Archives - September 2009, Part 1, from www.timewithgod.blog-city.com

timewithgod.blog-city.com — September 2009

Luke 11 -- What's On The INSIDE

God seemed to be sewing with a thread that appeared and reappeared several times today.  I first noticed it in Jesus’ response to the simple request of His disciples to teach them to pray:  “Father … do not cause us to be

God seemed to be sewing with a thread that appeared and reappeared several times today.  I first noticed it in Jesus’ response to the simple request of His disciples to teach them to pray:  “Father … do not cause us to be tempted.”  My commentary says about verse 4:  “Here the thought seems to be that we should be constantly aware of our own PRONENESS TO WANDER AND FALL INTO SIN.  We should ask the Lord to keep us from falling into sin, even if WE OURSELVES might WANT to DO it.  We should pray that the opportunity to sin and the desire to do so should never coincide.  The prayer expresses a healthy distrust of our own ability to resist temptation.” The thread surfaces again in verse 35, it seems.  Jesus is again speaking about our inner lives:  “So be careful NOT to let the light in you become darkness.”  He’s told us back in verse 4 to be constantly aware of chinks in our spiritual armor.  Here He shows what the effect of such negligence will be. Again in verse 39-40, as Jesus lets the Pharisees know what they haven’t been doing, we see the thread:  “The same God who made the outside of man made the inside as well, and He is interested that our inward lives should be pure,” my commentary says. In verse 42, He criticized the Pharisees for being so diligent to even tithe of their tiny herbs, but not caring about such basics as justice and the love of God.  “They emphasized the subordinate but overlooked the primary.  They excelled in what could be seen by others but were careless about what only GOD could see,” according to my commentary. Just two verses later, the “hidden interior” again comes up when He compares the Pharisees to unmarked graves, which under Jewish law, the people were to avoid in order to prevent defilement.  An unmarked grave was important because of what lay hidden beneath, and it was the same with them. God is knocking on the door this morning, reminding me of one of my well-used sayings to those I teach:  “It’s the thought that counts”, because the thought is what leads to the eventual action.  When we control sinful thoughts under the power of the Holy Spirit reigning in our lives, there won’t be actions to worry about. Father, I am constantly aware of my own proneness to wander and fall into sin.  Keep me from falling, even if I want it badly.  Please be sovereign and insure that my desire to sin never coincides with an opportunity to do so.  I do have a healthy distrust of my own ability to resist temptation.  That’s why I need You.  Remind me that hypocrisy occurs when the outside and the inside don’t match up.  Guard my thoughts and my heart, Father.   Your Brother In Christ,Gary Ford

Published: Tuesday, 1 September 2009

Luke 12 -- The Odd Sparrow Out

A little “sales math” to do today.  In Matthew 10:29 we read that two sparrows are sold for a penny.  Here, it says that five sparrows are sold for only two pennies.  My natural inclination is to say that we’re gettin

A little “sales math” to do today.  In Matthew 10:29 we read that two sparrows are sold for a penny.  Here, it says that five sparrows are sold for only two pennies.  My natural inclination is to say that we’re getting a volume discount.  Where they were a half penny each, they’re now two-fifths of a cent each.  But my commentary said it an entirely different (and most important) way:  “In other words, an extra sparrow is thrown in FREE when four are purchased.”  So what spiritual application can be made from that?  My commentary nailed it.  If sparrows could have a sense of worth, what would that fifth sparrow think when he/she was removed from the cage, but no amount was ever rung up on the cash register?  “This odd sparrow with NO COMMERCIAL VALUE is not forgotten in the sight of God.”  Sometimes I certainly feel like that odd sparrow – the one given for free to the purchaser of four.  Satan loves to try to bring us down by telling us that we are of no value in an attempt to get us to not care about sinning. 
But look what God says:  “God does not forget any of them.”  My commentary continued:  “If God cares for that odd sparrow, how much more does He watch over those who go forth with the gospel of His Son!  He even numbers the very hairs of their head!”    God is not just God for the big picture.  He’s not just watching from a distance.  Instead, He’s actively involved in the lives of those who’ve chosen to trust in the sacrifice of His Son.  He had planned out our entire set of life possibilities before the world was made, and no matter which path we find ourselves on, God is not surprised and He’s not unprepared.  When we fail, He even begins to work from that very moment to draw us closer to Him.  His answer is already on the way before we finish our prayer!  And He’s able to do that for the billions of people on this planet and yet still He can give us His full attention.  That’s something only God can do.  Father, I thank You for showing me the value that You place on one human soul.  That’s evidence enough for me that our hearts won’t find rest until they rest in You.  Your Brother In Christ,Gary Ford

