Numbers 7-9 Ready or Not

It had been a year since they’d walked out of Egypt – a year since the death angel had taken the lives of all of the Egyptian firstborn sons.  Now, God instructed them to celebrate the Passover again – in remembrance.

Yet some people came to Moses.  They said they couldn’t celebrate it at that time because they’d become ritually unclean from touching a dead body.  They asked Moses what they could do.  Rather than deciding for himself, he said, “Wait, and I will find out what the Lord says about you.”  That should be solid advice for all of us!

God allowed those so affected to celebrate the Passover on the same day the following month.  There would not, however, be such consideration again the next month.  Those people were responsible to see that they were ritually pure.  Otherwise, they’d be cut off from the people.

Because we never know when God may call us for service, it’s vitally important that we not disqualify ourselves because of our sin.  It may be so tempting to give in to sin just once, but God may have already planned to use us at a time and in a way that requires our readiness.  We can unknowingly prevent our own service to the Lord by giving in to sin.

Father, I want to be ready and able to do whatever You call me to do, whenever You call.  I don’t want to disqualify myself by my sin.  When I am tempted, remind me that You may have something just around the corner that I cannot yet see, and help me not to succumb to sin.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Numbers 5 & 6 Nazirites vs. Grace

The Nazirite vow was instituted by God to form a small group who would serve God, besides the Levites and priests.  The special rules resulted in publicly-noticeable behavior – longer hair, abstaining from all grape products, and not touching dead bodies – which were designed to keep the Nazirite’s life holy and clean.  I think of Samson, however, and know that he may have followed the external rules, but his life was anything by holy.

The sidebar in my Bible says that religious leaders in Jesus’ day didn’t like the fact that He could expose the inner person.  After all, they’d become adept at “decorating the exterior of life … and camouflaging the interior of life where the scenery was spoiled.”

Others, it said, “were drawn to Him because they sensed an overriding safety in being transparent with Him.  Instead of heaping shame upon them as others did, He gave grace …and grace meant a new start.”

For a Nazirite, sin –whether accidental or intentional, meant starting all over and striving again for holiness.  I’m glad that I’ve got grace instead. 

Father, there is no hiding sin from You.  Thank You for offering us grace that leads us to confess and receive forgiveness.  Thank You for the freedom that confession brings and for the grace You offer us.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Numbers 3-4 Doing Our Jobs

8,580 men, aged 30-50, from the tribe of Levi, were tasked with packing, moving, unpacking, and setting up the Holy Tent of Meeting in which God was said to reside among the Israelites as they wondered through the desert.  The elaborate design details of the Tent and its courtyard had been given by God, and now God tells Moses:  “Tell each man exactly what to carry.”  So for the approximately 40 years they wondered the desert following the construction of all this, men 30-50 years old had one job and it was given to them by Moses.

Only Aaron and his sons could view the Ark.  They had to cover it appropriately before anyone else could come in.  So the men of the tribe of Levi did their jobs without ever being allowed to see the object at the heart of that job. 

Of course, they also had their own belongings which had to be moved.  So I suppose those men younger than 30 and older than 50 did this, along with the women and children.

This seems to give new meaning to the thought that all believers have a place in the church.  After all, the common formula today is that 20% of the people do 80% of the work.  I wonder if God wanted us to see through this that all service to Him is important and that we each should contribute and not simply be consumers.  And the task, whether it appears menial or of high importance to us, is both given by God and acknowledged by Him as important.

Father, I pray that You will “activate” more people to be involved in ministry today, not just “consuming” what they find there.  Give them a sense of worth for their tasks.  Show them that it is God-honoring work, and that’s what’s most important.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Numbers 2 -- Who's In Front?

God gave instructions for organizing the people by family groups around the Meeting Tent containing the Ark of the Covenant.  The tribe of Judah was always the first tribe to march out, following the pillar of fire or the cloud representing God’s presence and guidance when it began to move.  Even while on the go, the Meeting Tent was in the middle of the tribes, it sounds like.  I’d always thought that the Ark led the way.  I suppose that was Hollywood.

Looking at it from God’s perspective above, it seems to describe a clock face or a bulls-eye when they camped, with the Meeting Tent right in the center of life for these people, as it certainly should be.  While camped, no tribe had another tribe in between themselves and the Meeting Tent, except for the presence of the Levites to move and care for the Tent and the Ark.

