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“11 May the LORD, the God of your ancestors, increase you a thousand times and bless you as he has promised!”

– Deuteronomy 1:11

A Ministry Providing Inspiration and Hope

This week, my focus is on Ruben, the first and eldest of the 12 Tribes of Israel, and the complicated nature of his life. His life is interesting to me because it so conflicted. Ruben was great because he extended himself to save his younger brother, Joseph, but he also was shameful in sleeping with the young wife of his father, Bilhah. I encourage you to read the meditation on this page and ask yourself about the implications of his complicated life. Thank you for reading. Blessings.
Nick

A Ministry Bringing Hope and Inspiration

Today I want to examine the question, why is love greater than faith and hope? First, we must ask the question what is faith? Our faith in God is what we believe about God. Faith is the foundation of Christian spirituality. Hope is based on faith. Keep reading, and I will share with you why love is greater than faith and hope. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”

(Hebrews 11:1)

Scripture Lesson for this Week

Genesis 37: 19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. 20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; then we shall say that a wild animal has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams.” 21 But when Reuben heard it, he delivered him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” 22 Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand and restore him to his father.

Meditation for the Week

The Ruben option – A Meditation

Ruben is the 1st and eldest of the 12 tribes of Israel. He is the son of Jacob and Leah. As the eldest son, he was entitled to the birthright inheritance of Jacob. However, we learn in Genesis 35:2 that Ruben had an affair with Billhah, the concubine, or secondary wife of his aunt Rachel. I mention this, because like you and me, Ruben is a complicated person. His relationship with Billhah was wrong and disrespectful of his father. But, at a critical moment in the life of Joseph, when his brothers make the decision to kill him because of their jealousy, it is the same Ruben who stands up for Joseph and convinces his brothers not to kill him. Today, I want to talk about what I call “the Ruben option.”

At a critical moment in the life of Joseph, when his very life hangs in the balance because of the bloodthirsty jealousy of his brothers, Ruben, the same Ruben who already had slept with his father’s wife, who was the mother of some of his brothers, this same Ruben expresses sensitivity and concern for his father’s feelings. The fear of Joseph was that the death of Joseph might emotionally kill his father.

Ruben is a complicated person, because his values are mixed up. He is more concerned about the feelings of his father for Joseph, the youngest son than he is for the feelings of his father because of the disrespect he showed to the father by sleeping with his wife.

Even so, at a critical point in the life of Joseph, when his brothers want to kill him, it is Ruben who intercedes and argues to save Joseph.

You and I, sometimes will find ourselves in the difficult position of going against the tide of public sentiment, because we believe that something is right or wrong. The lesson I take away from the Reuben story is that you and I must always not only know when to stand up and speak up for what is right, but actually to get involved and take a stand for what we believe in, even if we might get injured in the process.

Thank you for reading. I hope you have found today’s meditation about the conflicted life of Ruben to be meaningful. I also hope it will take time to to explore the various links on this page where are you can check out my prayers, videos, meditations and podcasts.

Blessings Nick

New Broadcast Video for This Week

“Jealousy In The Family”

Scripture Lesson for this Week

1st Corinthians 13: 13 And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

Meditation for the Week

So let me breakdown why love his greater than faith and hope. A person can abound with great faith, but if they are mean, self-centered, unforgiving, their faith is diminished and cheapened. Think for a moment of all of the persons with great faith who turned away people from the church and God because of and unloving, unkind, and un-redemptive attitude.

These are the people who pray with great eloquence, know a lot of Bible verses, can sing with fervor and sweet tones, but fall apart when something bad happens in their lives.

What is hope? To hope is to dream, to imagine something which may seem impossible. The world moves and often improves because of the hopes of those who believe. What good is the ability to hope and dream, if our hopes and dreams are grounded in negativity? What good is your hope, if it is selfish and rude? What good is your hope if it is a shallow hope which refuses to believe all things, bear whole things, hope all things, and endures all things?

Why is love greater than faith and hope?

– When we love, we share something positive with someone else
– love compels us to think beyond ourselves

– Love will encourage a person to put someone else before themselves

– The love of a parent will cause them to work two or three jobs so that their children and family will have a better life.

– The love of lovers will cause both persons to slow down, or speed up, to please the one they care for.

– This is true, not only in the case of lovers, but the caregivers who put themselves out in their attentiveness to someone who is infirmed, and cannot fully take care of themselves.

Steps you and I can take to build a love which is greater than faith and hope

Learn what love looks like. Paul taught in first Corinthians 13 that love is patient and kind, not jealous, boastful, arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way but love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things endures all things.
Practice love in your daily life. It is not enough to understand what love looks like, if you do not put your love into practice.
Love for the sake of love. Love without keeping score and judging the quality of someone else’s love.

Benefits of living a life founded on love

Love will propel you, when faith may not make sense.
Love will motivate you would you find it difficult to hope and dream.
Love will push you when do you do not receive love in return.
Love will prepare you to live a life who were they of the Kingdom of God and its promises which Jesus Christ has prepared for you and me.

I hope you have found this meditation spiritually worthwhile. If you have found this to be meaningful, I hope you will share it with a friend or family member. Blessings. Nick

New Broadcast Episode for the Week

“Love Endures All Things”

New Broadcast Episode for This Week on The Word Network – Every Saturday at 2:30 PM EST. Check for local listings!

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Dating Love and the Bible

AGENTS OF CHANGE (Joshua 24)

GENTS OF CHANGE – WORSHIP PROMO VIDEO

Commitment to Long Haul Sermon 2nd Segment

Missions

Take a minute to learn more about the important missions that Nick has been involved in.

Maternal-Child Care in Ethiopia

Plymouth United Church of Christ (PUCC) is proud to support a medical mission in Ethiopia founded by church member Dr. Ingida Asfaw. PUCC members, including Rev. and Mrs. Hood, traveled to Ethiopia to establish a maternal-child clinic. Visit ENAHPA for more information.

Do you want to make a difference in Africa? Partner with Nick in a health care mission to Ethiopia. Call 800-327-1048, and we will share with you ways you can help!

Repatriation of Liberian Refugees of War

In 1997 and 1999, PUCC mission teams traveled to Côte d’Ivoire to bring medicine and cash to Liberian tribal members who were refugees of the Liberian civil war. The PUCC mission enabled the majority of one Liberian tribe, the Sarbo tribe, to return to Liberia.

Partner with Nick to bring assistance to former refugees of the war in Liberia. Call 800-327-1048, and we will help you learn how you can make a difference!

Donate

You can make a difference today! Support Nick Hood’s online ministry to help him connect with people in every corner of the world. Note that all donations are tax-deductible.

Learn more about Nick Hood Ministries.

800-327-1048