Wednesday September 21, 2022

Today is Wednesday, September 21 and we are praying through the Sermon on the Mount.

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! Early in the morning my song shall rise to Thee. Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty, God in three persons, blessed Trinity!

Pause and Pray

Come, Blessed Lord, I seek You in the sacred stillness of the dawning day. With every breath I am reminded to inhale the goodness of Your peace and exhale the concerns that trouble my spirit. Amen.

I rejoice in God’s goodness and praise Him with the words of Psalm 34.

Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Fear the Lord, you his holy people, for those who fear him lack nothing. Psalm 34:8-9

Pause and Pray

Immediately following the Beatitudes, Jesus tells me who I am and how I am to live as His follower in a world that does not know Him. My discipleship will have visible consequences in the world. Jesus tells me that I am the salt of the earth. In his sermon on this scripture passage, John Wesley said, “You Christians, you who are lowly, serious and meek: you who hunger after righteousness, who Love God and man, who do good to all, and therefore suffer persecution, you are the salt of the earth. It is your very nature to season whatever is around you.”*

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. Matthew 5:13

*Resources: Sermons on Several Occasions, Volume II – Upon Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount by John Wesley, edited by William J. Abraham, 2021.

I am salt in the world. Salt gives flavor to a meal, preserves food and prevents spoilage. Disciples make the world more pure and life more palatable. When I am cooking and choose to season a dish with salt, I might taste the dish, add a teaspoon of salt, and then stir the salt in. When I taste it again, it is different, it has changed. The salt dissolves into the food, it permeates throughout the meal, it makes a difference. When I go out into the world I go as a small grain of salt into a big messy pot. My saltiness, character and goodness makes a difference and will be noticed. Salt means I have the power to change things.

Ask: What opportunities do I have to be salt in a particular situation? Yes, I am only one person, but how can my saltiness change something for the better?

Pause and Pray

Lord Jesus, keep me salty! Don’t let me lose the integrity of my character and the goodness of my soul. Purify my heart and give me opportunities to influence circumstances and season the world around me with love, joy and peace. Wherever I am today, I pray Your grace will permeate the environment through the salt of my life. I read Matthew again, listening for the message You have for me today.

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. Matthew 5:13

Ask: What image, word or phrase stands out to me when I slowly read this passage? What is God trying to say to me through these words of scripture?

Pause and Pray

Today Jesus wants to speak to me about my saltiness. I want to hear the words of my Lord through this passage of familiar scripture. I reflect on my past, noting the times when I have seized the opportunity to be salt in the world as well as the times I have avoided doing so. I consider how salty I am currently living. What might God want me to do differently or add in my service to others that would season the circumstances or flavor situations for good? Maybe my salt is in danger of losing its saltiness. If so, how might God want me to remedy the situation?

Pause and Pray

Come Lord Jesus, restore the saltiness of my soul! Increase my ability to influence the people and situations I will encounter during the upcoming day for blessing and peace. Walk alongside me and show me the places where applying a grain of Your salty goodness will make all the difference. Amen.

Everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other. Mark 9:49-50

Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. Colossians 4:6

I leave this time of prayer eager to share the salt of God’s love in the places most in need of God’s transformation.

Amen