Day 19 Jn v Jesus' Authority

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.

People have been searching for eternal life for most of recorded history. Christ is one of few people that claim to offer eternal life. Why are people so prone to steer clear of Jesus Christ?

People have an attitude inside of them. This attitude is bad or good depending on how it is shown forth. It is self-dependency. You hear small children, teenagers, new employees, and old folks all say 'I can do it myself.' For a stubborn child, who really can not do it and keeps trying, it can be sin. For a new married couple that appreciates all the help they are getting, but knows they can not be a charity case forever, it is maturity.

In every area of life, from pouring milk, to learning to drive, to religion man 'can do it himself.' A view point has, I am sad to say, has sneaked into the church. The view of self-sanctification. I like my blog post to be short, so I won't get into the vast amount of details that could be covered but I will say, you can not make yourself holy.

I was raised by great parents who I love, but in the churches we were in, I was taught self-sanctification. Or that, 'you are the one who makes yourself better. The less you sin the less tempted you will be. The less you sin the more holy you become. this is false.

Do we give up trying to live clean holy lives all together? By no means! If you think that it is your actions that are making you more holy, you are dead wrong. You are the one who got you into this sin mess. Christ is the one working in your life to make you more like Him and the Father.

Day 18 Jn iii Ye Must be Born Again

That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Being born again is a very interesting thing. It goes opposite of a 'normal' life. In our earthly life we are born then we die. No questions about it, we are born, then we die. But in the spiritual life things are backwards.

When born into the earthly life you may be a healthy and strong baby, but you are spiritually still born. You are, spiritually speaking, dead in your sins, then you are born. You go from death to life. You are born again. They both follow a pattern, but one upside down from the other.

In your earthly life you (I hate to use tenses)start a mental conception of God's, in eternity. Then you are born in the flesh, then you die. The spiritual life is a mirror image. You are dead to begin with, then you are brought to life, or born.

Have you been born again? http://elseidie.blogspot.com/2011/10/day-15-lk-ii-christs-birth.html

Day 17 Mt v&vi

And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

There is so much in this passage! The passage can very easily be a series about the core teachings of Jesus. A great many things jumped out to me. God laid on my heart this, 'Do not be anxious.'

There was a situation recently where I felt my fiancee was in danger. I rushed as quick as my car would take me! Instead of taking my time, doing to speed limit, and getting there in a good amount of time, I just freaked. I sped, like no bodies business. Thus from speeding I had a spin out, which lost me time in getting there and could have killed me and others. Also I picked up a cop on the way there, who also took my time from getting to her and had every right to arrest me.

All I did in worrying is almost kill myself and get arrested. Then once I got to her apartment and the cop was processing me in the parking lot I am sure this did not make the situation any less stressful for her.

What I'm saying is, God had everything under control. If I had gotten there one minute sooner or later she would still have been ok. Instead of trusting God I almost made a bigger mess. What can we really do in this life if it is not the will of God? Nothing. God is in control of every situation. From your recent break-in to your sick child. God is moving and working in your life through these situations.

Trust God. Believe that He is in control. Give Him the glory.

(I did not get a ticket. Once the officer saw how shook up my fiancee was he let me off with a warning, which is the biggest break I have every heard of!)

Day 16 Lk iv Who Christ is.

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

Christ, using scripture tells us who He really is. He tells us what He came to earth to do. This is an amazing passage. I have got to be honest I have never seen this before.

Christ did all these things, both physically and spiritually. He has healed the blind and given enlightened eyes the the wicked. He has proclaimed good news to the poor and also gives good news to all humans who are poor with out His riches. He set Barabas free and also freed the sinner from their chains.

Search, refresh, renew or find out the excellency of the knowledge of Christ.

Day 15 Lk ii Christs' Birth

for my eyes have seen your salvation

Christ is the Saviour of the world. I have lived my whole life believing this. I wanted it to be made real to me, and not just something I had heard from birth and would believe because.

I can not tell you the moment in time when I was saved. I do not remember praying a prayer. I don't remember reciting a creed. I really can not say anything about the moment when God saved me.

What I can say is this, I know God has saved me. I believe Jesus Christ to be my Lord and Saviour. I believe when He died, He died for me. I believe He has forgiven me my sins and has made a place for me in heaven.

How do I know this? It is what I believe. It is nothing at ALL what I have done, but all what God has done in me. My eyes have seen the Salvation of the Lord.

