Word to Know: Salt

Halas: Salt

Being possessed of purifying, perpetuating and antiseptic qualities, salt became emblematic of fidelity and friendship among eastern nations.

So in scripture, it is an emblem of the covenant between God and His people.

“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 9:50

In the Lord’s teaching it is also symbolic of that spiritual health and vigour essential to Christian virtue and counteractive of the corruption that is in the world.

Disciples are likened unto salt, with reference to its cleansing and preserving uses.

“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

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.

Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.

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

Colossians 4:2-6

From  the IVP New Testament Commentaries:

With respect to the ministry of evangelism, the exhortation to be wise suggests two concerns. First, the wise community exploits every opportunity it is given for evangelism. Watchful prayer makes one keenly sensitive to people and setting. In fact, O’Brien suggests that the middle voice of the verb make the most signifies “the personal interest” or involvement of believers in their environment (1982:241). But the reason for our activism is pointed and clear: this is a call not so much to be a “good Samaritan” as to share with Paul in the work of evangelism. Second, the wise community, eager to proclaim the gospel, engages the lost in conversation [that is] full of grace, seasoned with salt. This last phrase, so graphic and memorable, captures the wisdom of ancient rhetoric: ideological substance without personal style fails to convince people. If a believer, who has a wonderful story of conversion to tell, cannot tell it in a “salty,” interesting way, the story will not be heard. Of course, lively stories, like “fine-sounding arguments,” are sometimes used in the service of lifeless substance. In this case, however, the communication of the “word of truth” is undermined by uninteresting or incoherent words.

Paul may have mentioned grace to link human graciousness, a characteristic of effective communication, with divine grace. In this sense, the gospel of God’s saving grace will find its audience through a gospel ministry characterized by a generous civility (see 3:12). The spiritual triumphalism that some evangelists exemplify today not only fails to edify the church but fails to attract an unsaved audience as well. Yet their rhetoric is often “salty,” full of vibrant images and pungency, hardly dull and never boring. Evangelists know that an audience will never be attracted to new life by lifeless words, old cliches and tired slogans! Paul’s wise exhortation is to bring humane graciousness together with carefully chosen words in our preaching ministry.

The meaning of the final phrase, so that you may know how to answer everyone, depends on whether it expresses the result of “gracious and salty” proclamation or describes its occasion. Probably the latter option fits this context best: the evangelist who makes the most of every opportunity finds a “gracious and salty” answer for every sincere query or malicious challenge facing the church.

My Prayer

Lord help us be the salt this week in all we do, purifying, antiseptic and cleansing in a world filled with things unclean.  Help us to not lose our saltiness, to become diluted, and only good for a path to walk on.  Prayerfully we set out to bring your message each day with gracious saltiness, able to be understood and coherent in our speaking your truth in love.  May we be part of your answer today!

Amen

Definition taken from Vines Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words

{images: Laurie Ashbach}

Photo’s from trip to Utah, May 2010

Word to Know: Grace

Today, I am starting a new series called Word of the Week, in which we will take a word and look at its definition in the The Complete Word Study New Testament.  So often we think we know what a word means, but looking at a definition and examples of the word may bring to light a deeper understanding.  Simple and straightforward, this brief look at words is for people who are so busy with the business of living, working, raising kids, watching grandkids or elderly parents that there is little time for reflecting on much more than, what will be for dinner tonight?  My hope and prayer is that this glimpse at a word, would be an encouragement to your heart in the hum of your week.

Charis

Cháris, is the Greek word. Translated it is grace.

Grace! To rejoice, or chará, joy, favor, acceptance, a kindness granted or desired, a benefit, thanks, gratitude, grace.  A favor done without expectation of return; absolute freeness of the loving-kindness of God to men, finding its only motive in the bounty and freehearted-ness of the Giver; unearned and unmerited favor.

God’s grace affects man’s sinfulness and not only forgives the repentant sinner, but brings joy and thankfulness to him.

For the law was given through Moses;

grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

John 1:17

When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done,

he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.

Act 11:23

and all are justified freely by his grace

through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

Romans 3:24

All this is for your benefit,

so that the grace that is reaching more and more people

may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

2 Corinthians 4:15

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,  in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.  All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,  made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.  And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,  in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—  not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2:1-10

Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence,

so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Hebrews 4:16

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others,

as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.

1 Peter 4:10

Grace and peace be yours in abundance

through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

2 Peter 1:2

May your day be filled with grace from above, and if you have received, please give it away!

If you have a grace-filled moment in your day, please share it with us, so we might all be encouraged.

In His Love,

Laurie

{images: Laurie Ashbach}

Iris from my garden

Definition from THE Complete WORD STUDY NEW TESTAMENT, King James Version, Zodhiates

Scripture from the NIV

Iris from my garden

Words

I long to know you so I look up what words mean.  After all, you are The Word, Logos, and Your Word is found here in the Bible.

The Gospel of John states:

Today I used The Complete Word Study New Testament.

I learned from Paul in his letter to the Corinthians, chapter 2 verse 10;

…but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.  The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.

You are revealer:  to remove a veil or covering exposing to view what was before hidden.  To make manifest or reveal a thing previously secret or unknown.

You are Spirit.  Pneuma – related to pneo, to breathe, blow, primarily denotes the wind. Breath; the spirit which, like the wind, is invisible, immaterial, and powerful.

We too have spirit.  It is where we perceive, reflect, feel and desire.  Our spirit is the element which gives us the ability to think of God.  Our spirit is our vertical window.  It is an element, by faith.

Your Spirit searches all things.  Pas – every, all.  It can mean the individual within the totality and the totality of the individuals.  All things….everything.

God reveals…..He is an uncoverer, revealer, knower…by his Spirit….His invisible, immaterial and powerful breath.

God – Theos from theo, meaning to place

Jesus – Logos, The Word

Holy Spirit – Pneuma, breath, wind

His Spirit searches everything…all things, even the very depth of God, the placer of all things.

My Prayer

Thank you Lord that you are ‘the placer’ of all things and the remover of covered things, so we might know You and your timeless truth.  We are not restricted to the horizontal in which we are conscious of what goes on around us.

You have given us a piece of yourself – an ability to think of You, by which we feel, desire, perceive and reflect upon You and all You have placed before us right now.

Give us faith to look hard through this vertical window, to see the depth, width, height and length of Your Love.

Take us on the journey with You.

We praise You, the giver of all that is good.

Father

We praise your Logos, your Word.

Son

We praise your Pneuma, the breath of life.

Holy Spirit

Thank you that you have given us your word and help us to unlock the meaning within it.

{images: Laurie Ashbach}

photos of our old family Bible