Today's Reading April 8 Easter Sunday

He is risen! He is risen indeed!
This is the reminder of the reality of our risen Lord, passed down to us through the centuries. He is alive! The tomb is empty! We have the victory. Death no longer has power over us.
He is risen! These are as important as any words ever spoken.
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This morning's portion in our through-the-Bible-in-a-year journey is the book of Ruth.
If I ever get the opportunity to write some serious Bible commentary, I would like to begin with Ruth. This was a woman, a Moabitess, one of ''those'' people. You know, the ones who everyone knew were evil, not our kind of folks, one of those who is just no good and the Almighty hates them, and they have no portion of Him. And her life was full of loss and tragedy. Loss of a husband, a brother-in-law, a father-in-law. And yet, she saw something that caused her to trust in the Lord and to love her widowed and destitute mother-in-law. The passage from Ruth, chapter 1, verses 16 and 17, is one of those great poetic moments that Scripture is rich in. It was part of the text when my wife and I were married.

16 And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:
17 Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.

That's a declaration of determination and faith.
And the Lord heard her, and rewarded that faith.
Ruth, the Moabitess, had quite an adventure. And become an ancestor of David the King, and Jesus the Christ, our Lord.

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This evening's portion, from the New Testament, continues in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 11, verses 29 through 54.