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timewithgod.blog-city.com — November 2008
Philippians 3 -- Changing Our Understanding
One phrase kept resonating with me as I read this: "Changing Our Understanding". Even in my commentary there seemed to be an overriding theme of letting go -- "turning our backs on the things we have always been taught to p
One phrase kept resonating with me as I read this: "Changing Our Understanding". Even in my commentary there seemed to be an overriding theme of letting go -- "turning our backs on the things we have always been taught to prize most highly in this world so that we can gain a greater understanding of Christ."
Verse 15 sort of drove it home: "All of us who are spiritually mature should think this way, too. And if there are things you do not agree with, God will make them clear to you." That means that He will change our understanding of things.
Paul says that "all things are worth nothing compared with the greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." And my commentary says that "to know Him means to gain practical day-by-day acquaintance with Him in such an intimate way that we ourselves become more Christlike. Paul wants the life of Christ to be reproduced in himself."
It continued, "Many Christians are satisfied with expenditure in which there is no 'shedding of blood'. They give away what they can easily spare. Their gifts are detached things, and the surrender of them necessitates no bleeding. They engage in sacrifice as long as it doesn't involve life."
Paul realized that "satisfaction is the grave of progress", it added.
Father, I want more understanding. You've so radically changed my understanding over the years, but please change it all the more! I want to know Christ and to know You through Him. Don't let me ever be satisfied with only what I've learned to this point. And where my current understanding doesn't agree with Your truths, speak to my heart. Finally, Father, in this day before the elections, grant understanding for all who will vote tomorrow. Guide their hands carefully as they complete their ballots. Shine Your light on our nation and change OUR understanding of what You desire of us, Father.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
Philippians 4 -- Time For Our Divine Appointment
PERFECT TIMING AGAIN, FATHER! With Election Day today, what better day to read, "Don't worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks."But there's even deeper stuff here. Paul to
PERFECT TIMING AGAIN, FATHER! With Election Day today, what better day to read, "Don't worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks."
But there's even deeper stuff here. Paul told of how he'd learned to be satisfied with everything that happens," no matter whether he had food or not. My commentary said: "How had he learned such a lesson? Simply in this way: he was confident that he was in the will of God. He knew that wherever he was, or in whatever circumstances he found himself, he was there BY DIVINE APPOINTMENT. If he was hungry, it was because God wanted him to be hungry. If he was full, it was because His Lord had so planned it."
If we take on this same attitude, then nothing that happens today will surprise us or cause us worry.
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" also takes on new meaning today. Again, from my commentary: "When Paul said he could do all things, he meant all things which were God's will for him to do. He had learned that the Lord's COMMANDS are His ENABLEMENTS... He knew that God would never call on him to accomplish some task without giving the necessary grace."
Finally, Father, You offer such wonderful promise for today especially: "And God's peace, which is so great we cannot understand it, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."
Dear God, steer our nation today. Control hands as they vote. Correct wrong thinking, banish selfishness, and protect America today. Help us not to worry, but to trust in You. Give us Your peace. We are at our divine appointment as a nation.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
Habakkuk 1 -- A Message For America On This Day AFTER The Elections?
Father God, in all of Your timing, You have outdone Yourself today. For me to be starting this book the day after such electoral upheavals speaks of Your sovereignty.So many Christians are waking up this morning, asking the same questions that
Father God, in all of Your timing, You have outdone Yourself today. For me to be starting this book the day after such electoral upheavals speaks of Your sovereignty.
So many Christians are waking up this morning, asking the same questions that Habakkuk asked of God:
"Lord, how long must I ask for help and You ignore me? .... You do to save us! .... People are destroying things and hurting others in front of me; they are arguing and fighting. So the teachings are weak, and justice never comes. Evil people gain while good people lose; the judges no longer make fair decisions."
Father, Your answer matches the headlines today: "Watch and be amazed and shocked! I will do something in your lifetime that you won't BELIEVE EVEN WHEN you are told about it."
That's certainly the way I feel this morning, Father. I would feel as though we've lost all hope as a nation IF I didn't continue reading the next sentence: "I will use the Babylonians....."
Father, I know You are sovereign and in control. And You can and will use Mr. Obama to teach us that we cannot remain aloof to You as a nation and prosper. However, I saw another glimpse of I-know-what-I'm-doing in Your last words of that particular dialogue with Habakkuk: Speaking of those taking over Judah, You said, "They are guilty of worshiping their own strength." You will not let godless men and women remain on the throne when they fail to acknowledge You, when then only worship themselves and the power of their offices.
