Mark 3 -- About Family??

“Then Jesus went home, but again a crowd gathered … When his family heard this, they went to get Him, because they thought He was out of His mind… The teachers of the law from Jerusalem were saying, ‘Beelzebul is living inside Him!  He uses power from the ruler of demons to force demons out of people.’”

 

I know that in Jesus’ divine nature He knew that the world was blinded by sin to who He really is and to what He was accomplishing while on earth.  But His human nature had to have felt pangs of sorrow when His own family – His mother and his half-brothers – came seeking to take Him home, thinking He’d lost His mind!  My commentary noted that this was “the only place in Mark where Mary is seen, and her venture was a failure.”  That should say enough right there about attempts to venerate her and cause her to be worshiped.  She was actually seeking to stop His ministry!

 

Jesus used the moment to teach us that “family” is made up of all those who do the will of God.  “Jesus’ half-brothers were not believers, and Jesus felt closer to the believing publicans and sinners than He did to His half-brothers,” my commentary said.  We aren’t to abandon our families, but we are to put God’s will above everything else in life … “We must not permit even our dearest loved ones to influence us away from the will of God.”

 

Father, that lesson lows me the vital importance of leading my family to love You and to seek Your will in their lives, too.  Help me to do that as a dad.  Help me to make their relationship with You a priority for me as well.

 

Your Brother in Christ,

 

Gary Ford

Mark 2 -- I Don't NEED A Doctor

In this chapter, Jesus healed the man who was lowered through the roof by his friends after He told the man that his sins were forgiven.  This set the teachers of the law on edge, thinking that only God could forgive sins.  And a little later, they were also disgruntled because He was eating with tax collectors and sinners.  Jesus told them that healthy people don’t need a doctor.  Sick people do.

 

My commentary picked up on both of these incidents and said, “There are three kinds of patients whom Jesus cannot heal of their sin sickness:

 

1)       Those who do not know about Him;

2)      Those who know about Him but refuse to trust Him; and

3)      Those who will not admit that they need Him.

 

 

The teachers of the law were in that last category.  They did not think they needed forgiveness.  My commentary said, “Forgiveness is the greatest miracle that Jesus ever performs.  It meets the greatest need; it costs the greatest price; and it brings the greatest blessing and the most lasting results.”

 

Father, I’m so glad that You moved my heart to the point where I knew I needed such healing.  You’ve helped me to realize my need and to depend on Christ to provide for it.  Let me never think that I am beyond the need of forgiveness.

Mark 1 -- In CHURCH??

“Just then, a man was there in the synagogue who had an evil spirit in him … Jesus healed many who had different kinds of sicknesses, and He forced many demons to leave people.”

 

A man with a demon in the synagogue!  It’s enough to make us wonder how many there might be in our churches today as well!  “It took the presence of the Son of God to expose the demon … The demon certainly knew exactly who Jesus is … The demon’s use of plural pronouns shows how closely he was identified with the man through whom he was speaking.  The demon clearly identified Christ’s humanity (“Jesus of Nazareth”) as well as His deity (“the Holy One of God”).  He also confessed great fear that Jesus might judge him and send him to the pit … He tried one last convulsive attack, but then had to submit to the authority of God’s servant and come out of the man,” my commentary said.  If it were only that easy today.

 

Also, Jesus healed a leper in this chapter.  My commentary said leprosy is a picture of sin:  “Like sin, leprosy is deeper than the skin, it defiles and isolates, and it renders things fit only for the fire.”  So very true.

 

Father, we need You to examine each of us, to find where Satan or his demons have sunk their claws into our lives and are trying to pull us away from a God-honoring life.  We need You to remove these sources of temptation, to help us discover that our sin is more than skin deep – that it affects not just our whole life, but others around us as well.  Cause us to agree with You on the ugliness of sin and our need for Your healing and forgiveness.

 

Your Brother In Christ,

 

Gary Ford

Joshua 20-24 Doing Both

Everyone settled into the land God had promised them.  But Joshua wanted to make sure that they didn’t settle for less than God.  In his farewell speech, he made it clear that they had to make a decision to serve God.  There could be no neutrality. 

 

Then he called their hand on something really surprising – some of them were still sacrificing to or hiding Egyptian idols, after 40 years of wandering in the desert plus all those years of conquering the land!

