Day: August 6, 2008

Jesus, Creator, Son of God, Prince of Peace

/ Tracy Eldridge / Leave a comment

He was born of a virgin who was betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the family line of David. A carpenter who raised his “son” to be a carpenter as well. Jesus fulfilled all of the prophecies about Himself which were written hundreds of years before he was born. How can any person, hearing a sermon from the Bible choose not to believe?

There are many answers to that question especially today when the sanctity of life is in question and so many crimes are committed for even trivial things. These times were told about in the Bible by Jesus Himself. I am not going to quote scripture here but I will refer you to Matthew 22 through 24 as well as John 21. These chapters contain enough truth from the Creator of the universe to change the hearts and minds of millions, if you will believe.

God created mankind in His image and we should strive to be more like Him every day for that is what we are here for. All of creation shows the power and majesty of God, from the smallest bacteria to the blue whale to the largest stars and galaxies. Everything which God created fulfills its purpose, even the angels and demons and Satan himself for he was once an angel. Man has a choice, just like the angels, of whether to serve God and His purpose for our lives or to rebel against Him and do what we “feel” like doing.

Our purpose in life is to seek His will. To many people that is a confusing and hopeless proposition, but if you read the Bible you can discover His will for us and for yourself as well. There are no magic potions or spells which give you complete satisfaction in life and there are no other ways to do His will other than to be what He intended for you to be. I have discovered that if you ask Him to show you what your special ability is and what He wants you to do with it, He will answer you. The answer may not come on your time table, but it will come by His.

God loves all of humanity, no matter who you are or where you are from. He created all of us and He knew us even before we were born. He can see what you will do in the future as well as everything we do every day, no matter how small or insignificant you might think it is. God put your DNA together bit by bit while you were in the womb because He knew you would be a child of His. He also knows what you will do with your belief. Whether you will use it for Him or not. If you do, your reward in Heaven will be great; if you don’t you may still get to Heaven but your reward will not be as wonderful. Just being there will be enough reward for me because I will be able to see the family that has gone on before me and I will be able to see Jesus. That is enough for me.

God richly bless all of you and your families and I will see you when we get there!

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Is the Bible outdated? I don’t think so!

/ Tracy Eldridge / Leave a comment

Nearly every important document in our nation’s history has some reference to the Bible. Our ancestors came to this country for religious freedom, to serve and worship as they chose to do. The Bible is not a “human inspired history or made up tale”, it is the inspired Word of the Living God. The Creator of the universe and of every human being since the beginning of time.

I do realize that the stories recorded in the Bible are hard to accept since the educational system in this country has been pushing the Bible out of the classroom for the past eighty years or so. In some areas of the country, even trying to teach “intelligent design” may get you fired if you are a teacher.

The Bible is the one guide which all mankind can turn to for guidance and truth, and it has stood as such for over two thousand years. The advice given in most, if not all, of the self help books on bookshelves today is echoed in the Bible. The words are different, but the message is the same. Psalms and Proverbs are two of the most influential books in the Bible, with advice about almost any topic contained in both.

Our children and their parents and teachers need the wisdom found in this “outdated” book, and need it desperately. If our society is to survive much longer as a society, our government officials would do well to go back to the practice of opening sessions of Congress with prayer and reading from the Bible.

The Bible is the only religious book which shows that our God loves us and cares for us, all of us. It should be one of the first books required to be read and studied in school from elementary through college. It doesn’t have to be the major point of study, but all other studies should branch from its principles. I know this is not going to be a popular view of education, but it would serve our world much better, and we could serve Him better as well, if it were the center of education rather than being pushed out as “antique” and outdated.

The stories in the Bible reflect the human condition and our struggle with ourselves and the struggles we all face on a daily basis. The nation and people of Israel went through these struggles while on their way to the land which God had promised them. The fought Him almost every step of the way. God would get angry at them like a father does with his children, they would repent. Then “not many days hence”, they would be off on another rebellious antic doing something they were told not to do. Exactly the way we behave today, as children and as adults.

What has always puzzled me is that they SAW the miracles that God performed with their own eyes. How could they possibly have been so disobedient? Because they were human and until we realize just how much we depend on God’s grace and mercy just to get through every day, or even to wake up every morning, we will always be just as disobedient.

His love for us is like that of a parent for a child, unconditional. Without regard for our faults, our foibles, or our sinful nature. If God had not loved us, all of us, He would not have sent His son, the perfect Lamb of God, to cleanse the world of its sins. “He became sin who knew no sin.”