Your sovereignty was recognized by Habakkuk: "Lord, You have chosen the Babylonians to punish people; our Rock, You picked them to punish."
I looked at the introduction to this book in my commentary. It said, "Habakkuk was not a self-centered person concerned only with the comfort and safety of himself and his family. As a true patriot, he was deeply distressed by the moral and spiritual conditions about him. He loved his nation and knew it was moving ever closer to the precipice of destruction by breaking the laws of God. Therefore two anguished questions burst forth from his lips: How long? and Why?
As I stopped to take Josh to football practice this morning, the words of a song on AirOne spoke volumes about what this nation needs from You, Father: "Turn me around, pick me up, undo what I've become..."
Father, I know that chapter 3 holds the answer for all of us today, yet I don't sense You telling me to read that far just yet. It's as if we need a day to mull over our condition, to let these words soak in to see just how far our nation has chosen to move from You. Please grant me Your peace through my faith in You. Help me to trust You enough not to have to ask "How long....and WHY?"
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
Habakkuk 2&3 -- Hope For America Still?
There was a chilling line in chapter 2, verse 13, that seemed a dire warning to us today if we allow our nation to stray too far from God: "All the nations' work will be for nothing." God kept directing me back to that littl
There was a chilling line in chapter 2, verse 13, that seemed a dire warning to us today if we allow our nation to stray too far from God: "All the nations' work will be for nothing." God kept directing me back to that little apostrophe. That's where it was in the text. The work of several nations will be for nothing. The main collaborative efforts of nations in the last decade have been the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hmmm.....
Habakkuk heard God's answer and prayed this prayer:
"Lord, I have heard the news about You; I am amazed at what You have done. Lord, do GREAT things once again in our time; make those things happen again in our own days. Even when You are angry, remember to be kind."
Habakkuk new that God would respond. He knew that God is faithful. But he wasn't about to demand that God adjust to Habakkuk's timetable. In 3:17-19, he displays the peace that those who are in Christ should display in times like this:
"But I will wait patiently for the day of disaster that will come to the people who attack us. Fig trees may not grow figs, and there may be no grapes on the vines. There may be no olives growing and no food growing in the fields. There may be no sheep in the pens and no cattle in the bars. BUT I WILL STILL BE GLAD IN THE LORD; I WILL REJOICE IN GOD MY SAVIOR. The Lord God is my strength."
It reminds me so much of those now-familiar lyrics: "Blessed be Your name, when I'm found in the desert place. Though there's pain in the offering, blessed be Your name." We are to bless God regardless of our circumstances.
Father, protect us and carry us through these uncertain times. Do great things once again in our times. Let Your glory cover the skies. Just as water covers the sea, let people everywhere know Your glory.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
Philemon 1-25 Converging Circumstances (With God's Fingerprints All Over Them)
My commentary brought up something about this story of a runaway slave that I had never considered before: What was the chance that a slave who was not a Christian might runaway from his owner in Colossae and head to the "New York City&quo
My commentary brought up something about this story of a runaway slave that I had never considered before: What was the chance that a slave who was not a Christian might runaway from his owner in Colossae and head to the "New York City" of that day -- Rome -- and somehow ran into Paul, who was imprisoned, only to be led to Christ by the same man who had led his master to Christ? I'd say slim to none. It was a divine appointment.
My commentary said: "One of the hidden delights of the Christian life is to see God working in marvelous, miraculous ways, revealing Himself in converging circumstances that CANNOT be explained by coincidence or chance."
I think it clearly shows the sovereignty of God -- that He can easily move in the lives of unbelievers, even USING their SINS to bring them to Himself. It gives fresh meaning to the verse that says, "What others meant for evil, God meant for good."
Father, I've shown kids at youth how these converging circumstances worked in my own life -- how You redirected and routed me to my sons, even as You redirected them in their lives in Ukraine to be where they needed to be when You got me to the right spot in my life with You. Your timing and Your omniscience is beyond our comprehension, and You've had it all mapped out since before the creation of the world! You truly are an awesome God!
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
2 Peter 1 -- All Together Now
Peter really got my interest up when he said in verse 3 that Jesus has given us EVERYTHING we need to live and to serve God. In verse 10, he said that if we do the things he set forth, we will never fall. Man, that would be the point I
Peter really got my interest up when he said in verse 3 that Jesus has given us EVERYTHING we need to live and to serve God. In verse 10, he said that if we do the things he set forth, we will never fall. Man, that would be the point I'd like to get to!
