Daily Devotional – 3/2/17 “Enemy or thief?”

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How many times have you said, “The enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy?” But did you know this isn’t actually what the scripture says? As a matter of fact, the bible says in John 10:10, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” Not the enemy but the thief. Why does this make a difference? I’ll tell you. See, in order to know how to fight what you’re up against, you have to know who you’re fighting. This is because, you can’t fight the enemy the same way you would fight a thief. What works on one, won’t work on the other. That is why it is important you know the difference. Enemy in Hebrew means an oppressor, foe, adversary or hater whereas thief means burglar, robber, sneak thief or snitch. The enemy comes to coerce you into staying in your distressed state. The thief, well he or she comes to take what you have. The enemy shows up to pressure you into believing you aren’t worthy but the thief comes to take what’s of worth. The enemy’s role is to compel you to stay in the valley but the thief, he or she wants what you deem valuable. So, when the bible says the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy; it means you! This is why Jesus followed this verse with John 10:11, “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.”

He used this vivid illustration because He was referring to a method shepherds would use to keep their sheep safe. See, sheep were kept in a sheepfold enclosure that only had one gate. At night, the shepherd would lie in front of the gate in order to keep thieves from taking what belonged to them. In other words, they were willing to lay down their life. This, too, is important because as men and women of God, who have been called to under-shepherd God’s sheep, we have a responsibility to protect the sheep. This doesn’t mean stepping in front of a bullet but it means you make sacrifices for your sheep and you serve your sheep. When you do this, your sheep will know your voice. Why is it important to know your Shepard’s voice? To prevent you from running with the wrong crowd of sheep. You don’t have to take me at my word, google it. You’ll see that three different people can call out to a pasture of sheep using the same words their shepherd uses yet the only one they’ll come to is … their Shepard. This is why Jesus says in John 10:14-15, “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. — Know the difference in order to properly fight and win.

Daily Devotional – 3/1/17 “What’s the purpose of your ashes?”

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Today is March 1, 2017, what some signify as Ash Wednesday; the beginning of Lent. I thought about doing a devotional on why we should fast and pray but then I thought about something. How can I truthfully tell you to fast, pray, adorn ashes on your head and give up things for Lent when most of us (if I can be honest) don’t even know what it is or stands for. I’m sure you’ve heard about it, seen the posts on social media or the images with people who have ashes on their forehead. Ashes on the forehead? Why? And give up what, for how many days? Baby, this is the last thing a lot of us are thinking about when most of us are in mourning, in pain, in debt, in sickness, in dead-end jobs, in loveless marriages, in somebody else house or in confusing situations. Yea, I can tell you that you should be preparing to fast but some of us find ourselves fasting by force due to no money and/or no means. Please understand, I am not criticizing Ash Wednesday or Lent season. In fact, I plan on participating, fully, but when will we get back to teaching the real meaning of things before we place them into people’s hands? See, if we just tell people to fast, they will but will it be beneficial? We can tell people to show up on Wednesday at the church and rub ashes on their foreheads but will they know the real reason why? Will they know the purpose of their ashes?

Ashes in biblical references meant sorrow, shame, mourning or repentance. For Job it was repentance for he says in Job 42:6, “I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.” For Daniel, it was mourning after learning Jerusalem must be desolate for seventy years. For the bible says in Daniel 9:3, “So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and fasting. I also wore rough burlap and sprinkled myself with ashes.” The people of Jonah responded with fasting, repentance, sackcloth and ashes after hearing the warning of their destruction. Tamar put ashes on her head after being violated by her own brother. Why am I sharing this? To ask you this question … What’s the purpose of your ashes? If you don’t know, find out before you allow them to be wiped across your forehead. Don’t seek them out because you want to be a part of what everybody else is doing but do it because you understand what your ashes stand for. Do it because it represents what you stand for.

Daily Devotional – 2/28/17 “Hooked but no power!”

When a person is on the brink of death, they’re hooked up to a life support machine that keeps the body alive until it is capable of functioning on its own. When a car battery loses power, it can be hooked to another battery whose power is sufficient enough to replenish the old battery without damaging the other. When your electronic device’s battery is low, you plug it into a power source that can recharge it. When your heart stops, a defibrillator is hooked up to restart its beating. My point is, hooking up to the right thing at the right time can do you some good. Oh but hooking up to some wrong stuff can cause you more damage. This is why you have to be careful who you hook up with because sometimes you can get hooked to some stuff that does not possess the voltages you need. Leaving you sitting somewhere with a dim light and no power. Have you ever purchased a cheap charger only to plug it in and get the warning, “this accessory may not be supported?” Or plugged your phone up only to check and see it’s not charging. There was no power strong enough to do what you needed. This is the same way spiritually because there are some folk who can’t give you what you need and you need to be aware of this before you ‘hook up’ with them. Please note, when I say hook up, I’m not speaking in a sexual way but I’m speaking of connecting spiritually.

