Revelation 4 -- Praise To The Creator

This chapter shows us the importance of worship.  According to my commentary, “Tue spiritual worship is perhaps one of the greatest needs in our individual lives and in our churches.  There is a constant emphasis today on witnessing for Christ and working for Christ, but not enough is said about worshipping him … to use all that we are and have to praise God for all that He is and does.”

Everything centers on the throne in John’s vision of heaven.  “No matter what may happen on earth, God is on His throne and is in complete control… John is emphasizing the glory and sovereignty of God … There is no possible way for human words to describe what God is like in His essence.”

My commentary sees the image of the rainbow as it was seen in Noah’s day – as a sign of hope – that God is merciful, even when He judges, and it sees the creatures as symbolizing the wisdom of God and as proclaiming the holiness of God.

God the Creator seems to be the focus in chapter 4, it says, while in chapter 5 it’s God the Redeemer.

Daniel saw the thrones set up in heaven, but empty, in his vision, but now John sees the thrones occupied by 24 elders.  My commentary suggests that they may represent the people of God in heaven, enthroned and rewarded.

There were storm signals coming out of the throne – thunder and lightning – reminding us of God’s impending judgment and His awesome power, it says.  Also, the clear crystal sea supposedly symbolizes God’s holiness and the mingled fire, His holy judgment.

It may be hard for us to understand the importance of the constant praise for God here, for we often forget to praise Him on earth, but when the four creatures glorified God, the elders would fall before the throne and praise Him.  I just wondered why they would ever get back up and sit on their thrones again!

The praise given to the Creator here is the first step toward trusting the Redeemer, my commentary added.

Father, I fail miserably in praising You enough!  Over the years, I’m thankful that You’ve allowed me to see Your sovereignty and Your omniscience, and I know You are absolutely worthy of all praise, yet the things of this world turn my face from the things of heaven.  I can’t wait to one day be undistracted in my praise and worship of the One who loved me enough to create me and save me!

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Revelation 3 -- Word To The Churches

Jesus was delivering a variety of messages to these churches, not to unbelievers.  My commentary pointed out several:

When the Spirit is grieved, the church begins to lose life and power.  When sin is confessed and church members get right with God and with each other, then the Spirit infuses new life.

It is when the church’s leaders and members get accustomed to their blessings and complacent about their ministry that the enemy finds his way in.

The first step toward renewal in a dying church is honest awareness that something is wrong.  When an organism is alive, there is growth, repair, reproduction, and power; if these elements are lacking in a church, then that church is either dying or already dead.

A remnant of dedicated people often exist in even a dying church.

The warning here is that we not grow comfortable in our churches, lest we find ourselves slowly dying.  The encouragement is that no church is beyond hope so long as there is a remnant in it, willing to strengthen the things that remain.

It is not enough to love God and our fellow believers; we must also love a lost world and seek to reach unbelievers with the good news of the cross.

Christ is the Lord of the harvest and the Head of the church, and it is He who determines where and when His people shall serve.

Satan is the accuser and he uses even religious people to assist him.

There are both opportunities and obstacles.  Unbelief sees the obstacles, but faith sees the opportunities.  And since the Lord holds the keys, He is in control of the outcome.  Nobody can close the doors as long as He keeps them open.  Fear, unbelief, and delay have caused the church to miss many God-given opportunities.

God has set before us many open doors of opportunity.  If He opens the doors, we must work; if He shuts the doors, we must wait.  Above all, we must be faithful to Him and see the opportunities, not the obstacles.

The church cannot be a ‘closed system’.  Jesus said, “Without Me, you can do nothing.”  The Laodicean church was independent, self-satisfied, and secure.  But all the while their spiritual power had been decaying.  The Lord was outside the church, trying to get in.

Father, help us to each take an honest look at our churches to determine where we are, where You are, what we are doing, and what we’re missing.  Let us grab the opportunities You present us with and know that we are in Your will.  Help us to be at work where You are at work.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Revelation 2 -- A Standard Of Speaking The Truth In Love

As I began to read God’s words to these churches, my commentary reminded me:  “It is individuals who determine the spiritual life of the assembly.  So, while reading these messages, we must apply them personally as we examine our own hearts.”

It called Ephesus the Careless Church, and said of it, “Some churches need to be cautioned to worship the Lord and not their pastor … What we do for the Lord is important, but so is why we do it … The church that loses its love will soon lose its light, no matter how doctrinally sound it may be.”

My commentary found no words of accusation for the church at Smyrna, but God did tell them, “Don’t be afraid!”  “Their time of tribulation would not be long.  The important things faithfulness, standing true to Christ no matter what …”

The church at Pergamos was seen as compromising.  “A group of compromising people had infiltrated the church fellowship … This group of professed believers lorded it over the people and led them astray … The church as Pergamos would feel the Sword of Christ – the Word – if they did not repent.  This is not a reference to our Lord’s return but to a present judgment that comes to a church when it is disobedient to the Word of God.”

Thyatira was called a Corrupted Church in my commentary.  “No amount of loving and sacrificial works can compensate for tolerance of evil … how to compromise with the Roman religion and the practices of the guild, so that Christians would not lose their jobs or their lives,” was what concerned them the most.

Some words in the summary really stuck out:  “The Ephesian church was weakening in love, yet faithful to judge false teachers; while at Thyatira, they were growing in their love, but too tolerant of false doctrine.  Both extremes must be avoided in the church.  ‘Speaking the truth in love’ is the biblical balance.  Unloving orthodoxy and loving compromise are both hateful to God … Like Ephesus, we can be zealous and orthodox, but at the same time lose our devotion to Christ … It is not only lost sinners who need to repent, but also disobedient Christians.”

