Making “salted promises.”

Hey there BCU Family!

You have the option of listening to our podcast (click the BCU avatar below to listen), reading the notes or BOTH. In any case, we pray the podcast blesses you. If so, please thumbs up or leave a comment! Thank you and enjoy your study! 

Last post, I started on a “salt series” that talked about salt production and how vital it is to our natural body and in the body of Christ on a spiritual level. This time around, lets see what the Word is on salt. Here is our anchor scripture.

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men (Matthew 5:13). 

Let’s see why we need to keep salt in us.

One of the earliest mentions of salt is in Leviticus 2. That chapter outlines detailed instructions on how sacrifices had to be prepared to be given to the priests and then offered to God. In verses 4-6, you’ll see God was very specific about the flour, oil—and even if the grain sacrifice was made pan versus a frying pan. (Side note: note how you just couldn’t bring God a sacrifice any old way. That’s important for us to think about when we bring Him our sacrifice of praise, worship, time, money..anything we have for Him, we should give Him our best). Looking at the verses 11-12, God specifies the “seasonings” on the offering–that there should be no leaven or honey, but:

“Every offering you shall season with salt. You shall not allow the salt of the covenant of your God to be lacking from your grain offering. With all your offerings you shall offer salt” (Leviticus 2:13).

Okay, Blen, so what does that mean? I am glad you asked! Salt was just not a food enhancer or monetary trade items like we learned last time, it was also used as a covenant symbol.

History mentions that people used salt as a sign of binding loyalty and a symbol of alliance. In fact, in Europe and parts of the Middle East, salt and bread are offered to guests as a sign of friendship (hence the phrase “we have salt between us”). Additionally, treaties and truces were formalized using salt. Each person would take a lick of salt (similar to shaking hands) to “seal the deal”.

Salt was also used to heal a rift between parties as well. If there was a disagreement between folks, you would invite the person into your home to share a dish of salt. Each of you would lick your finger, dip it in the salt and then eat the salt together. Peculiar as this may sound, when a promise was seasoned with salt, it was so serious, that people would rather die than break that promise! Let’s examine another Scripture on the Covenant of salt.

2 Chronicles 13 tells of a war between Israel (King Jeroboam) and Judah (King Abijah). Jeroboam had the bigger army and was pretty sure he could take Abijah down. King Abijah reminded Jeriboam of God’s promise.

“Should you not know that the Lord God of Israel gave the dominion over Israel to David forever, to him and his sons, by a covenant of salt? Now look, God Himself is with us as our head, and His priests with sounding trumpets to sound the alarm against you. O children of Israel, do not fight against the Lord God of your fathers, for you shall not prosper!” Then the men of Judah gave a shout; and as the men of Judah shouted, it happened that God struck Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah” (2 Chronicles 13:5,12,15 NKJV). Yessss–God ALWAYS keeps His word and Judah triumphed!!!!!!

Are you connecting the dots, Family? Isn’t it wonderful to see how God shows us how He keeps promises with something as simple, yet as powerful as salt? How about the promises we make? 🙊Are they “salt-worthy”? Solomon warns us think before we vow:

Do not be rash with your mouth, and let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; Therefore let your words be few (Ecclesiastes 5:2 NKJV).

I cannot speak for you all, but if someone promises they will do something and they don’t follow through, I am so disappointed! Because the Lord has made me more mindful about keeping my word, He reminds me to say “with God’s help I will”…or, “if nothing changes, I plan to”, or “Lord will, I’ll…” Keeping that last verse in mind, it really helps us to rely on our perfect God to help us keep our word. Also, if we something does happen, it’s a good idea to circle back to the person quickly and fulfill your promise as soon as possible.

Bottom line: If you can’t season your promise with salt, it really best not to promise at all. I heard a cartoon character say, a broken promise cannot be easily put back together. That’s heavy, right? So keeping that in mind, we should pray before we promise. Amen? Amen.

So what are your thoughts on our topic-du-jour? Did you know about the salt covenant? Do you think about your promises carefully before making them? Please head to the comments section below and let’s chat some more!

