Your People Are My People and Your God Is My God!

 Transcribed by AI

Radio Voice of Life

When your life, food, work, and everything was going well, God was forgotten by us. This kind of situation, during dark times, serves as a punishment that God brings upon humanity to make them aware of the true God. Yes, I have truly witnessed this in our lives. People were living in comfort and ease, not thinking about God, but in the hardships and difficulties we see in our country, how much the people listen to our programmes. How many people call daily, how many people ask questions, searching for the true God and righteousness. So, if you, dear listener, are listening at this moment, pay attention to a part of the word of God, chapter one of the Book of Ruth, verses one to twenty-two. If you have your Bible, open it; if you cannot, you will still understand the story.

It says, in ancient times, when the people of Israel had no king, a severe famine occurred in that land. For this reason, a man named Elimelech, from the tribe of Ephraim, who lived in Bethlehem, Judah, along with his wife Naomi and their two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, moved to the land of Moab to live there. During this time, Elimelech died, and Naomi was left alone with her two sons, who married Moabite women named Orpah and Ruth. About ten years later, both Mahlon and Chilion also died, leaving Naomi without a husband and children.

At this point, Naomi heard that the Lord had blessed her people with abundant harvests. Therefore, she decided to return to the land of Moab with her two daughters-in-law. As they set out, Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Return to your mother's house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with me and my sons. My prayer is that each of you may find rest in the home of another husband." Then Naomi kissed them and said goodbye.

However, they wept aloud and said to her, "No, we will go back with you to your people." Naomi replied, "My daughters, why would you come with me? Am I to have any more sons, who could become your husbands? Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me, even if I had a husband tonight and gave birth to sons, would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters; it is more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord's hand has turned against me."

They wept again, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her. Naomi said to her, "Look, your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her." But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go, I will go, and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me."

When Naomi realised that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her. They travelled until they came to Bethlehem, and when they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, "Can this be Naomi?" "Don't call me Naomi," she told them. "Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me."

So Naomi returned, accompanied by Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning. Amen. What an interesting story, dear listeners. When we hear about Naomi and Ruth, I always think about my own family, how my aunt, who had daughters, was killed. My grandmother allowed her to remarry because she had two daughters and no sons. She said, "You can rebuild your life." But my aunt, like Ruth, said, "I will not leave you; my daughters are everything to me, and I will live with them until my last breath." It is truly heartbreaking to see how women in Afghanistan, when their husbands are killed, are pressured to remarry, whether they have one child, two children, or four children; they are not allowed to choose their own path in life.

As a woman myself, I understand this, but no woman desires to remarry fully. However, in the Book of Ruth, we see a different story. Yes, Ruth loved her mother-in-law, Naomi, so much. Recently widowed, she asks Naomi to allow her to stay with her, saying, "Wherever you go, I want to go with you." This is a heartfelt declaration: "Your people will be my people, and your God my God." Dear listeners, Ruth was drawn to the God that Naomi worshipped, the true God. The Book of Ruth shows us God's grace in difficult and challenging circumstances. Ruth's story occurs during a time of great hardship when people were distant from God, caught up in idol worship, living in their worldly lives. I have seen how people were living without remembering God or worshipping Him, completely indifferent.

But despite all the struggles, our people are under pressure from the Taliban, and they are crying out, wondering where God is and why He does not seem to answer our pleas.

Dear listeners, the Book of Ruth tells us about God's grace that reaches us even in times of hardship. When we see Ruth showing the true model of God in her life, she does not want anything to separate her from Naomi. Even death, she says, cannot separate us. Yet, no matter how much the world is filled with hopelessness and difficulties, there are those who choose to follow God wholeheartedly. We see that Naomi loses her husband and then, ten years later, loses her two sons.

Yes, this shows that even her sons died very young. Yet, her hope was not lost; she loved God with all her heart and obeyed Him. The example of God's love and grace was evident in her life. Dear listeners, this story gives you courage. God's hand is at work in the world. He wants to take you into His arms. He wants to listen to your voice. Today, Jesus Christ stands at the door of your heart and is calling, "Come to me, my child." He says, "Open your heart to me, so I may dwell there, and you may find inner peace and comfort." Yes, on the condition that we listen to God's voice.

