Ray Fowler .org

Ruth: A Christmas Story is now available for sale at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

What does the book of Ruth have to do with Christmas???

 
This series of messages explores the many parallels between Ruth’s story and the story of Christmas. The Christmas story has deep roots. It begins in the Old Testament, because the Old Testament points forward to Christ and his coming. Ruth’s story fulfills a vital part of salvation history in preparation for the coming of Jesus. As such, the parallels are not accidental. They are incidental, because the events of Ruth bear directly on the events of Christmas.
 
The book of Ruth can be read right alongside the Christmas story! Come explore these amazing parallels as we study the book of Ruth together.
 
———————
 
Table of Contents

Chapter One: O Little Town of Bethlehem
The story of a young woman who made a radical commitment of faith to God and then journeyed to Bethlehem where she gave birth to a child who would change the world.

Chapter Two: A Righteous Man
The story of a righteous man who offered kindness, protection and provision to a young woman in her time of need.

Chapter Three: The Kinsman-Redeemer
The story of a kinsman-redeemer who redeemed his beloved from a desperate situation at great cost to himself.

Chapter Four: A Child is Born
The story of a child in the line of Judah who was born as a redeemer in fulfillment of the prophecies leading up to Messiah.
 
———————
 
Other books in the series (click on the book images to view on Amazon):
 
     
 
 

 
Click here for all books in the Understanding God’s Word series.
 

Habakkuk: The Journey from Doubt to Faith is a year old, and we are celebrating by putting the ebook on sale for $2.99. Grab it now before the price goes back up!

This is actually a combined celebration. It’s not only the anniversary of the book release, but Habakkuk was also selected for a 2024 Selah Award (third place in the Bible Studies category). Here are some reviews of the book from Amazon:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Wonderful and accessible study of a minor prophet
I loved this book. I just finished using it for my morning devotions. While I’ve been a lifelong Bible reader, I haven’t always found the minor prophets an easy read. Ray Fowler did a wonderful job of introducing the reader to the prophet, offering historical and spiritual context. His sermon-style format helps the reader remember key points. It was fascinating to me that Habakkuk’s questions still resonate today: Is God fair? Does God care? Is God even there? The answers have sustained generations of believers.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Find Answers to 3 of Life’s Most Essential Questions!
Habakkuk- The Journey from Doubt to Faith explores three of life’s most essential questions: “Does God care? Is God fair? Is God there?” These questions have been asked both by believers at various stages of spiritual growth and unbelievers seeking meaning in life. Pastor Ray takes a deep dive into the book of Habakkuk and explains with simplicity and clarity God’s profound answer to this human hunger for meaning through the life quest of this Old Testament prophet of Israel. This ancient conversation with God is as contemporary as this morning’s news. This book methodically presents God’s answers, from a stage of doubt to revealing God’s love and wisdom to the birth of a trusting relationship. Need answers? Need faith? Read this exciting book! Christ came to give life and to give it abundantly. Be fulfilled and rejoice!
 
Click here for all books in the Understanding God’s Word series.
 

Each year for Mother’s Day we look at a different mother from the Bible to see what we can learn from her story. Sometimes the mothers are positive examples and sometimes negative, but either way we learn valuable biblical principles to help us in our walk with God. This year’s mother was Job’s wife, who was a negative example. Here is the outline from Sunday’s message:

Job’s Wife – The Foolish Mother (Job 2:9-10)

I. It’s foolish to let go of your integrity (Job 2:9a)
   – We are called to a life of moral goodness (Ps. 7:8; 1 Peter 4:19)
   – You forfeit God’s protection and blessing (Ps. 25:21; Prov. 11:3)
   – You put yourself on a slippery path (Ps. 73:18; Prov. 10:9, 13:6)

