Lakisha, the Author

Daily Devotional – 5/22/17 “Missing the fellowship”

On yesterday, I witnessed the true meaning of fellowship, something that is missing in a lot of worship places of today. My niece, Michaiah, who is 15 years, is preparing to study abroad her sophomore year of high school and in September, she will travel to Italy. Yesterday, there was a benefit to help offset the over $15K in fees associated with making her dream a reality because we cannot do it alone. Some new villagers were added to the tribe of #forMichaiahsbenefit and they came together, in a way of fellowship and raised over $2300. It was amazing. I am sharing this because there is not a lot of fellowship happening within the walls of worship places anymore. Just think about it. There used to be a time when a person was sick, the ‘fellowship’ of believers would rally around and pray. Now, they just show up to be the first to get information. When a person died, the ‘fellowship’ would ensure the family lacked for nothing but now, you can’t even get a 7 piece chicken without everybody knowing you were the one who bought it. When the pastor is going through, the ‘fellowship’ would rally around to hold up his/her arms but now most of them are the ones causing the hell.

The bible says in Hebrews 10:24-25, “Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” What happened to fellowship? Where are the services that actually care about your soul? What happened to the deacons and trustees that care about God’s assigned under shepherds and not the savings account? What happened to the fellowship of believers who can recite the mission statement or tell you the real vision of the church? Where is the fellowship of folk who still follow the law of God? Where is the fellowship of believers who can pay somebody’s light bill without it needing a vote from the majority? What happened to the fellowship who would hold up those who were leaning? Where are the believers who once covered the altar for others in spite of what they were going through? I am only asking because I miss this kind of fellowship. The genuine fellowship of closed mouths and open arms to receive you without knowing your problem. The fellowship of prayers to rebuke the storm you’re in. The fellowship of mothers who carried something to cover your knees if your skirt was too short but never made you feel bad about it. The fellowship of men who you could look up too instead of them looking at you. Where is the fellowship? If you see, tell him I’ve been looking for him.

P.S. – If you would like to donate to Michaiah, you can do so via PayPal (Authorlakisha@gmail.com) or directly to AFS USA by clicking here

Daily Devotional – 5/19/17 “The lesson of begging!”

When I was little, if we begged for stuff, let’s say food, only to get it and not like it; my granddaddy would make us eat it. He did not care if it took an hour, you would have to sit at the table and eat it because he was teaching a lesson of not begging. And this has stuck with me because I have found that sometimes, we can bite off more than we can chew. For the sake of this devotional, I’ll put it into laymen’s terms and say, stop begging God for stuff while in flesh that we are not spiritually ready to handle. Yes, I know you want your Boaz or your Ruth but then what? Can you handle the financial responsibility that Boaz brings to the table or are you still having trouble balancing your own checkbook? Can you cook a mighty man meal that Boaz hungers for or is spaghetti o’s the only thing you can warm up? Can you keep a house that Boaz can live in? Can you handle strains of Boaz’s profession or are you the jealous type that looks through his stuff? Sir, can you meet the needs of Ruth or are you still hung up on the one who hurt you last? Can you afford to bring home the bacon or will she need to do that too? Can you handle meeting the needs of Ruth’s intimate desires or are you all about self? Can you handle the demands of her professional life or are you mad because she makes more money?

These are the kinds of things you have to ask because you may find yourself in some stuff you’ll be forced to deal with it. Okay, the sex is good but what about his/her spirit? Yea, the finances are on point but what about his/her faith? Oh, he/she looks good but will they labor for you? Beloved, you can’t move in with somebody who doesn’t allow pork in the house and that’s all you eat. You cannot be mad at her for not cleaning when, had you paid attention to the living room instead of running to the bedroom, you would have known her skills were lacking. You can’t be mad that he is now the pastor of the church when you knew ministry was his thing when you met him. You can’t keep begging God for directions to destiny just to get there and it not be like you thought. You cannot pray for God to remove some stuff unless you are ready for some soul ties to be severed. You cannot pray for healing unless you’re ready to deal with the pain of recovering. You cannot beg God to intervene unless you are ready to handle the effects of withdrawal. You cannot beg God to do it and then get mad when He does. Because you may just find yourself, sitting at the table of sacrifice, scarfing down a bitter lesson that looked better than it tasted. Prepare yourself for what you ask of God because Jesus says in John 14:14, “You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”

Daily Devotional – 5/18/17 “Is your worship real?”