So what are "these things" we've been given by Jesus to keep us from sin? My commentary says they are the promises of scripture -- some 32,000 of them. (But we have to read them first!)
Peter lists traits that needed to be added to our lives -- not as a progression, one after another -- but various "parts" to be added at the same time to make us spiritually whole. They include goodness, knowledge, self-control, patience, service for God, kindness for fellow Christians, and love.
I thought about the image of a car. You have to have certain parts to have a car, including tires and wheels, a motor, a steering wheel, a battery, and even a frame for it all to fit together on. Missing one of these parts makes it hard to claim that you actually have a car.
God seems to be showing me here that, in the same way, we ought to be realizing each of the spiritual "parts" above, at the same time. Otherwise, we are missing an important component. In other words, it's tough to exercise self-control without also having patience. Achieving self-control is not a prerequisite to obtaining patience.
Peter knew that regularly checking to insure that the items on his "spiritual checklist" were not just present, but also growing, was important, too. As humans, we are forgetful, and Peter made it his lifework to help Christians remember what a holy life looks like.
Father, please convict me of areas that need work in my life. Don't allow me to be satisfied with most of the list being evidenced in my life. Show me what I need work on, and constantly remind me to not let any one area falter, for I will be cheating not only myself, but others also, of blessings from You.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
2 Peter 2 -- Red Flags Rising
Although Peter's main thrust here is against false teachers, I felt like most who will ever read this fall into the category of students. Peter warns THEM about such teachers. I thought there was plenty for students to hear about them
Although Peter's main thrust here is against false teachers, I felt like most who will ever read this fall into the category of students. Peter warns THEM about such teachers. I thought there was plenty for students to hear about themselves as well. This probing question came up:
Are you utterly unable to understand the words, ways, and works of God? That should be a major red flag in the life of anyone who assumes himself to be a Christian. Peter mentioned it in verse 12.
My commentary also mentioned people who are "bound by the chains of evil lusts and habits, .... powerless to break free.....This is not liberty, but the worst form of bondage." A Christian who finds this in his life should recognize it as another red flag.
I also noted that in verse 20-22, Peter challenged those who had "reformed but not been born again. They never received a new nature. Through a partial knowledge of Christ... they had turned from a life of sin and begun a moral house-cleaning...."
The problem with a partial knowledge of Christ is this, my commentary says:
"The greater a person's privilege, the greater his responsibility. The more a persons knows of Christian standards, the more obligated he is to live up to them. It would be better never to have known God's holy requirements than having known them to turn back to the filth of the world."
My commentary concluded: "Reformation alone is not only insufficient, but is positively dangerous, because it can lull a person into a false security. Man can receive a new nature only by being born again. He is born again through repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ."
I liken that to going on a sin "diet" -- determining to avoid sin for a time. But due to our human weakness and sin nature, diets fail miserably over time. Instead, if we see something God hates being continued in our lives, we have to treat it as a food ALLERGY, knowing that ever partaking of it again, either in the flesh or in the lusts of the mind, could be "life"-threatening. As Christians, we cannot lose our salvation, for God keeps us in Christ in the palm of His hand, and nothing can overcome that grip. We can, however, hose fellowship with Him. That's why He waves the red flags when we start to stray.
Father, purify me from anything that You hate. Help me to conform to Your will, not my own. Remind me of the responsibility that receiving Your light brings, and help me to never be like the false teachers, or their students, here.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
2 Peter 3 -- Science Never DREAMED Of This
Peter kept using important words that seem to impress on me that there's a hidden nugget in this chapter: "remember....think about....remember....understand....remember..."Peter says that the unsaved world is willfully ignorant wh
Peter kept using important words that seem to impress on me that there's a hidden nugget in this chapter: "remember....think about....remember....understand....remember..."
Peter says that the unsaved world is willfully ignorant while priding themselves on being knowledgeable, my commentary says. It also fleshed out an amazing thought that I'd never considered. Through the work of Albert Einstein and others, we've come to understand that matter is really made up of stored energy. Nuclear bombs are proof of it. A tiny bit of matter contains an unbelievable amount of energy.
My commentary first noted that, when God created the earth, He seeded it with enough water to insure its destruction. There is water covering 2/3's of the globe and additionally subterranean waters that God loosed, along with atmospheric water -- enough to cover all of the earth and end life, except for Noah and his family. That in itself is amazing.
But Peter also speaks of how God plans to destroy our old sin-infested world and produce new heavens and a new earth in the Day of God. It won't be by water, but by fire. In verse 10, the skies will disappear "with a loud noise".
