Daily Devotional – 6/26/17 “Faith!”

I often time look back at things I’ve written and I am in awe of the growth but more so, I am blown away by God’s anointing. When I started this blog some years ago, I had no idea what it would become, I simply stepped out on faith. Faith …the substance of things hoped for. It’s scary but it is worth it. When I got to work this morning, I read an email congratulating one of my co-workers who is leaving this job. When I spoke to him, he said, “I am stepping out on faith.” Faith – The evidence of things not seen. (Come on God!) Look, I need you to understand the severity of this thang called FAITH. This wasn’t what I was going to write on this morning but when my fingers tapped on the keyboard, the Holy Spirit took over and I believe it is because you (somebody) asked of God. Well, beloved He is answering. I do not know what your prayer is, what your cry is about, what your question is or even why I am being led to write this but I must be obedient. Faith is… Please understand, we always stop at this one scripture but let me open the door to what comes next because this entire passage is the devotional. Faith!

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead. By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith. By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the Promised Land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise.” – Hebrews 11:1-11

Some of you are missing some stuff that faith has already paid for. When will you get up to get it?

Daily Devotional – 6/16/17 “Birthing is a process!”

When a woman becomes pregnant, the closer she gets to her due date, the more anxious and excited she becomes. She is looking forward to birthing out what is on the inside of her because, number one she is tired and number two, she wants to see what the blessing will actually look like. But sometimes, the baby doesn’t come when he/she is expected too. In fact, for some women, their due date comes and goes and still no baby. This is because nobody can really predict when you will deliver. You can get estimates but no one knows for sure until your body begins going through the process. For somebody, reading this or maybe for someone you are connected to, you (they) are feeling overwhelmed by the heaviness in your belly. You are tired of being stuck in the same place, sick of the pain from the weight of the load, tossing and turning at night because you can’t sleep and all God keeps saying is wait. You are crying out for help and God is saying, “Be patient.” Seeking comfort from the doctor yet all He does is send you home. Feeling the pressure but still cannot push.

Well, beloved, it is not time to push. I am not only speaking to women because there are some men who are rushing the destiny that is on the inside of you. And just like a woman who cannot predict her labor, neither can you. You have to wait because pushing too soon may birth a premature destiny. And a premature destiny can mean it’ll be smaller than normal, fragile and has to be handled with care, sensitive to certain elements and may not survive. Birthing, prematurely, runs the risk of future complications and it can cost you a whole lot of money. So, slow down! Don’t rush the process of getting to destiny that you miss the passion which fulfills your purpose! Birthing takes time and it is a process. Sit there because when you finally lay eyes on the purpose of your pain, it will all be worth it. Yea, seeing destiny will be worth all the pressure, the nausea, the sickness, the crying and emotions, forgetting things and not being able to get enough rest. Don’t rush through the pregnancy simply to get to the birth because, you may not know this, but there is pain on that end too and it is worse.

“The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.” – 2 Peter 3:9

Daily Devotional – 6/15/17 “Can your character speak for you?”

Did you know a rumor about you will spread faster than the truth? You probably did but did you also know this happens because folk cannot nor will they try to believe the good in you? It will not matter what you do, they will still lie on you. You can tell them the truth, in your words, and they will still call you a liar. Baby, there will be folk who sat at your graduation and then spread the rumor you’re a drop out. Folk will show up at your church, be flat on their face at the altar and then lie like you don’t have the oil of anointing. Folk will log on to your live videos, comment and heart ever status while stealing what you posted yet they will swear you did not say it. This is only because folk are thirsty for the negative … IN YOU! Think about it. Jesus was the epitome of perfect yet they lied on Him. They said He wasn’t who He claimed to be. They watched Him heal, (sometimes from a distance), they witnessed Him loose folk of demons, they heard Him speak life back into dead people and places and they saw Him feed the multitude but they still called Him a liar and deceiver. Even today, folk still lie on God yet He still work miracles, He still shows up to snatch us out of dark places and He works even in the midst of naysayers because He knows His truth.

