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timewithgod.blog-city.com — June 2010
Romans 6 -- Where We Should See Ourselves
Romans 5 sure rekindles the fires of holiness and makes a person want to clean house of any sins that have managed to creep back in on a regular basis. This chapter, I think, helps us to get rid of wrongheaded thinking about how we do that.&nbs
Romans 5 sure rekindles the fires of holiness and makes a person want to clean house of any sins that have managed to creep back in on a regular basis. This chapter, I think, helps us to get rid of wrongheaded thinking about how we do that. My commentary drew me to verse 11. We might intellectually be able to see "what is true of us positionally [yes, we are dead to sin positionally]. Now he turns to the practical outworking of this truth in our lives. We are to reckon ourselves to be dead to sin," we know. "To reckon here means to accept what God says about us as true and to live in the light of it."
Here comes the kicker:
"It means believing what God says in Romans 6:6 [stop and read it] and knowing it as a fact in one's own personal salvation. This demands a definite act of faith, which results in a fixed attitude toward ‘the old man'. We will see him where God sees him - on the Cross, put to death with Christ. Faith will operate continuously to keep him where GRACE PLACED him. This involves US very deeply, for it means that our hearty consent has been given to God's condemnation of and judgment upon that old "I" as altogether unworthy to live and as wholly stripped of any further claims upon us. The first step in a walk of practical holiness is this reckoning upon the crucifixion of the old man. We reckon ourselves dead to sin when we respond to temptation as a dead man would."
In other words, we can't see ourselves as able to slip back into that "old man" like putting our feet into some comfortable old slippers. Instead, we've got to, with every temptation, place our gaze back on that cross and see our old self dead, next to Christ. We've got to see that old shell of a life, with all of the old sinful ways of living we once clung to, now lifeless and fitfully hanging in death upon that cross, and each time remember that there by the grace of God I no longer go. When we see the temptation, we don't let ourselves once again "but the lie" of all the supposed good feelings we'll supposedly get from it. Instead, we remember God's truth - that the pay we earned from those sins was death, and that's where our old self is - dead on the cross, and we don't want to go back to that decay.
Father, I suppose that is one of the toughest things for us - to feel so unholy at times when we know our position with You. Please shake me to my boots with that image of my old self dead on the cross with Christ, covered in my sins. Remind me often of the incredible cost of my freedom, so that I won't go back to that old self again.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Here comes the kicker:
"It means believing what God says in Romans 6:6 [stop and read it] and knowing it as a fact in one's own personal salvation. This demands a definite act of faith, which results in a fixed attitude toward ‘the old man'. We will see him where God sees him - on the Cross, put to death with Christ. Faith will operate continuously to keep him where GRACE PLACED him. This involves US very deeply, for it means that our hearty consent has been given to God's condemnation of and judgment upon that old "I" as altogether unworthy to live and as wholly stripped of any further claims upon us. The first step in a walk of practical holiness is this reckoning upon the crucifixion of the old man. We reckon ourselves dead to sin when we respond to temptation as a dead man would."
In other words, we can't see ourselves as able to slip back into that "old man" like putting our feet into some comfortable old slippers. Instead, we've got to, with every temptation, place our gaze back on that cross and see our old self dead, next to Christ. We've got to see that old shell of a life, with all of the old sinful ways of living we once clung to, now lifeless and fitfully hanging in death upon that cross, and each time remember that there by the grace of God I no longer go. When we see the temptation, we don't let ourselves once again "but the lie" of all the supposed good feelings we'll supposedly get from it. Instead, we remember God's truth - that the pay we earned from those sins was death, and that's where our old self is - dead on the cross, and we don't want to go back to that decay.
Father, I suppose that is one of the toughest things for us - to feel so unholy at times when we know our position with You. Please shake me to my boots with that image of my old self dead on the cross with Christ, covered in my sins. Remind me often of the incredible cost of my freedom, so that I won't go back to that old self again.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Romans 7 -- That's ME, God. I Need You!
Paul lets us know that he's not some high and mighty spiritual guru. He's not come to a point where his "want-to's" match his actions. And the example he uses is his thought life. To everyone else, a Christian
Paul lets us know that he's not some high and mighty spiritual guru. He's not come to a point where his "want-to's" match his actions. And the example he uses is his thought life. To everyone else, a Christian might appear to be holy and godly. But having a pure thought life is just as important as not committing the act itself.
