PRaP 01-09-2012

Another one from about 4 years ago still pertinent for today.

Monday

PRaP 1/14/08

“Promise?!”

What are you promised today?  According to the Bible we are not even promised our next breath. Look at this example:

 13Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

 14Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

 16And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. 17He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

 18″Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ‘

 20″But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

 21″This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”

See in that parable the rich fool thought he had control over tomorrow and yet he didn’t.  So what is promised to us?  For those who have faith in Jesus Christ will live eternally with Him in heaven, this is a trustworthy promise.  Jesus has promised us that we are heirs to the throne in which He sits.  This promise comes by faith.  Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.  Those of us that believe are adopted into the family of Abraham, grafted, if you will.  Like when we graft rose bushes or fruit trees together.  The cutting from the one put together with the other connected together become as one in the same root of the tree. For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.

Luke 12

Key Verse and what a great promise made by Jesus!:

Luke 12:8
“I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God.
Luke 12:7-9 (in Context) Luke 12 (Whole Chapter)

Send your questions to us if you need help.  There is a link on our web site called “Ask The Pastor”.  We will answer all questions if you want an emailed reply be sure to include your email address.  Remember the only dumb question is the one not asked.

PEACE and AGAPE LOVE, Pastor, Dad, DJ Dude

From The Desk Of:

Pastor Stephen Eldridge

c2C    http://www.c2cministry.org

If this is a blessing to you please pass it on. 

Got Jesus?

Matthew 7:7-8                 

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”

PRaP 1/3/2012

This was a PRaP written 4 years ago and is still pertinent today.  Just change the dates and you are good to go.

Thursday

PRaP 1/3/08

“Have You Made Your New Years Restitution?”

What is this guy talking about?  Doesn’t he mean “Resolution”?  Nope I mean “Restitution”.  The law of restitution is the law of gains-based recovery. It is to be contrasted with the law of compensation, which is the law of loss-based recovery. 

If you set a New Years Resolution the likelihood of you actually following through was well 1 in a million.  I know there are some of you over achievers out there that nailed it but the majority failed in the first quarter.  Now rather than making a new resolution it is now restitution because of the failure of the previous year.

The number one new years restitution is getting in shape and losing weight.  We set these unrealistic goals for ourselves and setup to fail in three months.  Well it is time to stop the madness and quit making New Years Restitution and make some realistic “Resolutions”.  Now in contrast to Biblical knowledge a resolution is a fast from something and when we fast it is because we are seeking spiritual wisdom on something.  Well those of us that have a few pounds to lose would be seeking wisdom in how not to eat so much or how to safely exercise without hurting our bodies further.  Thing is we have to do it in small chunks and then build up from those.  Set small easy to attain goals for the first three months of the year and then gradually add a little more and you will find that you will not be making restitution for a failure in 2009.

There are 14 scriptures in the NIV that are related to “restitution” in which all are in the Old Testament, and NONE for “resolution”.  Now there’s something to think about.  If you look up “fast” or “fasting” there are 47 results which some will be just the word fast as in moving fast but the majority of them are on the fasting we are looking for.  Here are the scriptures for today taken from Matthew 6:

Fasting

 16″When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 17But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Treasures in Heaven

 19″Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

 22″The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

 24″No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

Do Not Worry

 25″Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life^[b]?

 28″And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Key Verse:

Matthew 6:16
[ Fasting ] “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
Matthew 6:15-17 (in Context) Matthew 6 (Whole Chapter)

Send your questions to us if you need help.  There is a link on our web site called “Ask The Pastor”.  We will answer all questions live on our weekly Ask The Pastor program on Saturday nights from 8-10 PM and if you want an emailed reply be sure to include your email address.  Remember the only dumb question is the one not asked.

PEACE and AGAPE LOVE, Pastor, Dad, DJ Dude

From The Desk Of:

Pastor Stephen Eldridge

c2C    http://www.c2cministry.org

If this is a blessing to you please pass it on. 

