Daily Devotional – 10/2/17 “What about today?”

We all know that God has a plan and purpose for our life and when we think of this, we often times think of the future. But did you know God has purpose for our lives today? I know you’re busy working on your business plans for next year but what are you doing about today? Yes, your vision board, for tomorrow, looks good but what is your vision for today? I know you are busy picking out colors for the wedding, for when you meet your spouse, but what are you doing today to prepare? Yeah, you are making preparations for destiny but what are you doing today to get there? We all have dreams of what we hope our lives will look like next year or even five to ten years from now but what are you doing in the meantime? Please understand, I am in no way saying you shouldn’t be preparing for the next phase of life but what about today? Sometimes, I just believe, we can get so caught up in planning for tomorrow that we miss the blessing of today’s purpose. It could be to help that neighbor that’s in need, to pray for a church member, to go and feed the homeless and it could be to speak to the mess that’s in your home. It can possibly be, just take a moment and breathe. However, if you are too focused on tomorrow, you may just miss it. This is why the bible says in Matthew 6:34, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Oh but if we commit our work to God and trust Him, our plans will already be established. Meaning the favor over our lives, today, will balance out the labor of our plans for tomorrow. This doesn’t mean you will not have work to do but it’s simply stating, it will not be as hard as you think. When we commit our work to God, He has the ability to place our names in the mouths of folk we haven’t even met. And those folk will be the ones who will have just what you need tomorrow, for the plan you will write today. Don’t miss it focusing on the future when today is staring you in the face. James 4:13-15 says, “Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” All I’m saying is, don’t miss the purpose of today focusing on the promotion of tomorrow.

Daily Devotional – 9/29/17 “I may be in the valley …”

I may be in the valley but I shall not fear. Sometimes on this journey, you will find yourself in the valley feeling like David when he describes walking through the valley of the shadow of death in Psalm 23:4. In other words, a dark place that has you hedged in, looking as if there is no way out. No matter what you try, the darkness, within you, seems to get darker and you feel more and more defeated. You try to pull yourself out, only to slide back down to the bottom without the strength to try again. However, here’s what I learned walking through this valley of the shadow of death … there has got to be some light somewhere. Which means, even though it looks dark and although it looks like I may be defeated; there’s some light somewhere. For I’m not walking through the valley of death but the valley of the shadow of death. Signifying to me, the shadow can’t do me any harm. Think about it. When has a shadow hurt you? This is why the bible says in 1 Corinthians 15:54, “Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” When this dying body have been transformed by the renewing of your mind, death is swallowed up in victory. Allowing you to walk through this valley of the shadow of death without being harmed, losing your mind nor your rightful place in destiny.

Yes, you may be in the valley of the shadow of death. You may be facing some stuff and it feels like you will not survive. The hedges surrounding you feels as if they are starting to close in. You’re suffering in the valley. You are hurting, in the valley. And you are by yourself but hold on beloved because David goes on to say in b part of Psalm 23:4, “I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” Even when I am face to face with evil, I will not fear because my Shepherd, Jesus, is near. And when the shepherd in near, the sheep do not perish. Jesus tells us in John 10:11, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” All you have to do is wait until Jesus, the Shepherd, calls your name to come out and you will because the bible says in John 10:1-4, “But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.” I may be in the valley but I’ll listen for the voice of my Shepherd to rescue me.

Daily Devotional – 9/27/17 “S.H.I.T HAPPENS!”

S.H.I.T HAPPENS! Yes, this is a Christian devotional and some of you are shocked by the word but baby, Struggle, Hurt, Infirmities and Turmoil (SHIT) happens. What now? Now that S.H.I.T has shown up at your home, what now? Yes, I get it. That failed relationship left you fearful, that divorce devastated you and that sickness suffered you. What now? The abuse left you afflicted, the times you fell left you limping, the mornings you cried left you closed off and the sleepless nights left you stumbling. What now? You still haven’t let go of the fact, you lost things. Why not? You still haven’t recovered from the repossession/foreclosure. Why not? You still get mad when you remember being turned down. Why? Why are still counting the losses instead of rejoicing for the wins? Why are you still standing at the closed door when God has the ability to give you the entire building? Why are worried whether the bank will give you a loan when God has the power to give you every dollar you need? Where is your faith? And where is your strength to flush the S.H.I.T?

