One Way

Merry Christmas, everyone!! I hope you are all enjoying the season with family and friends, enjoying a break from school, and are enjoying time remembering why Jesus came! I am sorry I haven't written a blog post in a long time. College work is fun (especially the writing classes I'm taking), but it's a bit of a burden - one I hope to cast off in July! Then there's family life, work, and balancing the social life (who said homeschoolers were unsocialized??). But there's another reason I haven't posted in a while. What I have been studying recently, I do not completely understand. I don't have all the answers. But you know what? I realized this morning that this is pride holding me back. Who says I have to have all the answers? When have I ever  had all the answers?? So...here goes... :) I was inspired to study the parable in Luke 15 when I got to work on the movie set of an upcoming Christian film "A Long Way Off" - a modern day retelling of ...

In my last blog post, we looked at the attributes of Jesus' speech, seeing that we are to follow his example. One of those attributes is that he was submissive to the Father, both in word and deed. Today, we're going to look at some of those verses where Jesus submits to the Father, and by doing so shows his authority. ~~~ "Jesus replied, 'Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.' Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.'" ~ Mt. 3:15-17 Sometimes, from our time in prayer, reading in the Word, and/or a rebuke from a brother or sister in Christ, we can wonder why God wants us to do something or do it a certain way. In following Jesus' example, we should be quick to answer...

Word Study - Part 10 Monday morning, I chose a Proverb to try to implement in my life this week, and it kind of accidentally turned into another word study :) "One who loves a pure heart and who speaks with grace will have the king for a friend." ~ Prov 22:11. Another translation of "speaks with grace" is simply, "gracious speech". But then I thought, oh that's all well and good, but what does gracious speech actually look like? So I did a search on Bible Gateway for the anything having to do with gracious speech, and this is the only other verse I found (in the NIV, that is): "All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked." ~ Luke 4:22 Duh! Who better to look to as an example of gracious speech than Jesus?? And actually, we are commanded throughout Scripture to follow Christ's example: "Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did." ( ...

Word Study, Part 9 I apologize for not posting in a while. Although I've been continuing my study on words, I have not made it a priority to type them all up yet. What I wanted to share with you today is actually part 9 (so yes, I am skipping ahead quite a bit) of the study, and can be found in Exodus chapter 4. In this chapter (and chapter 3), God is speaking to Moses from the burning bush. Moses had run away from Egypt after killing a man, and been living in Midian for quite some time. His own people, the Israelites, seemed to despise him for being a judge and ruler over them, even though he was an Israelite himself. So, God reveals his plans to Moses--really quite brilliant plans they are...and a bit of digression, but we can see throughout the entire Bible how God makes the best plans! It reminded me of this verse in Proverbs,  "In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps." (Proverbs 16:9) Shouldn't that be such a wonderful comf...

Word Study, Part 2 Alright, it's time for Genesis 3. Whohoo! ;) The serpent says, "Did God really say...?" So the serpent is questioning not only God's sincerity, but also His power (as we saw clearly shown in the first chapter). Then, the serpent uses words (*hint hint*) to twist God's original meaning. Yes, he uses part of the truth, but surrounds it with lies to get what he wants. This is called deception . The truths the serpent uses are:      - They won't die on the spot      - They will be like God in that they'll know good and evil The lie:      - This was something to be desired. The moral of the story is, just because a statement we make has truth in it does not automatically mean it's true. And in any situation where we are tempted to deceive, we need to ask ourselves--who are we trying to build up in the process? Others, God, or ourselves? A question that I asked myself, and hope to answer as the study continues is--...

We use our words in a gazillion ways every day. The Bible says, "The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks." (Luke 6:45) So I think it's pretty safe to say that our words are an important part of our Spiritual life, not just our everyday life. This is one of the many reasons I decided to do a Bible study on words, starting in Genesis 1. So, let's get started, eh? We've got a long way to go! Numerous times throughout the Creation account in Genesis chapter 1, these phrases are seen: - "God said" - "God called…" - "God blessed then said" So it's pretty clear hear that God was speaking, or at the very least using words. But why? Why didn't He just wave His hand and make it so? Why did God "bless" the animals and humans? He's giving them a comm...

Today I read 2 Samuel 6. This is when David and all of Israel are bringing the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem. The first time is a failure (the dude touches the Ark and dies, David gets spooked, and lets some other guy take care of it for a while), but I focused my study on the second part of the chapter, when they're bringing it in again the right way. It says that David danced before the Lord (and subsequently all of Israel) with "all his might". There were shouts, and trumpets, and other musical instruments blaring, I'm sure. Then David began "leaping and dancing" in celebration and thankfulness before the Lord. Not only is David held in honor by the people for this whole-hearted display (as we find out later in the chapter), but David also blesses the people by giving them all food. However, David's wife Michal (Saul's daughter), despises and condemns David for his dancing, saying that he made an utter fool of himself before the people....

