Our devotion is by BOET VAN SCHALKWYK who is seconded to the International Sailors' Society of Southern Africa.
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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. 14 You are the light of the world. A city 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 men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. Matthew5:13-16
We're called 'salt' and 'light' for the Glory of God.
Of salt and of light we have heard often - their source, effect, constitution, value and abilities/uses - but what are we do do with the "being salt and light"?
What/who are we? We are created in God's image to be His disciples [the objects of His love and blessings] i.e. He is our source who gives us our value [incredible value], constitution [gifts and the Fruit of the Holy Spirit] and uses [our mission and a task to do].
Who is God? - well we can be elevated into the glorious realms of discovering Alpha and Omega, Abba and YHWH - But.... Who is God to YOU and ME? According to Psalm 121:5 the Lord is your Keeper - "keepers" referred to keepers of the sheep i.e. Shepherds; keepers of the household; keepers of the city gates - all were special people. The keeper of the city gate would be the best Centurion in the Legion - best at battle tactics, best at combat, marksmanship, weaponry and most loyal. He was in the high pay grade category because of his huge responsibilities e.g. If an intruder came into the city on his watch and killed a citizen, the Centurion would pay with his life. So with the best man as their keeper the citizens felt safe.
Yet the Lord said that such a keeper couldn't be good enough when it came to His sons a daughters. Good as that centurion may be, He couldn't risk the well-being of His loved ones to a keeper who may fail. The had to have a more competent keeper One who was omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent and all loving. "Therefore," proclaimed our Lord. "I will be their Keeper".
And what's more any other keeper will one day die, and then what would our lot be? No, as the Psalmist says, "the Lord is your Keeper both now and for ever more".
AND THAT'S MY, AND THAT'S YOUR KEEPER.
Therefore we can "let our light shine before others so that they may see our good deeds and glorify our Father in Heaven". For the chief purpose of mankind is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. (1 Cor. 10:31, Ps. 73: 24-26, Jn. 17:22-24).
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That brings us to the end of our Month of Mission Devotions. A big thank you to all who have followed this series and A HUGE BIG THANK YOU to Andries Combrink, Jackie Barker, Chris Judelsohn, Brian Smith, Jaco Bester, James Gray, Sibusiso Zungu, Mukondi Ramulondi, George Marchinkowski, Lungile Mpetsheni, Lentikile Mashoko, Glynis Goyns, Glen Craig, Alan Maker and Boet van Schalkwyk who took time out of their busy-ness to bring their thoughtfulness and insights to this journey. I know I have grown in my understanding of Mission and the God who takes us on this adventure with Him.
SOLI DEO GLORIA - To Him alone be all the glory!
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
