Passage of the Day: February 2013

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Passage of the Day - February 26, 2013

Ephesians 6:10-20

¹⁰Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. ¹¹Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. ¹²For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. ¹³Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. ¹⁴Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ¹⁶in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
¹⁸With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, ¹⁹and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

The helmet of salvation protects our head. The best way to describe it is Magneto’s helmet. In X-Men Magneto wears a special helmet to prevent Charles Xavier from getting into his head. Our helmet of salvation prevents Satan from messing with our mind, making us doubt our purpose and salvation. A soldier without a helmet is exposed and can be killed in one crushing blow. When going through a spiritual battle, crushing blows will come, but our salvation will not waver and the salvation God provides can absorb anything Satan chooses to unleash.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®,
© Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission." (http://www.lockman.org/)

Monday, February 25, 2013

Passage of the Day - February 25, 2013

Ephesians 6:10-20

The shield of faith is what we need for the initial onslaught. At the beginning of battles, archers would fire arrows from long distances. Those who were not properly protected were killed. The same is true in spiritual warfare. The Enemy will fire off a barrage of attacks in order to defeat us. If we hide behind something besides our faith, we will be incapacitated. The darts will be doubt, worry, fear, other priorities, grumbling, lack-of-heart, coveteousness, dissension, etc. Without our faith protecting us, we will become non-participants very quickly.

The evils of sex/human trafficking, abortion, neglected orphans, etc. is the realm of Satan and he will fight us tooth and nail every step of the way. We must be perpetually prepared.

Passage of the Day - February 24, 2013

Ephesians 6:10-20

The most important part of battle is being able to do the right thing when you are in the right position at the right time. The right footwear gives us the ability to fight after getting our position at the right time. We can have footwear that allows us to stand our ground, but is too clunky for us to get in position. We can have footwear that allows us to get there, but then we’d be slipping all over the place with any resistance.

The gospel of peace is similar. Digging in and getting to know God’s message of peace to the world (not only between God and man, but also man and man) will help us to know where to go and will give us the tools to know what to do when we are there. This is the message we are to share wherever we go. We can often be listless in life because we embrace the cheap fire insurance gospel. Where our feet go, we go. Our feet are like our will. If the gospel of peace does not penetrate our will, we will go nowhere and do nothing.

Passage of the Day - February 23, 2013

Ephesians 6:10-20

Here’s the deal with spiritual warfare; sin is no longer an option. The destructiveness of sin becomes severe when battling the evil forces of this world. The Enemy’s attack will be relentless. A knight without a breastplate would cower in a battle, much the same as we would cower without righteousness. Don’t get me wrong. It isn’t that our righteousness gives us boldness. It doesn’t. Boldness comes from God. It is our sin that causes doubt and fear that can supersede boldness.

Therefore, we must arm ourselves with righteousness in order to unapologetically stand our ground and march where we are called to march.

Friday, February 22, 2013

Passage of the Day - February 22, 2013

Ephesians 6:10-20

As I stated yesterday, we will discuss what we are to put on one by one.

First, we are to “gird our loins with TRUTH”. This passage describes how a warrior basically gets dressed for battle. First and foremost, God’s TRUTH is what will hold us together and will allow us to be effective. If we protect ourselves with something riddled with lies, Satan can penetrate those fissures and expand them, and eventually demolish our purpose. It is essential, when in the spiritual battle, that God’s TRUTH reigns supreme.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Passage of the Day - February 21, 2013

Ephesians 6:10-20

The issue of tackling the problems of orphanhood and especially human/sex trafficking is that there are very dark and evil forces at work. Christ has called us to be salt and light. Our King is establishing a state of war. There will be those who will be on the front lines of this battle, others channeling orders, and still others funding the campaign financially and prayerfully. We must remember that we are not at war against mere flesh and blood, but the pure evil and wickedness that controls the people advancing this. This isn’t a test of strategy, tactics, and strength; this is about following orders from the King, being protected by the gifts He has granted us, and enduring until Christ calls us home. If we go into this kind of battle with nothing but idealism, we will be crushed.

We will go item by item on the full armor of God in the coming days.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Passage of the Day - February 20, 2013

Psalms 82:3-4

³Vindicate the weak and fatherless;

Do justice to the afflicted and destitute.
⁴Rescue the weak and needy;
Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked.

Yes, I understand that Psalms 82:3 was the verse two days ago. I was inspired by my wife to use this passage today, though.

