SALTED WITH FIRE. By Pastor Fernando

Scripture:
“For everyone will be purified with fire. Salt is good for seasoning. But if it looses its flavor, how do make it salty again? You must have the qualities of salt among yourselves and live in peace with one another.” Mark 9:49-50

Observation:
Jesus here is speaking about dealing with sin. In the verses before he urges the importance of doing whatever it takes to avoid sinful practices. He speaks of self-purification by the means of repentance and of sacrifice. If our hand or our eye is causing us to sin, then we must cut them off. In this passage, Jesus clarifies how this takes place--by fire. He refers to the saltiness of our lives as an effective means to bring flavor to this world. We cannot be effective in our mission if our lives loose the Gospel’s flavor, which is determined by our transformation and freedom from sinful practices. We loose our saltiness when we continue slaved to sinful habits. The only way for us to fight against our sinful nature is to be salted by fire, to experience sacrifice, to loose our lives, to suffer loss, and to believe that in our sacrifice we will find victory beyond our wishes.

Application:
One of the most frustrating things a s a follower of Christ is to find myself over again in the same places of sinful habits. The compulsions and selfishness of our nature have a way to come out, each time with its doses of guilt, disappointment, and pain. We fight them with all our might and for a season we find victories in many battles, but sooner or later, there is one battle lost. The enemy loves to see God’s children defeated. These are the moments where our saltiness is taken away. But this is a result of a diligent work of the enemy to tempt us patiently, to steal our flavor little by little, until we are left alone as victims of our own compulsions.

The solution for this problem is fire. We need to live in the presence of the consuming fire of God. In His presence, we find the purity and the flavor that our lives must always be characterized by. When the fire of the Holy Spirit burns in our lives, the claws of sin and the compulsions of our nature loose grip in our hearts. The more we are in the fire of God’s presence, the saltier our lives will become. We don’t have to wait until sin makes its fruit in our lives to experience the purification power of God’s fire. We can walk into a life of purity and constant victory as we keep our lives in the presence of our consuming fire.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, You are my consuming fire! Please forgive me for the many opportunities I stay away from the power of your fire and that result in the fruit of sin in my life. Let me stay closer to you so your fire burns all the impurities of my heart. Please restore the saltiness I’ve lost in the past and make my life more pure and holy. Let me have such a passion for integrity and holiness that I’m willing to loose anything and endure whatever it takes in order to be purified with your fire. Thank for your immense patience with me and for allowing me to continue practicing righteousness as your consuming fire burns all the things that will not bring honor to your name. Amen.