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

Think before you act..


In many ways I feel that I have failed my son. He has seen and heard me raise my voice far too many times and there is no real fix for this. The damage is done already. So now, he will do the same thing later in life.

Your tongue can get you into more trouble than it will ever get you out of, the problem is that you usually don’t figure this out until it is too late. The title says “think before you act”, which is true but it also means before you speak too. Sometimes, that is hard to do. Some of us tend to let our tongue get more use than our brains and that is a very bad thing, especially for a pastor.

Which is why I blog a lot here. Sometimes these posts are for my benefit more than anyone else. Although, I do hope that those of you who read these posts get something from them. If there is any consolation through this site it is that I read all of your comments and if there is a prayer request in them, I do honor it in my prayers.

I pray that this next year or two will bring a revival in our country and hopefully in the world. We must get back to faith in Jesus.Strength

Begin…


This is the day that we need to begin not tomorrow because you don’t know what it will bring or even if you will be here tomorrow. Begin something whether it is your dream for your life, or it may be stepping out to finish a degree that you wanted to finish. Life is a beginning, a new day with its sunrise is a beginning and if you are alive then you should begin!

Just as the proverb says that “a trip of one thousand miles begins with one step”, we need to begin. When God called Abram to go away from his country to a country that he knew not…he began with a step in that direction. When the Israelites were freed from slavery, they would never have gotten to the wilderness, let alone their promised land, without taking the first step.

In your life, every day, your day begins when you wake up. But…nothing gets done in the day until you begin it! You have to get up from the bed, put your feet on the floor and take a step, then another and another until you get to your destination. God knows His plans for you and they are plans to prosper you, but your prosperity doesn’t come to you without stepping out on faith and doing something about it!

We all have to begin to do something every day, regardless of the situation because in this life things don’t get done without a beginning! You can’t eat without picking up the fork, you have to begin your meal with an action. Like picking up the plate and the fork and putting the food on it and then thanking God for what we have to eat. Even then, if you don’t begin to eat with that fork, that plateful of food won’t get into your mouth without you beginning to eat it.

The thing about beginnings, regardless of the type of beginnings they are, is that some kind of action is required. In a relationship with your wife or husband it has a beginning, just as life has a beginning. When we decide to live our lives for Jesus or rather WITH Jesus, that life has a beginning too. So where do you and your family or spouse begin? That depends upon where you want to end your journey. Any trip or journey whether in life or as a vacation has to have a starting point…a place to begin and an ending point. So consider where your journey should end or at least where you would LIKE for it to end.

Regardless of your beliefs, whether Christian, Jewish, Muslim or any of the other religions, there is always a place where your eternity also begins. For all of us, eternity begins when this life ends regardless of your beliefs. Some of you who don’t believe in an eternity will find that contrary to your lack of belief, there really is a God and you will meet Him. When your eternity begins, where will you spend it? If you don’t believe that there is one, then you will be surprised and not so happy about your eternity. If you are a Christian, then I need to ask this question:

Have you followed Jesus every day since you asked Him into your life?

Why do I make it that personal? Because a relationship, whether it is with Jesus or your family, is personal. To be in that relationship totally, you have to be present every day not just once or twice per week or once a month! How would your spouse feel if you treated her or him that way? Your relationship wouldn’t last very long would it? If it isn’t a daily walk with Jesus, then you might need to check with your pastor to see if you are saved! Sitting in a pew, reading a daily Bible verse, giving a tithe now and then, these are all good things but they are the motions that you can do that show others that you attend church…that’s all. Your relationship only shows when you are in it for real! Don’t be like the Pharisees were, so religious they couldn’t have a relationship with their Messiah.

The Ten Commandments of the Lord


Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.
Exodus 20:7-17 KJV
http://bible.com/1/exo.20.7-17.KJV

Hey, Why Aren’t You Trying To Save Me?


A wonderful post and it is VERY true. Many people who come to church don’t seem to care about the message so it makes you wonder about those who don’t come. Thanks for this message. Happy New Year!

One year over…


Many years have come and gone and this one is no different. All sorts of people in the world doing things like shooting each other or someone who they don’t agree with. Wars breaking out or getting worse because of beliefs or differences in beliefs or culture. The human race, regardless of the color of your skin, is killing itself one person at a time. Although some days, many more are killed than just one.

Why can’t we get along with each other? Is it our cultures or our skin color that sets us at odds so much that we can’t stand for the “others” to live? This is nothing new exactly because it has been going on for millennia and it will continue until the return of Jesus. In many ways, even His name causes much of the strife and problems in our world today. As long as you are speaking of God, there is no problem but when you bring Jesus into the conversation then things get heated.

