Daily Devotional – 9/7/17 “Believing Prayer!”

Our Father,

You, whose name is holy. You, who are all-knowing. You, who is the giver and taker of life. You, who are the author and finisher of our faith and you, who is the creator of all. God, we petition your throne asking that your will, for us, be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today, God, the bread of life and living water that it shall sustain us. Forgive us of sins we have committed, do not allow us to fall into temptation and deliver us from those who seek to do evil against us. For God, it is today that we need you to quiet the storms. Not just the spiritual storms but God we also need you to calm the physical storms. Yes, we know this is hurricane season. Yes, we know these things happen. Yes, we know that we have to endure sometimes but your word says if I pray and ask in faith that it shall be. God, calm the winds. God, stop the rains. God, recede the flood waters. God, rescue your people. God, cover those in shelters. God, protect the first, second and third responders. God, let it be no more lives lost by these storms. God, let it be no more devastation. God, pour out blessings that all which has been lost shall be restored. God, give to those who have opened their homes that they shall lack for nothing. God, bless every place of worship that has opened their doors and their wallets. Let the arms of the rescue organizations reach to all those especially the ones without insurance. Let every penny raised go to those in need. Exceed the needs, God. Let the manifestation of your power be seen. I am asking, in faith, God so that the storms should cease. Speak to the storms now God and stop their roar. Speak God and they will obey. We know you can and we believe you will.

By faith,
Amen.

“And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, IF you have faith (Matthew 21:22).”

Daily Devotional – 9/6/17 “Trust the manufacturer!”

When I was younger, I loved roller coasters (some still today). It was the thrill, speed, twists and even turns that could cause your stomach to drop that were all worth riding this huge ride. Yet, these kinds of rides come with requirements. You have to be a certain height (or accompanied by someone older), you have to be able to hold your head up and have control of your upper body and you have to be mentally prepared. As I thought about this, it reminded me of ministry because whether you want to admit this or not; ministry is not for everybody. Say what you want but not everyone can handle the twists and turns of ministry that can cause your stomach to drop, your feelings to get hurt or your name to be scandalized. You have to be able to hold your head up. You have to have control of your upper body, you know like your mouth and your heart. And you have to be mentally prepared because there are some things you’ll be witnessed to that will leave you wondering what is happening in your life.

And, if I can be honest with you, it’s not just ministry because being a child of God is hard too. For just like ministry, you will find yourself going through the trials of life, fighting to defend what you believe in, stomaching some stuff you wish you could spit back, handling some more stuff your natural heart could not while bandaging wounds that should have been fatal to your flesh. But aren’t you glad that God made you spiritually equipped to handle the roller coaster of this journey? Are you not ecstatic at how well manufactured you are? Yes, there will be some times where you will need to be taken down for service but that is when your contractor is restoring those areas that could potentially wear out. All you have to do is be willing to be put in service. All you have to do is be willing to handle the weight of the load. All you have to do is be willing to go through the dark tunnels, over the hills and around the turns. All you have to do, beloved, is trust the manufacturer and operator because He knows what He is doing. For the bible says in Psalm 100:3, “Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.”

Daily Devotional – 9/5/17 “Forgive me Father, for I have sinned…”

In biblical days, in order to approach God, you had to do it by way of a priest. This priest would then offer a sacrifice to God on your behalf. As I thought about that, this morning, I became exceedingly glad for the sacrifice of Jesus. It was His death, on the cross, that tore the temple into two; forever removing the divide between man and God. It is because of His sacrifice, we can now go to God ourselves. Due to all Jesus had to endure, we can now ask for forgiveness and receive it. Just think for a minute on how your life would be if the only option you had for forgiveness was confessing to a priest, who would then have to go to God on your behalf. Baby, most of us would be the raggedy mess we attempt to hide on a daily basis. We’d be the scars, our makeup and clothes try to cover. Our outer appearance will be the inward mess of addictions, abuse, bitterness and anger we tend to hide. Our lives would be the jacked up mess, it should be, if it wasn’t for the ability to confess our own transgressions and then be forgiven.

This should make you, as a believer, thankful for the ability to ask for forgiveness of your sins in private. Chile, if we had to go to the church for forgiveness, most of us would not go. Some of us are still hung up on whether the pastor is a male or female and not if they can get a prayer through. And, if I shall tell the truth, most of us wouldn’t go because this would mean folk will find out about your secret fetishes. Folk will know about your hidden addictions. Folk will find out you’re really a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Folk will know you aren’t really as saved as you portray. Folk will know you still lie, a lot. Folk will find out about the lusting you do while in worship and folk will know you aren’t, really, all that. In other words, folk would see the real you. Yes, we all have skeletons but it is one thing to have them and an entirely different thing to reveal them. Yet, thanks be to God and the sacrifice of His son, Jesus, we can, as David says in Psalm 32:5, “I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah.” Confess your faults while they can still be forgiven.

