to please God means living with integrity that commends the good news.

A Church Worth Celebrating - 1 Thessalonians Series

This article is written by N.T. Wright from his book, “Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians.” N.T. Wright is a well know biblical scholar, professor, and former Bishop. We hope you will be encouraged.

I hesitated long over the decision. I had to make up my mind whether to admit to the university a student whose grades were not quite as high as we would normally require. She was clearly intelligent, and capable of hard work, but why were some of the grades just a little bit lower than we had expected? Then I thought back to the interview my colleagues and I had had with the student. She had come alive. She was clearly not only interested in the subject, but enthusiastic, and able to take in new ideas and make them her own. Remembering those first impressions vividly, I made the decision. We would admit her to the college. Three years later I was vindicated: she graduated with top honours.

Paul vividly remembers his first impressions of the Thessalonian Christians to whom he writes this letter. Thessalonica—modern Thessaloniki, or Salonica—was, and is, a thriving seaport in northern Greece, roughly 200 miles north of Athens. Paul had come there after preaching in Philippi, further east, where he had been beaten and thrown in prison before pointing out that he was a Roman citizen. The story of that journey is told in Acts 16 and 17.

Though Paul’s normal practice was to begin his preaching in the Jewish synagogue or place of prayer, it seems that most of the people who came to believe his message were non-Jews. For them, there was a double barrier to be crossed before they could accept the gospel. It was not only a crazy message about a man who was dead and then came to life again. It was a crazy Jewish message. Paul must have known, as he went from place to place, that most people who heard what he was talking about were bound to think him mad.

And yet these people had not. Some in Thessalonica, as in most places he went, found that something happened to them when they listened to his message. A strange power gripped them—the power that, Paul would tell them, was the holy spirit at work. They would suddenly understand what he was saying. It would grasp their hearts and minds. Paul and his companions, explaining the gospel to them, would become excited as they saw the message take hold, make sense, and begin its work of transforming hearts and lives. That memory lingered on even though Paul, Silvanus and Timothy had moved south, to Beroea, Athens and now Corinth (Paul doesn’t say so in the letter, but it is likely that he was writing this from Corinth, where he stayed for over two years).

So when he looks back and gives thanks to God for them he knows that God was indeed at work in them as the word of the gospel was preached. His vivid memory of those early days, of their response and strong conviction, was clear proof that God had chosen them (verse 4). They had not come to faith by accident. God wanted them to be his beachhead into that part of northern Greece, a beacon of light to illuminate the world around. Though, as we shall see, Paul nursed anxieties about how they were getting on in their faith and life, his bedrock conviction was that God had taken the initiative in grasping them with the gospel.

This is the centre of Paul’s opening thanksgiving. Like most of his letters, this one starts with him telling his readers how he prays for them—a remarkable pastoral move in itself. Writing with his companions Silvanus (the ‘Silas’ of Acts 15:27, etc.) and Timothy, his young assistant, Paul knows he can address the Christians in Thessalonica as ‘the community in God the father and the Lord Jesus the Messiah’. The word for ‘community’ is sometimes translated ‘church’, but it was a common word for a gathering or assembly. What distinguished this community from others was that it was not only located in a particular place, but ‘in’ a particular god—the god who is in fact God, the one true God, known to Jews and Christians as father, and known now in the gospel as the one who sent Jesus to be Messiah and so Lord of the world. As so often with Paul, his opening words and phrases contain, in a nutshell, a good deal that he will spell out later in the letter.

His opening thanksgiving and prayer actually extend, in a rambling sort of way, for over half the letter—to the end of chapter 3, in fact; and there is probably a good reason for this. The church in Thessalonica is very young, probably not more than a few months old. Already they have faced great difficulties; they have been persecuted, and some of them have died (whether from the persecution or from other causes, Paul does not say). By way of rooting them the more firmly in the gospel, Paul reminds them at length of what happened when he arrived and preached there; of the example he and his companions set them; of Timothy’s recent visit and the good report he had brought back. And he does all this within the broad framework of telling them how they feature in his prayers, which they do constantly (verse 2).

In particular, he recalls how, even in the short time he spent with them after the initial preaching, they already demonstrated three things which he saw as signs of life. Faith, love and hope: Paul uses this threesome elsewhere, particularly in 1 Corinthians 13:13, but clearly it was a regular part of his thinking and teaching about basic Christian living.

Each one demands effort. Faith is something you have to work at. It is not a ‘work’ in the sense of a ‘work of the law’ done to earn favour with God, but a work of love, done out of gratitude for grace. It means thinking the gospel through, and bringing our minds and wills into line with it. Love—which, as Paul will show later in the letter (4:9–12), is a very practical thing—also requires the kind of effort we associate with hard physical work. Hope needs patience, which is also demanding.

The Thessalonians had all three. Could the same be said for your church?

Jesus the Gentle Servant - Mark Morrison

 
 

Every so often, we will have a guest speaker at CrossView Church. We are so grateful for the gifted women and men that serve the Lord through teaching the word. This week we hear from Pastor Mark Morrison. Pastor Mark serves as the director of Shepherd Ministries. You can find out more information about Shepherd Ministries here.

