More encouragement

I was reading ch. 10 in Do Hard Things. In light of all my fears lately this encouraged me also. (see previous post)

13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."

"When we think about salt, our first thought is probably something along the lines of, Gotta have some of that on my popcorn. But Jesus isn't talking about salt like we use it today. Although salt was used to flavor food during the Roman era, its primary use was as a preservative. In a world without refrigerators or deep freezers, a little salt rubbed into meat would slow decay.

"So when Jesus tells us we are 'the salt of the earth,' He's saying we have been placed here to preserve it until He returns--to fight against the decay of sin, to combat sickness and suffering, and to oppose corruption and injustice.

"What about light?....In the Bible, light is often used to represent truth, especially the truth God has revealed in His Word. The picture of us as a city on a hill or a lamp on a stand means that as Christians we display the truth in word and action--shining the light of God's Word and the gospel all around us, in every corner.

"....Francis Schaeffer made this profound statement:

'Christianity is not a series of truths in the plural, but rather truth spelled with a capital "T." Truth about total reality, not just about religious things. Biblical Christianity is Truth concerning total reality--and the intellectual holding of that total Truth and then living in the light of that Truth.'

"That is what Jesus meant when He called us to be light. Where secular methods and philosophies hold sway in fields of business, education, the arts, or any other area of society and culture, we are called to bring biblical philosophies and methods founded on that 'total Truth'--that's what it means to be light." Do Hard Things pgs. 171-173.

I get very discouraged when I read the news. I feel like I'm one of the very few people screaming for people to wake up to what's going on in government today. I take my eyes off of God and His power; I forget His mandate for us to have dominion and His commission to take the gospel to every nation. Sometimes I just see the uphill battle. I've been encouraged the last few days. What's in store for us may be hard, but God is God, He's not going anywhere. He is my strength in life, in suffering and in death. I have nothing to fear. (Remind me of that, will you?)