MARK 9 - 2.21.24

Scripture

For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt.

(Mark 9:49, NKJV)

Observation

The NIV translation says, "Everyone will be salted with fire". Salt is the seasoning that makes every dish perfect. A gourmet chef will tell you that you cannot make even the sweetest of desserts without a pinch of salt. God seasons us by allowing us to pass through fire. Zechariah 13:9 says that God will refine us like sliver, and purify us like gold put through fire. Nobody wants to go through fire. But God uses fire in our life to purify us, just as a goldsmith uses fire to melt gold so that the impurities wash away, leaving behind the pure gold. At the end of this, our faith will be as pure gold that has been tested in fire (1 Peter 1:7 CEV).

Application

When we go through fire, God has promised us that we will not be burnt. When we go through waters, we will not be drowned. He is with us in the fire and in the water (Isaiah 43:2). He will not allow us to go through trials beyond what we can endure (1 Cor: 10:13). When we go through trials, let us hold on to Him knowing that He is in control. He is working in us, to make us more like Jesus. He will make all things work together for good for us who love Him and are called according to his purpose. This includes even what the enemy meant for evil (Romans 8:28).

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I thank you because you love me more than what I can fathom. When I have walked through waters, it has not overflown me, and when I have walked through fire, it has not burnt me, because you were with me in the fire and in the water. Help me to trust you even when I don't understand. Thank you because I am the clay, and you are the potter (Isaiah 64:8). Thank you because you are shaping me every day to make me become more like you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Asha Chacko George