Month: May 2014

Can God use you for His purposes?

/ Tracy Eldridge / Leave a comment

Are you willing to let God use you in your life? Have you given your heart to Him so that He can use you? There are many people who don’t know about the Bible or what is in it these days in America. It really isn’t hard to understand why though. We have pushed the Bible, prayer, reading the Bible and many other activities related to being a Christian completely out of our lives. There are many who don’t know the first book in the Bible and many others who can’t even name the four gospels telling of the life of Jesus and the good news that was His life and ministry. I use “was” to denote that it happened about two thousand years ago, not that He is dead because He isn’t, Jesus sits at the right hand of God awaiting the time that He will come back and get the Church.

I am getting a bit ahead of myself here though. Are you a Christian or do you want to be a Christian? If you do, then ask Jesus to come into your heart and forgive you for the life that you have lived. He will show you how to live a different way with a new purpose and a new attitude. Once you have done this, pick up a Bible and pray that God will teach you through it because He will do that. Just reading it will help, but asking God to show you the things that you need to learn will help more than even going to church.

Although you will want to attend a church which teaches from the Bible soon because meeting with others who believe like you do is necessary. The early church in Jerusalem met in their homes, but they did meet together. The fellowship gained during this time is necessary for your growth in Christ as well as your learning more about Him. It is also necessary to your growth as a Christian because the fellowship that you enjoy with other believers grows sweeter and more like family as you grow in your faith!

Now, to get to the issue of being used for His purpose…first of course you have to be a believer and you should be willing to do the will of God. That being said, it is not an automatic thing that every believer is going to work for God in some way. The easiest way to do this is by studying God’s Word daily, then praying about what you have read and seeking His will for your life. He will answer your prayers in His time, of course, not yours so be patient. The best advice I can give you at this point is DON’T EVER ASK GOD FOR PATIENCE! He will hear that prayer and you will learn patience but you may not like the lessons!

God loves you and all of humanity and He does answer prayers, just realize that some of those answers are His way of testing you and teaching you. So, don’t be surprised with the answers that you get especially those that don’t seem to be what you asked for. God loves each of us and He does take care of our needs every day, but He is not One that you can ask for money and it will just fall into your account. Prosperity comes with sacrifice and work, not from schemes and gambling. Read through Proverbs carefully in either the Living Bible translation or the English Standard Version, then you will understand His view toward work and laziness and debt.

The Bible can teach you more than a college can in four years, but you have to meditate on it, pray about it and ask Him to give you the wisdom to understand His message for your situation when you are reading it. Believe me, I used to think that it was just an old book until I became a Christian and started really studying it and praying about what I read. Then I learned that your education is severely lacking if the Bible is not part of it. Give God’s Word and Jesus a chance in your life and your life will never be the same again…it will be one hundred percent BETTER!!!

Advertisement

Where are you?

/ Tracy Eldridge / 1 Comment

Many of us, at one point or another, have wondered this about God. “Where are You, God?”

How many times have you said that?

How many times have you heard someone say it?
Yes, it is hard to make it through the day sometimes when things are not going right but why not do something about it? To that, many people would ask me, “OK, what can I do about it? I don’t see Him doing anything!”

The best that you can do is stop blaming God for your problems. First of all, He gives us a choice in everything, every decision that we make whether it is good or bad. Second, and for many this would be the tough part, ….start your day off with prayer and reading some verses in the Bible. Begin your day by thanking Him that you are awake and alive to see this day, then pray that your day will be fruitful for His Kingdom and read a verse from Proverbs or Psalms or any other verse that has meaning for you. Jesus did this by getting up early and praying before the day began and that is how we should live our lives too.

Being grounded in the Word and beginning the day with God starts the day in the right way, then everything else that follows will have His Spirit in it, covering it and giving you the strength to get through it and the problems that may come during your day at home or at work. Once you get into a habit of doing this, it won’t be hard at all to do it all during the day. Pray about the problems which come up, the traffic jam that you are in on the way to or from work, someone else’s trouble during the day. Cover the day and all that is in it with prayer.

God asked Adam the same question about where he was, but God knew all along. The important thing that we have to realize is that God never leaves us, especially if we are Christians. He is always in our hearts and as close as our skin. We are never alone, even if you aren’t a believer. He knows you and knows about you and what you do. If you have felt His call or tug on your heart, please consider answering that call. He has a plan for you.

He loves you deeply and never leaves you alone.

Think on that and give God a call, His line is never busy and the signal never fades.

Do you know?