II. It’s foolish to curse or blame God (Job 2:9b)
   – You risk God’s judgment or discipline (Lev. 24:14-16)
   – You risk turning others away from God (Ps. 73:15)
   – You show ungratefulness for past and present blessings (Lam. 3:22-23; 1 Thess. 5:18)
   – You show a lack of faith for the future (Ps. 90:15; 2 Cor. 4:16-17)
   – You push God away when you need him most (Ps. 73:25-26; James 5:11)

III. It’s foolish to accept good but not trouble from God (Job 2:10)
   – We live in a fallen world (Ps. 90:10; John 16:33)
   – You deserve far worse (Ezra 9:13; Ps. 103:10)
   – We don’t know all that is going on (Deut. 29:29)
   – We do know that God works in all things for our good (Rom. 8:28)
   – You miss out on opportunities to trust God and encourage others (2 Cor. 1:4)

Applications:
   1) A wise mother trusts God even when she doesn’t understand
      – Psalm 86:7; Romans 8:35-39
   2) A wise mother counts her blessings instead of her troubles
      – Psalm 103:2
   3) A wise mother sets the example and encourages her family
      – Proverbs 31:12,28
   4) A wise mother leaves a spiritual legacy of faith for her family
      – Job 42:12-17

Click here to read the whole message on Job’s wife.

Click here for the book Famous Mothers in the Bible.
 

 
Click here for all books in the Understanding God’s Word series.
 

If you’re looking for a Mother’s Day gift for that special person in your life, I would like to suggest my latest book: Famous Mothers in the Bible.

The book contains twelve Mother’s Day messages I have preached over the years. Each year around Mother’s Day we work our way forward through the Bible focusing on various mothers to see what principles we can learn from their lives and experiences.

This would make a great gift for the reader in your family! You can order it at Amazon here: Famous Mothers in the Bible.
 

 
Click here for all books in the Understanding God’s Word series.
.

“Make Your Time Count!” (excerpt from chapter six):

Time is an interesting concept. Before God created the heavens and the earth there was no time. God is eternal, and therefore he is outside of time. And yet God entered time when Jesus Christ took on human flesh and was born into our world as a baby.

We like to think that we are masters of time. We even have atomic clocks these days to measure time out precisely to the nanosecond, but we don’t really understand time. There are times when time seems to go rushing by, and then other times when the clock seems to stand still. There are times when we are very much aware of time—such as when we are working on a project with a deadline, racing the clock, fighting against time. And then there are those wonderful times when we take off our watches, enjoying a day of leisure and rest, and we hardly notice the passing of time at all. (It’s on those days I like to call wrist watches “the handcuffs of time.”)

Benjamin Franklin wrote: “Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for time is the stuff life is made of.” And so, in this chapter we will look at three biblical principles that will help you with this thing called time and will help you make your time count. When you make your time count, you make your life count, because time is the stuff life is made of.

 
This is an excerpt from my new book called Lord, Make My Life Count! Drawing largely from the wisdom portions of the Bible, this book explains how to make your life count in six key areas of life: 1) your work; 2) your rest; 3) your faith; 4) your prayers; 5) your money; and 6) your time.
 
Note: Click here to view the book on Amazon.
 

“Make Your Money Count!” (excerpt from chapter five):

Jesus said in the gospel of Luke: “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15). Did you catch that? It’s a warning. Watch out! Be on your guard! Don’t be tricked into thinking that the more stuff you have, the happier you will be.

Of course, this runs counter to everything the world tells you about your money. We live in a spending culture. We think money is for spending. We put bumper stickers on our cars that say, “He who dies with the most toys wins.” But God says, “He who dies with the most toys—still dies!” (see Eccl. 2:21). Jesus puts it all into perspective. Your life does not consist in the abundance of your possessions. Take it all away, and you will find out who you really are.

A spending problem is really a desire problem. We get into trouble with spending, because we think more stuff will make us feel more fulfilled. But it doesn’t work that way. You are made in God’s image. You are far too valuable to be fulfilled with stuff.

