1 Corinthians 1: 18

For further study - Ruth 2:1-16
The little book of Ruth has much significant information included in the record of how the Lord would use a "kinsman redeemer" to bring into the lineage of the Messiah through King David a Gentile woman, a Moabite. Ruth had married into a Jewish family and soon afterward saw the Lord take her husband in death. Ruth had, through this experience, become very close with her mother-in-law and had chosen to go to live in Israel with Naomi for the rest of her life.
As we read the narrative we see that Ruth and Naomi, her beloved mother-in-law, would return to Bethlehem, hometown of Ruth's deceased husband. The story found in our reading for today is such a love story but also the presentation of the Biblical principle of the "kinsman redeemer." It is the story of how the Lord would allow for a Gentile woman, Ruth, to become a member of the family that had been prophesied to bring forth the Messiah to the Jewish people.
Naomi had a kinsman who would play the role of how Christ, the Jewish Messiah, would also reach out and redeem the Gentiles as well as the Jewish people. It is a wonderful story that should be closely studied for your own benefit.
As I reread this passage for our devotional time today, I was once again amazed at how the Lord continues to move the world and even the smallest details of the world into place for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled. Ruth and Naomi came to Bethlehem to live and there Boaz, the kinsman redeemer, would fall in love with this Gentile and follow through on his responsibility to marry this non-Jewish woman.
As you know, Ruth would be the great-grandmother of David, King David, who would receive the covenant promise of God that one of his descendants would sit on the throne of the temple in Jerusalem forever. That One, of course, the Jewish Messiah, Jesus Christ.
I commend to you the entire book of Ruth for your reading as evidence that God's plans for the future will be played out in the lives of people, His people, and even us today as well.
PRAYER THOT: Dear Lord, help me to be obedient to Your plan for the future in my own life, even as Boaz and Ruth were many years ago.

Ruth 4 verses 7 thru 17

And the women her neighbors gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David.


The book of Ruth is a love story, the story of the Kinsman Redeemer, It is the story of a Jewish man taking a Gentile woman to be his wife and thus to fulfill his responsibility as the family member next in line.

This generous act of Boaz would set in place the lineage from Abraham to David through a Gentile woman who would also be in the lineage to Christ, Matthew 1:1-17.

Ruth's son Obed, verse 17, would be the father of Jesse - the father of David, verse 22. David would be the one to whom would be given the promise of the Messiah to be in his linage, a “family member”.

Jesus Christ, is the one who will sit on His (David's) throne forever, II Samuel 7:16. The “Davidic Covenant” is the promise that God gave King David, a forever covenant, that must be fulfilled, and will be fulfilled when Jesus sets up His kingdom at the time of His return to Earth.

This love story is also the background for the prophecy found in Isaiah 59:20, of a Kinsman Redeemer who would come to Zion - to Jerusalem one day to remove the transgression of His people, the Jewish people.

As Christians, we can also look forward to our marriage to the “Kinsman Redeemer”, Jesus Christ, Revelation 19:7-9. When Jesus calls for us to join Him in the “air” at the Rapture, we will be “married” to Him. Right now we are waiting for our “Bridegroom” to come. It could be at any time, even today.

PRAYER THOT: Thank you Lord for the promise of our “marriage” to you. Help us, to be prepared for our “wedding day”.

Song of Solomon 1 vs 1 - The song of songs, which is Solomon's.
For further study - Song of Solomon 1: 1-17
It is very interesting that we come today to read from the Song of Solomon, or as the Jews refer to the book, The Song of Songs. The interesting thought is that at sundown today the Jewish Passover begins. There will be Passover Seders in Jewish homes across the world. The book read during the the Feast of Passover in Jewish families is the Song of Songs, which the Jewish people consider to be the "holy of holies" in Scripture.
A proper exegesis of the book reveals God's plan for marriage with input for the courtship, Song of Solomon 1:1-3:5; the ceremony, Song of Solomon 3:6-51;and the continuity, Song of Solomon 5:2-8:4.
There is also a secondary interpretation that is somewhat allegorical

and it projects the love between Christ and His bride, the Church.

Let me suggest that you first read the book with the proper

interpretation, the Lord's instruction for the marriage process.

