Salt and Light Blog

Last week was a tough week for me. Dealing with the issues of life was trying enough, but knowing what our present government has become in light of the Benghazi hearings it is enough to think of our nation as hopeless. If I were to look horizontally, that is all around me, for signs of hope I would have good reason to think of things as hopeless. But while I am living in this world, I am not of it because I am a child of the one true King as the Matthew West song proclaims.

The early church in Thessalonica felt this same despair in worrying of whether or not they had missed Jesus’ second coming. The Apostle Paul assure this church they had not and that no matter what they were facing, or whatever we are facing, the church is to stand fast in the truth of the gospel. That seems easier said then done when we are hard pressed on all sides but Paul gives us the key ingredients to rock solid faith:

(more…)

Technorati Tags: hope

Abraham’s faith was accounted to him for righteousness. It manifested itself in hope. Hope in what? His hope, driven by his faith, allowed Abraham to believe God when He promised that Abraham’s seed would become a great nation. This promise came to Abraham at the ripe age of 75 and his faith in God’s promise caused him to take his family and leave Haran. The Apostle Paul reminded the Roman’s of Abraham’s great hope in God:

“…who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, ‘So shall your descendants be.’” (Romans 4:18)

(more…)

Technorati Tags: hope

My pastor uses a most excellent word for perseverance: stickability. It means sticking to the task no matter how great the challenges. It means never giving up on God because He is never giving up on us. It means giving all diligence to our spiritual growth.

“But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.” (2 Peter 1:5-9)

(more…)

Technorati Tags: perseverance

We have many enemies in this world. Our greatest enemy, for those without Christ, is death. Death is the enemy of God. God created life; Satan created death, despair, and disease. Suffering is the antithesis to creation. As you read the creation story in Genesis 1 you see death, despair, and disease were not a part of the original plan. In fact when God finished, the Bible tells us:

“Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.” (Genesis 1:31)

(more…)

We never just walk away. We are prone to wander. That’s why Jesus called us sheep. Without following the sound of our Shepherd, by not remaining with the flock, we wander off. We walk into all types of danger. That’s why Jesus told the Parable of the Lost Sheep in Matthew 18 of the rejoicing of one found, not one saved, but of one found that has returned. (see Luke 15 for one saved).

“Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven. For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost. What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.” (Matthew 10-14)

(more…)

Technorati Tags: backsliding

I want to write a little more on fear. Fear is a real emotion, but as the acronym teaches fear is false evidence appearing real. Yesterday I wrote we cannot be worried about what man will do to us. Our eyes must forever be on God:

“I called on the Lord in distress; the Lord answered me and set me in a broad place. The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” (Psalm 118:5-6)

(more…)

Technorati Tags: fearlessness

With the two percent increase in my Social Insecurity taxes, my annual take home pay is down around $1300 annually. That’s a big chunk of change for any family. That covers the annual maintenance we budget for both cars. Karen and I are going to have to be a little more cautious where we spend money. We love to go out and eat and just hang out and so perhaps that will have to be curtailed. Nevertheless, I can tell you where I won’t be cutting back. I won’t be cutting back on my tithing.

“Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation.” (Malachi 3:8-9)

(more…)

The Prophet Isaiah foretold the coming of Christ in a way that surpasses human understanding:

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14)

(more…)

Jesus’ first sermon in the synagogue was a rejected one. As you read the words, one would think those in attendance would have embraced Jesus’ words and rejoiced in their hearing:

“So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.’ Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.’ So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, ‘Is this not Joseph’s son?’” (Luke 4:16-22)

(more…)

Happy Thanksgiving! I am so glad I decided to write this devotional because I’ve been down a couple of days with vertigo and was kind of feeling sorry for myself. Karen and I will be going over to friends later today to celebrate Thanksgiving with them, but I woke up not preparing a turkey as is our tradition in the past. At first it really didn’t feel like Thanksgiving morning. But alas, it is!

Thanksgiving is not a day as much as it is a state of mind. While the fourth Thursday of November is a declared American holiday, thanksgiving should be a part of my Christian character. (more…)

Technorati Tags: Jesus, salvation, Thanksgiving

Did you know that? You say, “Of course I know that!” So did I…so do I. Had you forgotten that until you read the subject line? I had up until yesterday morning during our offering time at church. Our Minister of Discipleship and Evangelism Bro Pete Belmain had to remind me of that. Not sure if anyone else needed to be reminded of that, but I needed it. Sad thing is, just less than an hour before I had filled out the tithe check. Bro Pete referred to the teaching of the tithe in Leviticus:

“And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s. It is holy to the Lord.” (Leviticus 27:30)

(more…)

That’s the topic of this week’s The Truth Newsletter. It seems that we can not only break God’s 6th Commandment, “You shall not murder,” but we can also disobey God’s 8th Commandment, “You shall not steal.” You can do these things if America’s survival is at stake. At least that is what I am being told by Christians and a Tea Party Leader.

