Comparison in a sense to degrade your own progress is vicious. Look at where you are today, emotionally and spiritually. If you are not better, you have every ability to become better. So do better.

• Do you need to lose weight? Commit to a healthier lifestyle.
• Do you need to be spiritually stronger? Get closer to God.
• Need balance? Get rid of anything and anyone that does not serve the purpose. This shouldn’t be a harsh move but a gentle glide.

Your future you is depending on your current you to be grounded.

Stop sabotaging yourself. Stop saying you want something and then doing everything to make sure it does not happen (read that again).

Self-sabotage is a lack of belief in yourself. God believes in you so much that she filled you with His purpose.

Be stable. Be confident and be good.

For as long as I can remember, I love the taste of salt. My mother used to take the salt shaker from the table. I would place salt on anything except fruit. Well, minus lemons. I would squeeze the juice in the lemon and then add salt, while sucking the juice from the lemon. When the lemon was dry, I would then eat the inside of the lemon because the salt would have settled inside. My mouth is watering now. 😱

I would salt my food without tasting it. Even now, I have to be mindful of the amount of salt I use while cooking. Salt makes everything better for me.

The purpose of salt is to balance sweetness and suppress flavors, such as bitterness. Salt contains the element sodium, which is an essential nutrient needed for the body. 

YOU ARE ESSENTIAL TO THE BODY!

Do not allow the world and people to make you lose your flavor. Do not allow the opinions of others to make you feel as if you are not important. You are a necessity.

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!

Cellular structure, solar systems, atoms, neutrons and protons, chromosomes, galaxies, trees, grass, bees 😳, spiders 😣, and your very DNA- the stuff you are made of. All of these things…no EVERYTHING, was created by God. Oh, and by the way, He happens to be OUR Father.

Yeah, that’s Him. That MY Father!

Today, think about God and who is REALLY is. Stop allowing yourself to be frustrated over things of no value. Your Father…IS GOD! He can do anything. That includes the things that you are most concerned about.

Sometimes I have conversations with myself. I’m not weird. I internalize the word of God so that it makes sense to me and so that I may apply it to my life. My thoughts are that if I can envision how God feels, then I can do my best to not frustrate my dad. I love Him just that much.

Just who is God? I imagine our Father saying this:

“I am who I am. My nature cannot be declared through mere words. Who I am cannot be completely understood through human thought. I exist as nothing else does or ever did. I am necessary, I am eternal, I am reality. If I am to give myself a name, that expresses who I am, through your language, let me be called…I AM, and besides me…

THERE IS NOBODY!”

He is who He is, and He is your Father!

“But Moses said to God, “If I now come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they are going to ask me, ‘What’s this God’s name?’ What am I supposed to say to them?” God said to Moses, “I Am Who I Am. So say to the Israelites, ‘I Am has sent me to you.’ Exodus‬ ‭3:13-14‬ ‭CEB‬‬

• Listen to your children as they explain their school day.

• Listen to your spouse as he or she talks about the pressures and demands of life and work.
• Listen to your heart and your body. Your body tells you what you need to be healthy in mind, body, and soul.

Listen to words of The Lord. His still small voice leads us and guides us if we stop and listen to His instructions.

There is so much we can learn about a person, a business, or a relationship if we listen. Our faith grows when we hear (listen) to God speak through His word (Rom. 10:17). In other words, our ability to receive what God says and then apply it, grows our faith.

There is also a lot of drama that can be avoided by listening more.

The word of God tells us to be quick to hear and slow to speak (Jam. 1:19). Learning to listen well does not happen instantly. It requires discipline, effort, and intentionality. If we learn to be patient and loving, we can improve upon our listening skills.

The best ministry you might do today is to listen to someone’s pain, anger, or hurt from beginning to end. Your listening skills can reassure them that God is with them.

Take the time to listen.

Happy new year to you are your family.

I pray that you were able to reflect on the goodness of God despite the sorrows that surround our lives.

The new year often begins with self-proclaimed promises of better for ourselves. Towards the middle of the year, life will challenge us to forget what we desired to achieve, if we are unintentional about attaining our goals (also known as resolutions).

Today I would like for you to reflect on God’s promises. While He honors times and identified specific times to do things in our lives, God is not bound by time. God is eternal. In fact, we can provoke the release of a promise, off schedule, to appear in our lives before the time He appointed.

Are there some promises that God has made you? Have you had a specific dream or vision that you are waiting to materialize in your life? Rest assure that the Lord will not forget nor has He forgotten. Your promise can also be delayed or passed on to others because of your unbelief.

The Israelites wandered for 40 years to a promised land which should have taken less time. But because of their disobedience, complaints about food, water, and rebellion against their God chosen leader (Moses), the promise of better was delayed. In fact those who complained died in the wilderness, leaving a new generation to inherit the land that flower with milk and honey.

