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?

Daily Devotional – 9/22/17 “Will you still praise Him?”

It is another Friday and somebody woke up with the same funky attitude you laid down with because you gave another person your heart and they fumbled with it. Or maybe it’s the fact you’re still temporarily out of funds and just got paid. Or maybe you are still trying to figure out why it’s you who have to be sick. Or maybe you’ve been on this faith journey for some time and still seeing no return on your harvest. Or maybe you’re watching your child choose the streets over salvation. Or you have to be witness to your spouse choosing the addiction over their family. Or maybe you’re just plain ole fed up with everything and everybody. But what now? After you’ve thrown the tantrum, what changed? After you’ve broken some stuff, what happened? After you cried, then what? After you shut folk out, what? What happened beloved? I know you are worn out with the ‘preacher’ talk and hearing, ‘hold on,’ tired of being told, ‘it will be alright in the morning,” but can I ask you a question.

Will you praise God right where you are? Even if your prayer hasn’t been answered, even if there is no check in the mailbox, even if the kidney hasn’t shown up yet, even if you woke up still craving the alcohol and drugs and even if it still hurts, will you praise? Because I just believe that God has already spoken to the end of your situation. You don’t have to believe me but in the bible when Lazarus was sick and dying, Jesus didn’t show up right away. His friend lay at the point of death and Jesus says, “Lazarus’ sickness isn’t until death,” and for the next two days Jesus stayed where He was until Lazarus died. Why? Because He needed people to see the manifestation of His power. Beloved, your situation isn’t until death but will you trust that God has already spoken your deliverance and praise Him in the middle of it? Because in a few days, Jesus will show up and tell them to roll the stone away and He will call your name saying come out. All you have to do is trust Him enough to praise Him, even in the darkness of the grave. Will you?

Daily Devotional – 9/21/17 “You are free, now what?”

Now you have to choose. Usually when an inmate is released, they are given conditions. Well, today we change that to choices. See, no one should have to make you change, you should want to choose too. This is why, you was not released on probation where you are threatened into behaving. Neither were you given house arrest, you should not have to be monitored and watched. Ma’am/sir, these are simple choices, you can choose, to ensure you stay free.

  1. Remove the clothes of bondage – You are no longer a prisoner. Remove the clothes, discard the prison number, change your mindset and embrace your freedom. Galatians 5:1, “So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.”

  2. Be committed to remain free – According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 47% of prisoners who are released end back up in prison within three years. In my opinion, they have a hard time getting accustomed to not being locked up, especially if they started going to prison during the formative years of their life. This is why you must have a committed mind to be free. Romans 8:5, “Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.”

  3. Cut ties with those of your former – If you are surrounded by folk whose mindset hasn’t changed, you need to sever ties and be okay with it. 1 Peter 1:14, “So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then.”

  4. Forgive yourself – Yes, you have made mistakes. Yes, you have done wrong. Yes, you knew better but forgive yourself. There is an entire world you have yet to see, come out of the bondage, beloved. Ephesians 4:22, “throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.”

  5. Stop allowing folk to call you by mistakes/condition – Sometimes you have to reintroduce yourself to people who only knew you by what you used to do, go through or be. Yes, you may have known me as this but I’m no longer that, allow me to reintroduce myself. Romans 14:16, “So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil.”

  6. Above all else, choose God – Yes, it will be hard. Yes, you will have some moments of wanting to give up. Yes, it may look like your past will never leave you alone. Yes, it may seem as if you cannot shake loose who you used to be. But choose God because He has the ability to use us and call us holy and it does not matter what we look like, what we’ve done or who we used to be. Ephesians 5:17, “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”

You are free and you can stay free because the bible says in Romans 6:16, “Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.” What will you choose today?