Daily Devotional – 4/17/17 “Whose report will you believe?”

The day after the Resurrection and some of you are being attacked, spiritually. It was probably somebody, at the family dinner, yesterday questioning you on “your belief.” You may even see some post on social media, downing what you believe in but whose report will you believe? In the bible, the day after some of the guards at Jesus’ tomb went running to the temple leaders to report to them what had happened. The bible says in Matthew 28:12-15, “A meeting with the elders was called, and they decided to give the soldiers a large bribe. They told the soldiers, “You must say, ‘Jesus’ disciples came during the night while we were sleeping, and they stole his body.’ If the governor hears about it, we’ll stand up for you so you won’t get in trouble.” So the guards accepted the bribe and said what they were told to say. Their story spread widely among the Jews, and they still tell it today.” They knew what happened because Jesus had already told them ahead of time, however, in order to discredit the faith of the believers in Jesus, they came up with a story to cover it up. Instead of owning up to the truth of being wrong, they bribed the guards to spread a false report. And you know what? It’s still happening today? Some of us are still being paid to tell the same false story. Yea, I know the churches are preaching “He got up,” in their good ole Baptist voice but do you know why Jesus had to die in the first place? Yes ma’am, yes sir; the resurrection is a good piece to make folk shout but the suffering, in the Garden of Gethsemane, is even greater to make folk save!

See, some of you are in covenant with folk who will try to convince you that all what you believe isn’t true. They will try to shame your faith, simply because it isn’t in line with theirs. They will try to cover up the fact that what you say contradicts theirs. They will have you sitting, near them, in order to hear what you’ll say and keep you close to ensure you don’t blow the cover off them. Some will brand it, ‘spiritual growth,’ when they know good and well there is nothing spiritual about it. They are bribing you to tell a story and you’re going along with it because the money and the fame is good. Well beloved, on this Monday, whose report will you believe? I mean, you’ve read the biblical report (I hope) and you know the tomb was empty, right? You do know that Jesus wasn’t there, don’t you? You also know that Resurrection Sunday has nothing to do with bunnies and eggs too; right? Then whose report will you believe? Listen, I am not knocking how you celebrate the Resurrection because I love me some boiled eggs and family dinner and I also enjoy the innocence of my nephew who wants to dress up in his suit and get his easter basket filled with candy and treats from my sister. However, I have a responsibility to teach him about Jesus and to let him know the real report. Stop accepting anything just to be in the presence of someone who has followers. Stop tell their story and tell Jesus’. There are reports out there but whose will you believe? I believe Jesus. Even when I have to suffer, I believe Jesus. Whose report will you believe?

Daily Devotional – 4/14/17 “Because Jesus lives! “


God sent His son, they called Him, Jesus;
He came to love, heal and forgive;
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives!


Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone,
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!


And then one day, I’ll cross the river,
I’ll fight life’s final war with pain;
And then, as death gives way to victory,
I’ll see the lights of glory and I’ll know He lives!

Anybody else got this testimony on this Good Friday? Anybody else yet thankful knowing that because Jesus lives, we get chance after chance? Anybody else, excited to celebrate the rising of a Savior who died to pardon our sins? Knowing that because He lives, we can face a tomorrow we haven’t even seen. Knowing that because Jesus lives, we can mess up and still be forgiven. Knowing that because Jesus lives, we can too. I don’t know who you are but Jesus got up so you could stop allowing fear of the unknown to keep you in a grave of groaning or tarrying in a tomb of transgressions. The seal has been cut, the rock has been rolled away and your freedom is waiting. Wake up! Come out! Get up! Because He lives, you live. Don’t take another moment for granted.

Because Jesus lives!

Daily Devotional – 4/13/17 “When I thank the old me!”

Sometimes you need to take a look back at the old you and say thank you. Thank you, self, for the times we had to bump our head, it made us wiser. Thank you, self, for those mistakes, it made us stronger. Thank you, self, for trying to do it on our own, it made us appreciate God more. Thank you, self, for thinking you could not because it made us do it. Thank you, self, for the ruined relationships because it made us love us more. Thank you, self, for those nights you talk us through it. Thank you, self, for those times you didn’t let no hinder us. Thank you, self, for not believing what ‘they’ said. Thank you, self!