Unfortunately, our inherited sin nature just can't wait to find something else that we're instructed not to do. For then, we begin to think about it and dwell on it, and wonder about it. Sin causes it to soon take over our thinking.
This doesn't excuse sin by any means. It simply shows us how sin works. If we find ourselves hating ourselves for what we find ourselves thinking and doing, that's great! It serves as evidence that God is at work within us. Time and time again, when we fail over and over, we should come to the conclusion that we can't fix OURSELVES. As my commentary put it, we are "casting our anchor inside the boat."
It also said that when we do sin, it is not with the desire of the new man. Indwelling sin incites us to do what the law prohibits. It tricks us into thinking that the forbidden fruit isn't all that bad, that it will bring happiness and that we can get away with it. "It suggests that God is withholding pleasures from us that are for our good."
Boy, I've felt all of that before, and I still do at times. But the misery I find myself in when I sin is one of the surest signs that I know Christ and agree with Him about my sin.
I cannot be satisfied that the covetous thoughts Paul mentioned thankfully haven't translated into actions. I have to agree with God that even those thoughts are wrong and sinful. Then I have to continually ask for power over temptation, to have God assist me in a diet of the mind, understanding that there are simply certain things I cannot allow myself to sample, even if only in thoughts, for our sin nature would quickly cause us to dwell on it until we want to make it happen.
Father, thank You for helping Paul to show his humanity here. Yes, I'm just like him. I hate the things that I find myself wanting to do. I agree with You on what is sin. And I, too, need Your strength CONSTANTLY to keep sin at bay in my life. Please grant me that strength every minute of every day.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Unfortunately, our inherited sin nature just can't wait to find something else that we're instructed not to do. For then, we begin to think about it and dwell on it, and wonder about it. Sin causes it to soon take over our thinking.
This doesn't excuse sin by any means. It simply shows us how sin works. If we find ourselves hating ourselves for what we find ourselves thinking and doing, that's great! It serves as evidence that God is at work within us. Time and time again, when we fail over and over, we should come to the conclusion that we can't fix OURSELVES. As my commentary put it, we are "casting our anchor inside the boat."
It also said that when we do sin, it is not with the desire of the new man. Indwelling sin incites us to do what the law prohibits. It tricks us into thinking that the forbidden fruit isn't all that bad, that it will bring happiness and that we can get away with it. "It suggests that God is withholding pleasures from us that are for our good."
Boy, I've felt all of that before, and I still do at times. But the misery I find myself in when I sin is one of the surest signs that I know Christ and agree with Him about my sin.
I cannot be satisfied that the covetous thoughts Paul mentioned thankfully haven't translated into actions. I have to agree with God that even those thoughts are wrong and sinful. Then I have to continually ask for power over temptation, to have God assist me in a diet of the mind, understanding that there are simply certain things I cannot allow myself to sample, even if only in thoughts, for our sin nature would quickly cause us to dwell on it until we want to make it happen.
Father, thank You for helping Paul to show his humanity here. Yes, I'm just like him. I hate the things that I find myself wanting to do. I agree with You on what is sin. And I, too, need Your strength CONSTANTLY to keep sin at bay in my life. Please grant me that strength every minute of every day.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Romans 8:1-17 Letting Go Of The Worst Part Of Me
Verse 1 makes it plain - there is no divine condemnation as far as our sin is concerned for Christians. "We are in Christ and therefore are as free from condemnation as He is," my commentary says. It also says there is no need f
Verse 1 makes it plain - there is no divine condemnation as far as our sin is concerned for Christians. "We are in Christ and therefore are as free from condemnation as He is," my commentary says. It also says there is no need for the kind of self-condemnation Paul described in the last chapter.
I grasped onto what my commentary said regarding verse 3: "Christ died not only for the sins which we commit, but also for our sin nature. In other words, He died for what we ARE just as much as for what we have done. In so doing, He condemned sin in the flesh. Our sin nature is never said to be forgiven; it is condemned. It is the sins that we have committed that are forgiven."