In the meantime, if you have not subscribed to BlenCouragesU.com, please do so! It’s free and a good place to get the encouragement, inspiration and information based the Word of God! Additionally, you can also see what we are up to on Facebook, Twitter , and Instagram! You can also listen in and subscribe to the podcast on Stitcher Radio , Google Play, and Apple podcasts!

Thank you SO much for stopping by. God bless, keep and make His face to shine upon you as you #StayOnTheWall!

Love,

BCU

 

BlenCouragesU1 Comment

BCU podcast-100 celebration talk: What does your heart treasure?

Hey 👋🏾 there BCU Family!

Typically, you have the option of listening to our podcast, reading the notes or both. For this post, because of the interview, please tune into the podcast recording. We pray the post blesses and encourages you.  If so, please thumbs up or leave a comment! Thank you and enjoy the post!

The BCU 100-podcast celebration-conversation continues where I answer your questions, proctored by my fellow teacher, sister and friend, Jewel Taylor. Let’s run down what we’ve talked about so far:

In our 100th podcast we talked about the beginning of the BCU ministry.

 In our second installment, we talked about what was difficult about the keeping the ministry going and started talking about the Dispensations. 

In our third segment, we ended up talking/teaching about how steward over our time properly, and that talked continued into the our fourth segment.

Last time, we chatted through The Dispensation of Promise, talk about the erroneous mindset behind “claiming” the blessings of Abraham and the importance of keeping your treasures in Heaven.

This round, we continue our conversation and highlight heart treasures, debt and who we really work for.

Click below for the podcast and drop us a line give us your thoughts on the podcast content! Also, please stay tuned to the BlenCouragesU social media accounts (located below) for our giveaways the week of October 23-October 28, 2017.


As a reminder, we are planning to answer all questions, so please, keep BlenCouragesU.com close by notification-wise, as we’re planning to continue this series throughout the month of October and the beginning of November.

Have you become part of the BCU family? All you need to do us subscribe to BlenCouragesU.com. Subscribing is free and this is a good place to get the encouragement, inspiration and information based the Word of God! Additionally, you can also see what we are up to on Facebook, Twitter , Instagram, and  YouTube! You can also listen in and subscribe to the podcast on Stitcher Radio , Google Play, and iTunes!

Thank you SO much for stopping by and being a part of the celebration!  God bless, keep and make His face to shine upon you as you #StayOnTheWall!

Love,

BCU

 

BlenCouragesU9 Comments

BCU podcast-100 celebration talk: Promises, blessings and treasures.

Hey 👋🏾 there BCU Family!

Typically, you have the option of listening to our podcast, reading the notes or both. For this post, because of the interview, please tune into the podcast recording. We pray the post blesses and encourages you.  If so, please thumbs up or leave a comment! Thank you and enjoy the post!

The BCU 100-podcast celebration-conversation continues where I answer your questions, proctored by my fellow teacher, sister and friend, Jewel Taylor. Let’s run down what we’ve talked about so far:

In our 100th podcast we talked about the beginning of the BCU ministry.

 In our second installment, we talked about what was difficult about the keeping the ministry going and started talking about the Dispensations. 

In our third segment, we ended up talking/teaching about how steward over our time properly, and that talked continued into the our last segment.

This time, we chat through The Dispensation of Promise, talk about the erroneous mindset behind “claiming” the blessings of Abraham and the importance of keeping your treasures in Heaven.

Click below for the podcast and drop us a line give us your thoughts on the podcast content! Also, please stay tuned to the BlenCouragesU social media accounts (located below) for our giveaways the week of October 23-October 27, 2017.

As a reminder, we are planning to answer all questions, so please, keep BlenCouragesU.com close by notification-wise, as we’re planning to continue this series throughout the month of October and the beginning of November.

Have you become part of the BCU family? All you need to do us subscribe to BlenCouragesU.com. Subscribing is free and this is a good place to get the encouragement, inspiration and information based the Word of God! Additionally, you can also see what we are up to on Facebook, Twitter , Instagram, and  YouTube! You can also listen in and subscribe to the podcast on Stitcher Radio , Google Play, and iTunes!