Usually, when we have a guest speaker, we will not have a weekly devotion. We encourage you to watch the message again at some point throughout the week and to check out the resources listed below.

Blessings on you and your week.

Pastor Kyle

Earthquakes & Landslides - Pastor David Hicks

 
 

Every so often, we will have a guest speaker at CrossView Church. We are so grateful for the gifted women and men that serve the Lord through teaching the word. This week we hear from Pastor David Hicks. Pastor David is a retired Free Methodist Pastor and Leader. He served as Lead Pastor at CrossView Church in the early 2000s. We hope you are encouraged by this week’s message.

Usually, when we have a guest speaker, we will not have a weekly devotion. We encourage you to watch the message again at some point throughout the week and to check out the resources listed below.

Blessings on you and your week.

Pastor Kyle

Easter Sunday - Holy Week 2026

This devotion is written by J.D. Walt and is entitled, “An Easter Postscript - One Last Question.” J.D. Walt is the Executive Director of seedbed.com.

Matthew 16:15 NIV

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

CONSIDER THIS . . .

So how are you responding to the question of all questions?

But what about you? . . . Who do you say that I am?

Let’s not make the mistake of just copying down Peter’s answer and turning it into the right answer—as though Jesus were just looking for the correct answer.

“You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16).

The truth is Peter gave Jesus something way beyond a right answer to an important question. Peter offered Jesus a response to divine revelation. Peter did not react to a teacher with a Sunday school answer. He responded to God by leaning in with his life.

Remember my confirmation class from the early days of this Lenten journey? I told them the story of a wire walker who stretched a wire across a treacherous canyon. In front of a stunned audience, he walked across the wire and back. He asked the audience if they thought he could do it again. They cheered loudly with affirmation.

Then he reached for a wheelbarrow and put it on the wire. He asked the cheering audience, “Who will get in the wheelbarrow?” 

Faith is not believing the right things about Jesus. Faith is believing Jesus.

If Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God, the Bread of Life and the Light of the World, the Good Shepherd, the way and the truth and the life, very God of very God—and if what is on offer here is to be transformed, to be remade in the image of God, into his likeness—we must respond with our whole lives.

Faith is not the right answer. It is the right response.

When Peter said, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God,” he was, in essence, responding with the response Jesus had been waiting for: all in.

We asked that question of all questions every single week in our yearlong confirmation class.

It’s why I’m asking you, for Jesus, again today.

But what about you? . . . Who do you say that I am?

Don’t give the right answer. Respond to the revelation. I’ll never forget how one day, months into our confirmation class, I asked the question of questions, and one of our students, Ava Grace, offered this mind-blowing response to the revelation:

“Where’s the wheelbarrow?”

Okay, now it’s your turn!

PRAY

Our Father, thank you for your Son, Jesus. Lord Jesus, you are our Lord and our God. Where is the wheelbarrow? We’re going all in with you. We are growing. We really want to change. And our desire for you is at an all-time high. Come, Holy Spirit. “Lead on, O King Eternal. The day of march is come.”1 Praying in your name, amen.

Resources:

Palm Sunday - Holy Week 2026

This devotion is written by Keith Turner, and is entitled, “The Desperate Cry of Hosanna.” Keith Turner is a contributing author at Seedbed.com. We hope you will be encouraged.

Days like Palm Sunday are particularly difficult for the preacher. It’s not because there is nothing to say. It is because there is nothing to say you don’t already know. You heard the Gospel reading. Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem is about as straightforward as a reading can get. It needs no special interpretation. The last thing you need me to do is to stand up and wax eloquent for 12 to 15 minutes (and not a second longer!) on the meaning of Palm Sunday. Yet, Palm Sunday is here again. The difficulty still looms over the preacher. I find myself wanting to give the congregation something that will make them say, “Huh. I never thought about that before!” But, I am reminded the task of preaching is not to reveal something new. Many times it is to remind the congregation of something true. Certainly, Palm Sunday reminds us of something true, something of which we need to be reminded at least once per year.

Sometimes, we hear an event recounted, and something different strikes us as particularly interesting. As I read the Palm Sunday narrative over and over again, the word Hosanna kept drawing me. Imagine the crowds of people thronging Main Street, Jerusalem, waving palm branches as Jesus rides in on a donkey. Hear them shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” Most of us know the word Hosanna well, don’t we? Many of us even sing it every week, “Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.”

We sing it as an act of praise. We sing it with exuberance. We sing it with celebration. But I still remember something I once heard a minister say: “One person’s act of praise may be another person’s act of desperation.” What may come easy for one person may be very difficult for another. Even though we sometimes sing it joyfully, Hosanna is not the happiest of words. It is a Hebrew word meaning, “Save, now!” It is a prayer of desperation, a cry for help. Have you ever cried out a desperate Hosanna? Have you ever found it difficult to praise God? Have you ever forced yourself to come into God’s presence with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise when it was the last thing you felt like doing?

