The Urgent Need for Christians to Raise Their Level of Discipleship in this Evil and Ungodly World!

22 Sep 2025 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Matthew 5:13a, 14a.        Ye are the salt of the earth: Ye are the light of the world.

Another Monday…another new work week friends, and everything should be nice and clean after the thunder, lightning, and showers of heavenly blessings we received during the night. And did we ever need the rain, for it’s something we haven’t seen for almost a couple of weeks, what with all the unaccustomed warm, sunshiny weather we’ve been having in this month of September 2025. But I do have the feeling that things will soon return to normal, and the customary cooler and wetter weather at this time of year, will shortly assert itself.

However, be that as it may, even in the cold, wet, cloudy weather, we are still required to keep the fires of Christ burning hot and bright, and make a proactive, positive and productive difference in these uncertain and ungodly times. And right now, when faith is being besieged by evil, and many of us are having a hard time to simply hold on, much less to grow in spiritual maturity, we do need a reminder of that most salient fact.

It’s like Christ said in the Sermon on the Mount. ‘Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt has lost its savour (flavour), wherewith (by what) shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.’ (Matt. 5:13) And sadly friends, in these disastrous and strife-filled times, it would certainly seem that Christ’s people have lost their salt, their salty flavour, since we’re not making much of a positive difference in the world today.

And I like how the scholars explain that verse. They say: ‘Again the phrase “ye are” indicates that only the genuinely born-again person is salt and can help meet the needs of the world. Salt adds flavouring, acts as a preservative, melts coldness, and heals wounds. Thus, it is a very appropriate description of the believer in his relationship to the world in which he lives.’

The question now is whether we can genuinely say that we are living up to those important responsibilities of helping our world, of helping the lost and blind find life and light in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ? And if we are truthful, we would have to say that we are indeed NOT living up to our responsibilities, that’s why so many still don’t know about Christ, and many who do know about Him, refuse to accept Him.

And if being the salty, mouthwatering, wanting more flavour of the world wasn’t enough, then listen to what Jesus also says of His loyal followers. ‘Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle (a lamp), and put it under a bushel (basket), but on a candlestick (lampstand); and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt. 5:14-16)

Now that’s another aspect of our discipleship of Christ; letting our lights shine brightly so that others can see it and come to know, understand and worship our great God Jehovah! That makes it necessary for us to again ask the question, are we shining our lights sufficiently to make, not even a big difference, but simply a recognizable one, in our needy and dysfunctional world? And sadly, again, if we are truthful, we would have to say NO, we are not making a worthwhile difference in the world, otherwise it would not be currently overrun with evil and evildoers!

And what do the scholars say about those verses? ‘Ye are the light of the world describes the essential mission of the Christian to the world. He is the condition (salt) to meet the world’s needs, and he has a mission (light) to the world. His light is to clearly shine forth into the darkness of human depravity. He is to set his light upon a candlestick, not hide it under a bushel, that is, a basket. Darkness is the absence of light; and darkness alone cannot dispel the light, but the smallest light can dispel the greatest darkness.’

That means we don’t have to go overboard with either our salt or light, but simply have our saltshakers constantly sprinkling our salty flavour, and our lights also constantly shining to light up the world’s darkness. It cannot happen overnight, but persistence and perseverance are the keys to unlocking those closed doors behind which all kinds of evil and darkness lurk. So please, let’s try and do better nuh. We all know that we have much room for improvement, and right now we are not doing a commendable job as followers of Jesus.

And to help us get things turned around, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, seeking divine aid for our lackadaisical discipleship! Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. 

Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

And our prayer shows us some important aspects that need improving before we can receive divine aid; like praying, humbling ourselves, sincerely seeking God’s face and turning from our evil ways. Those are only some of the things we need to do friends to recover our salty flavour, and clean our lampshades, so that bright light can emanate from them again! Much LOVE!

…Jesus’ followers…must take discipleship much more seriously…than they are currently doing… 

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit 20 August 2021 Matthew 5:13a, 14a.

20 Aug 2021 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Matthew 5:13a, 14a.     Ye are the salt of the earth: Ye are the light of the world. 

