May 2026 Newsletter
- Frank Paul
- May 16
- 7 min read
Quotes of the month
When you fully comprehend that there is more to life than just here and now, and you realize that life is just preparation for eternity, you will begin to live differently. You will start living in light of eternity, and that will color how you handle every relationship, task, and circumstance. Suddenly many activities, goals, and even problems that seem so important will appear trivial, petty, and unworthy of your attention. The closer you live to God, the smaller everything else appears.
Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life
Jesus to his half-brother James: If you consider how long the world has existed before you, and how long it will exist after you, you will see that your life is but a day, and
your suffering but an hour.
The Secret Book of James, Nag Hammadi Scriptures
If you’re going through a rough time, for whatever reason, remember this: The Lord gets his best soldiers out of the highlands of affliction.
Charles Spurgeon
For it is within you that the Son of Man dwells.
Gospel of Mary Magdalene
The Sabbath is not, first and foremost, about what we cannot do – it is about what we get to do. We get to stop. We get to rest. We get to worship without distraction. And in doing so, we remember that God is God – and we are not.
Arthur W. Pink, The Holy Sabbath
The Sabbath
Sunday keepers vs. Scriptures
Sunday keepers - Sunday is the Sabbath day.
Scriptures – But the seventh day (Saturday) is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. Exodus 20:10
Sunday keepers – It doesn’t really matter what day you worship.
Scriptures – Honour me on the Sabbath day. Isaiah 58:13-14
Sunday keepers – Christ did away with the Sabbath, He is my Sabbath.
Scriptures – I did not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. Matthew 5:17-18
Sunday keepers - My relationship with Jesus is the most important thing. My heart’s in the right place.
Scriptures – Blessed are those who do His commandments.
Revelation 22:15
News
Our website received a major makeover recently. Every category now has its own navigational tab to click on at the top of the Home page, complete with an actual “donate” link now to hopefully help keep us going. Currently we’re also working on a YouTube channel and an InstaGram page. Many thanks to Adam for all he has done, and
hopefully will continue to do.
If you haven’t visited the site in a while, check it out. It is informative and well laid out.
(editor’s note: Of all the articles, newsletters, postings, et cetera that I have written over the past few years, none have resulted in more positive reader comments than my six-part series on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount; most of which expressed a thank you because, “I always wondered what that really meant.” So with that intro, I thought I would re-publish them over the next few newsletters in case you missed it the first time. Thank you.)
A six-part series – Questions about the Sermon on the Mount answered – What did Jesus mean in today’s language
by Frank Paul
The main part of the Sermon on the Mount, or the Beatitudes, is found
in the beginning of Matthew, Chapter 5; however, the Sermon on the Mount continues for another two chapters. This month let’s cover what Jesus said in Matthew 5:13.
Directly after Jesus finishes His Beatitudes portion of His sermon, he tells His followers, “Ye are the salt of the earth.” Well, I guess that’s a good thing, right? Salt is good; but wait a minute, too much salt is bad for you. I’m unclear what Jesus meant. Let’s do some digging.
Here is the whole verse from Matthew 5:13 to put it in context. “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.” KJV
Remember, we must travel back to 1st Century Galilean times to fully understand what Jesus meant.
Apparently way back then, salt was a pretty big deal. As a matter of fact, sometimes people actually used salt as money to pay for goods or supplies. Roman soldiers were even paid in salt when they were on the march and all the currency was locked up back in Rome. An interesting side note here is that when a Roman soldier did not perform his duties up to expected standards, his commanding officers would say, “He’s not worth his salt,” an expression that is still used today.
Salt was used as a preservative to keep food from spoiling. Salt was used to enhance the flavor of food. Pastor Greg Laurie said, “Just as salt enhances flavor, believers are called to influence, improve, and make the world better. Our speech should be seasoned with grace, reflecting Christ’s love and the Holy Spirit within us. Losing our ‘saltiness’ means losing our usefulness and impact. Being the salt of the earth means making a noticeable difference, just as salt enhances food.”
Paul in Colossians 4:6 says, “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.”
“If you understand and accept the teachings of Jesus, and make them a part of your daily life, then you are worthy to be called ‘the salt of the earth,’” Emmet Fox.
Well, who knew salt had such an interesting and deep 1st Century meaning, and that meaning can still apply to us today. Hope you enjoyed that trip to the past and now have a better understanding of Jesus’ words.
Mercy for the Blind
by Alistair Begg
When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Mark 10:47
Blind Bartimaeus sat in complete blackness. He could hear the crowd, the movement, the jibber-jabber of people speaking. He could hear the hullabaloo that signaled that Jesus of Nazareth was somewhere out there in the darkness, but he was unable to see Him. Recognizing that this might be his only chance to get Jesus’ attention, in desperation he shouted out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
The simplicity and clarity of Bartimaeus’ request was a testimony to his faith; it indicated
that he actually believed that Jesus was able to do what he was asking. By God’s grace, blind Bartimaeus saw what countless others had missed; he saw that in Jesus he could find God’s mercy. And when Jesus then addressed his need, Bartimaeus and all who observed the encounter understood that his faith was the reason for his cure. But Bartimaeus never made the mistake of thinking that all he really needed was his physical sight. That is why, as soon as he received his sight from Jesus, he “followed him on the way.” Mark 10:52
In this encounter we see a microcosm of the whole gospel. The Bible often uses blindness as a metaphor for the predicament of men and women. For example, the apostle Paul says, “the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,” (2 Corinthians 4:4); and Jesus Himself said, “I came into this world, that those who do not see may see” (John 9:39). And earlier in Mark’s gospel, we read that even though the disciples were following Jesus, they still did not see and understand all that He was teaching them, so He asked, “Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear?” (Mark 8:18).
How, then, are the blind made to see? Just as Bartimaeus was: by going to Jesus and calling out to Him for mercy, asking for the loving forgiveness and new life that only He can provide. You will never know Jesus Christ as a reality in your life until you know Him as a necessity. That is a truth we needed to grasp in order to enjoy the first day of our new life
following Him; but it is also a truth we need to remember in order to go on through our lives still following Him.
In whatever way you require mercy right now, look at Him with the God-given eyes of faith and simply ask. The good news is that Jesus still hears, Jesus still cares, Jesus still stops, Jesus still listens, and Jesus still saves.
Prayer Card #27
I seek Thee, and as sure as the dawn, Thou appearest as perfect light to me.
A Thanksgiving Hymn, Dead Sea Scrolls
Most of you have heard about the Dead Sea Scrolls, but have you ever read them? Absolutely incredible prayers, scriptures, and hymns contained in them. It’s
definitely worth your time to pick up a copy of obviously a translated version. Pretty much available anywhere.
This particular Thanksgiving Hymn is typical of the kind of heart that exemplifies Jesus. Most of us, myself included, tend to wait until the worst case scenario is actually here, then we cry out to the Lord. I would suggest perhaps seek God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit before the worst happens; that way when it does rear its ugly head, you already have a great comforter ready to spring into action. Jesus will appear in your life, He truly will, just seek and you will find.
Fun stuff
Sepulcher – tomb, vault, crypt
Septuagint – translation of the Hebrew Bible to the Greek Bible
The Bible – 66 Books, written by about 40 different men, over 1600 years
Old Testament – was compiled around 400 B.C.
New Testament – was written between 50 A.D. and 100 A.D.
Jesus - probably spoke Aramaic, which is a hybrid of Hebrew
Eschatological - the branch of theology that is concerned with the end of the world or of humankind; a belief or a doctrine concerning the ultimate or final things, such as death, the destiny of humanity, the Second Coming; the Last Judgment
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