I was in that situation not long ago. I was in a worship setting, and I must confess that from where I was sitting, there was a person in clear sight, toward whom I harbor feelings of deep hatred. Growing up, I was always taught that I was not permitted to hate anyone. The person I hold bitterness toward claims to be a Christian. This person claims to serve the Lord. Nevertheless, seeing this person sitting there put me in a less-than-worshipful mood. If only the person were not there, then maybe my thoughts and my prayers would be a little more holy. But right there, the object of my scorn sat.

When we stood to sing one of my favorite hymns, I found it incredibly difficult to sing. “Join hands, disciples of the faith, whate’er your race may be. Who serves my Father as his child is surely kin to me.” These words are true, no matter how I feel or what I want. I sang the words anyway. It was not easy to praise God. I had to cry a desperate Hosanna. Lord, save now! Save me from myself! Deliver me from my feelings of bitterness, resentment, and hatred. Rescue me from what keeps my heart from joyfully praising you.

Maybe your difficulty comes from a different place. Perhaps it comes from a place of disappointment or from a wearying trial you are facing. Our suffering often drives us to God, but it still never makes it easy to praise Him. This is especially true if our disappointment is toward God. Even so, God is not threatened by our feelings of disappointment or anger. Instead, God promises to meet us in our disappointment and suffering. But, sometimes, we have to praise him in an act of faith that precedes our being able to see that truth. That is where we find God’s faithfulness to be true.

I wonder about the people who flanked the sidewalks of Main Street, Jerusalem on that day. What brought them there? Were they filled with excitement and celebration? For some, that may be the case, but I wonder how many were filled with desperation. Maybe the crowds really didn’t feel like lining along the streets to watch this one-person parade. Given the political climate, they may have even feared doing so. But, they lined the street anyway. Maybe they knew that no matter how they felt or what they wanted, Jesus comes to bring something true—something better than the nightmare in which they lived.

They may have had their reservations about flooding the neighborhood that day, but one thing is for sure: they wanted Rome out of their neighborhoods even more strongly. Overthrow the Romans if you will. Take down Caesar if you can. Many of the people were convinced Jesus came to revolutionize Israel into a new earthly kingdom. They expected the Roman kingdom to be wiped out; the Kingdom of God would be ushered in. It’s a win-win! Whatever it takes, they want the Romans out of there. They are desperate.

But, when Jesus does not meet their expectations, their desperate cries of Hosanna turn into furious cries of “Crucify him!”

Yet, in the irony that is his crucifixion, Jesus still answers their prayer: “Lord, save now!” He draws the whole world to himself. By his suffering and death, Jesus becomes the author of eternal salvation for all who put their trust in him (see Book of Common Prayer, 346). Jesus still brings about a more perfect and complete salvation and inaugurates the true Kingdom of God even when humanity sinks to its greatest evil.

I also wonder who might be flanking the streets of our lives. Who among us may be crying out to Jesus with a desperate Hosanna? Who might the Holy Spirit be nudging us to see? They could be…

The parents standing over the fresh grave of their teenage son, fallen victim in an act of gun violence
Lord, save now!

The single parent lying awake at night having worked three minimum wage jobs and still worrying over how the rent is going to be paid
Lord, save now!

The group of African-American high school students meeting at the local restaurant after football practice only to discover the waiter has put a racial slur instead of their table number atop their check
Lord, save now!

Even those who may want to destroy Christ along with everyone who follows Him
Lord, save now!

Holy Spirit still calls us, just as at our baptism: “Proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ. Seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as your self. Strive for justice and peace and respect the dignity of every human being.” If you are reading this, and your sweet Hosannas are ringing from a place of exuberance and celebration, then indeed, praise God for it! But, if your Hosannas come from a place of desperation, then take heart! The Lord hears your prayer and does not forget you. For all of us, no matter where we are on our faith journeys on this Palm Sunday, Jesus Christ is hearing our Hosannas and is saving us.

Amen.

Jesus Heals a Lame Man - Pastor Mark Morrison

 
 

Every so often, we will have a guest speaker at CrossView Church. We are so grateful for the gifted women and men that serve the Lord through teaching the word. This week we hear from Pastor Mark Morrison. Pastor Mark serves as the director of Shepherd Ministries. You can find out more information about Shepherd Ministries here.

Usually, when we have a guest speaker, we will not have a weekly devotion. We encourage you to watch the message again at some point throughout the week and to check out the resources listed below.

Blessings on you and your week.

Pastor Kyle

The Genealogy of Jesus - Rebecca Minelga

 
 

Every so often, we will have a guest speaker at CrossView Church. We are so grateful for the gifted women and men that serve the Lord through teaching the word. This week we hear from our very own, Rebecca Minelga. Rebecca Minelga is an author and speaker who uses the power of words to navigate the liminal spaces between who we are and who we are becoming. She raises Guide Dog Puppies and two sons–in that order–with her husband in Snohomish, WA. Her books include "To All the Saints: Paul's Letter to the Church at Philippi," "The Covenant: A Study Guide for Deuteronomy," and her latest, fiction novel, "Third and Long," with a sequel, "False Start," coming in March 2026. When not writing, she can be found open water swimming in her local lake, exploring the National Parks with her family, or traveling the world on an adventure!

