Ruth 1:16-17 But Ruth said: “Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, If anything but death parts you and me.”
Yesterday, Israel observed Yom HaShoah—Holocaust Remembrance Day—honoring the memory of the six million Jews who perished. Tragically, a recent poll reveals that nearly half of Israelis fear the possibility of another Holocaust. In light of this sobering reality, I want to share a powerful story of one remarkable woman who rescued 2,500 Jewish children from the ghettos during World War II.
Her name was Irene Sendler. She was an employee of the Polish Social Warfare Department who had a special permit to enter the ghettos to check for signs of typhus. During these visits, she would wear a Star of David as a sign of solidarity with the Jewish people. Once inside, she would convince Jewish parents to part with their children as she and others created for them false papers and smuggled them out so to put them in various good homes around Poland. Sendler then buried the children’s true identities in jars in her backyard, hoping to reunite them with their families after the war.
In 1943, Irene was arrested by the Gestapo, severely tortured and sentenced to death. She was able to save herself by bribing German guards on the way to her execution. Listed on bulletin boards among those who had been executed, she was left in the woods unconscious, with broken arms and legs. For the remainder of the war, she lived in hiding. Though she had suffered much, she continued her work with Jewish children.
In 2007, she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and lost to former vice president Al Gore.
May we take up the call of Ruth – “your people shall be my people, and your God shall be my God!” To Israel and the Jewish People, know that you have thousands of friends standing in solidarity with you!
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy Devotions. This devotional was originally published on Worthy Devotions and was reproduced with permission.
How to display the above article within the Worthy Suite WordPress Plugin.
[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]A United States Army officer who trained pupils at Fort Sill for over 20 years once described the different qualities of the students during the two decades of his tenure. During the 1950’s, he observed the students’ attitude as being so lax that the instructors had trouble keeping their students awake during their lectures. This drastically changed in the mid 1960’s. The students began taking meticulous notes and absorbing every word of instruction. So, what changed?
As we continue to celebrate the God-ordained Feast of Tabernacles — this is a prophetic feast, and one which will be kept by all the people of the world in the coming age. In resurrected bodies, we will be celebrating this feast, year to year in Jerusalem during the millennial reign of Yeshua (Jesus)! Can you imagine it — celebrating with the King of Kings! If that’s not something to anticipate, I’m not sure what is!
The Lord is quoted in this scripture in Matthew. It contains an important principle which believers sometimes tend to overlook. Many believe and even teach that if you’re blessed, your life will be filled with material prosperity, and that if you are undergoing extreme trial, it must be because you have sinned or that you lack faith. The Lord says that the sun rises and the rain falls on both the righteous and the unrighteous alike.
Abraham’s rescue of Lot and his household from the four Mesopotamian Kings in the middle of the night was an act of holy chutzpah! Israel’s first patriarch demonstrated great faith, courage, family loyalty, and military strategy during this successful rescue operation.
This Sunday night people from around the world will celebrate Yom Kippur. In Israel, nothing, absolutely nothing is open — no radio, television or cable, even the street lights don’t work!
On Monday, we talked about “tashlich” — the traditional Jewish ceremony occurring between Rosh ha Shana and Yom Kippur, which involves casting bread crumbs into a river while confessing our sins and watching them be swept downstream. In this passage, however, we read about the importance of casting our crowns. These elders fell down before the Lord, casted their golden crowns and gave God the glory and honor He deserves. How much more should we do the same today?
When my family and I were re-deployed to the United States during the Covid outbreak, all my plans were wrecked. I had planned becoming a licensed tour guide in Israel, allowing the ministry to continue while my kids would serve in the Israeli army for three years. Instead, I’m looking back at 150,000 miles of cross country driving throughout the US, and 350 speaking/ministry engagements. “…Man plans his way…” but, stuff happens, and sometimes we simply need to adjust. So, the adventure continues…