My commentary says that God has be "holding together" all of creation as we know it -- energy held together in matter. When He is ready to destroy the old heavens and the old earth, He simply has to cease holding it all together -- matter converted back to energy. A universe-wide nuclear explosion that certainly qualifies as "a loud noise". Then out of the chaos that results, He creates again -- Genesis revisited! He once again holds it together. Wow!
This new heaven and new earth will be a place where goodness and righteousness rule, not sin.
For us to be ready, Peter please with everyone to live without sin and without fault, to be at peace with God. And Peter reassures us that the delay in this happening is simply grace -- God doesn't want any to perish. He's waiting for that last holdout!
Father, thank You for Your grace. And thank You for being so infinite that You could pull off something this big! I can't wait to see the new earth and new heavens. I'm glad that You held off long enough for my boys and me to make it in. Please help us to make sure that all of our friends will be there with us. That will be a sight to see!
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
1 John 1 -- Staying Connected To God
The guy who was probably the closest to Jesus of anyone while He walked here on earth thankfully took the time to show us what it takes, on an ongoing basis, to maintain fellowship with God. Contrary to what most might believe, it isn't pre
The guy who was probably the closest to Jesus of anyone while He walked here on earth thankfully took the time to show us what it takes, on an ongoing basis, to maintain fellowship with God. Contrary to what most might believe, it isn't pretty:
From my commentary: "Fellowship with God requires that we acknowledge the truth concerning ourselves. For instance, to deny that we have a sinful nature means self-deception and untruthfulness. Notice that John makes a distinction between sin and sins. Sin refers to our corrupt, evil nature. Sins refers to evils that we have done. Actually what we are is a lot worse than anything we have ever done..... Conversion does not mean the eradication of the sin nature. Rather, it means the implanting of the new, divine nature, with power to live victoriously over indwelling sin.
"In order for us to walk day by day in fellowship with God and with our fellow believers, we must confess our sins: sins of commission, sins of omission, sins of thought, sins of act, secret sins, and public sins. We must drag them out into the open before God, call them by their names, take sides with God against them (and against ourselves), and forsake them ... When we do that, we can claim the promise that God is faithful and just to forgive.... And not only does He guarantee to forgive, but also to cleanse us from all unrighteousness ..... And since He forgives us, we must be willing to forgive ourselves.... We must not deny that we have committed acts of sin .... God has stated over and over in His word that all have sinned. To deny this is to make God a liar.
"Fellowship with God does not REQUIRE lives of sinlessness, but rather requires that all our sins should be brought out into His presence, confessed, and forsaken. It means that we must be absolutely honest about our condition, and that there should be no hypocrisy or hiding of what we really are."
My sidebar added: "Confessing sins -- admitting failures -- is exactly what prisoners of pride REFUSE to do."
Father God, it is an awesome thing to stand before You, the Creator of the Universe, and admit that I have sinned. I should never do so cavalierly. And I must also never fail to do it. You know me better than I know myself, so it's not like You will be surprised by what I admit. Get me over the hurdles of pride and help me to always agree with You about what I am, and what I've done. Thank You for Your wonderful forgiveness.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
1 John 2 -- He REMEMBERS We're Just Dust
John gives us two great things about God here as this chapter opens. First, God's perfect standard for His people: "I write this .... so you will not sin." My commentary said, "Because God is perfect, His standard
John gives us two great things about God here as this chapter opens. First, God's perfect standard for His people: "I write this .... so you will not sin." My commentary said, "Because God is perfect, His standard for His people is absolute perfection. He would not be God if He said, 'I write this .... so that you sin just as little as you can.' God cannot condone sin in the least degree, so He sets perfection before us as the goal.
"At the same time, the Lord knows our frame. He remembers that we are dust, and so He has graciously made provision for us in the event of failure."
God our Father simply desires His absolute best for us, and that best will only happen as we obey Him. And how loving He is that He remembers how hard it will be for us to obey, so much so that He even worked out a plan for that.
My commentary blew me away with this thought: God's word to John is "If any man sins..." Notice that it does not say, "If any man confesses his sin". "Jesus immediately comes to us in order to restore us to fellowship with Himself..... As our Advocate, the Lord seeks to bring us to the place where we do confess and forsake our sin." He doesn't treat us the way we'd treat a dog who is covered in mud .... spraying it with a hose from a distance. Instead He embraces us, warts and all, and draws us gently back to Himself.
Father, thank You for not settling for anything less than Your best for me. But also, thank You for remembering that I am only dust and that I will sin again. Jesus, thank You for helping me when I do sin, not waiting until I confess. Such a friend I have!
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
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