Thank you SO much for stopping by and being a part of the celebration!  God bless, keep and make His face to shine upon you as you #StayOnTheWall!

Love,

BCU

*The stewardship references are on Periscope under the BlenCouragesU moniker and has “stewardship” in the title..

BlenCouragesU10 Comments

The cost of emotional decision-making

Hey 👋🏾 there BCU Family!

Typically, you have the option of listening to our podcast, reading the notes or both. This week you have a bit of both! Please tune into the podcast recording and refer to the written post for the highlights wrap-up and corresponding Scriptures. We pray the post blesses and encourages you. If so, please thumbs up or leave a comment! Thank you and enjoy the post!

So in our *Periscope class, we’ve been talking about procrastination and how that cheats us out of out chronos and karios moments. This brief podcast is on the opposite–making hasty, emotional decisions and the consequences to that. A young man by the name of Jephthah had to walk out his vow. Read the entire chapter of Judges 11 to get the whole story, as you listen to the “podcast on the go” and the commentary afterward. As a point of reference, below are the action and consequence Scriptures from chapter 11.

30 And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,

31 Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the Lord‘s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.

32 So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the Lord delivered them into his hands.

33 And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.

34 And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter.

35 And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I cannot go back.

36 And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the Lord, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the Lord hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon.

37 And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows.

38 And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains.

39 And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel,

40 That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.

Hopefully you caught the last part of the podcast where Jephthah had to keep his word about his daughter. The Scriptures do not go into detail about how he kept his vow, but suffice it to say, the remembrance of his victory would always be bittersweet.

You may be thinking, well I don’t vow anything, especially to God, but in actuality we do. Anything we say we’ll do is not just in front of the individual, but God is also there listening and recording all we utter.

We casually say, “I’ll call you this week,” or ” I’ll get that to you”, “I’ll take care of it”, “I’ll be praying”. And yes, we say these things with a well-intentioned heart, yet we often forget or skip over our promises due to competing priorities. Even when we forget, God remembers–He takes us seriously and He expects us to keep our word. Consider Ecclesiastes 5:3-6.

3 For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words.

4 When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.

5 Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.

6 Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?

This is serious business BCU Family! In order to avoid hasty mouth, we really should acknowledge the Lord in all out ways, so He can direct our paths (Proverbs 3:6). As we slow down to listen to what God is telling us and (yield to Him) we can make promises that God can bless us to keep.

So if you’ve made rash, emotional decisions that you have not followed through on (I KNOW I have), let’s repent and ask God’s forgiveness as we walk out Proverbs 3:6 in all our decision-making. Are you as excited as I am about that? Amen!

 Question of the podcast:

What are your thoughts on making emotional decisions?  There’s a comment section here on the BCU site, just waiting for your thoughts so we can continue our conversation! Let’s talk!

In the meantime, if you have not subscribed to BlenCouragesU.com, please do so! It’s free and a good place to get the encouragement, inspiration and information based the Word of God! Additionally, you can also see what we are up to on Facebook, Twitter , Instagram, and  YouTube! You can also listen in and subscribe to the podcast on Stitcher Radio , Google Play, and iTunes!

Thank you SO much for stopping by. God bless, keep and make His face to shine upon you as you #StayOnTheWall!

Love,

BCU

*Join us on Periscope every Thursday night at 8:05pmEST on channel BlenCouragesU.

BlenCouragesULeave a comment

Out and in: A prayer for a time such as this.

Hey 👋🏾 there BCU Family!

As usual, you have the option of listening to our podcast (click the BCU avatar below to listen), reading the notes or BOTH. In any case, we pray the the post blesses you. If so, please thumbs up or leave a comment! Thank you and enjoy your the post.

We are less than 24 hours from 2017 (depending on when you’ve tuned in) and you all know that means countdowns, lessons, look-backs and promises. Now we here at BCU will partake in the some of those things (minus the promises) in an upcoming post/podcast, but for this post, I felt led to simply pray. Yes pray.

