When I asked God what I needed to write about next, “Salty” came to mind. I pondered that a little while, and said to Him, “Lord, if that’s really you telling me to write about salt, could you please let me know in a profound way in the next couple of days? I have other things you’ve given me to write about that I can get out more quickly.” I’ve never understood the significance of salt in the bible. I’ve always thought the references to it were a bit “out there.” The next day, in my daily devotionals, and in a segment on Christian radio, the subject centered around, guess what? Salt. When I thought of “Salty,” I thought of a seasoned ship’s captain, sailing vessels on oceans or seas... great bodies of water... salt water. I didn’t know it then, but looking back, God was placing me on a voyage to discover what salt has to do within His word. Music will be coming soon! Thanks for your patience! Salt appears in the bible in so many places, and carries related, but different meanings throughout. My focus for this week will be about us, as God’s children, seasoning the world we live in. Jesus speaks of this, and explains it by using salt and light as an illustration. Matthew 5:13-16 13 “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 underfoot. 14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 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. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Let’s take a look at salt. It’s white and the way we use it and buy it, it looks similar to sand. When sprinkled on food, it makes flavors more bold, more pronounced, more pleasing to the palate. Too much salt, and the flavors are masked behind an unpleasant taste. I’m sure you’ve experienced a meal with too much salt... all you can taste is the salt, and it leaves you VERY thirsty! Salt is used as a purifier, or preserver of food. When we take in our Daily Bread, or Communion, we are purified and preserved in our relationship with God. Our Lord, through His sacrifice on the cross, has been able to give us a way to completely blot out our sin and make us white as wool (Isaiah 1:18)... even white as salt. Our Lord has told us in so many passages of the bible, that when we choose to sin, we turn away the Hand of God. When we seek forgiveness from one another and God, our hearts seek Him and He finds us (Jeremiah 29:13). Through a rebirth of spirit, being born again, the Holy Spirit dwells within us. That begs the question, “How do we get Him to come out... How do we share Him?” We season the world in which we live in, but are set apart from. We salt the earth as with a shaker of salt, like a salter. When the Lord led me to that revelation, I decided to look up “salter.” What came up in my search engine, was “Psalter.” The Psalter is the name given to the book of Psalms. The book of Psalms has been used throughout Jewish and Christian history as a source for prayer, praise and praise music. Many of the Psalms start with, “For the director of music.” My dad, who passed away a couple of years ago, LOVED music. He always made sure he was involved with his church’s choir in each community he lived in. The last church he had membership in, purchased a Choral Cantata with his memorial funds. It was performed at the church just a few months ago. The music centered on the Psalms, because that was one of my dad’s favorite books in the bible. My experience that day, listening to the music was incredible. From the first note to the last, my heart pounded, my eyes overflowed with tears, and my heart and face were filled with joy. I believe I experienced God’s glory that day. I was enveloped by the music, by the heart of God. When I got home that night, as I was turning off lights getting ready to go to bed, I took communion. Through my tear filled eyes, I said out loud, “Oh Jesus... THANK YOU for that tribute to my dad. That was SO beautiful today. Surely that music had to be the closest thing to representing the heart of God here on earth.” As I was saying, “the heart of God,” windchimes from our back porch started ringing. You have to know that those chimes were given to us by dear friends in memory of my dad. You have to know that those chimes don’t chime much, even on very windy days. When I heard them, I turned on the outside porch lights, and looked out at the windchimes. They were swinging as if a big wind was blowing through the surrounding trees... as I looked around, the trees were still. What has been suppressed for so long in our Christianity, in our churches, is the fact that our Lord inhabits the praises of His people. Music is a powerful worship vessel. A powerful way to share our Lord with others. A powerful way to feel and experience God’s presence in our lives. The Psalms used in prayer, in praise, in music, shares the heart of God, shares God’s love for us and with others. Paul and Silas epitomized this in Acts 16:22-26. When they were beaten and jailed, Paul And Silas didn’t despair. They prayed and sang hymns! As God inhabited their praises, He broke them out of jail! They believed God’s promise, God’s heart, as shown in Psalm 22:3 “But You are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel.” Here is the meaning of Israel: Israel is from the Greek, and is originally from Hebrew, "Yisrael". Yisrael means, literally, "He has striven with God," or "He has been saved by God." What that means to us, is when we are saved through God’s grace and believe in the gospel of Jesus, we are a part of Israel. God is enthroned in the praises of God’s people. I will leave you with this before I get to the blessing. As a violinist, I’ve struggled mightily with stage fright, with the worthiness of my abilities. Those things prevented me from pursuing music as a career choice during my college years. The violin has been an on again, off again thing for me during my adult years. God has blessed me with a passion and a violinist’s voice now that excites me. He’s taken my stage fright away, and He assures me He’s providing what I need musically for “such a time as this” in my life. God blew me away when He told me to look at the root word for Psalter, something I don’t normally do. Origin of Psalter: Old English psaltere, from Late Latin psaltērium, from Greek psaltērion stringed instrument, from psallein to play a stringed instrument. What a voyage this has been! Until Next Time... I bless you with the Love and Heart of God to season this world through your speech, praise and music. I bless you with a growing thirst to delve into the book of Psalms and spread it’s message, bringing the Glory of God to this world. I bless you to be a Psalter. In the glorious name of Jesus! Pray, and dare I say sing, the following Psalms aloud to bless you and others. Our Lord will inhabit these scriptures and flow out to others, spreading His love. Love, Holly Psalm 100 (KJV) Psalm 108:1-5 (NIV) Psalm 150 (NIV)
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