It Starts Small

No one ever explained what it meant to have a relationship with my Heavenly Father or Jesus. I was taught it was following the rules. I was not taught about the Holy Spirit. It was hardly ever mentioned that how much God loved me or the love of Christ. Sure, it was preached Jesus loved me, and I can remember always singing Jesus loves me. But, no one really spoke about building a relationship. How do we get closer to Jesus?

We see five ways in the book of Ruth.

That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; Philippians 3:10

Christianity is Christ and knowing him intimately.

Be cleansed!

Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking. Ruth 3:3

If we want to have an intimate relationship with Jesus we need to wash ourselves.

Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. James 4:8

We need to cleanse our hands of the sin we have committed and not just cleanse but turn away from it. We need to allow Jesus to purify our defiled hearts. We need to get our minds right. Double minded means you have divided attention and loyalties.

Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. 2 Corinthians 7:1

We need to clean our filthy minds and heart and spirit so that God can perfect his holiness in us. He can’t work in a heart that is filled with corruption and defilement. He can’t work in a mind that is not fully committed and attempting to live of this world and heaven. Often times, when God moves out (he never leaves but he can be silent), satan moves in. We need to let Jesus come in and clean the dirt and grime out of our hearts.

15 And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. 16 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Isaiah 1:15-16

We can not or won’t listen to the Holy Spirit when our hearts are filthy. When our heart is filthy, it clogs the mind and blinds our eyes. Filthy hearts clog the ears. We have to get our hearts cleaned so that we can hear.

Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord. Isaiah 52:11

This is the thou shalt not. We flee from all ungodly things and sin so that we can be a clean vessel for him to use. God says touch no unclean thing. He’s not taking about dirt here. He’s saying love me so much that you have great reverence that you obey my precepts and commandments. He’s not a kill joy. He’s not trying to make you live a boring life. It’s quite the opposite. He says I have an amazing purpose for you, but until you are clean and turn away from all uncleanliness, I can not speak to you.

Everyday, we come to God for his cleansing. Can you imagine if Ruth had showed up to Boaz’s house filthy and I cleaned from working in the field? Naomi tells Ruth, clean yourself up! We need a good daily cleansing. Just as we shower and brush our teeth, we need to let Jesus give a good scrub to our hearts and minds.

How does God cleanse us?

That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, Ephesians 5:26

Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. Psalm 119:9

The Word of God cleanses us! I remember the day I learned about murmuring (John 6:43). I didn’t know we weren’t supposed to be complainers. That was a winner winner chicken dinner moment. So now, anytime I start to complain about something I’m immediately struck with that verse and confess my dissatisfaction to God. I never knew it was wrong to complain. (It’s ok, you can laugh, I laugh about it now). We have to get into the Word of God. Take that deep dive to go beyond the childhood stories.

God’s written Word shows us what we are. His Word is a mirror of our heart, mind, and spirit. He cleanses us with his truth! He cleanses us with his forgiveness.

7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

I’ve finally just concluded reading Leviticus. That’s a tough book to get through. Can you imagine? Had Christ not come all the sacrifices you’d need to make? There’s not enough sheep or doves in this world to cleanse me of all my unrighteousness. Thankfully, a Lamb was slain. When you accept and receive Christ as your Savior, he is the blood sacrifice that covers you. It’s his blood that washes us clean and makes us white as snow.

We need to confess, to wash, ourselves daily. Not just a vain prayer of I’m a sinner forgive me. To truly understand sin, what it does and why we flee from it. To call it out by name and ask for God’s forgiveness and cleansing.

Put some perfume on!

3 Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking. Ruth 3:3

People that smell good are nice to be around. My previous employment, there would be times someone forgot to put some deodorant on. You felt kind of sorry for the person. Everyone knew they smelled bad, except them.

27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. 1 John 2:27

How am I anointed? We are anointed with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives us the fragrance of Christ. Have you ever been around people that their attitude, words and actions just stink? We tend to move away from them. To get closer to Jesus we need to soak up and in the Holy Spirit. I had always envied people that I can now recognize as having the Holy Spirit dripping in their hearts. They’re the people that are naturally just kind hearted. Their words have the power of encouragement and tenderness in correction. I haven’t met many, but now I understand that the “sweet smell” of their words, attitude, and actions is the fragrance of Jesus through the Holy Spirit.

Get the right clothes on!

3 Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking. Ruth 3:3

Jesus doesn’t care if your wearing Gucci, Walmart best, or holes in your socks. He wants your best. He doesn’t care if you show up on Sunday morning not wearing a three piece suit or an expensive dress. It’s your heart that matters and what’s coming out of it. He asks us to take the morning clothes off, the work clothes off and put your best on!

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2. To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; 3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. Isaiah 61:1-3

Beauty: put off your ashes of sorrow

Joy: put away your morning

Praise: put off your heaviness.

10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. Isaiah 61:10

Get those death clothes off and put on the garments of salvation and righteousness! Bring praises and worship!

Fully Commit

And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do. Ruth 3:4

Naomi tells Ruth, place yourself at the place of your redeemer. Boaz was Ruth’s redeemer. Not on a spiritual level, but an earthly level. He saw her first. Spoke to her first. He fed her and gave her water. Then he invited her to dine with him. This is the picture of Jesus. He does this same thing for us. We need to put ourselves as the feet of Jesus.

We need to tell him, Lord, I am willing to take you as my redeemer. I commit all I do and my life to you. We need to look for Jesus, find him, and place ourselves at his feet. When we do this we are submitting ourselves to God’s providing, protection, and become fully committed to him.

Be Faithfully Complaint

And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me I will do. Ruth 3:5

Ruth transformed from a hearer to a doer. She commits fully to what Naomi has spoken and goes out. God tells us what we should do in every situation. We say yes when we are fully committed to his will, his way.

He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. John 14:21

God says, love me, keep my commandments and I will show myself to you through Jesus.

What happens when we make all these things a permanence in our lives?

8 And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid, and turned himself: and, behold, a woman lay at his feet. 9 And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman. 10 And he said, Blessed be thou of the Lord, my daughter: for thou hast shewed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich. Ruth 3:8-10

Boaz received Ruth. Then he reassured her:

11 And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman. Ruth 3:11

Perfect love casts out all fear! (1 John 4:18) Boaz told her to not tremble or fear. He was going to take care of her. God’s love for us is perfect. We never need to fear yesterday, today, or tomorrow. Jesus’s perfect love is what defeats fear in us. His truth refutes Satan’s lies we believe. Jesus not only sets our minds free of fear, he continually replenishes us!

17 And she said, These six measures of barley gave he me; for he said to me, Go not empty unto thy mother in law. Ruth 3:17

Boaz gave Ruth 60lbs of barley to take home with her!

18 Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day. Ruth 3:18

Naomi says, Ruth, you’ve done your part. Now, be still and let God work. Our responsibility is our response to God’s ability.

I know this was a bit long, but I can testify that cleansing your heart, mind and spirit, allowing the Holy Spirit to speak truth and guide you, putting on righteousness and salvation, being fully committed and obedience have opened the relationship between Christ and myself. I don’t have the words to explain how it works, but I can say it works! The more I dig into God’s word, the more freedom I receive. The peace that is in me is not my own, but something all together joyful and amazing. Right now, being still is very difficult. I’ve done all that has been asked of me and I’m watching the pawns of evil line up against everything the Holy Spirit has spoken. It’s difficult to just sit and trust that God is working something powerful and amazing. I may not understand all of it, but I just believe and trust.