One listener asked, "I have been listening to the voice of God for days, weeks, and months, but I cannot hear Him." The voice of God is resonating in your ears right now as we speak through the radio and the word of God. Just as God used Naomi during the famine and devastation in their land, He can use you as well, to bring your family and friends to the true God as described in the Bible. The God of love, the God of truth, the true God. Jesus Christ wants you to be drawn to Him.

Say yes to the message of the Gospel. In the first scene, we see Ruth, a poor widow in this story. Yes, as we follow her story, we see her joining the people of God, even though she belongs to a foreign nation. Yes, she worships the true God, and we see God's grace and blessings in Naomi's life. Absolutely. She knows from which nation she comes. She knows she is a God-fearing woman, a woman whom God loves.

The first time I read the story of Ruth and Naomi, God opened my heart. Indeed, because we have all seen this in our lives in our country. When you mention the name of a husband, people tremble. Yes. But when I read about Naomi, I realised how much God's love was present in this woman's life. Like Naomi, there are many women we see. Faithful women, women of God, who are always in prayer. Yes. Yes. And we see, dear listeners, that Ruth is a poor widow. This is a picture of how we come to faith in Jesus Christ.

Yes. When we believe in Jesus Christ, our lives change. We are the same poor people wandering in God's field. We are also hopeless. We too are rebellious strangers, just like Ruth and Naomi. Yes. By believing in Jesus Christ, we accept the risk of everything, knowing that salvation is in the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is the source of life. He takes away our sins and everything that we were in the past. When we believe, our lives begin anew, and blessings are given to us for eternity. Amen. Indeed, dear listeners, if we say that our lives are not in danger, our lives are absolutely in danger. But we lay everything aside because our God is a God of love, peace, health, and happiness. All these things we desire in life can only be found in the Lord.

And we see, dear listeners, that God is not only our God but also the Creator of heaven and earth. He is your Creator, but you do not know Him. Today, your eyes are blinded by the religion that has caused you suffering, torture, and anguish. God wants to heal you.

He wants you to faithfully see the true God, Jesus, and understand how life changes. We should model our lives on God's faithfulness. Jesus also showed us God's love. He redeemed us from the bondage of sin and guaranteed us eternal life. God's love has awakened us and transformed our hearts so that we may love and honour the true God.

Dear listeners, this story is a precious story that says, "Your people will be my people, and your God my God." Amen. Jesus Christ shows God's love when He goes to the cross, not just for us, not just for a few, not just for one nation, but He shows God's love to all humanity. We see God's protection and care throughout the lives of Naomi and Ruth, as we have observed, read, and heard. His absolute control is at work in your life even at this moment. His grace is flowing, and no matter how difficult the present may seem, we can still hope in God and be like Ruth in our times, whether we are kings or strangers, whether we are in a foreign land or outside Afghanistan. When we recognise the true God, we turn to Him.

So dear listeners, today we must seek the true God. Let us follow Him to be those who are chosen, so that people may come to know the true God through us. Today, our message remains the same: let us connect to eternal life. We have been freed from death as stated in the Book of Acts, chapter ten, verse thirty-four: "Then Peter began to speak: 'I now realise how true it is that God does not show favouritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears Him and does what is right.'" Today, God does not distinguish between us and you; it is humanity that makes distinctions.

When I say, "You lose something in your home," you search everywhere, yet your eyes only see what you are waiting to find. We are the lost people, those who have truly been far from God. There are many who are still distant. But the Lord is waiting for you. Every moment, God is watching to see when you will turn to Him.

Indeed, God does not consider whether He loves one more or less than another, whether one is more sinful or idolatrous. God does not look at these things. Anyone who turns to the Lord Jesus Christ, He will open their hearts. He is standing at the door of your heart, waiting for you to open it.

Dear listeners, never take our words or the word of God lightly. But we are the ones who sometimes become impatient, complaining to God, asking why we cannot hear Him, why He does not come to our aid, or why He does not pay attention to us. But God is looking at you every moment. Again, dear listeners, until the next programme, we entrust you to the hands of the Lord, the God who has shown you love. God bless you.

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