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. You are the light of the world.-Matthew 5:13-14

Some work/faith thoughts to ponder this week:

• No labor on our part makes us worthy of a relationship with God, so no career should ever so consume our being that it distracts us from God.  This is as true of pastors as it is of stock brokers or programmers.
  
• Survival of the fittest is not a Biblical concept.
  
• Flattery and compromise don't glorify God, but neither do judgmental attitudes and legalistic demeanors.  Competence and compassion are important characteristics for Christians who want their work to matter for God.
  
• We must never make faith in Jesus Christ about doing the right thing.  Ethics is a by-product of faith and not a central tenet.  Faith in Jesus Christ is about grace.  Anything else leads people to believe faith is performance-based and that it's legalistic. It also leads them to believe that good people go to heaven just by being good.
  
• Anything that contradicts Scripture isn't from God.
  
• God's silence usually means we already have enough information to make a decision.
  
• God not only forgives sin, He forgets it.
  
• God expects faithfulness even in the face of trials.
  
• The key to handling difficult people, overcoming criticism, resisting the discouragement that comes from ridicule, or living tentatively in the face of threats is to have an eternal focus that only comes from constant interaction with God.
  
• Workers who have damaged or absent reputations in either competency or compassion should first look to repair these voids before adding evangelism to the purpose of their work.
  
• God could end all suffering today if He wanted to; but in doing so, He would cut some people off from their chance to be redeemed. Each day He waits gives others a chance to spend eternity with Him.
  
• Biblical illiteracy is inexcusable in our culture.  The Bible is more readily accessible to us than at any other time in history.  Our lack of knowledge is a form of rebellion that punishes us and those who rely on us.
  
• There are no secrets in Christianity, and no secret principles waiting to be discovered by gurus.  Jesus teaches us that anyone who claims Him as Savior has the key to understanding God's Word; anyone who doesn't know Christ as Savior can only view the Bible through a worldly and blurred perspective.  God is the author of clarity; Satan is the author of confusion.

--Randy Kilgore

rkkcak@aol.com