So what’s up this glorious Friday morning in this confusing and anxious summer of 2021 eh friends? With worldwide sickness, strife and turmoil galloping around the planet, I do hope that we are not allowing all that negative stuff to get to us … well not too much, because we are only human and such mind-blowing things will undoubtedly have some negative effect. And then, on top of all that turbulent stuff, here in our fine land of Canada, we now have a Federal Election to look forward to next month, despite it not being officially due for at least another year. 

Ah Lord eh! And it seems no one wants an election during the pandemic…that is, except the politicians. Notwithstanding, that the status quo of a minority government seems to have worked quite well during the height of the pandemic. But yuh know, what  politicians want, they usually get! And can you imagine all the unnecessary headache we will have to go through to make the elections seem safe and fair. 

Thank the Lord though that we don’t have politicians as ignorant and evil as some of those down in the U.S, who insist on spouting lies and disinformation with absolutely no proof to back it up!  Thank the Lord for Jesus Christ too, and the Holy Spirit, who give us the wherewithal to handle all these things in a sensible and safe manner! What would we do without our great God Jehovah eh? Just continue going to hell in a handbasket! 

Unfortunately though, a lot of people still don’t know Him, and if they do, don’t believe in Him. How sad… For He is the Creator of the universe, and also the Protector and Provider. But if you don’t go to Him and ask for His protection and provision, how will you get it eh? You won’t! But truthfully, some of that blame for so many not knowing and accepting Christ as Lord and Saviour falls squarely on the shoulders of us, His ambassadors, His earthly agents, generally known as Christians. 

Why you ask? Because we have not been doing a good enough job to make others want what we have. In other words, we have not been good enough examples of Christ’s wonderful promises and lifestyle to a lost and broken world, living in sin and evil darkness. Yes friends, it boils down to our lack of diligence in doing God’s work. And how is that you again ask? 

Listen to these fateful words of Christ to all who choose to follow Him. ‘Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour (flavour), wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.’ (Matt. 5:13) And sorrowfully, I am here to tell us this morning my fellow believers that we Christians, the church of Christ, have indeed lost our salty flavour, through inattention, even disobedience to God’s Word, and following the ways of the evil world too much, seeking too much material possessions and earthly power. 

Yes friends, instead of being in the world, but not a part of the world, we have become just like the world, allowing, fear, anxiety, laziness and a lack of enthusiasm to curdle the warm and nourishing milk of Christ that supposedly dwells within us. Therefore, if we are just like the world, it means we can no longer stand up before the world and make a difference. And that’s certainly heartbreaking to Christ! 

And Jesus also describes us thus: ‘Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle (a lamp), and put it under a bushel (basket), but on a candlestick (lampstand); and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt. 5:14-16) There you have it friends; the command to be shining lights to this dark and evil world! 

And as the scholars tell us: ‘5:14-16. Ye are the light of the world describes the essential mission of the Christian to the world. He is the condition (salt) to meet the world’s needs and has a mission (light) to the world. His light is to clearly shine forth into the darkness of human depravity. He is to set his light upon a candlestick, not hide it under a bushel, that is, a basket. Darkness is the absence of light, and darkness alone cannot dispel the light, but the smallest light can dispel the greatest darkness.’ 

However my fellow saints in Christ, we have unfortunately not been adding salt to the wounds of the world, thus not providing healing nor adding flavour to it. And neither have we been a dazzling light in the darkness of this dark and evil world. We have either been hiding our light under a bushel, through fear and anxiety, or worse yet, been joining the world in its dark and evil deeds. Both situations are highly unsatisfactory my people! But then to further muddy the waters, we get up on our high horses and talk a very good talk, but refuse to walk the walk the talk entails. 

Ah friends, to say the least, Christ is very disappointed in us, because if we had put our best foot forward and served Him faithfully, no way would the world be in such an ungodly and sinful state of turmoil that it’s currently in today. But it’s not too late to try and rectify the situation, but we have to begin by going back to God in serious prayer, offering sincere repentance, and pleading for forgiveness. And there’s no better time than right now to do that through our Friday Chant. 

Altogether now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and our many other problems are causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets. 

So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks. And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways. 

And please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’ 

And, as with all prayers my people, if we don’t keep the promises we make, we won’t get positive answers. Nuff said! Much LOVE!

…he who has ears to hear…let him hear…                                                                                                                            

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8