TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL (TUESDAY 28TH July 2026)
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. 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.” Ruth 1:16-17 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 209TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF STRATEGIC VICTORIES!
Glory be to the Most High God for making it possible for us to see this day.
Sometimes you sleep in pain, emanating from disappointments, and wake up not feeling like you even want to go on with life. But God’s mercy has a way of seeing a man through. It has a way of forcing hope out of a man’s heart. The Bible spoke about Paul going through a lot of perils in his own time. That was the territory of many of our Apostolic fathers.
One of the worst perils you can go through as a Child of God, something most of them went through, is the peril of false brethren.
The most damaging liars are most times found in the four walls of our local Church buildings. They draw close to you when you know nothing of who they really are, then discover some facts, very harmless facts, and begin to use them to create damaging stories about you. Some do that saying, “God sent them.”
I have seen a lot of insane things in ministry. Yes, sometimes God’s servants reflects the perfection of God, and we use that to give them a standard they must meet. When they fail to meet it, we begin to add to their life perils. Sadly, we forget that we are all in the race and should be facilitators of faith for them as they have been to us!!
Yes, there are a lot of perverted pastors and prophets, but we also have very terrible church members. In fact, in most cases they made the preachers perverted with their seductive moves and gestures.
I have been on the scene for a while and discovered that few ministers of the gospel became what they are today because some wicked Church members killed what God gave them for their generation and turned them into wicked men with no sexual discipline or compassion for the suffering.
THEY WERE PURE AND UPRIGHT UNTIL THEY BEGIN TO PASTOR SOME IMPURE AND UNGODLY PEOPLE WHO REFUSE TO REPENT.
We have seen cases where church members cast evil thoughts through what they share with their pastors and even unclean spirits on them. Sadly, while we have great Church member who are walls of defense for pastors and beautiful helpers in times of war, there are those who can submit to the devil to sway God’s servants to do things that can ruin the call of God upon their lives.
Others can be so wicked that they can knock out love for the sheep, and deep concern for God’s people from the hearts of God’s servants. Others can erase from their hearts the genuine commitment they have to the work of God, making them unfit for any good work. This they do through bitter betrayals, slanderous confidential whispers and malicious misrepresentation of facts.
When this kind of attack comes from those who have eaten on the table of the man of God like King Saul ate from the table of Samuel, to be qualified for the throne, and have been sacrificed for, it becomes too difficult to love. It will take times in God’s presence for the heart to be healed again.
Friend, every member must make up their minds to be assets to those God has placed in their lives as His servants, and not destroyers.
We must put ourselves in their shoes and understand that it is very difficult to be deeply and genuinely concerned for people, as a man of God, after being betrayed and bitterly wounded for being deeply and genuinely concerned for people you believe God brought you to raise. That is why we must all know why God brought us into local Churches and stick to fulfilling that purpose alone.
We must decide against whatever will hurt, harm, or destroy the servants of the LORD we are under even when it seems just. If we no longer agree with them, we should just walk away and leave their churches or ministries, finding a place where we can pursue our eternal destinies and fulfill them.
EITHER YOU ARE A PREACHER OR CHURCH MEMBER READING THIS, UNDERSTAND THAT GOD WILL JUDGE ALL OUR ACTIONS, EITHER GOOD OR BAD.
Everyone knows the heritage of Judas Iscariot. He was appointed to be one of the 24 elders in Heaven, but he disappointed his destiny by following the path of betrayers. The Bible warn us not to follow the paths of rebellion, contention or division. We are to follow the paths of helping God’s work and will and making sure it is accomplished.
There are times I have feared to assist anyone. I have had experiences that as soon as you show people kindness, they show you wickedness.
My life is full of stories of People I suffered for, both spiritually and financially; helping them beyond what words can capture to make a meaning out of their lives, who turned into my greatest persecutors or pain creators. One day I said to someone, “even if I did all they claim I did, I have invested so much in your life for you to be considerate.”
There is a way someone helps you or gives you significance in life that he becomes more than a father to you, or more than a brother. That was what Ruth found in Naomi, hence clinging to her regardless. She was intentional in her decision to remain with her. A major highlight in our devotional text this morning says,
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.
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.” Ruth 1:16-17 NKJV
When someone becomes more than a father or brother to you, or more than a mother or sister to you, it means you will never harm, hurt, abandon or speak ill of the person no matter what happens.
You will not report the person to wolves, or discuss serious matters related to the person with anyone except the person. It means you will stand with the person even when the entire planet go away from the person, even if the person disappoints you, offend you or bruise you.
YES, IT MEANS YOU WILL NOT RELATE WITH THE PERSON BASED ON BAD FEELINGS ANY LONGER BUT BASED ON A LOVE THAT COVERS.
If you do not have such a person in your life, someone you have decided to stand with even if the entire world abandon that person, you have a long way to go in life. It means you are either an ingrate, a self-centered person, or one who is yet to sacrifice for someone, or find a covenant relation in someone who means so much to you.
In fact, if someone means so much to you, then you must take the Ruth decision concerning the person. The decision again says: “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.
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.”
The person might do things to you that you do not like; things that are bitter and have capacity to make you turn away from the person, but you must resolve to keep to the Ruth decision.
In the scripture we see the words, commitment, and dedication of a young woman who found someone who meant so much to her and decided to stay with the person regardless of any circumstances. God saw it and blessed her future. Today we are still talking about her.
May the LORD do the same to you as you commit to that person who mean so much to you.
As we bring this to a close, understand that your future will not be blessed if you do not commit to someone God has anointed to function as His servant in your life, or anyone who meant so much to you; a man or woman truly sent to seek and to save that which was lost, and help you fulfil your destiny.
When God gives you someone who mean so much to you, it is to use your commitment to that person to create for you a future. You will not miss it in Jesus precious name. Amen!!!
MAKE THIS SCRIPTURE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR THE DAY
“ When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her. Now the two of them went until they came to Bethlehem. And it happened, when they had come to Bethlehem, that all the city was excited because of them; and the women said, “Is this Naomi?”
But she said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and the Lord has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?”
So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. Now they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.” Ruth 1:18-22 NKJV
