What? Bring what?! It is high time we bring salt and light into this dark and wretched world. This is both a great time to be alive and a most challenging one. As Christ Centered Christians - You will be marked, mocked, thrown aside, picked over, kicked over and lied on, in these last and evil days. But guess what..."You'd better 'Bring It'! Bring the salt and bring the light!!
Everybody likes to fit in. Nobody likes being on the outside... lonely, overlooked and ignored. But I'm here to let you know - and what I'm about to say will not be popular - but I pray you receive it because Christians must now make the FULL commitment to Be In Place As Seasoning and Be Prepared to Shine EVERYWHERE - at school, at work, in your neighborhood and in your home. Sometimes you have to season and shine where light is not welcomed and salt has to be properly measured. Think about it - Salt has an important role to play in the human body. Our human bodies require a small amount of sodium to maintain the proper balance of water and minerals. Sodium will contract and relax muscles, and conduct nerve impulses. It is important to know that Salt is known as "sodium chloride" and is comprised of 60% chloride and 40% sodium. It is a preservative of food - in that bacteria cannot thrive in the presence of a high amount of salt. Besides the fact that salt flavors food, it is used as a stabilizer and binder.
Think about the difference you make in challenging situations where YOU are called upon to "stabilize". Where will God use you to shift the atmosphere by the authority of Holy Spirit? Ha! And I know the world has never considered a Christian's role in binding. But when You - - walking in #HLPAA - in "P - Power","A - Anointing" and "A - Authority" stand to bind wicked spirits, sicknesses, and to thwart the schemes of the enemy - - the salt residing in You will be used by Holy Spirit to demonstrate the Will and Purpose of God throughout the earth. "You'd Better 'Bring It'!"
And when they come against you in school and in the workplace the Spirit of God will keep your lamp burning - - just when it seemed that last fierce wind would take your flicker out. Be encouraged Students - - Say to the Lord, your strength... Psalm 18:28 "You, LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light." I don't care what they say or do or how lonely and ugly it gets. God is MORE than enough in your life. You are a VICTOR... not a victim. So... "You'd Better 'Bring It'!"
On the job, they love to sabotage. I have experienced it. I know. But God will display just the right amount of your skills, gifts and talents - using them in such a manner that your project for the company is used by Holy Spirit to turn things around. You're Salt, Baby!!! "You'd Better 'Bring It'!"
And what about light? The Bible says, in John 1:5 "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." And it won't. I once had an adult student to commit suicide during a weeklong break from my 2-week long class. The enemy tried to set that spirit into my class when another young adult who was going blind wanted also to take her life. Not on my watch!!! I prayed with that student during a 15-minute break and the news of that prayer reached a witch at the front desk. When the VP's and CEO got wind of it, they demoted me from my teaching position and placed me at the front desk in a position of customer service. I became the laughing stock of the organization! (Okay - just give me a moment - as I bend my head back and enjoy a belly full of laughter... but not so, at that time!) It was tough!!! So what did I do about it? I made use of my administrative gifts and creative capacities, and designed innovative systems to make more efficient the intake process into our programs. In other words, I continued to be an asset to the company - - even as I experienced their punishment for my time of ministry to my desperate Student. And when they brought a teacher in to replace me, and they introduced her to me, (she taught at one of our smaller sites), they said - mockingly, "Yeah, this is Ms Bervine. She used to teach the Work Readiness Program and Success Seminars class where you're going to start on Monday." Yes! It absolutely was a stab in my heart. No Worries though, because when you are led by the Spirit of God, He will lead you down paths of Righteousness - for His Name Sake. And what is meant to destroy you, will instead, give you favor with God and with man.
So, over the weekend, I went to Publix's bakery and picked up a cake - with her favorite colors - decorated with symbols and words to welcome her to her new classroom (that I had previously made my own...Only teachers will understand that). I decorated the room and bought her a gift. I welcomed her and everyone on staff to enjoy cake and other refreshments throughout her first day. I also checked on her throughout the week to make certain that she was able to find supplies, and use teaching materials I created that I made available to her. Why was I able to do these things? Because John 8:12 was a reality in my life. It says, "When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life'.” I had the Light of Life in me and I permitted that Light to Shine. Why? Because it is my responsibility as a Believer - - as a Christ Centered Christian to display the character of our Lord Jesus Christ. After all, where am I going to go where God's Spirit cannot find me? Where in the world can I flee?
Psalm 139:12 "7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you."
This precious woman and I became friends. She didn't stay for long. She was also a Believer. She knew she sat in my seat...at my desk...teaching my lessons... in my classroom. In less than 2 months she was gone. The CEO, and VP's eventually reinstated me to my teaching position. I continued to innovate - to create procedures and educational components that brought great skills and hope into the lives of my Adult Students, and that enhanced the company and caused it to shine.
We've got to be salt and light in the most humiliating of times. We must allow Holy Spirit to Arise in the midst of pain and shame. Would I have done anything differently - would I have prayed for the suicidal Student if it all happened again? It depends... on whether or not there would have been another opportunity to speak into her life to encourage and pray for her before her life was lost. If not - I understand that there are times when a price must be paid. And I measure and count the cost by God's weight of Glory upon my life, and by hearing His voice, whether or not I am chosen by God to pay that price. Matthew 16:25 "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it." I think of the men working on the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore, MD. They were willing to lay down their lives to prevent others' lives from being lost. Could they have done things differently? Ohhhh perhaps. But they chose to stay. They did all that they could to save lives by warning others of the danger that lay before them. Heroes, they are.
Psalm 27:1 reads, "The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?" In the hour that we now live we must teach and prepare our children - our young ones to have the tenacity, joy, and the peace of God, and we must prepare them to walk in God's Glory.
Teach them the Word of God. Be sure that they understand and memorize the Word so that it is the guiding source for them every hour of every day of their lives. Psalm 119:105 "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path". And remember, Christian - Matthew 5:13 says "You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet." So... considering that, my Friends, "You'd Better 'Bring It'!"
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