Usually, when we have a guest speaker, we will not have a weekly devotion. We encourage you to watch the message again at some point throughout the week and to check out the resources listed below.

Blessings on you and your week.

Pastor Kyle

The Genealogy Of Ruth - Ruth Series

This devotion is an excerpt from the book, The Gospel of Ruth: Loving God Enough to Break the Rules and was written by Carolyn Custis James. We hope you will be encouraged.

TWO WOMEN AND A BABY

The miracle birth of Obed is truly the most joyful moment in the book, hailed by the women who celebrate with Naomi. This child renews Naomi’s life. Instead of the dead end she had reached, Obed creates for Naomi a brand-new opening into the future and a vital new kingdom assignment. No one reading the book of Ruth for the first time would ever anticipate such a remarkable turn of events. The women attribute Naomi’s blessings to her foreign-born daughter-in-law with superlative praise. “For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth” (Ruth 4:15, emphasis added). They name the baby Obed, then top off their praise with a punch line: “Naomi has a son!” (4:17).

When Obed is born, the past and the future are joined and all of the loose strands of the story come together. Naomi’s sufferings, Ruth’s vow, God’s mission for each woman, and their true contributions for the kingdom — all unite in one small baby boy, but not in the way you might expect.

Ruth and Naomi each experienced a major turning point long before Obed comes gasping and squalling out of the womb and into their waiting arms. Ruth turned a corner in her life when she refused to abandon Naomi and embraced Naomi’s God. Naomi’s turning point happened when Ruth unloaded a pile of raw barley at her feet and she realized with astonishment that Yahweh still loved her. These are life-changing moments that dramatically alter both women, for despite their losses and their grief, they derive fresh purpose and meaning from Yahweh’s hesed and turn outward to sacrifice for others. This is the power of the gospel in their lives.

Obed may change their schedules, daily chores, and sleeping habits. He ends the physical emptiness caused by the absence of sons in the family, for now Elimelech has an heir. But his arrival in this world cannot account for the profound changes that God works in the hearts of the two widows. Obed does not give meaning and purpose to Ruth, for she had both long before he was born. He cannot end Naomi’s sufferings, for she will always grieve the losses of her husband and sons. But along with opening up for the two women a window on the future, Obed becomes the beneficiary of all that the two women have gained from what they have suffered and sacrificed. He will carry their past with him into the future.

From the mother who gave him birth, Obed will inherit a caliber of faith in Yahweh that doesn’t easily give up, no matter how daunting the obstacles, no matter how impossible the odds. The courageous blood of a risk taker runs through his veins. With a mother like that, it shouldn’t surprise anyone to hear of Obed’s grandson standing up to a giant warrior armed only with a sling and five small stones.

Obed will also learn a lot about sacrifice from his mother. He will hear about all she has done for Naomi. Word has gotten out about the costly sacrifices Ruth made for her mother-in-law. The women of Bethlehem aren’t just spouting overused clichés when they say Ruth is “better than seven sons.” They really mean it. Naomi actually is better off with Ruth than a lot of women who gave birth to what the ancient world regarded as the perfect number of sons.

Older women counted on their sons to care for them, to protect them from exploitation and the harsh elements of society, to be their voice, to stand up for their rights, and to preserve their father’s name and estate by bringing the next generation of male descendants into the world. Ruth did all of those things for Naomi at great cost to herself and in a culture that tied her hands behind her back, denied her a voice, refused her access to the legal system, and regarded her as useless. It was all uphill for Ruth. But she did it anyway. Not even seven sons would have done as much.

Even with the birth of Obed, Ruth continues sacrificing for Naomi. Anyone would say that after everything Ruth did for Naomi, it was time for her to enjoy a little happiness herself. Marriage to Boaz and the birth of a son seem fitting rewards for such an extraordinary and selfless woman. But Ruth still isn’t thinking of herself. She has never veered from her vow.

The Heart of God - Ruth Series

This devotion is an excerpt from the book, The Gospel of Ruth: Loving God Enough to Break the Rules and was written by Carolyn Custis James. We hope you will be encouraged.

THE CITY GATE

In ancient times, the city gate was not only the point of entry into town and the most logical place to look for fellow villagers coming and going, it was also the heart of the community. The gate was the seat of government and the site of important business transactions, a platform for local dignitaries, a pulpit for prophetic messages, and the hub of local gossip for the entire village. So whenever you hear of someone being praised in the gates (like the legendary woman of Proverbs 31),1 the entire community from the top down is honoring them. It’s comparable to a New York City ticker tape parade for a national hero or having your name emblazoned on a star inlaid on the sidewalk at Hollywood and Vine. Praise in the gates is high honor indeed.