According to Shared Hope International, over 100,000 children are exploited by pornography or prostitution every year…in the United States alone. http://www.atg.wa.gov/HumanTrafficking/SexTrafficking.aspx

Do you want some more depressing stats?

How about 1 in 3 women worldwide will be raped and/or beaten in their lifetime. http://www.onebillionrising.org/pages/about-one-billion-rising

About 27 million souls are currently enslaved. One million children enter the sex trade every year. The industry is in the tens of billions of dollars. http://worldissuesandcriticalthinking.wordpress.com/2010/08/30/human-trafficking-facts-and-statistics/

At no other time in history have we been in a better position to put a stop to this. Unfortunately, at no other time in history has there been a more coordinated network and high reward. Human/sex trafficking is quickly becoming the number 1 revenue stream of organized crime.

I am also finding my way on how I can make a difference. I hope you can join the cause as well. This is why I so desire unity within the Church, so we can attack this undeniable, outright evil on every possible front together.

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Passage of the Day - February 19, 2013

James 1:27

Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

Part of the driving force behind me wanting to become part of the Anglican Communion was to be a part of a larger network of Christians that embrace the call of social justice. I believed that there would be better opportunities to make a real impact in Russian Orphan Care and the fight against human/sex trafficking through the Anglican Communion. We know, now, that unless things change within the Anglican Communion, this won’t be the route my family will take.

The question is do we get involved as missionaries, advocates, adopters, ambassadors, financiers, or simply prayer partners?

I feel, now, that I am at a loss, or in a holding pattern, on what to do in this regard. I hope to hammer this out, but I’m sure this will be a longer process that will go beyond the time that I will discuss it on Passage of the Day.

Overall, I request prayer in this regard.

Monday, February 18, 2013

Passage of the Day - February 18, 2013

Psalms 82:3

Vindicate the weak and fatherless;
Do justice to the afflicted and destitute.

I am going to move on to the third item on my list – Russian orphans. For quite a while now, we have been investigating why Russian orphans and the human trafficking problems around the world, and in Russia in particular, have been placed on our hearts. Throughout Scripture, God takes up the cause of the orphan. We, as Christians, should heed this cause as well. Everyone has a different role to play, and my family is trying to find its role.

There are over 730,000 orphans in Russia today and 300 are discovered, on average, every day. http://doorwaystohope.org/orphans

These are the children who aren’t a part of the 2,750,000 annual abortions statistic. http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_abo-health-abortions . This is double the number of abortions in the United States and Russia’s population is about 2/3 of that of the

United States

. No other nation comes close, statistically.

Of course, the orphans in

Russia

do not have good living conditions, are tossed out at 16 and typically get mired in drugs, prostitution, and suicide.

Unfortunately, since the return of Passage of the Day, the Russian government has made it very difficult for Americans to adopt Russian orphans. As I agree with the notion that Russian Christians should step up and start adopting these little ones, it is a task we Westerners should not ignore.

I plan to delve into this in the time ahead.

Passage of the Day - February 17, 2013

Matthew 24:1-14

Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. ²And He said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”

³As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
⁴And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. ⁵For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many. ⁶You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. ⁷For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. ⁸But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.
⁹“Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. ¹⁰At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. ¹²Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. ¹³But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. ¹⁴This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

This passage has a whole new meaning to me now. I wonder how much decay and destruction will be thrust upon the Church due to the changing mores of our current culture. Verse 9 is striking because that seems to be exactly what many churches are trying to avoid. We are called to love, not to be loved. Verse 10 is interesting because “many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another” refers to Christians and churches. Although unity is what is desired by God, destruction of the Church by infighting and abandonment of faithfulness to the Truth of God’s Holy Scripture in favor of the lies/threats of Satan’s Wicked Culture is what Christ is prophesying.

Verse 13 also is telling. We are to endure. I try to not be fatalistic; I prefer to believe that we have no idea of when the end times are coming, so our current path isn’t necessarily the path we must be on and churches can repent and return. However, since verse 14 states that the gospel of the kingdom shall be preached to the whole world and then the end will come and since we have just about reached every people group in the world, this course may be the final course. We need to remain a remnant faithful to the Truth. If that means we are hated, despite the love we show through caring for the orphan, the poor, the widow, and fighting the evil forces of human trafficking, etc. then so be it.

A (or the) tribulation is on its way. We have very difficult questions that must be answered on their way. It is time we start finding out what they are and how we intend to answer them.