 

“His point was that they couldn’t do BOTH,” my commentary said.  “Joshua warned them what would happen if they didn’t get rid of their idols:  They would eventually forsake the Lord, and then He would have to chasten them … Their great need was to cleanse their hearts of allegiance to other gods and to incline their hearts only to the Lord … We may fail Him, but He will never fail us.  When God ordains our service, He is morally obligated to see us through.”

 

Father, I know I ask You to help me remember a lot of what I read in my quiet times.  It just goes to show that daily immersion in Your word is necessary to fight back the attacks of Satan, and we can’t read it and forget it.  Left to our own devices, we will fail.  Help me to keep examining my life and to throw away any idols I find that divide my allegiance to You.

 

Your Brother in Christ,

 

Gary Ford

Joshua 18-19 Unwrapping Our Gift

I thought about jumping over to the Christmas story just for today, but something reminded me that all Scripture speaks of Christ, so I stuck with Joshua.  I’m glad I did.

 

In these chapters, the Israelites had received a gift from God – the Promised Land.  These chapters looked to be about as exciting as reading surveys of land, for that’s what they were.  So what did I see?  How many of us accept a Christmas gift and don’t open it?  That seems to be what Joshua was getting at when he said, “Why do you wait so long to take your land?  The Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given this land to you.”

 

In the same way, God through Christ has given us “land”.  He’s prepared a life for us and wants to pour out all of His blessings on us.  Today, I hear Jesus saying, “Why do you wait so long to take what My Father has given you?  Open your present!”

 

Father, thank You for the gift of Your Son, and for the eternal life I’ve received by believing in Him.  Help me not to forget that Your Word says that eternal life begins now.  Don’t let me fail to experience any part of what You’ve planned for me!

 

Your Brother in Christ,

 

Gary Ford

Joshua 13-17 The Administrative Chores

As I listened to the land division process, which was followed up by the success of each tribe in consolidating the territory they’d been given, I found myself noticing again and again how each tribe was not able to force out all of the people living there.  I was highlighting their failures.  But we are all human and we all have trouble ridding our lives of those things that aren’t of God.

 

My commentary took a different tack, and listed several lessons learned from these chapters:

 

1)       Don’t become a borderline believer (like the 2.5 tribes)  Enter into the inheritance God appoints for you.

2)      Be encouraged in your pilgrim journey!  You have already received your inheritance in Christ.

3)      We are never too old to make new conquests of faith in the power of the Lord … We must never retire from trusting and serving the Lord.

4)      The older generation must provide for the next generation not only materially, but most of all spiritually.

5)      God wants to give all His people their inheritance … Nothing from your first birth should hinder you from claiming all that you have in Jesus Christ.

6)      It’s not your boasting but your believing that gives you the victory and gains you new territory.  Sometimes those who talk the most accomplish the least.

 

Father, remind me often that there is still new territory to conquer, that I am not to allow the ungodly to influence me, and that Christians should never retire from service to You!

 

Your brother in Christ,

 

 

Gary Ford

Joshua 11 & 12 -- Victory From Obedience

Seven years of military campaigns allowed Joshua to claim effective control of all the land.  After 40 years of wondering, Israel now had a home in the Promised Land.  With obedience to God had come success!

 

My Bible’s sidebar, by MLB pitcher Tim Burke, echoes that:  “Several beneficial things did happen as a result of committing my career to the Lord.  From that day on, I knew I had to concern myself only with my own effort and then trust the Lord with the results.  If those results were good, it would be great.  If they were bad, I would still believe He wasn’t going to make His FIRST mistake with ME.  If God was ultimately in charge of my career as well as my life, I didn’t have to worry about what might happen as a result of my performance, because God was in charge of my future … With that attitude, the gut-wrenching pressure disappeared.  I felt a peace and a freedom I never felt before.  All I had to do was give my best, and that’s what I did.”

 

Father, that describes so well what I’ve come to know about You as well.  I trust you.  Yesterday was an exercise in that trust.  I pray that I have listened and heard You correctly.  Bless the outcome.  Help me to keep my eyes on You.

