Good words today about handling issues that arise with other people.  Verse 9 starts, "If you have an argument with your neighbor ..."  Considering that our neighbor is just about anyone, we could probably change the if to when.  My commentary picks it up:  "A little disagreement arises with some friends, and you have not the courage to go and speak about it to that friend alone, but mention it to another."  Fear of confrontation is a very real problem, and one that I too often face.  Yet here we see biblical advice that tells us it is much better to go and speak about it and work it out than to add a third or fourth party to the mix.  My commentary continues, "Talking [with others] about a thing of this kind does no good, and in the end widens the breach."  If we happen to find ourselves as the third party, we are to rebuke the first party "for not going directly to the offender," for that amounts to gossip.

Verse 15 speaks of gentleness and patience as being the key to persuasion, ad verses 21-22 speak of "overcoming evil with good by repaying every offense or discourtesy with a kindness," according to my commentary.

This is absolutely beyond what the normal human spirit is capable of doing.  Yet when we give Jesus control over our lives, He can empower us through the Holy Spirit to do the impossible, for how we react is a witness of our relationship with Him, and a reflection of Him that poorly portrays Him is sin on our part.

Father, I know that I struggle with confrontation, and I know that I can make it much worse by involving others.  Please strengthen me to do what I often consider distasteful, knowing that it is commanded in Your word.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Solomon writes about the importance of self-control.  Twice in chapter 23 he urges "Control yourself..."  It's amazing that we seek to control so much in our lives, but controlling ourselves is such a problem.  Solomon mentioned controlling our appetites, both for food and for strong drink.  He warns us to control our desire to get rich.  (This from the wealthiest king Israel ever had.)  We are to control our children - helping them to learn self-control.

What really spoke to me was what I read in commentary about 24:10 - "One test of a person's worth is how he behaves under pressure.  If he gives up when the going is rough, he doesn't have what it takes."  I think the old word was "fortitude", which speaks of being able to deny oneself in order to stay the course.  That is perhaps one of the greatest traits we can instill in our children.  It's what kept the soldiers going through the long days of World War II. 

24:3-4 says, "It takes wisdom to have a good family, and it takes understanding to make it strong.  It takes knowledge to fill a home with rare and beautiful treasures."

Father, I want Your wisdom.  I want better self-control, both for me and for my sons.  Thank You for giving me a good family.  Give me the understanding to make it strong.  Thank You for giving me two rare and beautiful treasures in my boys.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Over the years I've worked with our youth, I've always felt that keeping the lines of communication open is one of the single most important things we can do.  It helps them to experience unconditional love.  In this chapter, Solomon speaks of the importance of disciplining them, and when discipline is used, it is vitally important that we hold to this thought:  "I love you, and I will always LOVE you.  I may not like what you've done, but I still love you."

My commentary told of the rules that the mother of Charles and John Wesley used in raising her 17 kids:

• 1) Subdue self-will in a child
• 2) Teach him to pray as soon as he can speak
• 3) Give him nothing he cries for and only what is good for him if he asks politely
• 4) To prevent lying, punish no fault which is freely confessed, but never allow a rebellious, sinful act to go unnoticed
• 5) Commend and reward good behavior
• 6) Strictly observe all promises you have made to your child.

Of verse 6, my commentary says, "It can encourage parents to train their children along the lines of their natural talents, rather than forcing them into professions or trades for which they have no native inclination."

As to letting children have their own way, it warns:  "Children are born sinners and, when allowed to follow their own wishes, will naturally develop sinful habit responses ... such habit patterns become deep-seated when they have been ingrained in the child from the earliest days."

Verse 15 says, "Every child is full of foolishness."  I always try to remember that, at heart, they are still just kids, but as the commentary stated, "Mischief and self-will are native to the heart of a child."  As parents, God has given us the responsibility of teaching our children how to know Him, to see that His Word is truth for their lives, and to help them fade their self-will and become loving, giving adults who honor and glorify Him.

Father, my greatest lifework will be in raising and loving my sons, and I pray that You continue to impart Your wisdom in how best I can do that.  Remind me often that they are both priceless treasures from You, and please help me to shape them into men after Your own heart.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

"The Lord can control a king's mind as He controls a river; He can direct it as He pleases."

"There is no wisdom, understanding, or advice that can succeed against the Lord."

Father, we need our leaders in Washington, D.C. to understand You clearly on these verses, and if they fail to understand, then we need You to control their minds and to direct this country back to You.  Please make them fully understand that no wisdom, understanding, or advice that flies in the face of Your will can possibly win, and let them fear the consequences of working against You.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

My concentration was broken this morning by several distractions with my boys plus concerns and prayers I've been lifting up for several dear friends.  With all the distractions I almost didn't journal today, but then I remembered that I always teach my Middle School guys that distractions are red-flags indicating God's wanting to teach something very important and Satan knows it, so he distracts us to prevent us from hearing it.

What I found this morning says so much about our inner selves that others never come to know.  From my commentary:

Verse 1:  When a person allows himself to develop a sinful habit or addiction, "he tries to shake it off, but he is held as if by chains.  Christ gives power to break the chains, but first man must WANT deliverance."

Verse 5:  "A man's thoughts and intentions are often hidden deeply in his mind.  He will not generally bring them to the surface."

Verse 6:  "There is a difference between what men are, and what they want others to think they are."

Verse 8:  "Christ, with His all-seeing eyes, will see through pretense and sift all evidence."

Verse 9:  "If a man thinks he is pure, he is a victim of pure delusion."

Verse 10:  "God hates deceit ... it even includes the practice of demanding stricter standards from others than we do from ourselves."

In my Bible, verse 27 says, "The Lord looks deep inside people and searches through their thoughts."  I'm afraid to think of what He'd say when He reviewed His search engine results from my thoughts sometimes.  The sidebar, by Joni Eareckson Tada (a paralyzed diver) said, "My paralysis prevents me from reaching for the common temptations.  That's why my spiritual battleground is on the field of my thoughts.  I possess a very unlovely trait:  I waste precious time in idle daydreams.  I hate it because wasteful fantasies distract me from the real concerns of life, causing me to feel restless and dissatisfied with the way things are...."

Wow!  And I'd never seen daydreaming as temptation!  It sure puts all of God's words today in a whole new perspective.

Father, You know my thoughts, even before I think them.  You know the ones that don't honor You and the ones that waste my time and cause me to feel restless, useless, overwhelmed, and dissatisfied.  Please be Lord over my thought right now, Father.  I want deliverance.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford