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timewithgod.blog-city.com — February 2008
Matthew 22 -- Knowing What You DON'T Know
I'd never really heard why the Sadducees didn't believe in resurrection until I read my commentary today: "Basically, they argued that the idea of resurrection posed insuperable difficulties, hence it was not reasonable, therefore
I'd never really heard why the Sadducees didn't believe in resurrection until I read my commentary today: "Basically, they argued that the idea of resurrection posed insuperable difficulties, hence it was not reasonable, therefore it was not true. Jesus answered that the difficulty was not in the doctrine but in their minds; they were ignorant of the Scriptures and the power of God.... The Bible never says the husband-wife relationship will be continued in heaven. While men will be recognized as men, and women as women, they will all be like angels in the sense that they neither marry nor are given in marriage. Secondly, they were ignorant of the power of God. If He could create men from dust, could He not as easily raise the dust of those who had died and refashion it into bodies of glory?"
Jesus then quoted Exodus 3:6, where God spoke of Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and ... Jacob. I'd always thought that the most important part of the verse was the worm "am" -- "I am" meaning "right now -- in this present state", as opposed to "I was", while they were alive.
My commentary fleshed it out, though, by showing that God, as a promise keeper, had made covenants with these men, but they died before the covenants were fulfilled. Since He cannot fail to keep His promises, the only conclusion we can draw is that He intends to raise them up at a later date to witness the promises fulfilled.
I find so many times that I must back off and look outside of myself as I read scripture, for I am prone to think, "Since I believe it that way, it must be true." It has to do with how we filter our life events. For example, I visited a banker at his office in Irving and commented on the red metal roof of the building. He said, "You obviously went to Texas Tech." Astounded, I said yes. He said, "The people who went to UT all tell us they like the color of our orange roof." Our perceptions can be different than others, so we must allow for the possibility that things may not be quite as we see them in the Bible. So it was with these religious leaders.
It thrills me when I have "a V8 moment", when I have to slap myself on the forehead and say, "Wow, so that's what that means!"
Keep me learning, Father. Peel back another layer each day, and keep Your word fresh before me. Show me how much I don't know to keep me seeking after more!
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
Matthew 23 -- Three Things That Make A Christian
Among all of the scathing rebukes Jesus leveled at the Pharisees and other religious leaders of that day, my commentary found someone who seemed to have boiled it all down quite well. H. G. Weston write:"[This chapter] is a declaration of
Among all of the scathing rebukes Jesus leveled at the Pharisees and other religious leaders of that day, my commentary found someone who seemed to have boiled it all down quite well. H. G. Weston write:
"[This chapter] is a declaration of the essential relations of man to God. Three things constitute a Christian:
--What he is
--What he believes
--What he does
Doctrine, experience, practice.
Man needs for his spiritual being three things:
--Life
--Instruction
--Guidance
Just what our Lord declares in the ten words of the Gospel -- "I am the way, the truth, and the life."
Acknowledge no man as Father, for no man can impart or sustain spiritual life; install no man as an infallible teacher; allow no one to assume the office of spiritual director. YOUR relation to God and to Christ is as CLOSE as that of any other person."
Father, I now that I am Your child. I believe that Your Son died for me. Please help me to live that out in my life every day.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
Matthew 24 -- When WE Are Sidelined
I've felt as though I have been sidelined over the last 4 days with the flu. I haven't even felt good enough to get up and read. Even now, it is still difficult.But perhaps that is where God needed me to get to before starting thi
I've felt as though I have been sidelined over the last 4 days with the flu. I haven't even felt good enough to get up and read. Even now, it is still difficult.
But perhaps that is where God needed me to get to before starting this chapter. It is so easy to get hung up about what's coming in the future for the world that chooses to ignore God's Son. The terrible descriptions are enough to make the flu sound good. But through it all, I have to remember that Christians will be sidelined before it all begins. The church -- the true believers in Christ -- will be removed from it all before it occurs.