Yes, I know you enjoy his or her ministry but is their oil strong enough to cover the both of you against the enemy’s attack? Yes, they preach well but can they pray you out of some mess, if need be? Yea, they can recite scriptures but can they cast out demons and tear down strongholds? On the flip side, can you do any of this for somebody else? If the answer is no, then you need to stick to being used by God and stop putting yourself in a position to be damaged. If you know you can’t handle being what someone else needs, don’t put yourself out there because being connected to someone, spiritually, means there may be times they’ll need you to cover them. AND you have to be able to do this without it depleting your supply. If you don’t, you may just find yourself spiritually short circuited, tired and mad at God when He isn’t the reason. Your wattage is low because you didn’t stop long enough to assess the situation before hooking up to it. Take the time to know if the person you’re connecting with can be for you what they are looking for you to be for them. In other words, be careful who you hook up too.

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Daily Devotional – 2/27/17 “Intentional fall!”

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Often times we find ourselves being so consumed with trying to survive that we, in a sense, forget how to live. We get so caught up in everything happening that we miss the message God has laid so plainly before us. We fight, trying to understand why me and why now that it overshadows everything God has been doing. You’re probably asking, how am I supposed to understand when I can’t make heads or tails of why the place God sent me is failing. Or why it seems God would allow you to get almost done with school and now you may not be able to afford tuition. You can’t make sense of why God would bring you this far and then allow all hell to break loose. Or why He waited until you got ready to retire for sickness to attack your body. Or why He would allow death to show up when your marriage is falling apart? Why God, am I struggling more when you were the one who told me to move? Why God, am I hurting more when you were the one who told me to go? But have you ever stopped to think the hardship you are facing right now, was intentionally placed by God? Has it ever dawned on you that what caused you to stumble was God’s way of intentionally knocking you back to save your life? Have you ever stopped to think that what you thought was for your bad was actually for your good? Yes, you are walking the right path but maybe it came by way of an eager heart. Let me explain what I mean.

How many times did you pray for the place you are, even though God told you no, the first time? How many days/nights did you plead with God for the very thing, you’re crying over that He’d already told you no too? Think about it because maybe you’re in a position like Balaam in Numbers 22, finding yourself on a road and on your ass. (By ass I mean donkey.) See, Balaam found himself in a predicament because the ride he thought would be easy turned in one with a few bumps and a setback because God allowed Balaam’s donkey to stumble. Balaam was mad and told the donkey had he had a sword he would have killed him but what Balaam didn’t realize was falling on his ass (donkey) caused him to live. Numbers 22:32-33 says, “The angel of the Lord asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me. The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared it.” Baby, I don’t know where you are on your journey but falling just might be the reason you’re still alive. Because had God not been intentional in you falling, you probably would have gotten deeper into some mess that caused you to die prematurely. You don’t have to believe me but read Numbers 22 for yourself and then get up. However, this time do what God tells you the first time.

Daily Devotional – 2/23/17 “I forgive ME!”

On my ride to work this morning, I heard, on the radio station, of a new single by James Fortune. I haven’t listened to it yet but I made a mental note to download it. The name of it, “I forgive me.” Baby!! See, many times we say forgive others in order to be forgiven yet no one ever tells us to forgive ourselves. Yes, there are a lot of hurt people walking around with weights hanging over their heads and can’t understand it. Some of you are staying up at night, losing sleep. Many of you are going through the motion but you’re barely making it. And for the life of you, you can’t figure it out. You’ve forgiven them but have you forgiven you? Have you stopped blaming yourself for the abuse inflicted by the hands of someone you loved? Have you stopped blaming yourself for husband/wife walking out? Have you forgiven yourself for the hurt and pain? Have you forgiven yourself for the thoughts of not being enough? Have you forgiven yourself for daddy not being there? Have you forgiven you for the ministry not working or the business failing? Have you forgiven yourself for losing your house or car? Have you taken time to forgive you for the things you did, for the places you went and for the people you gave yourself too? Have you forgiven you? Have you cried out to Lord for forgiveness on your part? Have you released yourself from the burden of your hand in it?

Well, I can say, truthfully, probably not because many of us don’t know how. I can tell you, it hurts and it’s going to take strength, some tears and a strong connection to God because there are some things you just can’t forgive on your own, including self. And that’s because we are the hardest on ourselves. But today, it ends. Today, beloved, your healing begins; for real. It starts with forgiving you. Today is the day you tell self, I forgive me. I forgive me for thinking I wasn’t good enough. I forgive me for not eating right. I forgive me for not taking care of myself. I forgive me for thinking it was my fault momma/daddy didn’t want me. I forgive me for all the mess I got in. I forgive me for that relationship that almost cost me my life. I forgive me for putting my children in a hostile environment. I forgive me for connecting with somebody who could have given me a deadly disease. I forgive me for almost ruining my family. I forgive me for not doing God’s will. I forgive me for connecting to the wrong people. I forgive me for the trouble I got in. I forgive me for blaming everybody else. I forgive me! What is it you need to forgive yourself for? You don’t have to tell me but tell self. Today, self, I forgive me for ___________.

Dear God,
Please forgive me. But this time, God, while you’re forgiving me, give me the strength to forgive myself.
Amen

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