A New Meaning To The Phrase "Double Portion"

   What a great day this has been! We had the opportunity to go to churches this morning and go to a church barbeque in the evening. It was amazing! Normally we do not go to multiple services but we really felt the Lord drawing us to attend both, so we did.

The first service really spoke to us in regards to strengthening the core of our Christian walk. The core is what is left when everything else is stripped away. As this message permeated my heart I realized that we had a summer where everything was being stripped away and I understood that it was so we could get to the core of who I am. It helped me take my eyes off of our circumstance, and place my eyes on God. My relationship with God is the core and it was a great reminder of just how important it is.
   The second service was about getting back to the foundations that build our faith. The ancient paths upon which the church was built. The path of focus for this week was the Word of God. The importance of being grounded in the Word is so essential to every step we take as a Christian. We cannot understand the Word of God without the Holy Spirit revealing it to us. This simple concept hit me square in the face because once again we rely on God. I picture the Holy Spirit sitting with me and explaining what it means. To be completely honest I have rarely asked the Holy Spirit to help me understand Scripture. I have used commentaries, and other Biblical study tools. I have studied and I know that the Holy Spirit has revealed things to me from it, however it occurred to me that if I can get the revelation I have gotten without asking the Holy Spirit, how much greater will I be able to understand what God was trying to say when I do ask for help. This epiphany has completely changed the way I look at reading Scripture now.
   This is what I meant about a double portion! My Scripture verse for today is Matthew 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt has lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? When I read this verse, I realized a few things. Christians are not meant to be bland, we are here to bring flavour and life. The Bible says "Taste and see that the Lord is good." We are created in God's image so the same should be said by us. The second thing that struck me is that the balance of salt in food is so extremely important. Too little salt and the food tastes bland and not very enjoyable. Too much salt and the food is inedible. I believe this is the balance between legalism and liberalism. We are not to condemn people, and we are not to conform to the pattern of this world, we are to be balanced. I long for this balance in my own life, and now that I see it I can work on it.