Passage of the Day - December 9, 2012

Matthew 4:1-11

4 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ² And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. ³ And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” ⁴ But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”

⁵ Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, ⁶ and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written,

‘He will command His angels concerning You’;

and

‘On their hands they will bear You up,
So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’”

⁷ Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

⁸ Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; ⁹ and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’” ¹¹ Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.

This used to be a very confusing verse to me.  You see, I created in my mind a view of the Trinity that isn't accurate.  I thought of the Triforce.  Yes, that Triforce (from the Legend of Zelda).  I used to think it was three equal powers working together as one entity in perfect harmony.  It sounds good, until one runs into a passage like this.

How can God be tempted?  From James chapter 1, we know that God cannot be tempted, yet here we are.  This is very confusing and some explain it away as the "great mystery" that is the Trinity.  That works for the believer, but not the skeptic, Muslim, or Jehovah's Witness.  This is why it is important for us to have a strong understanding of the relationship between the three Persons of the Godhead.  As we discussed before, Jesus is the perfect, unadulterated, personification of the Message of God.  Just as my message is me, yet not me the person, so it is that Jesus is God, yet not God the Person.  Therefore, the Person Jesus Christ is able to be tempted without violating the principle laid out in James chapter 1.

With this understanding, let's take a closer look at what is actually going on.  We typically look at this verse as Satan making three futile attempts at tempting the Son of God to reject Himself and choose Satan instead.  It almost seems silly.  However, Satan wasn't attempting to convert Jesus to Satanism.  He was pulling out all the stops to taint the Message of God.  He played word games with Eve to cause The Fall, surely he could trip up the Message of God into falsehood or self-rigtheousness.  Instead, the Message of God always perfectly brought attention back to God.  The Message of God came out of the forty days just as pure as it went in and was not found lacking.  We find in this passage that Jesus Christ was not self-seeking, but rather sent to bring God's Message to the people and to bring the people to God.

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 - December 8, 2012

John 1:1

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 

John 1:1 is a very famous verse that points to Jesus being God.  But, how exactly does it work?  We know that the Word is Jesus.  Therefore, we know Jesus was with God and we know that Jesus was God.  Sounds good, but seems rather simplistic doesn't it.  It is quite a leap.  Aren't there many verses in the Bible that point to Jesus' lack of perfect omniscience (all-knowing) or subservience to the Father?  How does that work?  Through this passage and others, I plan to show how our models and ways of explaining the Trinity fail to meet the challenges of the skeptic.  I will start, however, with providing a model that does not.

Our question should not be "Who is the Word?", rather "What is the Word?".  There are various interpretations of "the Word" or "Logos".  These include reason, knowledge, etc.  Trying to wrap the old coconut around this can get a little hairy.  Therefore, I am going to offer a different perspective.  We can best understand "the Word" as "the Message".  

Jesus Christ is God's message of love to us.  God's Message was there at the beginning.  God's Message was with God, God's Message is inseparable from God to the point of being God.  Think of it like this:  "Only thing we have to fear is fear itself".  Who was that?  "That was President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, of course!", you say.  Oh really?  Looks like words on a blog to me.  But, think about it.  Aren't those words synonymous with Roosevelt?  When you hear that message it actually is Roosevelt.  It is his message of calm, his revelation of his leadership, his call on Americans to not be controlled by fear.  

Jesus Christ is God's Message of love, hope, and redemption to His people.  As we will see in future passages, Jesus is in perfect union with God, the Father.  Therefore, the Message is actually God.  God with us.  Jesus Christ is the personification of God's Message and being in perfect union with God and emanating directly from God, He is actually God.  However, since Jesus Christ is God's Message, he is subservient to God and is not required to have perfect Omniscience (not knowing the day or hour of his return, etc.).  I hope to show how this works throughout scripture and will help passages of the Bible to come alive in a whole new light and understanding.

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 - December 7, 2012

Matthew 28:16-20

¹⁶ But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. ¹⁷ When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. ¹⁸ And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

As I mentioned in my facebook post inquiring on the interest of starting up Passage of the Day again, I mentioned my theological/spiritual journey.  I can think of no better passage to sum up this path than my favorite passage.  During the past couple of years I have been examining the Bible on three primary issues: the Trinity, baptism, and ministry/missions.  Matthew 28:16-20 contains all three.  But, what do each of them really mean?  Do we have a firm enough grasp on the Trinity to explain it to a Muslim or Jehovah’s Witness?  Are we positive that we fully understand baptism to the point we are sure that our children should not be baptized until a later age or are we positive that they should be baptized as infants?  Verse 19 starts with the word “Go”, but what does that mean for me or you, specifically?  I plan to share with you what I have found over the next few weeks.

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 - July 17, 2011

James 1:27

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.

Empower the powerless and engage and change the world without being defiled by it sums up the mission Christ has laid before us.

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/)

This is the verse that will conclude Passage of the Day. I have enjoyed the past few years of preparing these for the world. However, God has placed Russian orphans on the heart of my wife and I. We are not sure, as of yet, what God has planned for us, but we are beginning our journey toward exploring and finding out. For this reason, and various lesser others, I will be moving away from Passage of the Day and on towards this new endeavor that will involve much prayer, reading, research, and time. Thank you for reading and words of support.

May God bless you in whatever mission He has for you. May we all remain faithful and committed to our Lord, Master, King, High Priest, Savior, and Friend Jesus Christ. May we continue to be filled and led by the Holy Spirit as ambassadors to this lost and lonely generation. Amen.

Passage of the Day - July 6, 2011

James 1:26

26 If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless.

People are listening to what we say, how we say it, and why we say it. What good is our praise to God for 90 minutes on Sunday when we say shameful things the rest of the week?

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 - July 5, 2011

James 1:22-25

22 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; 24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. 25 But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.

There are many Star Wars fans who can tell you all there is to know about hyperspace, but have never navigated a single parsec. There are many people that could talk your ear off about the legal system and why Casey Anthony should or should not have been found not guilty, but have never stepped foot into a court of law. There are many expert parents out there, they tend to have zero kids of their own. There are many expert Christians, but live their lives exactly the same way everyone else does. We are not called to study the Bible to become like our Expert Jesus Christ; we are called to be disciples to become like our Master Jesus Christ. We are called to master what is called for in the Bible. A plumber doesn’t drive up to your house in a Cadillac because he filled in the right bubbles on a scantron. No, he worked hard as an apprentice learning how to be a plumber, doing the work of a plumber, getting licensed as a plumber, and being an effective and successful plumber. Let us do the same.

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 - July 4, 2011

James 1:19-21

19 This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.

We all know the phrase, “Bite my tongue”. We “bite our tongue” when we really want to light into someone, but we think better of it. God is happy that we stop ourselves from saying something dumb out of anger, but He would be even more pleased if we weren’t so quick to anger. I know my face speaks volumes. Those who know me well know that I wear my heart on my sleeve. I can’t get away with any emotion good or bad. Therefore, it would be best to be slower to anger because even if I don’t say or do anything, my facial expressions alone will do all the damage for me, and who wants that?

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/)