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timewithgod.blog-city.com — April 2009
Hebrews 1-4 I Believe!
The theme seems to be, "Avoid slipping away at all costs." Over and over again, the Jews to whom this book was addressed were urged not to go back to an inferior religion. Though it was the best God had presented up to that poin
The theme seems to be, "Avoid slipping away at all costs." Over and over again, the Jews to whom this book was addressed were urged not to go back to an inferior religion. Though it was the best God had presented up to that point, Christ improved it immeasurably. Knowledge of this new Gospel makes us responsible for what we do with it. Once we hear, and know what Christ did for us, we face a choice.
"Sin tries to harden our hearts through its deceitfulness. Sin often looks beautiful in anticipation. Here, it offers escape from the reproach of Christ, lower standards of holiness, rituals... and the promise of earthly gain. But it is hideous in retrospect. It leaves a man with no forgiveness of sins, no hope beyond the grave, and no possibility of repentance."
"Unbelief excluded the Israelites from the rest which God had prepared for them in the land of promise ... and it is unbelief that keeps man out of God's inheritance in every dispensation ... Beware of an evil heart of unbelief."
Father, thank You for teaching me how to trust You through everything I went through during Josh's adoption six years ago. I left Ukraine with my new son, having been carried by You through two years of wondering what roadblock would be thrown up next. But through Your firm assurance at the start, I knew that You would bring about what You had told me. You are the faithful one, and I believe.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
Hebrews 5 & 6 The SURE Answer For Times When Doubts Rise Up
There were lots of warnings against apostasy here -- falling away. In fact, my commentary said that "Satan uses these verses especially to unsettle believers having....difficulties. They fear that they have fallen away from Christ an
There were lots of warnings against apostasy here -- falling away. In fact, my commentary said that "Satan uses these verses especially to unsettle believers having....difficulties. They fear that they have fallen away from Christ and that there is no hope for restoration. They worry that they have drifted beyond redemption's point."
Here's the soul-stirring answer for them: "The fact that they are even concerned about it is conclusive evidence that they are not apostasized! An apostate would not have ANY such fears; he would brazenly repudiate Christ."
Those that truly are apostates may have heard the gospel, but they rejected it, like Judas did, it said. They tasted Christ but didn't fully receive Him. They partook of the Holy Spirit's benefits in drawing men to Christ but were never indwelt by Him.
About 6:6, I read, "If they fall away, after enjoying the privileges just enumerated, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance. They have committed the sin of apostasy. THEY HAVE REACHED THE PLACE WHERE THE LIGHTS GO OUT ON THE WAY TO HELL."
It mentioned that apostasy should not be confused with backsliding. "A true believer may wander very far away from Christ. Through sin, his fellowship with God is shattered .... But he can be restored to full fellowship as soon as he confesses and forsakes his sin .... We have known many who have apostasized from Christ, but we have never known one who has returned to Him."
Father, I was so glad to hear these words today, for I too had backslid from You, and what I'd begun reading started making me wonder. It's amazing how crafty Satan is to use YOUR words against us. Thank You for helping me put all such doubts behind me. Thank You for showing that my concern was evidence enough. And thanks for one other nugget of gold mined from Your word today: "Abraham believed in God; he patiently endured; and he received the fulfillment. Actually Abraham was not taking a chance in believing God. No RISK was involved. The word of God is the surest thing in the universe. Any promise of God is as certain of fulfillment as if it had already taken place." I knew that as I left Svir Stroy, Russia, back in August of 2001. I saw it for a fact six years ago, having left Ukraine, traveling through Poland, arriving back home six years ago today with my son Josh. Thank You for Your firm assurances, Father!
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
Hebrews 7 & 8 WAY Better
It's almost impossible for us non-Jewish readers to fathom what had to be going through the minds of the Jewish people as they heard this. What a masterful stroke of clarity this must have been!They'd known for centuries that their syst
It's almost impossible for us non-Jewish readers to fathom what had to be going through the minds of the Jewish people as they heard this. What a masterful stroke of clarity this must have been!
They'd known for centuries that their system of sacrifices never made them feel better. The Day of Atonement was "an annual REMINDER of their sin". The blood of tens of thousands of animals was only painting over what they'd done, not erasing it. They were only becoming ritually clean so that they could participate in worship activities, not receiving a clean and forgiven heart.
Here God tells us that, unlike His former covenant, our obedience does not make the covenant conditional. His grace is what drives this new one. The old covenant could never get a believer past the veil to the Holy of Holies. That spoke of distance from God. When God said, "I will be their God, and they shall be my people," He was instead speaking of nearness.
