BAD WATERS: NEW BOWL & SALT

“He said, Bring me a new bowl and put salt [the symbol of God’s purifying power] in it. And they brought it to him.” – 2 Kings 2:19.

REFERENCE: 

2 KINGS 2:19-22

God has strategically placed His children everywhere in this world to do His word and will at all times. They are to sweeten bitter spirits, make barren souls fruitful, and better their community. Their lives are to be an aroma of life and hope, leading a dying world away from error unto God, the Father of all.

Elisha asked the elders of Jericho, “Bring me a new bowl.” This symbolically speaks of the believer who has been made new – a new wineskin – by the Spirit of God. God wants you to be a clean vessel, sanctified, yielded, of use to the Master, and positioned for every good work.

“Put Salt in it.” Hear what Jesus said about you; “Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.” God put you in your neighborhood to sweeten the different sectors and lives of many people under the influence of bitterness, darkness, and wickedness. 

The Source: In solving the problem, Elisha went to the source and cause of the ‘badness’ of the waters. Every body of water springs from a source. He understood that for every physical manifestation, there is a not-so-obvious source. He, therefore, took the salt in the new bowl and applied it to the source. The decay in your community has its source in demonic forces contending for her; they are behind every barrenness in business, career, family, and finances. But thank God we are the salt of the earth. Jesus, the medicine, lives in us.

What do you see happening in your neighborhood? What is peculiar about your community, your tribe, and its people? Hopelessness, poverty, teenage pregnancy, career stagnation, illiteracy, divorce, drug addiction, or prostitution? As God’s new bowl and salt, ask Him to show you how you can engage, what you can do, and what difference you can make. He showed Moses and Elisha how to heal their bad waters. You can begin with prayers. Start or support an NGO. You can gather some children to teach them. You can offer to counsel teenage girls or host an awareness program on the dangers of drug addiction. Remember, you are the salt of the earth; the earth needs you to taste the sweetness of God.

PHOTO QUOTE

ADDITIONAL STUDY: 

2 Timothy 2:21, Proverbs 11:11, and Matthew 5:13-16 (Message Bible)

PRAYER POINTS

+ Let me be SALT and apply myself in my community. I will pray, evangelize, visit and invite people to church.

+ Lord, help me be a solution Centre. Let the power of God flow through me to help solve problems, use me to meet needs, and enable me to be a giver who cares.

+ Just as the inhabitants of Jericho went to Elisha, people will come to me for solutions. It will be evident that God is with me and His power is within me in Jesus’ name. Amen!