From Dream to Deliverance
Sunday, September 26, 2004
My Prayer Today
Dear Heavenly Father, I thank You for saving my life from sin. I thank You for sending me Your only Son, Jesus, to be my Savior. I ask that You would give me the grace to be a godly example to someone today. I want to be like salt in people's life. May the words I speak and the actions I perform, help to be a purifying agent with my friends, family, and community. I want to give You glory in everything. I ask this in Your Son's name. . . Amen.
God's Word For Me Today
Matthew 5:13-16
13 "You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make salt useful again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. 14 You are the light of the world -- like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see. 15 Don't hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all. 16 In the same way, let you good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father."
Reflecting on God’s Word
According to verse 13, what image does Jesus use to describe a Christian's witness?
Why does Jesus use the word "earth?" Implications?
A Deeper Exploration of God’s Word
Why does Jesus use "salt" to describe a Christian's witness?
What are some characteristics of salt?
How does our testimony act as salt to a non-believer?
Understanding God’s Word
How does salt act as a purifying agent?
If salt purifies, and we as Christians are like "salt," how do we act as a purifying agent in our communities and neighborhoods?
Who has been "salt" in your life, to help purify you?
Applying God’s Word to Our Lives
What are three things you can do today to be "salt" in someone's life?
What is a way in which you can act as a purifying agent in your community, neighborhood, or government?
Who is one person you know that needs to know Jesus? How can you act as salt in their life today?
Thoughts...
Over the years, almost every Fall I get a little bit of a sore throat. It may be because of the change of the seasons, and my body is trying to adjust, but it usually happens. One of the things that my mother would tell me to do when I started to feel a sore throat coming on was to gargle with salt water. The benefits of doing this was that the saltwater was able to help cleanse and purify the throat. Salt has the characteristic of being a purifying agent. Have you ever taken a swim in the ocean with an open wound? The salt in the ocean does help to purify and cleanse the wound so that it can heal. Salt may initially sting when it is applied to a wound, but when it works within the wound it has the ability to heal.
As salt has the ability to purify and heal, we as Christians are also called to do the same within our communities. Jesus said in Matthew 5:13 that "You (we) are the salt of the earth. . . " As we look around at our culture around us, there are many people who are longing to find wholeness and healing in their lives. Because Jesus has given us healing, wholeness, and has purified us from our sins, we as His followers must be a healing and purifying agent within our communities. It is not as if we have the power and ability to heal, purify, and bring wholeness ourselves, but it is Jesus Christ working through our lives. I challenge you today to be God's healing agent in someone's life today. As you engage in various conversation today, let your words act as "salt" and purify what might be perhaps ungodly and perverse.