OCTOBER 14, 2024
READ: Ruth 2 (Focus 1-2 & 5-11)
MEMORY VERSE
“Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” Colossians 3:12
BACKGROUND
When my mom was in hospice and nearing her last days on earth, I was touched by the genuine kindness of a nursing home caregiver.
After gently lifting my frail mother from her chair and tucking her into bed, the nursing assistant caressed Mom’s head while leaning over her to say, “You are so sweet.” Then she asked how I was doing. Her kindness moved me to tears then and still does today.
Hers was a simple act of kindness, but it was just what I needed in that moment. It helped me to cope, knowing that in this woman’s eyes my mom wasn’t just a patient. She cared for and saw her as a person of great worth.
When Naomi and Ruth were bereft after the loss of their husbands, Boaz showed kindness to Ruth by allowing her to glean leftover grain behind the harvesters. He even ordered the male harvesters to leave her alone (Ruth 2:8-9).
His kindness was prompted by Ruth’s care for Naomi: “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband” (v. 11). He saw her not as a foreigner or widow but as a woman in need.
God wants us to “clothe [ourselves] with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (Colossians 3:12). As God helps us, our simple acts of kindness can cheer hearts, bring hope, and inspire kindness in others.
By: Alyson Kieda
INSIGHT
Israelite landowners were told to intentionally not harvest all the grain so that the poor could glean the leftovers (Leviticus 19:9-10; 23:22; Deuteronomy 24:19-22).
In obedience, Boaz permitted the poor to glean in his fields (Ruth 2:3). When Boaz found out that Ruth was a close relative, he invited her to get her food from his land exclusively (vv. 8-9).
He protected her from harm and provided her with water and food (vv. 9, 14). He even ordered his servants to deliberately “pull out some stalks for [Ruth] from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up” (v. 16).
By: K. T. Sim
APPLICATION
When has someone shown you a simple act of kindness? How did it inspire or encourage you?
PR’s RE-EMPHASIS (From Post)
“As God helps us, our simple acts of kindness can cheer hearts, bring hope, and inspire kindness in others.”
PR’s (PASTOR RICHARD) TAKE
“Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” Anonymous
“The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the greatest intention” Kahlil Gibran
PRAYER
“Dear God, I want to be clothed in kindness. Please give me opportunities to show it to others.”
TODAY’S HYMN/WORSHIP/PRAISE/GOSPEL SONG
“KINDNESS” Steven Curtis Chapaman
We’ve built our stained-glass castles
Reaching to the sky
At our best to show your glory
At our worst to show our pride
We’ve raised our hands in worship
And our fist to stake our claim
We’ve done so much good and so much harm
All in your great name
But when I think about what has
The power to change the world
It could all be said with just one word
KINDNESS
What if we lived with a heart of kindness
What if we loved like we’ve been loved
If that’s all that we’re remembered for
Well, let that be enough
So, when they stand and tell the stories
Of who we are and what we’ve done
Of a thousand things that we could leave behind us
If they say just one word
Well, let that word be kindness
Let our hearts be quick to listen
And our lips be slow to speak
Let us wrap ourselves in Mercy,
Compassion, and Humility
We’re reaching past the lines
That words like us and them have drawn
Knowing we’ll find common ground
Together at the cross
What if we lived with a heart of kindness
What if we loved like we’ve been loved
If that’s all that we’re remembered for
Well, let that be enough
So, when they stand and tell the stories
Of who we are and what we’ve done
Of a thousand things that we could leave behind us
If they say just one word
Well, let that word be kindness
KINDNESS
I can forgive because I’ve been forgiven
And I can show mercy
Because its mercy I’ve received
It’s the kindness of my Father
That brought me back to life
And it’s his kindness that still brings me to my knees
I wanna live with a heart of kindness
I wanna love like I’ve been loved
If that’s all that I’m remembered for
Then let that be enough
And I wanna stand and tell the story
Of who you are and what you’ve done
How your amazing love would bring you here to find us
To rescue and redeem us in your kindness
Oh, let my life be
A reflection of your kindness
We can change the world with kindness
We can change the world with kindness
We can change the world with kindness
KINDNESS
READING THROUGH THE BIBLE THIS YEAR (DAILY)
1 CORINTHIANS 11