While we may not like to think about it, with all that is happening in the world, we can see that the coming of the Lord is imminent and we must be prepared to go back with Him, if He does not come for us in death first. The cares of this life, the people we have to deal with on the regular, job stress, family challenges, health crises, the change in administration, uncertainty about what’s next, who’s next, who’s got next–can distract us to a point where our stays focus off Jesus and what He has called us to do. We’re angry, miserable, tired, unmotivated, slipping into bad/ungodly habits and find it hard to hear God’s voice or even trust Him again. Dangerous. And exactly what the enemy wants.

With the help of the Lord and His leading, we’ll plan to tackle some of those areas in 2017 in some form or another–until then, let’s boldly go to the throne of grace where we can always go to obtain help in the time of need (Hebrews 4:16). Let us pray.

Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow before you to say “thank You”. You are SO awesome, wonderful, amazing, gracious, merciful, faithful and ever so kind. We thank You for the new mercies we see renewed daily and for the benefits that you load us with–forgiving, healing, redeeming and satisfying our mouths with GOOD things, as Psalm 103 reminds us.

We will honestly tell you, Lord (You already know anyway), that for many of us, this year was a trying one. Some of us lost loved ones, friends, jobs, went through with spouses , family members and children, faced illnesses/treatments or had to caregive–all along with the other assignments and obligations You entrusted us with. It did get difficult from time to time–we cried, questioned, got angry, gave up for a bit, but because of YOUR better-than-life lovingkindness, Your grace, Your tender mercy, YOUR grace, YOUR faithfulness to Your flock, You blessed us–Your children to make it through and we say “thank You!”

We thank You for blessing us with the lessons from 2016 and pray that if You will and we enter into 2017, that You continue to bless with to APPLY what You have/are teaching us to our everyday lives. Please bless us to be on high alert for ministry opportunities to all we come in contact with, for we may just be the planter or waterer before YOU give the increase. Please help us to take our assignments in the Body seriously, diligently and to Your glory. Help us to be a blessing to those in and outside of the body of Christ. Bless us, Lord to hear and follow YOUR voice–and not to practice sinning in any fashion, as we endeavor to be that light set on a hill.

We pray for leaders everywhere–in government, first responders, leaders on our jobs, in the Body of Christ, in our homes–wherever they may be, please guide their thoughts and actions. Bless them to make wise decisions that glorify You, for it is written in Proverbs 21:1, that the king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord and like the rivers of water, you turn it wherever YOU want. And if the decisions made are not favorable, we trust that You will take good care of us, because Luke 12:22-31 reminds us to take NO thought about what we need–if You supply for the birds and clothe the grass, You will supply for us, as we seek your kingdom.

Please bless our families, friends and yes, our enemies! Strengthen the single parents and caregivers. Remember those are are incarcerated, along with their families. Comfort the grieving. Speak to someone’s suicidal heart and help them to realize this life is worth living–that they need You, Jesus. We ask that You send healing to broken hearts, that You regulate minds, heal bodies, reconcile ordained relationships, break up toxic situations-ships, send provisions, protection, assurance, conviction, repentance and most of all SAVE souls according to Acts 2:38! Glory!!!

Thank you for blessing us to continue on the straight and narrow way, making our call and election sure, teaching us to number our days and helping us to be counted worthy to escape. We magnify You Lord and bless you for hearing our cry and answering our prayers according to Your perfect will.

To you, Lord, be the glory, honor and praise, in the name of Jesus Christ we pray, Amen.

YESSSS!!!! This is the way to start a year, month, day, hour, assignment, task, situation, or challenge. IN PRAYER! And we just don’t pray, we pray FERVENTLY and  in FAITH!!! Hallelujah!

We’re looking forward to the things God has in store for the days ahead and want to share that with you, so please pray and stay tuned! And if you have not subscribed to BlenCouragesU.com, please do so, it’s free and a good place to get the Word of God! Additionally, you can also see what we are up to on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram! You can also listen in and subscribe to the podcast on Stitcher Radio , Google Play, and iTunes.

Well let’s go ahead and wrap up our last post of the year! May God bless and keep us all to #StayOnTheWall!

Happy 2017!🎊🙏🏽

 

Love,

 

BCU

BlenCouragesULeave a comment