 

Your Brother In Christ,

 

Gary Ford

Joshua 10 -- God Laughed

When this chapter opens, it certainly sounds like Joshua’s about to pay for his mistake of not checking out the story of the delegation from Gibeon before signing a peace pact with them.  Now they are calling on him to defend them as 5 Amorite kings attack them for doing just that.

 

“God in heaven must have laughed because unknown to them He was using these events to accomplish His own purposes.  Instead of having to defeat these five city-states one by one, He would help Joshua conquer them all at one time! … He used Joshua’s mistake with the Gibeonites to protect Gibeon and accelerate the conquest of Canaan,” my commentary said.  “The mistakes we make embarrass us … but we need to remember that no mistake is final for the dedicated Christian.  God can use even our blunders to accomplish His purposes.”

 

God even took over the battle, killing the enemy army with large hailstones!  The miracle wasn’t so much the timely hailstorm as it was the fact that each hailstone targeted only enemy soldiers!  The Israelites did not get hit by them!  “When God’s people are obeying God’s will, everything in the universe works for them … When we disobey God’s will, everything works against us.”

 

The greatest miracle, though, occurred when God answered Joshua’s request for more daylight hours to finish the battle.  “The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and waited to go down for a full day.”  I, too, used to shake my head at that, thinking that stopping the rotation of the earth and restarting it would easily cause the seas to slosh upon all the land, wiping out vast areas, not to mention what would happen to all the people on the earth.  But God simply had to halt time itself, not the rotation of the earth.  For the soldiers fighting, one second became just like one day.  The earth didn’t know anything had happened!

 

Father, it’s encouraging to me to know that my blunders don’t buffalo You.  You don’t even have to wince and try to quickly come up with a new plan.  You’re all-knowing and unfazed by anything I do.  Nothing surprises You, and You’ve got a plan for everything that comes up, including using my mistakes for Your own good purposes.  What a great God You are!

 

Your Brother In Christ,

 

 

Gary Ford

Joshua 9 -- Using Mistakes

Today, contracts which come about with fraud involved can be undone, but the Israelites weren’t equipped with lawyers.  The people of Gibeon misrepresented themselves as people living outside of the Promised Land.  They apparently somehow knew that Israelites were sworn to destroy all inhabitants of the Promised Land but were allowed to offer peace to those outside that land.

 

The “delegation” from Gibeon told four lies which the Israelites believed:

1)      That they resided outside the land (they lived 25 miles away)

2)      That their clothing and food reflected the length of the trip (selected as a ruse)

3)      That they were important diplomats on a peace mission (ever seen diplomats eating moldy food and not adequately provisioned?)

4)      That they were Israel’s servants (they were the enemy God had told them to destroy)

 

Then they compounded their lies by saying that they had come “because of the name of the Lord.”  There’s just something really wrong with people who do that!

 

“Joshua and the leaders were impetuous and didn’t take time to consult the Lord.  They walked by sight and not faith,” my commentary said.  “They hadn’t yet learned to wait on the Lord.”

 

I also read, “The will of God comes from the heart of God, and He delights to make known to His children when He knows they are humble and willing to obey.  We don’t seek God’s will like customers who look at options, but like servants who listen for orders.”  We can’t afford to lean on our own understanding.  Satan is just too wily.

 

Unfortunately, since they’d made an oath sworn in the name of the Lord, they couldn’t break it, even though God had commanded they to destroy all the people in the land.

 

My commentary noted that Joshua did learn an important lesson:  If you make a mistake, admit it, and then make your mistake work for you.”  He required the people of Gibeon to cut wood and haul water for the Tabernacle, and they became known later as the Nethinim, and over 500 of them returned with the Israelites from the Babylonian captivity!  They must have become devoted to the service of the Lord in the intervening years.  My commentary said there is no biblical record of them ever becoming a hindrance to the Israelites’ faith.

