Lent: Day 20

Scripture: “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” – Matthew 5:13

In the spring of 2010, one of my best friends from college passed away rather suddenly at the age of 43. I called Janee, my former college roommate, and we made plans to go to Wisconsin together for our friend’s memorial service.

On the day of the memorial service, Janee and I spent most of the day in the car making the long round trip drive. Our discussion took many turns. We reminisced about our friend and our college days and we talked about how faith helps us through difficult times.

As we drove, Janee told me about how she found Bible verses with personal meaning for each of her three children based on their birthdays. For a person with a birthday of 6/3, she read chapter 6 verse 3 of each book in the Bible until she found the perfect verse. The verses helped her children to feel a special connection to God through the Bible.

A few days later, I decided to give it a try with my son Alex’s birthday which is 5/13. I went through the Bible reading every chapter 5, verse 13. When I read MaTThew 5:13, I knew I had found the perfect verse for Alex. “You are the salt of the earth.” Alex and I talked about his special verse and what it means.

When you are feeling low, or are looking for a closer connection to God through the Bible, take a few minutes to find your special verse. It may be based on your birthday, or wedding anniversary or it may just be a special verse that touches you.

Prayer: Dear Lord, Help me to find a personal connection to you through the words in my Bible. Amen.