Lakisha, the Author

Daily Devotional – 3/6/17 “Are you ready for what you’re grasping for?”

In a meeting this morning, one of the attendees said, sometimes you can reach for more than you can grasp. But is this true? Can we, as children of God, reach for more than we can hold? Can we seek for something bigger than what we can understand? Can we move outside of what we can effectively comprehend? The short and quick of it is, YES. Now, this isn’t because we aren’t entitled to it but it is because we aren’t ready to handle what we’ve gotten a hold of. We can sometimes ask for things, spiritually that our weak flesh can’t handle. It’s like seeking a pastoral position when you can’t even handle having your feelings so easily hurt nor control your own house. It’s like asking for a leadership position in the church but you’ve yet to get a handle on your mouth and attitude. You want to work with the church’s finances, when yours is in disarray. You got the nerve to be counseling folk when you ought to be stretched out on somebody’s couch. You want a husband or wife but you’ve yet to prepare yourself for one. You’re grasping for stuff you aren’t ready for. And when God says no, you get in your feelings and run. Sit down somewhere and be groomed. Get connected to some oil and get cultivated.

I know this because I was in the same position. Three years ago, I wouldn’t have been able to handle where I am now because my mindset hadn’t changed which meant, I wasn’t ready. Yea, I thought I was but I wasn’t and that is why my life turned into a constant struggle and fight. Oh but when I changed my mindset, my life changed too. It was then I began to truly understand what Romans 8:5 meant by, “For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.” See, when I allowed flesh to lead, I failed but when Spirit took over, I soared. When flesh was in charge, I miscarried but when Spirit took over, I carried to term and gave birth. When flesh was the captain, I started drowning but when Spirit took control, I could float. When flesh was the coach, I kept losing but when Spirit replaced him, the wins began For it was then Galatians 5:17 started ringing in my ear, saying, “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.”

Daily Devotional – 3/3/17 “Don’t break what needs to be destroyed!”

I’ve learned, through some trials and circumstances that some things need to be destroyed and not just broken. See, we can cry and ask God to break some chains but sometimes, broken stuff can be repaired, mended or reattached. What I need God to do is destroy some stuff. I need Him to destroy the chains of curses, the lock of lust, the trap of debt, the snare of sickness, the torment of low self-esteem, the hand of abuse, the breath of racism and intolerance, the failing educational systems, the money hungry prison systems, the unleveled hands of justice, the weakened state of Congress and the many false doctrines being preached under the premise of Godly wisdom. I don’t need these types of things broken but they need to be destroyed as destroy is defined as putting an end to the existence of something. Toxic relationships, the abuse of our children and elderly, cancer, diseases, tearing down of folk just to build someone else up, senseless killing of our children, youth suicides, spousal abuse, homelessness, lack of education for all, unemployed yet can’t get unemployment, lack of government assistance for those who actually need it, generational curses and treating worship places like a worldly business … all these things have to be destroyed and not broken!

An addiction needs to be destroyed but a broken heart needs to be mended. An abusive relationship needs to be destroyed but a broken spirit needs to be restored. A demon needs to be destroyed but a broken relationship needs to be fixed. And today, I pray that whatever needs to be destroyed in your life will be because the enemy has held you captive long enough and it’s time you were set free. Stop allowing the demons of your past to hold you hostage and stop breaking the things you know need to be destroyed because if you don’t, you’ll leave the broken pieces on a shelf, only to go back later to try to repair. Don’t do it. What’s the sense of keeping the shattered pieces of a plate when you can buy five more just like it? What’s the sense of looking at pieces of yourself through a broken mirror when you can see the whole you in a new one? What’s the sense of patching up a car that keeps breaking down? Or what’s the use of picking from the barrel of broken dreams? It time you moved on, beloved. And it’s time you destroyed what needs to be destroyed and fix what needs to be repaired.

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

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?”

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.