This is why, beloved, you don’t have to chase down every rumor and lie that has been spoken about you. When a person goes to trial, there is sometimes circumstantial evidence against them and the prosecutor believes he/she has an open and shut case. But then, your attorney gets up and he disproves everything that was once stacked against you. He brings in character witnesses and evidence that testifies on your behalf and when the juror comes back with their verdict, it’s not guilty. Why? Because your character of evidence proved you as such. Which leads me to the question, how is your character? Character, the mental and moral qualities of a person. You do know your character precedes, you right? You are aware that your character will speak on your behalf, correct? Then how is it? The bible says in Proverbs 10:8-9, “The wise are glad to be instructed, but babbling fools fall flat on their faces. People with integrity walk safely, but those who follow crooked paths will slip and fall.” You can and will believe what you want, the same way folk can and will believe what they hear but can your character speak for you?

Daily Devotional – 6/13/17 “Where is the Great Commission?”

When Jesus rose from the grave, He did so in order to fulfill the prophecy that had been spoken. But something else happened and it is recorded in Matthew 28:16-20. It says, “Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him—but some of them doubted! Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.””

How many of you are neglecting this charge because you think it’s only for those called? How many of you have the mindset that it isn’t your place to help bring people to Christ? How many of you have your mouth closed when you’re in the midst of lost folk? Haven’t you seen the news or counted the RIPs? Some folk aren’t making it inside the 4 walls of the church, except by way of a casket. This means, ministry has to go into the streets with some voices that haven’t been heard before. We can no longer wait until Sunday. There are some living rooms that need to be changed to altars. There are some street corners that need to hold prayer meetings. There are some beauty and barber shops that need to be makeshift worship places. And some stores that need to be used. Why? That’s where the people are and we need to meet them there. This is why I use social media. I don’t care if you say it’s too long to read because one of these days, you’ll find the time and it will be just what you need. Even then I pray it’s by choice and not force.

Dear God,
Forgive us for not being the disciples you have called us to be. Forgive us for not doing your will. And forgive us for selfishly thinking of only ourselves. God, we know there is a cry across this nation that will only be silenced by your word. Raise up a people who are not afraid to serve you. Give a message to those who are relevant for this season who can be used to manifest miracles in dry places. Use the hands, feet and voices of those you’ve chosen to lay hands, cast out, rebuke and call down. We need mantle carriers who aren’t afraid to go into enemy territories to set your people free. We need worshippers whose war cry can shatter walls. We need intercessors who can truly intercede. Do it God above our expectations. Change the sound until it is pleasing in your ears! Prune until you are pleased with our appearance. And burn in us until our sacrifice smells good in your nostrils.
Amen.

Daily Devotional – 6/12/17 “Crumb blessing!”

“Now there was a rich man dressed in purple and fine linen, who lived each day in joyous splendor. And a beggar named Lazarus lay at his gate, covered with sores and longing to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.”

Sometimes the blessing isn’t in the ‘lot’ that you give but it is in the crumbs. In the parable above, Lazarus (the beggar) did not ask for a meal, he only wanted the little that fell from the rich man’s table. The beggar did not ask for a chicken leg, he said I’ll take the crumbs. He didn’t ask for a cake of bread, he said the crumbs will do. Yet many times we miss the blessing in the crumbs. Our mind has been tricked to believe we need it all when the crumbs will do. Our eyes gravitate to the abundance when the crumbs will satisfy. Beloved, there is a blessing, even in the crumbs. In this parable, the rich man wouldn’t have even missed the crumbs. In fact, it would not have even hurt him to give Lazarus a meal but he didn’t. Instead, he walked past him, every time he moved by way of the gate. And because of this, when the rich man died, he went to hell and when he got there, he cried out, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. For I am in agony in this fire (Luke 16:24).” The rich man now needed Lazarus, the beggar.

What’s my point? A few things actually.

– Number one, sometimes the blessing isn’t in your sowing of abundance because God will bless your crumbs. The beggar could have been the very thing used to save the rich man from being sent to hell. What small seed are you holding that God has asked of you to sow?

– Number two, you never know who you will need. The rich man thought the beggar needed him when in actuality, it was the rich man who needed the beggar. The very person you are overlooking, in this season, could be the one person you need to bring you through it.

– Number three, don’t miss the blessing by walking by it. The rich man missed it because his focus was on the appearance of the beggar. All he saw was a man covered in sores who was begging. When, in actuality, what he missed was a man covered in sores who was blessing. Don’t miss your blessing simply because it doesn’t look like what you were expecting.