Are you causing a delayed promise to manifest? Are you still waiting for the Lord to bring “it” to pass? Please believe and know that He has not forgotten. He is not overbooked and imbalanced to forget what He told you. While waiting, make sure you prepare for what He promised.

It is that time of the year! The holidays are upon us. This is when we have the opportunity to spend time with loved ones, take a break from our normal work routines, and binge watch some of the latest movie releases while eating our favorite holiday foods.

While, the pandemic has slowed down traveling this year, some still opt to visit others. Me personally, I follow this page on Instagram of exotic resorts located on remote islands with clear blue water, sunshine, a few puffy clouds that resemble pulled cotton-balls that appear to be strategically placed in the sky, and scenic views of places that only the Master Designer, our Father, could create…

…back to reality

Luggage is always required for travel. Once you arrive at your destination and unpack, it is often realized that you packed too much. If you are like me, you have this grand idea of everything matching from head to toe, being cute for the foreigners – the people in this place that do not know you and you do not know them, only to end up wearing your lounging clothes for most of the trip.

Airlines also have weight restrictions for luggage. Carryons must be able to fit in the overhead bins. All other luggages must not exceed 50 pounds. If they do, you are going to have to pay the cost of being over capacity.

Some of you are over capacity. You are carrying too much weight and you are paying the cost. What you are carrying is not required for your destination. It is not serving a purpose. Your body is inflicted with physical pain, you are taking prescribed medicines where the stress of what you are carrying has now internally impacted you, you are irritable because your clothing is now too tight, and you are asking God to help you take off the weight that you put on.

Sometimes we ask God to help us with something that is in our complete control to remove. There is a simple solution: remove the items out of the luggage that cause you to be over capacity.

Spiritually speaking, the Bible says:

• If they are doing things contrary to your spiritual beliefs – let’s make this clearer: if the people you hang around are doing things that cause you to sin, separate! I COR. 6:17.
• If someone is sick, pray for them and call for the prayers of others – James 5:16.
• Your worrying is causing you to experience ailments in your body. You cannot do that. Help where you can, but do not carry that. Give it to Jesus. I Peter 5:7.
• Guilt. Often, we feel guilty because we have done something that we know is wrong. God is greater than our conscience. He said to come reason (talk to Him) and He will purify you. Isaiah 1:18.
• Injustices. This has been a heavy burden as of late but one that Jesus knew about as He was falsely accused and sentenced to death. If the cares of this world are wearing on you, take those off and put on the peace that Jesus gifted you. John 14:27.

At the end of his life, Sir Winston Churchill said, ‘When I look back on all these worries, I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which had never happened!’

Stop carrying things that serve no purpose on your journey.

The enemy has placed you on trial. He has requested the death penalty for your life. He uses things to not only coerce you into feeling that you are guilty, but also to convince you that you are not loved nor forgiven.

Past mistakes.

Fear.

Lack of resources.

Feelings of worthlessness.

Doubt.

Credit score.

The Rejection.

The criticism.

Hurt, anger, and frustration.

It’s all a part of his evidence against you, but it will not work!

It’s all inadmissible.

These things are inadmissible; they are incapable of being allowed to prevent you from fulfilling your purpose. They are incapable of separating you from God’s love and mercy upon your life.

The Righteous Judge has made the final decision. His statement reads as such:

“God isn’t a man that he would lie, or a human being that he would change his mind. Has he ever spoken and not done it, or promised and not fulfilled it? I received a blessing, and he blessed. I can’t take it back.” Numbers 23:19-20 CEB

“The smallest family will become a thousand people, and the tiniest group will become a mighty nation. At the right time, I, the Lord, will make it happen.” Isaiah 60:22 NLT

Your case is dismissed.

• Keep pressing.
• Keep praying.
• Keep trusting.
• Keep growing.

Now go be great!

What do you believe God for? Why do you believe God?

If by chance your life’s journey and current situation has caused you to forget, who HE is…He is God and God can do anything! However, the demonstration of His capabilities require your faith.

The life of Christian faith rests upon trusting God’s navigation system, which is the Holy Spirit (John 16:13). Abraham had to trust that the divine instruction of God, to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, was not only the voice of God but also the will of God (Hebrews 11:17-19).

Faith is not easy. Faith grows as the believer matures and grows in relationship with Jesus. Even the disciples, who witnessed the early ministry of Jesus struggled with faith, insomuch that Jesus asked where their faith was (Luke 8:25).

If God created heaven and earth in six days, certainly He is equipped to change our lives, our situations and circumstances in one.

The question at hand is, do you believe?

Can you imagine God breathing on you? All of your infirmities, concerns, and issues would literally dissolve, as you experience a sense of peace and tranquillity overshadowing 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 as 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