He will lift you up.  James 4:10

The beauty of reading from the Bible and what we believe to be God’s Word is the spiritual life and encompassing encouragement that it contains. The scriptural wisdom and thinking promises a personal touch, a focus for others, a proper motivation and a never-ending hope.

In Matthew 5:13, as an example, Jesus was speaking to His loyal disciples and said, “Ye are the salt of the earth.” He used salt as a way for them to understand what He was saying to them. In effect, He was declaring they were chosen with a unique identity and responsibility to appropriately influence the tasteless, rotting, and depressing world surrounding them. There are at least four beneficial characteristics of salt found here that help bring us definition and depth to His inspiring message.With a correct dose, salt brings flavor. It comes to the rescue of a bland or tasteless food. In the right amount, salt preserves. With no refrigeration at the time, salt was used as a valuable preservative. Salt can also prompt a thirst.  Most amazingly, salt in calculated measure is uplifting. This more subtle quality of salt was experienced by my wife Cynthia and me when we traveled to Israel and went “swimming” in the Dead Sea. Normally we both sink like rocks. Because of the extremely high salt density and buoyancy of the Dead Sea, rather than sink like rocks, we both floated effortlessly (See photos).

Let our God-awareness be heightened. Let’s receive and activate Christ’s words of power and act more salty this week. Let’s purpose to be appropriate in bringing a little flavor to what we find tasteless, preserving and prompting to those wandering from the truth, and uplifting to those we find sinking in the dead seas of their lives.

The confidence and comfort in Psalm 3:3 speak out in truth. It says, God is our glory and the lifter of our heads. As our Divine lifter, we can be sure that everything about us is affected—our attitudes, our hopes, our moods, our thinking, our hands, and our hearts – yes, all of us! So family and friends, as His chosen spices of life, let’s enjoy our influence in the week ahead. As a result, our personal life, our home, neighborhood, greater community, church or wherever we live, move and have our being will be shaken with the salting influence of God.

Prov 11:1; Mk 9:23; Acts 20:32;Jer 29:11;Prov 34:8