And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land. 2 Kings 2:21.
In casting salt into the bitter spring, Elisha taught the same spiritual lesson imparted centuries later by the Saviour to His disciples when He declared, “Ye are the salt of the earth.” The salt mingling with the polluted spring purified its waters and brought life and blessing where before had been blighting and death. When God compares His children to salt, He would teach them that His purpose in making them the subjects of His grace is that they may become agents in saving others….
Salt must be mingled with the substance to which it is added; it must penetrate, infuse it, that it may be preserved. So it is through personal contact and association that men are reached by the saving power of the gospel. They are not saved as masses, but as individuals. Personal influence is a power. It is to work with the influence of Christ, … and to stay the progress of the world’s corruption…. It is to uplift, to sweeten the lives and characters of others by the power of a pure example united with earnest faith and love….
The polluted stream represents the soul that is separate from God…. Through sin, the whole human organism is deranged, the mind is perverted, the imagination corrupted; the faculties of the soul are degraded. There is an absence of pure religion, of heart holiness. The converting power of God has not wrought in transforming the character….
The heart that receives the word of God is not as a pool that evaporates…. It is like a river constantly flowing and, as it advances, becoming deeper and wider, until its life-giving waters are spread over all the earth…. So it is with the true child of God. The religion of Christ reveals itself as a vitalizing, pervading principle, a living, working, spiritual energy. When the heart is opened to the heavenly influence of truth and love, these principles will flow forth again like streams in the desert, causing fruitfulness to appear where now are barrenness and dearth.
Conflict and Courage p. 224
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Prayer Requests
—–Please pray for Esther. She had a very large ovarian cyst rupture during the night yesterday and is in a great deal of pain. Also pray for Brian as he is preaching tomorrow. Rose
—–Please pray for Lola and Luther as the mourn the loss of their son. Rose
—–I would like to request a prayer for my frend KAREN she had an operation on Monday and she has pain. Karen can not sleep she has a lot of pain. Jose
—–My daughter had a cat scan Wednesday. Hospital called and said she must go in for an MRI. That’s all we know. Thank you for prayers. FP
—–update—I am asking for prayers today to be sent up with my own. I get the results today of the biopsy to see if it is bone cancer in my knee. As much as I want it not to be cancerous, I want the will of God more. I also want to be able to accept His will for me. So instead of praying for the biopsy not to be cancerous, pray for the will of God for me and that I have the strength to accept His will. Barbara
—–Remember my mother Anna in prayer. She is not feeling too good and has not been eating. Let us pray for God strength and healing mercy. Chidinma
—–Please keep my husband Stephen and I in your prayers tonight. We are both really struggling with some things and we really could use some prayers. Valerie
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Dear Friends,
Living off-grid or survival programs have become popular of late. These types of programs remind me of the stories my grandfather, Edwin Harmon, used to tell me of his youth. From the age of ten, my grandfather lived much of the time alone in the woods. Although young, he was a good woodsman and knew the art of survival— eating what fish he could catch with the line and hook that he always kept in his pocket and the wild plants his grandmother had taught him were good for food. At night he would cut pine boughs to make a comfortable bed. By turning the curved side of the branches upward, it gave his fragrant bed a feeling of having a spring mattress. In the late 1800’s there were many more wild animals than there are today, so at night, he kept a fire burning to keep them away.
One night, when he was in his early teens, he was walking along a trail in the woods. Suddenly, he heard a series of screams. Involuntarily, he jumped and the hair on his head stood up straight in his fright. When he regained his composure, he decided that the screams were coming from the railroad tracks. A woman must be in trouble. He would go and help her.
Quickly, he headed in the direction of the sounds. As he hurried along, the screams changed to a baby’s cry. He stopped momentarily, puzzled. At that moment, he noticed a man coming toward him on the path. This man looked directly at my grandfather and said, “Do you hear that scream? That is not a woman or a baby: that is a mountain lion. They sometimes call like that to lure their prey. I saw him down by the tracks. Don’t go any further.”
Over the years, I have wondered if that man was really an angel in disguise sent to warn my grandfather of the dangerous situation that he was hurrying toward.
How often we are miraculously protected from danger without our realizing it. Angels that excel in strength guard us day and night. They are “ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation.” Heb 1:14 Just as God sent his angel to shut the lions’ mouths, so that they did not hurt Daniel in the lion’s den, so He sends them to watch over His children today. Moreover, Paul tells us that they sometimes appear as men, “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” Heb 13:2 Think of it! Entertaining angels! What a blessing! What a privilege!
In these frightening and uncertain days in which we are living, it is well to claim God’s promised protection. “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God, in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night, nor for the arrow that flieth by day, Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand, but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation, There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.” Psalm 91
Let us trust in the LORD with all our heart knowing that we are the objects of His tender care. Let us declare as did David, “In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust, let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness. Bow down thine ear to me, deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock, for an house of defense to save me. For thou art my rock and my fortress, therefore for thy name’s sake lead me, and guide me. Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me: for thou art my strength.” Psa 33:1-4 Let us claim His promise, “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.” Psa 32:8
Rose
Pollution and Purification