The new covenant spoke of erasing sins, not PAINTING OVER them. In it, they finally could receive mercy and forgiveness and FORGETFULNESS from God. They weren't looking to only get to "ceremonial cleanness" anymore. Now they could receive moral cleansing and a clear conscience. My commentary sure fleshed all of this out.
Through all of this, it became apparent that Jesus' work was not just in saving believers from the penalty of sin (death), but actually from the power of sin, enabling us, with the Holy Spirit's help, to lead lives that are honoring to God.
Father, thanks for refreshing my understanding of this and for showing me the tremendous relief that a Jewish Christian would be feeling. What a burden lifted. What a perfect covenant. What a Savior!
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
Hebrews 9 -- It All Comes Together
WOW! This could only have come from God! It reminds me of the end of one of my "National Treasure" hunts, when everyone is finally able to "pull it all together", seeing how it all fits and why it was all necessary to
WOW! This could only have come from God! It reminds me of the end of one of my "National Treasure" hunts, when everyone is finally able to "pull it all together", seeing how it all fits and why it was all necessary to find to get to the treasure!
My commentary said that God had shown the writer deep spiritual truths about the details of the Day of Atonement mentioned in verses 6-7: "The Holy Spirit was teaching that sin had created the distance between man and God, that man must approach God through a mediator, and that the mediator could approach God only through the blood of a sacrificial victim. It was an object lesson to teach that the way into GOD'S PRESENCE was NOT yet opened for worshipers."
Likewise, for our sins to be completely paid or remitted, then our consciences would have to be free from the guilt of sin. This never happened with their sacrifices. Their sacrifices only dealt with ritual defilement -- technical offenses against religious ritual -- and never for intentional sins. "Their sacrifices were concerned with a people who were in covenant relationship with God. They were designed to maintain the people in a position of ritual purity so that they could worship. They had nothing to do with salvation or with cleansing from sin. The people were saved by faith in the Lord, on the basis of the work of Christ still future."
Their sacrifices were about outward defilement. Our inner defilement requires so much more.
"His blood cleanses the conscience from dead works to serve the Living God. It is... a moral renewal that purifies the conscience."
My commentary also pointed out three appearances of Christ in verses 24-28:
"Verse 26: He has appeared .... when He came to earth to save us from the PENALTY of sin (the past tense of salvation).
"Verse 24: He now appears ... His present ministry in the presence of God to save us from the power of sin (the present tense of salvation).
"Verse 28: He will appear.... This speaks of His imminent return when He will save us from the PRESENCE of sin (the future tense of salvation)."
Jesus, thank You for what You have already done for me in dying so that I might not die. Thank You for what You are doing, saving me from sin's power in my life, from Your place at God's right hand. And thank You for the promise that one day You will save me from the presence of sin by giving me a sinless resurrection body so that I will no longer have to bemoan the fact that I am still capable of hurting my relationship with God through my sin.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
Hebrews 10 -- Entering The Throneroom Unbidden
God is a personal God, not a distant, standoffish God. And He invites us to draw near.I thought of the story of Esther, and what it would mean for her to come, unbidden, before her own husband, the king. It would be for him to decide whet
God is a personal God, not a distant, standoffish God. And He invites us to draw near.
I thought of the story of Esther, and what it would mean for her to come, unbidden, before her own husband, the king. It would be for him to decide whether she would be granted audience or die for her insolence.
How is one to then approach the throneroom of the Sovereign of the Universe? Verse 22 says, "Let us come near to God with a sincere heart and a sure faith, because we have been made free from a guilty conscience, and our bodies have been washed with pure water."
My commentary says, "There is a fourfold description of how we should be spiritually groomed in entering the throneroom:
1) With a true heart ... our approach should be with utter sincerity.
2) In full assurance of faith ... with utter confidence in the promises of God and with the firm conviction that we shall have a gracious reception into His presence.
3) Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience ... When we trust Christ, we appropriate the value of His blood ... we "sprinkle" our hearts with it, just as the Israelites sprinkled their doors with the blood of the Passover lamb.
4) And our bodies washed with pure water ... Again, this is symbolic language. Our bodies represent our lives ... We are cleansed once for all from the guilt of sin by the death of Christ, but cleansed repeatedly from the defilement of sin by the Spirit through the word."
So what are the four requisites for entering God's presence? "Sincerity, assurance, salvation, and sanctification."
Speaking about verse 20, my commentary said, "Only through the mortal wounds of the Lamb can we go in. Every time we enter God's presence in prayer or worship, let us remember that the privilege was bought for us at tremendous cost."