Father, too many times I feel that I try to face life with You behind me, backing me up as it were, rather than before me as my shield and protection and guide.  Perhaps the tribe of Ephraim then had the best view, always seeing the Tent and ark directly in front of them.  Help me to crave a view like that always.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Numbers 1 -- What He Said

Moses entered the Meeting Tent to hear from God.  The million or two Israelites who'd just left Egypt and slavery were probably wondering what God would tell Moses that morning.  When he came out of the Tent, he pointed and uttered 12 names.  Twelve guys stepped forward, probably wondering WHAT  was going on.  Imagine their thoughts as Moses said, "The Lord gave me Your names and told me He'd picked YOU as a leader for your tribe." I'm almost in tears at the THOUGHT of it!  Those twelve guys thinking, "GOD wants ME?  Wait ... He KNEW my NAME ???  He KNOWS me and He still CALLED me???" How humbling yet affirming that must have been!  And in the sidebar in my Bible, by Steve Farrar, I read, "The destiny of those future generations is in your hands.  The choices YOU make with YOUR family TODAY will determine the quality of life in YOUR family tree for generations to come.  That's why ONE MAN CAN make a difference." Father, thanks for reminding me how much in awe I should be that You've chosen and called ME to get my boys from Ukraine and to LEAD THEM to be young mean after Your own heart.  Please help them to understand that and to step up to the challenge You've given them. Sent from my iPad Your Brother In Christ, Gary Ford

Lamentations 3-5 A Very Sad State

We cannot IMAGINE what conditions must have been like for the people of Jerusalem as the city was besieged by invaders.  All attributes of civility evaporated as life wound down to survival mode.  Mothers resorted to cooking their babies for food! Jeremiah had been warned by God that it WOULD happen.  The nation's sin was too deep.  Yet he watched in stunned disbelief at the depth of the punishment they faced -- God's own people had totally abandoned Him.  Now, THEY were reaping the punishment for their rebellion. I'd written margin notes from a commentary that said 3:1-18 were reactions based on EMOTION.  But the REST of chapter 3 is based on FAITH AND REASON.  We KNOW God.  We KNOW His love for those who obey Him is immeasurable.  And KNOWING that is the beginning of restoration.  We begin to SEE God's love even in the punishment -- designed to bring us BACK to Him.  But first we have to realize what we've DONE to Him by our sin.  We have to FEEL the SORROW that our sins have brought upon God.  THEN we can begin to reach out and up to Him, asking for His guidance and protection once more.   Father, this is a place I don't ever want to visit again.  I don't want to have to experience Your judgments in order to finally receive Your MERCIES.  Keep me in Your will.  Show me how to live.  I want to remain in Your love. Your brother in Christ, Gary Ford

Lamentations 1-2 All Moan And No Apology

These are hard chapters to read.  God had warned Israel from the beginning of exactly what would happen if they failed to obey.  Now it has come to pass.

God tells them that their sins have brought them to this point.  Yet all the people can say is that God withdrew His protection from them.  The closest they’ve come in these chapters to agreeing with God is in 1:14 – “He has noticed my sins; they are tied together by His hands; they hang around my neck.”  God is making them acknowledge that their sins and not His punishment are the root cause of their distress.

I also saw, “My heart is troubled, because I have been so stubborn.”  Yet the repentance is not there.

Father, I think of our nation as I read this.  We are in dire straits and we don’t want to admit that our sins have put us there.  And even if we acknowledge our sins, there’s no movement towards repentance.  Father, grant us leaders who will shepherd us back to You rather than pulling us farther away.  Enable us to experience true repentance as a nation.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Psalm 145-150 A Great Ending To Psalms

“The Lord is kind and shows mercy.  He does not become angry quickly but is full of love … He is merciful to all He has made … He is loyal to all He has made.  The Lord helps those who have been defeated and takes care of those who are in trouble.  You open Your hand and You satisfy all living things.”

If we were all obeying God, we’d see this played out worldwide every day.  But sins of mankind cause God to have to deal with those sins.

“The Lord is close to everyone who prays to Him, to all who truly pray to Him.  He gives those who respect Him what they want.  He listens when they cry, and He saves them.  The Lord protects everyone who loves Him …”

He’s not God-from-a-distance.

“The Lord is pleased with those who RESPECT Him, with those who trust His love.”

Again, that word respect shows up.  How can we possibly expect God to bless those who do not respect Him?

Finally, in 147:7-12, I was awed with the thought of everything that would one day be praising God again, as in the beginning.  When man brought sin into the world, creation was fundamentally changed.  All of creation became stifled and unable to praise its Creator.  It silently groans that it cannot praise Him now, but hopes for the day when it can again.

Father, thank You for these 150 chapters of praise to You, reminding me that I should be praising You 24/7, rather than letting my circumstances cause me to do otherwise.  Help me to remember, even in the worst of times, to praise and respect You for being my God!