 

Father, You give me such timely advice.  It’s exactly what I needed to hear today.  I rely on You and Your wisdom not just for everyday life, but for business as well, and You are faithful!  Please continue to give me such guidance, and help me to have a heart that is humble and willing to obey.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Joshua 8 -- Organizing Victories Out Of Mistakes

Out of the ashes of defeat, God granted victory.  Achan had made a huge mistake, the nation had paid for it, and now God was going to show His incredible love by giving victory out of that mistake.  I loved what my commentary had to say about our mistakes:

 

“Life, like war, is a series of mistakes, and he is not the best Christian nor the best general who makes the fewest false steps.  Poor mediocrity may secure that; but he is the best who wins the most splendid victories by the retrieval of mistakes.  Forget mistakes; organize victories out of mistakes … A mistake is an opportunity to begin again, more intelligently, Henry Ford said … ‘The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way.  Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand.’ … No matter what mistakes we make, the worst mistake of all is not to try again; for the victorious Christian life is a series of new beginnings.”

 

Father, I too find myself hitting spiritual highs and lows.  Way more often than I like, I make mistakes.  I’m glad that Your Holy Spirit is in my heart, directing me to sadness and repentance.  Thank You for believing in me despite that, and for helping me organize victories out of my mistakes.

 

Your Brother In Christ,

 

 

Gary Ford

Joshua 7 -- One Man

One man out of millions decided to disobey God’s command.  As a result, the entire nation suffered defeat in battle and lives were lost.  We never know when we might be that one man and how important our obedience will be to God.

 

I love the way my commentary fleshed out the situation:  “Achan’s first mistake was to look at these spoils a second time … His second mistake was to reclassify those treasures and call them the spoils … Achan’s third mistake was to covet.  ‘But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed’ ... His fourth mistake was to think that he could get away with his sin by hiding the loot.”

 

My commentary made some important points that cut to the chase if we are ever finding ourselves in Achan’s shoes:  “If God says something is wrong, then it’s wrong and that’s the end of the debate … Achan’s sin became even more odious when you stop to realize all that God had done for him … Unbelief is always content to settle for something less than God’s best … we don’t know the condition of our own hearts … The tribes could never claim their inheritance as long as one man clung to his forbidden treasures.”

 

Regarding God Himself, it said, “My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from Me, nor is their sin concealed from My eyes.”  And this nugget:  “God is love and longs to bless His people, but God is also light and must judge His people’s sin.”

 

Father, examine my heart.  I don’t fully know the condition of it, but You do.  Show me what I fail to see or fail to admit to You.  Help me to be honest with You about what You reveal.  Remind me that unbelief settles for less than Your best for me.

Joshua 6 -- Destroy It ALL. Why?

My commentary talked about how many of the militant songs have been eliminated from our hymnbooks.  But “in Genesis 3:15 God declares war on Satan … If you eliminate the militant side of the Christian faith, then you must abandon the cross, for it was on the cross that Jesus won the victory over sin and Satan.”  It said that emphasizing peace and goodwill yet ignoring the spiritual battle against sin means we’ve already lost the battle and are working for the enemy.  Satan is certainly at war with us.  If we don’t fight back at God’s direction, we will find ourselves losing ground just as our country does when it fails to take on the attacks from terrorist groups.

 

In God’s instructions for capturing and defeating Jericho, the people had “to reckon on this truth.”  My commentary says “to reckon means to count as true in your life what God says about you in His Word.  It’s possible to believe a promise and still not reckon on it and obey the Lord.  Believing a promise is like accepting a check, but reckoning is like endorsing the check and cashing it.”  So the Israelites believed the promise and followed the instructions, and the walls fell down.

 

As they entered the city, God’s instructions were to destroy everything.  In this, my commentary said, “God is telling us that He will tolerate no compromise with sin in the lives of His people.  The Canaanites had known of God for at least 440 years, since Abraham had walked that land, and they had utterly rejected Him.  “Jericho was a wicked city, and sin is only fuel for the holy wrath of God.”

 

Father, thanks for showing me the importance of reckoning Your promises to be true for my life.  Thank You, too, for the reminder that You will tolerate no compromise with sin in the lives of Your people.

 

Your Brother In Christ,

 

 

Gary Ford

Joshua 4-5 Invasion Delayed By God For A Reason

The Israelite army was entering the land, and God made the point by again parting waters as He had when He’d brought them out of Egypt.  They were only about 8 miles from their first target – Jericho – but God wanted them prepared before He could trust them with victory, according to my commentary.  Their covenant with Him needed to be restored and their reproach removed.

Throughout their 40-year trek through the wilderness, none of the newborn boys had received the mark of the covenant – circumcision – as Moses had commanded.  So God directed that every man be circumcised.  This would effectively disable the conquering army for up to two weeks, yet God kept them from being attacked during that time by making the indigenous people frightened of them. 