Father, how lightly I often take the opportunity to pray and ask for Your help. How often I fail to esteem Your Son for the privilege He bought for me -- to enter into the throneroom of the Creator of the universe, unbidden, and dare to ask for anything. Please remind me that I can only do it because I am now not my own. I was bought for a price. Thank You for such an awesome privilege.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
Hebrews 11:1-6 A Mind-Expanding View of Faith
There's just WAY TOO MUCH GOOD STUFF HERE to cram a whole chapter into one day! The writer sets up almost a 3-D picture of what faith in God is all about. It certainly doesn't seem natural to the world to even acknowledge i
There's just WAY TOO MUCH GOOD STUFF HERE to cram a whole chapter into one day! The writer sets up almost a 3-D picture of what faith in God is all about. It certainly doesn't seem natural to the world to even acknowledge it, yet God created each of us with capacity for great faith, if we'll just exercise it.
These spiritual diamonds were sprinkled all through my commentary:
"Faith... makes things hoped for as real as if we already had them, and it provides unshakable evidence that the unseen, spiritual blessings of Christianity are absolutely certain and real."
"Faith is confidence in the trustworthiness of God."
"Faith must have some revelation from God, some promise of God as its foundation. It is not a leap in the dark."
"Faith begins where possibilities end. If it's possible, then there's no glory for God in it."
"Faith sees the promise, and looks to God alone; laughs at impossibilities and cries, "It shall be done!"
"Difficulties are food for faith to feed on."
"By faith, we understand... Jesus said to Martha, ' ... if you would believe you would see...' and John wrote, 'These things I have written to you who believe .... that you may know.' In spiritual matters, faith PRECEDES understanding."
"Sometime during his life Enoch must have received a promise from God that he would go to heaven without dying ... God promised and Enoch believed. It was the most sane, rational thing that Enoch could do; what is more reasonable than that the creature should believe his Creator?... Enoch walked with the invisible God for 300 years and then he walked into eternity... He had this testimony -- that he pleased God. The life of faith always pleases God; He LOVES to be TRUSTED."
"Faith is the only thing that gives God His proper place, and puts man in his place, too. It glorifies God exceedingly because it proves that we have more confidence in His eyesight than in our own."
"There is nothing about God that makes it impossible for man to believe. The difficulty is with the human will."
Father, as I walk through this roll-call of faith, thank You for preparing me with these great thought. Expand my understanding of my faith in You.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
Hebrews 11:7-40 Faith - The Movie
I kept getting a sense that God meant these verses to be the first inspirational video for the new Christian churches at that time. I could see in my mind each of the historical scenes which are remembered here, and I thought about how these sp
I kept getting a sense that God meant these verses to be the first inspirational video for the new Christian churches at that time. I could see in my mind each of the historical scenes which are remembered here, and I thought about how these spiritually-young Jewish Christians would grab hold of these stories from their past. As each storyline reached its end, suddenly "FAITH" would be stamped across the screen in big, block-style, blood-red letters. Over and over it was repeated. As they witnessed persecution and deprivation in their minds' eyes, it began to dawn on them -- This IS a life of faith. These heroes of my faith didn't see the promise fulfilled. But I HAVE! They struggled and survived. They never got their consciences cleansed as mine has been. "They weren't as privileged as we are. They lived on the other side of the cross; we live in the full glory of the cross. Yet how do our lives compare to theirs?" my commentary asks. If they could do it, with the cross so many years away in the future, why can't we live even BETTER lives of faith, having seen what happened at Calvary?
"Faith endowed men with strength beyond what was natural and enabled them to overcome in the face of insurmountable odds."
That's the kind of life I want, Father. That's the kind of faith I NEED. As the sidebar in my Bible states, "Faith with no effort is no faith at all." Grow me in faith, Father!
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
Hebrews 12 -- The Dark Graces
I think so many times when we hear of God's discipline, we think of it as God's punishment. But my commentary says that here the word chastisement means child training or education. "By remaining submissive to the chastening
I think so many times when we hear of God's discipline, we think of it as God's punishment. But my commentary says that here the word chastisement means child training or education. "By remaining submissive to the chastening of God, we permit His discipline to mold us into His image. If we try to short-circuit His dealings with us, He may have to teach us over a longer period of time using more instructive, and consequently more difficult methods. There are grades in the school of God, and promotion comes only when we have learned our lessons."
Like any good father, God wants the best for us. "God loves us too much to let us develop naturally."
"God's discipline (remember -- training) is always perfect. His love in infinite and His wisdom is infallible. His chastenings are never the result of whim, but always for our profit. Godliness can NEVER be produced OUTSIDE of God's school."
