Statements of Faith - I Am Salt

 

Matthew 5:13

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its savor, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

Colossians 4:6

Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

    Salty foods make a person thirsty. In order for the child of God to be considered salt, our witness and our testimony must be evident every single day of our lives for the rest of our lives. If nobody can see the changes God is wreaking in our lives; if our words do not match our actions, then our salt has lost its savor: it is useless. We must be on the alert at all times to remain in Christ as He remains in us. God's Word is alive in us and we are in a constant state of motion on The Potter's wheel. 

    Salt preserves. It prevents rot and disease. When we are filled with The Word of God, we are filled with the salt of it. We don't want to go to heaven alone. We urge and plead with you who are even yet unknowing of the wonderful grace which God has prepared for you when you enter into a committed relationship with His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. Jesus is coming back soon for His church, His bride, to bring her to the heavenly home He has prepared for her (1 Thessalonians 4:17; Mark 13:32, 33; John 14:2).

    After Jesus had witnessed to the woman at the well, and His disciples returned with lunch, He was not hungry. When they questioned Him, His response was "My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me and to finish His work." Being obedient to God's will is satisfying. And how did He finish the work which God had prepared for Him to do? John 19:30 "When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished.” And bowing His head, He yielded up His spirit." "It is finished" were the last words He spoke before He died on the cross. His work was done.     

    Our work, however, is not; for we are still here. We still preach the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ to all nations. We preach this gospel in our homes with the love of God being manifested in us and through us. We speak love into the hearts of ur spouses and our children and our grandchildren. We speak Jesus into tired bodies, lonely hearts, distressed and despairing lives and broken minds. We speak the love of God into our neighborhoods and our communities and our cities. 

    We preach Christ crucified and resurrected, the first of God's children to do so. A great number which cannot be calculated have followed that first resurrection (Hebrews 12:1) and many more will follow. Our work for God is done in the love of God (1 Corinthians 13). Anything done in The Name of The Lord but not the grace and love of God is just empty words and wasted actions. 

    Our walk in Christ must align with Christ's steps. When you see Jesus in me, hear His loving words fall from my lips and see the grace which is upon me, then you will know that God has and still is changing me. And, hopefully, you will want this love and grace in your life, too. 

Matthew 5:6

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

SUFFICIENT FOR TODAY - TRIBL 

WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS

LORD I NEED YOU 

OPEN THE EYES OF MY HEART LORD 

 

Thanks Be To God -- For His Loving Devotion

 

Psalm 107:1

Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His loving devotion endures forever.

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 2617

Loving Devotion: goodness, kindness, mercy

Again, here in this verse, the word thanks is rendered from the Hebrew word 'yadah'. Once more we are reminded to throw up our hands/arms in thanks giving and praise. We are to cast our hands before us in worship. Why? Because God is Good.

GOD IS GOOD

2 Chronicles 5:13

The trumpeters and singers joined together to praise and thank the LORD with one voice. They lifted up their voices, accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and musical instruments, in praise to the LORD: "For He is good; His loving devotion endures forever." And the temple, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud. 

2 Chronicles 7:3

When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD above the temple, they bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD: "For He is good; His loving devotion endures forever."

Matthew 19:17

So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

Psalm 25:8

Good and upright is the LORD; therefore He shows sinners the way.

HIS LOVING DEVOTION ENDURES FOREVER

Psalm 100:5

For the LORD is good, and His loving devotion endures forever; His faithfulness continues to all generations.

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 530

Faithfulness: firmness, steadfastness, fidelity, truth, stability

Psalm 86:5

For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.

Exodus 20:6

And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

Exodus 34:6, 7

And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,  keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.” 

Daniel 9:9

To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him.

Psalm 130:4

But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared.

Deuteronomy 7:9

Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps His covenant of loving devotion for a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments.

Psalm 103:17

But from everlasting to everlasting the loving devotion of the LORD extends to those who fear Him, and His righteousness to their children's children.

Dear God,

Thank You for extending Your mercies to me and to my children and to their children. Turn the hearts of those who have left You back to You. In this day there are many that attempt to fully dissuade them from Your lovingkindesses and Your Word. 

As the lyricist says, "Break our hearts for what breaks Yours." Lead us and guide us into and through the Truth of Your Word that we may truly see You and know You as You want to be seen and known by us. 

Thank You for sending Your only begotten Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross in our place, washing away our sins and forgiving us of all our unrighteousness. Grow Your Word in us that we may truly be seen as Trees of Righteousness: unbending, not wavering, but carrying the Strength of the Lord within us wherever You plant us.
Thank You for being a Loving God and for loving me.

In Jesus' Name, I pray,

Amen

Jesus, Friend of Sinner by Casting Crowns

Mercy of God

 

1 Chronicles 16:34

O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.

Mercy: Lovingkindness, Loving Devotion

What is the Mercy which God which God extends to people?

1. Redemption from enemies and troubles. We should Trust in it; Rejoice in it; Hope in it..

2. Preservation of life from death.

3. Quickening of spiritual life.

4. Redemption from sin.

5. Covenant-keeping

These things, this Mercy of God, is for ever. For us it is while we have breath, this life we have been given. The decision to believe God and follow Christ must be made on this side of eternity. You can't change your mind after you die. It'll be too late then. 

  

James 4:13-14

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make a profit.”  You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

2 Peter 3:9

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.