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Election 2012

May 12, 2012 by ChurchSalt 0 Comments

Did you receive one of our “Election 2012″ gospel tracts?  If so, what did you think of it?  This year so many are investing time, work and worry into the election because they feel that the next President might bring them hope.  But any hope, improvements or rescue the next President brings really won’t be the kind of rescue we all truly need!  They are politicians, not saviors, and they all have one thing in common – they are all guilty of sin!  We can say this with certainty because we find it taught plainly in Scripture.  In Romans 3 we learn that there is none righteous, not even one, we are all guilty of breaking God’s law (which is sin)…every one of us!  In that same chapter, we see that obeying God’s laws now will not make us right with Him.  This makes sense since God is a just judge, and obedience now in no way pays for crimes in the past.  So no matter how much we “shape up” or start attending church, it is too late!  The sin we have already committed has condemned us!  If we read the entire chapter of Romans 3, we learn that all are completely lost and without any hope at all…except the hope of Christ on the Cross.

Hope in a politician is hope in a sinful man, but the hope that is in Jesus Christ is quite different.  The modern preachers often tell us Jesus came so that we might live a fulfilled life, an exciting life, or even a prosperous life.  But the Bible tells us that Jesus came to die on the Cross, and the reason He had to die was so that God would remain just, and punishment for sin would be paid.  Do you see now how horrible sin really is?  It is so wicked that nothing would satisfy justice except the blood and death of a sinless sacrifice.  Jesus, the second person of the trinity, God-in-flesh, humbled Himself to be small and fragile like His creatures so that He might be tortured and killed…all to rescue His people by paying for their sin!!  Sin is that bad, and God is that loving!

After considering these things, do you recognize how serious it is to break God’s commandments?  Are you willing to give up any hope of saving yourself by being a good person or trying to start living a cleaner life?  Are you ready to humble yourself on your knees and ask God to forgive you, putting all hope and trust in Him that He will rescue you and count Jesus’ payment as your own?  Are you ready to live the rest of your life in humble submission as a servant & slave of your new Master Jesus Christ who has paid the price for you and is now your Lord?  Are you prepared to abandon all sin (even your favorite ones) because each one is a wicked and traitorous rebellion?

American Christianity, Truth
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Is a Gospel Tract Loving or Arrogant?

May 12, 2012 by ChurchSalt 0 Comments

We will be out and about handing out some Gospel tracts this weekend, and will no doubt have our actions called into question.  For the street evangelist, it is common to be viewed as judgmental or arrogant as we share biblical truths with folks on the street.  Is it possible these folks are right?  Are we really being loving or are we pushy and unloving when we explain the guilt of sin and the atonement offered by Christ?  What about those who don’t get involved in evangelism?  Are they loving or unloving?  What about you??  Before making up your mind, take this quick little quiz:

Question #1). You’re sitting in a coffee shop when a woman at another table gets up–leaving her coffee unattended–to get a napkin. As she does, a man walks by her table, pours a powdered substance into the woman’s coffee and quickly exits the shop. You immediately warn this woman of what just happened. Your reaction is… Continue to DefendingContending to read all six quiz questions.  Click HERE

American Christianity, Truth
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Longview Bible Conference

April 29, 2012 by ChurchSalt 0 Comments

Plan ahead!  On May 10th New Life Baptist Church will kick-off a Bible conference featuring David Miller.  If you have never heard him preach, you are missing out!  He delivers thoroughly prepared, biblically sound messages aimed at bringing out the full meaning of a passage. These sermons will not be of the self-help variety nor will they qualify as spiritual pep-talks.  Instead, these messages will be rich travels through Holy Scripture, gleaning every morsel of truth from God’s inerrant word.  If there is one thing we can guarantee, it is that you will learn and be challenged.  The conference will be held at  New Life Baptist Church, 3001 W. Hawkins Pkwy at 6:30 pm every evening for three evenings, starting on Thursday May 10th with the fourth and final session being held Sunday morning May 13th at 10:45.  We will see you there!

 
“One of the most powerful preachers I know is a man by the name of David Miller”        —Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr.
 
Teachings for the Believer, Truth
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On Abortion, Little White Crosses & Evangelism

January 17, 2012 by ChurchSalt 0 Comments

It’s that time again!  It’s the time of year when many local churches start filling their front yards with little white crosses symbolizing all the children that have died in abortions.  That’s good, right?  Shouldn’t the church publicly denounce sin (murder)?  Well….yes.  And shouldn’t the church try to encourage those considering abortion to instead seek other options?  Again, yes.  Absolutely yes!  So while I agree with these statements, let me perfectly clear about something else:  We are only telling half the story, and to tell half the story is to tell the wrong story.