Someday, we will stand before God in our resurrection bodies, and our condemned sin nature will have been finally dealt with by Him. We will no longer find ourselves struggling in the battle between the flesh and the spirit. Until then, that sin nature within us stands condemned by God. In other words, in the flesh, we can never be seen as sinless. My commentary said, "The mind of the flesh is not subject to the law of God. It wants its own will, not God's will. It wants to be its own master, not to bow to His rule. It's nature is such that it cannot be subject to God's law. It is not only the inclination that is missing, but the power as well."
We probably should marvel at our craving for that fleshly nature of our bodies. "We owe nothing to the flesh, to live according to its dictates. The old, evil, corrupt nature has been nothing but a drag. It has never done us one bit of good. If Christ had not saved us, the flesh would have dragged us down to the deepest, darkest, hottest places in hell. Why should we feel obligated to such an enemy?" my commentary asked.
Father, everything about these bodies of flesh and the minds that control them seek to bring us down. Please stoke our Christ-centered hearts to not sell out to our fleshly nature. You condemn it. Yet in Your grace, You forgive us our sins. What a loving God!
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
I grasped onto what my commentary said regarding verse 3: "Christ died not only for the sins which we commit, but also for our sin nature. In other words, He died for what we ARE just as much as for what we have done. In so doing, He condemned sin in the flesh. Our sin nature is never said to be forgiven; it is condemned. It is the sins that we have committed that are forgiven."
Someday, we will stand before God in our resurrection bodies, and our condemned sin nature will have been finally dealt with by Him. We will no longer find ourselves struggling in the battle between the flesh and the spirit. Until then, that sin nature within us stands condemned by God. In other words, in the flesh, we can never be seen as sinless. My commentary said, "The mind of the flesh is not subject to the law of God. It wants its own will, not God's will. It wants to be its own master, not to bow to His rule. It's nature is such that it cannot be subject to God's law. It is not only the inclination that is missing, but the power as well."
We probably should marvel at our craving for that fleshly nature of our bodies. "We owe nothing to the flesh, to live according to its dictates. The old, evil, corrupt nature has been nothing but a drag. It has never done us one bit of good. If Christ had not saved us, the flesh would have dragged us down to the deepest, darkest, hottest places in hell. Why should we feel obligated to such an enemy?" my commentary asked.
Father, everything about these bodies of flesh and the minds that control them seek to bring us down. Please stoke our Christ-centered hearts to not sell out to our fleshly nature. You condemn it. Yet in Your grace, You forgive us our sins. What a loving God!
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Romans 8:18-39 WE Will Have Glory, TOO
The Bible has a lot to say about our future glory as God's children. My knee-jerk reaction has always been that humility before God is always called for, and the glory is all HIS. But there's an inkling of that first part that beg
The Bible has a lot to say about our future glory as God's children. My knee-jerk reaction has always been that humility before God is always called for, and the glory is all HIS. But there's an inkling of that first part that begs consideration in these verses:
"The sufferings we have now are nothing compared to the great glory that will be shown to us. EVERYTHING GOD MADE is waiting WITH EXCITEMENT for God to show HIS CHILDREN'S GLORY completely."
"We know that in everything God works for the good of those who love Him. They are the people He CALLED, because that was His plan. God knew them before He made the world, and He decided that they would be like His Son ...God planned for them to be like His Son; and those He planned to be like His Son, He also CALLED; and those He called, He also made right with Him; and those He made right, He also GLORIFIED."
Just as God is proud of His Son, He's also proud of those He created to be like His Son. And He has positionally glorified them already. The whole rest of Creation - rocks, water, mountains, forests ... everything - knows this already and strains to see it come to pass in the visible realm. Man's sin fundamentally changed Creation as it once was when the world was created, and that Creation has been muted and unable to glorify God ever since. But one day God will make everything new again, and the glory He's already given us will shine forth and the very rocks will sing what they've waited millennia to sing.
Father, I feel far from deserving of any glory, yet I must remember that I am Yours, and Your glory spills over to everything You own. Please help me to lead a life that reflects Your glory to others I meet.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
"The sufferings we have now are nothing compared to the great glory that will be shown to us. EVERYTHING GOD MADE is waiting WITH EXCITEMENT for God to show HIS CHILDREN'S GLORY completely."
