Recently, in my regular reading of Scripture, I was maneuvering through the book of Ruth. Although I realize that many people consider this account to be little more than a very unique romance tale, (and I acknowledge there is that element to it), I would nevertheless like to bring your attention to a different aspect of the story.

In the beginning of the second chapter of this book, we pick up the story at the point in which Ruth is beginning to go out to glean in farmer’s fields. There’s nothing unusual about that in itself, but notice how the Scripture describes the event:

“Then she (Ruth) left, and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech” (Ruth 2:3 NKJV).

This particular choice of vocabulary caught my attention. “What do you mean, ‘happened to come’?”, I asked. As I mulled over this strange use of words (for Scripture), I personally began to think in terms of the writer playing a little tongue-in-cheek with the reader. Allow me to explain...

The whole story of Ruth is really centered around one thing, namely, the marriage of two people from whom was to come not just the royal line of David (their grandson), but even more extending further to the line of the Messiah. And what a strange couple it was! A poor, widowed Moabitess (think “Gentile”) with unusual devotion, and a presumably unwed, wealthy, Hebrew farmer.

As Ruth proceeded to go into the fields, she more than likely walked out of the walled city towards what was a communal field that was subdivided into family lots. (Notice it says that she came to the “part of the field belonging to Boaz”). We see this similar arrangement in some eastern countries today.
In other words, there were probably scores of fields or pieces thereof that she could have chosen. So, as Ruth (consumed with little more than the motivation of getting food to survive the winter) walked along the many footpaths separating one man’s plot from another, and observed the different fields and their workmen bringing in the barley harvest (i.e. everyone doing the same thing), how did she “just happen” to find the part belonging to Boaz?

The fact is that she had a 100% chance of settling on that plot of ground, for God was working in her life to fulfill His purposes through her. Behind the scenes, Jehovah was orchestrating the events in her life, right down to the detail of where she would gather her food, to accomplish the much greater goal of continuing the earthly line of the Messiah. In short, He was displaying this fact: He is the God Of The Details.

From this point, I’m sure most of us know the rest of the story. Boaz’ attraction to Ruth drives him (with a little help from his mother-in-law to be!) to seek the right of her redemption. And, if I can be so transparent here, I love the verse we read in the third chapter (v. 18), as Naomi declares with utmost confidence: “Sit still...until you know how the matter will turn out; for the man will not rest until he has concluded the matter this day”. How many times have I pictured our Lord Jesus Christ as the subject of such a comment! Our responsibility is to sit still and wait, to “be still and know that He is God”, until He has concluded the matter.

And it is this lesson that the Lord is constantly teaching His people. He wants us to trust Him with every circumstance, knowing that He is, in fact, the God Of The Details. To accomplish this purpose, He will often put us in circumstances that seem impossible to us, so that our faith and dependence upon Him will grow.

I wish I had the time and space to relate to you even a few such circumstances in which we have seen the hand of our Sovereign God evident in the affairs of Eagles’ Nest. It seems that with each major project in which we find ourselves, there’s an accompanying major hurdle that we must pass over. Though not necessarily comfortable situations at the time, when we look back on them we are filled with gratitude that we were permitted those times of testing, for in them we had our vision of God increased.

And I guess that’s the important point to make here. God is interested in basically one thing when it comes to His people: that we would have an intimate walk with Him. He wants us to know Him - not just about Him, but to truly know Him. He wants us to understand that there is not one molecule, or one moment in time, that is outside of His direct and conscious control. Why? So that our faith, hope, and love will grow in His sovereignty.

And so we come to this all important question: is He your God Of The Details? Have you come to that place of recognizing His sovereignty in your life? Of course, this means that we must relinquish control ourselves - not that we ever had it to begin with, but we must make the conscious choice to surrender our lives to the Lord Jesus Christ. In doing so, we allow Him to do with them as He pleases. It is only then that we truly know Him as Lord.
Additionally, if we really come to the place of understanding this aspect of Christ’s Lordship, where is the place for complaining? Or worrying? Indeed, these have no part in the life of one who consciously commits themselves to the God Of The Details. Instead, it is our duty - our privilege - to “Sit still, until we know how the matter will turn out; for the Lord will not rest until He has concluded the matter in His perfect time.”

May God bless us all with the deeper knowledge of and faith in His Sovereignty.

In His Service,
Stephen Tecklenberg
President

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Who Are We? Introducing our Directors.

With this issue, we thought we would introduce to you Mr. John Seilback, a faithful friend and ministry companion for many years.

John first came to Christ at an early age through the witness and prayers of his parents, who themselves had just become Christians. Since that time, he has always found himself involved in ministry work of some kind, enjoying especially the “behind the scenes” jobs. He is currently attending Fellowship Chapel, in Jarrettsville, MD.

In the early 1980's, while still children, John and Steve first came into contact with each other at Beachmont Christian Camp. In the following years, they became close friends, and found themselves involved in many projects together. When the opportunity came to participate in the January 1996 Mission To Moscow (Eagle’s Nest’s first international mission), John heard the call to go, and proved himself to be a valuable asset not just as a teacher, but as a true leader as well. His heart was greatly drawn to the Russian people, and six months later he returned to Moscow on a separate mission to assist our host missionary family.

His love for the outdoors, for travel, and for practical educational activities are now being utilized in our Grand Western Adventures (see next page). He has been a guide for two of them so far, and is greatly looking forward to the next one.

John currently serves as a Sheriff’s Deputy in Harford County, MD, having graduated from the University of Baltimore with a Criminal Justice degree in 1991. In this position, he is learning what it means to be a witness for Christ even in the most difficult circumstances, and to the most difficult people.

We are very thankful to have John as a part of our ministry and our board. His many talents, and his love for the Word, make him a very valuable asset to us. We look forward to however much time of service we will have together with him.

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Ministry Update

The very early morning of May 21 found us departing for what was doubtless our most ambitious program to date: the 1999 Grand Western Adventure.
For the next eleven days, we encountered such salient features as Grand, Zion, and Bryce Canyons, Petrified Forest, Mesa Verde, and Pike’s Peak. We hiked, rafted - and drove - through some of the most majestic scenery known to man.

Woven through this full schedule, though, was a desire to learn how these magnificent land-forms relate to the Scriptures. We attempted to give Biblical answers to such questions as: How were these rocks formed? How were these canyons eroded? If we all came from one man (Adam) how did all the different cultures arise?

It is a joy for us to see how God can use even inanimate rocks to drill home truths about Himself. Please pray for us as we are planning next year’s journey, that God will show us how we can further tune it to give the maximum spiritual profitability to those who join us.