Let me explain what I’m saying by asking you to wear a different pair of shoes for a moment.  For a moment pretend that you are the would-be mom that had her child aborted:  You are driving down the street one morning on the way to work 6 years after your abortion and you pass a school.  Seeing all the cute little boys and girls running from the bus and into the school with pony tails flopping and hearing shouts of excited children, you suddenly realize that your baby boy or girl would now be old enough to be running into that same school with them if you hadn’t terminated your pregnancy.  And then the guilt hits, like it has so many times before.  You know in the back of your mind that you didn’t just “terminate a pregnancy”, but rather, you killed a little baby.  It seemed like a good move at the time, your career was taking off and the father really wasn’t the right guy, money was tight… but when the guilt came after the abortion, it never went away.  You continue driving and are trying to push the guilt and tears back down inside where you keep them buried.  That’s when you then drive up next to a church.  In the front lawn are rows of white crosses and some banners explaining that each one represents an aborted child.  The whole scene is carefully designed like a graveyard to remind you that abortion is murder, and murder is wrong!  But the problem is that you already know it was wrong!!  You have been living with the pain and guilt of it for six long years!  Often you lash out in anger loudly declaring it is a woman’s right to do whatever she wants with her body, and her life, but often it is those very same nights that you cry yourself to sleep.  And you wonder to yourself if God could ever forgive a person for killing a little boy or girl like those ones at the school… like the one you killed?  But you think to yourself, “I don’t know what to do, all hope is lost… it’s too late.  I can’t talk to anybody about this!  My friends are all pro-choice and the people at that church think I am a monster and remind me of it every day.  Maybe I am a monster?!? I must push this pain down, and try to get through another day…” Read more…

American Christianity
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Longview… What do you think of this Blog?

October 18, 2011 by ChurchSalt 3 Comments

As a blogger/evangelist, I can’t help but wonder what you the first-time visitor is thinking right now.  As you scan the articles and links posted here, what is going through your mind?  I am sure there are probably as many different reactions to this website as there are visitors.  Let me tell you my fear.  I am not afraid that you the visitor will disapprove.  I am not afraid of insulting comments or condescending remarks.  What I am afraid of is your casual dismissal.  Not of me, but of the biblical message presented in these posts.  I am painfully aware that many, many visitors will give this site a once-over, and dismiss the teachings as legalistic, fanatical, or irrelevant without ever taking the time to look up the Scriptures mentioned and read them in context for themselves.  In an age of consumerism where we only ingest the teachings we agree with and immediately dismiss anything foreign and uncomfortable, I fear that most visitors to this site will never take the time to read the articles, study the Scriptures, and examine their own faith.  This scares me.  It is frightening to think of somebody who may be my neighbor staring at the true biblical gospel on a screen mere inches from their face, and never taking the time to read it because they think they already “know all about that stuff.”  You, casual dismissive Longview web-surfer, scare me more than any Halloween mask ever could!  And the fear I feel is for you…

American Christianity, Examine Yourself
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Great Quote

October 10, 2011 by ChurchSalt 0 Comments

“If the professed convert distinctly and deliberately declares that he knows the Lord’s will but does not mean to attend to it, you are not to pamper his presumption, but it is your duty to assure him that he is not saved. Do not suppose that the Gospel is magnified or God glorified by going to the worldlings and telling them that they may be saved at this moment by simply accepting Christ as their Savior, while they are wedded to their idols, and their hearts are still in love with sin. If I do so I tell them a lie, pervert the Gospel , insult Christ, and turn the grace of God into lasciviousness.”

- Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Examine Yourself
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Are you as Good as This Guy??

September 30, 2011 by ChurchSalt 0 Comments

Examine Yourself, Truth
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East Texas Fires

September 6, 2011 by ChurchSalt 0 Comments

We would like to take a brief moment to offer our condolences to anybody who has lost friends, family or property in the recent outbreak of local fires.  In past times like these I have heard teachers in various churches preaching that events like this are the judgment of God for insufficient tithing, or that if someone had taken spiritual command or “dominion” over the fire (or tornado, or hurricane), they could have stopped it.  Please know that teachings like this are false, and are intended to bring about manipulation and control through guilt or false hopes.  The simple fact is that we live in a world that is groaning under the weight of mankind’s sin, and disasters like this are a part of that groaning.  Those who are soundly saved (having thrown themselves at the feet of Christ for mercy and are trusting in His work on the Cross to save them) are in no way exempt from experiencing trial or tribulation.

However, it is often times like this that make us reflect on our standing before the Holy and Sovereign Lord.  If in reflection or self-examination (a healthy and biblical thing to practice, see 2 Corinthians 13:5) you find yourself convicted or concerned about your standing before God, please read on.  There are many false teachers in this modern world delivering messages focusing on man rather than God.  They claim to be Christ-centered, but deliver teachings that sound more like formulas or equations resulting in a blessed or successful life.  After tragedy strikes, these teachings are often seen as what they truly are… shallow, self-centered doctrines with Scriptures references given only in an effort to add a religious flavor.  The true Gospel is this… Adoption into the family of God through the work of Christ on the Cross.  This comes about when we put all hope and trust concerning salvation in Christ alone and repent (change our view and intentions) of all sins, even our “little” or “favorite” sins.  The Lord is able to take the most vile of sinners, and change them into new creatures through the blood of Jesus Christ.  This is a miracle of God and becoming a new creature, or a Christian, is not something that can be done on your own, no matter how hard you try.  Such is the love of God to shed His own blood to rescue us!