Boaz is heading straight for Bethlehem’s gate where he plans to assemble a quorum of city elders to deliberate and rule on legal matters and seal business transactions for the Elimelech family. This is not a closed-door session. Deliberations take place in full view of the curious public as villagers congregate to see what the commotion is all about and to witness the proceedings. Here, along with all Bethlehem, we will discover the enormity of what Boaz is giving up.

Boaz’s urgency is matched by the speed with which the relevant parties of his business come together. Almost immediately he spots Elimelech’s anonymous nearest relative (scholars nicknamed him Mr. No-Name) and calls him aside. Before you know it, Boaz has collected ten Bethlehem elders, and an ad hoc meeting of the ancient court is gaveled into session. A jury of ten men will decide Ruth’s fate. What happens next leaves modern readers scratching their heads, as legal codes and local customs entirely foreign to us play out, and Boaz with the savvy and surprise of a well-prepared district attorney makes his case.

BOAZ GOES TO BAT

Right away, Boaz catches readers off-guard by raising the subject of land, when we are expecting him to present the more pressing matter (at least from our vantage point) of who will marry Ruth. For some unknown reason, Boaz changes the first order of business from marriage to real estate. We have forgotten that Ruth already raised the subject of Elimelech’s property, for when she appealed to Boaz as the family’s kinsman-redeemer, she targeted his responsibility to buy and reactivate Elimelech’s abandoned fields.2

While we may find Boaz’s tactics confusing, he knows exactly what he’s doing. He is speaking a language these men understand, for the most tantalizing part of the bargain he is putting in front of his relative isn’t Ruth, but the piece of land once cultivated by Elimelech that now lies fallow. Under Mosaic legal code, the Promised Land belonged to Yahweh but was subdivided and parceled out permanently by tribe and family. Each man took possession of his own land. In an agrarian culture, a man’s land is the family business and the centerpiece of the inheritance he passes on to his sons. Elimelech’s land must be redeemed, and the relative who takes home the deed will probably be doubling his own estate.

When a hurricane blasts through Florida (which happens frequently), homeowners patch up holes in their own roofs and clear away fallen trees and debris from their own yards before helping out a neighbor. According to law, Mr. No-Name was first in line to assist Elimelech in recovering his land during hard times. But just like a hurricane, the unforgettable and seemingly endless Bethlehem famine hit everyone with hard times all at once. Everybody was coping with dried up fields, crop failures, and food shortages. Consumed by the needs of their own families, Mr. No-Name, Boaz, and the other men in the region were in no position to help out Elimelech or anyone else. Now that the famine is finally over and the countryside is in recovery mode, they’re in a better position to discuss land issues again.

What is also surprising about Boaz’s first order of business, however, is the fact that he describes this abandoned piece of property as Naomi’s land. When did widows start inheriting their husband’s property, scholars want to know? Mosaic Law made an exception so daughters could inherit land in families without sons, but only if they married within their father’s clan, for the whole objective of the law was to keep a man’s land within his tribe.3 If a man had neither sons nor daughters, then his land went to his brothers and, in lieu of brothers, to his nearest relative. Nowhere are widows given rights of inheritance. And it is one of the most frightening injustices in the world today, that widows are evicted from their husband’s land and left to fend for themselves and their children on the streets.

The only way a widow could hang on to her husband’s property and protect it from seizure by her husband’s relatives was if she had an heir or could produce one. On both counts, Naomi was out of luck. Already Boaz seems to be breaking the rules by granting Naomi rights to Elimelech’s land. Surprisingly, no one seems to object to this or any of the other terms Boaz adds to these arrangements.

Perhaps this is as good a place as any to remind ourselves of how the narrator originally introduced Boaz — as a man of valor and high standing in the community. We assumed this description was purely a recommendation for his suitability as a prospective husband for Ruth. But these admirable qualities also set us up for the scene at the Bethlehem gate and help us understand the substantial clout Boaz clearly possesses in these legal proceedings and why he is able to press forward with Ruth’s initiatives without the slightest protest from the other men.

It is entirely possible that Boaz isn’t the sort of man anyone would want to oppose. This imposing man has earned a place of stature in the community because of his character and his achievements, which by themselves explain the kind of influence he wields in these deliberations. Not until the conclusion of the narrative do we learn that Boaz’s stature in the community is also genetic. The genealogy that concludes the book of Ruth identifies Boaz as an Israelite blueblood — the direct descendant of Nahshon, one of Israel’s greatest leaders. During the time of Moses, Boaz’s grandfather,4 Nahshon, was the tribal chief of Judah, Israel’s largest tribe, and the commanding general of the largest division of the Israelite army. When the cloud of God’s glory lifted and the Israelites broke camp, Nahshon led the tribe of Judah out first.5 At the dedication of the tabernacle, Nahshon was the first tribal chief to offer sacrifices.6 Anyone born in this family was something of a Kennedy in the ancient culture — a member of the nation’s first family — an identity that brought with it a natural expectation of high-profile leadership in the community.