Published: Wednesday, 2 September 2009

Luke 13 -- Not Just A Pew-Filler

My yard has constantly changed over the years since I built my house.  Along the drop-off next to the creek in the back, and near the back of the house, I had several big mesquite trees.  But once I’d built my house I had them rooted

My yard has constantly changed over the years since I built my house.  Along the drop-off next to the creek in the back, and near the back of the house, I had several big mesquite trees.  But once I’d built my house I had them rooted up.  They produced little shade, lots of messy beans and leaves, and they sapped all the water out of the soil in every direction.  I planted a double row of pines along the back in their place.  Half of them thrived.  The other half died and I had to dig them up.  I planted a semi-circle of black pines near the house in the back yard.  They thrived for awhile, then one by one, they too died. 
Three slash pines and a square area of shrubs on the south side came next.  The shrubs never made it past that hot summer.  Two of the trees lived for quite some time, but I had them dug up for a house expansion after ice storms had broken off many of the branches.  I’ve probably cut down more trees than I now have.  The ones gracing the yard have survived high winds, ice storms, drought, and flood.  They seem here to stay for the long haul.  In this chapter, Jesus tells a story of a vineyard/orchard owner who’s become displeased with a tree.  It wasn’t bearing any fruit.  He was ready to cut his losses and replace it.  He tells his gardener to get rid of it.  The gardener asks for one additional year, when he will devote special attention to it.  If it still fails to produce, he agrees to cut it down.  Whether we like it or not, we are trees meant to produce good fruit for God.  Unbelievers run the very great risk of refusing God’s grace to the point that it is no longer offered.  But Christians are to be fruit-bearing and not just something to dress up God’s garden.  As I’ve read before, we are all immortal until our work on earth is done.  That work is fruit-bearing.  Who ever wants to hear God say, “Cut it down,” when He looks at whether or not we’ve produced for Him?  Father, I thank You for showing me the joy of serving You.  It’s not the drudgery I used to think it would be when I was just a pew-filler.  Thank You for the opportunities to serve You every day.  Your Brother In Christ,Gary Ford

Published: Thursday, 3 September 2009

Luke 14: Putting Ourselves Into Our Places

Jesus wasn’t just trying to save his disciples from social embarrassment whenever He told the parable of the ambitious guest in 7-11.  The sin of pride is a major stumbling block for Christians and non-Christians alike.  “If we

Jesus wasn’t just trying to save his disciples from social embarrassment whenever He told the parable of the ambitious guest in 7-11.  The sin of pride is a major stumbling block for Christians and non-Christians alike.  “If we are truly humble before God, there is only one direction we can possibly move, and that is up,” my commentary said.  No one showed this better than Jesus Himself, who stepped out of the throne room of Heaven into such a meek existence, letting God fully control His life.   Jesus then revealed to all of us the cost of discipleship.  He first mentioned that we must love Him supremely.  My commentary says that Jesus never suggested that we should have bitter hatred in our hearts for our families.  Instead, He was saying that “love for Christ must be so great that all other loves are hatred by comparison.”   It gets rougher, because in the same verse He even says we must hate our OWN lives also!  “The Savior’s words are absolute.  He said if we do not love Him supremely, more than our family and more than our own lives, we could not be His disciples.  There is no halfway measure,” my commentary added.   Verse 33 may well be one of the least popular verse in the Bible.  It says, “In the same way, you must give up everything You have to be my follower.”  According to my commentary, the meaning of the words is not that a person must be willing to forsake all.  Instead, it’s that they must forsake all.  It continued, “We must give the Lord Jesus credit for knowing that the job would never be done in any other way.  He wants men and women who esteem Him more than everything else in the world.”   A man named Henry Drummond is quoted as having said, “The entrance fee to the kingdom of heaven is nothing:  the annual subscription is everything.”   Father, help me to constantly seek to be humble as Your Son was humble.  Guide me to give as You have given to me.  Help me to take these words to heart, and don’t let Satan try to re-interpret them for me.   Your Brother In Christ,Gary Ford