Then read the passage again and think of the Bridegroom and and the Bride in their courtship, ceremony, and continuity. However, this time have Christ as the Bridegroom, the "Beloved" and the Church, the lover.
Truly we are in a marital pattern as we await the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. We are in the engagement period, the courtship period. Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us in His Father's house, the heavens. He will come to get us and quickly go to the ceremony for the consummation of the marriage.
As you read, think, even meditate on the truth of the coming marriage between Christ, the Groom and the Church, His bride. The reason the Jews read this book at Passover is because they consider Song of Songs an allegory and believe it is describing the coming of the "Beloved". The Messiah and the woman, the "lover" as Israel.
I have suggested that you read the Song of Solomon with Jesus and the Church in mind. But remember, a proper interpretation of the book is that it's God's instructions for true, Godly romance and marriage.
Prophecy does tell us of the marriage ceremony that will take place soon after the Rapture of the Church (Revelation 19:7-9). Notice it tells us our wedding dress will be our righteous acts that will judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ. As the bride we must be preparing our wedding gown as we await the Bridegroom, Jesus Christ.
PRAYER THOT: Help me today to do righteous acts and prepare my wedding gown for a wedding ceremony in a near future tomorrow.

Song of Solomon 2:9

My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice.

For further study - Song of Solomon 2:8-17

The "Song of Solomon" is the English title for the Biblical book in the Jewish Bible known as the "Song of Songs." It is what the Jewish people consider the "holies of holies" of the Bible. The Jewish interpretation of the Song is the allegorical method of interpretation.

I do not interpret "Song" allegorically, I use the literal method of interpretation. Doing that you must conclude that Solomon, the author of Song, is revealing to us the scripture method of courtship, marriage and the married life. The study of Song using the literal interpretation is a great and important Bible study.

Having said that, I want to return to the Jewish allegorical method of interpretation to reveal some very interesting reasons for Jewish spiritual activities. In the Jewish understanding of Song the "beloved" is the Messiah. Notice in Song 2:9 the "beloved" is behind the wall.

In the 2nd century Rabbi Akkiva was the Jewish Sage that gave the Jewish people a reason for praying at the Western “retaining wall’ in the Old City of Jerusalem. Three times every day those religious Jews living in the Old City of Jerusalem make their way to the Western Wall to pray.

The Western Wall is not one of the remaining walls of the Temple that once stood there on the Temple Mount. There are no walls remaining of that Temple. The Western Wall is a “retaining wall” of the Temple Mount. In fact, the Jews do not face towards where the Temple stood - but straight ahead, looking towards the Mount of Olives at the Western Wall.

The Mount of Olives is the mount that will split when Jesus returns to Earth. In fact, that is what "Bethar" means "the mountain of separation". As the Jewish people pray they are looking to the spot where the Messiah, Jesus Christ, will return one day. Then they will look on Him whom they have pierced.

That day of His return is closer now than it's ever been. Remember, the Rapture happens seven years before His return, and it could happen today.

PRAYER THOT: Help me Lord, to look and live every day for You to come.

Song of Solomon 3 vs5 

I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.

For further study - Song of Solomon 3:1-5

Each time we come to the Song of Solomon I must remind you that to understand Scripture we must approach any portion of the Word using a “literal interpretation” of the text. Often, Bible teachers approach this book, the third book written by King Solomon, using the “allegorical method” of interpretation.

The “literal interpretation” of Song is the instruction from God for a successful courtship and marriage. It is the best marriage manual ever written. That mentioned, let me suggest that you allow yourself to put your thoughts in sync with the Jewish mind. The Jewish understanding of this great book is derived from an “allegorical method” of interpretation.

The Jews see the “bridegroom” as the “Messiah” and “themselves as the bride-to-be”, the woman of this narrative. As you read all five verses of our extended portion of Song, you can see the desire the Jewish people have for the coming of their Messiah.

The narrative is that of the “bride-to-be” expressing her love for her “groom-to-be” and her eagerness for the marriage ceremony to take place.

I mentioned before that the religious Jews see Song of Songs as the “holy of holies” of their Bible. Thus the content of this book becomes the thinking of those who read it so often. There is a need, a desire for the Messiah to come among the religious Jewish people, which make up between 25 and 30 percent of all Jews.

About 25 percent of the remaining Jews are not religious but mostly “secular humanists”. The remaining 45-50 percent of Jews are “God- conscious” and do have an anticipation of the coming of the Messiah.

This eagerness to see the Messiah is made manifest in the Jews' returning to the land of their forefathers. It also is made clear when the efforts to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem are on the minds of so many Jewish people.

What is ironic is that 2,000 years ago the Messiah came to the Jewish people and they rejected Him. However, that does not negate the “promises” of God to the Jewish people and His “program” for them.

As Christians, we can watch the increasing desire among the Jews for their Messiah to come and better understand how close His Second Coming may well be.

PRAYER THOT: Help me, Lord, to have a real love for the appearance of You, my Messiah, made manifest in the life I live until You do come.
Song of Solomon 4 vs16 

Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.

For further study - Song of Solomon 4:1-16

As we come once again to the Song of Solomon or as the book is known in the Hebrew Bible, the Song of Songs, chapter one verse one, we see the Bridegroom speaking. Remember, we must study this book not as an allegory but as a "marriage manual" from the Lord.

