Salt

I've been working on something... I set it down, I pick it up, I feel nervous about it.... time to jump. 

I plan to post each day this week a Bible study - things that have been crucial to my own faith. I hope that it blesses you. 

Making brownies is sort of a special occasion at my house.  We had somehow managed to scrape together all the ingredients and began busily mixing and stirring.  After a few minutes we poured the brown batter into the pan to begin baking.  Time creeps by when you are waiting for brownies to bake so we decided to straiten the kitchen and wash the mixing bowls.   A short time later the buzzer on the oven alerted us to our chocolate creation's completion.  We were delighted and began cutting and dividing the spoils almost before they had properly cooled.  The first bite was a blend of bitter chocolate and swallowing a mouthful of sea water.  Terrible!  We gagged and choked in surprise!  One gulped down milk as another hovered over the trashcan. We pondered what had gone so wrong!  I wasn't until we went back through the recipe that we realized we confused the salt and the sugar, adding way too much salt and no where near enough sweetness. 

My aunt is a great lady.  Her kindness and generosity overflows. She loves the Lord and she loves people, but she has one fatal flaw.  She doesn't like salt.  If you eat a meal at her home, be prepared, the first bite is often bland.  I never realized how much I enjoyed salt in my food until I ate a meal without it - completely devoid of salt - it was edible, but it was not tasty.  In my Aunt's defense, she does keep a generous salt shaker on the table for guests who would like to season their food, but she sincerely doesn't see the value of cooking with salt.  

It is so extreme, she once tried to bake cupcakes without using salt.  The resulting flat hard mounds, though generously iced, became food for the local birds.   

You see, we had the wrong ingredients and as a result what should have be a wonderful treat was actually a miserable disappointment. God wants us to have the right ingredients in our lives to make the earth flavorful, and leave out those ingredients which will make us miserable.  Jesus describes his followers as salt, as just the right amount of seasoning for the Earth. 

Matthew 5:13-15

“You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.

“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

Jesus' followers are to be salt and light in our worlds.  Our whole job is to give life a good flavor and to give light to everyone around us.  Allowing our good deeds to "shine out" for all to see may seem silly, but this is the way that people will recognize, and give glory to God!  When people interact with us we want them to be encouraged and uplifted, we want our interactions to be purposefully flavored by Christ, not just for them but for our own sake as well!

Ephesians 3:17-21

Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.

Christ's desire for us to know him is so great that he will "make his home" in our hearts and bless us with lives deeply rooted, like a strong tree, in God's love. Not only that, but He wants us to be so fully complete in that love, that we will live a life of power and accomplish more that we might even imagine is possible.  Trusting Him and bringing Glory to God, and ourselves. 

When we allow Christ to season us - to make us salt of the earth - we receive his power and anointing in our lives, we receive a greater understanding of His love, a greater capacity to love others, and a fullness of life and joy that extends beyond our circumstances. 

Colossians 3:1-17

Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.

So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming. You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile,circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.

Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.

Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

This passage really is the crux of our study - so lets break it down a little bit. 

1. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.

How we think makes a BIG difference in our lives.  Two people can have the same experiences and tell a completely different story about it.  Life is all about perspective - having an eternal perspective makes all the difference!

2. when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory. 

It is God's plan and desire that when Christ is revealed, that you too will be revealed to the world as Christ's Bride, and that as such YOU will share in ALL of Christ's glory.  You are destined for Glory!

3.  put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world....You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.

It is God's desire that through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit we will put to death the evil and sinful desires of this world.  Just as Christ was crucified, we want to crucify the sinful nature and be raised again into NEW LIFE!

4.  it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile,circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters

Your past life and your current status, doesn't matter!  You can be from the best family or from the wrong side of the tracks, you can have everything or have nothing.  Christ is all that matters. 

5.  God chose you to be the holy people he loves

God chose you.  It wasn't a mistake, it wasn't an accident, YOU are part of God's plans and He has great plans for your life!

6. you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace.

Your new life in Christ is going to look a little bit different than the old life you may remember.  God wants you to worship HIM.  He wants to clothe you in HIS ways.  Mercy, Kindness, Humility, Gentleness, Patience, Forgiveness, Peace and most of all LOVE. 

7. And always be thankful. Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

Your life, because of all the great things God has done and is doing for you, should be marked with intentional thankfulness.  Christ wants to fill your life up with His message of love of mankind and peace.  He wants our joy and thankfulness to overflow so richly that it teaches others and we can't even help ourselves except to praise God and thank him for the glory he has bestowed on us!

As you read and study this week I hope you will remember these verses.  One great tool is to memorize scripture.  Try memorizing this passage in it's entirety. You could sing it to the tune of Mary had a little lamb, or you could write it on note cards, or you could start with verses one and two and add a few verses each week. 

Before you go, I invite you to pray these verses over your life asking God to reveal them to you in a whole new way as you study this week.  You could switch out pronouns like "you or we" for "I or me" so these verses become your personal prayer. 

Dear Heavenly Father God,

Since I have been raised to new life with Christ, help me to set my sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at Your right hand. Help me to think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For I have died to this life, and my real life is hidden with Christ in You. And when Christ, who is my life, is revealed to the whole world, I will share in all his glory.

Lord Jesus please help me to put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within me. Prevent me from having anything to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Help me overcome greed, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. Father God, I know that Your word say that because of these sins, Your anger is coming. I know I  used to do these things when my life was still part of this world. Please forgive me for any participation in these things. Now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. Help me not to lie to others, and when I face temptation please remind me that I have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Help me to put on my new nature, and renew my mind  as I learn to know You God, my Creator,  and  to become like You. In this new life, help me to remember that it doesn’t matter if I was a Jew or a Gentile,circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in me.

Lord Jesus, Since God chose me to be a part of  the holy people He loves, Please help me to clothe myself with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Help me to make allowance for other’s faults, and  to forgive anyone who offends me.  God, Help me to remember your forgiveness and therefore forgive others. Above all, help clothe me with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in my heart. For as a member of one body I am called to live in peace. Help me to always be thankful.

Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill my life. Teach and counsel me with all Your wisdom. I will sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to You God,  with a thankful heart. And whatever I do or say, help me to do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. Amen