"We know that in everything God works for the good of those who love Him. They are the people He CALLED, because that was His plan. God knew them before He made the world, and He decided that they would be like His Son ...God planned for them to be like His Son; and those He planned to be like His Son, He also CALLED; and those He called, He also made right with Him; and those He made right, He also GLORIFIED."
Just as God is proud of His Son, He's also proud of those He created to be like His Son. And He has positionally glorified them already. The whole rest of Creation - rocks, water, mountains, forests ... everything - knows this already and strains to see it come to pass in the visible realm. Man's sin fundamentally changed Creation as it once was when the world was created, and that Creation has been muted and unable to glorify God ever since. But one day God will make everything new again, and the glory He's already given us will shine forth and the very rocks will sing what they've waited millennia to sing.
Father, I feel far from deserving of any glory, yet I must remember that I am Yours, and Your glory spills over to everything You own. Please help me to lead a life that reflects Your glory to others I meet.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Romans 9 -- Why ME, God??
It seems that any time humans find themselves on the short end of the stick, we first start blaming God. Paul does a masterful job of showing why this is wrong, and I loved how my commentary described it all. First, verses 19-21: &q
It seems that any time humans find themselves on the short end of the stick, we first start blaming God. Paul does a masterful job of showing why this is wrong, and I loved how my commentary described it all. First, verses 19-21: "You are only human, and human beings have no right to question God. An object should not ask the person who made it, "Why did you make me like this?"
My commentary takes this and uses it to show God's absolute sovereignty over our lives, and it takes away any thought of unfairness on God's part:
"Paul uses the illustration of the potter and the clay to vindicate the sovereignty of God. The potter comes into His shop one day and sees a pile of formless clay on the floor. He picks up a handful of clay, puts it on His wheel, and fashions a beautiful vessel. Does He have a right to do that? The potter, of course, is God ... The clay is sinful, lost humanity. If the potter left it alone, it would all be sent to hell. He would be absolutely just and fair if He left it alone. But instead, He sovereignly selects a handful of sinners, saves them by His grace, and conforms them to the image of His Son. Does He have the right to do that? Remember, He is not arbitrarily dooming others to hell. They are already doomed by their own willfulness and unbelief."
If we reach the point in our lives where we are so disgusted with ourselves that we find ourselves asking, "Why did You make me like this?", we must stop and realize that our OWN choices and our OWN sins GOT us there, not God's election. Instead, we should marvel that the sovereign God should choose to draw us to Him, sinners that we are, and we should say, "Why did the Lord choose me?" That's the question.
Father, thank You for settling that issue for me. When I find myself marveling that You chose me, that's the very reason I should praise You for eternity. For I have done nothing to deserve Your grace and mercy!
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
My commentary takes this and uses it to show God's absolute sovereignty over our lives, and it takes away any thought of unfairness on God's part:
"Paul uses the illustration of the potter and the clay to vindicate the sovereignty of God. The potter comes into His shop one day and sees a pile of formless clay on the floor. He picks up a handful of clay, puts it on His wheel, and fashions a beautiful vessel. Does He have a right to do that? The potter, of course, is God ... The clay is sinful, lost humanity. If the potter left it alone, it would all be sent to hell. He would be absolutely just and fair if He left it alone. But instead, He sovereignly selects a handful of sinners, saves them by His grace, and conforms them to the image of His Son. Does He have the right to do that? Remember, He is not arbitrarily dooming others to hell. They are already doomed by their own willfulness and unbelief."
If we reach the point in our lives where we are so disgusted with ourselves that we find ourselves asking, "Why did You make me like this?", we must stop and realize that our OWN choices and our OWN sins GOT us there, not God's election. Instead, we should marvel that the sovereign God should choose to draw us to Him, sinners that we are, and we should say, "Why did the Lord choose me?" That's the question.
Father, thank You for settling that issue for me. When I find myself marveling that You chose me, that's the very reason I should praise You for eternity. For I have done nothing to deserve Your grace and mercy!
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Romans 10 -- What You Find When You Aren't Looking
Paul was writing about what his Jewish brothers were not doing, but these words speak so very well to modern-day non-Jewish people. "They really try to follow God, but they do not know the right way ... They tried to make THEMSELVES right
Paul was writing about what his Jewish brothers were not doing, but these words speak so very well to modern-day non-Jewish people. "They really try to follow God, but they do not know the right way ... They tried to make THEMSELVES right in their own way." He's speaking of the fruitless struggle of trying to earn our way to heaven.
