Kiss with Emotion or Cleave with Devotion..

And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her.
	Ruth 1:14
In this verse we see Naomi grieving, Orpah leaving, and Ruth cleaving. Orpah, whose name means “youthful” or “immature,” shows the reaction of an immature believer - much emotion, but no devotion; conviction, but no commitment. Jesus talked about this in the parable of the sower (Mark 4) . . . Some hear the Word and spring up quickly, but when the hot sun comes out, they dry up and wither away because they have no roots. So too, some believers get totally excited when they hear a sermon or a testimony or a concert - but their roots are not grounded in the Word of God. There is no devotional life, simply an emotional hype. And when the hard times come - when there’s a price to pay to follow Jesus - like Orpah, they turn away. Ruth, on the other hand, cleaves to Naomi. The same remains true today, for there are those who kiss with emotion, but others who cleave with devotion. The Bible indicates that God isn’t impressed with how high we jump, but how straight we walk. Ruth stayed with Naomi. She walked the walk. Pastor Jon Courson

If the pigpen is your home today, you need to.....

Wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters in law with her; and they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah.
	Ruth 1:7
Naomi, the prodigal daughter, goes back home. And I am reminded of Luke 15 . . . When the prodigal son - after leaving his father’s house, going to a far country, and spending his father’s fortune on wine, women, and song - finally came to his senses, he realized he was sitting in a pigpen eating pig slop. The difference between a prodigal and a pig is that although the prodigal might spend some time in the pigpen, he doesn’t make it his home. If the pigpen is your home today, you need to seriously evaluate your relationship to your Father. But if you find yourself in the pigpen today, wanting desperately to get out - take hope. Take the first step back home toward your Father, and like the prodigal son, you will see Him running to meet you. The only time in the Bible when God is seen to be in a hurry is in the person of the prodigal son’s father, who hitched up his robes and ran down the road with abandon to meet his son. What a beautiful picture of restoration and redemption, renewal and revival. That’s our Father. Pastor Jon Courson