Their “reproach” was “the ridicule of the enemy when Israel failed to trust God and enter the Promised Land originally.  God was going to show that He does indeed FINISH what He STARTS. 

They also were arriving just in time to celebrate the Passover, and when they did, the manna ceased to be delivered from heaven.  My commentary said, “If the Passover reminded the Jews of their redemption from Egypt, the manna reminded them of their desire to go back to Egypt … Too many professed Christians contradict their profession by exhibiting an appetite for what belongs to their past life … Using the imagery from Joshua, it means “You have crossed the river and are now in your inheritance.  Don’t look back and desire the things of Egypt or the wilderness.  Let God feed you and satisfy you with the harvest in the inheritance.”

I wonder if most of us aren’t quite a bit like those Israelites newly arrived in the Promised Land – almost unwilling to let go of the old and the familiar to enable ourselves to grasp all that God has planned for us.

Father, thank You for the reminder that the old life has been left behind and that I am to be living in the new life Christ gave me.  At times, my memories cause me to want what You don’t want me to have.  I want to always agree with You.  Remind me of where You’ve brought me and Whose I am.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Joshua 2-3 A Prostitute With Faith

All about a prostitute – God had told Joshua to prepare the people to enter the Promised Land – to make themselves holy.  On the other side of the Jordan River, God had caused “a ungodly Gentile who worshipped pagan gods and sol her body for money” to exercise saving faith.  He directed two spied to her home in Jericho, built into the very walls that soon would come crumbling down.  My commentary said, “It’s remarkable how God in His grace uses people we might think could never become His servants.  ‘But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put shame to the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are might; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.’”

 

Notice the one thing that kept repeating in all of that:  “God has chosen…”

 

Father, I’m still amazed that You chose me to be Your child and Your servant.  I was one of the foolish.  I am one of the weak.  I felt despised by You, but You loved me nonetheless, just as You did a Gentile prostitute who was to become an ancestress of Your Son in His life on this earth!  Such love You have for us, Father!  Such love!

 

Your Brother In Christ,

 

Gary Ford

Joshua 1 -- A Few Funerals Can Be A Good Thing?

Moses was the last of the generation who’d left Egypt who would not be allowed to enter the Promised Land.  So the leadership mantle was passed to Joshua and Moses had died.  The people had witnessed God’s directing the changeover, and now instead of wondering in the desert for more years, they too would switch to conquering the Promised Land as God had said.  “Before God could fulfill His promises, however, Joshua had to exercise faith and be strong  and have courage … In short, God’s promises are prods, not pillows,” my commentary said.  “Divine sovereignty is not a substitute for human responsibility.”

 

Joshua and Caleb were now the two oldest men in the camp, yet they were fired up about their task.  My commentary said, “The older we get, the more danger there is that we’ll get set in our ways and become sanctified obstructionists, but it doesn’t have to happen … It isn’t a matter of age; it’s a matter of faith…  It’s unfortunate but true that sometimes the only way a ministry can move forward is by conducting a few funerals.”

 

Joshua 1 is always special to me because I was reading it as I was adopting my first son from Ukraine.  Struggling with what American name I would call him, I decided Joshua was very fitting, and I had the translator tell him God’s words to this Joshua who also was about to enter a strange but wonderful new land, where he probably did not understand the language either.  God said to my Josh, too:  “I will be with you.  I will not leave you or forget you.  Joshua, be strong and brave!” 

 

Those are awesome memories and awesome promises from my God.  Thank You, Father, for all You’ve done for me by leading me to a new land and giving me the promised sons I have.  Help me to lead them as Joshua led the people.  Also help me as I grow older not to ever become a sanctified obstructionist.

 

Your brother in Christ,

 

Gary Ford

Ephesians 6 -- Armor Check

As I read again through the section on spiritual armor, a question formed in my mind:  Why, with all the armor, do we still find ourselves wounded by fiery darts Satan throws at us which cause us to sin?  My commentary said, “A man of integrity, with a clear conscience, can face the enemy without fear.”  If, as we read this, a twinge of regret occurs, then I suppose we’re missing our belt that day.  It continued, “The life we live either fortifies us against Satan’s attacks or makes it easier for him to defeat us.”  By the way we choose to live, we may be giving aid and comfort to our enemy.

