Tag: Holy Spirit

Where does your strength come from?


To many people in this world today their strength comes from themselves and their own actions. It comes from their ability and their job or from their family and the strength that they gain from them. But, what happens when one of those is not able to strengthen you or keep you going? What do you turn to then?

Where do you look for strength and compassion when just one of those pillars cracks, when something goes wrong in your life? The people that we depend upon and the strength that we depend upon in life usually are just as weak as you are, spiritually and physically! We are weak, some of us are physically strong but without spiritual strength and our dependence upon Jesus for our strength in Him you will not be able to stand.

Not only to be able to stand up in the morning, which is not the strength that I am referring to, but the spiritual strength to stand against the sins which can drag us down. Standing against Satan and his demons and the temptations which are placed in our way every day, that is what spiritual strength is for! You can’t get it from a job, your family, your bank account, your friends, none of these worldly things can provide for you spiritually!

Yes, they can give you advice, but is it Biblical advice? Did they get it from God or their own mind or their own experience? What good will that do you? Your own advice and experience has not really helped, so why would you listen to them? God knows you and He knows what today had in it and what tomorrow has coming. He will be with you through all of these problems and pain and He will give you the strength to get through today and tomorrow and the next day.

Life is always one day at a time, one minute or hour at a time. Days don’t go by any faster for you than they do for me. The problems that we see each day, the pain that we feel each day are ours, but we don’t have to handle it alone because God is always available and He is with us no matter what or where we may be.

Seek God through His Scriptures, especially in the Psalms, Ecclesiastes and Proverbs. These three books have more wisdom in them than all of the “self-help” books combined. Learn of God’s ways, not just the way that He guided the Israelites but also the teachings of Jesus in the Gospels. He loves us, all of us, so much that He sent His Only Son to die on a Roman cross for the atonement of ALL of humanity’s sins, not just a few but all of them.

He will strengthen you in all of your problems and give you the wisdom to get through them. He will do this, not because He has to but because He wants to help you with your life. The lost keys, the misplaced bills, the bad grades or the forgotten birthday. He will get you through them all and give you wisdom in all that you do, IF you will trust in Him and follow His teachings for your life every day.

Drama and life


It seems that today with the Internet and all of the social media outlets that we have, there is more drama than ever about things which are happening all of the time. I know, years ago this was all gossip on the phones. The problem with today’s version is that this stuff never really goes away! Births and deaths, accidents and graduations, heart attacks and strokes, family reunions and funerals, they will ALL be there until the Internet and Facebook are gone! Even then, some trace of this will be available to future generations to read and wonder about.

Dramatic situations and life seem to go hand in hand today, but they really shouldn’t. Yes, life goes on no matter what is happening around us and we can make it dramatic or dramatizing if we want it that way. But…why? I know that tragedy strikes and yes, that can be dramatic and traumatic at the same time but God will see you through it! If you haven’t given your life to Him, then you really should. If you need to know why you should do so, then you haven’t gotten there yet.

God doesn’t want us to go through life alone without Him, yet we merrily do so thinking that we can do it all on our own with no help at all. Many times, we are right…as long as everything is going smoothly. Get one of those phone calls from the doctor or a pink slip from your job, and things could change in a hurry! If you have a teen in the house and you get a call from the hospital or the police or sheriff and your life may change forever.

God is there with you through these times, and all that you need to do is call on Him. His Strength is available to you through the Holy Spirit and His Grace is always available, just ask Him for it! There is no shame or disgrace in admitting that you need Him because we all do!

Granted, He doesn’t shower us with gold or silver when we ask for it but that is because He knows what is best for us at any given time. His Grace and mercy and His Peace is always available through His Word, the Bible. We don’t have to pay much for it, we don’t need psychologists or self-help books to find the wisdom for life’s problems because it is all found within the pages of the Bible.

Seek Him first for your needs, your peace, your health, your life and He will provide all of those and more because He loves you! Any who have lost children or spouses to an illness or death, seek Him out and pray for His peace and comfort and He will gladly provide it. Though it won’t rid you of your grief and the pain that you feel, it will make it more bearable because He loves you!

Think about it.

Today is the day!


It seems that most everyone treats tomorrow or even next year as if we are guaranteed to get there…well sorry to burst your bubble but we’re not! Your life and mine can be much more than it is, but we truly have to live life in God’s hands, every day. Your strength can’t get you through all of the troubles of this life, but God can take you through it all and then some! I am not speaking about using God as a crutch or even suggesting that Christians are weak because we are not. The martyrs of hundreds of years ago could not and should not be considered weak because they endured torture and mutilation for their faith in Christ and would not give up that faith even in the face of death!

