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?

Daily Devotional – 9/20/17 “You are free!”

When a man or woman has served time in a prison, for however long, there is a process they will go through upon their release. For some, it is easy but for others it can be traumatic. It’s almost like Stockholm syndrome, the difference, a prisoner begins to feel for their captor and in this case it’s prison. As a prisoner you are on a schedule, someone is preparing your food, you cannot go and come as you wish, there is a certain time to use the phone, scheduled times to see your loved ones, your money is managed, your mail is watched and you have no freedom. Depending on your sentence, you may find yourself spending year after year in this prison, getting accustomed to the yelling and the screaming of other inmates, the violence and being told what to do and how to do it. You get used to the food. You get used to the small cells. You get used to the little, if any, outdoor air you breathe. You get adapted to your prisoner. Now, release day comes and you find yourself walking out the doors into a world that is unfamiliar and it can scare you. Why am I sharing this? Especially since I have never been to prison or jail. Well, this morning, beloved, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, I just want to help somebody today.

No, you may not have been released from the prison system but you have been in prison. Whether it was abuse, a dwindling marriage, an addiction, a job, a relationship, a place of worship or a sickness. And now you have been released and don’t know what to do with yourself. The doors have been opened and the shackles released but you still walk around like you’re bound. You’ve been healed and you still get up in the morning following the same routine you did when you were sick. Your abuser is gone yet you still walk around on egg shells. You left that place of worship yet you still don’t trust the one you’ve joined. Your marriage ended yet you still find yourself holding on to the hostility. The addiction, you still act like that alcoholic/drug addict. Baby, you’re free. Go to sleep in your bed, nobody will hurt you. Laugh, you won’t get hit this time. You can enjoy worship, nobody is talking about you. You can have that drink, you are healed. You can go on that vacation, your probation is over. Ma’am, sir; you are free now. – Happy Release Day!

Daily Devotional – 9/15/17 “Collateral damage!”

Have you ever found yourself being hurt because the person you were with was hurt by somebody else? Have you ever found yourself victim by way of some stuff because you were in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong folk? Ever found yourself facing hell and all you did was came when somebody called? In other words, you’ve been collateral damage. All you have to do is take a moment and you’ll say, “Yes, I’ve been there,” because the truth of the matter is; we all have been. All you did was accept an invitation to dinner and now you got his crazy baby momma calling your phone, stalking your Facebook page and liking on your pictures on Instagram. Your friend called you and you went, only to end up with a black eye because she didn’t tell you her boyfriend was acting a fool. You were invited to speak on the church’s Harvest Program and now rumors are spreading about you and the pastor. You are collateral damage. In Genesis 20:3, Abimelech finds himself being called a dead man and all he did was took a woman he thought was single. But because Abraham lied, Abimelech found himself as collateral damage.

How many of you have that testimony? Being labeled a home-wrecker and you didn’t even know the liar was married. Being labeled as lowdown and all you were was the messenger. Being called out because of your last name and DNA. Being abused because you happen to be the one there at the time. Being hurt because it just happened to be you, close enough, when the fire started. Collateral damage. What do you do? You keep your integrity and your heart clear and give folk back their stuff. God told Abimelech in Genesis 20:6-7, “Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her. Now then, return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”” Stop being a third wheel, get out of that relationship. Stop being easy accessible, tell folk no. Stop allowing yourself to be in a position to be hurt, choose you for once. You may have been collateral damage before but seek God and pray that you will never be it again.

I nominate you …

This morning I get an email that I almost deleted without reading but I stopped. Clicking on it, I see it is from a fellow blogger sister Calandra Williams. She says she was recently nominated for the Liebster Award for blogging and one of the requirements is nominating other blogs. She chose ME to be in the number. Out of all the blogs she could have chosen, I am ecstatic to be one of them. [Y’all, I don’t know what to say! And I am trying not to cry.]

Thank you Calandra and I pray God continues to amaze you in ministry, life itself and especially blogging. Please take the time to read her BLOG and see why she chose me as her favorite blogger. Also, like her Facebook Page, Truth Written Ministries because it will bless you!

Here are the questions …

    What has been your biggest challenge with blogging?

  • I guess it would have to be, staying out of flesh. So many times, when things are happening, we tend to want to react with our personal thoughts and feelings. When we do that, we don’t help anybody. For me, I pray daily for God to align my flesh with my spirit man in order for me to blog and share from a level of spirituality that can then reach a person’s spirit.