Putting all of this together, Naomi and Ruth couldn’t have found a more powerful advocate than Boaz. His advocacy for them carries enormous weight and forms a solid barrier against the inevitable exploitations widows often suffered. Boaz is a leader among leaders and wields his advantages in wise and righteous ways that promote hesed within the community. Consequently, Bethlehem elders don’t raise the slightest objection to the notion of Naomi selling land, but follow Boaz’s lead in making allowances. This is only the beginning.

Holiness and Redemption - Ruth Series

This devotion is an excerpt from the book, The Gospel of Ruth: Loving God Enough to Break the Rules and was written by Carolyn Custis James. We hope you will be encouraged.

THE MYSTERY SURROUNDING BOAZ

Boaz may be stunned by Ruth’s presence and the words he has just heard her speak, but he is anything but speechless. Suddenly the script belongs to Boaz. Instead of taking offense or shaming and driving Ruth away into the night, as one might expect, his words are just as surprising as hers. He praises her actions, calls on Yahweh to bless her for what she has done, and links what she is doing to her earlier acts of hesed. “The LORD bless you, my daughter. … This kindness [hesed] is greater than that which you showed earlier: You have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor” (Ruth 3:10).

He exonerates her behavior. She was not a man-chaser then, nor is she now. Far from being forward or inappropriate, her bold actions reflect a quality of righteousness that inspires an outpouring of praise from this highly esteemed man. And Boaz isn’t a victim of underhanded schemes, manipulation, or entrapment either. According to his interpretation of what is happening here, Ruth hasn’t made a blunder, but knows exactly what she is doing. He sees (and is in awe) that once again, hesed is at work, and in this, he is always a willing accomplice.

Students of the book of Ruth often draw attention to the fact that both Naomi and Boaz repeatedly address Ruth as “my daughter.”16 This has led many to conclude that Boaz is an older man and of the same generation as Naomi and Elimelech. For years I thought of Boaz (and heard teaching that portrayed him) as unmarried and perhaps a bit like Jane Austen’s Mr. Knightly, who was well-off and highly respected, but an older bachelor who for some unknown reason just hadn’t gotten around to marriage. But the more I’ve learned about patriarchal cultures such as you find in today’s Middle East, the more aware I am that my conclusions have been largely shaped by my Western views of relationships between men and women and are wide of the mark.

In the ancient Israelite society, it simply wasn’t possible to combine the levels of honor and stature that Boaz clearly possessed with the postponement of marriage or the absence of sons. It’s hard for those of us in the West to comprehend just how much hinges on producing sons in other societies, but in fact the very foundations and survival of many cultures depend on each generation’s success in producing a whole new crop of sons. A central thesis of the book of Ruth is the utter necessity of sons. Israelite parents would be a disgrace and grief to his family if he had no sons. And instead of admiration, the whole community would show pity toward him. In her insightful book on contemporary Middle Eastern culture, journalist Geraldine Brooks reveals the intense shame borne by a Palestinian man whose wife failed to produce a son. Utterly humiliated and frantic for a second wife, the man conceded bitterly, “I am nothing in this village without a son.”

When it comes to personal demographics, Boaz is something of a mystery man, and the narrator doesn’t fill in the blanks. We don’t know if Boaz had a living wife, or two or three, or if he was a widower. But to the early readers of this story, it really didn’t matter, for in ancient Israelite society polygamy was both common and accepted. Abraham, Jacob, and David are but a few significant examples of notable polygamists. In the eyes of that culture, a man with multiple wives was following an appropriate strategy (even a necessary one) for producing many sons, regardless of the negative repercussions in individual lives. It was also, oddly enough, something of a mercy for women, for it shielded them from the kinds of adversities Naomi and Ruth were suffering. We cannot know for sure whether Ruth’s proposal involved polygamy, but given the culture and Boaz’s age, it is almost certain he had sons of his own and their inheritance to consider when contemplating Ruth’s petition. This fact alone raises the stakes for the decision facing Boaz.

Risking Fatih - Ruth Series

This devotion is an excerpt from the book, The Gospel of Ruth: Loving God Enough to Break the Rules and was written by Carolyn Custis James. We hope you will be encouraged.

A HOLY RISK TAKER

He had a classic case of cold feet. BBC Radio sounded in the background as I was cleaning our Oxford flat. An actor was reading one of Maeve Binchy’s short stories1 about a couple on the eve of their wedding day. Bridal attendants, relatives, and other guests were arriving from out of town. After months of planning and expense, final details were all in order, and the big day was just hours away. Flowers had arrived, and the church looked lovely. The bride had only herself to prepare. She was looking forward to a long hot bath and a restful sleep. And now this. Her fiancé, sitting across from her, was ashen-faced and fumbling for words. She could hardly believe her ears. He was backing out. I stopped what I was doing and sat down on the sofa to listen.

