we are precious in His sight

Do we all go to Heaven?

/ Tracy Eldridge / 1 Comment

There is a song that is sung in our churches called “When we all get to Heaven” and today there are many who believe that this is the way it is. God would not allow someone to suffer for eternity in hell if they were a good person, whether they had given their life to Christ or not, right? After all, He is the epitome of Love and it says so in God’s Word, that He is Love, right?

Well, yes, God is Love and He is a loving Creator but He is also Holy and without sin so think about that for a second…could He allow people who are sinners into Heaven? Unfortunately, the answer is no, He couldn’t. If He did that, then what was the reason for Jesus’ death on the Cross?

He came into our world as a human baby, grew up in our world into a man, taught about God during His ministry, healed many people of sicknesses and diseases as well as brought a few back to life, then was rejected, beaten, hung on a cross until He died, buried and three days later rose to life again. Yet, in all of this, He relied on the Father‘s strength and wisdom to guide Him to do these things without sin. I know the argument that many say about that, “Well, He was the Son of God. Of course He could do this without sin!”

True, we are not capable of being sinless, if we were then He came for nothing! There was no reason for His death and resurrection. So, how can you think that someone who is good, and kind and who hasn’t committed any big sin can get into Heaven without Jesus? If they are without Jesus in their heart and their life, then they are still sinners because at some level they have sinned and according to God’s law, one broken commandment breaks them all.

The answer then must be no. We can’t all get to Heaven, unless we have accepted Jesus as our Savior. When we have done that, then we are covered with His righteousness and it is His righteousness that grants us access to the Father and to our place in Heaven, nothing more. We can’t add anything to it because until we have accepted Jesus into our hearts and asked forgiveness for our sinful ways, nothing that we have done prior to that has any real meaning for the Kingdom of God.

You are important to God! He did not create all of this and each of us and then sit down to wait and see what would happen! He is near to us every day since His Word says that “not even a sparrow falls without the Father knowing it” (Matthew 10:29). We are all precious in His sight and when you feel something tugging at your heart or a small voice whispering to you to give your life to Jesus, it is like Jesus calling His disciples. Will you answer or will you turn away? Turning away doesn’t cause you any pain now, but you will know it later. Think about giving your life to Him, because the stuff and fluff of this world don’t matter at all in eternity, so make sure that your eternity is one worth something!

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The Awesome Power of Our Creator!

/ Tracy Eldridge / Leave a comment

In six days He spoke the universe into being, then rested on the seventh. I wonder if anyone has ever thought that He could have done it in one day if He had chosen to? Nothing is impossible with God but what do you think of Him? He knows all of us, whether we acknowledge Him or not.

When He sent the part of Him that was the Christ to earth as a human born of a virgin, He was still God. When they beat Him, and flogged Him with the cat-o-nine tails so that He was almost un-recognizable, He was still God. When they hung Him on the cross or execution stake with nails through His hands and feet, He was still God. He could’ve called down legions of angels or even wiped mankind from the earth with a thought but He did neither of those, because He was and is God!

Our Creator, the Ancient of Days, was before time and the one who created time itself along with everything else. Our God, the One that many people don’t think is real, is more real than we are! His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not like ours. He is above us and perfect in every way. One analogy would be that He is above us as we are above bacteria and maybe even more than that!

Even being the great I AM, the God and Creator doesn’t keep Him from loving His creation, even those of us who were created in His image and then rejected Him. Your life will never be perfect on earth, but you will be able to grow toward that perfection if you will give your heart to Him and walk with Him daily. That is all He has ever wanted from us, our fellowship and our love for all that He gives us every day.

If you want to have hope and a chance at a fulfilling life for eternity, ask Him to come into your heart. He will place a small piece of Himself there and fill the void which you have felt but didn’t know how to fill. God loves you more than you can know, return that love and you will feel it in ways you never imagined.

Life and how we live it

/ Tracy Eldridge / 2 Comments

Life, a ponderous time of work and worry and more work. Stress and all the trappings of “success” that go with it. This is our view of life. It is not and was not supposed to be this way. And yet, it is. Why is that?

It is because of the adversary and the ruler of this world. The one who has dominion over the earth and its “religions”, Satan himself. Even if you are a Christian, the world and its ruler has some measure of control over your life. Unless, you are walking by faith on a daily basis and claiming God‘s promises.

Those are prerequisites for a changed and powerful life. I am not saying that your life has no meaning if you have or have not given your life to Christ, what I am saying is that the world always has some measure of control over you and your choices if you have not given your life to Jesus and walk daily with Him. God Himself can empower you to live for Him when you give your heart to Him in such a way that life before will seem to be just a shadow of what you will do once you truly give your heart to Jesus.