Passage of the Day - February 16, 2013

Numbers 11:1-6

Now the people became like those who complain of adversity in the hearing of the Lord; and when the Lord heard it, His anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. ²The people therefore cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the Lord and the fire died out. ³So the name of that place was called Taberah, because the fire of the Lord burned among them.

⁴The rabble who were among them had greedy desires; and also the sons of Israel wept again and said, “Who will give us meat to eat? ⁵We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic, ⁶but now our appetite is gone. There is nothing at all to look at except this manna.”

Have you ever weighed different options, but leant so much to one side you were blinded from obvious reality? This was me this past week. In my heart I wanted the Anglican option to be the choice, so I even flirted with explaining away the Church of England’s decisions to allow homosexual priests who entered into civil partnerships to become bishops. I even began to deceive myself into believing that I should reform it from the inside. I asked God to reveal things I wasn’t thinking about, and He did. I find it strange, though, that I was at a loss on Friday for a Bible passage and I prayed that God would show me the right one and John 17 (which I wasn’t exactly sure what passage that was) was what flashed in my mind. It just happened to speak about unity, the very thing I have been discussing earlier. The question is, “Why?” Why have I gone down this path? What is God telling/teaching me? Telling/teaching us? That is not always easy.
I have decided to not join the Anglican Church at this time. I can’t reconcile the actions of the CoE with the Bible. The Anglican Church of North America does not endorse their decisions, but I can’t reconcile women priests to the Bible either and the ACNA does allow that, just as the CoE has for years. Perhaps you may disagree, and if so, please let me know and the biblical basis for doing so.
These revelations have struck me to my core. They have been very demoralizing. I hope to work with God and my family to find a better path. I have also decided to hold off baptizing my children until a new path is found. Losing two months only makes the short-term window shorter.

Friday, February 15, 2013

Passage of the Day - February 15, 2013

John 17:1-11, 20-23

Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, ²even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. ³This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. ⁴I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. ⁵Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

⁶“I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. ⁷Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You; ⁸for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me. ⁹I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours; ¹⁰and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them. ¹¹I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are.
***
²⁰“I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; ²¹that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.

²²The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; ²³I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.

Verse 3 is the banner all Christians can march behind. Eternal life is to truly know God and Jesus Christ whom He sent.

Also, look at Jesus’ desire for unity. Christ’s Church is anything but unified. I believe it is time for the Church to unify. I beseech all of us to pray for unity. I humbly request of God to use me in any way He desires in this regard.

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Passage of the Day - February 14, 2013

Matthew 3:7-8

⁷But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance;

Matthew 5:9

⁹“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Proverbs 26:17

Like one who takes a dog by the ears
Is he who passes by and meddles with strife not belonging to him.

Jonah 1:1-2

The word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, ²“Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.”

Ok, is it better attack from the outside, reform from the inside, or ignore it completely? This is my question regarding the Anglican Church. Doctrinally, I believe they are solid, but they have been making some poor choices recently. I am becoming to be of the belief that the Anglican Church will be God’s agent in fostering greater unity in the Body of believers. However, they are under a relentless attack from those who seek to water her message down and mold it into their image along with those who have more devious schemes.

I have been on this journey for quite a while and I feel as if I’m still drawn to the Anglican Church for some reason. Perhaps it is a desire to be part of a larger community of believers. Perhaps it is simply trying to find a home for my new opinions/convictions on baptism. Perhaps it is a new desire to get reconnected to the historical Church. Perhaps it is because I give much (maybe too much) credence to my emerging belief that the Anglican Church will be God’s agent in fostering greater unity in the Body of believers and I want to be a part of that. Perhaps it is due to the Anglican Church having a good handle on its role to the misfortunate. Perhaps it is just me wanting to be a hero. Perhaps it is God calling me to something. Perhaps it is nothing.

I don’t think I mentioned it, but I spoke with the rector of the Anglican church I am debating whether or not to attend. I went over a few things with him, and I hope to speak with him in more depth on Sunday, if time allows, or later in the week next week.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Passage of the Day - February 13, 2013

John 8:3-11

³The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court, ⁴they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. ⁵Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?” ⁶They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. ⁷But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” ⁸Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. ⁹When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court. ¹⁰Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” ¹¹She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.”

1 Corinthians 6:9-11

⁹Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, ¹⁰nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

I Corinthians 7:12

¹²But to the rest I say, not the Lord, that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he must not divorce her.

Matthew 7:1-2

“Do not judge so that you will not be judged. ²For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.