Published: Tuesday, 8 September 2009

Luke 15 -- What Do We Want Him To Feel?

There was such an amazing transformation in those who came to Jesus and were confronted about their sins.  But the scribes and Pharisees were so self-righteous that they saw absolutely no  need to do the same.  The three parables Jesus

There was such an amazing transformation in those who came to Jesus and were confronted about their sins.  But the scribes and Pharisees were so self-righteous that they saw absolutely no  need to do the same.  The three parables Jesus told served to highlight this fact. My commentary said that the ones the Pharisees called sinners “acknowledged that He was right.  They took sides with Christ against themselves.  In true repentance, they acknowledged Him as Lord.”  The Pharisees and scribes, though, were never broken before God to admit their lost condition.  They were too proud to admit their sinfulness.  Verse 7 described those who saw themselves needing no repentance. The parables described God’s joy when any sinner humbles himself and confesses his lost condition, my commentary said.  It continued:  “He [God] obtains no such joy from those who never feel their need for repentance. The parable of the prodigal son, I think, speaks so much about God wanting us back and the joy He feels when we return.  The wayward son found himself dead broke and starving in a foreign country during a famine.  I loved my commentary’s take on it:  “The famine proved to be a blessing in disguise.  It made him think … As he thought of how his father’s servants were living, he decided to do something about it.”  God was drawing him to Himself through the events going on around him! As the prodigal son reached home, he was surprised at the joyful reception he received.  That contrasts so much with the reaction of the other son who’d stayed home helping his father.  He was consumed with jealous rage.  He wouldn’t even acknowledge his relationship to his brother.  He told his father that his years of loyal service felt like slavery, and hidden feelings of ungratefulness so surfaced. Like this son, “The Pharisees thought they’d served God faithfully and had never transgressed His commandments, and yet had never been properly rewarded for all of this.  The truth of the matter was that they were religious hypocrites and guilty sinners.  Their pride blinded them to their distance from God, and to the fact that He had lavished blessing after blessing upon them,” my commentary stated. Wow!  How we need to watch out for pride to rear its ugly head!  I can remember feeling really put out at times in much the same way as that loyal son.  There was no joy in feeling that way.  In fact, it was a sick-to-my-stomach feeling.  But I also remember feeling like the prodigal son did, and marveling at God feeling joy over ME when I felt so bad about how I’d treated Him. Father, keep me ever mindful that I am a sinner.  I have no reason whatsoever to feel any self-righteousness.  I need You and I need what Your Son did for me.  Thank You for feeling joy over me when I turned back to You!  Thank You for loving me so much!  Your Brother In Christ,Gary Ford

Published: Wednesday, 9 September 2009

Luke 15 -- Investing For Whom?