Daily Devotional – 9/1/17 “Six years later…”

Every year, on this date, I celebrate the start of my blog; Kisha’s Daily Devotional. Whether you are reading this from the site, via email, social media or if someone shared it with you; thank you. This blog was not created for me to get famous or for accolades because the truth of the matter is; this has never been about me. One day, I stepped out on faith and begin sharing with you, what God has been sharing with me. I’m just His messenger. And six (6) years, 1386 posts, 185,432K views from all over the world, 559 blog, 859 twitter and 341 Facebook followers later; we are still be here. It is not because I’ve been doing everything right, I still fall short sometimes. It is not because I have all the answers, I am still learning. It is not because of me, I have no power. Yet God has need of my voice and I vowed it to Him one Thursday to use it. Has it been easy, no but it has been worth it.

I have no idea what this next year will look like, what tomorrow holds for Lakisha neither where this anointing will take me but I packed for this journey the minute I said yes to God. And if one somebody steps out on faith, through this blog; if just one somebody gets closer to God, through this blog; if just one somebody says YES to God through this blog; my work isn’t in vain. I seek to serve God with all of me and that sometimes means sharing with you, even when I don’t feel like it or even sharing some personal struggles and testimonies with you even if I never meet you personally. This blog isn’t just mine but it is OURS for me to tell you not to allow fear to hold you hostage in the boat, step out on faith. You will not believe this (maybe you will) but the most viewed post ever is one from 2/24/12, “Write your vision, make it plain,” with over 1,891 views (and it is a long post). I will share with you the ending. It says, “Trust in God when it comes to His word because He won’t leave you nor forsake you. Stop being bound by fear and step out on faith because faith is a belief in what you do not see but acting as if it is already done. Through faith you receive favor and favor makes you fruitful and being fruitful means you’re fulfilling the need and once the need is fulfilled then you’re rewarded! Not a reward by man but rewarded by God who keeps dropping blessings in your bucket even when you don’t deserve them.”

Daily Devotional – 8/31/17 “Be mindful of those!”

There is somebody, probably one who is real close to you, underestimating the fire in your belly. They look supportive, they sound loyal, they show up to the celebrations, they comment their congratulations and they even wear the shirt with your logo. But deep down, they do not really believe you’ll do it. They don’t have faith in your ability to accomplish all the things you have planned and they are only standing close by just in case you do. See, if they ‘act’ supportive, they will feel obligated to be blessed by your blessing. Please note, this is not for those true supporter who are there through the wins and the losses but these are those who make the sly remarks thinking you didn’t hear them. These are those who always agree and then says but. These are those who say, “I’m with whatever you want” instead of giving you sound advice. These are those who half smile when you show them the speech you’ve prepared in advance. These are those who do not understand why you’re thanking God for something you haven’t gotten yet. These are those who question your loyalty to worship. Be mindful of those!

This is why you have to be careful the labels you place on folk and those you allow to be placed on you because a friend has a responsibility to love at all times and a brother/sister to be there in difficult times. Don’t take my word but trust God’s because the bible says in Proverbs 17:17, “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a difficult time?” This means when I mess up, you don’t leave me but you still love me. This means when you fall short, I still love you. This means you love me even when I am weak. This means I still love you even though you promised not to drink again but did. This means you love me when you catch me buying that stuff I said I’d never use again. This means I still love you even when you take your trifling spouse back. This means you’ll love me despite my choices. This means I will love you even when you are dirty and you will love me, mess and all because we love one another at ALL times. This also means, family, you don’t allow meaningless mess to divide our relationship because a brother (sister) was born for adversity. This means you may be mad at me, sister, but you will still show up in my crisis. I may be angry at you, brother, but I am still coming when you call. You may not like me, sister, but you love me enough to fight for me. I may get sick of you begging, brother, but I’ll still help when I can. You may get tired of me messing up, sister, but you will still clean me up. I may chastise you but I’ll still feed you. And we may not talk every day but when we do and you hear the pain in my voice, you show up. That’s a true sister/brother-friend. Be mindful of those, they are the ones you keep!