Passage of the Day yesterday may have many of you scratching your heads. Today, well we’ll have to see.

I pointed out yesterday that the Church of England has just allowed priests in civil partnerships to become bishops. Let us dissect this.

We all have a sin nature and our new nature is always at war with our old. We all have certain sins that we struggle with. Does mere temptation equate to being barred from the Church or ministry? Does the sin being tempted with matter?

A civil partnership provides two people mutual protection and rights that a married couple enjoy including hospital visitation and property transfers. In of itself, a civil partnership is not inherently wrong. If a rich old man with greedy descendents had a right-hand-man employee who always had his best interests at heart may decide that this employee should be the one making the health decisions or being the sole inheritor of the estate. A civil partnership would allow them to do this. There is nothing wrong there. Granted, this is not the standard use of civil partnerships.

A civil partnership is also a bond between two people. It is a mutual commitment.

If a person who is in a civil partnership rejects their former life and embraces the new life, is that person allowed to dissolve the civil partnership? If a new believer should not seek divorce from their unbelieving spouse, can we ask the same of a new believer currently in a civil partnership who is willing to stay in the partnership? Oh, the trickiness that is thrust upon us these days!

If said person rejects their former ways and adheres to the teachings of Christ and His Church, and does not break their commitment that was made in the civil partnership but does not perform the evil that once was a way of life in the partnership, is that person allowed to be a priest/pastor? A bishop/elder? But what if the priest or bishop is simply lying about the nature of his current relationship? If we don’t have proof, are we allowed to judge?

This gets into the tricky area of being “above reproach”, though. All things are lawful, but not all things are beneficial, remember? Although, technically and to the letter of the law, I believe it can be argued that it is allowable, I do not think it wise or beneficial as their character will always be under scrutiny and it can cause deception and abuse of the letter of the law, along with division. The question is, “Will this bring glory to God?” Division within the Church never brings God glory. God can use people such as these in many grand ways, but there are still consequences of prior poor choices. Being a priest or bishop is an enormous responsibility and having the distraction of being scrutinized over one’s sex life is not the way to bring glory to God.

How this will affect my decision is still yet to be determined.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Passage of the Day - February 12, 2013

I Timothy 3:1-13

It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do. ²An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, ³not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money. ⁴He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity ⁵(but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?), ⁶and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. ⁷And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

⁸Deacons likewise must be men of dignity, not double-tongued, or addicted to much wine or fond of sordid gain, ⁹but holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. ¹⁰These men must also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach. ¹¹Women must likewise be dignified, not malicious gossips, but temperate, faithful in all things. ¹²Deacons must be husbands of only one wife, and good managers of their children and their own households. ¹³For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a ^[j]high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

Ask and ye shall receive. Yesterday I prayed that God would show me things I wasn’t weighing in my decision. I have come to find out that the Church of England recently ruled that gay bishops in a civil partnership that remain celibate can remain bishops. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/04/church-of-england-gay-bishops

I do not understand how this ruling adheres to this passage and the rest of Scripture’s teachings on homosexuality. It appears that the Church of England is trying to walk a fine line in adhering to Scripture and the laws produced by England’s government such as the Equality Act 2010. This is what Thomas Jefferson meant by a wall of separation between Church and State. Here the national Church of England is finding itself in a situation where they must choose between obeying government and obeying Scripture.

I am not a fan of women clergy as I do not believe it is God’s model, but this ruling is one step away from outright defiance against God. Anglicans accept women for priests, but not bishops (at least not yet). I believe it is not God’s model, but at least there are valid arguments to be made for allowing it. Not so for homosexuality in the clergy. Right now, I see the Church of England being right at the tipping point. If they were to move any further towards liberalism on this issue, it would not be good, suffice to say. However, I do know that the new Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby is adamantly against any further moves in this direction, although he is more open to women becoming bishops.

The Anglican Church of North America accepts women as priests, but not bishops, and is not in favor of homosexuals becoming priests. That was the basis of their founding as a response to the Episcopal Church’s decisions.

Do the actions of the Church of England affect my decision? Yes. Will it change my decision? Not sure yet. The Anglican Communion of which the Church of England and the Episcopal Church are a part and the Anglican Church of North America seeks to be a part includes various different interpretations of scripture and worship styles. I am willing to be a part of Christ’s Body the Church even though there are members of the Church that have made unwise decisions. Am I willing to be a part of a subset of Christ’s Body the Church even though there are members of the subset that have made unwise decisions and/or are on the path to doing so? Very difficult decisions, indeed.