Boy, it took quite a bit of soil-turning this morning to dig out what God seemed to be saying.  What made it all click was something my commentary said, “Remember that the subject of chapter 16 is the covetousness and unfaithfulness of the

Boy, it took quite a bit of soil-turning this morning to dig out what God seemed to be saying.  What made it all click was something my commentary said, “Remember that the subject of chapter 16 is the covetousness and unfaithfulness of the Pharisees.”  Once everything is seen in that light, it sure makes more sense. For instance, the parable of the manager who was cheating his boss in no way applauds his dishonesty.  Instead, according to my commentary, it shows that “ungodly, unregenerate men show more wisdom in providing for their future in this world than true believers show in laying up treasures in heaven.” What it’s saying is that we can make use of money, which is often spoken of as unrighteous in the Bible, in such a way as to win souls for Christ, whether it’s in buying Bibles or donating to ministries.  We may never see the friends we’ve made for eternity on this earth, but someday we will. “By the wise investment of material possessions, we can have a part in the eternal blessing of men and women,” my commentary added.  God doesn’t despise riches, and the story of the rich man in Hades doesn’t say that riches are evil, for Abraham had been rich as well and is seen here as being in heaven.  We cannot allow ourselves to become spiritual adulterers by being unfaithful to God with what He sends our way to invest for Him.  That seems to also tie in to the seemingly out-of-place verse on divorce. Father, please help me to always keep in mind that everything we have is given by You to be used for Your purposes.  Show me how to obey in every instance where You are ready to spend what You’ve invested through my life. Your Brother In Christ,Gary Ford

Published: Thursday, 10 September 2009

Luke 17-18 Rubbing The Dog The Wrong Way

Listen to verses 3&4 in chapter 17: “If another follower sins, warn him, and if he is sorry and stops sinning, forgive him.  If he sins against you seven times in one day, and says that he is sorry each time, forgive him.”&n

Listen to verses 3&4 in chapter 17: “If another follower sins, warn him, and if he is sorry and stops sinning, forgive him.  If he sins against you seven times in one day, and says that he is sorry each time, forgive him.” There’s sort of a built-in bias in the way Jesus phrased this, it seems to me.  Not that He’s wrong in any way.  The bias is with our hearing, and it feels like it does when we stroke a dog’s hair the wrong way.  Jesus happened to state it from the forgiver’s standpoint rather than the forgiven’s. My mind immediately went to my youngest son when I read this, for he’s often just a little too quick to say, “I’m sorry!” when pressed about a matter.  I often find myself telling him that his “I’m sorry’s” don’t seem to mean much, and that’s the general idea I picked up here.  After all, sinning the same way seven times in one day??  Come on! My commentary said that the disciples felt that they were not sufficient for such a display of race.  In other words, they didn’t have it in them to go that far.  It also said, “If is our own pride and self-importance that prevents us from forgiving our brothers.  That pride needs to be rooted up and cast out.” But stroke the dog the other way for a moment.  What if I’m the one who’s sinned seven times in one day against someone?  Or what about that besetting or pet sin that I might feel I just can’t kick?  The one that every time I commit it, I find myself praying, “Father, I don’t know why I’m even bothering to come ask forgiveness again from You.  I hate myself for committing this sin, yet I still do it.  I’m sorry…. I truly am, but I just wonder how many more times I can apologize and repent until You finally say, “That’s it.  You don’t really mean this!’” Yet whether it’s the seventh or the “70 times 7^th” time, You still love me and You still want me back.  That sentence from my commentary almost appears haunting now:  “They felt they were not sufficient for such a display of grace.”  Certainly not on our own.  I’ve felt the same way.  It’s only through Christ that we can accept it. The poet John Newton was quoted in my commentary, and how well he nailed it.  You see, the One we’re approaching for forgiveness isn’t poor in that department.  He won’t run out of it.  Here’s how Newton said it:  “Thou art coming to a King, Large petitions with thee bring;For His grace and power are such,None can ever ask too much.” Father, I’m sorry that I often find myself having to say “I’m sorry” multiple times.  But what I apologize for today is the smallness of faith that didn’t allow me to see You as the King at times – that I feared asking too much or too often for forgiveness, because You forgive and forget.  You place my sins on the ocean floor.  Your Son stretched out His arms to show me that He’s removed them already, as far as the east is from the west.  Thank You, Father.  I pray that I won’t have to ask too often, but I know I will be welcomed back and forgiven when I do.  Your Brother In Christ,Gary Ford