Song 3:6-5:1 is a "manual" for the marriage ceremony, which is the second part of a Jewish wedding, following the "engagement" and preceding the "marriage celebration."

One aspect of the marriage ceremony is the "consummation" of the marriage when after being pronounced "husband and wife," the newly married couple have sexual intercourse, which consummates this marriage.

As we read through chapter 4, we see the bridegroom using all of his senses to make love to his new bride, sight, touch, smell and sound. Notice in Song 5:1 the bridegroom encourages the wedding guests, "O friends," to begin the marriage celebration, the marriage has been consummated.

Song 5:2-8:4 in this "marriage manual" is the "how to’s" for the marriage in the days ahead, the continuity of the marriage.

Please allow me to remind you that all Scripture has a "technical interpretation" and/or a "spiritual application." For the technical interpretation we must approach our study of the Bible from a "literal interpretation." Who is the passage speaking to? What is the historic and geographic background and what does the passage mean when taken literally?

A "spiritual application" can allow for us to approach our understanding of any passage from the point of view that we understand what the text is literally saying. However, how can the text be applied to my life and experience.

From the spiritual application of this passage we can see how the Lord Jesus Christ, our Bridegroom, since the "Church" is His bride, how He loves us and will do so forever.

Remember, Revelation 19:7-9 is the prophecy of our marriage to Jesus Christ and the "Marriage Supper of the Lamb," the marriage celebration after the marriage ceremony. The marriage ceremony takes place sometime soon after the Rapture.

By the way, the Rapture could take place at any moment, thus we must make certain we have our "marriage garment" ready for the marriage, Revelation 19:8. That "marriage garment" is our "righteous acts."

PRAYER THOT: Thank You, Lord, for the promise of marriage to You, forever. Please help me to prepare my "wedding garment" for the soon coming wedding.

Titus 1 vss1-2 

Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.

For further study - Titus 1:1-16

As we come to the book of Titus for our devotional today, there is one portion of this very important instruction from Paul to the church and it’s leadership that immediately comes to my mind. I am referring to Titus 2:12-13. These two verses tell us how to lay aside things that are bad and live that which is good. We do both, the negative and the positive as we are looking for the blessed hope, the glorious appearing of Jesus Christ.

For another devotional, I'll spend time developing that formula for life in the last days. However, let us look with you now for the instruction Paul gives the local church in the last days.

Paul had commissioned Titus to travel to the churches and make certain they had good leadership and were defending the faith against the apostasy of that day. God's plan for winning the lost to Him is the operation of a local church. The local church has a two-fold ministry, evangelism and education. We must win them and then grow them in the things of the Lord.

Paul would send Titus to the different churches to ordain elders, the leaders of the local assemblies, verse 5. These men had to meet certain qualifications, verses 6-8, and be men who hold fast the “faithful word of God”. These men were to teach others as they had been taught so that all members at that local church might have the right doctrines to stand up against false teachers and false teachings.

Paul warned Titus that even in the local church there would be those deceivers that church leadership must deal with as these “false prophets” endeavored to spread their “false doctrine”.

In light of the central theme of Titus, “how to live right as we await the coming of Jesus Christ”, the local assembly must have Biblical leadership in place to teach the right doctrine as we approach the soon coming of Christ. This warning of false doctrine, false teaching, and deception is the number one sign of the second coming of Jesus Christ, Matthew 24:4,5,11 & 24.

Please do remember, that the Rapture precedes the Second Coming by seven years. The Rapture could happen today!

PRAYER THOT: Help me to understand right doctrine, especially as we approach the time of Your return.

Titus 2 vss12-13 

Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

For further study - Titus 2:1-15

The portion for our reading today is one of my favorite writings of the Apostle Paul. Once again, as is the case with young Timothy, another young man comes alongside the experienced minister, Paul.

Young Titus will also be used to travel to the churches across the then known world to help build them in the faith. Paul has given Titus the instruction and information to take to these churches. These were churches that would benefit from the help needed to build their local churches.

This second chapter of Titus is further instruction for how individual members of these local churches should be involved in this church ministry, a church ministry that will develop the proper church leadership.

Always remember that these are new churches with a team of new leaders who actually do need to know how to build new churches. You can imagine that if these “pastoral epistles” are so needed for church leadership today, how much more important in the first century.

Paul gives Titus the instructions for the aged men and women in these new congregations as well as the young men and women of these churches. This instruction is applicable to those same people in our churches today and is found in verses 2-6.

There is much more in this chapter to appropriate for our own edification, but before I close, let's look at two more verses - verses 12 and 13 .

