Scott Gregson

A Laodicean seeking an escape route.

The Gospel, at the time of this writing.

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There have been many “gospels” through time. Some are true gospels given by God; many are false gospels and the products of hell. We’re concerned here with the current true gospel. Which gospel is this, and what does it mean to me and you?

In a thorough perusal of the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, you will find several references to “gospel.” If you are diligent in that perusal, you will note that the content mentioned in context with each is different. If you then took time to compare the “gospels” of many religions of the world, you would find that the content of those gospels would differ from those found in the Bible.

Part of the content of each true gospel might be: who it applies to, when it applies, its features, and its requirements. We are concerned with the current gospel preached by the apostle Paul.

Paul writes about this gospel in several books the Holy Spirit inspired him to pen (or to dictate as he wasn’t physically able to pen them himself). The portion that I want to open with reads:

Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.

I Corinthians 15:1-6

    Key points:
  • “the gospel which I preached”
  • “Christ died for our sins”
  • “he was buried”
  • “he rose again”
  • “according to the scriptures”

The gospel which I preached – in another place, Paul refers to this gospel as a “dispensing” or “dispensation” – that is a giving out of a thing. This was the gospel that was given out: to the who, for the when, with its features, and requirements (see red portion above). Paul was differentiating what he was now preaching from what was just before God’s “dispensing” of “the gospel which I preached.” Just prior to this, God was offering the Jewish Nation a Messiah and a Christ; they, as a whole, rejected that offer. With Paul, God was offering the entire world a Christ. Paul’s gospel was NOT the gospel offered under the Lord Jesus Christ and the Apostles.

Christ died for our sins – the first detail of this current gospel. The Lord Jesus Christ was sacrificed (killed) to make a payment for sins (all sins that ever were, are, or will be committed). He paid for the sins of this author as well as the sins of any other pesron one could name as well as the sins of you the reader. Christ died to pay for your sins.

He was buried – not figurative buried but literally, a dead body prepared as they did then and placed in the normal grave that they used then. This detail’s importance is detailed in old testament prophesies, which we’ll not cover now.

This is where the mechanics of the payment for sin were accomplished – in the grave and in hell. The payment for sin is physical death as well as spiritual death. Physical death is the end of our existence in our human body. Spiritual death is not an end of existence but the beginning of a separation. This separation is everlasting, excruciating, and permanent. It is a separation from God himself and from all of the good He intends for those who dwell in eternity, and from every other person. There will be no “I am gonna be with my friends in hell,” if you go there, you will be alone.

He rose again – the significance of this is detailed in both old testament prophesies as well as new testament doctrine. Simply put, this is the final seal of approval by God the Father that the payment for our sins is complete and accepted.

According to the scriptures – there are over 300 prophesies about Jesus Christ. For God to provide for individual salvation, He had to set things up so that a complete and acceptable payment could be made for all sins.

Everything that set up the life of Christ, His crucifixion and death, and His resurrection were completed “according to the scriptures.” Jesus Christ is the complete, acceptable, and ONLY payment that God will accept for sins. Unless you have His payment applied to your sins, you will suffer eternally as the spiritual payment for your sins.

Shall be saved…

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Romans 10:9-13

On Work… The Cascadia Horizontal Rod Railing System

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I have been working on a website for horizontal railing. I find the facets of working on a website of this type very fascinating.

The first thing I find interesting is how different people from different parts of the country refer to the rod railing. In some localities, they might call it horizontal guard rail or horizontal guard railing in other places, horizontal rod rail or horizontal railing. When I started working with this railing systems company, I discovered that some people call it a “deck fence.” That last one really threw me for a loop.

Cascadia rod railing. Beautiful and easy to install!

Another aspect that interests me is the simplicity of this particular rod railing’s design. As I said, I am working on this content myself: this includes everything from presenting the information that we want people to know about the railing system, from the railing rods to how this system adapts to the horizontal stair railing application. We also need to consider what the visitor wants and needs to know. Are they interested in how to install railing? Is it that the best thing we could do for them is diagram the components used in stainless handrail? Ah, that last one makes me think. I watched videos of some railing system installations on youtube and was aghast. Some of those systems are really hard to install. Even the posts have many pieces, argh. This Cascadia railing system only has eight parts; wow!

We shot videos of the original test installation and a time-lapse (see below) of the installation.

Detail photo of an infill fitting and infill rod on the Cascadia rod railing system.

Photographing shiny metal horizontal railing components is an interesting challenge. The brushed finish on this Cascadia Railing System is easier to shoot than would be a mirror finish stainless rail. What people don’t expect when photographing polished metal railing systems is that the metal takes on and reflects the surroundings. A photographer rarely wants to be in the photo, especially by mistake! With a brushed finish used on this system, you wouldn’t be able to see the photographer, but you would see his red shirt as a distracting color reflected off the stainless rod railing posts. The infill of horizontal rods would also reflect that red color — not good!

Regarding good photos, retouching, cropping, and tone work are essential. In developing this site for Cascadia Railing, I worked closely with Carole, a Gig Harbor area graphic designer. You can’t go wrong with Carole, she’s great to work with, does a great job, and has an English accent.

I was on-site at the original test installation of this railing system. When the railing installation was complete, I told one of the company’s owners that I was jealous on behalf of the company. I was so impressed with the classy look of the horizontal railing, its fittings, and the visual contrast of the top wood handrail with the stainless posts and railing infill that I wanted the company to sell it directly rather than through distributors. Oh, well. It is a beautiful addition as a horizontal deck rail, balcony rail, or horizontal stair railing, regardless of who sells it!

Time-Lapse of the Rod Railing Install

 

Yes, another riveting detail is that the chubby old fart toting the video camera in the video above is me.

a Cheap man’s guide to Leveraging Pinterest

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Other than Pinning great content, the key to leveraging Pinterest is to capture the user’s interest and gain traffic from their interest. Although Pinterest is an image-based platform, most visual journeys start with an idea, a text search. The path is most often: Search, Visual engagement, Web traffic, and Commerce. We’ll not address the casual browser on Pinterest but the user who has intent.

Targeted traffic: How does one target relevant traffic?

  • Create Boards with Keywords in the name
  • Name the file that you intend to Pin with the keyword(s) e.g., “hamptons-beach-deck-treatment.jpg.”
  • Use captioning, alt tags, and context copy to define the image
  • Use Keyword descriptions
  • Create the Pins of your assets on each board to link to YOUR site’s/profile’s asset(s)

Put your best foot forward: Narrate a journey that speaks to the user’s interest and your service.

  • Build Boards wisely!
  • Pin YOUR asset near the first few pins on the board
  • Do not Pin direct competitor’s images
  • Pin your best, be careful not to overshadow your content with better content
  • Start with Boards that are the direct target of your business.
  • If you design residential and sell most often to homeowners — target that
  • If you have a mix of new construction and remodel, make individual boards to highlight each, and later add new boards with more specific aspects
    • – Foyer/Entry remodels
    – Master bath remodel
    – Try to find specific aspects to start as that is what they search for
  • If you are Local, be sure to include “Local”
    • – Create Boards named after the location, e.g., “Boston Porches.”
    – Create Boards named after the service your company has expertise in or your niche, e.g., “Northeast Mudrooms,” “Fresh Northeast Modern Design.”

As you build your boards and users discover your pins, traffic will increase to a constant flow of users. Pinterest is not like IG and FB in that what you do stays relevant and builds. Most other Social platforms have a limited duration of interest (mere seconds on Twitter). Pinterest content is still there, discoverable year after year.