OUR DAILY BREAD : DETERMINATION

[cimi]

April 13
Palm Sunday


DETERMINATION

READ:
Ruth 1:6,11-8;
Luke 9:51-53
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Your people shall be
my people, and your
God, my God.
_Ruth 1:16
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During a television news report on the plight of refugees displaced from a war-torn country, I was struck by the words of a 10-year-old girl. Despite there being little possibility of returning to their home, she showed a resilient spirit: "When we go back, I'm going to visit my neighbors; I'm going to play with my friends," she said with quiet determination. "My father says we don't have a house And I said we are going to fix it."

There is a place for tenacity in life, especially when it is rooted in our faith in God and love for others. The book of Ruth begins with three women bound together by tragedy. After Naomi's husband and two sons died, she decided to return to her home in Bethlehem and urged her widowed daughters-in-law to stay in their country of Moab. Orpah remained but Ruth vowed to go with Naomi, saying, "Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God" (Ruth 1:16). When Naomi saw that Ruth "was determined to go with her" (v.18), they began their journey together.

Stubbornness is sometimes rooted in pride, but commitment grows from love. When Jesus went to the cross,"He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem" (Luke 9:51). From His determination to die for us, we find the resolve to live for Him. __david McCasland

``````````````````````My life, my love, I give to Thee,````````````````````
```````````````````Thou Lamb of God who died for me;```````````````````
```````````````````````Oh, may I ever faithful be,```````````````````````
````````````````````My savior and my God! __Hudson````````````````````
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Love calls for commitment.

********************Today's Bible Reading __ Ruth 1:6, 11-18; Luke 9:51-53_*****************

Ruth 1
6 Then she arose with her
daughters-in-law that she
might return from the
country of Moab....

11 But Naomi said, "Turn
back, my daughters; why will
you go with me? Are there
still sons in my womb, that
they may be your husbands?

12 Turn back, my daughters,
go__for I am too old to have
a husband. If I should say I
have hope, if I should have a
husband tonight and should
also bear sons, 13 would you
wait for them till they were
grown? Would you restrain
yourselves form having
husbands? No, my daughters;
for it grieves me very much
for your sakes that the hand
of the LORD has gone out
against me!"

14 Then they lifted up their
voices and wept again; and
Orpah kissed her mother-in
law, but Ruth clung to her.

15 And she said, "Look,
your sister-in-law has gone
back to her people and to
her gods; return after your
sister-in-law."

16 But Ruth said: "Entreat
me not to leave you, or to
turn back from following
after you; for wherever you
go, I will go; and wherever
you lodge, I will lodge; your
people shall be my people,
and your God, my god.

17 Where you die, I will die,
And there will I be buried.
The LORD do so to me, and
more also, if anything but
death parts you and me."

18 When she saw that she
was determined to go with
her, she stopped speaking to
her.

Luke9
51 Now it came to pass,
when the time had come for
[Jesus] to be received up,
that He steadfastly set His
face to go to jerusalem,

52 and sent messengers
before His face. And as they
went, they entered a village
of the Samaritans, to prepare
for him. 53 But they did not
receive Him, because His
face was set for the journey
to Jerusalem.