Author: Texas Gospel

Growing Together in Grace and Freedom

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NELSON NOLAND

The Christian life requires believers to understand the difference between essential biblical truths and personal opinions on matters where Scripture remains silent. This distinction becomes crucial when building a community that genuinely cares for one another while maintaining doctrinal integrity.

The church isn’t the building. It’s the people. IRS Images, 2025.

Churches and individual believers often categorize their beliefs into three levels. First comes dogma, the non-negotiable truths worth defending at any cost. Second comes doctrine, the teachings that define a particular congregation’s identity and distinguish it from other churches. Third comes opinions, the personal convictions on matters where the Bible does not provide explicit direction.

A lot of things fall into this third category such as questions about education choices, holiday celebrations, entertainment and much more. There isn’t a biblical mandate on these. Believers may develop strong personal convictions about these and those convictions are often formed by the society each believer lives in. But these convictions should not become tests of fellowship or weapons against other believers.

The early church faced similar challenges. Some believers felt bound by dietary restrictions and special days from their Jewish heritage. Others recognized their freedom from these requirements through Christ. Some converts from pagan backgrounds struggled with eating meat that had been offered to idols, even though they intellectually understood that false gods held no real power. Their past experiences created genuine internal conflict that required time and grace to resolve.

Scripture establishes several principles for navigating these tensions. This includes grace, accountability to one another, understanding that Christ alone serves as Lord over each person’s conscience. These principles converge into one: love. Love demands that believers prioritize others above our personal freedoms. A mature believer might have every right to engage in certain activities, yet wisdom demands restraint when those activities might harm someone else’s spiritual growth.

The kingdom of God does not consist of minor rules about eating, drinking, or other disputable matters. Instead, shouldn’t it center on righteousness, peace, and joy through the Holy Spirit?

So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.

Romans 14:19

Satan’s limited power over the spiritual world

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JEFF TURNER

Satan is the prince of the power of the air; not the physical world. IRS Images, 2025

When the apostle Paul wrote about Satan being “the prince of the power of the air,” wasn’t he describing something specific about where the devil operates? If not, why does he use this phrase? Doesn’t this tell us that Satan rules over a spiritual realm, not the physical world we can see and touch. The word “air” here seems to refer to the invisible, immaterial world where spiritual forces exist and move. What else could it mean?

When Paul mentions that Satan works “in the sons of disobedience,” he’s explaining that the devil’s efforts toward evil and deception happen primarily among people who don’t believe in God. This doesn’t mean Satan personally visits or possesses every unbeliever. Instead, his influence spreads through other means. He works through demons who serve him and through false religious systems that lead people away from truth. The Bible tells us that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light, making his deceptions appear good and appealing.

Every form of wickedness in the world carries Satan’s influence in some way. When that wickedness affects people who haven’t been redeemed by God’s grace, we can say Satan is at work in them. This is the sphere of operation that God has permitted Satan to have, but only for a limited time.

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

James 4:7

Come and see: A simple invitation to faith

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TEXAS GOSPEL VOUNTEER

Sharing faith doesn’t require theological expertise or complex arguments. Early followers of Jesus used three simple words: “come and see.”

When Andrew found Jesus, he immediately brought his brother Simon Peter with this invitation. When Philip invited Nathaniel, who questioned whether anything good could come from Nazareth, Philip simply replied, “Come and see.”

This approach focuses on bringing people to experience faith firsthand rather than engaging in debates. One invitation can have eternal impact—Peter’s later teaching at Pentecost resulted in 3,000 conversions.

Believers need only willingness to extend a simple invitation.

Satan’s Role in a Broken World

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JEFF TURNER

People often wonder how much control Satan has over the evil we see today. When we look at corruption in government, harmful messages in entertainment, or false teachings spreading through society, we might ask if the devil is personally directing these things. The answer is not simple.

Jeremiah 17:9: “The heart is more deceitful than all else
And is desperately sick;
Who can understand it?, NASB; IRS Images, 2025

Even without Satan, the world would be full of evil. This is because human nature is fallen. The Bible tells us that the human heart is deceitful and wicked. People naturally struggle with desires of the flesh, covetous eyes, and pride. We do not need the devil to make us sin. We are already inclined toward it.

What Satan adds to this picture is structure. He takes human sinfulness and organizes it. He builds it into systems that trap people. He creates false religions that lead souls away from truth. He develops harmful philosophies and ideas that sound reasonable but lead to destruction. Satan works like a deceptive angel of light, making evil look appealing and acceptable.

He does not control every individual action, but he shapes the larger systems where fallen humans act out their sinful nature. Through his demonic forces, he influences governments, schools, entertainment industries, and other institutions to serve his purposes. The apostle John wrote that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. This means Satan has arranged an organized system of evil that surrounds us.

Understanding this helps us recognize that we face both internal struggles with our own sinful hearts and external pressures from a world system designed to pull us away from God.

We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

1 John 5:19

Mark Bishop brings playful gospel message in new single “You Better Go Read It”

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AMY TURNER

Mark Bishop has released a new single through Sonlite Records, and it carries a message as timeless as the book it points to. Titled “You Better Go Read It,” the song follows his previous release “The Fishing Pole,” a quieter, country-flavoured reflection on life’s journey, and marks a clear shift in mood. This new track is upbeat and soulful, built on a syncopated rhythm and wrapped in a spirit of joyful urgency.

The idea behind the song came from an everyday moment most people know well. Bishop explained it this way: “How many times has a strange icon lit up on the dashboard of your car, and you have to fish out the owner’s manual in the glove compartment to figure out what’s going on? Wouldn’t it be great if we had a manual for when our lives needed some tune-up or repair? Guess what… we do!”

The answer, as Bishop sees it, has been there all along. “But it doesn’t do you any good if you don’t go read it,” he said.

“All of the answers are right there. It’s called the Bible, and it’s an owner’s manual for your life. Yours. Our newest song, ‘You Better Go Read It,’ is a playful, happy reminder that God has given us a gift… a roadmap… an instruction book… an insurance policy. But it does you no good if you don’t read it.”

That lighthearted but pointed tone comes through from the very first lines of the song, where Bishop sets the scene with a direct question to the listener: Can I have your attention? This’ll only take a minute. You’re runnin’ in the rat race. Now how ya’ gonna win it? Do you know where you’re going? When the journey’s through? Got any idea… who might be waitin’ for you?

The chorus opens things up further, with label mate Amber Lynn joining Bishop in alternating harmonies that give the song an energetic back-and-forth feel: You better go read it. It’s right there in the Word. You’re really gonna need it. Maybe you haven’t heard, There’s a hell and a heaven, there’s a right way and a wrong. By the end of the journey, who’s side will you be on? There’s a road map… you get to see it. But you better go read it.

The single also marks a milestone for someone close to Bishop. “I am especially excited for you to hear this new song,” he said, “because it also features my friend and live concert piano player, Tony Gross. If you’ve come to any of our concerts, you already know how talented this young man is on the keys. Well… now you can hear Tony play whenever you want to. Ladies and gentlemen… I present to you, recorded for the first time, the musical talents of Tony Gross on our newest song… ‘You Better Go Read It’!”