Tag: salt

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Be These

Be These Art

I found this image while looking for some stuff to share with my middle-schoolers yesterday. I am sure you may have seen this design before, on t-shirts or on posters. Still it is a good reminder of our simple objective this week.

13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its salty taste, it cannot be made salty again. It is good for nothing, except to be thrown out and walked on.

14 “You are the light that gives light to the world. A city that is built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 And people don’t hide a light under a bowl. They put it on a lampstand so the light shines for all the people in the house. 16 In the same way, you should be a light for other people. Live so that they will see the good things you do and will praise your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:13-16(NCV)

And that leads me to my question for you to ponder. In what ways will you be a light for other people? How will others taste your saltiness?  How will you ‘be these’?

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Add Salt

A great friend of mine sent me this picture yesterday.

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With these words

I saw this license plate today at Trader Joe’s and it reminded me of one of your blogs from a year ago (or more)…

I love Trader Joes, and Passats(made in Chattanooga) and Maine, and salt!

Thanks Lisa. It reminds me of this Post as well. Every time I see a Salt Life sticker I think about it. Amazingly that was over three years ago.

Well, thats enough time passing that I am sure that we are all due to be reminded that we should be the salt of world.

Add Salt wherever you go!

Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth.

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Salty Springs

Last night I received an email about a project I am working on at work.  The email was changing some of the structure of the project and had some statements in it that could seem to be giving praise to those who don’t deserve it.

For some reason, my first instantaneous reaction was one of outrage and frustration.  But then I quickly stopped myself.  Why should these things upset us so much?  Lets look at the facts, the project was still being completed, the direction and strategy for the work was still on track and heading in the same direction.  Why did it matter who, and how?

I started thinking about my post from Tuesday about Micah 6 and what we really are here for.  I started thinking about Matthew 5, which I has just spend 30 minutes in conversation about, and I very quickly realized – this did not really matter, and in acutallity was a great time to help shine the light of Christ. 

For some reason its such a struggle for us to see past the noise of this world, and to concentrate of the important things, and to deal with conflict in a way that still brings glory to the Creator and deflects from us.

So, because of these thoughts,  two verses have been flitttering around in my head, so I thought I would share those today:

If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. John 15:10 NIV

 9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. James 3:9-12  New International Version (NIV)
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As You Once Were

Yesterday one of my liberal minded, utopia seeking college student friends, whom I dearly love,  posted on Facebook about some political things going on in Nashville.  Without going into all the gory details, I have to say that I spend a better part of the day thinking about how to tactfully post a response to his somewhat condemning post.

My thoughts quickly traveled to Ephesians however, for it is here that the writer of this letter lays out some very profound and yet simple ideas for those who wish to follow the Christ.

You see, my friend was calling out the way sin has been categorized to a point that some is acceptable and some is not. However, the letter the the Ephesians clearly calls out all sorts of dark behaviors and groups them in the same pot.  Then there’s the real kicker.  It’s not a condemnation for having had these sins in your life, but an impetus to move past them:

8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord Ephesians 5:8 (NIV)

All of us have sinned. All of us continue to make mistakes.  All of us are so dependent on the grace the oozes from our Lord.  However, we are still admonished to move toward the light and to leave the other things in darkness.  The Message version of this brings home the point in a very contemporary way:

8-10You groped your way through that murk once, but no longer. You’re out in the open now. The bright light of Christ makes your way plain. So no more stumbling around. Get on with it! The good, the right, the true—these are the actions appropriate for daylight hours. Figure out what will please Christ, and then do it. Ephesians 5:8-10  The Message (MSG)

So, we need to leave the darkness behind, and move towards the light – transformed by the grace and love of Christ. As you battle the darkness in your life remember this admonishment. And as you deal with others steeped in the battle with darkness please remember that “you were once darkness” but now “you are the light”.  Approach them with the grace and love bestowed upon you.

Oh, and isn’t this just another reason to live a life of joy?

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Almost Perfect

As you know last week I was blessed to be able to spend a week on the Gulf coast at one of my most favorite places – the beach.  Oh the sun, the warm sand, the soft waves.  No. not at all.  Because of the recent Hurricane Alex, we spent most of the week being drenched by the feeder bands and then the remaining parts of the hurricane after it come upon shore.  It was really disappointed, and quite thought provoking.

One day after spending a little too much time at the house ( even though I really can’t complain, the porches and the porch furniture at this house provided a very relaxing setting for a rainy day) I decided to take a rainy walk on the beach.   As I walked on this lonely rainy beach, and I listened to the roar of the waves and watched the dance between the sand and the water, the beauty of this tainted day become very apparent.  Also, during the trip I found two shells.  Two shells that were almost perfect.  One a Nautilus and the other a nice conch-type shell.  Both just a little bit broken or covered with ‘junk from the sea”, however both are still very beautiful.  It was in these shells that I finally realized something I have always thought – that the beach is so much like our lives.  Everyday its different, and even what seems to be the most disappointing of times there is beauty.

Today, you may be dealing with disappointment in your life or in your work, or in your relationships, or maybe even in the mirror. Look past the imperfections and look for the beauty.  These two shells are the only two I brought back this year and I hope that each time I glance over at them, I will remember that even when life is full of apparent disappointments that many blessing still exist.

24 This is the day the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24 (New International Version)

Be Salty!