Got Jesus?

Matthew 7:7-8                 

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”

You can go to http://www.c2cministry.org/Bible for the links to each days Bible chapters.

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Monday

PRaP 5/12/08

“Alien”

Do you ever feel that way? You go to an event and feel like you are the only one that doesn’t fit in? What is really weird is when you feel that way amongst so call brothers and sisters in Christ. You walk in and you listen in on conversations of others and all they seem to be talking about is their house or their car or how much money they are investing in this and that and women are talking about the latest sale at the shoe factory or the makeup counter and they are doing this at church. I know that as we grow spiritually that the worldly things seem to be further than ever from our minds but I sometimes also wonder if maybe there is a point that just maybe we can take that too far? Am I set apart so far as to not be able to relate with people my own age and worst of all with the same belief system I have. When I think of this I can only imagine how Christ felt. He, the Perfect sacrifice for the world was so set apart you wonder how he ever had any friends. He related better with sinners, non-believers, prostitutes, and tax collectors. I find myself being pulled further away from “Christians” in my own age group because they seem to be so wrapped up in the world they have lost sight of Christ. Maybe I am missing something here? Christ got along with everyone except the leaders of the Jewish people who denied His existence, well they denied Him being the Christ. But the Bible says in 1 Peter 2:11; “Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.” I guess this is what it means to live by faith. Hebrews 11:13 “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.” When you are at a party are you the alien? When you admit to being a virgin are you laughed at and called weird? When you refuse to follow the culture of this world do you feel alone? You’re in good company and you’re not alone. The Bible says that we should live as a peculiar people not like the world. Try and find that balance that you can be all things to all people in order that you may help lead a few to Jesus, whom they cannot see.

Hebrews 11

Key Verse:

Hebrews 11:40
God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
Hebrews 11:39-40 (in Context) Hebrews 11 (Whole Chapter)

Week 20 for those of you doing the Bible in 52 weeks program, http://www.c2cministry.org/Bible

Send your questions to us if you need help. There is a link on our web site called “Ask The Pastor”. We will answer all questions live on our weekly Ask The Pastor program on Saturday nights from 8-10 PM and if you want an emailed reply be sure to include your email address. Remember the only dumb question is the one not asked. All names are kept confidential unless you say it is ok.

PEACE and AGAPE LOVE, Pastor, Dad, DJ Dude

From The Desk Of:

Pastor Stephen Eldridge

steve@c2cministry.org

c2C http://www.c2cministry.org

Got Jesus?

Matthew 7:7-8

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”

PRaP 12-21-2011

“Wisdom” part 13 of 31

Proverbs 13

“Spare the rod spoil the child” Proverbs 13:24 is one of the most misquoted verses in the Bible.  There is nothing in that verse that even looks like it says this.  Here let’s look at several versions of this scripture

NIV: Whoever spares the rod hates their children,
   but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them.

NAS: He who ^(A)withholds his ^[a]rod hates his son,
But he who loves him ^[b](B)disciplines him diligently

NLT: Those who spare the rod of discipline hate their children.
      Those who love their children care enough to discipline them.

KJV: He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.

NKJ: He who spares his rod hates his son,
      But he who loves him disciplines him promptly.

Hmmmm, none of these versions say spare the rod spoil the child do they?

It is not easy for a loving parent to discipline a child, but it is necessary.  The greatest responsibility God gives parents is the nurture and guidance of their children.  Lack of discipline puts parents love in question because it shows a lack of concern for the character development of their children.  Disciplining children averts long range disaster.  Without correction, children grow up with no clear understanding of right and wrong and with little direction to their lives.  Don’t be afraid to discipline your children.  It is an act of love.  Remember, however, that your efforts cannot make your children wise; they can only encourage your children to seek God’s wisdom above all else!  Also this doesn’t give you permission to beat your children with a stick into submission either but a swat across the backside with an open hand can be used to get their attention if they are about to hurt themselves or someone else.  Many parents out there beat themselves up because they have tried to discipline their children but their children didn’t accept the discipline.  Don’t beat yourself up for their foolishness for it will only bring their own personal downfall in life. Stay true to God’s plan and it will go well with you.  Continue to discipline them when they need it as God has told us to do and when they reach the age of accountability it will be upon their heads and not yours.