For a couple of reasons, I decided to do a study on the feeding of the five-thousand. Did you know that it's one of the few stories that is in all four Gospels? Neither did I till this past week! It can be found in Matthew 14, Mark 6, Luke 9, and John 6. So far I've taken notes on the accounts in Matthew and Mark, and plan on studying the Luke and John accounts in the next few days. To set the scene (put things in context), John the Baptist has just been beheaded, and the disciples have just returned from their "missions trip" of casting out demons. Jesus decides that they all need a little rest, so they slip away in a boat to just chill. The people recognized Jesus, however, and the account in Mark says they literally ran to go see him. So they (Jesus and disciples) get to this remote place, hoping to have some quiet time, when these thousands of people show up! At this point, I would be pretty frustrated, as I'm sure the disciples were. John just died, so I...

This morning I was going to read a few Psalms that involved praise and nature (I was sitting outside on our back porch), and then jump back into my study of the Feeding of the Five Thousand. Weeeeeeell, let's just say I figured out pretty quickly you can't just read a few Psalms, and then move on, at least, not with the Psalm I read. Psalm 19 is a beautiful Psalm, and is well known by it's first line, "The heavens declare the glory of God…" and so forth. The last verse is also quite memorable, but I didn't realize it was in the same Psalm… Psalm 19:14-- "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer." That verse really stuck with me, and I thought, "Okay, now I can't go on without a bit of further study here." But what about this verse should I study, I thought, for there are a few different key words--words, mouth, meditation, heart, pleasing, Rock, Redeemer. ...

This morning I did something a little different in my quiet time. The idea must have been Spirit given, because when I woke up and walked out of my room, I knew what I had to do. As you know, I've been reading in 2 Kings lately, and have been seeing how Hezekiah and Josiah smashed down false idols and altars. I asked the question, "What are the idols in our own hearts?" Although I asked this question, I didn't really do anything about it. I knew I had idols in my heart (things that maybe I don't  necessarily hold above God, but at least on par with Him), but I was afraid to look. So this morning, I knew what I had to do. I would dig deep, and write down the list of my idols. First, though, I needed to prepare the scalpel that would undertake this surgery…the Word of God: Habakkuk 2:18 - "Of what value is an idol, since a man has carved it? Or an image that teaches lies? For he who makes it trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that can not speak....

This morning I read in 2 Kings chapter 23--all about Josiah King of Judah, son of Amon, grandson of Manasseh--a HORRIBLE king--and great-grandson of Hezekiah. Josiah is the one who became king at 8 years old, found the Book of the Covenant, and did some pretty awesome idol bashing! He even went a step farther than Hezekiah and went into Israel (who were in captivity at this point), and took out their old idols/high places/priests/etc! Josiah is described similarly to Hezekiah-- "Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did--with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength..." (2 Kings 23:25a) That's pretty serious! However, even after all Josiah did, God's anger (incited by Manasseh) did not cool down this time. But God did promise that Josiah would not see the destruction of Judah in his lifetime. In the end, Josiah was killed in a battle with Pharaoh Neco. Josiah is an amazing role model to any...

The past couple days I've been reading in 2 Kings about Hezekiah and the kings just before and after him. Hezekiah was king in some pretty difficult times. Israel had just been deported to Assyria, and the Assyrians are now sitting on Judah's doorstep. The first question I asked when reading about Hezekiah is, how did he turn out so good?!?!? His father, Ahaz, was an extremely wicked man. Back in 2 Kings chapter 16, Ahaz is described as follows: "...he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord his God. He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son in the fire..." (2 Kings 16:3) And yet in chapter 18, Hezekiah is described as a man who "did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done." (2 Kings 18:3) He removes high places, smashes altars, cuts down idols, and followed the Law given to Moses. In short, "Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among a...

This morning I read 1 John 3 and 4. These chapters are so stuffed full of good, insightful, convicting verses, I don't know where to start!! These passages are definitely not an ear tickling ones, with several verses like: "No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him." (3:6) We know that from hermeneutics and from the rest of Scripture, that the word "sin" is referring to habitual sin. Some of these sins are listed in Galatians 5:19-20: "The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God." (Galatians 5:19-20) Interesting to note that hatred, jealously, and fits of rage (anger) are all listed here. I think ...

