Devotion Day: Are you Salty?

Salt
*used for seasoning or flavor
*preservative
*"salt out": (verb phrase)To seperate a dissolved substance from a solution by adding more salt. In other words, by increasing the salt content of a solution, it will turn a dissolved substance back to a solid. (And, of course, my husband the science geek had to explain this one to me. And, don't worry, he is flattered by that title!)
*increases thirst
*melts ice
*awakens the senses (smelling salts)

Salt scripture:
Matthew 5:13 "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.
Mark 9:50 NASB - "Salt is good; but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another
Luke 14:34 NASB - "Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned?
Col 4:6 NASB - Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.

Being Salty:
*Are you lukewarm, something no one wants to partake of, or are you hot or cold? Seasoned per se? Who wouldn't rather have salty fries? Christ has called us to be set apart. Are you living in Him? Are you set apart, salty, not bland? Do you give people the desire to have what is living in you?
*Do you "salt out"?: I thought this was particularly interesting that if you add salt (not just one granule. . .so it takes a "group")to a substance dissolved in a liquid that the substance would solidify again. So, I was wondering. Do I bind with a group of other salty believers in order to "bring back" or "encourage" others to come back to the person the Lord made them to be? Do I help them separate from the world around them that they have "blended in" with? Do I assist when someone is depressed to bring them back to solid ground? No, I don't mean that I am the answer to everyone's problems, but didn't Jesus have the disciples. Yes, there were moments when He was abandoned, but didn't even He seek out others to be "set apart from the world". And, as a group did they not help others "solidify" into something separate from the world around them. I don't know about you, but this really made me think.
*Does my life and my words cause others to thirst? To thirst after Christ? To want more of Him? To want righteousness that is only obtained through Him? Or does my life cause others to run the other way? I hope you are feeling the need for a nice drink of refreshing water! Isn't it great to also make one another thirst to go deeper into His word?
*Do I melt ice or create a skating rink? I was thinking of this in terms of what I bring to work or my home. Am I salty enough to break the ice caused by gossip, misunderstanding, sleepless nights, hurt feelings. . .or do I just add to the ice chunks?
*Do I awaken the senses, like smelling salts? Do I glorify Christ, speak often enough about Him that it awakens the dead man in the unsaved? Do I love enough to "share" the best gift ever or do I keep the container closed while I walk through a sea of unconscious men?

Please do not misunderstand me. . .I do nothing to become salty. He makes me salty. But, I do plenty to contain my salt in the jar rather than spreading it around. I think in the world of the "church" we get confused sometimes. I by no means believe that I can do anything to be something other than the sinful person I was born to be. But, I do believe that there is power in the Holy Spirit. Because of that power, I am changed. I should live changed. Otherwise, I have denied the power. There is no goodness of my own, but because he has changed me, I have through His power to "do" as He calls me to do, to "live" as He calls me to live, and to "be" as He calls me to "be".

In reviewing scriptures on salt, I am learning that there is even more to this story. There was a covenant of salt in the OT, which makes the last part of Mark 9:50 even more interesting. Maybe I will share later, or maybe I have just made you thirsty.
Be salty today!