Peace and Agape Love,

Pastor Steve

PRaP 12-16-2011

“Wisdom” part 12 of 31

Proverbs 12

3 A man cannot be established through wickedness,

But the righteous cannot be uprooted.

To be established means to be successful.  Real success comes only to those who do what is right.  Their efforts stand the test of time.  Then, what kind of success does wickedness bring?  We all know people who cheated to pass a course or to get a larger tax refund – is this not success?  And what about the person who ignores his family commitments and mistreats his workers but gets ahead in business?  These apparent successes are only temporary.  They are bought at the expense of character.  Cheaters grow more and more dishonest, and those who hurt others become more callous and cruel.  In the long run, evil behavior does not lead to success.  It leads only to more evil.  Real success maintains personal integrity.  If you are not a success by God’s standard, you have not achieved true success but worldly success.  I don’t know about you but I want my success to be regarded as a true success where God is present and He is there in everything I do for Him through the success that only He can give.  If you think you are successful, step back and check where that success has come from and how your integrity is in the eyes of the people who work with you or for you.

By the way my favorite verse in Proverbs 12 is the first one.

Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,

But he who hates correction is stupid.

Peace and Agape Love,

Pastor Steve

PRaP 12-14-2011

“Wisdom” part 11 of 31

Proverbs 11

God gives us advice about our money and in Proverbs we get some practical instruction on the use of money, although sometimes it is advice we would rather not hear.  Its more comfortable to continue in our habits than to learn how to use money more wisely.  This advice includes being generous in our giving, place peoples needs ahead of profit, be cautious countersigning for another, don’t accept bribes, help the poor, store up for the future, be careful about borrowing, and several other wise teachings about how we are to handle our finances.  We are in the season of giving and sharing what God has blessed us with be sure that the seed you sow is the seed of love. 

Here are a few of those money verses from Proverbs 11:

¹ The LORD detests dishonest scales,
   but accurate weights find favor with him.

¹⁵ Whoever puts up security for a stranger will surely suffer,
   but whoever refuses to shake hands in pledge is safe.

²⁴ One person gives freely, yet gains even more;
   another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.

 ²⁵ A generous person will prosper;
   whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.

²⁶ People curse the one who hoards grain,
   but they pray God’s blessing on the one who is willing to sell.

Remember God loves a cheerful giver so give until it hurts and do it with joy in your heart and a smile upon your face.  There are more lessons to learn in Proverbs 11 this is just one that I needed to hear this time of year.

Peace and Agape love,

Pastor Steve

PRaP 12-09-2011

“Wisdom” part 10 of 31

Proverbs 10

Wisdom for all people, these are the Proverbs of Solomon who was a boy king that was right in the eyes of God.  But like all us other fleshy people he fell too but in his fall he fell up.  In his failure his wisdom was gained in a way like no other.  Goes along with the saying if it don’t kill ya it will make you stronger.  I can use the analogy of the Lunar moth.  If you help it out of it’s cocoon it will die because it needs the struggle of the exit to gain the strength it needs to survive.  In Solomon’s last breaths he said too that it is all worthless without God.  All the riches and wisdom of the world are utterly worthless without God.

These short verses are what are commonly recognized as proverbs.  They cover a wide range of topics.  This first part is written by Solomon but the second by others but were collected by Solomon.  These sayings give practical wisdom for godly living at every stage of live.  The first 9 chapters of Proverbs were for young people but for everyone to learn.  These are for everyone to take to heart to live.

¹ The proverbs of Solomon:

   A wise son brings joy to his father,
   but a foolish son brings grief to his mother.