Monday, February 11, 2013

Passage of the Day - February 11, 2013

John 16:23-24

²³In that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. ²⁴Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.

Heavenly Father, as I have walked down this path you have laid out for me, I have come to the conclusion, based upon the knowledge and understanding I have attained, that taking the next step of going to the Anglican church is the best thing for my family to do. Your will reigns supreme and I will bend to it. I pray that You will reveal to me in these last days before the plunge anything I need to know before taking this leap of faith. You have charged me with a wife and four born children and one on the way. It is my goal to raise them to serve Your Son, our King, to Your glory. Therefore, this decision is of the utmost importance to me. I humbly, yet boldly, pray, in Your Son’s Name, Jesus Christ, that You prevent me from taking this leap if it is unwise. Amen.

Passage of the Day - February 10, 2013

I Peter 3:7

You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.

Any decision that I make will be for the whole family. Therefore, I must know not only my wife’s thoughts on the matter, but also the basis for those thoughts. My wife and I just had a great conversation regarding this decision that shed some light on why her thoughts and feelings are what they are. In any decision, it is essential we understand our spouses. The decisions we can make for the best interest of the family can have disastrous results if we don’t know our spouse’s heart and mind on the matter.

Passage of the Day - February 9, 2013

Proverbs 11:14

Where there is no guidance the people fall,
But in abundance of counselors there is victory.

As part of this journey, I have decided to seek wise counsel. I am now struck by the fact that I don’t have a group of believers right now that I can turn to. I used to be in a great bible study group where I could talk these things over, but I haven’t been in one now for a few years. Wherever I end up, I see my need for a fellowship of believers.

Friday, February 8, 2013

Passage of the Day - February 8, 2013

II Timothy 3:10-17

¹⁰Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance,
¹¹persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me! ¹²Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. ¹³But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. ¹⁴You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, ¹⁵and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; ¹⁷so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

Have you ever been told that the church/Church needs to “get with the times” or “modernize”, etc. That is all well and good regarding improving the heating/cooling systems, sound systems, etc., but what about doctrine? Can the perfect Word of God be improved? Does that even make any sense? When people say “modernize” or “get with the times” they are really saying “I don’t like your God, I want to put my god on the throne.” Don’t fall into that trap. Many churches and denominations, have, unfortunately, sold out the truth of Scripture in order to bring people in and get them to like God. Make no mistake, God doesn’t care who likes Him; He only cares about who loves Him. God is not thrilled with those who claim to join His team; He is thrilled with those who obey Him. Yes, obedience still matters to God. We are freed from the penalty and bondage of sin and are not under the law but under grace, yet we are still called to obey and be holy.

Yes, I understand that this is not on the same path that we have been on. Yes, I understand that this is a bit on the preachy side. This, for some reason, I felt needed to be said. I will leave it up to God to determine why.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Passage of the Day - February 7, 2013

Ezekiel 34:2-16

²“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock?

³You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat sheep without feeding the flock. ⁴Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost; but with force and with severity you have dominated them. ⁵They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became food for every beast of the field and were scattered. ⁶My flock wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill; My flock was scattered over all the surface of the earth, and there was no one to search or seek for them.”’”⁷Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ⁸“As I live,” declares the Lord God, “surely because My flock has become a prey, My flock has even become food for all the beasts of the field for lack of a shepherd, and My shepherds did not search for My flock, but rather the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock; ⁹therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord:
¹⁰‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand My sheep from them and make them cease from feeding sheep. So the shepherds will not feed themselves anymore, but I will deliver My flock from their mouth, so that they will not be food for them.”’”¹¹For thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. ¹²As a shepherd cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will care for My sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day. ¹³I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land.
¹⁴I will feed them in a good pasture, and their grazing ground will be on the mountain heights of Israel. There they will lie down on good grazing ground and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. ¹⁵I will feed My flock and I will lead them to rest,” declares the Lord God. ¹⁶“I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken and strengthen the sick; but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with judgment.

What a passage on the role of the Church! The Church is to be a community of believers who are invested in one another and willing to help on another. Whatever is decided, wherever I go, I will seek out a church (or plant one, if necessary) that is dedicated to this charge. I would love to be a part of a church that focuses on strengthening the sick, healing the diseased, binding up the broken, gathering the scattered, and seeking the lost. What if churches could unify under this banner?