Passage of the Day - February 22, 2013

Ephesians 6:10-20

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. ¹² For 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. ¹³ Therefore, 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. ¹⁴ Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ¹⁶ in 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. ¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
¹⁸ With 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, ¹⁹ and 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, ²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

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.  

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 - February 21, 2013

Ephesians 6:10-20

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. ¹² For 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. ¹³ Therefore, 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. ¹⁴ Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ¹⁶ in 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. ¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
¹⁸ With 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, ¹⁹ and 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, ²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

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.

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 - February 20, 2013

Psalms 82:3-4

³ Vindicate the weak and fatherless;

Do justice to the afflicted and destitute.
⁴ Rescue 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.

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 - 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.

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 - 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.

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 - 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. ² And 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.”

³ As 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?”
⁴ And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. ⁵ For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many. ⁶ You 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. ⁷ For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. ⁸ But 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. ¹⁰ At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹ Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. ¹² Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. ¹³ But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. ¹⁴ This 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.

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 - 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. ² The people therefore cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the Lord and the fire died out. ³ So the name of that place was called Taberah, because the fire of the Lord burned among them.

⁴ The 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? ⁵ We 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, ⁶ but 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.

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/)