 

So what are Satan’s fiery darts?  “Lies, blasphemous thoughts, hateful thoughts about others, doubts, and burning desires for sin.  If we do not by faith quench these darts, they will light a fire within and we will disobey God.”

 

Finally, it mentioned the energy that propels the soldier forward – prayer.  The example it cited was Moses praying while Joshua fought.  It took both to defeat Amalek.  What kind of prayer?  Always being in communion with God – never out of His presence.  Also not just asking God for what we feel we need, but also praising Him for who He is and asking His help for others. 

 

Praying “in the Spirit” doesn’t mean simply adding a phrase to the end of our prayers.  My commentary noted the small golden altar standing before the veil in the Tabernacle.  The incense, mixed according to God’s plan, couldn’t be counterfeited by man.  The fire on the altar is a picture of the Holy Spirit, for it is He who takes our prayers and ignites them in the will of God.”

 

Father, remind me to check all of my armor, to be sure I’ve got it all on for the battle.  Teach me to pray better, staying in close communion with You every waking moment.  And thank You that I have Your Holy Spirit to ignite my prayers and deliver them straight to You.

 

Your Brother In Christ,

 

 

Gary Ford

Ephesians 5 -- He Had To Say THIS To CHRISTIANS? Even Today

It amazes me what Paul felt he had to say to this group of Christians in Ephesus:  “You are God’s children, so try to be like Him … There must be no sexual sin among you … No one will have a place in the kingdom of Christ and of God who [habitually] sins sexually, or does evil things, or covets.”

 

Evidently some of this was going on in the church and needed to be addressed.

 

My commentary mentioned the fact that sexual sin and coveting were listed together, and how most readers would think there was a great deal of difference (and “graveness”) between those sins.  But the commentary said, “The two sins are but different expressions of the same basic weakness of fallen nature – uncontrolled appetite.  The fornicator and the covetous person each desire to satisfy the appetite by taking what does not belong to them.”

 

Father God, You created us with appetites and intended them for Your glory.  What You did for a good purpose, Satan attempts to use to pervert Your creation in an effort to dishonor Your glory.  Help us all to lose our entitlement mentality – our thinking that we deserve to be happy at all costs – and to submit our lives to You.

 

Your Brother In Christ,

 

Gary Ford

Ephesians 4 -- Bitterness Within A Christian

The last three verses really stood out this morning:

 

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit is God’s proof that you belong to Him.  God gave you the Spirit to show that God will make you free when the final day comes.  Do not be bitter or angry or mad.  Never shout angrily or say things to hurt others.  Never do anything evil.  Be kind and loving to each other and forgive each other just as God forgave you in Christ.”

 

My commentary said, “Bitterness refers to  a settled hostility that poisons the whole inner man.  Somebody does something we do not like, so we harbor ill will against him … Bitterness leads to wrath … Paul gave three reasons why we must avoid bitterness.  First, it grieves the Holy Spirit.  He lives within the Christian, and when the heart is filled with bitterness and anger, the Spirit grieves … Second, our sin grieves God the Son, who died for us.  Third, it grieves God the Father, who forgave us when we trusted Christ.  Here Paul put his finger on the basic cause of a bitter attitude:  We cannot forgive people.  An unforgiving spirit is the devil’s playground, and before long it becomes the Christian’s BATTLEGROUND.  If someone hurts us, either deliberately or unintentionally, and we do not forgive him, then we begin to develop bitterness within, which hardens the heart … Actually, we are not hurting the person who hurt us; we are only hurting ourselves.  Bitterness in the heart makes us treat others the way Satan treats them, when we should treat others the way God has treated us … We do not forgive for our sake or even for their sake, but for Jesus’ sake.

 

Father, many are consumed with bitterness right now, and the poison flows through their veins, but they don’t even realize what it’s doing.  Please touch their lives with these truths and soften their hearts with Your love.

 

Your Brother In Christ,

 

Gary Ford

Ephesians 3 -- Prayer For 4 Things For Us

“I, Paul, am a prisoner … God gave me this work through His GRACE to help you.”  Paul was able to see that his present circumstances had been managed by God for the purpose of helping others to know Him more.  It had been given to Paul, not imposed upon him.