Why did they do this? Not because of some fantasy reward for their death, but because He died for them and they had placed their faith in Him! A legion of Roman soldiers froze to death, naked on a lake because they would not recant their faith in Him. John’s disciple, Polycarp, was burned at the stake because he would not burn incense to the Roman emperor. I pray that we will be faithful enough to follow these saints if that time should come.

I believe that we should give our lives to Jesus and seek Him and His strength to carry us through the trials that we have in this life. Why do I believe in Him? Because the Bible is true, every word of it! He came to give us life, not just life here but life in eternity! He loves us enough to give us the grace through Jesus to have eternal life, if we will believe in Him and trust Him. This is not some fantasy nor is it a fairy tale. The prophecies which God spoke about through His prophets have all come true except for the ones in the book of Revelation. Those are reserved for the world to see during the time of tribulation and testing.

When that day comes, and it will come, many will wonder why they didn’t believe in Jesus or God while they could. Many will want to begin to believe in Him at that point. It won’t be too late, but it will take a lot of faith and determination to do it with the persecution that comes on the world during that time. Our lives and the purpose that we have in this life are determined by God for us. We just need to seek Him out to find that true purpose. Please don’t put this off! God loves each of us and will answer your prayer of repentance and come into your life, if you will only ask Him.

Life…where do we go when its over?


It is a good question, if you believe that there is more than this life. If you don’t then…it is a moot point as far as you are concerned. To go a step further, wouldn’t you like to know if there is something more? I mean, our lives are fairly short anyway and some people lose their lives before getting a chance to do much with it. Yes, there is an afterlife…an eternity which we will all be partaking of regardless of your belief, good or bad.

Eternity is spoken of in all cultures and religions to some extent, it is our choice to believe in it or not. Whether it exists or not is really not up to us. The reality will be after we die and we stand in front of God Himself. This is not the time for begging or pleading for mercy or forgiveness, that should have been done during your lifetime. After death is too late. I am sure that many people wonder about why they can’t believe after their life is over, the answer is simple: you have the evidence that God exists all around you every day of your life, believe it or not.

God loves you, but unlike the fictional “Allah”, He doesn’t require you to believe in Him nor does He force you to believe. God gives you all of the evidence that you need to believe in Him and pointing a gun at someone or threatening them with a sword only brings out the fear of death at the hands of ignorant men. I am not afraid of death because I know in Whom I have believed and after I die, whether by a gun or sword or by natural causes, I will be in His Presence. I have given my life to Him, so I don’t have a fear of death. He will take me home when that time comes, no matter how it happens.

Can you say that? If you have any doubts, then you need to seek Him out. Cars, planes, buses and trains have problems all of the time so going to work or on vacation is not an excuse for putting it off. “I don’t have time” is not an excuse either, because if you don’t have time now, what will happen to you if you die today? Do you know? Are you certain that your eternity is secure in Him?

I am sure that I will get some accusations of trying to scare people into believing something that they don’t want to believe, that is fine. I am not ashamed of it because if you don’t realize that you need Jesus before you die, then my job has no meaning or purpose. I have failed in the calling that God called me to do, which is to tell others about Him and try to bring them to knowledge of that need. If you will not seek God out, I can’t force you, but at least I have tried to tell you.

Now, the choice is yours.

Darkness and Light


Darkness tried to invade our county this past weekend. It took out two shining lights, ones that it thought would dim our lights. It didn’t take into account the faith and love that these two lights had behind them nor how many friends that they shared in common all over the state. The amount of prayer and support their families got from the school, from their teams, and from the 4H groups that they were involved with brightened the sky with the prayers that were sent up to God. Then, He sent down legions of angels to comfort and strengthen those friends, family, and classmates. So, in trying to dim the light that is in our county, it only made it brighter. Faith and Love are powerful especially when you combine them with prayer.

I am still praying for all the people…friends involved in this tragedy, but God knew about it all along. They are now with Him and are enjoying the benefits of Heaven and that their bodies can never die. They both are praying for their families well-being and they are also asking for the Lord to give their loved ones the strength and comfort that they will need during this time.

Although some may not believe it, I believe that we can see our family from Heaven. Especially when our lives end so suddenly, because God wants us to be comforted and to lend comfort to those we left behind. We are fragile creatures, physically and emotionally, but God knows what we need and when we need it and He will provide it, especially now during this time of mourning and healing.