Haven’t you realized by now that sulking in your sunken place, being pacified in your pit, accepting your victimology in the valley won’t help? Baby, you’ve got to get up and come out. Yes, it hurts. Yes, it hurts a lot. Yes, it hurts a lot of the time but you’ve got to press through. If not, you run the risk of sitting in your S.H.I.T, being stinky and dirty. Please understand, it is ultimately your choice because it is only when you get tired of being filthy that you’ll get up and clean yourself off. Baby, it’s not just you, stuff happens to all of us. This is why the bible says Psalm 34:19, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.” Yes, we are afflicted BUT God will deliver us. Yes, we suffer but God will deliver us. Yes, we face turmoil but God will deliver us. No, I don’t know when but I trust He will. I don’t know how but I believe He will. However, you cannot give up before it happens. Today, you have to choose what happens after the S.H.I.T happens. What will you do? Choose wisely because it may be a while before the choice to choose comes again.

Daily Devotional – 9/26/17 “ILTDI!”

You are dying. Yep! You are suffering the effects of this disease and no matter what you do, you cannot get well. You have been to the doctor and even they cannot figure it out. You have tried over-the-counter medicines and they won’t work. Tried yoga and it cannot fix it. Googled home remedies and even they cannot repair what is ailing you. Well, I am glad you came to Dr. Kisha at Devotional Medical where I can already tell what you are suffering from. No ma’am, no sir; I don’t need to draw your blood, I don’t need a urine sample, no MRI or CAT scan is required; the signs are evident. You are dying from an undiagnosed disease called ILTDI or “I Let Them Do It.” A disease that comes from being worked up over a man or woman who will not or if I can be honest, cannot commit to you yet you’re hanging on. Being mad at God because your checking account is being drafted by check advance companies (or other debtors) yet you’re looking for ways to get more. It comes from your home being in turmoil because you will not sit down and have a grown up conversation, you’d rather yell and argue. From your children running you over and the sad part, you keep giving them the keys. Beefing on social media with folk who have no bearing on your life yet you’re giving them access. And being spiritually stunted because you don’t want to give up your seniority in the church that has been dead.

You are dying beloved and I know you feel it and have seen the signs. How long will you ignore them? You do realize when the life support machine is hooked up to you, you won’t have a say; right? You do understand that you may not make it, this time, when the shock is delivered to your heart; right? You do get that you may not have anyone around you who can perform CPR in time, right? Then what are you waiting on? The cure is right there. Look right there, you see it? It’s right there! In arms reach. It’s the door, it’s the phone, it’s the social media connections and it’s your mouth. Because sometimes beloved you just have to pronounced that thing dead, shake the dust from your feet and move on. Sometimes, you just have to call it what it is and be okay with it. Sometimes, you just have to call ‘them’ who they are and be alright with telling them bye. If you don’t, you run the risk of prematurely dying. The bible says in Proverbs 12:25, “Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.” Here is a good ole Baptist word for you, QUIT! Quit allowing yourself to die when it isn’t your time!

Daily Devotional – 9/25/17 “What are you speaking?”

Another Monday and somebody opened their eyes in a messy mood. The covers weren’t even thrown back and you were already cursing the day. Feet barely touched the floor and you were already complaining. You didn’t even make it to the bathroom before you started dreading what the day would bring. Well, can I tell you something? You may not be able to change the outcome of your day but you sure can change how you approach it. See, I woke up still dealing with sinus issues yet my coworker called me “spirit-ty” not because I feel great but I choose to act like I do. Yes, I can complain and act like I physically feel but what good will that do? I still have to work, I still have a family to take care of, I still have grocery shopping to do, a son to pick up and dinner to cook and somewhere along the way I’ve got to encourage somebody. So while I could allow the ‘Monday blues’ to attack me, I will not. Instead, today I am speaking greater things. Today, I am seeking bigger things. And today I am expecting an extraordinary display of God’s power, in my life. What about you?

The bible says we are clay jars who hold the light of God within us and although, “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. (2 Corinthians 4:8-9).” Yes, we live in a world that sees more evil every day. Yes, our bodies are being attacked by sickness and diseases. Yes, we are losing our sons and daughters. Yes, marriages are being taken for granted. Yes, the bible is not being taken seriously. Yes, there are worship places that have no glory of the Lord. Yes, there are false prophets. Yes, some people of God are silent. Yes, we are being tormented. The bible even says in 2 Corinthians 4:11-12, “Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you.” Even after all that BUT, “But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke (2 Corinthians 4:13).” What are you speaking today?