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

Do you believe in God?


According to a poll which was taken recently, over half of the people who believe in God do not believe in God as described in the Bible, God’s Word! Huh? Yes, the poll was taken about a year ago but how can you believe in God and not believe in the God of the Bible? God is the Creator and our Savior as well and He is described in His Word as God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. So how can you decide to “not believe” in God as described in the Bible?

Is it because you don’t like Him or what He asks people to do? I looked at the picture which they had on the link above and it shows clearly how America’s belief breaks down. Here it is:

So how can this be in a country which claims to be Christian in it’s belief system? What happened in our churches or the sermons which people have heard? Have they heard a sermon preached from the Bible or was it just a pep talk about how they feel with a few scriptures thrown in for good measure?

I know that prayer and the Bible were taken out of our education system over fifty years ago but that can’t be the only reason which is making this kind of impact on our culture! College professors are teaching their own agendas in class and much of that is against any sort of Christian ideas. Then there are the other parts of our culture like movies and TV shows which push their agenda of unbiblical ideas and ideas which go against the Ten Commandments. All of this is piling up in our daily lives with our children watching these shows, unless we turn the TV off or just don’t have one in the house.

How can we fight this? By teaching our children from God’s Word and by preaching from God’s Word too. If we don’t teach our children from God’s Word, how will they know what God says about our sinful ways of living? People will never know what sin is unless they are taught from God’s Word and His laws which are what our laws are based upon.

If nobody goes into the world to tell others about God and His will for their lives, how will they know? Until preachers and teachers tell others about Jesus and God and His laws which have been a part of our world for over two thousand years the percentage of true believers will keep going down.

Jesus is coming back soon and until people know it and know why He is returning nobody will be expecting His return. Which means when it does happen, it will terrify the entire world even those who have heard it at least once in church. I pray that those who don’t believe in Him or have never heard this will seek Him while there is still time.

Jesus is Coming

6And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.

7Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

8And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things. 9Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

10And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. 11He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.

12And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. 13I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

14Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. 15For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

16I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.

17And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

Nothing May Be Added

18For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

20He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

21The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

Thirst for God


My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?
Psalms 42:2 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/psa.42.2.KJV

God, help me!


Are you looking for your Savior?


The Lord will seek you out as well, but if you know that you need Jesus, don’t wait! Seek Him! Our world is rapidly moving toward the time which is described in the book of Revelation known as the Tribulation. Will people come to know Jesus during this time? Yes, they will, even though it will be dangerous for those who choose to worship Jesus. Because, during this time most will choose to worship the leader of the world, the Anti-Christ. They will choose because of his charismatic nature but also because if they do not take his mark and worship him they will be killed by beheading.

 

Why is this happening? 

This is happening because it was foretold in God’s Word. It is happening because we have pushed God and prayer and the Bible out of our children’s education and out of many homes. It is happening because even though we, as Americans, call ourselves “Christians” we don’t live as Christians. We claim to know God and we do know about Him but many in our country don’t attend church except once or twice a month or even twice a year or so. And then there is the fact that many people don’t read the Bible. Some have read a little of it at church or when getting ready for a Bible study, but I am speaking of daily reading and studying it. You can never find God’s will for your life if you don’t read the Bible because His will for every Christian is contained in His Word.

Are you seeking your Savior?

Have you felt God’s Spirit touch your soul and convict you of the fact that you need Jesus? Do you want Him in your life or will you just ask Him to leave you alone and decide that you can live your life just fine without Him? Our world is doing exactly that today. Many people try to read it and they can’t make sense of it but without faith, without Jesus in their heart, God’s Word is nonsense. It can be clear to you but unless you are looking for Jesus and seeking Him, you still may not understand it. There are times when we “act” like a Christian and go to church and read our Bible but playing a part, acting like a Christian doesn’t bring you salvation. Nothing that we do on our own can bring salvation into our lives.

Jesus is the only pathway to Heaven. Belief in Him and giving your life to Him along with repentance from our sinful ways is the only way to be forgiven and gain His righteousness to get into Heaven. Being a born-again Christian is not hard to do IF you allow Jesus to enter your life completely and change you from the sinner that you were into the child of God that you can be. It is only with His Spirit in your heart that you can be a Christian in the truest sense. You can’t do it on your own. There is no amount of money or work which will accomplish the change for you. Only by surrendering your heart and your life to Him to allow a total change in your being can you really live as a Christian.