I read 2 Peter 2-3 this morning--a very insightful passage about false teachers. We can learn four important characteristics of false teachers just from the first verse of chapter two. The first thing we learn about these false teachers is that they are there, just like "there were also false prophets among the people" in the days before Christ. (2Pe 2:1a) As Christians, we sometimes like to put on rose-colored glasses in this area. Wake up and smell the coffee! These false teachers are out there even now, distorting the truth, and turning people from the path, as angels of light. Although there are many good reasons to actively stay in the Word, one of the most important is to be able to discern between what is truth and what are lies. Don't just let your ears be tickled--check the Word! Secondly, they are secretive (2Pe 2:1b). These people are not going to be on the street corners yelling out false doctrine that is obviously heretical (okay, some might, but in gene...

Today I read 1 Peter 3 and 4. Some great verses here, but one that really got me thinking... "For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do--living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you." (vs.3-4) In context, this passage is talking about suffering for Christ, and the readers of the time were doing just that, and were being encouraged to stay strong. This verse especially is talking about being slandered as suffering for Christ. 1 Peter has a fairly wide audience--"strangers in the world, scattered throughout..."--and they would have been both of Jew and Gentile background. In the pagan cultures they are living in, they see these sins every single day to the extent that others would wonder why the Christians don't join in. I strongly believe that the Church needs reformatio...

Today I continued my journey in 1 Peter to chapter three. It talks about wives submitting and respecting, beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, how husbands are to treat their wives, living in harmony with one another, being without fear, always being able to give an answer, and something else interesting that I'd never caught before... "...He {Christ}  was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism..." (vs.18b-21a) The note in my Bible on this verse says that some think, "between his death and resurrection, Jesus descended into Hades and offered to those who lived before Noah a second chance at salvation. But this doctrine is without scriptural support. Others say that it was simply an announ...

Good morning! Today I read in 1 Peter, the second half of chapter one, and chapter two. There were actually some really great verses that reflected yesterday's sermon/discussion. For those of you who weren't there, we had more of a discussion time (kind of like a Bible Study) rather than an actual sermon. There were a list of questions, only two of which we covered, but it was still a great sharing time. The passage was in Romans 9, and the discussion centered around God's Sovereignty and Man's Will. Though many ideas were discussed, the main conclusion the men came to is that, ultimately, we most likely will never fully understand how it all works out, but God is God. One of the men shared this, and I paraphrase... "All receive justice. Some receive mercy. None receive injustice." So the verse that reflected these ideas in 1 Peter is: "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare ...

I read Hebrews 13 today....(can't wait to start James tomorrow!) In this chapter, we are exhorted to be content because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." (13:5b) "So we say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?'" (13:6) My first thought was, "um...a lot!" But later in the chapter, the author writes, " For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. " (13:14) So if we are really seeking God, and longing for the city that will endure (heaven), really...what can man do? I mean, if we're robbed, who cares? Our treasure's in heaven! If we're beaten for Christ, it's all gain! If we're mocked, falsely accused, etc., it's a blessing! If we view this life as a quick stay, not our home, and we'll be gone very soon...why worry? I think this is really the secret of contentment! In Chris...

Today I read Hebrews 3 and 4. They're primarily talking about not letting our hearts become hard towards God, and that belief and faith are key to entering God's salvation rest. I like these verses in chapter three (vs. 12-13): "See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness." This verse reiterates the truth that we ALL need accountability and encouragement from each other - not just on Sundays, at Bible studies, or whenever we're "feeling spiritual", but EVERY day, whether we feel like it or not! In fact, the "low" times when we don't "feel spiritual" is when we really need encouragement the most. And why do we need encouragement? So that we will not be "hardened by sin's deceitfulness." This past week I was really feeling har...

Okay, so today in my quiet time I read chapters 23 and 24 of Acts. Paul goes before the Sanhedrin, and has a great idea. He divides the Pharisees and the Sadducees by claiming that he's on trial for his belief in the resurrection of the dead. This immediately gets the two groups arguing, and the Pharisees on his side! (just in case you didn't know, the Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the dead and the Sadducees did not) Back in the Roman barracks, Jesus appears to Paul, and finally tells Paul the big plan -- "Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome." (Acts 23:11b) A group of Jews make an oath that they will not eat or drink until they have killed Paul, but Paul's nephew gets wind of the scheme, warns Paul and the Centurion Claudius Lysias, and Claudius sends Paul to Governor Felix in Caesarea. I always wish that Luke would've said what happened to the forty men who took that oath! Because two y...