If you are currently sitting under a teacher who is using tragedy to control you or your dreams of success to mislead you, please take time to prayerfully examine the Word of God so as to distinguish what the good news of salvation really is.  Remember, if what you are hearing is about what you have to go do, then it really isn’t good news (nor is the result a gift), is it?

For now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.  For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.   Romans 6:22-23

Truth
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Facts – not religion!

August 8, 2011 by ChurchSalt 0 Comments

Please take a moment to review the following questions.  Don’t try to answer them.  For now, just read them:

Is there a God?  

Which God preached on Earth is the real one (if any)?

Does God (if He exists) have Laws that I am to obey?

Are there consequence for breaking God’s laws (if He does exist and does indeed have laws)?

Is there an afterlife?

Was Jesus simply a man, or was He more than a man?

Did Jesus have a particular mission in mind when He lived and died on this planet?

Did Jesus arise from the dead?

Now let me ask you to reflect on how you viewed these question.  Do you think they are in the world of the abstract and philosophical? Do you feel that these are all religious questions?  They aren’t!  Every single one of the above questions are questions concerning reality.  Each one of them pertains to facts that you will someday verify.  They are not at all abstract or subjective.  The factual answers to these questions cannot be altered by our debates, beliefs and denials.  They are not open to interpretation.  If you were asked, “Was Abraham Lincoln an actual President of the United States, or is he a fictional character?” the answer would be either, “Yes, he was a real President” or “No, he is a fictional character.  There is a fact-based answer that would be either right (if you answered “yes”) or wrong (if you answered “no”).  The question concerning Lincoln is not of political nature, it is simply a factual and historical query.

The questions above pertain to present reality or historical fact, not experience or belief.  Many, many people view these questions and the discussion of such things to be subjective.  “What’s true for you might not be true for me” is the motto of many when discussing things of this nature.  But this is a ridiculous and poorly reasoned.  There are indeed subjective topics discussed in religion, but far fewer than most people think.  Facts of reality are facts of reality.  Some may disagree on the facts… we may argue the facts… some facts may not be verifiable this side of the grave, but facts (or truths) are not subjective or flexible.  In this short post I am not discussing any of these topics themselves, I am merely asking you to consider how you view the claims of Christianity and other religions.  I am asking you to consider how you read the Bible, when it lays out much of its’ content as historical fact.  Do you think the these things are abstract and subjective?  They most assuredly are not!  And considering the nature of the facts being discussed, is there anything more important than coming to a correct knowledge of the true facts?  Of course not!  It is of the utmost importance that you take the time to search out these truths!

Please take the time to consider your views…

Truth
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Is Rick Perry in Terrible Error?

August 6, 2011 by ChurchSalt 0 Comments

No, this post isn’t about politics!  But it is about how professing Christians view and respond to Scripture.  Our Texas governor (and professing Christian) Rick Perry has recently been organizing and participating in various prayer events and rallies around the state (he is attending one today in Houston).  The idea is to gather together people of faith in order to seek the Lord’s favor and ask Him to move on behalf of our state and nation.  Those in the Christian faith are the ones primarily encouraged to come, but people of all faiths are welcome.  But is this what Christians are supposed to do?  Well… yes and no.  Before going further, let’s see what Scripture has to say…

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2  for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.   1 Timothy 2:1-2

We see here that praying for the citizens and leaders of our land isn’t just allowable according to Scripture, it is actually urged by the Apostle Paul.  So the idea of gathering together and seeking the Lord to move on our nation and its’ leaders is a good one.  But is it Scriptural to gather with people of all faiths?  Let us first clarify our terminology… “people of all faiths” is a modern-day, polite and politically correct way of saying, “all religious people, even those who reject Jesus Christ as Lord”.  But God’s Word is not written in soft and modern language, and it has a word for folks who reject Christ as Lord and instead bow to other “gods”.  They are called “idolators”, meaning “those who worship idols”.  In Scripture, do we see any urging to gather with idolators and pray together?  No! Far from it!  Those familiar with God’s Holy Word know that in the Old Testament, idolators in Israel were executed (sometimes by the Lord’s prophets themselves).  In the New Testament we are told to flee from idols and their worship.  In no way is it biblical or desirable for professing Christians to enter into joint religious gatherings with idol-worshipers!  What fellowship does light have with darkness?

So what is Rick Perry (and many other professing Christians) doing when joining with idol worshipers in public religious ceremony?   They are engaging in Read more…

American Christianity
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