Just Plain Salty

Prayer    My Father, My God.  Creation bears witness, you are Creator and Sustainer of all. The  sunrise and sunset, the moon and the stars, the oceans and the rivers, the mountains and the  valleys, the heavens and the earth.  No man can fully comprehend what happens in the earth  in a single day.  Worthy is the Lord to be praised for all the great things that He has done!  Please help Christians throughout the world to declare bold witness and testify to the  goodness of Christ.  Help us to be a unique and distinct flavor in our times, those not waiting  to be influenced but those willing to influence others with the love of God. In Jesus’ name,  Amen.                                Just Plain Salty by Veronica Garrett    “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.” (Matthew 5:13) Regardless to how politically correct we would like to appear, we are always forced to consider what’s right and what’s wrong. Our culture demands that everything is relative, yet when great tragedy occurs we all agree that there are moral absolutes. Beware of empty philosophies that eliminate the sense of judgment, responsibility or accountability. Any people willing to remove all moral restraints are destined to self destruct.   If we are not careful, in our great opportunity to exercise our religious freedom and support those who disagree with us, we shrink back from being salty. Salt acts a preservative; in essence it adds flavor to that which it has been added.“Righteous exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people(Proverbs 14:34).”   I have a God given responsibility, as I apply God’s word to my life to affect the community, city and nation in which I live. I lose my saltiness when my being included in a culture does not add any distinction.  My saltiness should be the fact that my life is marinated in what the Bible teaches and therefore it affects how I live my life and how I view the world.  I’m not asserting to what I think, feel, or experience but agreeing with the God breathed word of the Bible.    Many Christians say, it has to get worse before Christ returns anyway.  Although I think this is wrong who am I to impose my views on those who disagree with me?  They say you have to separate church and state, we cannot hold political leaders to God’s moral standards. This is a cop out. When you live in a democracy, the leaders are a mirrored reflection of the preeminent views of the people. As a Christ follower, my ballot is caste with a consciousness towards Him.  In as much as I have self interest and a personal agenda, I willingly forsake them both for Christ sake.  If any man wants to be his disciple he must deny himself.  I am persuaded that He will take care of the things that I entrust to Him. We spend far too much time thinking what effect things will have on us when we have been left here to affect everything. What is being preserved does not ruin because the salt is just plain salty.  In 2 Chronicles 7:14, the “if my people who are called by my name” are God’s people. When God’s judgment befalls a nation it is not because of the disobedience of unbelievers, it is because God’s people became so culturally relevant until they lost their saltiness.  In as much as those living in darkness may call us intolerant, the paradox is they are unwilling to tolerate us agreeing with what God has said. We’re not making it up as we go.  In fact, some of it challenges us. As long as there is life in me I have a responsibility to agree with the living God. In the mists of trials, mockery and slander, my purpose in the earth is to be just plain salty.