You were made for God, and only God will fulfill your life. 1 Timothy 6 says: “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that” (1 Tim. 6:6-8). When you have God, you can be content, because you really don’t need all that other stuff.

 
This is an excerpt from my new book called Lord, Make My Life Count! Drawing largely from the wisdom portions of the Bible, this book explains how to make your life count in six key areas of life: 1) your work; 2) your rest; 3) your faith; 4) your prayers; 5) your money; and 6) your time.
 
Note: Click here to view the book on Amazon.
 

“Make Your Prayers Count!” (excerpt from chapter four):

One reason to pray early is because God’s mercies are new every morning. We read in Lamentations: “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lam. 3:22-23).

You might not be a morning person, but our God is a morning God! His mercies are new every morning! Every morning when you wake up God is waiting to meet with you. He has fresh grace and mercy for you. You need only spend time with him to be strengthened for your day.

King David knew how to start a day. He writes in Psalm 57: “My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music. Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn” (Ps. 57:7-8).

Robert Murray McCheyne wrote the following words in his journal on February 23, 1834: “Rose early to seek God and found Him whom my soul loves. Who would not rise early to meet such company?”

Begin your day with prayer and lay hold of God’s mercies for you in Christ. God’s mercies are new every morning.

 
This is an excerpt from my new book coming out this week called Lord, Make My Life Count! Drawing largely from the wisdom portions of the Bible, this book explains how to make your life count in six key areas of life: 1) your work; 2) your rest; 3) your faith; 4) your prayers; 5) your money; and 6) your time.
 
Note: Click here to view the book on Amazon.
 

“Make Your Faith Count!” (excerpt from chapter three):

Faith means trust. We see this in the classic definition of faith found in Hebrews 11: “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Heb. 11:1). That phrase “being sure” translates a word that means “substance, confidence, assurance or trust.”

Faith means trusting what you can’t readily see. The person who trusts their spouse doesn’t follow them around everywhere, checking all their phone records and reading all their emails. Why? Because they don’t have to see it in order to believe. They trust their spouse. And faith means trust.

It’s the same when we talk about having faith in God. Having faith in God doesn’t mean simply believing he exists. A lot of people believe God exists. But having faith in God means trusting him. You trust his character; you trust his promises; you trust his word.

Faith involves knowledge, assent and trust. Knowledge is important because you have to know something before you can believe it. Assent is important because you must agree with what you know before you can believe it. But it is not real faith until you take that final step which is trust.

There’s a great children’s message that illustrates this truth. First, you ask the children, “Do you believe that I exist?” That’s knowledge. Then you ask them if they believe you could catch them if they fall. That’s assent. Then you ask them, “Who is willing to stand on the edge of the stage here and fall backwards into my arms?” They may have demonstrated knowledge and assent with their answers to the first two questions, but they haven’t exercised real faith until they show their trust by actually falling into your arms.

It’s the same way with God. It’s good to believe that God exists. It is good to agree that God’s word is true. But until you trust him, until you make a conscious choice to fall into his arms and rest completely in him, then you do not truly have faith.

 
This is an excerpt from my new book coming out this week called Lord, Make My Life Count! Drawing largely from the wisdom portions of the Bible, this book explains how to make your life count in six key areas of life: 1) your work; 2) your rest; 3) your faith; 4) your prayers; 5) your money; and 6) your time.
 
Note: Click here to view the book on Amazon.
 

“Make Your Rest Count!” (excerpt from chapter two):

When was the last time you felt completely rested? No anxiety; no stress; completely calm; completely relaxed. I told someone this week, “I am working hard on a sermon on rest.” Now that might sound like a contradiction but work and rest really do go together. They go together in the Bible, one following the other in Genesis chapters one and two. And they go together in life. You need a strong work ethic before you can develop a strong rest ethic.

We hear a lot about work these days, but not so much about rest. It’s been said: “We have become a generation of people who worship our work, who work at our play, and who play at our worship.” These are each vital parts of our lives, and it is essential that we get them right.