How can you know God has saved you? Simple Believe on Him. (questions? pioneerjameswood@yahoo.com)

Day 14 Isaiah's Prophecy liii

But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. (I really wanted to use a different translation to change it up a bit...but the ESV best expressed the wording here.)

We all know this chapter. I memorized it for Sunday School and memorized it again when I was in choir for 'Messiah'.

This is the zenith of prophecy in the old testament. David did a great deal of prophecy for the Christ, including what Christs' last words would be. The highlight of all the old testament prophecy is summed up here in Is liii.

It was the most powerful trade in the account of history. He was punished, we were forgiven. He was crushed, we were made whole. He was chastised, we were given peace. He was broken, we healed. He bore your depression, worry, and anxiousness. 'Never was something so precious given for something so vial.' -Brian Stocks.

Pray that today God would make the sacrifice of Calvary real to you again.

Day 13 Ezra iii Laying the Foundation

the people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people's weeping

Like I said in my last post I have just come through a rough patch in my life. Now I am out of the trouble. Not only out of the trouble but moved on to a whole new chapter of my life.

The last chapter ended with a lot of pain, hurt, distrust, anger, and even hate. When I flipped the page and started the new chapter, it looked a lot like the old chapter. I was still very angry and hurt. I really adopted the DONT TREAD ON ME way of thinking. I was still clinging on to things that did not matter.

God has really been working in my life. He is laying a new foundation. Here in Ezra is the rebuilding of the temple. They have to start from scratch, square one. The foundation. You may be at a new chapter in your life as well. Forget those things that are behind and press towards the mark.

Day 12 Daniel iii Golden Image

And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?

There are many applications to this passage. Some I've heard are: stand when no one else is, trusting God through any persecution, Christ is with you in the fire.

I wanted so badly to bring some new thing to light here. In the stead I will just write what God has put on my heart. It is not always easy to stand.

There was a time not too long ago that I had to stand my ground on an issue. It was almost like what you'd read in foxe's book of martyrs. I was questioned and asked to renounce what I believed.
Threatened with all sorts of punishments (I make it sound harder than it actually was because I'd like to be vague on the circumstances). I was the least questioned and threatened among my friends.

It was a very tough time. I had just discovered that I had anxiety troubles (medical, not just usual fretting) and I did not have medicine for it. Add on top of that all this pressure to change my belief...I honestly thought I was going to loose my mind (this I will not downplay, but I will not go into details)

Through it all Jesus, whether I felt it or not, was there with me. Looking back I could not feel Jesus with me, but l know for sure He was there.

Christ will be with you in all your temptations.

Feare ye not, stand still, and beholde the saluation of the Lord which he will shew to you this day. For the Egyptians, whome ye haue seene this day, ye shall neuer see them again. The Lorde shall fight for you: therefore hold you your peace. Ex xiv.13 K (Geneva Bible) Verse that got me through.

Day 11 2 Kings xxv Exile of Judah

So Judah was taken into exile out of its land.


I am at a time in my life where it feels like exile. I have felt more alone and more afraid than right now. Still the feeling of exile is there.

There are times that God has appointed in our lives to be times of exile. Times where we may be cut off from certain people or when we are around people and still feel dreadfully far away.

During these times search yourself. Find what God is teaching you. You may not know for years what is being taught. God does everything for a purpose. I do not believe in a God that plots and plans around what man will do and changes His mind cause He can't control what is going on.

Trust that God is in control and trust that the situation you are in is exactly where He wants you to be.

"Be acquainted, then, with thine own heart: though it be deep, search it; though it be dark, inquire into it; though it give all its distempers other names than what are their due, believe it not." -John Owen (quote from Dr. Joel Burdine)

Day 10 1 Kings xviii Elijah and the Prophets of Baal

that this people may know that you, O LORD, are God

This story is worth reading today (all the bible is worth reading ya nit pickers [i look forward to your comments]). Elijah goes up against 450 prophets of Baal and totally (and figuratively) burns them!

But, once again, look at the motive in Elijah's prayer. His reason for calling down fire from heaven was so that God's people would believe. He was not worried about getting his pride hurt or looking foolish, Elijah's purpose for this was to show God's power, so that, His people would believe.

Don't pray for your personal success today unless it's directly connected to the glory of God being manifested through successes. -Maggard (thefieldistheworld.wordpress.com)

Day 9 Solomon's Wisdom

understanding mind to govern your people

When God came to Solomon and asked him for whatever he wanted he asked for wisdom. I am not shocked at the request. I am impressed by the motive behind the request.