 ² Ill-gotten treasures have no lasting value,
   but righteousness delivers from death.

 ³ The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry,
   but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.

 ⁴ Lazy hands make for poverty,
   but diligent hands bring wealth.

 ⁵ He who gathers crops in summer is a prudent son,
   but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.

 ⁶ Blessings crown the head of the righteous,
   but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked.^[a]

 ⁷ The name of the righteous is used in blessings,^[b]
   but the name of the wicked will rot.

Peace and Agape Love,

Pastor Steve

PRaP 12-08-2011

“Wisdom” part 9 of 31

Proverbs 9

Invitations of Wisdom and Folly is what this Proverb is titled and for me one of the key verses is number 10 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy one is understanding.  This is so true and if you walk away with this one thing today then you will succeed.

This Proverb again speaks to us as if wisdom is a female and she has built her house and prepared her food and wine for those she calls in.  She calls out to the simple mind to eat and drink of what has been prepared and to leave their simple ways and live and walk in the way of understanding.

The way of understanding is that of the Holy One which is Christ.

Proverbs 9:1-6

¹ Wisdom has built her house;
   she has set up^[a] its seven pillars.
² She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine;
   she has also set her table.
³ She has sent out her servants, and she calls
   from the highest point of the city,
 ⁴ “Let all who are simple come to my house!”
To those who have no sense she says,
 ⁵ “Come, eat my food
   and drink the wine I have mixed.
⁶ Leave your simple ways and you will live;
   walk in the way of insight.”

All of this begs the question:  Where do you eat and drink from?

Peace and Agape Love,

Pastor Steve

PRaP 12-05-2011

“Wisdom” part 8 of 31

Proverbs 8

Wisdom’s call is contrasted to the call of the adulteress that we read in chapter 7.  Wisdom is portrayed as a woman who guides us and makes us succeed.  Wisdom was present at the creation and works with the Creator.  God approves of those who listen to wisdom’s counsel.  Those who hate wisdom love death.  Wisdom should affect every aspect of our entire life, from beginning to end.  Be sure to open all corners of your life to God’s direction and guidance.

The more a person fears and respects God, the more he or she will hate evil.  Love for God and love for sin cannot coexist.  Harboring secret sins mean that you are tolerating evil within yourself.  Make a clean break with sin and commit yourself completely to God.

Wisdom calls out to us to embrace us and love us and prosper us.  Proverbs tells us that wisdom is more precious that gold or silver.  Tastes better than the finest foods but those whose refuse wisdom will fail.

¹⁷ I love those who love me,
   and those who seek me find me.
¹⁸ With me are riches and honor,
   enduring wealth and prosperity.
¹⁹ My fruit is better than fine gold;
   what I yield surpasses choice silver.
²⁰ I walk in the way of righteousness,
   along the paths of justice,
²¹ bestowing a rich inheritance on those who love me
   and making their treasuries full.

Peace and Agape Love,

Pastor Steve

PRaP 11-30-2011

“Wisdom” part 7 of 31

Proverbs 7

Warning against the adulteress.  We have been seeing warnings against adultery several times and now a warning about the adulteress and how she works.  Seems that men even back then were not thinking clearly either and were easily swayed by women of the time.  I really like the first part of this Proverb verses 1-5

¹ My son, keep my words
   and store up my commands within you.
² Keep my commands and you will live;
   guard my teachings as the apple of your eye.
³ Bind them on your fingers;
   write them on the tablet of your heart.
⁴ Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
   and to insight, “You are my relative.”
⁵ They will keep you from the adulterous woman,
   from the wayward woman with her seductive words.

Guard these teachings as if they are the apple of your eye, a child or sibling that you will protect with your very life.  Wisdom and understanding gain them and embrace them and never stray from them for they are like a fine wine a beautiful woman or for you women a handsome man that you love and would protect from harm.

Peace and Agape Love,

Pastor Steve