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Psalm 140-144 A Sincere Prayer

It’s apparent that things weren’t going well for David in these chapters.  He begs God for help and for relief.  Some of his problems are external, yet he also knows that some come from within himself:

“Lord, help me control my tongue; help me be careful about what I say.  Take away my desire to do evil or to join others in doing wrong … Free me from my prison [of sin], and then I will praise Your name.”

Our own evil desires can become like prisons to us.  David knew that with Bathsheba.  He saw the importance of not giving in to them.  He made several requests of God here:

“Lord, I cry out to You.  You are my protection.  You are all I want in this life … Tell me in the morning about Your love, because I trust You.  Show me what I should do, because my prayers go up to You … Teach me to do what You want, because You are my God.”

Father, it all sounds a lot like being on a diet.  We pretty much know what we should avoid, but the temptation is there.  Yet Your plan for our lives requires our dedication to Your ideals and spiritual discipline.  So often, Father, I’m so tempted to get off the diet for just a short while.  I’m human.  But Your love for me, despite my faults, causes me to draw near to You.  So like David, I pray, “Take away my desire to do evil.  Free me from my prison.  Teach me to do what You want.”

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Psalm 136-139 God's Love Continues Even In The Deaths Of Unbelievers?

In chapter 136, it seems that the writer is telling us that God’s love for the Israelites (and for us as well) shines out in everything that happens, even in the killings of the firstborn sons of Egypt, the drowning of the Egyptian army, and in the killing of great kings of that time.  Now, from Israel’s point of view, that’s apparent.  But would Egypt and Bashan and the Amorites agree?  I’d say yes, based on the parable of the rich man speaking with Lazarus across the vast gulf that separated them during death.

For once our lives are over here, and we are faced with the eternal choice we’ve each made by accepting or not accepting the death of Jesus on the cross for us, and we see God’s goodness and our own sinfulness, we can’t help but agree with him that His judgments are fair and right.  It will be only because of His grace that we are spared.  Yes, He gave us free will on this earth, but what did we do with it?  That’s the question.

Father, if only those Egyptians killed while crossing the Red Sea could talk with non-Christian Egyptians today and let them know!  What a very different world we would live in!  Your love would even continue for them by ceasing an existence that would only lead to additional sin and greater punishment.  But in Your great love, You remove them from a sinful life that could end up only costing them more in eternity.  Your love does continue forever.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Psalm 130-135 Our God is ACTIVE On Our Behalf

Last night I was helping my son with his Russian correspondence course.  The lesson was about the past, present, and future tenses of verbs.  I suppose God used that this morning to highlight what I was reading, for here’s what He showed me:

“Lord, hear … listen … forgive …. Do not reject …”

“ God says, ‘I will …. I will …. I will…. I will …. I will …. I will….’ “

“The Lord does what He pleases … The Lord defends His people and has mercy on His servants.”

I’m so thankful that we have a God who responds when we call.  He’s active.  He doesn’t do things on a whim.  Instead, He intentionally orchestrates all of our lives to weave together events that will cause us to draw closer to Him.

Father, Your power amazes me!  Your ability to use even what Satan tries to do to foil Your plans to carry out Your will in incredible!  No one can comprehend it all!  I’m so glad that I trust in You and not in anyone or anything less powerful than the Creator of the Universe.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Psalm 120-129 Where My Help Comes From

“When I was in trouble, I called to the Lord and He answered me….

Where does my help come from?  My help comes from the Lord … He will not let you be defeated. 

He who guards you never sleeps … The Lord will protect you from all dangers; He will guard Your life…

What if the Lord had not been on our side? …

As the mountains surround Jerusalem, the Lord surrounds His people now and forever…

If the Lord doesn’t build the house, the builders are working for nothing…

Happy are those who respect the Lord and obey Him.  You will enjoy what you work for, and you will be blessed with good things.”

It’s simply not enough to respect the Lord.  He wants obedience to His Word as well.  If we want His blessings, and if we want His best is this life, then we must respect Him AND obey Him. 

Father, we can’t compartmentalize our lives, boxing up our Christianity in one part “for church” while living like we’ve never heard of Christ in the other parts.  Help my sons and me to understand that and to live it out daily.  Let there be no shadow of turning from our obedience to You.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Psalm 119 -- LOTS of Margin Notes

I have more margin notes written in this chapter than probably any other in my Bible.  Those notes said a lot to me this morning.  It would take too long to write the verses AND the notes, so check them out for yourself!