I can well remember a time after college when I'd allowed myself to get so far from God that I couldn't seem to find anything about Him that I needed. Perhaps God was judiciously blinding me. Needless to say, it came as a shock when I read in this chapter, "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart."
I remember thinking, "How can it be near me, and even in me, when I don't find it there?" My commentary greatly simplifies it this way in the next few verses: Saying "Jesus is LORD" and believing it in your heart is taking ownership of the Incarnation - believing that God did indeed come into this world as a human, to save us and to become the Boss of our lives, if we will let Him. That's the first part. Believing in your HEART that God raised Jesus from the dead is the second part. Why is it so important? It's because God's faithfulness and righteousness would not allow the sinless One to remain in the grave. The wages of sin is death. Jesus didn't sin, so God couldn't LEAVE Him in the grave. Saying that you believe in the resurrection is saying that you trust in Jesus' sinlessness. Without that, we would have no sinless substitute for our sins.
Verse 10 says, "We believe with our hearts." It's not just a matter of our intellects saying, "Yes, Jesus was a good man." Instead, with our whole being we have to genuinely accept what He did for us. That makes us right with God - believing in what His Son did for us.
A person could easily find themselves marveling at all this - at how they stumbled upon it, and they could wonder if it really IS true. Thousands of years ago, Isaiah provided that answer: God says, "I was found by those who were not asking Me for help. I made myself known to people who were not looking for Me."
The answer is that we didn't just stumble upon all this. God made Himself known to us FOR JUST THIS PURPOSE - that we can realize His love for us, accept the method He developed to make us right with Him, and most importantly, He wants us to let Him be LORD of our lives - the Boss who will show us how to live a life that exhibits our thankfulness for all He's done for us.
Father, I watched You do all of that for me, and years later I watched Your love pour out for my boys as You sent me halfway around the world so that You could bring them into a relationship with You as well. Keep it going, Father. Let this chain of faith continue unbroken.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
I can well remember a time after college when I'd allowed myself to get so far from God that I couldn't seem to find anything about Him that I needed. Perhaps God was judiciously blinding me. Needless to say, it came as a shock when I read in this chapter, "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart."
I remember thinking, "How can it be near me, and even in me, when I don't find it there?" My commentary greatly simplifies it this way in the next few verses: Saying "Jesus is LORD" and believing it in your heart is taking ownership of the Incarnation - believing that God did indeed come into this world as a human, to save us and to become the Boss of our lives, if we will let Him. That's the first part. Believing in your HEART that God raised Jesus from the dead is the second part. Why is it so important? It's because God's faithfulness and righteousness would not allow the sinless One to remain in the grave. The wages of sin is death. Jesus didn't sin, so God couldn't LEAVE Him in the grave. Saying that you believe in the resurrection is saying that you trust in Jesus' sinlessness. Without that, we would have no sinless substitute for our sins.
Verse 10 says, "We believe with our hearts." It's not just a matter of our intellects saying, "Yes, Jesus was a good man." Instead, with our whole being we have to genuinely accept what He did for us. That makes us right with God - believing in what His Son did for us.
A person could easily find themselves marveling at all this - at how they stumbled upon it, and they could wonder if it really IS true. Thousands of years ago, Isaiah provided that answer: God says, "I was found by those who were not asking Me for help. I made myself known to people who were not looking for Me."
The answer is that we didn't just stumble upon all this. God made Himself known to us FOR JUST THIS PURPOSE - that we can realize His love for us, accept the method He developed to make us right with Him, and most importantly, He wants us to let Him be LORD of our lives - the Boss who will show us how to live a life that exhibits our thankfulness for all He's done for us.
Father, I watched You do all of that for me, and years later I watched Your love pour out for my boys as You sent me halfway around the world so that You could bring them into a relationship with You as well. Keep it going, Father. Let this chain of faith continue unbroken.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Romans 11 -- Why Did You Shut My Mind To Your Truths, Father? Oh!