I obviously have a very strong opinion about this that most of you could probably state verbatim. However, my opinion in and of itself means nothing if it is not grounded in Biblical truth. God’s 2nd Commandment is the second longest of the ten and I think it is most overlooked by American Christians. I know for me it is the commandment hardest for me to keep because I allow so many things in this world to become an idol. Here’s what God wrote:

(more…)

It is easy to look at world events and shudder for the future of Israel as a nation. The satanic Mahmoud Ahmadinejad once again came to America, spewed his hatred for Israel at the United Nations and appeared on American television and refused to acknowledge the Jewish Holocaust. The Iranian President once again before the UN General Assembly said that Israel will be eliminated. Looking at the rise of Islamic fundamentalist governments in the nations surrounding Israel, one could easily see Israel’s end could be at hand, if not at least a violent war ahead. Let us look through a Biblical lens when looking at Israel’s future.

“‘If it had not been the Lord who was on our side,’ let Israel now say—‘If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when men rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us alive, when their wrath was kindled against us; then the waters would have overwhelmed us, the stream would have gone over our soul; then the swollen waters would have gone over our soul.’ Blessed be the Lord, Who has not given us as prey to their teeth. Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.” (Psalm 124)

(more…)

Technorati Tags: Yom Kippur

For a politician to be attractive to a voter, at least according to his or her consultants, you must first sell despair before you can secure disciples. We must be told of how desperate our situation is and then be convinced that deliverance is only possible in the man or woman seeking your vote. Of course they give the empty platitudes of “together we can do this” and “lift ourselves up by our bootstraps,” but do they ever really come through as promised? Of course not!

The deliverance they are offering is found only in Christ.

(more…)

Technorati Tags: discouragement, encouragement

Fear can strangle us or we can at least suffer from what many call the paralysis of analysis. Beginning on Friday I will begin writing on the fear of man because I believe we do so more than we realize.

I have taught my children to live by the rule that if you cannot justify an action in 30 seconds, then it is probably wrong. You see, there are no gray areas in my life. Oh there used to be plenty! But I’ve learned that there is right and wrong, and I don’t know. My associate pastor Pete Belmain shared with a few men at my house a couple of Sundays ago that he experienced tremendous freedom in coming to the conclusion that it was okay to say, “I don’t know.” I’ve taught my children, and I am still learning, that we can go to God’s Word for guidance and trust His promises within because they are sure. You can count on them; you can take them to the bank. King Solomon knew this as well as anyone:

(more…)

Technorati Tags: deist, God's promises

I’ve noticed a phenomenon in American Christendom lately and I am at times guilty of it. Fear. Fear of the past, fear of the present, and fear of the future. As Christians we tend to fear what has happened, what is happening, and what will happen. Fear comes from ignorance; not stupidity but ignorance. Random House Dictionary defines ignorance as a “lack of knowledge, learning, information, etc.” The old adage of fear standing for “false evidence appearing real” is never more true when applied to the Christian life. We fear because we fail to have the right perspective.

On that Resurrection Morning, the Disciples feared for their lives and feared the future. And they need not have done so. So where did they go wrong? They forgot Jesus’ words. They looked at their circumstances instead of looking to Christ. If they had been about their Master’s business they would have met Jesus. It happened to the women after they left the empty tomb:

(more…)

Technorati Tags: fear

This weekend studying for my Sunday School lesson, the Lord put it on my heart to write a series on the Stewardship of the Gospel. In Ephesians 3 we see a mystery revealed to the Apostle Paul of which he shares with the Ephesian church initially and eventually the whole world. The mystery of the church, the body of Christ and its membership being open to all peoples, is the greatest news on earth. It is the greatest story ever told. It is the gospel of Jesus Christ. And with this news we have an expectation of stewardship. It is our duty to share it. And this expectation was of Old Testament saints too:

“So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me. When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you shall surely die!’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. Nevertheless if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.” (Ezekiel 33:7-9)

(more…)

Technorati Tags: gospel, stewardship

The Lord gave me a lot to meditate on after yesterday’s devotional. I ended it by writing “I must never forget to live through my Savior.” How is that possible? Well, let’s look closer at what is my daughter Tiffany and many others’ life verse:

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13)

(more…)

I have forgotten the number of times I have been morally defeated through my own sinful flesh. Luckily, so has God. The difference is that Satan loves to remind my how many times I’ve gone to the throne of grace seeking forgiveness of my sins. Satan tries to convince me that I’m using up all my mercy, as though God has limited grace. The argument is that I may as well stay as I am instead of having to return to the mercy seat for my latest sin. And if all I had was Satan’s counsel and my guilt, I would be doomed. But glory to God I have the promise of His Word!

“For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, so the LORD pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.” (Psalm 103:11-14)

(more…)

Technorati Tags: sin

What causes stinking thinking, and just as important, how do we clear it up?

First, we use worldly principles to guide our thoughts and actions. Even as Christians we can get to the point that the world’s point of view governs our actions. One example is how Christians elected to office end up rolling over to a godless edict sent down from the courts. To bow at the steps of an unlawful judicial ruling not only is godless, it is also unconstitutional.

(more…)

Technorati Tags: stinking thinking