Our community should come together and will do so during this rough time for the families of these girls. They are clothed in their gowns of righteousness, which would make the most expensive wedding gowns look like rags. Why are they that beautiful you ask? Because, these two young ladies are part of the church, the Bride of Christ, and they are supposed to be adorned that way!

Shimmering gowns of love and light, which more closely resemble a dress made from gold and silver and colors of the rainbow that we can’t even imagine in our minds. No fashion house on Earth could come up with a gown which comes close to the beauty that they are clothed in now and we will see them one day.

The love of God expressed toward us in light, His Light, is more beautiful and illuminating than anything that we have. Even our homes in Heaven will radiate with His Love and so will everything else in Heaven. That is why there is no darkness in Heaven, because every blade of grass, the trees, the water which flows from His throne, all of it will shimmer with His Love and His Light.

The darkness which tried to cause our lives to dim over the weekend did not have the effect that it was supposed to have. Because, the love and faith of the families involved in this tragedy grew stronger and it shined more brilliantly than it had before. Not because it wasn’t there before, but because it was needed for other things. Now, it is needed for comfort and strength and as a witness to all around that the Love of God can and does conquer death, hell and the grave!

Seek Him out if you don’t know Him. Read His Word and pray that you will come to a saving knowledge of Him, before a wreck or something else takes your life. Because, standing before Him is too late to realize the mistakes that you have made while living.

Why all of the fuss?


It seems that every day I hear about more disgruntled people being disenfranchised in one way or another. Marginalized by society or insulted because of some post on social media or a news program. Worse yet, many of them seem to be intent on ruining the very culture and country that has allowed so many to enjoy freedom of speech in the first place! What has happened? What is happening in our country and in the world at large?

It seems that very little good news is heard in the media today, but I guess that is because good news doesn’t get the traction and the audience that the network needs. Nobody wants to hear about a miracle which occurs in a child’s illness that the doctor can’t explain except to say that he knows it wasn’t anything that medicine or treatment did! Don’t get all upset, that illustration is just hypothetical! I haven’t heard of a child in that situation lately.

My point in all of these words is that all the news agencies and media outlets concentrate on mostly bad news. How many murders or rapes there were today in some city. An earthquake has killed thousands in Nepal and the aftershocks aren’t making it any better. I pray for all of these tragic people and their stories, they aren’t just statistics or numbers. Why? Because, even though these tragedies are happening…God loves them and is there with them through it all.

Some are going to ask at some point, “Why didn’t God do something about this?”. He could, but would you give the glory to Him for stopping it or would you chalk it up to a natural phenomenon? Satan is enjoying all of the killing and rapes and the dying people in disasters. Not because he enjoys death, but because many of the people in these situations may not even know God or even know about Him. They are ones that he has snatched away from God, at least in his twisted way of looking at it.

God gives us the evidence that He exists and it is all around us, but most people just see the creation rather than looking for the Creator. Many even worship the parts of His creation like the stars (astrology), or man-made gods which are just made of steel or wood. Some think that we should worship our own abilities and think of ourselves as “gods”.

Man-made gods such as money or fame or even a statue of someone are just things. It would be like someone bowing down to a concrete block and worshipping it, how stupid is that! The same goes for the stars, what can they do except shine like God intended for them to do? God is the Creator, Jesus gave His life for us so that we could have eternity, the Spirit of God (even a tiny portion of Him) comes to live in your heart and life when you become a Christian. He gives you the ability to be a Christian and to do things that you can’t do on your own.

I don’t mean that you can fly or touch someone and heal them. God Himself does the healing, the most that we can do is pray and have faith that it is His will to do what will bring Him Glory so that people can see that He is God. Faith in Him comes from our belief in Him, if you don’t believe in Him then you won’t have the faith to truly believe. Yes, it seems to be a catch 22 but God calls those that He wishes to call. Those who will listen and do His will and purpose in their life for Him!

Christianity is not a social club and it isn’t an exclusive club either. Seek Him out in the Bible, pray that He will give you the faith to come to Him. Don’t close your heart and your mind to God because when you see a baby or a butterfly you are looking at His handiwork. Life is precious but fleeting. Our lives are not very long, especially compared to eternity. Consider this and seek Him while you can.

Success in failure


This speaks to all of us who need it. Today, at this time, we need Him.

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

You might want to ask me “How does that work?”. Success in this life, as many people see it today, means that you are successful…period. You have graduated from school, whether it is high school or college or even medical school, you have made it. That is the first step on the road to success. Then, there is the debt that you owe for that education which you are saddled with to pay off, what a bummer. Depending on the size of the debt, your payment could take years and most of your hard-earned money if you get a job.