"The ones God chose DID become right with Him. The others were made stubborn and refused to listen to God. As it is written in the Scriptures: ‘God gave the people a dull mind so they could not understand. He closed
"The ones God chose DID become right with Him. The others were made stubborn and refused to listen to God. As it is written in the Scriptures: ‘God gave the people a dull mind so they could not understand. He closed their eyes so they could not see and their ears so they could not hear. This continues until today."
I remember once feeling mad at God about that. I thought, "It's His fault if they don't come to Christ. But that was wrong-headed thinking.
Paul is speaking about "godly" Jews - God's chosen people, who had not believed in Jesus. They refused to see the value of His Son's death for their sins. They were trying to get to heaven the old-fashioned way - by earning it.
I suppose what seems so unfair is that God's power is so strong that no one has a chance of resisting it or overcoming it unless He lets them.
The sidebar in my Bible speaks to God's sovereignty in this matter: "The fact that God has chosen some to be saved does not mean that He has chosen the rest to be lost ... Does God have a right to stoop down and take a handful of already doomed clay and fashion a vessel of beauty out of it? Of course He does ... God's sovereignty is never exercised in condemning men who ought to be saved, but rather it has resulted in the salvation of men who ought to be lost ... The real question of a believer is not, Does the sovereign God have the right to choose people to be saved? Rather, it is, Why did He choose me? This should make a person a worship for all eternity!"
Just because we can't fathom this doesn't mean it's any less true. It all harkens back to verses 31-32 of this chapter: "This happened so that they can also receive mercy from Him. God has given all people over to their stubborn ways ..." Why? Here comes the answer: " .... So that He can show mercy to all."
Father, how arrogant we've been - to think that we can earn our way to heaven. Thank You for closing my mind for a time to Your truths, so that I could see just how sinful I am, and so that You could show me MERCY. It made it mean all the more to me!
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
I remember once feeling mad at God about that. I thought, "It's His fault if they don't come to Christ. But that was wrong-headed thinking.
Paul is speaking about "godly" Jews - God's chosen people, who had not believed in Jesus. They refused to see the value of His Son's death for their sins. They were trying to get to heaven the old-fashioned way - by earning it.
I suppose what seems so unfair is that God's power is so strong that no one has a chance of resisting it or overcoming it unless He lets them.
The sidebar in my Bible speaks to God's sovereignty in this matter: "The fact that God has chosen some to be saved does not mean that He has chosen the rest to be lost ... Does God have a right to stoop down and take a handful of already doomed clay and fashion a vessel of beauty out of it? Of course He does ... God's sovereignty is never exercised in condemning men who ought to be saved, but rather it has resulted in the salvation of men who ought to be lost ... The real question of a believer is not, Does the sovereign God have the right to choose people to be saved? Rather, it is, Why did He choose me? This should make a person a worship for all eternity!"
Just because we can't fathom this doesn't mean it's any less true. It all harkens back to verses 31-32 of this chapter: "This happened so that they can also receive mercy from Him. God has given all people over to their stubborn ways ..." Why? Here comes the answer: " .... So that He can show mercy to all."
Father, how arrogant we've been - to think that we can earn our way to heaven. Thank You for closing my mind for a time to Your truths, so that I could see just how sinful I am, and so that You could show me MERCY. It made it mean all the more to me!
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Romans 12 -- Three Keys To Knowing God's Will
Paul tells us to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. We're to make an offering our of lives, and when we give this offering, we are to do so in a way that is only for Him and pleasing to Him - as our act of w
Paul tells us to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. We're to make an offering our of lives, and when we give this offering, we are to do so in a way that is only for Him and pleasing to Him - as our act of worship. My commentary says, "Our bodies stand for all our members, AND by extension, our entire lives." It also says that our TOTAL commitment to God is very reasonable for us to offer -- since Christ died for us, the least we can do is to live for Him.
We're also to be "transformed by the renewing of our mind." My commentary says: "We should think the way God thinks ... then we can experience the direct guidance of God in our lives."
So many seem to feel that doing God's will for our lives is somewhat akin to a prison sentence at hard labor - being involved constantly in things we'd rather not be doing. But, when we renew our mind, we will find that His will is the very thing we'd want to be doing!
It point out three keys then for knowing God's will: A yielded body, a separated life, and a transformed mind. That takes a work of grace in our lives, with God giving us the empowerment to live such a life.
