Author: Tracy Eldridge

This my witness for my Lord and Savior on the web. I pray that you find these posts useful in your search for Jesus. http://thelivingmessage.com

How soon, Lord?


For many who believe and for many who don’t believe this is a question which has been asked for the past two thousand years. Yet, God is silent…or is He?

If you read His Word and pay close attention to the prophecies in Daniel and Ezekiel and the Revelation, comparing them to each other and watching the world news with your Spirit (if you believe), you can see the prophecies coming together. If you are not a believer then you will keep wondering and scoffing at those who do believe. Many people in government and in the world are skeptical and rightly so. It has been a long time since Jesus ascended to the Father but He said that He would return. God doesn’t lie and the Bible is not a book of legends and myths as many people seem to think.

There have been signs in the heavens and here on Earth which have come to pass in the past fifty years. Just in the past five years, there were four blood moons and an eclipse which all happened on Jewish holy days. Those were not foretold in the Bible exactly, but Jesus did say that there would be signs in the heavens.

Many people have tried over the past few hundred years to predict the day or the hour or even the year that Jesus would return and all of them were wrong. When that day comes there will be no doubt about what is happening and what has happened. Anyone who has heard of these prophecies or heard a sermon about the end times or read one of the books which have been published over the years about this time in history will know what is happening. Although many will doubt and many won’t believe what it is unless they see someone taken up or see a grave opening and the body rising to meet the Lord.

How would you react if a number of people around you just vanished, leaving their shoes and clothes on the pews? If you are still in the church when this happens, what do you do? My advice to you is to make sure of your salvation now so this won’t happen to you.

Even then they will be frightened more than anything. Most will begin looking for answers, trying to find someone who can explain what is happening. In some places, there may be a few who are left that can explain what is happening. If it happens on a day that people are attending a church or worship service there will be some who thought they were “right with the Lord” but they will be left. Talk about a bad day!

You cannot earn your salvation, it is a gift from God!

Are you ready?


Amen!

Forgive others…


Peace that only Jesus can give


Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
John 14:27 KJV
https://bible.com/verse-of-the-day/jhn.14.27/17246

Are you sure?


The prophetic books of Daniel and Revelation both speak of a time when the redeemed of the world will be taken. The book of Thessalonians also speaks of a time like this just as Jesus said in Matthew 24 that two would be in the field and one would be taken and the other left. So are you sure of your salvation and your place in the Kingdom of God? Do you belong to Him truly and completely? One day we will all find out exactly where our heart and our soul belongs because on that day…we will be taken to be with Him forever.

What if it happened this Sunday morning during the church service? Would you be in that number of people who leave their clothes and their shoes and everything which was man-made behind? Even your dentures and your hip replacements and glasses will be left in the pew. So are you sure of your salvation? Be watching for Jesus and expecting His return because it will happen and all of us need to be ready when that day comes.

Where are you, Lord?


During the times when we are either being attacked because of our faith or brought low in our health, we often ask this question. If you are wondering about the two instances which I listed in the previous sentence, it’s because those are the times when Satan or one of his flunkies are attacking us because of our faith in Jesus. 

For many people in the world who are having real problems with their health, like those suffering from cancer, faith in God is the best way to have any hope of either a complete healing or an eternal future. Are there agnostics or atheists who have these problems? I would have to say, Yes! But they don’t really have faith in God until He is the only real hope for them. Atheists don’t believe in God period, no matter what name you give Him.

I am not trying to put people down who don’t believe in God or have a very low opinion of God, but He is the only One Who can accomplish anything in your life and He will if you will believe in Him for your salvation. Does that mean that you can never have any more fun after giving your life to Him? No indeed, the fun that you will have will be tempered by your faith and by His Spirit but He doesn’t take away your enjoyment of life. You just have a different outlook toward God’s creation all around you.

He is everywhere but that doesn’t mean that you should worship a tree or an ocean or a person other than Jesus because only He is the Son of God. He paid the price to redeem you, therefore He deserves our praise and our worship every day of your life. As Jesus told His disciples, “Not even a sparrow falls that my Father doesn’t know about it”; so since God watches over the birds and the other parts of creation, He will watch over you as well.

God cares for all of His children and we are His, take comfort in this.


Produce fruit for God’s Kingdom


Encouraging words from our God


If you are saved through Christ, you are a child of God. Remember that!

Jesus said, “Don’t worry…”


Read God’s Word and learn to depend upon Him for your supply of everything!

A new beginning


A new mother and a new Christian have a lot in common. One has given birth to a new life, the other has been given a new life in Christ. The processes are different since one is a physical birth and the other is a spiritual birth but both are new in their beginnings and in their experience.

The new life of the baby is completely dependent upon the mother for its nourishment and care. A new Christian is dependent upon the people around them to learn about their Savior and about being a Christian. Both babies have to be nourished and cared for but in different ways. The new baby, whether it is a girl or a boy, has to be bathed and have their diaper changed often. They have to be fed either at the breast of the mother or by a bottle for a while, but it won’t be long before they will begin eating “baby food”.

The baby Christian needs to be fed as well. Regularly and with much prayer because they need to start off on a good Biblical foundation, preferably in the New Testament as their starting point. Later, they can go into the Old Testament, again with prayer so the Holy Spirit can teach them what is needed from the books of the Law and the prophets and the historical books. All of these are necessary to their growth as a Christian but the Old Testament could be considered the “meat” of God’s Word. Most of the New Testament is much easier to understand for a Christian who is just starting out.

These descriptions are the best comparisons which I can come up with because this happens all over the world. People are coming to know Jesus as their Savior and they need guidance and direction when they are new in their faith. A baby needs many of the same things but in a physical way. When I became a believer, at first I didn’t get the help I needed so I was more like the wet ground which seeds fell on but it was very thin. In Jesus’ parable about the sower, some fell on good ground but it was thin because of rocks being beneath it. The roots didn’t go very deep and when the heat and other factors came together, the sprout withered away.

That is what happened when I first began my life as a “believer”. I did believe but I didn’t get the spiritual help that I needed so my faith shriveled up and my faith went with it for a time. Belief in Jesus does save us but if your new life in Christ isn’t watered with God’s Word and allowed to process what you are learning, your new life can become stale and ineffective. Without nourishment in a believing home and a believing church, your faith can wither and if you don’t get the help you need before your faith dies, it may be a long time before you will come back, if ever.

I pray that anyone who reads this will seek out the Word in a Bible study group or church, especially if they are a new Christian because it really did help me when I renewed my faith in Christ many years ago. I suppose I was saved at the first but since there wasn’t real growth in my faith for a long time the Holy Spirit just kept nudging me toward God so that I would learn more about Him so eventually I did and you can too.


We begin our lives as babies, in our physical form as well as in our faith in Jesus. You aren’t born knowing everything, it takes time and effort. Becoming a mature Christian does too. Seek His Word in a church and in your Bible so that you will grow to know Him more.