Why does He cause such reactions? Well, in the days before His crucifixion, it was His teachings and the way that He taught that was the real problem. His authority and the teaching that He was doing was undermining the control that the High Priests had on the people. Then there was the, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no one comes to the Father except by Me” statement! Who did He think that He was,420268_10150681777049769_182249954768_8767283_149600359_n.jpgGod?!

Yes, this past year has been a bad one in more ways than one for many people who have lost loved ones. Some of them were lost due to war, some were due to car wrecks, some were killed by gun shots fired by people who didn’t need to have a gun in their hands. Some were killed because they waved a BB gun around that looked like the real deal.

This past year has had some senseless deaths occur in it, but they could’ve been prevented. Our problem is not the guns or the fake guns and it is not the attitudes or opinions of those in government, it is that we have forgotten how to be a society that takes responsibility for its actions, regardless of how shocking they may be. We have also pushed our principles and the Book which taught our grandparents and their parents how to act out of the education system.

It is time to put prayer and the Bible back where it belongs so that the next generation won’t completely forget that God is in control, no matter how bad things get or who may be in charge here. He will bring about a revival and heal the problems in our land if we will just seek Him out and repent of our sinful ways.

The Bible is still a Book which has more wisdom in it than all of the books that are in the library and we need to be using it, studying it and reading it. If we don’t then we can only blame ourselves for what will come next.

The end is the Beginning


In some ways, it is difficult to make sense of those words. How can the beginning be at the end? It is a conundrum and a puzzle for sure, but to a person who is a Christian it is a simple and glorious thing! At the end of a long life, your eternal life begins! It isn’t an end, other than being the end of physical, Earthly life. The beginning for Christian believers starts when they give their lives to Jesus and ask His forgiveness of their sins.

You are reborn into a life of learning, love, sacrifice, and service. Learning from God’s Word as you explore the love of God for His people and for the world, learning Who He is and His meaning for your life. The love of God is all around you and once you realize it, you can feel it and see it in our world, in natural processes, in life itself. Sacrifice is when you live according to the life and teachings of Jesus, by giving away your faith, telling others about Him. To be true to the calling and life of a Christian you don’t really have to sacrifice anything, you just have to live your life according to Jesus’ teachings and to do that you have to read His Words and learn from them. Service happens when you are doing those things mentioned above, it is not “works” in order to be saved or to earn your way into Heaven.

Works don’t give you any extra “points”, only the saving power of Jesus and your faith and belief in Him will give you your Salvation which allows you into God’s Presence. Seek Him, trust in Him and believe in Him through the Bible, or by attending a Bible teaching church will show Him to you so that you can know Him if you will not harden your mind and heart to the love that He offers.

The Beginning at the end is what you get to experience if you are a Christian. If you choose to follow your own path, or another way of living not found in the Bible or any other religion then your eternity will be very different. Whether you believe in God or Jesus or the Bible has no bearing on the reality that you will find yourself in at the end of your life here. Your eternity will be waiting for you when you breathe your last breath here, so make sure of your destination before that happens.

Love…heals


I pray that this will bless you in the coming year.

Tracy Eldridge's avatarA blog about living well and successful today

A wise man once said that “Love heals all wounds.” It is true and it is a fact. Love is the only emotion which doesn’t hurt, the consequences of lost love are the pain and heartache but true love doesn’t hurt. It is true that those words are not in the Bible exactly, but since Jesus is the embodiment of God’s love toward us you can truthfully say that His Love heals all of our problems. I found this quote which supposedly came from an actor that I admire:

12391764_767543386681173_2827549231088575546_nHe experienced losing his wife a few years ago from an accident while skiing. I prayed for him in his sorrow and grief. That kind of loss would’ve hurt me deeply and I am sure it did him as well. The point of this is that the love that comes from God and your heart as well is a healing love…

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Blessings for every day


How can we claim and walk in the blessings that God has for us? I wondered that so much when I would hear my Mom or my grandparents talking about it. The same as I would wonder about it when I heard it in songs or at church growing up. It seems that nobody every explained it to me then and I suppose it was because they didn’t really understand it themselves.

I have come to realize that our blessings are those things that many of us take for granted all of the time. Waking up in the morning is a blessing, even if you wake up in pain be thankful that you can feel it. When you walk to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee, be thankful that you can walk, that you can see, that you feel the love of God in your life because you have these blessings.