Father, please examine my heart and the hearts of all of us in our church.  Look into our hearts and show us what You see.  Help us to be about what You say is important.  Help us to be devoted to Christ and loving to those You are working to reach through us.

Your Brother In Christ,

Revelation 1 -- What To Remember And Expect

My commentary had a lot to say about how we as Christians are to approach this book – “as wonderers and worshippers, not as academic students”.  We need to firm up in our hearts and minds that “today, Jesus Christ is a Priest-King … and we are seated with Him on His throne … exercising spiritual authority and serving God in this world.”

It had likely been sixty years since John had last heard Jesus speak audibly.  What a wonderful surprise that would have been to hear that voice again!  His voice was described as the sound of many waters.  My commentary says, “Christ gathers together all the streams of revelation and is the Father’s last Word to man.”

“This vision of Christ was totally different in appearance from the Savior that John knew in the flesh when He was ministering on Earth.  He was not the gentle Jewish carpenter … He is the risen, glorified, exalted Son of God, the Priest-King who has the authority to judge all men …”

It said this is the apostle who’d leaned on Jesus’ chest, now falling at His feet as though he were dead!  That’s what a vision of the exalted Christ does to us!  “We need this attitude of respect today when so many believers speak and act with undue familiarity toward God … What the church needs today is a new awareness of Christ and His glory.  We need to see Him high and lifted up.  There is a dangerous absence of awe and worship in our assemblies today.”

Father, as I begin reading this book again, keep me in awe of You and Your Son – of the majesty and honor that is always due You.  Remind me that You gave us the awesome privilege of glimpsing the end so that we’d have no fear, trusting in Your mighty power to conquer Satan.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Genesis 50 -- What A Way To Close A Book

Jacob died and Joseph and his brothers, along with a host of Egyptians, carried his body to Mamre in Canaan to be buried with Abraham and Isaac.  And yes, the brothers then doubted Joseph’s good will and life that Jacob had required Joseph to forgive them.  But the most touching story in this chapter changed for me this time, due to something I read in my commentary:

“Joseph’s coffin in Egypt was a constant reminder to the Jewish people to have faith in God.  When their situation changed in Egypt and the Jews found themselves slaves instead of resident aliens, they could look at Joseph’s temporary burial place and be encouraged.  [Joseph certainly had heard from God that they would one day leave Egypt and go to the Promised Land.]  During their wilderness wanderings, as they carried Joseph’s remains from place to place, he ministered to them and urged them to trust God and never give up.  A coffin in Egypt may appear to be a discouraging way to close a book, but from the viewpoint of faith, it couldn’t be more encouraging…. ‘He who does the will of God abides forever.’”

Father, that’s what I want.  Help those I visit with, talk to, minister to, and teach to see the promises You’ve faithfully fulfilled in my own life.  Help me to remember that I trust You for the yet unfulfilled requests I’ve made, and change the hearts and lives of those I’m praying for because of my own trust in You!

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Genesis 48-49 The Future Cost of Sin and The Future Blessing of Obedience

In 49:18, my commentary says it appears that Jacob was communing with the Lord as he gave these final blessings to his sons.  It is therefore very likely, then, that God was directing these words and that they weren’t just an old man’s thoughts about what had happened in his family over time.  But some things he said and did had resulted from the sins of his sons.

First, Jacob adopted Joseph’s two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim as his own.  Since this gave Joseph’s family two inheritances, it effectively made Joseph the firstborn who got the double blessing, replacing Reuben, who’d disgraced his family.  Reuben’s tribe declined in numbers and settled on the east side of the Jordan, technically outside of the Promised Land.

Simeon and Levi had let indiscriminate anger rule them, and they’d killed as a result of it.  Simeon’s tribe eventually was absorbed with the tribe of Judah, and Levi’s tribe wasn’t given an area of land, but instead 48 towns scattered throughout the land.

During Jacob’s adoption of Joseph’s sons, he had crossed his arms, blessing Ephraim (the younger) over Manasseh (the older).  Joseph had realized what was happening and tried to reverse his father’s hands, but Jacob held on.  This was the fifth time in Genesis that the birth order was reversed, my commentary said.  It also added, “Jacob was guided by God and knew what he was doing.”

Sinfulness in the lives of Jacob’s sons caught up with them, and some of what Jacob said wasn’t blessing but instead a revelation of the future cost of their sins, even on subsequent generations.

Father, please help my sons to see the cost of sinfulness and help them to choose obedience to You instead.  Help all of us to know that Your will for our lives is our absolute best course of action.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Genesis 46-47 -- Blessing Unbelievers

Jacob was now heading to Egypt – a foreign country to him and a country where he knew his grandfather had gotten into trouble and one his father had been warned not to enter.  But this time, God was directing the move.  As he reached the southernmost point in Canaan, Jacob stopped to worship God and there God spoke to him and reassured him.

Pharaoh had given the most fertile land in Egypt to Joseph’s family for his valuable service and also because Egyptians disliked shepherds, so God’s plan of separation from non-Jews was continued.

Five of Joseph’s brothers accompanied him to see Pharaoh, an rather than being considered resident aliens, Pharaoh placed them in charge of his own herds and flocks!  When Jacob met the king of Egypt, he blessed him in the name of God and did so again when he departed.  My commentary said that’s a good example of how a true believer is to relate to those outside of the family of God.

As the famine worsened over the next few years, the Egyptian people ran out of money and began trading livestock for food, then land, and finally themselves to Pharaoh.  Yet Jacob’s family was adequately cared for in Goshen.  God was still at work!

The way God used Pharaoh shows us that God can work His will even through unbelieving leaders.  God doesn’t have to have Christians as leaders to get His job done.

Father, thanks for showing me the importance of blessing unbelievers as a way of introducing them to You.  Remind me to do that often.  And thank You in advance for hearing and answering these prayers!

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford