Salt of the Earth – Christine Caine

 Matthew 5:13 Jesus says that his followers are to be the salt that brings out the God-flavors of this earth.

Jesus clearly states that our role as Christians on the earth is a transformational one. We are called the “salt of the earth” and salt essentially does three things: It adds flavor, it preserves, and it heals. So our task is to bring flavor, preservation, and healing to the world around us. This is why it is imperative that we ourselves be personally transformed from the inside out. If we have not been changed, we cannot bring out the “God flavors” of this earth.

In the same way that salt was never designed to remain in the shaker, the Church was never created to remain insular. We are called to live from the inside out both personally and corporately. God’s love flows from within us out into a hurting world. The Church is to be a caring, gracious, and inclusive community. Our mandate is to love others as we love ourselves. Perhaps it is now becoming increasingly clear why it is necessary for us to strengthen our spiritual cores and live our Christian lives authentically from the inside out. This is the only way that we can keep our “saltiness” and remain effective Christ-followers.

Jesus is clear about our purpose on the earth (to be salt seasoning), and I’m happy to say that there are many wonderful churches that understand the tenet of Matthew 5:13 and live it out in their communities. These are churches that are actively involved in preaching the good news, responding to human needs through loving service, seeking to respond to and transform areas of injustice, and teaching, baptizing, and nurturing new believers. They have a revelation of why the Church is here, and they understand that the Church, as God’s hands and feet on the earth, is called to operate in the realm for which she was created, namely, a lost and broken world.

The Church is the vehicle that God has created to fulfill his mission on the earth. The people who are the object of this mission normally can be found outside the four walls of the church building. For this reason, every aspect of our church experience should actually empower us to “go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). We cannot afford to simply do church on Sunday—we must be the church seven days a week.

Point to Ponder

Jesus did not say that he would build an institution or organization. No, He said he would build his Church, the Body of Christ, a living, breathing organism made up of people who have been transformed and, in turn, are transforming their worlds. Does that include you?

Daily Dose – Gracious Speech

Colossians 4:6  Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

The secret to any good dish is putting just the right amount of salt in it, to give it that added flavor.

When we speak to others we ought to season our speech with grace, to prevent it from hurting the person with whom we’re communicating.

There is no standard measure of salt for any dish, chefs usually average the amount for each of their creations. In the same way when we speak we may need to be a bit more gracious with some persons than others.

Remember God shows us abundant mercy and grace.

We need to pattern him and do the same with the people we encounter.

Listen

James 1:¹⁹ My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to LISTEN, slow to speak and slow to become angry,

I’ve come to believe that not many people pay attention to this particular verse in James, and if they do they don’t care to follow it. We live in the communication era; everyone has something to say and they have numerous ways to have their voices heard. Sometimes it’s easy to be sucked into a vortex of never ending chatter across various mediums with our hands cupping our ears. We are forever speaking and never listening.

I understand as believers our tongues and by extension our voice is our source of power from God. The tongue is our greatest weapon and as much as we need to use it on a daily basis it’s time we become more mindful about giving it a rest. Despite the recent trend WE DO NOT have to comment on everything, WE DO NOT have to answer every question out there and especially when we’re angry WE DO NOT have to let the opposition know what we’re thinking in that very moment.

WE NEED TO SHUT UP!! 

God wants to talk to us, but so much of us are caught up in our own ramblings that we do not allow God the opportunity to say a word. We pray and ask for answers, but do we stop and listen for his response? We have a lot of examples in the bible where god spoke to his disciples. Maybe he wants to speak directly to us but we’ve put on our ear plugs and put our tongues on overdrive, not allowing him access to our ears.

John 10:²⁷ My sheep LISTEN to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

Don’t misinterpret what I’m saying. I don’t wish for us to stop speaking all together or stop connecting with each other or stop spreading the good news of Jesus Christ. All I’m asking is that we take some time off to listen to what God has to say. God has given us instructions for a reason. Just like any other instruction given to us through the bible it is for our own good that we should practice holding our tongues.

Proverbs 29:²⁰ Do you see someone who speaks in haste? There is more hope for a fool than for them. 

James warns that those of us who hear the word of God and does not follow it are like men who look at themselves in the mirror and then walk away not remembering what they look like. I pray that we do not become like those men. Let us follow the instruction given to us so that our words, when spoken will be for the up-lifting of God’s kingdom.

Colossians 4:⁶ Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

God Bless You!