Combat Ready Devotional # 8

It is not because you were more numerous than all the other peoples that the Lord favored and chose you – for in fact you were the least numerous of all peoples. Rather it is because of his love for you and his faithfulness to the promise he solemnly vowed to your ancestors that the Lord brought you out with great power, redeeming you from the place of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. So realize that the Lord your God is the true God, the faithful God who keeps covenant faithfully with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, but who pays back those who hate him as they deserve and destroys them. He will not ignore those who hate him but will repay them as they deserve. So keep the commandments, statutes, and ordinances that I today am commanding you to do.

Deuteronomy 7:7-11

The One True God

The ancestors referred to here are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. As Christians, we are also descendants of Abraham (Galatians 3:29), so this promise is for us too. Of course God didn’t bring us out of Egypt and, no, we aren’t heirs to the land of Israel. But we are heirs to God’s faithfulness.

God loved us first (John 3:16) and has been faithful with His plan of salvation. He loved us while we were sinners (Romans 5:8). Only the One True God can do this. He is faithful to us. All He asks us in return is to keep His commandments. Ask yourself right now, ‘Am I living according to God’s purpose?’ ‘Am I keeping God’s commandments?’

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This is an excerpt from the upcoming companion devotional to Combat Ready. These devotionals are not in the same order as they will appear in the printed book and may not be in the final form. To read more devotionals click here. To purchase the original book, Combat Ready, click here or go anywhere else books are sold.

The Difference Between Salt and Light

The Bible tells us to let our lights shine. Jesus first talks about this on His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:13-16). The Bible also tells us to be salt. Jesus said for us to do this on a few different occasions. But what does it mean? How can I be salt? How can I be light?

Light

Light is seen, especially in the darkness. We are to be a light on a hilltop. We do this by our actions. This is what people see. When darkness, or sin surrounds us, we stand out because we act differently. We handle ourselves differently. We look differently. Our actions line up with what the Bible teaches. We are unselfish. We are good to others when they aren’t good to us. We are confident and bold because we have assurance of salvation. We are optimistic and filled with hope. We aren’t afraid of the enemy because we know we are on the winning team. When things go wrong we aren’t crushed because we have hope in the future.

To be light, we have to act like we are children of God. We have to be children of God. When we humbly follow Jesus and are filled with the Holy Spirit then we will have the fruits of the Spirit. These are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These attributes will naturally show up in a person who is connected to God. Spiritual fruit is what shines in the darkness. You don’t need to think about doing them, they just come naturally when you are fully connected to God.

Salt

Salt is tasted. Salt enhances the flavor of what it’s put on only when it is used in moderation. Too much salt destroys food. Salt is what we say. We need to preach the gospel in moderation. Sometimes food doesn’t need any salt. Sometimes we don’t need to say anything we just need to be present and live out the gospel (light). Saying too much can destroy someone and make them run away from God. Be careful of how much salt you put in people’s lives.

However, sometimes we need to put on a lot of salt. We need to talk a lot about the Bible, God, and the gospel. Every situation is different. Be mindful of the people you are around and how much salt they can take in. We are here to flavor the world with the gospel.

Balance

Jesus talks more about being the light of the world than being salt. Behaving as Christians is more important than talking about being a Christian. The New Testament mentions the word salt only seven times. However, it mentions light about 91 times. Clearly the Bible is teaching us that what we do is more important than what we say.

Be moderate in how much gospel you preach into someone’s life. If they don’t want to hear it, then don’t say anything, just show them. I hear of too many stories of people being turned away from Christianity because Christians just don’t know how to shut up. We need to close our mouths sometimes and show God’s love with our actions. Stop being a hypocrite. Stop doing the opposite of what you say other people should do. Have a proper balance in your life of salt and light.

Personalities

Yes, I understand that we all have different personalities. Some people like to talk a lot while others prefer to listen more. I’m the latter. I have no problem being light. But, sometimes I should be more salt and I miss out on opportunities to spread the gospel message. On the other hand, people who enjoy talking sometimes put too much salt in people’s lives and may not even realize it. The key is balance. Know who you are and who the other person is and give the right amount of salt. You can never be too much light but you can be too much salt. Don’t hide your light (Luke 11:33), let your light shine!