Our life here is but a shadow of what it will be in the Kingdom of God. Serving Him in whatever position you are placed in at that time. Right now, you have the chance to serve Him in ways that you never imagined that you would or could do if you will allow Him to work through you daily. Your business can be more successful, your marriage will be more fulfilling and your family will be more focused on serving Him. God needs us as His eyes and hands and feet to do and say things to people today the same way that the prophets did in times past. No one seems to believe that the Bible is relevant, so people don’t read it or pay attention to what it says.

God doesn’t make mistakes,especially with his Creation. Our life and the life we are given to live is given to each of us for a purpose and many people search for this purpose all of their lives without success. Our purpose in life is to do God’s will and to perform the service that He has for each of us to do, not just what we want to do. It may be something that we may not want to do but if you are following Christ truly, you must do the Father‘s will and not your own. When you find that purpose and do His will in your life, you will be rewarded and your life will be enriched beyond your wildest dreams.

Along those lines, I don’t mean that you will be wealthy or powerful or famous, but you will be doing the will of the Creator. Isn’t that wonderful! It amazes me everyday to think that I am serving the Creator of the entire Universe, not just going to work but in doing so while following Christ I am serving Him as well. I fail at times just like everyone else, but God knows that and He knows that it is going to happen because I am human. I can’t serve Him perfectly day in and day out, no one has done that except Jesus. When those failures happen, I go to Him and ask for forgiveness and for more strength from Him for the next time. God loves us all and wants us to come to Him for everything, not just when someone is sick or has an accident. Give Him a chance in your life and give your life a chance with Him, you won’t regret that decision ever!

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Standing accused before a Judge

/ Tracy Eldridge / Leave a comment

Standing before the Judge and about to be sentenced for a serious crime, how would you feel? What could you say in your defense that would make a difference? Anything?

“I have given ten percent to my church all of my adult life”; “I have always helped out during Christmas at the homeless shelter”; “I gave over a million dollars to the relief of hunger in Israel”:  Would any of these wonderful humanitarian acts mean anything in relation to the crimes you are convicted of? Have you forgotten anything?

Just before the Judge sentences you, a Man steps forward and tells the Judge, “I know he is guilty but I will pay for his crimes. I will take the punishment for him. Let him go free!”  What kind of person would do such a thing? Why?

The answer lies in a simple but profound word, love.  We are not wrongly accused at all. All of humanity has fallen short in that we cannot be good enough on our own. I know the One who would take and has taken the punishment for all of our sins, do you? The Man who stepped forward is Jesus and the one accused could be any of us. Our own humanitarian acts and good deeds in this life are not good enough to get us into heaven. We can’t be good enough because without Jesus, we are just as guilty of rejecting God’s gift of salvation as Lucifer and the other angels are of rebellion.

Our lives and the good works which we may do are gifts from God and yet the only way to heaven is through the blood of Jesus that was shed for our sins long before we were born. God cares for all of us, Jew and Gentile, but if we choose to live our lives our way instead of giving our life to Him through Jesus then it is our decision that condemns us not Him. It is a hard concept to accept from our limited point of view and it seems too easy, but that is why God gives us the choice and the ability to choose.

Give serious consideration to the message here and those found in the Bible because it is important! Your life here and in the hereafter will be greatly affected by your decision, so choose carefully. Regardless of the rhetoric out there regarding life or the lack of it after you die, wouldn’t you rather choose Jesus and His gift and find out that the Bible is true, than to choose not to believe and still find out that the Bible is true? One choice leads to life forever and the other leads to  eternal punishment for the simple act of refusing to believe.

God Most High, Ruler of All

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El Elyon: God Most High (Key Scripture Passages)

Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything. (Genesis 14:18-20)

The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. (2 Sam. 22:14; Psalm 18:13)

I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High. (Psalm 7:17)

For the king trusts in the LORD; through the unfailing love of the Most High he will not be shaken. (Psalm 21:7)

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. (Psalm 46:4)

How awesome is the LORD Most High, the great King over all the earth! (Psalm 47:2)

Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High. (Psalm 50:14)

I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills his purpose for me. (Psalm 57:2)

I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked . . . Pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence; From their callous hearts comes iniquity; the evil conceits of their minds knows no limits. They scoff, and speak with malice; in their arrogance they threatened oppression. . . They say, “How can God know? Does the Most High have knowledge?” . . . When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny. (Psalm 73:3, 6-11, 16)

They remembered that God was their Rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer. (Psalm 78:35)

But they put God to the test and rebelled against the Most High; they did not keep his statutes. (Psalm 78:56)

