The other night Steve thought aloud about what my blog purpose is all about. I am not a minister or a teacher per intent...although we all learn from each other...
My husband said...
"your just a salt of the earth, that is just who ya are and what your blog becomes about."
So I am going to study on this and see if it fits me. I think in so many ways measuring up to such is a high thing indeed to pursue. A noble thing. It really touched me deeply that my husband called me such. I am a Christian although so many before me have humiliated and shamed that very title. I perhaps among them at times. This blog is not intentionally set to push that however but to just be me in all my faltering weakness and His amazing strength within me.
I find myself favored by the circle of wonderful Christians who purpose their blogs beautifully as a ministry to the body of Christ at large. We have those around us that give us that gift.
My heart is to simply be real...to the folks who may believe as I do or not. It is always my hope that all might see that Gods love for them is far greater than any of us have really come to know. Even those of us who have befriended him.
There is a battle going on in the spirit...it is real. I know that many have been so terribly wounded in the battle under the weapons of false love, false biblical teaching and just plain mean hearted folk that were far too pious to really love ya as they ought. Those are the folk that sadden me the most. For in those acts they have often left many thinking God is far from them or that he is some ogre waiting to pounce on everything wrong that they may do.
He is not like that...at least in my friendship with him I find Him very fair...if we thought about what we really deserve. But there are those things in life that are not fair, some have nothing to do with what we may or may not have done wrong...just hardships that will either give us the ability to love or to turn our hearts to harden. It is unmerited that favor shown us. Simply believing in Jesus is what the word said. To bring those from afar near to God. When were walking close to Him it just makes us want to do whats right from the inside out. It is not Gods way to have us fear him like he is going to punish us for our error or sin. We punish our own self through the consequence of our own choices. We are given that free choice and need to own the results pleasant and not so pleasant. When we do not own them...we blame God. Gravity is a natural law...
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Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? it is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" (Luke 14: 34-35)
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For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt. Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another." (Mark 9:49-50)
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You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men." (NKJV)
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Salt is good [an excellent thing],
but if salt has lost its strength and has become saltless (insipid, flat),
how shall its saltiness be restored? It is fit neither for the land nor for the manure heap; men throw it away. He who has ears to hear, let him listen and consider and comprehend by hearing!" (Luke 14:34-35, Amplified Bible)
Salt in the Old Testament
The Hebrew people harvested salt by pouring sea water into pits and letting the water evaporate until only salt was left. They used the mineral for seasoning and as a preservative. In addition, salt was used to disinfect wounds.
Salt also had a significant place in Hebrew worship. Salt was included in the Levitical offerings, since salt was emblematic of permanence or loyalty. In
Leviticus 2:13, God commanded that "And every offering of your grain offering you shall season with salt; you shall not allow the salt of the covenant of your God to be lacking from your grain offering. With all your offerings you shall offer salt." Salt was cast on the burnt offering (
Ezekiel 43:24) and was part of the incense (
Exodus 30:35). Part of the temple offering included salt (
Ezra 6:9).
Salt was also used to ratify covenants. In
Numbers 18:19, God promises to provide, through the offerings of His people, for His priests forever: "All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer to the LORD, I have given to you and your sons and daughters with you as an ordinance forever; it is a covenant of salt forever before the LORD with you and your descendants with you." Salt cannot be burned or destroyed. Perhaps because of salt’s durability, God used it as a metaphor to indicate that as salt keeps its flavor, so the Lord’s covenant with the priesthood was durable. More likely, however, is that the "covenant of salt" (or, in some versions, "inviolable covenant") refers to a practice that rendered contracts irrevocable during the time period in which the Bible was written. In biblical times, men carried pouches of salt on their belts. When a pact, promise, or contract was made, the men from each of the participating parties would intermingle the salt from their own pouches with the salt from the pouches of the other party. This reminded the men that they could not retrieve their own salt from the other pouch, symbolizing the fact that they could not go back on their word.
[citation needed]
Another reference to the use of salt to ratify a covenant occurs at
2 Chronicles 13:5. At the beginning of this chapter,
Abijah, King of
Judah and rightful heir to
David’s throne, is at war with King
Jeroboam, who has taken control of
Israel. Before Jeroboam’s destruction, Abijah speaks of the
Davidic Covenant: "Hear me, Jeroboam and all Israel: Should you not know that the LORD God of Israel gave the dominion over Israel to David forever, to him and his sons, by a covenant of salt?" Here, salt refers to God’s irrevocable pledge and intended loyalty in fulfilling the Davidic covenant and God’s desire for the loyalty of David’s lineage to Him if the people are to enjoy the blessings of the covenant. The preservative quality of salt represents the fidelity or loyalty intended in keeping the covenant.
Newborn babies (because of what the Lord commanded) were rubbed with salt to promote good health. A reference to this practice is in
Ezekiel 16:4: "As for your nativity, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed in water to cleanse you; you were not rubbed with salt nor wrapped in swaddling cloths."
In the
Book of Genesis, chapter 19 the wife of
Lot was turned into a pillar of salt when she disobeyed the command of God and looked back at the city of
Sodom whilst fleeing from its destruction. Some Christians see this to mean literal salt whilst some think it refers to
rock salt.
[edit] Salt in the New Testament
The
Salt and Light metaphors in the
Sermon on the Mount include a direct reference to salt: "You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot." (
Matthew 5:13). This verse is paralleled in
Luke 14:34-35: "Salt is good, but if salt itself loses its taste, with what can its flavor be restored? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear." Similarly, in
Mark 9:49-50, Jesus says that "Everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if salt becomes insipid, with what will you restore its flavor? Keep salt in yourselves and you will have peace with one another."
It is unclear whether Jesus is referring to the use of salt as a seasoning, as a preservative, for sacramental purposes, or some combination of these uses.
Perhaps Jesus is simply saying that everybody has inherent value. Keep God’s gift of inherent worth inside yourself (cherish God's gift) and you will have peace with one another.
The salt that has "lost its taste" or "become insipid" may refer to a type of salt common in the
Dead Sea area that is contaminated with gypsum and other minerals. It has a flat taste and is ineffective as a preservative. Such mineral salts were useful for little more than keeping footpaths free of vegetation. That may be why Jesus said that it is good for nothing but to be "trampled underfoot."
Jesus calls his disciples (and, perhaps, the crowds listening to the
Sermon on the Mount), "the salt of the earth." He may be exhorting them to usefulness, or to fidelity, or referring to their role in purifying the world.
In Roman times, salt was an important item of trade and was even used as money. Roman soldiers received part of their pay in salt
[1]. "Salt of the Earth" may, in this context, refer to the listeners' value.
The reference to his followers being "salted with fire" in Mark 9:49 may refer, in part, to the purifying effect of salt in Jewish liturgical use.
In
Colossians 4:6,
Paul exhorts, "Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you know how you should respond to each one".
