The purpose of salt is to enhance other flavors. It also balances sweetness and helps suppress other flavors, such as bitterness. Salt contains the element sodium, which is an essential element needed by the body.

Just like salt…YOU ARE ESSENTIAL TO THE BODY!

Do not allow the world and people to make you lose your flavor. You ARE the salt.

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has lost its taste (purpose), how can it be made salty? It is no longer good for anything, but to be thrown out and walked on by people [when the walkways are wet and slippery].” MATTHEW 5:13 AMP

I’m salty!

Can you imagine God breathing on you?

All of your infirmities, concerns, and issues would literally dissipate, as you witness peace and tranquillity overtaking you while resting in His presence. The good news is that He did that.

God gave us His breath-filled word. The question for us is if we have positioned ourselves to feel His breath.

Let us pray: Lord we thank you for equipping us with the abilities to follow in the steps of Jesus as He was on this earth. Your word has ordered our steps. I have often said that I desire to be close to you but the fact that you breathed on these words and man was able to capture them through the Bible is astounding and has placed me next to your breath. It is why we are able to come close to you and you to us (James 4:8). We draw close to you by your word. Teach us Lord. Help us Father. Correct us, nurture us, mature us, so that we may be ready and able to manage what life brings today. Thank you for the equipping. In Jesus name, amen.

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,” 2 Timothy‬ ‭3:16‬ ‭NIV

We must not allow our struggles to become our identity. If we can resist the urge to become bitter, negative and hopeless, the struggles we face today will create the strength that is needed for tomorrow.

• Find hope, in a hopeless matter.
• Find courage, in a discouraging moment.
• Find endurance, in a weak moment.

When every obstacle that is thrown at us dares us to give up, throw faith back at it and handle it! Overcome it. Fight it. Get through it. Rise above it. Stand on it! Conquer it!

Proof in who you say you are plows through when faced with adversity.

The Holy Spirit is the I. D. card. 

You are MORE than a conquer through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Your identity is needed to access spiritual weapons for the test trials that you are facing.

“Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”Romans‬ ‭8:37‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

The very thought of this topic sends an eye roll from one side of your neck to the other.

Stretch marks are eye sores for those who have experienced weight loss and especially truthful for those who have experienced pregnancy with less elasticity than others – like me.

Signs of growth are not often the most eye pleasing, yet they yield the best fruit.

Take the examples above. Stretching of the womb, signifies growth of the child. Stretch marks on other body parts such as arms and legs identify a person’s temperance to lose undesirable weight.

Spiritually speaking, studying to be quiet when everything in you desires to give that person a piece of your mind, yields the peaceable fruit of God. This is a stretch mark. It is a recognizable sign of growth to allow your Father to fight on your behalf (Exod. 14:14).

Separating from toxic people, disconnecting from environments that drain your energy, choosing peace over confusion, and learning to be still are all examples of spiritual stretch marks.

The mark of the stretch leaves an indelible sign of your growth.

Be intentional about your spiritual growth and stretch towards the mark.

“I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:14 KJV

Take a moment to consider this…

• Perhaps the one you turn to for strength, needs strengthening.
• Perhaps the one you request prayer of needs prayer.
• Perhaps the one that wears the tough outer shell needs someone to be vulnerable with.
• Perhaps the one who is leading, simply desires to be led.

Pray for those who are dependent upon to be leaders in their families, on their jobs, in their church.

Do you know who that include? Both you and me.

The transparent truth is that we are all human beings. Our past, upbringings, and sufferings have shaped our thoughts, our mental processes, and our reactions to daily situations.

We all have one destination in mind: Heaven. How we get their is our life’s journey. While we may have similar paths, we face different obstacles. You may be required to leave for work at 6 am, thereby encountering less traffic than the person who merges onto the freeway in stop-and-go traffic at 8:00 am.

Same path (same highway), same destiny (work), but different challenges (traffic jam vs. no traffic). But regardless of the time that you leave home for work, there is always someone else on the road with you.

Let’s take the time to help one another. The Bible says,

“Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”Philippians‬ ‭2:4‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

It’s OK to consider what’s best for you and your family, but you should also keep in mind what how you can help community, your coworker, a fellow believer. What you do for others, will be done for you; it’s the principle of reaping and sowing. This also means that if we are unwilling to help others, then we can expect that a situation will arise in our lives where we will seek for help and not find it.

Let us take a page from the script of our favorite drive-through restaurant. When a person seems to need some assistance, be willing to offer help. To those who need help, don’t be afraid to ask for prayer, guidance, comfort and strength. Perhaps our script can sound a little like this:

“I need you to reach my destiny in the Lord. Can we labor together? How may I help you?”

“Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” Ephesians 4:3 NIV

Have you ever felt drained from life?

No, I’m talking about feeling as if life was sucking the life out of you? Every time you think you are making progress, something from an unexpected source, feels as if it is pulling the oxygen from your lungs.

We must remember that with the Lord, the pain we experience produces a purpose. In case you thought your life was hard, let’s look at the life of Paul for a moment.

In 2 Corinthians the 11th chapter, we learn of some of Paul’s sufferings for Christ Sake:

• 5 different times, he was whipped by the Jews and received 39 stripes.
• 3 times he was beaten with rods.
• He was stoned once.
• He shipwrecked 3 times.
• He spent an entire day and night adrift at sea, left for dead.
• He had been robbed, gone without food and water and enough clothing to keep him warm.