Let them know that you, whose name is the LORD, that you alone are the Most High over all the earth. (Psalm 83:18)

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. (Psalm 91:1)

If you make the Most High your dwelling, even the LORD, who is my refuge, then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. (Psalm 91:9-12)

It is good to praise the LORD and make music to your name, O Most High. (Psalm 92:1)

You, O LORD, are the Most High over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods. (Psalm 97:9)

They rebelled against the words of God and despised the counsel of the Most High. (Ps. 107:11)

“I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” (Isaiah 14:13-14)

Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come? (Lam. 3:38)

Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!” So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire. (Daniel 3:26)

“You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like cattle. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes.” (Daniel 4:32)

“O king, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness and glory and splendor. (Daniel 5:18)

“But the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever; yes, for ever and ever.” (Daniel 7:18)

Until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom. (Daniel 7:22)

He will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints and try to change the set times and the laws. The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time. (Daniel 7:25)

Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints, the people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him. (Daniel 7:27)

He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, (Luke 1:32)

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. (Luke 1:35)

And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him. (Luke 1:76)

He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God you won’t torture me!” (Mark 5:7)

These scriptures are living proof of God Most High, our Creator and Redeemer! The Word of God is the Living Word and proves all things. It is true and it cannot be disputed or denied. Though, the devil and his demons twist it and use it to confuse people, even they know the power of it and that it is the Truth!

Our life would be forfeit if it were not and our existence would be for nothing if God had not decreed it. The cures of many diseases may have been found by now if the people who were supposed to have been born were allowed to be born, but we have caused many to return to Him without ever fulfilling their purposes.

Give God a chance in your life, you won’t regret it!

Ain’t God Good!!

/ Tracy Eldridge / Leave a comment

Our lives would not be worth much if it weren’t for Him and the grace that He gives us each day. He gives us the grace and strength to get up each morning, the air we breathe throughout the day, our minds and our health to serve Him in whatever job we have and the grace to know when we have messed up so we can confess it and leave it with Him.

God loves us all, not just the ones who serve Him willingly. He created every living being on this planet but he gave us humans the ability to know Him and that is very special. Our lives are special to Him because He created each of us and knew us before we were even born!

Our experiences in this life, good or bad, are our own doing. He doesn’t cause us to fail or stumble, we do. Even in our Christian walk with Him there are going to be days that are tougher to stay focused on Him and His purpose for us. Our enemy in this world is satanic in nature but it is everything that can draw us or our attention away from God.

Truly, that is a lot of STUFF!! But with His strength and guidance, as long as we persevere in our walk with Him daily, we can be overcomers and bring Jesus and His love to the world. Not in a “holier than thou” attitude, but by loving those who would otherwise not be loved or not see or feel loved. In 1 Corinthians it says that all the gifts in the world are useless if we don’t have love to back them up and that is the truth.

Ain’t God Good!!

Are we content?

/ Tracy Eldridge / Leave a comment

Paul spoke of being content in any situation in which he might find himself. His contentment came from knowing Jesus and knowing that he served Him to the fullest extent that he could. Is it possible for us to know this contentment in the times in which we are living? Yes! God and His son, Jesus are still in control and will always be! If we will be submitted to serving them in our lives on a daily basis, we can have that feeling of contentment in spite of the economic times in which we are living.

God wants us to be and have life abundant, especially when we are following Him and serving in His Kingdom. He created everything in the universe from the smallest atom to the largest galaxy. He knows exactly how things are supposed to work together and why. We were created for His purposes and He knows what purpose is right  for each of us in His service. It doesn’t matter what kind of “job” you have as long as you can do it in service to Him and with humility, not arrogance and pride in service to yourself or the world.

God loves all of us, no matter where we live or what religion we claim to believe in. If you feel a tug on your heart toward Him and to His son, Jesus, please respond positively! Humanity was created in His Image to serve Him in whatever capacity or position we find ourselves in. Our lives are not ours alone, but His!

If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?  Romans 8:31,32

I do realize that there are some who do not believe that Jesus was the Son of God and that He was “just a prophet”. The prophecies in the Old Testament point to Him and His birth long before He came to us as the Son of David, the Messiah. I don’t have the room to point out all of the passages which speak of Him and tell who He is, but they are there.

Give the word of God a careful study so that you will find these passages, most of which are in Isaiah. There are also some in the Psalms of David and many others in Daniel, Jeremiah, Micah, etc.

Before your life ends here, please give yourself the chance to hear and really listen to a Bible teaching church and its pastor. Read God’s Word and ask Him to help you to understand and He will. When you do make your decision, it will be the right one. I pray that you and your loved ones will come to Him and be fulfilled in Him.

