[The Mayor]

You are the salt of the earth. —Matthew 5:13

A salty Christian makes others thirsty for Jesus, the Water of Life.

[Pippin]

GOOD MORNING EVERYBODY!!!!

[The Mayor]

January 5, 2004

Get Into The Stew

Read: Matthew 5:11-16

You are the salt of the earth. —Matthew 5:13

Bible In One Year: Genesis 13-15; Matthew 5:1-26

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It's common, cheap, and used around the world. It has stirred up wars, led to the establishment of trade routes, and paid the salaries of soldiers. Today it serves chiefly as a preservative and a flavoring. What is it? It's that crystalline substance we call salt.

Jesus, who was a master of using ordinary things to illustrate spiritual realities, talked about salt when He was teaching His disciples how they were to serve as agents of His kingdom. He said, "You are the salt of the earth" (Matthew 5:13).

If we think of salt as a preservative, we can assume Jesus wants us to prevent moral decay in our society. And if we think of salt's ability to enhance flavor, we can be sure He wants us to help people discover the joy of knowing and living for Him.

Salt stored away on a shelf is not fulfilling its function. In a similar way, unless we are actively at work sharing God's life-enhancing truth, we are not serving as spiritual salt. After all, the place for salt is in the "stew" of human activities. Instead of just criticizing the corruption of our culture as well as the flatness of the life so many people endure, let's get into the stew—for we are the salt of the earth. —Vernon Grounds

Called to be salt and light in this world,
Called to preserve and to shine,
Called to reflect the glory of God—
Oh, what a calling is mine! —Fitzhugh

A salty Christian makes others thirsty for Jesus, the Water of Life.

[dixie sass]

Good morning, Yer Honor! How true are the words and thanks for the coffee!

[MEG33]

Good morning!God bless our armed forces and all their loved ones who wait at home.

[Aquamarine]

Good Morning The Mayor! Good job on posting the thread, you've already gotten the hang of it!

May God bless the Troops all over the world who are tirelessly working to keep us free.

[LadyX]

Did a Search this morning for the report on the latest downed helicopter in Iraq to post, finding it MINUS ONE ESSENTIAL FACT I'll relate at the end of this Reply:

Top Stories - AFP

Insurgents down chopper in Iraq, Baghdad braces for new attacks
Sat Jan 3, 6:23 AM ET Add Top Stories - AFP to My Yahoo!


BAGHDAD (AFP) - The shooting down of a US military chopper claimed the life of one soldier and wounded another in the Iraqi town of Fallujah, while a top US commander warned the New Year's Eve car bombing in Baghdad marked an alarming new trend in attacks.

An OH-58 Delta Kiowa reconnaissance aircraft was brought down by rebels on the outskirts of the restive western town Friday afternoon as it assisted a US military raid of storefronts on the outskirts of the volatile town.

"They (the army) are fairly convinced it was enemy fire," Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, the coalition's deputy director of operations, told reporters.

Witnesses described the helicopter exploding in the air after it was hit shortly after the main weekly Muslim prayers, debris landing near a riverbank.

"I saw one of the helicopters taking fire and it crashed behind the bridge on the Euphrates River west of Fallujah," said farmer Ismael Jassem.

Kimmitt said five people wearing black vests marked "press" pulled up at the scene of the crash in two Mercedes sedans and began firing rocket-propelled grenades, adding that they were chased by US troops, who captured four of them.

The Reuters news agency later said three of its employees had been detained by US troops at the crash site and had earlier been shot at by US soldiers.

- - snip - -

What is missing, you ask??

Local news coverage (several television stations) reported the pilot was a female one from South Carolina, the first to be killed in combat in Iraq!

She surely is worthy of the same recognition as male pilots in news articles, and given the honor accorded them.

Seems the PC Press does not wish to ruffle our sensibilities by mentioning this....

She is hereby given my personal respectful *SALUTE* for having served our nation well, exhibiting great skill and courage.

Rest well, America's Best.....

(I regret I did not hear or see her name in the references to add, expecting to see it on the newswire.)

[MeekOneGOP]

Mornin', everybody ! Happy Monday !

[dansangel]

Excellent analysis and verse ((((((Rus))))))) - thank you.

For our military:

Dear Father, please hold our troops in Your loving embrace. Protect them the way that they protect us with their selfless acts. Bless their families as our military members sacrifice to ensure our freedoms. We ask these favors in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

(((((ladtx))))) - thank you for sharing those wonderful photos!

(((((((sistahs))))))))

((((((*ALL*))))))))

[[[[[{{{{{(((((Louie_Wolfie_Man)))))}}}}}]]]]]

I'm on a self-imposed shorter lunch break (30 mins) so I have got to run. :-(

[Molly Pitcher]

Afternoon greetings on Military Monday, and Happy New Year, too!

Thanks for the thread Mr. M!

This morning a couple hundred or so of us were out to bid Godspeed to the 1484th Transportation Co., ONG, as it left Akron for camp in Indiana, and then on to Kuwait and Iraq.

We waved our flags and signs, shouted our farewells, and the men and women in the trucks responded with heartwarming appreciation. Definitely took the chill out of the damp, cold air!