Are You Salty?

 

While this may sound nerdy, sodium is actually a very interesting element.  It is an element that isn’t good for much by itself, so links itself to other elements.  Depending on what it joins with determines what it is good for.  It can become baking soda, borax, and many other things.  The most well known combination is table salt (Sodium and Chloride).

Matthew 5:13 says, “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.”

Jesus wants Christians to be the salt of the earth, but how are we supposed to do this?  Just like sodium, the only way we can change is by joining with something else.  In this case we must join ourselves with God’s word.  When this happens, changes will begin taking place.  We will become more kind, moral, and ethical.  We will have a sense of joy and hope.  We will want to share this great feeling and the good news about God with others.  This is the kind of “salty person” Jesus wanted us to be!

The question is, do we life our lives joined with God’s word?  Does it produce changes in us?  Does it make us excited and more evangelistic?  If not, then obviously there are other elements mixed in that are keeping us from being the “salt” Jesus called for us to be.  Let’s remove the impurities in our lives and make sure we have the right mixture of God’s word in our lives.

Do Not Love The World

Neal Pollard

"World" is one of those words with multiple meanings.  It can refer to the earth, to all the people on that earth, or a philosophy or system of thought.  When John says, "Do not love the world or the things in the world" (1 John 2:15), he is referring to the last of those three ideas.  The behavior and philosophy of the world follows that of the prince of this world (Eph. 2:2), characterized by trespasses and sins, fleshly lusts, desires of the flesh and mind, and the like (Eph. 2:1-3).  That is what we are not to love.

Paul warns against approving of those who do worldly things in Romans 1:32.  Those things include all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness...evil-mindedness... inventors of evil things" and more, including homosexuality (Rom. 1:26-31).  The Bible must be consulted to help determine what of the things in culture fit into the category of things like we read in Ephesians 2, Romans 1, Galatians 5, Colossians 3, 2 Timothy 3, and the like.  Some things, in and of themselves, are neutral.  Other things, inherently, are sinful and, thus, "worldly."  

Christians set on defending, praising, promoting, or excusing things that are sexually suggestive, immodest, debauched, perverse, and depraved find themselves militating and working against the very Christ they profess to follow.  To praise sin is to love the world.  To defend immorality or excuse those who do it is to love the world.  To see things through worldly eyes, with worldly values, is to love the world.  Scripture is unequivocal about the matter.  John continues, "If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever" (1 John 2:15b-17).  Before we choose our heroes, role models, habits, hobbies, diversions, and desires, we do well to review John's God-breathed words and make sure we are not in love with the world!

I LOVE Political Commercials!

Neal Pollard

No, I don't!  I hate them.  But, I imagine that statement both caught your attention and led you to do an armchair assessment of my sanity (or lack thereof).  There are so many reasons not to love them.  First is content.  Every candidate makes vague, pie-in-the-sky promises that are hard to measure and quantify.  Second is tone.  The mud content of most is thick and dirty, and their razor-sharp rhetoric about the other guy pushes the mental pain threshold of the most patient listener.  Third is repetition.  Certainly, the same commercial will air repeatedly, but the proliferation of such ads in general is so great that it seems to be every other commercial.  

I love gospel preaching!  That is the truth.  I love to hear the old, old story faithfully told through the medium of different men with different styles, personalities, and perspectives.  Short or tall, young or old, experienced or less so, well-educated or less so, I glean at least something from most lessons I hear.  Content, tone, and balance can   make or break the message, though the message rather than the man should be the focus.  Truth should be told, and it should be told in love!  It should never be that we should turn off the listener by changing the message or using methods that are unkind and even unscrupulous.

The relief is that political ad season is relatively short-lived (it only seems otherwise).  The joy is that we get to hear God's Word proclaimed whenever we assemble to worship God.  The more we fill those lessons with Bible, properly parsed and presented, the more proper feeding and nourishing will occur among those who properly listen.  Perhaps thanks to the Jule Miller Filmstrips, one of my favorite songs says, "Tell me the story of Jesus, write on my heart every word.  Tell me the story most precious, sweetest that ever was heard." Amen!