Beloved, if you don’t think it is time to stop playing church, read the news! No, the church doesn’t have all the answers but the church should be able to equip some folks to rebuke and decree. Are you not tired of the prophet-lying prophets that prophecy for profit? Are you not sick of the money hungry ministers who pimp out the gift of the anointing? Are you not fed up with these pitiful pastors who prey more than they pray? What about the messy missionaries who sit on the second row yet they’ve yet to mission. Or what about the evangelists that look real good in their robe but don’t even know the meaning of their title. Or the apostle whose collar is just right but they have yet to tap into their apostolic flow. Or the mothers, dressed in their all white with no power. The deacons, who can worry the hell out a pastor but can’t even pray for devotion. Yes, your flyers for revival is real cute but nobody is getting revived. Yea, I saw your video but all I heard was hollering and no hope. Sir, you can whoop very well but when are you going to worship. Ok, you’re baptizing every Sunday but can you keep them?

I don’t know about you but what happened to the services where folk were healed and delivered, for real? Where are the worship places that don’t worry about a program because they are more concerned with releasing Sis. Smith from pain? Where are the for real worship places? Where are the worship places that allow the Holy Spirit to show up without worrying about if one service will run into the next? What happened to lock-ins, vacation bible school and youth in action for Christ? I am only asking these questions because too many people are walking around feeling hopeless when we have access to a God who says in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Where are the people who are not afraid? For the bible says in Isaiah 58:1, “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.” Will the real worship places open your doors because we have a world in need?

Daily Devotional – 5/17/17 “After yes!”

I wish someone would have told me how much saying yes to God would hurt or how much it would cost me. Please understand, I would not trade saying yes to God for anything but just maybe it would have been easier to handle, had I known. No, this is not just about accepting a call to ministry but it is simply about saying yes. Yes, God to your will. Yes, God to your way. Yes, God I will go. Yes, God I trust you. Yes God! Because afterwards, when you think things should be getting better, you may just find yourself in a really dark place, crouched in the farthest corner of a room, hiding out from family and friends, standing at the edge of a cliff, looking down the barrel of a loaded gun, counting out pills to swallow or preparing to shoot up something to take you away from the current conditions of your life. Sometimes you find yourself asking, how I ended up back here. Crying out to God for understanding and He’s silent. Pacing back and forth trying to make sense of why stuff is happening to you, at this moment. After the yes. Wondering, shouldn’t things be getting better? Well chile, here is what I’ve learned, after saying yes.

1. You are uncertain – Yes, you were tired of being in the broken place and you were tired of fighting God. Yet now it seems like hell is breaking loose and it is worse than before. You have to trust in your yes. “So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you!” – Hebrews 10:35

2. You find yourself fighting – You are now seeing people for who they really are and calling them on it because your eyes have been opened and the wool has been snatched off. “But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.” – 2 Corinthians 3:16

3. You start suffering at the hands of family and friends – Yes, it was bad before but now it is worse now because folk will hurt what they cannot or will not understand and that happens to be the change in you. – “If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.” – 1 Peter 4:14

4. You lose some people – Yes, it hurts but you will only lose those who cannot survive in your new season. Be okay with saying bye. For you will soon learn that you will no longer shed tears over the things that used to make you cry. “You have armed me with strength for the battle; you have subdued my enemies under my feet.” – Psalm 18:39

5. There is glory after yes – “Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.” – Romans

Don’t delay your yes because of fear and don’t go back on your word once saying yes. Saying yes to God comes with privilege and pain but I declare it is worth it. Because now your testimony begins with, “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” – 2 Corinthians 12:10.

Daily Devotional – 5/16/17 “Footprints!”

Asia is excited about starting her college journey. She applied and has been accepted to the same school her mom and dad attended. She has already mapped out how the next four years of her life will go based on all the stories she’d heard. When the time comes, she packs up her things and moves into the dorms. School starts and it is much harder than she expected but she presses on because she cannot let her parents down. She tries to join the same sorority as her mom but it doesn’t feel right. She even begins dating this guy who puts her in the mind of her dad but he doesn’t treat her like her dad does her mom. And on top of that, she’s struggling. She’s been walking in the footprints of her parents and by the time she realizes it isn’t actually what she wants, she’s flunking out of school.

Many times we try to walk in the footprints of those who have paved the way for us instead of understanding that we walk because of their footprints. See, I’ve come to realize that if I try to walk in the same footprints of my mama, I will fall over the same things she did. If I try to walk in the same footprints of grandma, I will stumble where she did. If I try to walk in the same footprints of granddaddy, I will hit the same wall, in the same place he did. Why? Well because we are too busy focusing on stepping in their footprints rather than watching where we are going. This is why our logic of thinking has to change. We are not our mothers, our sisters, our aunties or uncles. We are who we are and we have to walk the path designed for us. Another thing, when we attempt to walk the footprints of someone else, we sometimes set ourselves up to attain something not meant for us. Thus leading to fighting a battle we are not equipped for, walking into places we are not ready for and sitting at tables that cannot cater to our taste. Note, there is absolutely nothing wrong with looking up to those before us but don’t limit yourself to being just like them. Do greater works! We walk, today, because of the footprints of those who marched through the hell of yesterday. They left marks in places ‘they’ said we couldn’t go as a guide. Use them!