/ Tracy Eldridge / Leave a comment

The problems around you are being caused by an immortal being, one who has been here from the beginning. He and his followers have been causing trouble from the day that Adam was created, and yet many people today don’t even believe that he or they exist.

Yes, I am talking about Satan and his followers and yes they are all over the world causing problems. More wars, more diseases, everything that seems to be wrong in the world is their doing in some way. They have influenced people, touched lives with diseases fatal and long lasting, fostered ideas in people’s minds which have been carried out in the most horrific ways. Yes, we are able to be sadistic and cruel without his influence but people are even more so when Satan or one of his demons has a controlling influence in your life.

How can they get this much control in your life and your mind? You gave it to them. When you dabbled in the occult as a child or a teen, or when you studied some “harmless” spells with your friends. Maybe you found a ouija board and tried it out a few times because it seemed fun watching the piece move by itself, or by reading “harmless” tarrot cards. All of these open your mind up to the influence of supernatural beings who can influence you in ways that you would never dream of.

Sure, these games seem to be fun at the time but just like trying drugs or alcohol they can lead to something much worse. Even having the games or the cards or some books in your house leaves an open doorway for demons to come in, whether you have actually played with them or not. The power that they possess is beyond our comprehension and yet, when you accept Jesus as your Savior they no longer have power over you! They know Him and they know Who He is! Don’t allow them to have control of your life or your house, when you read books about them they will watch you but they can’t hurt you as long as you claim Him as your Savior.

Our country has become overrun with them and they are in the highest offices in the government, but nobody sees them at all. It is hard to think of people being influenced by demonic beings because we think of this happening in ancient times, not today. I am not speaking of being possessed, just influenced and that only requires a demon or Satan himself to suggest something into your mind. If it is done the right way, you or the person being influenced will think that the “idea” is their own. Sneaky huh?

The idea that we can be susceptible to “suggestions” like this goes against our idea that we are in control, but the thing is that Satan knows how to get to our most vulnerable thoughts and our most intimate vulnerabilities. He is not omnipotent but with all of the demonic help that he has, he sometimes seems to be. The best and most wonderful news that I can give to you is that through Jesus, we have the power to overcome Satan! Asking Jesus into your life and getting into the Bible to learn about Him is the best defence against Satanic forces. Then, walking with Him every day in your prayer life and attending a Bible teaching church will give you the basic foundation that you need to be a follower and not just a fan of Jesus. Consider this, pray about it, ask a friend or a pastor about Him because on your own, you cannot resist Satan’s influence but with Jesus you have the power to tell Satan to get out of your life and never come back!

Separate or Congregate, which do you choose?

/ Tracy Eldridge / Leave a comment

When Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter to a Baptist association during his presidency, he did not add into our Constitution the words “separation of church and state”. It is not in the Constitution in any form at all, but it seems that it is used most frequently when people don’t want anything to do with the Bible or the absolute truth of God’s Word!

There is no separation of Church and State in the Constitution or the Bill of Rights. The premise for this comes from a letter written by Thomas Jefferson to a Baptist association in Connecticut that feared overreaching government power. An extreme view of separation of church and state has become part of the common American belief system and it is terrifying.
Here is a copy of that letter from the archives of the Library of Congress:
Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptists
The Final Letter, as Sent
To messers.:  Nehemiah Dodge, Ephraim Robbins, & Stephen S. Nelson, a committee of the Danbury Baptist association in the state of Connecticut.
Gentlemen
The affectionate sentiments of esteem and approbation which you are so good as to express towards me, on behalf of the Danbury Baptist association, give me the highest satisfaction. my duties dictate a faithful and zealous pursuit of the interests of my constituents, & in proportion as they are persuaded of my fidelity to those duties, the discharge of them becomes more and more pleasing.
Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should “make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” thus building a wall of separation between Church & State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.
I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection & blessing of the common father and creator of man, and tender you for yourselves & your religious association, assurances of my high respect & esteem.
Th Jefferson
Jan. 1. 1802.

The “wall of separation” being spoken of is such that our government would not require nor establish a religion of the state or nation, it did not mean that religion, whether Christian or otherwise, could never be taught or practiced in government offices or schools so long as that practice was of the individual and not of the requirement by the state or nation.

We have used this misunderstanding in ways to push God and  Christian religion out of our schools and our children’s education so much so that we are paying the price for doing so at this present time. Today, being the National Day of Prayer, I urge all of you to pray that God doesn’t push us out of His grace and that our great nation comes back into the knowledge and the grace of Almighty God. If we do not, I fear that our way of life is in danger of disappearing and that this nation will no longer be a nation under God but one that is under the condemnation of God!