salt being salty

“Salt is good for seasoning. But if it loses its flavor, how do you make it salty again? Flavorless salt is good neither for the soil nor for the manure pile. It is thrown away. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!” Luke‬ ‭14‬:‭34‬-‭35‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Here in Nepal salt is used a lot to flavour food. For me now, food without salt is tasteless. Apparently salt enhances the natural flavour of food. The Nepali people love their chili so much it overpowers al other flavours. I don’t mind a little chili but to waste the natural flavours of all foods is a crime, to me.

If natural salt enhances flavour then spiritual salt is so much better. I am on this earth as a salt shaker to bring God’s flavour to my world. May the building I live in be blessed, may the road I live on be blessed, may the suburb I live in be blessed, may the city I live in be blessed.

Blessed are they who come in the name of the Lord! Amen!

Carry your own load

““If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭14‬:‭26‬-‭27‬ ‭NLT‬‬

As a disciple of Jesus I cannot push the responsibility of my life onto others, neither can I blame them for my failures, I must carry my own load.

In verse 28 Jesus warned that before we start we must count the cost. Unfortunately this in not something we do. I know I just wanted Jesus, I did not think there would be a cost, but there has been. However, I would still choose Him because He is what I wanted most, and still is.

Today, before embarking on a step you believe God is leading you on, count the cost. Also, remember there is an eternity. Where do you want to be? Amen!

Only the blood

“For none of those I first invited will get even the smallest taste of my banquet.”Luke‬ ‭14‬:‭24‬ ‭NLT‬‬ 

In the whole of Chapter 14 Jesus taught about the table, behaviour of guests and response to the invitation.

This verse comes after a teaching on the Jewish response to His invitation to come to Him and eat with Him. They, as a group, had refused to accept who He was. The way was being opened up to us Gentiles, we were the ones at the highways and byways, in the hedges. We were considered the scum of the earth by the Jewish leaders, but Jesus was showing that we would be welcomed in.

I am so grateful the way was made for me to come in. No longer is God the Father only the God you of the Jews, through His Son Jesus He is God for all.

Growing up in a Catholic home and attending a Catholic school, everyone outside of the fence of my school was a heather and doomed, or so we thought. However, I failed to realise that Romans 3:23 says: ‘all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God’. When I finally was humbled by the awareness of my own sin I was able to truely enter in to the salvation made available for me. Now I know that no religion can stipulate that belonging to ‘the church’ gives me immunity. The shed blood of Jesus opened the door for me, He alone is my saviour. Amen!

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=MWwAnolccKg&si=gTpTtOu2EdAOyGED

Who do you invite?

“Then he turned to his host. “When you put on a luncheon or a banquet,” he said, “don’t invite your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors. For they will invite you back, and that will be your only reward. Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. Then at the resurrection of the righteous, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you.”Luke‬ ‭14‬:‭12‬-‭14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

If we be honest we invite our friends, relatives, rich neighbours and neglect the poor and disabled. How does this teaching of Jesus affect us? Maybe it is time we found out!

One Christmas I was alone in my flat for Christmas and instead of feeling sorry for myself I had invited a bunch of misfits. I also invited my brother and he left as soon as he could as he despised the gathering. Those invited enjoyed themselves and in fact stayed on until dinner. None of them invited me back and I did not mind as that was not the goal. I was sowing to the Lord.

This year I will celebrate Christmas with my flatmates and whoever we invite. I will not return to Australia. I want to show the Nepali world what it is like to celebrate the Son of God. This will be interesting.

Wanting to be included and wanted drives us all. Unfortunately many of us are not wanted where we want to be wanted. We cannot sit alone in the dark we need to look around and see who is also alone and in need. Self-pity is a destructive force that stops us from sharing the light within. Kill self-pity and live. Amen!

A future and hope

“The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him. So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord.”Lamentations‬ ‭3‬:‭25‬-‭26‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I was attracted to this scripture as never do I see Lamentations in ‘word for the day’. Jeremiah the prophet wrote this book. He had reason to lament. He prophesied against the foolishness and sin of his people, warning they would be taken into captivity and for his efforts was thrown into a dry well, chained and laughed at. Thus he could say:

“The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words. I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss. Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!”Lamentations‬ ‭3‬:‭19‬-‭24‬ ‭NLT‬‬

 Jeremiah consoled himself in the goodness of God. Many are persecuted, many are refugees and homeless and they too can say, along with Jeremiah, ‘the Lord is my inheritance, therefore, I will hope in Him.’

As it seems that injustice abounds God is watching and as we put our faith in Him we can rejoice in His plans for us: a future and a hope. Amen!

The cornerstone

“For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭14‬:‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Jesus said this after He had seen that many people who were invited to a dinner He attended were jostling for the best seats. He advised them to choose a lower seat and then, if the master of the house sees them humbling themselves and invites them higher, all will see.

Do you ever exalt yourself? I do, and afterwards am convicted and repent. How much better if I had never let ego out of the cage? We exalt oursleves when we discuss others who are also made in the image of God in a derogatory way. Why do we do it? Because we allow our sinful nature to rule. Pride exalts itself. Satan loves this as it is his nature. Pride caused him to fall and he wants to take as many of the Lord’s followers as he can with him.

Jesus said, “it is better to fall upon the rock and be broken than to have the rock fall on you and be crushed” (Luke 20:18). The rock or stone was Jesus the cornerstone. Repentance is important but better is restraint. Amen!

The gate

“Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few be saved?” He replied, “Work hard to enter the narrow door to God’s Kingdom, for many will try to enter but will fail.”Luke‬ ‭13‬:‭23‬-‭24‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Matthew records:

“You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.”Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

To us in this day, what is the narrow gate? Where does liberal theology fit? Where does violent rhetoric  against fellow believers fit? Where does lazy Christianity fit? They don’t!

The narrow way is the pure word of God on which we build our homes, our lives, our church lives and our friendships. There is no compromise and no room for egotistical opinions. The only truth is the word of God.

What gate have you chosen?