So many seem to be awaiting the presentation of the Gospel to all nations before they imagine that Christ can return, but my commentary says about verse 14: "Verse 14 is often misused to show that Christ could not return for his Church at any moment because so many tribes have not yet heard the gospel. The difficulty is removed when we realize that this refers to His coming with His saints, rather than for His saints. And this refers to the gospel of the kingdom, not the gospel of the grace of God."
In fact, back in verses 6 & 7, my commentary said, "Actually, the next event in God's time schedule is the Rapture of the Church. There is NO prophecy to be fulfilled before then."
So while those who believe in Christ do not have to worry about this terrible period, we should definitely heed the greatest and second greatest commandments specified by Jesus and work to fulfill them by leading others to Christ, in order that they too may not have to worry about what's coming, either.
Father, in light of the fact that there appears to be no unfulfilled prophecies standing in the way of Christ's return, help me to feel the urgency to bring others to You through Your Son. Help me to love my "neighbors" enough to help them not have to endure what's coming for those who do not know You.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
Matthew 25 -- What We DO With What We're GIVEN
We can get ourselves into a lot of trouble by interpreting verses 14-30 in the wrong way. I've done so myself, by thinking of large returns in a short period of time as being very risky investments that perhaps the servants shouldn't ha
We can get ourselves into a lot of trouble by interpreting verses 14-30 in the wrong way. I've done so myself, by thinking of large returns in a short period of time as being very risky investments that perhaps the servants shouldn't have made. That's worldly thinking.
Instead, we have to appreciate the fact that Jesus is the Master, and the time period He will be looking at is from the day we are saved up until His return. Also, we have to remember that He gave each servant an amount He knew the servant could handle.
How embarrassed we would be to meet Jesus at His return with nothing to show for His kingdom but a hole in the ground. Also, if we think of what we are given to work with as being individuals to bring to Christ during our lifetimes, what a tremendous loss we will have incurred for the kingdom if we do nothing. If we truly love our Master, we will love those He sends us as He does, not wanting to leave them in their sin, but instead we should desire to do whatever it takes to create 'wealth" for the kingdom by bringing them in. The tremendous "return" often comes from compounding -- earning interest on the interest -- here that means that those we lead to Christ in turn lead others to Him!
Father, don't ever let me be satisfied with digging a hole to simply "bury" those You entrust to me. Help me to invest time in their lives, to bring them to You and to disciple them to be more like You. Then allow them to know the joy of doing the same!
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
Matthew 26 -- His Revulsion At Taking On Sin
As my commentary states so well, this is holy ground -- that time in the Garden of Gethsemane. Many have taught that Jesus' struggling prayers represented the unwillingness of His flesh to accept His death. But my commentary thinks ot
As my commentary states so well, this is holy ground -- that time in the Garden of Gethsemane. Many have taught that Jesus' struggling prayers represented the unwillingness of His flesh to accept His death. But my commentary thinks otherwise. It said:
"He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. He frankly told Peter, James, and John that His Soul was exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. This was doubtless the unspeakable revulsion of His holy soul as He anticipated becoming a sin-offering for us. We who are sinful cannot conceive what it meant to Him, the Sinless One, to be made sin for US."
It also mentioned that when He prayed that the cup pass from Him, His prayer was rhetorical -- not intended to elicit an answer but to teach us a lesson. "Jesus was saying in effect, 'My Father, if there is any other way by which ungodly sinners can be saved than by My going to the cross, reveal that way now! But in all of this, I want it known that I desire nothing contrary to Your will.' What was the answer? There was none; the heavens were silent. By this eloquent silence we know that there was no other way for God to justify sinners than for Christ, the sinless Savior, to die as our Substitute."
Father, forgive me for ever thinking that even in His flesh Jesus might have struggled against Your will. Thank You for helping me understand that utter revulsion He felt toward taking upon Himself my sin. I know why He felt it. Thank You that He didn't flinch from the stench of it, but that He faithfully carried it to the cross, where You nailed it for all eternity.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
Matthew 27 -- What He Had CREATED
My commentary contained a poem or hymn by F.W. Pitt regarding my Savior who died that day and His part in preparing the instruments of His own death. I'd never heard it presented so well:"His holy fingers made the boughWhich grew the t
My commentary contained a poem or hymn by F.W. Pitt regarding my Savior who died that day and His part in preparing the instruments of His own death. I'd never heard it presented so well:
"His holy fingers made the bough
Which grew the thorns that crowned His brow.