Father, I've certainly noticed that when I backslide in any of these areas, it causes me to lose sight of Your plans for my life. Please give me the strength to stay on point in each of these areas, reserving myself for You alone.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
We're also to be "transformed by the renewing of our mind." My commentary says: "We should think the way God thinks ... then we can experience the direct guidance of God in our lives."
So many seem to feel that doing God's will for our lives is somewhat akin to a prison sentence at hard labor - being involved constantly in things we'd rather not be doing. But, when we renew our mind, we will find that His will is the very thing we'd want to be doing!
It point out three keys then for knowing God's will: A yielded body, a separated life, and a transformed mind. That takes a work of grace in our lives, with God giving us the empowerment to live such a life.
Father, I've certainly noticed that when I backslide in any of these areas, it causes me to lose sight of Your plans for my life. Please give me the strength to stay on point in each of these areas, reserving myself for You alone.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Romans 13 -- Thank You For The LAST Verse
I wondered as I read this chapter if it turned Paul's stomach to write some of the stuff in here about respecting the government, as he was listening to the Holy Spirit reveal God's will. My commentary said that Nero was the ruler when
I wondered as I read this chapter if it turned Paul's stomach to write some of the stuff in here about respecting the government, as he was listening to the Holy Spirit reveal God's will. My commentary said that Nero was the ruler when Paul wrote it, and he was known to have dipped Christians in tar and then to have ignited them to use as living torches to illuminate his orgies. I guess we think we have it bad today!
Thankfully, God directed me to the last verse: "But clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ and forget about satisfying your sinful self." The older version of that last phrase read, "making provision for the flesh." My commentary says, "We make provision for the flesh when we buy things that are associated with temptation, when we make it EASY for ourselves to sin, when we give a higher priority to the physical than to the spiritual. We should not indulge the flesh even a LITTLE. Rather, we should give no chances to the flesh to have its fling."
Wow! That pretty well nails it. If we don't even buy stuff associated with the temptation, then temptation will have a much rougher time getting started.
Father, I know that Satan always tries to build on the little stuff, for he knows that he must ease us into buying the lie. Thank You for showing me how important it is to keep away from even a hint of sin.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Thankfully, God directed me to the last verse: "But clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ and forget about satisfying your sinful self." The older version of that last phrase read, "making provision for the flesh." My commentary says, "We make provision for the flesh when we buy things that are associated with temptation, when we make it EASY for ourselves to sin, when we give a higher priority to the physical than to the spiritual. We should not indulge the flesh even a LITTLE. Rather, we should give no chances to the flesh to have its fling."
Wow! That pretty well nails it. If we don't even buy stuff associated with the temptation, then temptation will have a much rougher time getting started.
Father, I know that Satan always tries to build on the little stuff, for he knows that he must ease us into buying the lie. Thank You for showing me how important it is to keep away from even a hint of sin.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Romans 14 -- Far Be It From Me ...
Although the chapter seems to be dealing mostly with not judging another Christian regarding indifferent matters, there was a lot that I noticed that just flat out spoke to me as an individual. From my commentary, I read:"The lordship of C
Although the chapter seems to be dealing mostly with not judging another Christian regarding indifferent matters, there was a lot that I noticed that just flat out spoke to me as an individual. From my commentary, I read:
"The lordship of Christ enters into every aspect of a believer's life. We don't live to ourselves but to the Lord. We don't die to ourselves but to the Lord... Everything we do in life is subject to Christ's scrutiny and approval. We test things by how they appear in His presence ... Christ died and rose and lives again so that He might be our Lord, and that we might be His WILLING subjects, gladly rendering to Him the devotion of our grateful hearts ... What really counts in the kingdom of God is ... spiritual realities ... It isn't what a man eats or doesn't eat that matters. It is a holy life that wins God's honor and man's approval ... God is doing a work in the life of each one of His children. It is frightening to think of hindering that work ..."
Pulling it all together, I'm able to see not just God at work in me, but God at work in my fellow believers. As far as matters of conscience are concerned (not matters of sin but of indifference) far be it from me to judge what God has revealed to them. And never should I hinder His work in them by arguing about trivial things. I can wait for Him to straighten out my thinking in Heaven.
Father, only someone as great as You could make all of this unfinished business work out for Your glory. Don't let me stand in the way of it, Father.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
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