Published: Friday, 11 September 2009

Luke 19-20 Seeing Scripture With Spiritual Rather Than Worldly Eyes

Jesus’ parable about the 10 servants and the ten coins really used to get my defenses up.  I guess my financial training was ringing all sorts of alarm bells.  Here’s why: The first servant was giving one coin and was able

Jesus’ parable about the 10 servants and the ten coins really used to get my defenses up.  I guess my financial training was ringing all sorts of alarm bells.  Here’s why: The first servant was giving one coin and was able to return ten coins to his master.  If this took one year, he accomplished a phenomenal return, and anything that returns that much would have to have phenomenal RISK as well.  The second servant did almost as well, returning five coins for the one coin he was given! The hapless third servant was risk-averse.  He’d wrapped up the coin and returned it as it was given.  While many investors would have loved a zero percent return in 2008, the master wasn’t happy at all.  The servant gets chewed out and the coin he guarded was given to the servant who’d earned ten coins.  The third servant’s excuse was that he saw the master as a hard man, taking what he didn’t earn or plant.  He therefore did not invest for fear of losing. My analysis of this parable shows how we can often take a parable farther than it was intended to go, but I felt led to write about it because I’m sure others may have also faced this dilemma on this or other parables.  My commentary helps clean things like this up: “While there are differences in the talents and abilities of the servants of the Lord, there are some things which they have in common, such as the privileges of sharing the gospel and representing Christ to the world.”  When we look at it this way, we see that there is not real risk!  It’s opportunities taken vs. opportunities missed! But what about that servant’s talk about the master being a hard man?  Again, from my commentary:  “In quoting the words of the nobleman, Jesus did not admit that they were true.  It was simply the sinful heart of the servant that blamed the master for his own laziness.” It goes on:  “If we don’t use our opportunities for the Lord, they will be taken from us.  On the other hand, if we are faithful in a very little, God will see that we never lack the means to serve Him even more.” The timing of this is incredible, father.  As we heard about “Hope 9520” yesterday – an idea for planting the gospel seed to every Hamlin resident before Easter, how appropriate it is that You remind us of missed opportunities.  And just in case we’re a little scared about wading into it, thanks for reminding us that there is NO RISK.  What’s the worst that could happen?  Thanks for straightening out my over-analysis of this parable some time ago.  Please continue to help me see Your word with spiritual eyes and not worldly eyes.  Your Brother In Christ,

Published: Monday, 14 September 2009

Luke 21 -- More On Opportunities Taken Or Lost

Yesterday God was telling me through my quiet time about opportunities to share the gospel and to represent Christ to the world.  There were opportunities taken and opportunities lost.  I saw that word opportunity come up again today in thi

Yesterday God was telling me through my quiet time about opportunities to share the gospel and to represent Christ to the world.  There were opportunities taken and opportunities lost.  I saw that word opportunity come up again today in this chapter.  Jesus was talking to His disciples about what would occur after He returned to Heaven and before He returned again.  How enthused would we be to hear Him say:  “But before all these things happen, people will arrest you and treat you cruelly.  They will judge you in their synagogues and put you in jail and force you to stand before kings and governors, because you follow Me.” ? I’m sure more than one stomach in the bunch was churning as they heard all of that.  Then He continued:  “But this will give you an opportunity to tell about Me.”  I don’t know if He was intentional in saying opportunity rather than opportunities or not.  But He just might be alerting us that we might just get only one shot.  Will it be an opportunity taken or lost for Him? This verse came to my mind as I was being taken into the office of Mrs. Olga Parienko, who at the time was the director of the National Adoption Center in Kiev, Ukraine.  She was the person ultimately in charge of all adoptions, and could deny anyone the right to adopt.  At the time, it seemed that the only thing she’d been directing was a push to keep ME from adopting. But there in her office, not knowing what exactly to say, God placed this verse on my heart, and the verses that followed came up as well:  “Make up your minds not to worry ahead of time about what you will say.  I WILL GIVE YOU the wisdom to say things that none of your enemies will be able to stand against or prove wrong.” After settling in to my chair, I explained how I’d been involved in youth ministry for 11 years at that time, and how I’d helped raise everyone else’s kids and just wanted an opportunity to raise my own.  I then felt led to say, “God directed me to come to Ukraine to find my son, and that’s why I’m here.” She appeared confounded for a moment, conferred with her aide, and then told me to come back that afternoon so that she could review my paperwork.  In a distinctly non-Ukrainian move, she also said, “You won’t have to wait.”  That was huge. When I returned, she came out and asked me one question:  “What church do you go to?”  I answered and she handed me a slip of paper.  “Here is your appointment to come back to Ukraine in March to find your son.” I can’t help but wonder what God did with that opportunity.  I’m just glad that I invested at that moment rather than hoarding.  Where would I have been today if not?  I hate to think about it! Father, thank You for Your faithfulness in providing both the opportunities for me to share my faith and the wisdom to say the right things at the right times.  Please direct me every day to more opportunities to share about Your Son and to represent Him in the world. Your Brother In Christ,Gary Ford