Most of us don't like hard times in our lives, but according to my commentary, there is great value in them. They are here referred to as the "dark graces". "I have learned far more about God and life and myself in the darkness of fear and failure than I have ever learned in the sunshine .... what one learns in the darkness one possesses FOREVER. The trying things which you fancy come between God and you will prove means of unity with Him, if you bear them humbly. Those things that overwhelm us and upset our pride, do MORE good than all that which excites and inspirits us."
Even C.H. Spurgeon said, "I am afraid that all the grace I have got out of my comfortable and easy times ... might almost lie on a penny. But the good that I have received from my sorrows and pains and griefs is altogether incalculable. Affliction is the best bit of furniture in my house!"
Verses 14 and 4 give us encouragement for making it through such "learning periods" -- "Try to live free from sin ... do not get tired and stop trying."
Father, thanks for teaching me to see you better in the tough times. Thanks for reminding me that my frustration may peak during such times and that I have to be on guard not to hurt the feelings of those closest to me. Help me to value the education I get during those rough times. Such perfect timing, Father!
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
Hebrews 13 -- Faith And Grace Revisited
I picked up some nuggets on faith and grace in chapter 13. Verse 7 speaks of copying the faith of those who taught us Christ's message. We can't copy what we can't see, and that also implies that others can't copy our fait
I picked up some nuggets on faith and grace in chapter 13. Verse 7 speaks of copying the faith of those who taught us Christ's message. We can't copy what we can't see, and that also implies that others can't copy our faith if they can't see it in action. My commentary describes it as "a faith that brings God into every move in life."
Verse 9 mentioned that our hearts should be strengthened by God' grace and nothing else. My commentary said, "The truth is that holiness is produced by grace, not by law....ritual cleanness is not the same thing as inward holiness.....Only God's grace can inspire and empower believers to live holy lives.
Father, the last few weeks have left me feeling run down, and more than once I've felt my anger and frustration leading me to say and think things I shouldn't. In those times, I haven't felt that I had a lot of inward holiness, and I'm sorry. Your word is helping me to get it back. Help me to clean off the world's grime from my eyes. Clear my vision. BE Thou my vision. I feel like I've been under the horse, still in the saddle, at full gallop. Pick me up, dust me off, and put me back on the horse. Help me not to let the affairs of this life buck me off again.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
James 1 -- Today's Assignment Is ....
God is challenging me to be more proactive with my quiet times this morning. It's almost as if I hear Him saying, "You're going to need this today. Write it down on your palm!"My commentary compared and contrasted two pe
God is challenging me to be more proactive with my quiet times this morning. It's almost as if I hear Him saying, "You're going to need this today. Write it down on your palm!"
My commentary compared and contrasted two people reading the Bible. One sees what he ought to be but quickly forgets and lives as if he is already perfect. "This type of self-satisfaction prevents spiritual progress. In contrast is the man who looks into the word of God and who habitually reduces it to PRACTICE."
It does little good for me to read what very well may be warnings and cautions from God for the day ahead and then ignore them. So what's the warning for today?
Holy trials vs. unholy temptations. "Holy trials are sent from God to test the reality of our faith ... Unholy temptations, which com from within ... lead to sin." I think it's very important to understand whatever it is we're up against as being on or the other.
"Unholy temptations are designed to bring out the worst in us. They do not come from God ... Man is always ready to shift responsibility for his sins .. Sin is not a sickness. It is a moral failure for which man must give account .. Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and ENTICED... Sin comes from within us, from our old, evil, fallen, unregenerate nature. Every one of us is tempted. We have vile lusts and impure appetites constantly urging us on in sin." We aren't helpless victims, though. We can kick such thought out of our mind, and we can call on the Lord for help.
"Instead of expelling the vile thought, we may encourage, nourish, and ENJOY it ... if we think about a forbidden act long enough, we will eventually do it...."
Blaming God instead of ourselves for our falling into sin is common, too -- asking Him: "Why have You made me this way?" I've done that. But my commentary say this is only a form of self-deception, since only good gifts come from God.
So what's today's assignment? "Let us test our faith in the subject of unholy temptation. Do we encourage evil thoughts to linger in our minds, or do we expel them quickly? When we sin, do we say that we couldn't help it? Do we blame God when we are tempted to sin?"
More of today's assignment, from verses 18-27:
"Hurry up and hear... We should be teachable by the Holy Spirit. We should be slow to speak...
We should be slow to wrath, and we must rule our spirit." We should also be meek. And "it's not enough to receive the implanted word; we must obey it. There must be a deep desire to hear God speaking to us and an unquestioning willingness to do whatever He says."
Father, as I read today, please rebuke me, teach me, and change me. Bridle my tongue. Open my ears. Give me victory over my temper. Help me to toss out any thought that's not of You. The test isn't now. It's tonight, when I see just how well I did obey what You taught me this morning.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
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