Put Some More Salt on Those Fries

I love salt!  I mean I love it on my food and usually add more of it to the disdain of healthy people.  If a meal doesn't have enough salt on it I can tell it in milliseconds.  What do I do?  I add more salt! There are many different types of salt and many different effects of salt.  Jesus in Matthew 5:13 says, "You are the salt of the earth, But if the salt loses it's saltiness, how can it be make salty again?  It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out an trampled underfoot."  So, according to Jesus, we are the salt of the earth.  When a person meets us they need to experience a good flavored life that is salty and tasty.  The vibrancy of the Holy Spirit in our life is the salt they need to taste and that comes from a deepening relationship with Jesus at a Biblical level.  Biblical level means that the Word of God, which is alive and cuts like a two edged sword, should be seen in every area of our life.  It is  also heard in the words we say.  Colossians 4:6 - "Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone."  We know the importance of the tongue being under the Lord's control.  In James the writer gives a good illustration of the power of the tongue.  The tongue can be used by God and by the devil and seasoned with salt is the way God wants us to use ours.  A discerning heart supplies the right words at just the right time as it says in Proverbs 12:18 - "The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing."  I have experienced those wise words before and the taste of it is very salty indeed.  The aggressive nature of Christ's message in that day gives us a picture of how that salt needs to be applied through our life.  That application needs to always be doing something with the salt, instead of just letting it stay in our thoughts.  There needs to be action.  The Dead Sea in Israel is just that DEAD.  The Hebrew name for the Dead Sea is "Sea of Salt" and the lack of anywhere for that sea to go causes it to become water that is full of salt that lacks purpose and direction.  The salt water flows in but doesn't flow out and it's elevation is below sea level, so the prospects for changing are bleak at best.  It does have awesome natural minerals in the mud taken from the sea and the thousands of years of deposits make it mineral rich, but you have to dig in the mud to get those minerals.  The water itself is dead, with no place to go.  In our lives we get our salt from the Holy Spirit, in a relationship with Jesus Christ, but that salt is not designed to stop with us.  We have a command to share it with others through our words and our actions, or the living water in each of us will become "stale."  We will be full of helpful salt for others, but we never share it, so it remains with us.  This should not be!!  God's plan for that salt is to season our lives with such a strong seasoning that it impacts all who meet us and causes them to wonder how we are so different from other people.  Our sharing the salt and how to use it is what we call Discipleship!  We learn from God's Word and from other believers just how good the salt is and how much it affects the lost and we realize we have exactly what others need and it is Jesus.  No Dead Sea will do for believers.  The salt doesn't stop at us, it is shared with every step we take in our daily walk.  It has wonderful, spirit- filled flavor.

What is the flavor of your life?  Are you in a growing, deepening relationship with Christ, or did your growth stop after your salvation experience.  There is so much more and the life of Christ compels each of us to desire the salt to be seen in us and through us.  Now is the time to get more of that salt and let it be tasted by all who meet you.  Put more salt on those fries!!  Keep this in mind.  Salt is an extremely active element found naturally only in combined form; it always links itself to another element.  Chlorine, on the other hand, is the poisonous gas that gives bleach it's offensive odor.  When sodium and chlorine are combined, the result is sodium chloride or common table salt.  When Jesus comes into our lives he takes that part of us, human, and attaches his salt to our lives and the end result is a sweet tasting life that makes a difference.  Should we take the salt away, we become a poisonous gas again and that just won't work.  If anything it should be our desire to get more salt in our lives through being a disciple that is growing in our relationship with Jesus.  When we get that salt, share it!!  When you commit to the life of a disciple Jesus is freeing you from a self destructive lifestyle that has no purpose, and you need to keep moving forward and don't look back or you might end up like Lot's wife, as a pillar of salt and a lifeless form.  God wants to be active in our lives and He wants our lives to be actively sharing the Good News wherever we go.  Invest your time and talents into living God's Word and sharing the salt that is the eventual result of that kind of living.  Then, we will make the impact the Bible speaks about.  We will be SALT!!!

The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren

When Your Boat is Smaller Than the Storm

In Luke 8:22-25 it says, "One day Jesus said to His disciples, "Let us go over the other side of the lake."  So they got into a boat and set out.  As they sailed, he fell asleep.  A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.  The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Master, Master, we're going to drown." He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm.  Where is your faith?  he asked his disciples.. In fear and amazement they asked one another, "Who is this?"  He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him." Have you ever felt like your boat is too small for the storms in your life?  Perhaps you ventured into an area that you thought you could handle, but the storm that came up overwhelmed what could keep you afloat.   You will notice that Jesus first of all didn't quibble over "which" boat they should get when they needed to go over to the other side of the lake.  He also fell asleep without a worry in the world.  Even when the squall came up they had to awaken him to help them.  Squall - A sudden, violent gust of wind or localized storm, especially one bring rain.  Scripture said they were in great danger.  Not, they thought they were in great danger.  The danger was real and Jesus got up and rebuked the wind that was powering the squall and it subsided or calmed.  If you are going through storms in your life, they are real to you.  They may also be very dangerous for your life and you know the end result will be bad.  The storms of life are going to come and they will be like a squall.  They will come at you suddenly and with great ferocity.  So we have established there will be storms. Now we come to the point where you realize "who you gonna call" (ala ghost busters)  The disciples didn't have to think about it.  They called out to Jesus and woke him up because they knew they needed him desperately.    When Jesus rebuked the wind and waves, that wind and those waves obeyed and they calmed down and the disciples were safe.  They needed help and called on Jesus and when he did show his power they were amazed!!  Jesus not only calms the storms in our lives, but He goes even further to show He is in control.  This is a very affirming event to read about and I am sure an affirming event for them to experience, but it is proof positive that Jesus is in control of every situation and his great power is real and right on time.  Publus Syrus said in 42 B.C. " Any one can hold the helm when the sea is calm."  Jesus takes the rough seas of our lives and calms them so we can handle these situations with His power.  If  you are going through some stormy weather right now and it came up out of no where, wake up your prayer life, call out to Jesus, and He will calm those storms for you.

One other thing Jesus did that day on the lake.  He asked them "Where is your faith?"  For those who have a relationship with Jesus, we realize that our faith is not in what we have faith we have in, but it is who we are in Christ.  Paul wrote in Romans 5:1 "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."  The storms of life only cause us to draw closer to God, because we know He is the essence of who we are and it changes how we perceive those waves that come upon us so violently.  Our storms are handled through the power of Jesus, once and forever, because of what He did on the cross to justify our faith.  Are you amazed by what Jesus did for you on the cross?  Maybe you need to have a "come to Jesus" meeting and turn to Him for all your daily strength and decisions and let the faith you have in Him energize and guide your life.  Then your boat will be able to handle any storm in any situation.  Now...that is good news!!!  If we can't handle the storms of life, how will we ever be able to walk on the water?  Only holding on to Jesus' hand and Him empowering and guiding us.  When you are in a great storm, "Who you gonna call?" I'm calling out to Jesus!!

The Pilgrimage continues...

David Warren