 

“God gave me this gift …”  Paul doesn’t see his circumstances as punishment from God, but as an amazing gift.  Incredibly, one of the purposes Paul has discovered for his gift was “that through the church all the rulers and powers in the heavenly world will know God’s wisdom.”

 

My commentary said that angels, as created beings, are not omniscient.  They are learning more about God through us.  And on the other side, the demons are learning more about God, and about how ignorant Satan is of His ways, through what the church does as well!

 

Paul prays for enablement for us to tap into God’s divine power.  But first we have to be at ease in front of God – “In Christ we can come before God with freedom AND without fear.”  Then Paul prays for four things for us, each building upon the previous one:

 

                Strength – “Jesus performed His ministry on earth in the power of the Spirit, and this is the only resource we have for Christian living.”

 

                Depth – “Paul yearned for Christ to settle down and feel at home in our hearts – not a surface relationship, but an ever-deepening fellowship.”

 

                Apprehension – “Paul’s concern was that we lay hold of the vast expanses of the love of God.”

 

                Fullness – “The divine nature abhors a vacuum.  God wants us to experience His fullness.”

 

Father, please continue to help me grasp the extent of Your love for me.  Please help me to be fully comfortable with Christ settled down and feeling at home in my heart.  Fill the vacuum where it exists spiritually within me.

 

Your Brother In Christ,

 

 

Gary Ford

Ephesians 2 -- More Evidence That We're NOT Here?

“In the past, you were spiritually dead … in the past, you lived the way the world lives, following [Satan] … in the past all of us lived like [nonbelievers], trying to please our sinful selves and doing all the things our bodies and minds wanted … But God’s mercy is great, and He loved us very much.  Though we were spiritually dead because of the things we did against God, He gave us new life with Christ … And He has raised us up with Christ and gave us a seat with Him in the heavens … You had no hope, and you did not know God.  But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away from God are brought near through the blood of Christ’s death.”

 

My commentary says that an unsaved person is controlled by the world, the flesh, and the devil …’A dog behaves like a dog because he has a dog’s nature.  If somehow you could transplant into the dog the nature of a cat, his behavior would change radically.  Why does a sinner behave like a sinner?  Because he has the nature of a sinner.  This sinful nature the Bible calls the flesh.”

 

God planned to change our nature.  He wants our nature to be like His.  That’s why we have regeneration when we are saved – removing the old nature and replacing it with a new one.

 

I also picked up more on that intriguing “already in the heavenlies” thought from last week:  “And He raised us up with Christ and gave us a seat in the heavens …”  That’s past tense.  It has already happened.  It does indeed sound like all saved people are there already, and the physical shadow of our spiritual life still exists on this physical plane.

 

Father, thank You so much for the regeneration that allows me to fight my flesh nature.  Without Your help, I’d be unable and unwilling to do it.  Continue to show me more about this incredible idea that I’m already seated in the heavenlies with Christ.

 

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Ephesians 1 -- Blown Away By Something New

I read something pretty profound in my commentary this morning pertaining to little verse 3:

 

“The heavenlies describes that place where Jesus Christ is right now and where the believer is seated with Him.  The battles we fight are not with flesh and blood on earth, but with satanic powers in the heavenlies.  The Christian really operates in two spheres:  the human and the divine, the visible and the invisible.  Physically he is on the earth in a human body, but spiritually he is seated with Christ in the heavenly sphere – and it is this heavenly sphere that provides the power and direction for the earthly walk…. This is the basis of his life and power.” 

 

That certainly better helps us understand how we “are free from the law, free from slavery to sin, as well as free from the power of Satan and the world.”

 

It sounds like the battles are really going on “up there”, and we see the shadows of those battles reflected on the walls of our lives down here.  This is going to take some thought and prayer.  My commentary said that Paul was trying to get his Ephesian friends to understand the vastness of the riches they had in Christ at that moment – not someday.

 

Father, let this soak into my brain and into my heart.  Form these thoughts so that I can come to a much better understanding of it all.  Reveal these true riches that I’ve only caught a glimpse of here in this life.

 

Your Brother In Christ,

 

 

 

Gary Ford