Confession of Faith

“For wherever you go, I will go; wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God.”  Ruth 1:16  JPS Your people – No declaration in the Tanakh carries more impact than Ruth’s declaration of personal commitment.  It has been used over and over as a statement of…

Who’s to Blame?

“My lot is far more bitter than yours, for the hand of the LORD has struck out against me.”  Ruth 1:13  JPS Than yours – The Hebrew phrase mar li me-od me-kem (“more bitter than yours”) can be read another way.  It can also mean “more bitter because of you.”  You can see a hint…

Reading What You Want It to Say

“You serpents, you brood of vipers, how shall you escape the sentence of hell?”  Matthew 23:33 NASB Brood of vipers – Do you read the Scriptures with an ear toward what you want it to say?  Do you read with your past associations, instruction and cultural background as the interpretive pattern?  Or do you read…

Some Humor After the 4th of July

One of our faithful readers and supporter, and a pastor, sent me this.  I thought you might find it interesting. This was my blog post yesterday: Come to the Pork BBQ! Jesus Will Be There! I received the following invite on Facebook regarding a church July 4Th celebration: “Join us for an evening of celebrating…

Political Suicide

Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities.  For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.  Romans 13:1 NASB Governing authorities – Rabbi Shmuley Boteach has written a lot of books.  Two in particular are blockbusters:  Kosher Sex and Kosher Jesus.  I can’t say much…

The Red Letter Bible

“Even if I thought there was hope for me, . . .”  Ruth 1:12  JPS Hope – What is your definition of “hope”?  Two questions might help you determine if your idea of hope comes from biblical sources or from the culture of Greek philosophy.  The first question is this:  “Is your idea of hope…

Ruth 1:12-21

Here is the audio file for Ruth 1:12-21. [audio:https://stage.skipmoen.com/audio/ruth-chapter-1-verse-12-21.mp3] (To listen, hit the Play button above, or right-click here, select “Save as…” and download the file to your computer.)

Ruth 1:6-12

Here is the audio file for Ruth 1:6-12. [audio:https://stage.skipmoen.com/audio/ruth-chapter-1-verse-6-12.mp3] (To listen, hit the Play button above, or right-click here, select “Save as…” and download the file to your computer.)