There was nothing she could do. He just couldn’t go forward. To save face, she persuaded him to let her be the one who didn’t show up for the wedding. Relieved that she was taking it so well, the young man agreed. Under the circumstances, it was the least he could do. Next day, as promised, when the wedding march struck up, he solemnly took his place at the front of the church with his best man and the rector. The doors in the back swung open, and all eyes (including his) turned to look. I held my breath. The reader continued, “There she was, coming down the aisle, perfectly at ease on her father’s arm and as beautiful a bride as anyone could imagine.”

The couple didn’t discuss what happened until sometime later on their honeymoon, but the upshot was that she knew him better than he knew himself. The experience no doubt put him on notice that there was a good chance she’d outsmart him again in future situations where they didn’t see eye to eye.

Boaz got cold feet too, although the chill he felt was more from the cool night air than from a case of nerves. That isn’t to say his nerves didn’t get a jolt — just that nerves didn’t influence his behavior. In one of the most intriguing (and also comical, when you think about it) scenes in the Bible, Boaz — a buttoned-down man of impeccable conduct — awakens in the middle of the night to discover a woman lying at his feet. No doubt it’s an understatement to say he was jolted. There probably aren’t words to describe his shock at the awful predicament he was in, and it would be worth a lot to have seen the look on his face.

On the particular night in question, Boaz was a man at rest. The storyteller has fast forwarded about seven weeks2 through both the barley and wheat harvests, bringing us to scenes surrounding the winnowing of the grain.3 After this year’s harvest, Boaz’s quarterly reports are looking good. His accounts are in the black. His workers are paid, and he has even extended his hand to the poor. All season long, he has done everything according to the book. The threshing floor where he is sleeping is heaped with piles of winnowed grain — evidence of a successful crop, lots of hard work, and of God’s good bounty. With painful memories still fresh in his mind of the Bethlehem famine that once devastated his land, Boaz is a grateful man.

Ah, the well-deserved rest that comes to such a man. He has feasted merrily with his workers and is now slumbering peacefully on the threshing floor (presumably with one eye open to guard his grain). And now this. The silhouette of a woman next to him in the darkness has alarm bells going off in his head. Just wait until Bethlehem tabloids catch wind of this! This man of valor can easily imagine this private moment leading to a public fall from grace, no matter what happens next. Suddenly wide awake, Boaz whispers hoarsely in the darkness, “Who are you?” (Ruth 3:9).

THE PAST INVADES THE PRESENT

This, of course, is where it helps to remember that God is still the main hero of the story. The Bible (including this strange and mysterious episode) centers on revealing him and his transforming work in human hearts. There is deep theology in this chapter too, but we have to wade through some murky issues to begin to see it. Questions we face in this scene underscore why we need to keep reminding ourselves that each new episode in this story is deeply embedded in what has gone before.

Naomi, despite her remarkable recovery, is still in a lot of pain. And Ruth has not forgotten the pledge she made to her mother-in-law back on the road connecting Moab to Bethlehem. Even here with Boaz, her vow continues to be the driving force behind her choices and her actions. She worked diligently through the barley and the wheat harvests — close behind the maids of Boaz — to make sure Naomi has plenty to eat in the present and a well-stocked larder for the long winter ahead. But they are still in poverty, still putting one foot in front of the other in their efforts to survive. Ruth will bring as much energy, resourcefulness, devotion to Naomi, and out-of-the-box thinking to this new challenge as she has to everything else.

As for Boaz, his interactions with Ruth so far have only served to enhance his standing in the community. If anything, he stands even taller in Bethlehem now as both a man of valor and a man of uncommon generosity. We thought a lot of him when we first met him. Now that we’ve seen him voluntarily aiding Ruth’s efforts to take care of Naomi, we respect him even more. So whatever questions and uncertainties we bring to the current episode, our understanding of what happens next must factor in what we’ve already observed in the character and behavior of each of these three individuals up to this point.

Radical Kindness - Ruth Series

This devotion is an excerpt from the book, The Gospel of Ruth: Loving God Enough to Break the Rules and was written by Carolyn Custis James. We hope you will be encouraged.