Sometimes, you just have to thank old you! Now, this isn’t for those of us who are stuck where we were last year, last week or even last night. But this is for the person who wakes up competing with nobody but self. See, I’ve found that when I compete with myself to be better than the person I was yesterday, I won’t have time to compete with you. When I strive to be better than the me of last year, I just may accomplish something I’ve been putting off. When I take the time to thank selfish me, I can then give to folk who I know won’t pay back. When I take the opportunity, every now and then, to thank the old me, it is then I forgive the old me while sweeping away the remnants of who I used to be. That way, when you try to use my past against me, it won’t bother me. That way, when you try to deny the new me because of the old me, I won’t be defeated. That way, when you shut the door in the face of the new me because of what you heard about the old me, I can walk to the next one and knock again. When I thank the old me, you can no longer us old me against me. When I thank the old me, I’ll remind myself of who I used to be while striving to never be her again. When I thank the old me, it’ll refresh my memory of Isaiah 43:18 that says, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.”

Daily Devotional – 4/12/17 “For His namesake!”

I sometimes wonder why God even bothers with us. Think about it for a moment. We lie, cheat, steal, kill, rob, defame, abuse, sin and more importantly, we sometimes mistreat God. But even after all this, He still shows up. He still provides. He still heals. He still glorifies. He still sanctifies. He still protects. He still … Then it donned on me. God doesn’t do what He does for us because of us, He does it because it is His reputation on the line. We are His namesake, born in His image and made in His likeness; are we not? This means, it isn’t about us. This is why He continually pulls out of our mess and clears our name. This is why He can hold back His hand of anger against us and forgive us instead. This is why He can favor us when we know when should be forgotten. This is how He can use us today even when we let Him down yesterday. This is why He will come and get us from the place He told us not to go. It is not about us, He has a reputation to uphold. When God got ready to slay the Israelites, Moses intervened and said in Exodus 32:12, “Why let the Egyptians say, ‘Their God rescued them with the evil intention of slaughtering them in the mountains and wiping them from the face of the earth’? Turn away from your fierce anger. Change your mind about this terrible disaster you have threatened against your people!” And God relented. Why? Because it is His name on the line.

“For my own name’s sake I delay my wrath; for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you, so as not to destroy you completely. See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this. How can I let myself be defamed? I will not yield my glory to another.” – Isaiah 48:9-11

Daily Devotional – 4/11/17 “Let us pray!”

Our Father in Heaven, holy is thy name, may your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day, God, daily bread and forgive us of our sins as we forgive others. God, don’t allow us to be overtaken by temptation and deliver us from evil, for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Now oh God, as I petition your throne, allow me to ask of you. Father, there is some healing that needs to take place. There is some pain that needs to be removed. Some suffering that needs to end. Some doors that need to be opened. Some cases that need to be dropped. Some finances that need to be increased. Some marriages that need to be restored. Some ways out that need to be made. Some comfort that needs to be sent. Some ministries that need to be heard. Some strength given and some joy redefined. God, we need you. And right now I ask that you restore kidney functions, muscle mass, open blind eyes (natural and spiritual), restore balance and regulate blood flow. Send a match for those waiting on organ transplants. You, God, inflate lungs, stop seizures and send a cure for cancer and HIV. God, today, by your manifestation of power, strike down the hand of the abusive spouse and stop the guns from firing. Then oh God restore the joy. If only by my faith. Use me like you did Abraham to save a dying nation. Let my faith stand in the midst of a blinded people. Raise up a people whose faith will shelter a world. Because somewhere a mother is crying, a daddy is dying, a brother is headed for destruction and a sister is suffering. God, heal the land. Somewhere a grandmother is trying to stretch her social security check, a granddaddy is still trying to work, a granddaughter is about to lose her mind and a grandson is about to be sentenced to prison. God, heal the land. Somewhere a son is about to overdose and a daughter’s body is about to be used. God, heal the land. A wife is hearing bad news from the doctor and a husband is about to be laid off. God, heal the land. Remove the taste for drugs and alcohol. Snatch nicotine cravings from tongues. God, heal the land. During this holy week. God, heal the land. In the midst of adversity. God, heal the land. We need you God and here am I seeking on behalf of those who can’t and won’t. God, restore, set free, heal and make over. Amen.”