Solomon did not ask for riches and fame. He asked for an 'understanding mind'. Solomon asked for this because he wanted to rule God's people in a way that would honour and glorify God. The motive behind his request was to bring God honour and glory.

Solomon was not thinking about what he wanted at this time. His desire was God-ward. Today I would pray that all my prayer-requests would not benefit me, unless it was to help me please God more.

Day8 1 Sam xvii David and Goliath

For the battle is the LORD's, and he will give you into our hand.

God used David to win this battle because it gave Him the greatest glory. When we see this little boy going up against this giant we see clearly that David had divine aid. But God could have used any one.

Any one who would have challenged Goliath in the Name of God would have gotten the victory, no doubt. God put it in the heart of David because this gave God the most glory and showed His power.

Never think that your problems are too big for you. God delights in using little things and people to defeat or conquer the big things. The king's hand maid. The little boy's lunch. One cruze of oil. If God has given you a trial larger than yourself, thank Him.

Day 7 Josh i

Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.

It is always good to be reminded that God is with us. This is what I needed today. I am actively looking for a job (drove to two places yesterday and putting in two apps today) but I spend most of my time at my house alone. Lots of time to think and pray. Also have lots of time to dwell on carnal things and fill my mind with things that don't help me.

God always being with me is such a great comfort. I am praying that this thought will be on my mind all day.

Day 6 Ex xx Ten Commandments

There are two things that I see in this passage that jump out at me and that I did nto see myself but other people have shown to me and I think they are worth looking at now.

The first is in verse 7 in the commandment about taking God's name in vain. The word 'take' here is תשׂא (naw'shaw or here taw'shaw). This word can mean a great many things. My friend Jon Langman did a study and he found that one of the means for that word is to take, like a coat, and wear. Not just to take the name 'God' on our lips but also to take His name on our lives in vain. It is, I think, a matter of both. The greater application is this; calling yourself a Christian and then not living up to it. Taking Christs' name in vain.

The second thing that was pointed out to me was in verse 9. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work,. We put a whole lot of emphasis on the 'day of rest'. Not so often do we see that we are also commanded to work the six other days. My friend Ransom Maggard pointed this out. Christians are always taking their Sunday naps, which without we would surely be children of Satan. But they are not too worried about the other half of the command, working the other six days.

I hope to hear some things that God made light up to you. Please leave a comment.

Day 5 Ex iv Moses and the Burning Bush

This is an interesting part of this chapter. In the chapter our focus is mostly on the dialogue between Moses and God. Then While Moses is on his way back to Egypt he stops and is lodging when God comes to kill his son. His wife then takes a flint and cuts off the boys foreskin and tosses it at Moses' feet. ...that is hard core... It comes as a surprise to me that his son had not been circumcised yet.

I read some commentaries on this, for the passage can be read in many was. It seems that it was the man's job to be doing the snipping. This was Moses' fault that the boy had not been trimmed. So God came to kill (or make very sick) Moses for neglecting his job. This is when his wife steps in.

She cuts off the boys foreskin and throws it at Moses feet
A Bridegroom of Blood
so that it touches his feet (it's in the Hebrew) and calls him a 'bloody husband' or bridegroom.

I pray that God would always give me the strength and courage to do what is right to do. And that God would never have to use my wife in a capacity she was not intended for because of my disobedience.

Day4 Gen xxii Abraham and Isaac

Here am I

We have all heard this story in sunday school from our teachers and in the pulpit from our pastors many times. God has lighted different things to me at different times. Most times we look at Abraham's faithfulness. That is Abraham's driving force no doubt. I see also his willingness.

I know very well that his willingness would not be possible without his faith. Let's take a look at his willingness though.

Here am I sums up Abraham's whole attitude. Isaac is a picture of Christ here and it is a great picture but I don't think Abraham was any less willing to give his wife, his other son, his servants, or anything. Nothing that God asked for would have been too big. God chose Isaac cause he was the greatest thing that God had given.

We all wish for the faith of Abraham in this story, but I would also be happy with an ounce of the willingness that he showed as well.

Gen xv&xvii

Gen 15:15 As for yourself, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age.


I thought for sure I was going to be reading something about Noah. Instead I find we've skipped to Abram.

Some things I found interesting were his name change. Abram: great father = Abraham: father of multitudes. It was on my foot notes, and while I'm sure some preacher through the years has said this I never picked it up.

