Day 4
Think of the implications - you have a
great purpose in God's plan and you have it all
the time in every place you go! It does not
matter whether you are rich or poor, highly
educated or not, tall or short, etc, etc. You are
an invaluable part in God's great plan! What
incredible privilege citizens of the Kingdom of
Heaven have been granted by their King, Jesus
Christ! This is a privilege we should not only
cherish but one that should also create in us a
sense of divine accountability. We are stewards
of salt, so to speak, and one day we will give an
account for how salty we were (2Cor 5:10). The
King does not give us an option at this point but
calls us to a central responsibility to be salt to
the world about us.
Have you already burned bridges in
some of your relationships that will be difficult to
rebuild? What would it take to reopen a
relationship with those you may have wounded,
insulted or walled out? Would you be willing to
ask forgiveness, or to approach those who have
hurt you, with forgiveness? It is crucial to the
Kingdom for you to do so, if those situations
exist in your life.
Christians should not blend in with
everyone else (the world). Instead, we should
affect them positively - just as seasoning brings
out the best flavor in food.
Discuss what it means to blend in with the
world, and what we can do to affect people
positively.
Day 5 Volume 2 Number 19
List the benefits of Salt: ENGAGED
List the benefits of Light:
May 8 - 14
How does your life compare to those in the World?
In Jesus' prayer to His Father, He explains why
believers are not just automatically taken up to heaven
when they are saved. We have a distinct purpose as He
relates in His prayer...
"I have given them (those who are "the salt and light")
Thy word; and the world has hated them (Matthew 5:10;
5:11; 5:12), because they are not of the world, even as I
am not of the world. I do not ask You to take them out of
the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are
not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify
(set them apart from the world) them in the truth; Your
word is truth. As You did send Me into the world, I also
have sent them into the world." (John 17:14-18)
There it is, Jesus' disciples are sent into the world to be
"the salt and light" in the world. What hope does the Matthew 5:13
world have without salt and light? We need to stop
focusing on our inabilities and focus on His ability to use "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt
us. BE USED UP! Let’s reach the River Valley with has become tasteless, how can it be made
Hope and Second Chances that only come from our salty again? It is no longer good for anything,
Father… except to be thrown out and trampled
underfoot by men.”
If you say that you are a Believer, and a
follower of Jesus, then it is time to allow Him to
season your life with His love, His touch and His
gentle voice. Today, take this challenge: move
TOWARD people today. Open your eyes to the through
opportunities that abound, to be Christ to those you
meet. Everyone, from the attendant at the gas
station, to your boss, to your spouse and children, to
the neighbor who is mowing his lawn as you walk to
your mailbox. Everywhere you turn, opportunities to
be the salt that gives life, zest and meaning await
you. Don’t waste another opportunity to relate to
others with the New Life in Christ that is in you!
Matthew 5:13 - 16 Salt & Light - Tasteless
salt and hidden light are good for nothing! Salt arrests
decay in our world and light banishes darkness. Salt
is hidden but light is visible.
Both are needed in the world and both must give
themselves, in order to serve.
Day 1
In Matthew 5:13, 14, 15, 16, before
laying out His sermon, Jesus explained in
two word pictures the reality that a truly
righteous person will have on his or her
world. The entire sermon, including the
Beatitudes before and the many teachings
after, shows us how to live as "salt and light"
in the world, as representatives of another
kingdom. These word pictures also serve
Matthew's purpose—to encourage believers
to change their world. Ask yourself this
question and then qualify the answer: How
am I making my world more like the Kingdom
of Heaven?
This week’s verse points to the quality
of our involvement as we relate to others. If
you are the “salt” in the relationship, you
should, as a Believer, bring a quality to your
relationships that would not be there
otherwise. Can you honestly say that what
you add to your relationships could be
equated to what salt does for food?
You are the salt of the earth; but if the
salt loses its flavor, how shall it be
seasoned? Matthew 5:13
Discuss with your family what it means to be
the salt of the earth. Discuss how the salt
might lose its flavor, and last, discuss how it
could be seasoned.
Ask yourself today, how much of an effort
am I making to affect the world for God?
Day 2
Don't miss a key principle in Jesus'
metaphors of salt and light. Citizens of the
Kingdom of Heaven impact society because
they are different (not weird or bizarre, but
distinct) from the Kingdom of this World. When
salt and light try to accommodate and/or be
conformed by the Kingdom of this World, they
lose their distinctiveness and their potential to
impact the decay and the darkness of this world
which is passing away. In Revelation, John
records the triumphant cry in Revelation 11:15.
Until then, God has left Believers in the Kingdom
of Darkness as Light, and Decay as Salt, to
dispel the darkness and combat decay, as
peacemakers giving out the Word of hope - a
Word that in some will birth new life and to
others will cause them to hate and persecute
you. What signs in the world around you display
hope to the hopeless? What could you do to
declare that hope? This is your calling!
What relationships do you have that
depend on you to bring a Christian perspective
to? Who do you work with or go to school with,
that may not get a picture of Christ any other
way? Consider your relationship to them today
as you get opportunities to interact.
If a seasoning has no flavor, it has no
value. If Christians make no effort to affect the
world around them, we are worthless.
Day 3
You are the salt of the earth. "You",
as salt and light of His Kingdom; not
governmental institutions, not educational
institutions, not organizations, but "you" and
"you alone" are the salt and light of the earth.
Note that in this section, Jesus shifts from
"those" ("blessed are those...") to the second
person "you". He shifts from character to
influence. The point is that those who live
out the Beatitudes (Mt 5:3-12) in the power
of the Spirit ARE "the salt & light of the
earth". "Are" is in the indicative mood, which
is the mood of reality. In other words, they
really are the specific salt factor in this world.
The present tense expresses a constant
condition and indicates that saltiness is to
continually be the lifestyle of every citizen of
the Kingdom of Heaven, every day of their
life on earth.
Therefore, is it ever appropriate to drop your
guard as a Believer? How important is it to
strengthen your guard? What can you do, to
do that?
Do you miss opportunities to be the
voice, hands or feet of Christ in your
relationships? What barriers do you put up
that may cause people to get a wrong picture
of what it’s like to be a follower of Jesus?
This is part of what is meant by the salt
losing its “saltiness”. Consider today how
“salty” your interactions are.
Let's start off today with a question.
How much am I like the world? In this verse
we read that if we are too much like the
world, we are worthless. In the verse it says
"it is then good for nothing."