Honor and Respect

“This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.”- Romans 13:6-7

Honor-The courage to do what is right, no matter what. A belief that your actions represent more than just yourself, the recognition that what you do defines your entire generation.

Respect-To treat people in the manner in which you expect to be treated. To show consideration for another person's feelings and interests. An attitude demonstrating that you value another person.

Lately it seems that everyone is so busy being busy that we have forgotten the simple things in life to Honor and Respect. We teach our kids to honor their friends, honor their words, honor their property and honor each other. We also teach them to respect others the way they want to be respected. Not being snoopy, wrecking toys and cleaning up their messes.We also teach them to respect the house they live in by doing their chores that they have been assigned. We teach them to have respect for good work ethic and to help others. By doing this we are asking them to honor God, because no one worked harder then Jesus.............

Stacy


Pauline


Kim

Tanis

Lythan
Hazel

Such A Time As This

My children and I have been reading the book of Esther for the past 2 weeks in school.  Even though we all know the story well we have enjoyed hearing it again and it's funny how you notice things you'd forgotten.  For instance, (and this is a minor detail but interesting) how many times have you heard Mordecai referred to as Esther's uncle?  Did you know he was actually her cousin!  (Esther 2:7)  Also, did you know that God's name is not mentioned at all in this book of the Bible?  He is certainly present though!

One scene I find interesting is when Mordecai, through Esther's eunuch, relay's to her Haman's plan to kill all the Jews.  Mordecai asks Esther to go to the king and plead for the lives of their people. When Esther mildly objects stating that she has not been called by the king and could therefore be put to death, Mordecai tells her

"Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king's palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for [such] a time as this?" (Esther 4:13-14, emphasis added)

I love Mordecai's absolute trust in God!  He is certain that the Jews will be saved by God and points out to Esther that this may be the reason God has elevated her to the position of queen.  He encourages her to use her position and, by his example, trust God for deliverance.  Esther's response is perfect, she prepares to do what Mordecai has asked and requests that the people fast and pray for her for 3 days.  Her faith evidenced by her statement "if I perish, I perish." (Esther 4:16)

Of course, we know the end, Esther was used by God to preserve His people.  She had the courage to be used by God in the place that He placed her.  What would God have us to do in the place/situation we are in?

What is home?

Hi everyone,

Ruth here bringing you this week's thought and challenge.

I have been pondering lately on HOME. What makes one and how does Jesus make mine different to other homes.

We all have different routines, rituals, habits, priorities etc that will shape how our home works. But in the Christian's home we have the addition of Jesus Christ himself. How does he make a difference to your home? Is he the 'unseen guest at every meal', is he consulted on decisions made, is your home a place where the stranger is welcome and hospitality is practiced?

Perhaps more importantly your home on earth is temporal. Do we truly recognise that our treasure is in heaven and that earth will fade and pass away? Although our homes are important for the nurture and training of children, a rest away from the world and and a tool for ministry, Christ is building our mansions in Glory.

I would like to leave you with this verse

Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2 Corinthians 5:1

Please enjoy looking at the creations from the Salt team, be inspired to make a card, layout or other paper craft. Maybe something for your home to remind you of Jesus and how he wants your home to be.

Ruth



Pauline

Lythan

Stacy

Hazel



Tanis

Julie

Resurrection hope

Wasn't it good to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour on Easter Sunday, sharing again the thrill of those gospel passages where Jesus' friends and disciples discover that the tomb is empty and He has risen ... and then he appears to them.

Our Christian hope is based on the resurrection of Jesus, as Paul discusses in that difficult but marvellous passage in 1 Corinthians 15 (perhaps read it in 'the Message' for a clearer understanding of what Paul is saying).

In normal everyday conversation we often use the word 'hope' to indicate desire and expectation. Christian hope of eternal life here and now and for the future in eternity is something much more secure and sure because it is based on the certainty that Jesus rose from the dead and is alive now at the right hand of the Father.

In Hebrews 6:19, the writer says: 'We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.' That hope is available to all who accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour because of his tremendous sacrifice on the cross.

We not only celebrate the tremendous hope of the resurrection on Easter Sunday, but every Sunday of the year, indeed, every day of the year.

And every Christian can testify to the words of the old chorus:

He lives, He lives,
Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me
Along life's narrow way.
He lives, He lives,
Salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives?
He lives within my heart.

* * * * * * * * *

If you haven't done so yet, please scroll down to last week's challenge Gethsemane - if you create anything for this we would love you to leave us a comment so we can visit your blog and see your crafting.

Gethsemane

Since this challenge for SALT goes live a few days before Easter Sunday, I (Pauline) decided to reflect on the events in the garden of Gethsemane and used a reflection from Karen Rollins in my preparation which expands the theme I wanted to explore. Some of this reflection is included here.

In Matthew 26, Mark 14 and Luke 22, Jesus, along with Peter, James and John, goes to the garden of Gethsemane. He tells his disciples that he is upset "even to the point of death," asks them to wait for him as he goes on ahead and tells them to stay awake. Jesus goes on, then falls to the ground and prays to His father. He asks to be relieved from his suffering and yet makes clear that He will do what His Father demands. He returns to Peter, James and John and finds them asleep. He is disappointed that they are not able to stay awake even as he undergoes torments. This then happens another two times. Jesus declares that the "hour is near" and He has been betrayed and they start to leave.

As He prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus made a plea to God to deliver him from his suffering. He knows God has the power to do all things and asks God to use that power to save Him from the trials that are coming. He is agitated because He knows that while as a human He has a choice, He is being called to obedience.

Jesus doesn’t avoid life. In the scripture readings, Jesus is facing life head on and is paying the price for it. The Jesus we find in the garden of Gethsemane isn’t a Jesus we hear much about. This Jesus is distressed, agitated and deeply grieved. This is a very human Jesus in a very uncomfortable position.

A struggling Jesus, a human Jesus, a Jesus that teaches us to face life head on and not to avoid being uncomfortable.
I wanted the SALT team to have the freedom to choose an aspect from the story that spoke to them personally. The humanness of Jesus is where my layout came from, but you will see from the contributions that there are many aspects to the story and our layouts, cards and other creations reflect that. I hope you are inspired by the team’s creations and that if you decide to participate in the challenge that you will link back to us in the comments.
The SALT team wishes you all a very Happy and blessed Easter.

Pauline

Lythan
Hazel

Kim

Julie

Stacy