Published: Tuesday, 15 September 2009

Luke 22 -- The Memories Flash Back

I couldn’t help but see what Jesus’ humanity did to Him as He struggled through the last days of His earthly life.  Before the world had been formed – before Adam had taken his first breath, God had know that He would create ma

I couldn’t help but see what Jesus’ humanity did to Him as He struggled through the last days of His earthly life.  Before the world had been formed – before Adam had taken his first breath, God had know that He would create mankind with something new – free will – and there was every possibility that he might use it to rebel against God in sin.  So in His wisdom, God planned a way out. For lack of a better word, Jesus co-existed with God and fully understood and agreed with this plan – a magnificent way to show just how much God loved mankind which He had created – even though they might rebel. I can just see Jesus and God on the day before the first Passover – everything perfectly planned, the Jewish people having suffered for centuries under Egyptian rule, and Pharaoh’s heart thoroughly hardened against God.  As God detailed the Passover to Moses and he shared it with all the people, I imagine God and Jesus saying to each other, “They don’t have a clue what they’re really seeing and doing – a shadow of how one day We will make men right with God.”  In divine form, Jesus wholeheartedly agreed to the task, reveling in how God would be glorified through it.  As the people killed the lamb and painted the blood on their doorframes, could Jesus feel the piercing of the nails already?  Did the One who had never tasted death flinch as the bread was broken on that first Passover? Fast forward to Luke 22 and Jesus was weeping in the Garden of Gethsemane.  Knowing what would happen over the next 24 hours, did His humanity cry out for continued existence, even knowing from His divinity that He would soon be reunited in glory with His Father?  He prayed, “Take this cup from Me, but not My will but Yours.” He felt our agony at impending death.  He knew the sorrow of thinking about life ending.  I think it must have been a very curious mix – His humanity and divinity in one body – one causing Him to want to live, and the other knowing full well that agonizing death would come, but glory and seeing His Father’s approving face again would make it all worth it.  Hearing His Father say, “Well done, Son!” made even His humanity agree with what was to come. And as He ate His final Passover mean and then began the first Lord’s Supper with His disciples, how personal must have been that first breaking of the bread and sharing of the cup.  It was something they couldn’t understand.  In fact, they even started turf wars right afterward.  But as He poured the wine and pulled the bread apart, those memories of Egypt surely came flooding back – there with His Dad, seeing Moses break the first bread.  A look surely passed between them, and a shared thought that said, “If they only knew ….” Father, Your Son’s obedience to Your plan is so amazing to me.  How He must have struggled with His humanity – more than we’ll ever struggle.  Father, help me to see that as a follower of Christ I now possess a taste of that future life with You, and let that spark carry me through times of trouble and fear and temptation, knowing as Your Son did, that it will ALL be worth it.  Your Brother In Christ,Gary Ford

Published: Wednesday, 16 September 2009