We were usually told by parents and teachers and counselors that a college education was the ticket, the way up and out. Not anymore it seems. So how can you become successful in life when so few jobs exist for college educated people? I don’t have that answer, I…

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God LOVES you!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bt1sps2T800#t=65

There is no way that I could improve on this message. Amen.

Reflection on Mothers Day


For me, celebrating Mother’s Day is a time of reflection which brings some lonely feelings into my life, but it also brings back good memories as well. My own mother died about seven months after Mother’s Day in ’95, so this year marks the twentieth year that I can’t say or do anything for her. All that I have are my memories, and that’s OK.

Mother’s Day is a celebration of our mothers and their life and sacrifice for each of us to be here. Many of our mothers and fathers have sacrificed much so that we could go to school and have things that helped us to get through life. Why did they do these things? Because of love. Love makes a difference in every life, whether you realize it or not.

The love of our parents and grandparents helped us to become the people that we are today. Our love of our children today will help them to be the person that they are meant to be. The difference between us and those who would destroy our culture and our way of life is that they don’t have love in their life. Love makes a difference in all ways and in all situations and the best place to find real love is to look for it from the Author and Creator of it, God Himself.

He loves us, each of us, so much that He sent His Son to Bethlehem as a baby to be raised as a human, to live and die as a human, but since He had God’s nature in Him He was able to live a sinless life. A life of complete obedience to God’s laws and to His commands.

This love is what prods each of us to seek out something that we know is missing, yet we don’t know what it is. We try to fill that spot with drugs, or sex or money but none of that satisfies because none of them fit. The Holy Spirit of God is the only One that fits in that space, that empty part of you that all of us have. Even if you don’t want to believe in God, you feel that empty feeling. You know that there is something missing, but you don’t want to believe that it is God Who can fill that spot in your life, Who is the One that is supposed to fill that empty space.

Mothers are the best reflection of a loving God on Earth, at least the ones that actually love their children. Seek God out so that He can show you the love that He has for you through His forgiveness and the eternal life that you will have in Him. If that is something which you don’t want to do or can’t understand why to do it, I understand. I will be praying for all who visit here anyway.

Thanks for stopping by.

Percentages and prayer


Christians, according to Wikipedia, make up about 2.2 billion people in the world. To be fair, they quantify this by adding that these are “nominal Christians”, those who may or may not be Christians but they go to church occasionally.

So, according to this, “nominal Christians” make up about one-third of the whole world’s population. Where does that leave us as the body of Christ? Do we have that much influence? According to this same reference, America is made up of about 80 to 90 percent nominal Christians. If they were all in church on any given Sunday, our churches would be packed…but they are not. According to Webster’s Dictionary, nominal means ‘in name only’. A pretty dim statistic for a faith that makes up a third of the world’s population.

Just as you can’t be ninety-five percent pregnant, you can’t be 95 percent Christian either. You either are or you are not, there is no middle ground and no line that you can stand on. Being a nominal Christian seems to mean that you claim it only so far as the claim itself will take you. In today’s world, being a Christian is becoming very unpopular, even in America where we are supposed to have tolerance for religious beliefs.

Of course, today that tolerance has become very weak and frail and almost non-existent among those who don’t believe in God or the Bible and don’t even mention the name of Jesus. Yet, we are supposed to tolerate their lifestyle or anything that they are trying to get us to allow in society.

Christians need to pray about this situation, not because it seems that we really don’t have the numbers that are assigned to our faith but because those who claim it truly need to be Christian in more than just name only! Prayer can bring this about and those of us who are Bible-believing and churchgoing Christians NEED to humble ourselves before God and ask for His forgiveness and His Spirit to move in the churches…ALL of them, regardless of the denomination.

Satan and his fallen angels believe in God and they know Him and Jesus too, they choose not to serve them. The same is true for those “nominal” Christians, they know about Him, they just want to live their lives without Him in their life until they decide to let Him in. This is a very dangerous way to live, because you are not given tomorrow by guarantee. Your soul, like th farmer in the parable, may be required tonight, then where will you be? He thought that he had a life of leisure to look forward to, he had plenty and he had decided to enjoy it. But…when your time is up, according to God’s timetable, then there is no amount of negotiating that will extend your time, no amount of money will affect the outcome either.

Your decision to follow Jesus and serve Him has to be made during the time that you have, today preferably, because you don’t know what is coming tomorrow or even tonight. Give your heart and your daily life to Jesus, become more than a nominal Christian! God needs us to be Christians which read the Bible and pray daily. The kind that make the demons tremble because we are children of God, made in His image and destined to reign with Him! That is the type of Christian that we all should be!