|
GLEANINGS FROM THE WORD Experiencing an extraordinary God in ordinary life Issue #1,011 January 19, 2004 Salty Sidewalks The past few days have been a blessing as Kathy's schedule has permitted her to come for a walk with Genni the wonder dog and I. There's still lots of ice around so we have been walking when the temperatures are above freezing and it's relatively safe to go. Lots of people have salted their sidewalks, which has helped their sidewalk, but doesn't help the main sidewalks or pathways any. As I noticed the salted walkways, I was reminded of my friend Dave Glasser. Dave is a pastor and church planter and it was his preaching and teaching that the opened my heart and brought me to Christ. Dave and his family are back home in the US planting yet another church. Dave's favourite Bible verses (at least I think there his favourites, because we heard them from the pulpit often) were: "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. "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:13-16 NIV The salt that lost its saltiness and was thrown out to be trampled is like the salts now used to melt snow. Salt is pretty amazing stuff. It adds flavour to foods. It's used as a preservative. Once thing it can't do is restore food that has already begun to do rot. I thought about that last fact and realized that it gives us great freedom to be the salt and light of the world. You see we can direct people to Jesus, but since they're already dead in their sin and decaying, we can't undo the process. Only God Himself can restore the dead. We're not responsible for the results. God is. That means we can do what Christ has told us to do in sharing Him with others but we don't have to be under the pressure of actually causing someone to be born again. We can lead them, we can pray with them, but God alone can change their hearts. You can't force a person to become Christian, they must do so of their own changed hearts. That's why the medieval Crusades may have been committed by the church but could never have been of God. That's why emotional manipulation to get someone to accept Jesus doesn't result in lasting conversion, because it wasn't real to start with. That means we can be bold and honest. We can love people, we can share the gospel with them freely and not feel pressure to get "results". We simply do our part and leave the rest to God. Until next time, may you be free to be the salt and light in a dark and dying world as Jesus called you to be. Be blessed Hallelu Yah (Praise God)! Kevin OUR GOD IS Our God is a mighty fortress. The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Psalm 46 NIV YOU ARE Once you have accepted Jesus as Saviour you are alive forever. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. John 6:51 NIV Never let the enemy tell you that you are worthless or insignificant. You have value in the eyes of God so great that it was worth dying for. You are a blessing to the world. You are so precious to God that heaven will not be complete without you. HELP FOR THE HURTING God is real and He cares. Don't let the misguided efforts of Christians or horrid blunders like the crusades keep you from missing out on His love and forgiveness. Open your heart to Him and let Him work. You can simply begin the relationship by honestly and completely opening your heart, admitting you need God's help, and saying a prayer along the lines of: Jesus: I have made many mistakes in my life and done things I am not proud of. I have sinned. I need your love and forgiveness. I believe that you came into this world and gave your life on a cross to pay for my sins and that you defeated death and rose again. Please forgive me, and be the Lord of my life. I give my life to you Lord. Amen If you pray this prayer for the first time let me know so I can rejoice with you. Did you know that at Gleanings, we have a dedicated team of prayer warriors and all prayer concerns are kept strictly confidential? Your comments, your questions and your joys are shared with the prayer team, to keep me accountable as the head of the ministry and to encourage them as they see God at work in your life. As with prayer all these things are kept confidential within the Gleanings team. To share your questions, comments, thoughts, prayer concerns and praise reports email us If you enjoyed this issue of Gleanings From The Word, email it, in its entirety, to a friend. For information on use of Gleanings in your church newsletter or other situations please visit the permissions page . You can write to us at Gleanings From The Word Ministries International 114 Oak St Sherwood Park, AB Canada T8A 0V8 © 2003 K.F. "Kevin" Corbin Gleanings From The Word Minististries International - All Rights Reserved
|