Verse                    Margin Note:

1-2          A recipe for happiness

4              Obedience is not an option or a suggestion

5-6          Missing the mark and hating it

7              Our instinct is to not believe this.  It must be learned

14           Real happiness, not a lack of freedom, but life as it was meant to be lived

16           It takes effort because sin tries to make us forget

18-19     A prayer to remove my spiritual blindness

20           A proper hunger for something of great value

28-29     When we’re sad and tired, we’re most susceptible to breaking His rules

34           Make sure I buy into His teachings fully

36           Give me a desire that I don’t naturally have

40           But sometimes “wanting” isn’t enough

52           Like a horse gets comfortable with a saddle and a familiar rider

59-60     He made the correct choice and didn’t hesitate to start

96           There’s never a point where they don’t apply

115         Don’t hang around people who might cause you to fall

120         A healthy understanding of just who God is

176         Even though we stray, He comes looking for us

That’s just a sampling.

Father, thank You for these reminders.  They were just what I needed to hear this morning.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Psam 116-118 God Reminding Me Of His Watchcare Over Me

“I love the Lord, because He listens to my prayers for help.  He paid attention to me, so I will call to Him for help as long as I live … I said to myself, “Relax, because the Lord takes care of you.” … So I will walk with the Lord in the land of the living … Lord, I am Your servant … You have freed me from my chains … All you people, praise Him because the Lord loves us very much … I was in trouble, so I called to the Lord.  The Lord answered me and set me free.  I will not be afraid, because the Lord is with me.  People can’t do anything to me.  The Lord is with me to help me, so I will see my enemies defeated… They chased me until I was almost defeated, but the Lord helped me.  The Lord gives me strength and a song.  He saved me … Please, Lord, give us success … You are my God, and I will thank You; You are my God, and I will praise Your greatness.”

Father, yesterday I’d let the world creep in and cause doubts.  Thank You for gently calling me back to You.  Thank You for continuing assurance that You are there, and that You love me and want the best for me, and that You are in control.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Psalm 110-115 God Has The Wheel

Words I needed this morning, Father!

“Sit by Me at My right side until I put Your enemies under Your control … The Lord has made a promise and will not change His mind … The Lord is beside you to help you … The Lord is kind and merciful … Everything He does is good and fair; all His orders can be trusted … He sets His people free … He is holy and wonderful.  Wisdom begins with respect for the Lord … Happy are those who respect the Lord, who want what He commands … the children of honest people will be blessed … A light shines in the dark for honest people, for those who are merciful and kind and good… Those who are fair in their business will be remembered.  They won’t be afraid of bad news; their hearts are steady because they trust the Lord.  They are confident and will not be afraid, they will look down on their enemies … The things they do are right and will continue forever … No one is like the Lord our God, who rules from heaven … The Lord lifts the poor from the dirt and takes the helpless from the ashes … The glory belongs to You, Lord, because of Your love and loyalty … Trust the Lord; He is your helper and your protection… You who respect the Lord should trust Him … The Lord remembers us and will bless us … The Lord will bless those who respect Him.”

Father, forgive me when I’ve been so absorbed with self that I’ve failed to respect You.  Thank You for reminding me this morning of Your sovereignty.  Be God in my life, Father.  Remove those things that don’t belong.  Give me Your calm assurance that You remain in control.  Let me never forget that Your hands never leave the wheel.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Psalm 108-109 Prayer In Times Of Trouble

Circumstances can get so discouraging that God is the only real hope for rescue.  When anxiety or worry begins to make life miserable, these are great chapters of encouragement.

“God, my heart is steady.  I will sing and praise You with all my being … Help us fight the enemy.  Human help is useless, but we can win with God’s help.  He will defeat our enemies.  God, I praise You.  Do not be silent…. I was good to them, but they repay me with evil.  I loved them, but they hate me in return.”

David’s been under verbal attack, and a large part of Psalm 109 lists those hateful words his enemies were saying about him.  After reciting them, he calls on God to turn their words upon them – to “do these things to those who accuse me, to those who speak evil against me.”

He cries out, “But You, Lord God, be kind to me so others will know You are good.  Because Your love is good, save me … Lord my God, help me; because You are loving, save me.  Then they will know that Your power has done this; they will know that You have done it, God.  They may curse me, but You bless me… I will thank the Lord very much; I will praise Him in front of many people.  He defends the helpless and saves them from those who accuse them.”

Father, keep my heart steadfast.  Help me not to ever stop trusting in You for everything I need.  Remove my doubts and fears.  Give me the encouragement I need.  Help me to remember the three words You uttered in 108:7 – “When I win…”  For You will, Father.  You will.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford