Share Your Flavor!

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“Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.” Matthew 5:13

You, my friend, have an offering to the world inside of you. You have something intricately valuable within that can affect change in the lives of others.

The term “influence” has become a part of our everyday language. Many are looking to their peers and others for encouragement, guidance, and skill to inspire them and show them how to do life better.

Examples have been around since the beginning of time and who one chooses to pattern themselves or behaviors after will make a notable difference in that life. 

Why not be one who others can see as a beacon of hope, a mark of excellence, an example of which path to walk in the days allotted to us here on this earth. After all, it is what Christ has done in you that has made a difference in your life. Now, as the “salt of the earth,” you, as one in Him, can share your flavor with the world.

So many lives have been touched by wrong influences. And it’s not as if every step we take can we boast in some perfection of our own, because we cannot. But as ones who have been changed ourselves, we can help others by being a guiding light while navigating this path called life.

The current culture of our world is begging for models of good influence. Some truly don’t know which way to go or lack good examples to follow. Why not be that one? A little sprinkling of the salt that is in you can change the whole trajectory and flavor in the life of another.

Open the shaker, and pour.

“Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.” Proverbs 27:17

The Glory Which is to Come

I sit on my couch in the early morning, sipping my beverage and eating a bowl of hot breakfast cereal when through my window shines the rising sun. Its brightness captivates me and invites me to the joy of the new day before me.

It’s beautiful to see its rising and to feel the warmth of its encouraging rays stretching out before me. Like one of my cats who always seems to find that perfect spot on the floor to enjoy its richness, I, too, just sit to soak in its shining goodness.

As beautiful, and as welcoming as this morning moment is, I am reminded of the morning of a new day that all believers will be privileged to rise to. A day this physical sun cannot compare to or even touch in beauty and splendor, because, in that place, there will be a “city,” that has “no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof,” (Revelation 21:23).

Can you imagine the glory of that moment, of that place?

While I may struggle to put into words the thoughts my heart feels when taking in the reality of those written expressions of our future and the picture of glory they represent, one day all those who are in Christ will see this and so much more for themselves.

No matter how beautiful or hard a moment here may be, they will all be eclipsed by the glorious future that awaits the believing heart. Our hope, rest, peace, and restoration we are yearning for will all come to fruition when we enter the place where God’s glory shines brighter than any sun.

Live for that moment, dear friends. Let the beauty of what will be capture your heart, overshadow any troubles, and strengthen your steps for these days. For these days have nothing on that glory which is to come.

“For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;

While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” – 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

No More…

When brokenness is healed, the recovery of wholeness is known.

When wrongs are made right, sorrow and tears are no more.

How often do we look for days like that during our living?  Alas, we are not promised the absence of these worldly foes.  The promise we do have and hold so dear is that one day their grip on us will be no more.

The thought of “no more” is a beautiful thought.  It’s not the joys of life we want to erase.  Nor the happy moments we seek an exit from.  Rather, it’s the things that squeeze our hearts with pain and despair.  The things that press upon us like a heavy weight that we can’t seem to get relief from, searing us with sadness and dread, and so we seek to get away from it as fast as we can. 

But despite it all, we have an assurance that we won’t face these days forever.  There will come a time when their mark will be but a distant memory. 

With faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and His shed blood giving us access to heaven, those within the walls of that beautifully eternal city will no longer be associated with the disturbances of living that being in this flesh brings. 

There, there will be peace unimaginable and joy inexpressible.  Because there, the things we warred against and worried over in this flesh will be no more.  Instead, there the hand of our loving heavenly Father reaches out and gently and tenderly wipes the tears of what we experienced fighting through this life on earth, away. 

I try to imagine the absolute freedom that will bring.  I try to think of the final release of letting everything go from here that we dealt with, what will it be like?

It may be hard to imagine what that time of no more will look like while we are still in this flesh. So, we hold on to His promises for dear life that strengthen our daily hope for that day.  Because we know when the Bible says, “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes” (Revelation 7:17), that promise is our very real reality when all this will pass away.

No more.  What could you do if you didn’t have to deal with _______________ no more? 

Although we are not there yet, we can foster an environment that will shore up our faith for the wonderful future that awaits us.

Some principles we can incorporate are:

  • Watch and pray.  “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41).  Remain vigilant and be on guard against any detractors in contradiction of your holy destiny.
  • Feed your faith.  “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,” (Jude 1:20).  The authority of what you have coming as a holy inheritance is based on what Christ has already done, and what the Word promises is yours.  Continue to feed on that Word like a starved man seeking to be truly filled. 
  • Live honorably for that day.  “Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom” (James 3:13).  Continue to live what you believe to be true and right.  Your daily steps will speak more about who you really are than a million well-to-do messages ever will.
  • And produce the Fruit of the Spirit.  “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).  Your living is not just for your own inheritance, but to help others see the light (Matthew 5:16) so they will be drawn to experience Him who can give them the gift of “no more,” too. 

These principles will help to keep your heart, mind, and faith concentrated on the reward ahead and not the messes of today. 

The idea of no more may seem hard to comprehend, but the realness of it is as sure as God Himself wiping every tear from your eyes.  It will come to pass.

A Fruitful Prayer

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” Galatians 5:22, 23

Dear Lord, help me to produce this fruit in my life today.  There is a harvest of goodness and love, joy and gentleness, peace and longsuffering, faith, meekness, and temperance I desire my life to bring forth in abundance.  I want my life to touch people beautifully with Your beautiful Spirit within me.  In my shortness and frustrations, help me to remember the fruit that grows on Your tree.  When I don’t understand everything, help me to remember to use the same grace and mercy You have shown me.  Let my heart and my actions speak louder than my words today.  I desire to live like You want me to live and produce in my life those things that put a smile on Your face.  In Jesus’ name, I pray, AMEN!

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