Passage of the Day - November 8, 2013

Matthew 14:13-21

 

¹³ Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; and when the people heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities. ¹⁴ When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick.

¹⁵ When it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, “This place is desolate and the hour is already late; so send the crowds away, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” ¹⁶ But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!” ¹⁷ They said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” ¹⁸ And He said, “Bring them here to Me.” ¹⁹ Ordering the people to sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds, ²⁰ and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full baskets. ²¹ There were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children.

Jesus is not concerned with how little we bring to the table.  Christ will use our meager submitted means and do great and miraculous things.

 

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/)

Passage of the Day - November 7, 2013

Matthew 14:1-12

 

At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the news about Jesus, ² and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”

³ For when Herod had John arrested, he bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. ⁴ For John had been saying to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” ⁵ Although Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded John as a prophet.

⁶ But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod, ⁷ so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. ⁸ Having been prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” ⁹ Although he was grieved, the king commanded it to be given because of his oaths, and because of his dinner guests. ¹⁰ He sent and had John beheaded in the prison. ¹¹ And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. ¹² His disciples came and took away the body and buried it; and they went and reported to Jesus.

 

Let us learn from the mistakes of Herod.  Do not commit adultery, especially with your brother’s wife.  Do not reject the rebuke.  Do not imprison those who righteously rebuke you.  Do not make choices out of fear.  Do not take pleasure in lustful behavior.  Do not make oaths and promises to the object of your lust. Do not make choices out of shame.  Do not make choices to impress people.

 

If you make these choices, you may end up making very stupid decisions and inflicting more evil than you ever intentioned.  Pride, lust, and vengeance can quickly snowball into a complete nightmare in a heartbeat.

 

Sorry, nothing too uplifting about this passage.

 

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/)

Passage of the Day - November 6, 2013

Matthew 13:53-58

 

⁵³ When Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there. ⁵⁴ He came to His hometown and began teaching them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers? ⁵⁵ Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? ⁵⁶ And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” ⁵⁷ And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” ⁵⁸ And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.

 

In showbiz, there is a term called typecasting.  An actor is so successful and beloved in one type of role, it is hard for the actor to find a different kind of role.  The same is often true in our family, among our friends, and our acquaintances. 

 

Jesus likely lived a fairly normal humble and quiet life before He began His ministry.  He did not seek attention.  He did not show off how much He knew about scripture.  He simply obeyed the law and honored his parents.  Then, after He was anointed by the Holy Spirit at His baptism, He began to fulfill His mission.  Again, He did not seek attention or show off how much He knew about scripture.  He simply preached the gospel, the Good News of the kingdom.  It was the Message that He spoke and the miracles He performed to help some and instruct others that garnered the attention.  This was out of character for the Jesus that the Nazarenes knew.  They painted their own mental picture of who He was and He was scribbling all over it.

 

What do we forsake when we focus more on meeting people’s expectations at the expense of the mission God has called and anointed us to?

 

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/)

Passage of the Day - November 5, 2013

Matthew 13:44-52

 

⁴⁴ “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

⁴⁵ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, ⁴⁶ and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

⁴⁷ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; ⁴⁸ and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. ⁴⁹ So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous, ⁵⁰ and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

⁵¹ “Have you understood all these things?” They said to Him, “Yes.” ⁵² And Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”

 

There are various ways you can look at verses 44-46.  You can view them from the perspective that the salvation God has to offer is so valuable, we would be fools to not give up everything we have to possess it.  You can also look at it from the perspective that the kingdom of heaven is us and it was Jesus who gave up everything to purchase us.

 

Verses 47-50 are pretty clear that in the day of reckoning, those not of Christ (the wicked and the pretenders) will be separated from those of Christ.

 

Verses 51-52 are interesting.  It is a strong argument for studying both the old and new testaments.  There is much to be gleaned from both and it is difficult to fully appreciate one without the other.

**Also, if there is a topic any of you want to do a deep study on, let me know.

 

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/)

Passage of the Day - November 4, 2013

Matthew 13:36-43

 

³⁶ Then He left the crowds and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.” ³⁷ And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, ³⁸ and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; ³⁹ and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰ So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. ⁴¹ The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, ⁴² and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³ Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

 

Over and over I have struggled with deciding which passage to use in Passage of the Day.  Well, I have decided to restart it using the daily readings of the Anglican Church.

 

This passage, along with the original parable in Matthew 13:24-30, give us a glimpse into why God allows sin and the sinful to flourish and multiply among us.  It is for our sake.  Look at the story of Lot and especially Abraham’s pleading with God to save Sodom and Gomorrah.  For the sake of ten people God would have withheld judgment.  He loves His people so much that he protects us from harm even if it means allowing evil to flourish.

 

Unfortunate things happen to all of us, but God’s judgment is withheld for the sake of His children.  However, the day of the final harvest is fast approaching when the weeds will be separated from the wheat. 

 

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/)

Passage of the Day - April 25, 2013

John 1:29-34

²⁹ The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is He on behalf of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’ ³¹ I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.” ³² John testified saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. ³³ I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

The phrase “for He existed before me” is telling because we know that John the Baptist was born before Jesus was.

The phrase “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him.” Shows that Jesus was one, through whom, God was going to work and therefore had godly authority.

John the Baptist also differentiated between his baptism in water and Jesus’ baptism in the Holy Spirit.  As we have seen, John’s baptism in water is the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. 

Did John have the authority to remit sins?  Did baptism itself remit sins?  Or was God using the prophet (and more than a prophet) John the Baptist to bestow a washing away of sins through the act of baptism?  Through the water baptism, the people were cleansed from the dirt and grime of life on the outside by the water and the stain of sin on the inside by the grace of God.

This washing inside and out prepared the way into people’s hearts for Christ’s ministry of penetrating the peoples hearts with the Truth of God’s Word; the Gospel of God’s Love shown through God sacrifice of His Son on the cross, the crushing of Satan’s head, and victory over the grave; and the Faith, Hope, Wisdom, and Power of the Holy Spirit.

This is why the Church practices one baptism.  These two ministries are now united in the one baptism we receive.

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/)

Passage of the Day - April 22, 2013

John 1:19-28

¹⁹ This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” ²⁰ And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” ²¹ They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” ²² Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” ²³ He said, “I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”
²⁴ Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. ²⁵ They asked him, and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” ²⁶ John answered them saying, “I baptize in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know. ²⁷ It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” ²⁸ These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Matthew 17 records that Jesus basically said that John the Baptist was Elijah who was to come.  Why the conflict?

Luke 1:17 clears it up.  John the Baptist will go as a forerunner in the power and spirit of Elijah.  John the Baptist was not the fulfillment of Malachi 4:5, but he is the fulfillment of Malachi 3 and Isaiah 40.

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/)