At least half of every person belongs to……..?

/ Tracy Eldridge / Leave a comment

Some more than others are controlled by their own lusts, pride, ambition or ego. There was a country song back in 1995 called “Cain’s Blood”. I don’t know if it ever became very popular but it describes the human condition perfectly. On one side is our conscience telling us that we shouldn’t be doing something we know is wrong and on the other is “Cain’s blood” , or the bad side of us, telling us to go ahead if it feels good.

There are many temptations in our world and for many people there is no way out, as far as they know. The way out is there, you just have to ask for it. Jesus provides the way and the Bible is the instruction book. It has always been there throughout history. Some people find it and embrace it, others know it is there but take a long time to embrace it. There are some people who reject it completely and want no part in any church or service to Him.

Those teachings come from God because the Bible is His word written by human hands by the prompting of His Spirit. God has led me to write this blog, although some people may not agree with nor believe that. I have never been a “writer” for most of my life until a few months ago when I started this. Now, I can’t stop writing!

Each person has the choice to make in their life which side they will follow. Nothing is ever forced on anyone regarding your spiritual condition. God left it up to us to decide. If we choose to follow Him and His Son, Jesus, we will have eternal life with Him in Heaven. If not, we will still have eternal life but it will be in torment because of the decision that we made not to follow Him. It won’t be because of anything that we did in our life here on earth. Paul was a persecutor of the early church and stood by while Stephen was stoned to death for doing nothing more than preaching about the risen Christ. So the most prolific writer of the New Testament was a murderer, and yet Jesus saw much more in him.

Your life doesn’t have to be just your job or where you live. It can be your service to Him! I would rather go into Heaven and hear the words from my Lord, “Well done good and faithful servant” than to have a billion dollars on earth. I still live in a “trashy trailer” and have all of my life. I am not ashamed of it. I would like to have a “real” house but that is not what a home is. Home is where you are loved and accepted and can enjoy being with your family in reasonable comfort. It doesn’t have to be anything more than that.  My real home is where Jesus is and I am looking forward to getting to see Him.

God loves us all, all His children of the World

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People don’t care what you know until they know that you care and that God cares for them. This should be our goal, to let the people of the world, the veterans, Americans, and most of all, people who feel they are without hope know that they have hope in Jesus and His salvation for their lives. No other religion gives people the hope and security of eternal life like believing in and trusting Jesus for our everyday lives and our salvation.

There is a concept of humanity embodied in an African word which comes from the Zulu and Xhosa languages. Ubuntu (pronounced “oo-boon-too”) is seen as a traditional African concept, is regarded as one of the founding principles of the new republic of South Africa and is connected to the idea of an African Renaissance.

A rough translation of the principle of Ubuntu is “humanity towards others”. Another translation could be: “the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity”. This description of the word and principle of Ubuntu comes from the version of Linux I use and it describes a concept from the Bible that we are all here because of the grace and mercy of God. He created us where we are and in the station in which we find ourself, whether we are writers, teachers, Senators or the President of the United States. The very concept of ubuntu is why there is no word for “cousin” in African language. Everyone is thought of as brother, father, mother, or sister regardless of their relationship.

Jesus regarded those who were his disciples as brothers, sisters, and mothers so why can’t we? I know there would be some people who would be against it, but if Jesus did it, why not? Our enemies can be our brother if we can just learn to live and get along until He comes back. There are so many people we could help and show the love of God to if we would do the will of the Father and go to them. Let them know that He loves them no matter what their circumstances are. No matter where they live or what they have done in the past, it can be forgiven by Him who loves us even when we are sinners. He doesn’t love what we do or our behaviour but He loves us because he formed us all in the womb. When we come to Him in humility and let Him into our hearts and lives completely, the whole of Heaven itself rejoices for every sinner who comes to the knowledge of Jesus and His saving grace.

God doesn’t choose who He will let in or not. I know the Bible says that we who are predestined to be conformed to Him will be and those who are not won’t, but that is there because God knows the future and He knows ahead of time who will choose Jesus and who won’t. He doesn’t create you and point his finger at anyone’s life and say, “I will take this one but I don’t want that one”. That is our choice and ours alone, even though He knows the choice we will ultimately make, He doesn’t interfere with our choices. Sometimes it is hard to hear God’s small voice but it is there, and our spiritual hearing gets better as we read and study His word. Don’t wait, pick up a Bible today. Read it, pray over it, read it again. God speaks through His word and it is powerful. He will not leave you or forsake you, ever. If you don’t believe me, ask Him to prove it. I guarantee that He will.