Think about what God has done for you.  Can’t think of anything?  Wonder how come?  Do you read the instruction manual He left for you?  Just a thought.

Thursday

PRaP 5/15/08

“How To”

We have a “How To” guide we just neglect to use it in our daily lives.  We only use it when there is crisis which there is nothing wrong with that because we should use it then but there is more to our Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth manual.  God has shared with us how to live our entire life here on earth He has given us lots of examples on what not to do as well as loving instruction on how to fix our mess and on how to share what He blesses us with on a daily basis.  Each day of your work week I send you a small piece of God’s “How To” book for you to learn from and use in your daily life, do you ever use them?  Or maybe you just read them laugh and delete them?  Take time each day and pray about what you are about to read and once you have read it pray about what was written and then open your Bible and verify what was written and see what God lays on your heart for the subject matter and by all means if you disagree with what is written let me know so I can elaborate or send out an apology.  Lord knows I make mistakes all the time and you know I read these things multiple times before I send them out and I still sometimes miss something.  The biggest mistake we can make in this life is to take what a man has written for face value without researching and confirming on our own what was written.  The second mistake is to not say anything to that person out of love because they may not know of their mistake and live their life in that mistake thinking it is the right thing to do.  Like, abuse.

Psalm 118

Key Verse:

Psalm 118:8 (The very center of the Bible)
It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.
Psalm 118:7-9 (in Context) Psalm 118 (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.”

Help us fulfill our wish list www.c2cministry.org/wishlist.html

I need a drink.  No I don’t!  I need pornography.  No I don’t!  Sin is sin and it has the same price no matter if you are getting drunk or committing sexually immoral acts or both.  DEATH!  Not just death as in the physical but in the spiritual as well because it is complete separation from God.  COMPLETE separation from God.  Just a thought.

Wednesday

PRaP 5/14/08

“Lack Luster Sin”

Once you have Jesus in your life the things that cause sin in your life lose their luster.  The shine that used to attract you no longer interests you.  Their smell is no longer enticing and they no longer have the sweet sounds they used to have.  Oh this doesn’t happen over night in most cases, no, it takes sometimes years and it depends on you and how deep is your love for Him.  It is no secret that I am an alcoholic and it runs in my family but in my growth the drink has lost its allure.  Oh I sometimes think about it but I do not desire the pain it brings.  With TV and the Internet the lure to pornography is great but the shine is gone it is now a dark place and is no longer exciting to the eyes.  Does that mean I have lost the desire?  Absolutely not it means that I choose to wait and do it God’s way.  I fight to keep my mind clear of those things that I experienced in my days before Christ and it isn’t easy.  But God has told me in His Word that if I stick to Jesus these too will pass.  Oh I know satan is mad because I am sharing this and oh well, tough!  We all fall down at times but the difference should be as to what you do once you fall.  Do you stay down there groveling in your sin or do you realize it and shout for Jesus and stand up again.  Being a Christian does not mean we now have super hero strength, it means we recognize we are weak and need help and we choose to cry out to Jesus for our Salvation.  Live life to its fullest with Christ leading the way because if you let Him lead it will be full indeed.

John 8

Key Verse:

John 8:36
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
John 8:35-37 (in Context) John 8 (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.”

Help us fulfill our wish list www.c2cministry.org/wishlist.html

Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty!  There is none holier than You!  All we can do is try an emulate Him we can never achieve His height in holiness.  That is why we depend on His Grace.  Just a thought.

Tuesday

PRaP 5/13/08

“Be Holy Because I Am Holy”

No, I am not being arrogant these are the words written in 1 Peter 1:16; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”  You can also find this in Leviticus 11:44,45; 19:2; and 20:7 so it is written and verified in the law of Moses and in the words of 1 Peter.  But these are not easy words to live by, are they?

1 Peter 1:13-16

13Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

I challenge to read all of this section 1 Peter 1:13-25 and be enlightened to what is written in God’s Word.  Read it, store it up into your hearts that He may live in you and through you.  Take the things that you used to do before Grace and use it as a tool to show Grace is abundant through Jesus Christ.  For all men are like grass, and all their glory is like flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.  And this is the word that was preached to you.  1 Peter 1:24-25

1 Peter 1

Key Verse:

1 Peter 1:22
Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.
1 Peter 1:21-23 (in Context) 1 Peter 1 (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.”

Help us fulfill our wish list www.c2cministry.org/wishlist.html

Set apart, to be sanctified, to be removed from culture, to think not of this world, to live for Christ alone.  Is it possible?  Just a thought.

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.”

Help us fulfill our wish list www.c2cministry.org/wishlist.html

Mothers Day is upon us.  Don’t forget your mom.  She has earned her crown(s), if she chooses to accept them,  by giving you birth and allowing Him to use you in His plan, that is if you let Him.  Just a thought.

Friday

PRaP 5/9/08

“Mothers 2008″

Let me be the first to wish all you mothers a happy mothers day 2008.  All though your role with God is the same as it always was you have more to do than ever.  Believe me when I say I understand how hard you work.  Being a single parent myself and a man to boot I had to learn all of those gifts that you were blessed with by God.  To multi-task is a huge thing and you gals have it to a science.  Us guys take the things of the day and lay them out into single problems and solve them one at a time but God has given you the wonderful ability to take the day’s problems and lump them into one issue and take care of all of them in one swoop throughout the day.  You have the ability to map out your day in your mind and know that as you are doing one thing you can simultaneously take care of the other that is similar to the other to where us guys would take them as separate issues and try and figure out on paper how to solve each one individually.  Hats off to you mom for the great job that you do every day including weekends and holidays without a day off and without complaint, thanks mom.  We pray the Spirit of peace upon you on your special day.  May the blessings of God continue to pour out into your lives.  Proclaim for yourself an Esther year of preparation for the coming of the Groom, Jesus Christ.

Esther 2

Key Verse:

Esther 2:12
Before a girl’s turn came to go in to King Xerxes, she had to complete twelve months of beauty treatments prescribed for the women, six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetics.
Esther 2:11-13 (in Context) Esther 2 (Whole Chapter)

Week 19 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.”

Help us fulfill our wish list www.c2cministry.org/wishlist.html