    Your number one tip for other bloggers.

  • Enjoy it. When blogging becomes a job, you lose the excitement and the fire. Relax and enjoy it. There used to be times I would feel so bad about missing a day to post but then I realized, stuff happens. Now, I enjoy it every moment of it.

    What are your hobbies other than blogging?

  • Hobbies, what are those? LOL. When I am not being a wife, mother, minister, career woman, etc.; I write. Seriously, I write books (fiction and devotionals) during my down time. Lately, the time has been rare but when I can find the time I write, read and I love to play games. (Mario Bros is my fave!)

    What successful entrepreneur do you admire and why?

  • Andrea Johnson of Bubble Bistro in Memphis. She is a woman who is doing the doggone thang! She runs a successful business and looks effortless doing it. And she doesn’t mind letting you see how hard she has to push to achieve greatness. If you don’t know about Bubble Bistro, chile you are missing out.

    Who is your favorite blogger and why?

  • To be honest, I cannot pick a favorite blogger (yet) because there are so many. However, two that I enjoy reading is Stacey Covington-Lee’s blog on, Caramel Lattes and Stilettos as well as Calandra’s Truth Written.

    Tell us about your blog and why you started blogging.

  • My blog, Kisha’s Daily Devotional, was started over three years ago on pure faith. I used to post things on Facebook and after a while, I would begin to get inboxes asking for a daily dose of encouragement. So, I took a leap and opened up WordPress and the rest is still being written. Kisha’s Daily Devotional isn’t a blog to show you I know it all, spiritually, but it is an up close and personal look into what I learn on this journey. It’s a place to get some encouragement while also swallowing a dose of “check yourself,” because I try to keep it as raw and uncut as I can. There is no time for sugarcoating when the enemy is trying to beat us down every second. This is why I blog, in a way to say, “Get up mane, we got work to do.”

    The item you can’t live without.

  • Something to write with and on. I am always jotting down things that come to me. I am also writing notes or scribbling so if there is anything I could choose it would be that.

    What and who motivates you to write?

  • The fire of the Holy Spirit and the gift God bestows every day. (Too spiritual, lol) But this is so it. I cannot take credit for anything happening in my life because God continuously blows my mind. Yes, I could potentially do it without Him but why would I and what good would it do? God is the reason you read this. God is the reason you know me. God is the reason for it all and I dare not take credit because I am not all that!

Daily Devotional – 9/14/17 “Do a little at a time!”

My husband and I have been going to the gym, together, for about a month now. One of the machines I have tried to stay away from is the stair stepper. That machine, oh my God! Who would have thought a machine that looks as easy as walking stairs, could take your breath away? I mean, it looks easy. It’s just stairs. Right? Baby, you will need water, towel and oxygen; fooling around with this machine. However, I will not be defeated by it so I have decided to do a few minutes every day until it is no longer a challenge. Is it hard? Heck yes but it’ll be worth it. And I am sharing this, for somebody who is looking at something challenging and trying to decide if you can do it. Beloved, don’t try to conquer it at once; do a little at a time. Going back to school, take one class. Joining the gym, do 30 minutes. Paying off debt, take one bill. Losing weight, take away one bad thing. Do a little at a time. Who can eat a pie without first cutting a slice and then taking a bite? Who can build a car without putting the first screw into the metal? Who can build a house without first cutting the wood? Do a little at a time.

Whether you know this or not, you cannot do it all. If you want to learn to cook, start with the basics. If you want to be in leadership, start with learning how to follow direction. If you want to pastor a church, learn how to first be a parishioner. If you want to open a business, learn how it is done. Yes, you jump head first but that may not work out so well especially when you have bitten off more than you can chew. Do a little at a time until you have mastered that and then add more. Taking on too much can cause injury. You can overwork a muscle, like your jaw muscle, trying to talk yourself out some stuff. You can put too much stress on your organs, like your heart and brain trying to do too much. You can wear yourself out, trying to consistently go when your body is saying not today. Stop trying to do so much. Do a little at a time and then add to it. This way you will actually enjoy what you are working towards instead of it becoming a daunting task you hate. The bible says in Ecclesiastes 2:22-24, “So what do people get in this life for all their hard work and anxiety? Their days of labor are filled with pain and grief; even at night their minds cannot rest. It is all meaningless. So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God.”