The nails that pierced His hands were mined
In secret places He designed;
He made the forests whence there sprung
The tree on which His body hung.
He died upon a cross of wood,
Yet made the hill on which it stood.
The sky that darkened o'er His head
By Him above the earth was spread.
The sin that hid from Him its face
By His decree was poised in space;
The spear that spilled His precious blood
Was tempered in the fires of God.
The grave in which His form was laid
Was hewn in rock His hands had made..."
I first thought of what He was thinking seeing what He had made being used to bring about His death. But then I thought back to when it was all made, and how Jesus Christ, as the agent of creation, knew as He FORMED each item, that He was creating what would be used to kill Him.
Father, Your love for us is great -- much more than we could ever deserve. Savior, thank You for dying for me, and for even creating the means to carry it out. Such love!
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
Matthew 28 -- NOT "The Great SUGGESTION"
In its usual way, my commentary cuts right through to the chase: "The Great Commission contains three commands, not suggestions."As Russ said last night at youth, "We'd certainly pay attention to the last thing someone we lov
In its usual way, my commentary cuts right through to the chase: "The Great Commission contains three commands, not suggestions."
As Russ said last night at youth, "We'd certainly pay attention to the last thing someone we loved said to us before he died." And how much more so we should pay attention to the last thing Jesus said to us before going back to Heaven.
Sometime back, I'd written a paraphrase of one part of The Great Commission in the margins of my Bible. I don't even know where it came from. It said:
Jesus is saying, "I'm sending you out to recruit WORSHIPERS for Me." Do we feel that He's worthy of worship from everyone or just from those we look at on Sunday morning? Are they not worthy of us going after them? Are we satisfied with Jesus receiving a limited amount of worship?
Father, I hope that with every year that passes, I can say that I've improved at obeying this command, and that I'm treating it as a command and not as merely a suggestion. Jesus, You ARE worthy of our utmost worship, and I want to recruit worshipers for You. Thank You for the awesome command that I teach others more about You. Help me to never tire of doing that. I love You!
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
Exodus 1 & 2 -- I Wonder How Moses Felt About Himself?
You'd think that Moses would have had an identity crisis. His real parents had put him into a floating basket on the Nile. His adopted mother, Pharaoh's daughter, wanted to "keep" him, but couldn't provide the milk h
You'd think that Moses would have had an identity crisis. His real parents had put him into a floating basket on the Nile. His adopted mother, Pharaoh's daughter, wanted to "keep" him, but couldn't provide the milk he needed, so she "gave him up", letting his bio mother raise him until he could be weaned. Then he moved from a slave's home into a palace. Verse 11 makes it sound like he might have been oblivious to what was happening with his people -- at least until he'd seen for himself their "bitter" life, as 1:14 called it.
Moses probably didn't look like an Egyptian, due to his Jewish genes, but then he appeared not to be accepted by the Jewish population either, since the Jewish man didn't even seem to be appreciative of him after seeing him murder a cruel Egyptian taskmaster.
Moses was so much like us when he thought, "Now everyone knows what I did," and he ran away to Midian.
My commentary says that "his zeal outran his discretion". He wanted to help, but it wasn't in God's timing. "God had predicted that His people would be in the land of Egypt as slaves for 400 years, so Moses' actions were forty years premature. He needed more training in the solitude of the desert," it said.
So he ran away from both of his heritages, yet right into the will of God, where he learned to herd real sheep as a precursor to herding God's people across the wilderness for the same amount of time that he had already lived. 80 years of preparation before his lifework was to begin.
Father, I pray that You will direct my zeal, and that You will place me where You want me to be at each moment. Set me up with divine appointments so that I can tell others what You've done in my life already.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
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