Both Salt And Light

There is a constant debate about whether we are supposed to preach the gospel or do good deeds and influence our culture and John Stott has observed that both are taught by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. We can be salt which improves the flavor of the world and helps to preserve it. We also should provide light in a dark place and point people to God.

We must remain different to remain "salty." We must not hide our light in order to be visible.

A Wide Open Promise

The first thing you might want to ask is, "What's the catch?" This is a powerful promise and the only thing is we need to pray such that the Son can bring glory to the Father in order for this promise to hold. What power that gives us! I just want to think on this for a while and ponder what I could pray for that would help the Son bring glory to the Father.

Time - Procedure Combinations

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 NIV


Who is like the wise man?
Who knows the explanation of things?
Wisdom brightens a man's face
and changes its hard appearance.

Obey the king's command, I say, because you took an oath before God. Do not be in a hurry to leave the king's presence. Do not stand up for a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases. 4 Since a king's word is supreme, who can say to him, "What are you doing?"

Whoever obeys his command will come to no harm,
and the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure.
For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter,
though a man's misery weighs heavily upon him.
Ecclesiastes 8:1-6 NIV

It appears that wisdom is knowing what procedure to do at which time. You also have to keep the will of the king (God) in the picture so that what you do pleases him. There is a proper time for every activity or procedure and there is an improper time for every activity or procedure.

Bearing Fruit - How To Please God

The fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians was something I remember hearing about as a kid growing up and not really grasping what it was. First of all, it is fruit. Jesus says we are to bear fruit and many times we think that means bringing a certain number of people to Christ. We really cannot bring anyone to Christ on our own, but that is another issue.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control

are fruit of the Spirit in and of themselves. They manifest God working in our lives. Fruit is what God is pleased with, so striving to bear this kind of fruit is significant and I am sure God is pleased with it.

Galatians 5:16-26

Predators

In case it is not clear what men are capable of:

Predators on Dateline NBC

Hundreds of men showed up at houses all over the country to molest / rape teenage girls they met in chat rooms online. They did not realize they were actually chatting with adults posing as teenage girls. The chart on the right side of the web page shows how many men showed up in just a few days at each location. The T.V. producers had to give them appointments at spaced intervals to try not to have them all show up at the same time.

Is it any wonder that God is disgusted with mankind and has promised a coming judgment. His willingness to forgive is beyond our understanding.