Daily Devotional – 10/19/17 “Sifting process!”

You do all you can and it stills feel like you have not done enough. You go to church, not every Sunday but more than you used to. You can’t go to bible study because you work but you have started to read your bible more. You give a little bit towards tithes, you’re working your way up. You’ve cut off all those folk who only call you to fill a need. You don’t lie as much as you used too. You’ve been praying, even though it leaves you a sobbing mess. You’ve even been fasting, although you’ve only gotten up to 6 hours. Yet, it still feels like all hell is breaking loose around you. You’ve stopped spending but money seems tighter than before. You’ve stopped drinking and now that’s all you crave. You replaced writing with cussing but folk are trying you and they are a 4 letter word from being blessed and not the good way. And if things couldn’t get worse, the enemy is calling your name and you’ve contemplated answering. WAIT! Please don’t. Please! It’s only your sifting process.

When Jesus told Simon (Peter), the enemy wanted to sift him like wheat; He didn’t mean the soft flour sifting grandma did when she made biscuits. But He meant the aggressive, sometimes violent shaking wheat has to go through during harvest. This is when the wheat is separated from the stalk and chaff. And it has to get rough in order to ensure there is nothing left, within the wheat that is hard and/or bad. So you see, what you’re going through is rough, right now, but it’s for your good. It is separating you from all the things you once deemed worthy but God determined was worldly. Yes, the enemy is there but only because he bet God you wouldn’t make it through. Prove him wrong by trusting God through the process. Because just like Simon, God is praying your faith does not fail. Fail means to break down or not meet its goal. And just so you know, faith does not fail even when we do. It’s just your sifting process, beloved. It hurts, gets confusing and hurts some more but it has to happen.

 

Daily Devotional – 10/18/17 “What anger does!”

Did you know that when you are angry, you tend to mishear the right things said? Did you know that when you are emotional, you can make bad decisions? Being angry at not having a car can make you sign a bad deal, leaving you with a car note you know you cannot afford. Being emotional, especially after a death, can make do things you probably wouldn’t have had you waited. Think about it. When you’re angry or emotional, you get permanent tattoos that cannot be removed, you cling to a person who means you no good, you spend unnecessary money and you make drastic decisions that cannot be undone. This is why you have to get out of your feelings beforehand. If not, you may just miss what God is trying to get you to hear. AND when you’re emotional or angry, you will find yourself taking the advice of people who don’t have your best interest at heart and discounting the ones that do. This is why you cannot have serious conversations over text or email because you may tend to misread the tone of the other person.

When you are emotional or angry, you tend to make a small situation big. You argue with your baby daddy and bust the windows out his car. You misread a text and now you won’t answer the phone. You’re emotional, listening to sad music and replaying the hurt of your past and now the enemy is whispering suicide in your ear. You’re upset and now everybody is against you. Take a breath, beloved and calm down. Now, look again. Read it again. Listen again. When we are angry, we think those who hurt us did it intentionally. For some, they did but others, maybe not but it isn’t until you’ve calmed down and played it over in your head that you realize it. After you’ve said or done some things you regret. The bible says in Psalm 4:4, “Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah.” I know you want to respond but wait. You want to lash out, don’t. You want to make them feel as hurt as you, you can’t. Don’t react out of anger yet sit in the stillness of God and He’ll give you the right way to go and words to say. Proverbs 15:1, “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”

Daily Devotional – 10/17/17 “Are you doing your part?”

God has a responsibility to His children but are you doing your part as His child? Yes, sometimes He allows us to fall into the wrong hands but that’s after disobedience. Yes, sometimes He allows us to fail but that’s after we have stopped listening. Yes, sometimes He allows hurt but that’s after we try to do things on our own. Are we doing our part before expecting God to do His? Because the bible tells us in Proverbs 1:24-31, “But since you refuse to listen when I call and no one pays attention when I stretch out my hand, since you disregard all my advice and do not accept my rebuke, when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you. Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me, since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the LORD. Since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.”

