Ruth is a short book tucked away between Judges and 1 Samuel that tells one of the most deeply touching stories in the whole Bible. It is not first and foremost a love story however. It is the story of God on mission to bring back people to Himself. The story of Ruth is a beautiful picture of this redemption. Ruth was a widow and foreigner, living in a strange land. Circumstances had reduced her to a life of poverty. She was an outcast, destitute and needy, and she could not save herself. She needed her life redeemed. Really Ruth's story is that of every person in this world. It foreshadows the life of Jesus, who entered this world to become our kinsman-redeemer and to buy us back to God.

Sarah's life was one of ups and downs with the main issue for her being childless. She was faithful to her husband Abraham and had no hesitation in following him when he is called by God to leave their country. With the arrival in Canaan, and ten years after the promise from God that Abraham and Sarah would give birth to a child, Sarah, still childless, decided to take matters into her own hands by offering her Egyptian slave, Hagar, to Abraham in order to fulfil God's promise - but this was not meant to be. How often do we take matters into our own hands without having God involved? 25 years after His promise, God delivers, and Abraham and Sarah have a son. We are to trust in God's promises to us, look to the cross and to say it is not in my strength that I am able. It is our trust, faith and hope in Him by which we can be made right.

Martin Luther King once said, along these lines, "If you haven't got anything worth dying for, then there is nothing worth living for". This has been a recent reflection for our nation as we remembered Anzac Day and the sacrifice made of our fallen soldiers. As Paul comes to the end of his life he starts to contemplate what's worth dying for - and it is all about Jesus. Becoming a Christian does not mean an easy life. We will face spiritual battles as we go against Satan and our own evil desires. We will fight, but it won't be us, it will be Jesus fighting for us, who dwells within us. In our Christian life, we are in a race, not to win, but to finish. But like any race, we need to take the time to prepare and focus - to seek God's guidance and direction for our lives. As Christians we run the race together, to be an encouragement for each other. When you come to the end of your life, will you be able to say what Paul said, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith"?

What is the most important thing in your life? When something is important to us in our lives, it becomes valuable. How valuable is Jesus in your life? The women who poured perfume over Jesus' head greatly valued Him. The chief priests totally de-valued Jesus. Judas Iscariot, who had spent 3 years so close to Jesus, in the end only valued Him to the amount of 30 pieces of silver. The women showed that Jesus was more valuable to her than what she owned - she gave Him everything. There is no greater thing we can do than pour our life over to Jesus. Are we prepared to give Jesus everything we have?

As Jesus approaches Jerusalem He knows that things are about to intensify for Him. Jesus knows that the people of Israel have become like the fig tree that looks good on the outside but bears no fruit. Jesus shows His authority by turning over tables and driving out those who were buying and selling in the temple courts. Does Jesus have authority to change over tables in your life? The religious leaders of Jesus' day where very proud and afraid of what the people thought of them. All they were concerned about was their own status in the community and use their power to lord it over the people. We need to remember in our own lives not to be proud but to humble ourselves before God and be a servant to others. What are you proud of that keeps you independent of God? What do you need to hand over to Him?