Also, the animal choices that God made. It seemed he was choosing the pattern of which animal pleased him. They are the same ones I believe that He told Moses to use.

God makes a promise to Abram in xv.15 that he would live to a good old age. This is also something I had not seen. Not of HUGE importance just something that jumped out at me.

I find it very interesting to study this history of Israel. It always helps you down the road in your study. These are the basics that will aid in the study of the whole bible.

Das Bible

*I use the King James to preach from. It is a good translation and that is what I will use to preach from in my church. To have a standard text.

For personal study I use, including but not limited to: ESV, NKJV, KJV, K, and JPS. Also for original languages I use: TR, BYZNT, LXX, Vulgate, Masort, Syriac.

This is a personal study and I am using the ESV mainly. So my references will be from it.

Gen iii The Fall

And he said: 'I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.'

Today's reading was the fall. There are the major things that jump out to me. Eve was not surprised the serpent spake. The first recorded sin in the bible in verse 4. God clothed them in animal skin, a picture of the up coming covenant. And the...say it with me class...protoevangelim!

Things that stood out to me were: The first sin they realized they had committed was being naked. The fruit gave them the knowledge of 'good und evil'. They knew they should not be naked. Hmmm interesting.

Also, they did not know they were naked till both of them had eaten. The fact that adam was never tempted by the snake but only by woman.

When adam and woman ate of the fruit we assume that they learned all the naughty things that they should not do (we know what assuming does). Once they ate the fruit there were able to discern what was evil and good. They did not have sin 101 downloaded into their heads.
Also, not only did they know what was wrong to do but they could now perceive what was good to do. Which is where C. S. Lewis starts his book Mere Christianity. There is a Human Nature in us that knows when evil is committed.
We are dead in our sins, so when we commit sin was don't think twice about it. But it is when sin is committed against us (being lied to, being stolen from, being cheated) That is when we see that there is a bar or standard of good and bad.

Read the passage for yourself. Comment and tell me somethings you saw or things you'd like to add to this post. Above anything, read it, apply it, live it.

Gen i&ii Creation

*Gen 1:2 Now the earth was unformed and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters.
Gen 1:3 And God said: 'Let there be light.' And there was light.
Gen 1:4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.
Gen 1:5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.
Gen 1:6 And God said: 'Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.'

I do not claim to solve any mysteries here. I am only blogging my ideas and observations.

This first chapter we travel back in time. In fact, we travel back before time. We go back before the beginning. Before reality was real. Before existence existed. Here we 'start' in eternity past. There was two things I see 'being' 'existing' here. God and water.

What about the earth mentioned in verse two? It says that it had no form and it was void, therefore it did not 'be' in eternity past. Why does it seem that water 'was' in eternity past? I can not say. I am making just an observation...I look forward to your comments.

God's first thing to create was Light. But darkness is mentioned in verse two? Darkness there is just a term used for nothing. Actually, less then nothing. There could be no darkness with out light. If light 'was not' then darkness could not be compared to anything, thus rendering it non-existent. When you jump in water you get wet. You become wet because you cease being dry. But what about a fish? It is nothing but wet. Only to a fish, wet is the state of things so it does not realize it is wet, that is all the fish knows. So with out light there was 'no' darkness. Once light was voiced into 'being' then could darkness be divided and made a separate thing.

Then God makes the firmament. This, I think is the start to the universe. Later on in the chapter we see God 'haning' the stars in the firmament/canopy/sky. The stars hang and move in the expanse of the universe. This is the creation of reality. Perspective. Being.

These are a few things I found interesting in these chapters. Comment it up I would love to hear what you think (not in disagreement with my ideas, but a voicing of your ideas)

May we see the awesome power and control of our wonderful creator through this reading.

40 Days Bloggin'

God has, as of right now, chosen for me to be unemployed. I am actively looking for a job. I try to apply to one or two places a day. So pray with me that God would provide a job, or whatever His will maybe. For the moment, I have a lot of free time. I do work around the house to keep busy, but still, large gaps of down time.

I needed to clear my head, last night, and think. I saw this time that has been given to me as a time to study and reflect. To study God and His word. And to reflect on my relationship with God and my attitude towards others.

There is a 40 day reading schedule in the front of one of my Bibles. I thought I would read through that schedule. As a means of keeping track and actively thinking about the days passage I thought it useful to keep a blog about it.

I start today!