Oh but get this … Proverbs 1:23 says, “Repent at my rebuke! Then I will pour out my thoughts to you, I will make known to you my teachings.” If you notice above, verses 24-31 gives us what will happen should we not take heed to God’s reprimand but verse 23 tells us what will happen if we do. In other words, God is telling us ahead of time before destruction even comes. Are you doing your part? Yes, we can ask of God but we first need to have faith. We can say yes to God but it needs to be when we are truly ready. Are you doing your part? Because I’ve found that when we do what we can, God will do what we cannot. This is why the bible says in Psalm 54:4, “Behold, God is my helper; The Lord is the sustainer of my soul.” Just as God has a responsibility to us, we have a responsibility to Him. We cannot expect of Him knowing we don’t have our part. That’s like being mad at your roommate for not having their half of the rent when you know good and well, you don’t have yours either. Do your part!

Daily Devotional – 10/13/17 “May the God of peace …”


How can you honestly forgive others when you’re still fighting yourself over the very thing you said you forgave them for? You’re still trying to figure out how you allowed yourself to be abused yet you say you’ve forgiven the abuser. You cannot sleep at night because the nightmares of being left keep you up yet you say you’ve forgiven those who abandoned you. You are still haunted by the sins of your past although God has forgiven you for them. Beloved, when will you forgive you? You do realize that you will never get the peace you truly deserve until you can find peace within yourself, right? How can you tell somebody how to get peace in their home when you don’t even have peace in yours? How can you tell somebody else how to heal when you are still bandaging wounds of last year? How can you tell somebody else to forgive those who hurt them when you can’t even forgive the person you see in the mirror every day?

My prayer for you today is simply this … 2 Thessalonians 3:16, “Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.” Amen.


That’s it. There is nothing more for me to say. May the Lord, God give you peace in every way. May He stop your tears of torment, may He quiet your shout of shame and may He close the door of depression and remove the obstacle of oppression. May the God of peace saturate you like dew in early morning and moonlight, late at night. May God give you peace, today that shall carry you a lifetime. May the God of peace be with you.

Daily Devotional – 10/12/17 “Blessings in obedience!”

There used to be a time I would spend my lunch renewing check advances, a title loan and juggling bills. Sitting in my car, afterwards, with no appetite because the harsh reality was, we were in over our heads and there really wasn’t much left to spare. No, we weren’t trying to outdo anybody but life happened and it happened fast. We bought our first house young and it was a rip off, so after ten years, we decided to give it back to the bank. Then we moved into an apartment that we would pay more for than it was worth. We were in over our heads. Oh but then God snatched me and got me together and if I can be honest, I was glad because I was tired of running from Him. I was sick of sitting in worship acting like my praise was real when it wasn’t. I was tired and when I admitted it, suddenly things changed. I didn’t get a seven-figure a year job, I was still at the same one I had. I didn’t hit the lottery but I came into an inheritance and God was the investor. I learned how to be obedient. Understand when I write this … Obedience doesn’t take away suffering, pain, heartache, sickness and enemies but the bible says in Isaiah 1:19-20, “If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

I share this for somebody who woke up, fed up and tired because no matter what you do or how you pray, you cannot seem to make it work. Well, what area of your life are you being disobedient in? Take a reflective look and be honest with yourself and then be willing to change. Yes, I know you’ve been handling it on your own but how has that worked for you, so far? Look, I’m not saying every day since, for us, have been all great, they haven’t. There are times I still try to fix it but then I remind myself that God did it before, He’ll do it again. I get it, your checking account may be low before, between and after pay periods yet God still provides. You may not have a mansion or three overly priced cars in the garage yet God is still able but you’ve got to trust in His promise. Stop taking matters into your own hands. Stop going into debt for things you can do without. Say no, sometimes. Sit your tail down and stay home, some nights. Skip the beauty shop and nail salon, some weeks. Put your life into perspective, stop being mad at God and start being obedient and see if your life doesn’t change.