(P.S.--That's a big reason why I am so excited about our lectureship this week!  What a theme and what great speakers to thrill our souls with the matchless story!)

NFL’s Replacement Officials

 

 

The replacement officials in the NFL have just been awful this year.  For those who don’t know, this entire controversy started when the NFL and the normal officiating crew couldn’t come to a contract agreement.  As a result, the normal referees basically went on strike until the NFL gave them better terms (which is still pending).  Who knows how long this will last, but until it is fixed, one can only see more of the same bad calls in the future.  While no referee is ever going to be perfect, this year’s officiating has become both comedic and out of control.  For example:

• Officials have lost control in at least two games and fights broke out (the Denver-Atlanta and Baltimore-Philadelphia games).
• An official pleaded with LeSean McCoy during the game to play better because he had him on his “Fantasy Football team.”
• 3 crucial calls were proven wrong and overturned just in the first half of the Denver-Atlanta game.
• Officials stopped the clock twice for the once occurring “2-mintue warning.”
• One team was granted a 4^th timeout (each team only has 3).
• Officials have taken very long to figure out penalties and simple procedures (like the placement of the ball).
• Some players have been flagged for doing absolutely nothing wrong.
• Extra yards have been mistakenly awarded during penalties.
• There has been an abnormally high amount of missed calls and miss-applied rulings.

Almost all of the problems with the replacement officials can be chalked up to one problem: they don’t know the rulebook!  If they knew the rules there would be less fights, no untactful comments, less time making decisions, more correct calls, and much better officiating overall.

So, what does all of this have to do with spiritual life?  In a similar way, we too must know the spiritual rulebook.  We have had the Bible for about 2,000 years.  Most households have several Bibles lying around.  Reading God’s word is legal and can be done without persecution.  Despite all its ease and availability, people still don’t know God’s rules.  There is no excuse for us not to know God’s commands.  Far too many Christians who should know God’s rulebook inside and out are walking around like the NFL’s replacement officials.  As a result, false teaching, division, bad judgment, unscriptural decisions, controversy, and a host of other problems occur.

Jesus clearly stated in John 12:48, “He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.”  It would greatly behoove us to know God’s rules.  Let’s make sure we are spending time reading and studying God’s official rulebook for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).

BE THANKFUL IF YOUR ELDERS...

BV elders with Gary Pollard (L-R: Dave Chamberlin, Ernie Barrett, Maynard Woolley, Clint Stephens; not pictured: Mark Hanstein)

Neal Pollard

• Are willing to lead you to do what's right and biblical, even if unpopular and uncomfortable.
• Want the Bible classrooms and pulpit to stay on biblical center, veering neither to the left or right (cf. Josh. 1:7)--regardless of what the churches down the street do.
• Are kind and friendly, even if at times without polish or oratorical articulation.
• Expect the best from you, but ask you to do nothing they themselves are not doing (1 Pet. 5:3).
• Are among you rather than above you or aloof from you (1 Pet. 5:1).
• Obviously love you, even if they occasionally have to correct or admonish you (1 Th. 5:12).
• Prioritize the work with spiritual objectives taking precedence over material objectives and with evangelistic goals over an internal focus.
• Ask the church to do for others rather than try to cater to our whims and desires (Heb. 13:17).
• Are impartial rather than prejudiced or cliquish.
• Are driven by "what does the Bible say" rather than "what do the people want?" (Acts 20:28).
• Stand behind and commend even difficult lessons that move us to obey God.
• Show commitment to their task through time, effort, and zeal rather than being those who go through the motions (Heb. 13:7).

For these and many more reasons, I am thankful for the Bear Valley eldership!  They are numbered among the "all" who sin and fall short of God's glory (Rom. 3:23).  They each have strengths and weaknesses.  Yet, these are men so driven by God's will and God's Word, and I am thankful to preach and attend under the oversight and authority of such men.  My heart aches for those who are not afforded such a pleasure, and it thrills for those who do.  Have you thanked God for your elders today?  Have you thanked your elders (1 Th. 5:13)?  They do not serve for recognition or accolades, but they just as surely will not rebuff your appreciation!  May we be grateful sheep!