A BLESSED ALLIANCE

All eyes are on Boaz, waiting for his reply. Will he brush her off or lash out over the forwardness of this foreigner? The Moabitess has gone too far. Ruth has crossed the line. Israelite protocol has been breeched. Will he eject her from his field? Will Boaz prove tightfisted, or will he open his hand? Boaz’s response is as astonishing as Ruth’s request is outrageous, and this is where our strong admiration for Boaz begins to grow. Instead of becoming defensive (this is his field, after all, and he is the boss), the lights go on and he fully embraces her suggestion. Instead of being displeased or offended, he is moved to act on her behalf. Boaz’s godliness is real, and he willingly follows Ruth’s lead. He actually appears driven — you might even say obsessed — to come up with ways of making her mission possible. In an astonishing outpouring of grace, Boaz exceeds the young Moabitess’ request. What follows is an openhearted sequence of actions where Boaz extends his hand and his resources to ensure Ruth’s success. Yes, by all means, she may glean among the reapers where there will be plenty of grain for her. He grants her special rights in his fields for the entire harvest season and urges her not to wander into other fields, but to glean only with his servant girls. Boaz personally guarantees her safety. “I have told the men not to touch you” (Ruth 2:9) — protection she will need when venturing into restricted zones where gleaners are banned and harvesters might mistreat her. His words, while reassuring, also reflect the real dangers women faced even in a godly landowner’s field. Boaz then invites Ruth to drink from the water jars his men fill. Now she won’t forfeit precious gleaning time by going elsewhere in search of water to quench her thirst. Ruth is overwhelmed. She drops to her knees, then bows to the ground in an oriental gesture of gratitude. Here is the landowner whose favor she was seeking, and he is more generous than she could have hoped.15 Let us be clear. Boaz is not motivated by sudden infatuation, but by a heart for Yahweh and by his deep respect and admiration for Ruth’s unprecedented kindness to Naomi. He knows she has given up much to come to Bethlehem with Naomi. And now with his own eyes, he sees her taking enormous risks as she gleans for the sake of her mother-in-law and giving Bethlehemites more to talk about. You can be sure this day’s events were soon added to local dinner conversations about the young Moabitess. Then, in words that soothed Ruth’s aching heart, Boaz opens his heart in blessing, as he prays, “May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge” (Ruth 2:12). Boaz, of course, is unaware that he will, himself, have a hand in how God answers his prayer. Until this moment, Ruth’s interior world has been curtained off from us. The narrator hasn’t disclosed the inner workings of her heart. There were earlier hints in the story of her grief, but here, in this exchange with Boaz, we catch a glimpse of evidence that she is sorrowing as deeply as Naomi. In response to Boaz’s kindness and to his gentle words of blessing, Ruth responds, “You have given me comfort and have spoken kindly to your servant — though I do not have the standing of one of your servant girls” (Ruth 2:13, emphasis added).

God in the Ordinary - Ruth Series

This devotion is an excerpt from the book, The Gospel of Ruth: Loving God Enough to Break the Rules and was written by Carolyn Custis James. We hope you will be encouraged.

THE ANCIENT WELFARE SYSTEM

When Boaz woke up that morning, he had a hearty breakfast, a full agenda in front of him, and no forewarning that his life was about to change. Plans for the day included a routine trip to his barley fields to check on progress, talk to his foreman, and make sure things were running smoothly. Boaz was a man who was paying attention. Unlike many in the days of the judges, the man was meticulous in keeping God’s commands both in his personal conduct and in how he ran his business. In the fields belonging to Boaz gleaning practices were in effect. The “Gleaners Welcome” sign was posted conspicuously, in compliance with Mosaic Law. We’d expect no less from a man of such honorable reputation. This meant that his harvesters left the corners and edges of the field uncut when they harvested and that they only combed once over the field, leaving behind uncut grain and missed scraps for the poor — the widow, the orphan, and the foreigner.10 We have idealized images of how gleaning actually worked. We’ve all seen lovely pastoral paintings of gentle maidens scooping up armloads of golden grain. In reality, gleaners were often mistreated and went home hungry. A landowner might choose to keep them out or eject them if he pleased. Harvesters could get rough.11 Unattached women were especially at risk and could be (and were) victimized. Then, of course, gleaners competed with each other. Bump into another gleaner who is stronger, more aggressive, or simply hunger-driven, and you can expect to get shoved around. Depending on conditions and attitudes in the field, Ruth could easily labor all day and not bring home enough to feed her mother-in-law and herself. When I was on a mission trip in Central America, a missionary took the idealism out of my views of gleaning during a brief but unforgettable outing to the local garbage dump. It was a filthy place, and the stench turned my stomach. But more appalling than the odor was the sight of people — men, women, and children — crawling over piles of rubbish like an army of ants, gleaning “edible” bits of trash to eat and reusable scraps of cardboard to reinforce the flimsy walls of their dilapidated shacks. I couldn’t fathom eating anything in that awful place and afterward felt depressed for days. I still think of gleaners whenever I see a homeless person rummaging in the garbage outside a fast-food restaurant, scavenging for a few discarded fries or the uneaten remains of somebody’s Big Mac. Rather than accept the terms of gleaning and the meager offerings she could hope to bring home for Naomi and herself, Ruth challenges the status quo and stretches the limits of the law. By the time Boaz arrives, she has already made a highly irregular request to the foreman that goes beyond his authority to grant. Until the landowner comes and she learns how the matter will turn out, she diligently sets to work, picking up bits of grain here and there without stopping for rest breaks.

Walking on Water - Pastor Mark Morrison

 
 

Every so often, we will have a guest speaker at CrossView Church. We are so grateful for the gifted women and men that serve the Lord through teaching the word. This week we hear from Pastor Mark Morrison. Pastor Mark serves as the director of Shepherd Ministries. You can find out more information about Shepherd Ministries here.

Usually, when we have a guest speaker, we will not have a weekly devotion. We encourage you to watch the message again at some point throughout the week and to check out the resources listed below.

Blessings on you and your week.

Pastor Kyle