Seek Him as your Savior and trust Him to save you from your sinful ways because only then will your life change because you have changed from the inside out. He paid the price for your sinful life so all you need to do in order to receive your new life is to believe in Him and grow in your faith after receiving Him.

Amen

The Lord is my Help!


I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord , which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.
Psalms 121:1‭-‬8 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/psa.121.1-8.KJV

Return to Me


Therefore also now, saith the Lord , turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:
Joel 2:12 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/jol.2.12.KJV

The Judgement


Believe it or not, all of us will meet God. Whether it is on our terms as a born-again Christian or on His terms as our Judge. This should clear up any confusion:

Is your culture Christian?


In some areas of our country and in some other countries, there are cultures which have had access to a church or a Bible for most of their lives. But, just because you have heard sermons and had access to a Bible, either at home or at church, for most of your life does that really translate into you being a Christian? In America those of us who live in the “Bible belt” of the South seem to be culturally “Christian” just because we have grown up in the church, regardless of the denomination. We have heard sermons and watched crusades on TV and may even watch Christian television occasionally. But are we more like Christ or do we have more in common with the priests and Pharisees of Jesus’ day?

Are we truly Christians or do we just know about Christianity and its trappings?

Reading the Bible at church and singing the worship songs is great but does it mean that you or I are Christians? Have we accepted Jesus as our Savior because we know that we can’t get into Heaven without faith in Him? Or are we just going through the motions because that’s what we’ve always done? Jesus condemned people who think they are Christians and yet they really aren’t. Read it here:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name,drive out demons in your name, and do many miracles in your name?’ Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers!’” (Matt. 7:21–23)

Performing good works and going to church and praying “in Jesus’ name” doesn’t mean that you are saved! Giving your life and your heart to Him and repenting of your sinful ways and then growing in that faith is the only real proof of being saved and born again into the family of God. By your faith and your growth in your faith after you accept Jesus as your Savior is the only proof of salvation. Just praying to God every day or so or reading the Bible occasionally is proof of nothing except that you know Who He is and that you have read the Bible.

Satan knows every word written in the Bible and he knows Who God and Jesus are, but he won’t give his life to them or serve them. He can be the best religious attendee at your church or mine but he will cause a rift in the church eventually. He can appear as an angel in light and speak the words of the Bible in your ears but he is not serving God. He is trying to get you away from God and your salvation.

Beware the “feeling” of the experience in a church service because it is deceptive. It can make you feel as if you felt something, but what did you feel? Emotions don’t produce salvation or true repentance from your sinful life. If the Holy Spirit has convicted you of your need for Jesus, please seek Him out at a Bible teaching church or a friend who can lead you to your Savior. Don’t turn away from Jesus and the Holy Spirit’s calling in your life. Just because you have been in church all of your life doesn’t mean that you are saved, it just means that you know about God and Jesus and Who they are. I pray that anyone seeking Jesus will look for Him in God’s Word diligently and make sure of your salvation while there is still time to do so.

I stand at your door…


Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
Revelation 3:20 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/rev.3.20.KJV

Salvation


What is it and how do I get it?

For one thing, salvation is not something that you just go out and get. The only time that we even realize that we need salvation is when the Holy Spirit convicts your Spirit that it is necessary. Most of us tend to go through our teen years without a care in the world. Sometimes we even get through college without feeling the need for salvation. We live our days with sins which we may not recognize as such until we feel the need for Jesus in our lives

That conviction of our spirit usually comes from a sermon or a friend who witnesses to us about their salvation and how they have gained their freedom from sin.

So, where do you go from the point of learning that you need Jesus? To the Bible and to church. Learn more about your Savior. Seek Him and learn as much as you can about Him. Here are a few verses about salvation:

Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

+ 2 Corinthians 5:21 “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

+ Acts 16:30-31 “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

Life in eternity is what these verses are speaking of and telling you that you are welcome in God’s house. He would rather have you in Heaven than to condemn you to an eternity of punishment in hell. But unless you believe in Jesus for your salvation and turn from your sinful lifestyle, whatever it may have been.