Mark 9:50; Luke 14:34 – High in Salt Content Part 1
Two Grand Mananers are looking for jobs in the paper. "Look! Here’s an ad for a waiter!" says #1. "No, I don’t want it,” says Grand Mananer #2. “It says you have to fill the salt shakers and its too hard to get the salt through those tiny holes!"
Jesus called us “salt”, which was an essential part of the culture. Even if the original audiences didn’t understand all the chemistry of salt, or understand its uses as well as we do, they knew full well what Jesus meant: BE USEFUL!
Sodium 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 offensive odor. When sodium and chlorine are combined, the result is sodium chloride—common table salt—the substance we use to preserve meat and bring out its flavor. Love and truth can be like sodium and chlorine. Love without truth is flighty, sometimes blind, willing to combine with various doctrines. On the other hand, truth by itself can be offensive, sometimes even poisonous. Spoken without love, it can turn people away from the gospel. When truth and love are combined in an individual or a church, however, then we have what Jesus called “the salt of the earth,” and we’re able to preserve and bring out the beauty of our faith. - David H. Johnson
Benefits of Salt:
1. Preserves
2. Purifies
3. Flavors
4. Penetrates
5. Melts Ice
6. Provides Traction
7. Works Quietly
8. Cleanses
9. Lingering Influence
10. Seasons in Many Ways
11. Creates Thirst
12. Holds Water
13. Irritates When Necessary
14. Heals
15. Covenant of Relationship (Numb 18:19)
16. Persists
17. Stings
18. Influences in many ways
19. Useful in numerous products
20. Inexpensive but valuable
21. Necessary for life
22. Easily shows impurities
23. Use it or lose its effects
24. Available and Understandable
25. Inexpensive
26. Easy to find or get a hold of
27. Universally Available
28. Trans-cultural
29. Works in all temperatures
30. Shows no bias
31. Stimulates hunger
32. Impact not always understood
33. Historically enriched
34. Created by God
35. Inherent and done without effort
These are Biblical passages that say “so that” or “then”.
This means that we will be effective if we do them.
1 – Be forgiven – Psalm 51:10-13
be it, know it, love it, appreciate it, offer it
2 – Be joyful – Psalm 40:1-3
even if situations aren’t always pleasant, there should be something keeping us going
3 – Be prayerful – 1 Kings 8:59-60
we need to learn to listen