There are many of us who work hard, but we’ve never really learned how to rest…. There is a time for work and a time for play. God rested after creation, and then God gave us the Sabbath because we need rest. We need a good night’s sleep each day, we need one day of rest each week, we need mini breaks during the day, and we need occasional longer breaks to refuel and recharge.

Do you want to make your rest count? Then work hard when you work, and rest well when you rest. Don’t worship your work, or work at your play. We rest first of all because God designed us to rest.

 
This is an excerpt from my new book coming out this week called Lord, Make My Life Count! Drawing largely from the wisdom portions of the Bible, this book explains how to make your life count in six key areas of life: 1) your work; 2) your rest; 3) your faith; 4) your prayers; 5) your money; and 6) your time.
 
Note: Click here to view the book on Amazon.
 

I have a new book coming out this week called Lord, Make My Life Count! Drawing largely from the wisdom portions of the Bible, this book explains how to make your life count in six key areas of life: 1) your work; 2) your rest; 3) your faith; 4) your prayers; 5) your money; and 6) your time.

Each day this week I will be posting an excerpt from one of the six chapters. Today’s excerpt comes from the first chapter: “Make Your Work Count!”

Part of viewing your work as God’s calling is understanding that all work is ministry. Colossians 3 says: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (Col. 3:23-24).

We tend to think of ministry as the work we do in the church rather than the work we do in the world. We divide life into the sacred and the secular, but God views it all as one. Ministry simply means serving the Lord. You can do that at church, but you can also do it at your place of work. So, you might be a minister of the gospel, but you could also be a minister of accounting, or a minister of daycare, or a minister of plumbing!

Martin Luther wrote: “The idea that service to God should have only to do with a church altar, singing, reading, sacrifice, and the like is without doubt but the worst trick of the devil. How could the devil have led us more effectively astray than by the narrow conception that the service of God takes place only in the church and by works done therein.… The whole world could abound with services to the Lord … not only in churches but also in the home, kitchen, workshop, and field.” Or as Dorothy Sayers wrote: “All work done well and for God’s glory is Christian work.”

At our church we like to say we have several pastors but many ministers. We are all ministers as we serve the Lord both here in the church and in the place where God has called us to work.

 
Note: Click here to view the book on Amazon.
 

Free advance review copies: The fourth book in the Understanding God’s Word series will be releasing next month, and I am looking for advance readers.

The book is called Lord, Make My Life Count! It’s a short book (six chapters), and an easy read. Drawing largely from the wisdom portions of the Bible, this book focuses on six key areas of life: 1) making your work count; 2) making your rest count; 3) making your faith count; 4) making your prayers count; 5) making your money count; and 6) making your time count.

Here is the full schedule and details:
January 20-31: Sign-ups for the reading group
February 1: Advance copies distributed by email
February 1-21: Three weeks to read
February 22: Release date on Amazon
February 22-29: Post a review on Amazon

If you would like to be part of the advance reading group for this book, and you feel you can read and review the book within the allotted timeframe, just let me know and I will send you a link where you can download your free copy. Thanks for your support! (You can email me at ray@pccflorida.org)

There are a limited number of advance copies available, so be sure to sign up early! Feel free to share this post with anyone you know who may be interested in participating.
 
Note: Here are the other books currently available in the series (click on the book images to view on Amazon):

   
 
Note: Click here for all books in the Understanding God’s Word series.
 

Here is a beautiful Christmas prayer from Robert Louis Stevenson:
 

 

A Christmas Prayer
 
O God, our loving Father,
help us rightly to remember
the birth of Jesus,
that we may share in
the song of the angels,
the gladness of the shepherds,
and the worship of the wise men.

May Christmas morning
make us happy
to be Thy children
and Christmas evening
bring us to our beds
with grateful thoughts,
forgiving and forgiven,
for Jesus’ sake,
 
Amen.
 
~ Robert Louis Stevenson

 
Merry Christmas, and may God bless you and yours!