In my quiet time this morning, I read Acts 17. Paul, Silas, and Timothy are in Thessalonica, where Paul preaches over the course of three days. A large number of Greeks and some Jews are persuaded, but many of the Jews become jealous, and stir up trouble. Some of the brothers then send them away to Berea where the people are more noble than the Thessalonians (vs.11). However, the Thessalonians hear about it, and come to Berea to stir things up! Paul is then sent to Athens until things calm down a bit. Although it seems like it would be a great trial, having been run out of two cities, and having an angry mob threaten your death, as always, God works things for good. Paul is able to preach the Gospel to an elite group of philosophers in the Areopagus! Although some scorn and sneer, a number are saved. One of my favorite verses from Paul's sermon in the Areopagus is after he tells of God's sovereignty over the creation of man: "God did this so that men would seek him and...

And no, this blog post has nothing to do with Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson. Can you tell I'm running out of ideas for interesting titles? But in truth, when we delve into Scripture, we should have at least part of our mind in detective mode, wot, wot? Getting on with it...this morning I read Acts 15 and 16. Acts 15 talks about the issue when Jews came to Antioch saying that the Gentiles had to be circumcised and obey the law of Moses if they wanted to be saved. When news of this reaches the Apostles in Jerusalem, Peter gives a very wise speech, the end of which is as follows: "Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are." (Acts 15:10-11) Peter understood that it's by God's grace, and not ultimately by works, that we are saved. But I fear some Christians may take this...

Sorry I haven't written in a while! It's been a crazy, juggling kind of month. Why do April, May, and June always seem to be like this? Well today, I read Acts 13 and 14. Here are some verses that caught my eye: (Paul speaking) "Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses." (Acts 13:38-39) This would've been a pretty startling statement to all present. What the law could not do (justify a person, or declare him righteous) Jesus Christ can do! "When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed." (Acts 13:48) This is after the sermon was finished, and some of the Jews were being boisterous. Paul basically says to the Jews, that since you continue to reject, we're now turning to the Gen...

Today I read Acts chapters 1-3, which includes Jesus' ascension and promise of return, the receiving of the Holy Spirit, and Peter healing the lame man. And I just kept thinking while reading all this...can it still happen today? The Apostles speaking in different languages, a Spirit empowered sermon by Peter...this stuff just doesn't happen anymore, right? Well, why not!? Maybe it's simply a matter of our faith. Do we have less than they did back then? If so, we shouldn't use this as an excuse, but simply pray like they did--"Lord, increase our faith!" God sent His only son to die for us, why would he then refuse us if we ask for faith?? ~~~ "My heart and flesh may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." ~Psalm 73:26 In Christ, Ellie

This morning I continued my study on training in godliness in 1 Corinthians 9:25-27 which reads: "Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." So according to this verse: Why do we train? To receive a crown that will last forever, and that we will not be disqualified for the prize. How do we train? Strictly, as for a competition. With purpose. Having total self-control over our bodies. This verse also brought up the idea that we can loose the prize --not our salvation, but our reward in heaven: "If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the...

A while ago I began a study on 1 Timothy 4:7-8, verses that talk about training in godliness: "Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." I wondered, "How can you train yourself to be godly?" I've really enjoyed studying cross references and words in the Greek to really understand these verses and their application points. So today, I looked at two of my cross reference verses in Hebrews. Hebrews 5:11-14 ~ "We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousnes...

Learning to forgive others can be hard, but for me at least, it can be just as hard asking forgiveness for something I've done wrong. In my earlier blog post (http://elliejoi.blogspot.com/2012/04/relationship-vs-fellowship.html) , I talked about the difference between our Relationship and Fellowship with God. We need to confess our sins to the Lord to restore fellowship, but sometimes (in fact a lot), part of that repentance is confessing and asking forgiveness from other people--especially if you've done something to wrong them and they don't even know it! And man, I was feeling it this morning. My own words were coming back to haunt me as the Lord convicted me of a couple sins that I hadn't confessed to the people I'd wronged. It was one of those kick-yourself-in-the-pants moments. :) I felt stupid, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that asking forgiveness isn't just the right thing to do, it's also part of growing in humility. The part ...

Today I read 2 Corinthians 11-13. Kind of random, I know, but actually, I was trying to go back to an earlier study, a cross reference led me to chapter 11, and I just couldn't stop reading! I love Paul's sarcasm X-) One verse that really struck me was chapter 11 verses 13-14: "For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve." Not only does Satan masquerade, but his servants as well--and this verse is not talking about those in the world, but those in the church! We have to be so careful when hearing/listening/reading/watching what Christian teachers are saying, and check it first with Scripture, and not just accept it offhand if we "feel" it's right. Later in chapter 11, Paul is "boasting" about all his persec...