One beating alone could have handicapped or even killed Paul. Yet after all of this, Paul says: “I believe God.”

Paul looked beyond his personal afflictions and recognized his sufferings equipped him and empowered him.

Paul endured many afflictions. He went from being an atheist to an activist of Jesus. I felt something right there- I’ll say that again:

PAUL WENT FROM BEING AN ATHEIST TO AN ACTIVIST!

What about you? After all the hardships, pains and tragedies in life, will you believe God?

The world may press us hard, but God’s strength, presence, and comfort will not allow us to be crushed. If you see someone not like themselves on today, help them by noticing them. Give a smile, give an encouraging word, pray for them, give a listening ear.

Be willing to help someone live.

Adopting a child is said to be one of the most beautiful yet heart wrenching journeys one could experience.

Imagine a couple desiring to have children biologically but unable to. Sensing a void of laughter, joys, and growth in their lives, they find solace in the ability to rear a child through another process- adoption. What joy it must bring to introduce someone as a son or a daughter- words that you never thought would leave your mouth.

Receiving joy from watching that child growth from a baby to an adult. Reading bedtime stories, helping with homework, getting them involved in school activities, and being their during their growing pains. The ability to just be present and to be responsible for the life of another is a gift beyond explanation.

That child now has access to things that once were missing or not realized as a result of unfortunate circumstances. A chance to be loved, a life outside of governmental constructs for child placement, and a place called home. Whatever benefits the parents offer, they are now accessible by the child, without restrictions.

When we accepted Jesus as our personal Savior, we were adopted into a royal family. We now have access to benefits without restrictions – some yet realized.

This adoption process is a bit different. Although we were handpicked by our Heavenly Father…

“God chose us in Christ to be holy and blameless in God’s presence before the creation of the world. God destined us to be his adopted children through Jesus Christ because of his love. This was according to his goodwill and plan Ephesians 1:4-5 CEB

However, we are to make the decision to chose if we want to be adopted. The Bible says:

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:” John 1:12 NKJV

When you receive Jesus, you have the right to become the children of God. What this means is that not everyone belongs to God because not everyone receives Him. Only those who choose Him by way of Jesus.

As a new parent receives joy just from the presence of their child, God finds pleasure in watching His children grow into maturity, to become men and women that He has reared to make a difference in this world and to reflect His image on the earth.

What an amazing opportunity it is to be given access to peace, joy, love, hope, and a promise of a life removed from worry, stress, fear, and sin.

Your Parent eagerly awaits your decision. What will you do?

What is a masterpiece? Over the years, people have revered some artistic designs as the greatest of among a few. One common artistic design is that of the Mona Lisa by Leonardo Di Vinci. It is often the art that deems the artist as a skillful designer.

The artist works long hours both physically and mentally, meditating on bringing his thoughts to life; and when it is finished, he stares at it with wonder and amazement. He is so proud that he offers to share his creativity with the world- who then justifies and validates the imagery displayed on a canvas presented in front of them.

As I sit and think about what a masterpiece is to an artist, I think of what we mean to God. A masterpiece is unique, of high value, guarded and protected; not everyone is given access to it. A masterpiece is uniquely created by it’s designer with a specific purpose in mind. The designer is proud of His work. He takes his time to skillfully bring to fruition what was placed in his heart.

Can you imagine God’s thoughts, after creating us? We are the visual representation of His love. That is why He loves us so. God took His precious time to skillfully define each and every body part- from the joints for movement, the placement of organs, to the smallest of bones that allow us to bend our fingers and toes. He created billions of handcrafted puzzles uniquely designed to reflect His love, creating us in His image and likeness. God then takes a step back and looks on us in amazement of the perfect creation of love. Proud of what has been manifested, He then gloats about it with the present witnesses who form the trinity. When God speaks on us, there’s a sparkle in His eyes.

We are HIS masterpiece- a piece of the Master.

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” Ephesians 2:10 NLT

It is easy to be kind to the people who care for you and who love you, but what about the “other” people?

What about the ones who challenge your vision and oppose your suggestions? What about those who propel their opinions of you on others, causing tension and division?

Being kind or showing love to someone who does not care for you is pretty difficult and quite frankly, frustrating. Jesus calls us to show love to all people, regardless of how they may treat us. He doesn’t say this will be easy, but He did ask that we would present our lives a living sacrifice to Him. This implies that regardless of how we feel about a situation or a person, we have the words of eternal life to impact our circle of acquaintances. Being a living sacrifice also means that we step outside of who we are, surrendering our mind, body and soul to the Lord to express a different kind of love – a love that some may have not experienced, but unknowingly long for.  Why? Because this kind of love is different but it is also a demonstration of the love Jesus expresses towards ungrateful, and unreasonable people who have rejected Him from birth and continue to reject Him on a larger scale. Can you imagine how that would feel- to be rejected from birth?

 

We cannot love people with our type of love because our type of love is selective, but when you love the people around you with His kind of love, they’ll notice.

Let us ask God to help us love people past their faults, the way that Jesus called us to love them. After all, that is what He has done for us. If we as believers cannot do this, then I am afraid we are yet to know God. God is love.

“My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other. No one has seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in us—perfect love!” 1 John‬ ‭4:11-12‬ ‭MSG‬‬