Paul, in these two very profound verses, tells us to lay aside some activities and to live others. The apostle tells Titus to lay aside ungodliness and worldly lusts, which is negative. Then Paul goes positive when he tells Titus to live soberly, righteously, and Godly. If you stop to think about this it is pretty hard to lay aside that which is wrong and live that which is right.

However, here is the part I love the best. Paul tells us how to do that which he told Titus to do. We can "lay aside" that which is wrong and "live" that which is right by "looking" for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ. The blessed hope is the Rapture of the true believers in the church here on earth.

These two verses indicate to us that Godly living is produced in our lives by focusing on the future. We can focus better on the future and His call for us to join Him in the heavens as we look at current events in light of Biblical prophecy. A good knowledge of Bible prophecy comes with a committed study of the prophetic passages in His Word.

PRAYER THOT: Help me, Lord, to study Your word so that I have the understanding of the parallel between current events and Bible prophecy so that I can eagerly look for the blessed hope.

Titus 3 vs.10 - A man that is an heretic after the first and second admonition reject;
For further study - Titus 3:1-15
Our key verse for today's reading is a very direct statement that is made right to the heart of the issue. At the time that Paul wrote to Titus, around 65 AD, the church had been in existence around 35 years. Already in that short history, heresy had crept into the church.
Paul wanted Titus to travel to locations that had churches up and operating, most likely churches that Paul had started or had at least helped in the church planting process.
Now Paul wants his young associate to travel to these locations and set them "in order," while at the same time, selecting and ordaining "elders" as the leaders of these new churches, Titus 1:5. Then Paul sets out for Titus the qualifications for the church leaders, Titus 1:6-9.

Throughout Paul's letter to Titus, this young partner in ministry to the now aging apostle, was exhorted to challenge others to "sound doctrine." In fact, all of the pastoral epistles that Paul wrote, I &

II Timothy and Titus, contained this exhortation that it was

essential for the church to have sound doctrine.

This same message is essential for churches today and for individuals in those churches. You and I must have sound doctrine. Notice Paul passed along this message to the churches and their leaders. God's plan is for the church, the local church, to be the "custodian" of sound doctrine.

Our key verse tells us how to deal with someone who comes with heresy, a person who is a heretic, one who propogates false doctrine.

We are to confront the heretic once, and admonish him of his false doctrine. If need be, we must do it a second time, and then reject that person.

In fact the Apostle John, II John 10, tells us that we should not allow someone with false doctrine into our house and for sure don't bid them "God's speed", the blessings of God upon them as they travel.

This message is so important at any time in history but especially as we approach the time of the Lord's call for us to join Him in the air at the Rapture of the Church.

Time and time again Paul tells us that false doctrine, heresy in the church delivered by heretics, is a definite indication that the days when Jesus will take us to be with Him in heaven are quickly approaching.

PRAYER THOT: Lord help me to diligently study the Word so that false teaching will never be that which could lead me astray, away from You.

Zechariah 1 verse 16
Therefore thus saith the LORD; I am returned to Jerusalem with

mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the LORD of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.

For further study - Zechariah 1: 12 - 17
As we come to the prophetic book of Zechariah, I have so much that I would like to use for our devotional. Over the year we'll be able to visit other passages in this prophecy.
As I mentioned in our look at Haggai - these two are contemporaries

in their ministry after the return of a number of Jews from Babylon.

Zechariah is a prophet but also a priest. How appropriate that the Lord selected him to challenge the people to re-build the temple.
In the portion we're reading today there is a focus on the city of Jerusalem and our Lord's attitude about this "holy city" and it's inhabitants. The city of Jerusalem is mentioned 37 times in Zechariah and for its size that is a large number of times to focus on Jerusalem.
In Zechariah 1:12 we see the phrase, "the angel of the Lord". That phrase is always a theophany, a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ. Jesus will say three significant things about Jerusalem. In verse 14 the Lord says He is jealous for Jerusalem. The Hebrew for "jealous" is "aggressively possessive". The Lord has chosen Jerusalem for His eternal abode, the place to dwell among His people, the Jewish people, and therefore He is aggressively possessive of the city.
In verse 15 He says He is "sore displeased" with those who are "at ease" in Jerusalem. The Hebrew refers to those who are "arrogantly secure" in their control of Jerusalem, and those would be the Palestinian Muslim people of today. Verse 16 tells us that one day He will return to Jerusalem and will build His house in it, His temple. The city of Jerusalem is set aside for the Lord's program.
The city of Jerusalem, as the song says, is the "city of God."

Therefore, as Zechariah tells us, Jerusalem will be the center of controversy (Zechariah 12: 2-3) in the last days. Each and every controversy surrounding Jerusalem in our day brings us closer to the Lord's return.

PRAYER THOT: Help me to focus on Jerusalem to determine God's time for His return.

Zechariah 2 vs8