My Dearest You,

HAPPY NEW YOU in this New Year!!!

The Word of the Year for me is DECIDE, because after every decision follows an action.

You can lay in bed all day, but when you DECIDE to get up, what do you do? You get up. If you DECIDE to get a job, what do you do? You update your resume, put in applications, learn something new to help improve your chances of getting a job. If you DECIDE to lose weight, what do you do? You start watching what you eat, exercising more. Even if it’s for a little while, or for some of us one day. But you do it. Why? Because you DECIDED to.

Actions follow a decision.

Think about it. Every time you say the word “DECIDE”, the word “TO” usually comes right after it. Yep, think about it. I decided to. We decided to. They decided to. That means that after every decision an action is inevitable. Even if you DECIDE to do nothing. That’s the action you will take. The action of doing nothing. Because believe it or not, nothing is an action. What are you doing? Nothing. The act of doing no thing, but the fact that you are still breathing nothing is in motion.

As for me, I’m not going to come up with a bunch of thoughtless resolutions that don’t mean much, and that I don’t stick to. This is what I DECIDED:

• To Continually Say “Yes” To God
• To Love Others As God Loves Me
• To Be All That God Has Created Me To Be
• To Help Make A Difference In My Family And Community
• To Go And Make Disciples

What have you DECIDED to do this year?

My Dearest You,

Are you a Christian or a hater in sheep's clothing?

That is a question I often ask myself when I hear a proclaimed Christian, especially in the leadership circle, make statements that divide the body of Christ ethnically. Or, when someone, again, who professes to be a Christian insist that a person is less than based on the color of their skin.

Do you realize that we are all equal in the eyes of God? This includes skin color.

God sees us as his children, and he does not divide his children by color with one color being more superior than the other. That is something we have done ourselves.

Look at the life of Jesus as he walked the Earth.

Have you read anywhere in the Bible where Jesus did not help someone or saw himself better than someone else based of the color of their skin? Nowhere. It's nowhere in the Bible because it never happened. Jesus even helped those who others considered less than because of where they were from or sins that they had committed.

Since Jesus is the example of how we should live, shouldn't we as disciples of Christ do as he did?

God gave a commandment to love your neighbor (others) as yourself, but he knew that a lot of us would not love ourselves.
So what did God do? He gave us a better way to love in John 15:12. Jesus says, "this is my commandment, that you love others as I have loved you". So we are to love others as Jesus loved us.

I'm not saying that you should not appreciate who you are and honor your heritage, but I am saying that you should not hate someone else based on the color of their skin or anything else for that matter.

And I know, some of you may be saying that you have suffered or your people have suffered because of mistreatment from another person or group of people. You feel like they owe you because of your suffering. And I say to you, "Jesus suffered for you and me!" So if someone owes you for your suffering, then you owe Jesus for his.

The good news? JESUS PAID IT ALL!

Jesus has already canceled out our debt. Now, will you cancel the debt that you believe you are owed?

How can you do it? By loving others as Jesus has loved you. By helping others live better and do better.

There will be all shades of people in Heaven. If you want to show God that he can trust you in his Kingdom, it's important that you show him that you can love all people here on Earth right now.

Why is it important to show love for all people? Because God knows your heart, and he cannot be deceived. He knows if you are a true disciple of Christ, or if you are a hater in sheep's clothing.