I know, there are some who say that their pain or their troubles are not blessings. Maybe not, it is possible that God is allowing you to grow through your aches and pains like He did when Satan wanted to test Job. God did not afflict Job, but He allowed Satan to do so because of the faith of Job. Maybe that is where you are now. Maybe the pain that you feel in your body or in depression or some other ailment is a test or it may be Satan’s way of hindering you in your walk with God.

Be blessed in the knowledge that you have God in your life and that He is in control of all circumstances, good and bad. Get into His Word today and every day so that He can strengthen you and your faith in Him. His Word is more powerful than any weapon or disease, so use it every day to fight off the darts that the enemy slings in your direction. God is with you and me just as He was with David when he fought Goliath. He made David’s aim true and the strength of his sling powerful enough to penetrate a giant’s skull and He can overcome any obstacle that is in your life today.

Remember, you have the Spirit of God inside you if you are a Christian and you are made in His image just as Adam was. In that we are all the same, regardless of what race we claim to be or the culture that we live in. The Creator brought the universe together by His Word and the Living Word, Jesus, came and died to make you free from the bondage of sin! All that you need to do is claim His promises for your life and believe in Him, that He can and will accomplish them in your life today and the rest of your life!

Make sure that you follow Him in everything that you do, in life, in business and in all other areas of your existence. Read and study a chapter in the Bible every day, maybe two or three if you can get them in. Once you get into the habit of reading His Word daily, you will sorely miss it when you don’t. His Word can ease your pains and infuse your life with His power so that you can overcome those aches and pains and really be thankful for your blessings every day.

Why did Jesus come?


4thpage.jpg“Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34 These words were spoken by Jesus from the cross as He was crucified for our sins. Not just yours or mine but for every person in the past, in His present and in the future. Why did God do this? Why would God allow this to be done?

The simple answer is because of His love for us, all of us. This is a kind of love that we cannot comprehend…we cannot understand this depth of love. It is so far beyond our pitiful ability that it would be like explaining the concept of love to a shark or a snake. It cannot be understood and it can’t be comprehended by our limited minds. Of course, there are some who will contest this way of thinking but if you really think about it, the depth of love that it would take I mean, our human mind can’t comprehend a love like that.

That is the reason that Jesus said that we would have to come to the Kingdom of God with faith like a child. Trusting that God knows what is best and that we can give Him our life and our heart no matter what!

God created this universe so that we could experience the awesome reach of His power and know that He is the Creator and there is no other. No amount of spiritualism or pagan pseudo-religion will be a substitute for God, period. You can call the Bible a fake and the Word contained in it to be fantasy, but Christians have died believing in the God of the Bible and His Word. Of course, many people who don’t believe in Jesus will also say that they were delusional but people wouldn’t die believing a lie.

I know, sincerity breeds belief and beliefs are what those people ultimately died for BUT if that was the way that things have been taught for nearly two thousand years, what of it? At least Christians are not trying to kill all of those who won’t convert to Christianity. If we are wrong, then our lives have only been wasted doing the work of Jesus while we can. If there is no Heaven or hell, then why did Jesus come to bring the good news to the Jews and to the rest of the world? If the Bible is a lie, then the Torah is a lie and the Jewish religion is a lie.

Nothing about the Christian religion can be disproved. You can choose not to believe any of it if you wish, but the history contained in it has been proven by archaeologists. Science has proven many of the truths in the Bible as well. Such as the ordinance given to circumcise a child on the eighth day after they are born. A baby doesn’t have the capability to clot blood until that day is past, but that wasn’t proved until recently.

God loves each of us, this is proven because we live and breathe. You can laugh at this if you wish, but it truly is by His grace and mercy that our world hasn’t come to an end yet. When the time is up, every eye will see the result and hear it around them but if you haven’t made the decision to come to God by belief in Jesus…it will be too late.

Mary, did you know?


When the angel came to tell of the baby you were going to have, did you know that your heart would change completely? All parent’s hearts change in some way when their child is born, but your Child is special. He was and is not a child born of human procreation, but One Who was prophesied since the beginning, to be the Savior of mankind.

The story is told in Luke 1 beginning here:

26…the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. 29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. 31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. 34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. 36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing shall be impossible. 38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

Jesus came to a humble family, but one that was descended from the lineage of David of the tribe of Judah. The babe was sent into the world to announce to it that God had come down to mankind to offer salvation to all who would believe.

The story continues here:

Luke 2 (King James Version)

2 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. 2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) 5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. 6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. 8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. 16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. 17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

The shepherds went out telling all of the things which they had seen, just as we are supposed to do. Amen.