Lakisha, the Author

Daily Devotional – 8/23/16 “Breaking traditions!”

We are living in perilous times and this means, there is no more time to waste pacifying and babysitting traditions especially when there’s more serious work to be done. Haven’t you seen the news, read the reports and tallied the number of children dying? Have you noticed the number of ministries where the glory of the Lord no longer prevails? Have you seen the many pastors and preachers who are depressed and stressed out? Did you notice the death toll rising of police killings, black on black crime and murder suicides? Can’t you see there are more pressing issues than whether or not the pastor is married, why you can’t keep the leadership position you’ve had for 15 years with no leadership or if it’s feasible for a woman to preach and prophecy? Baby, you ought to be trying to get into the realm of an anointed person (male or female) so that some of God’s glory can flow into your cup. This is not the time for you to hold on to traditions that aren’t even scriptural. No baby, you can’t keep the same 37-year-old program that’s not reaching the masses. Yes, I get they are your traditions but where does God fit? When will we get back to teaching the real deal from the real bible? I don’t know if you realize this but we’ve got to break these ‘traditional’ strongholds.

There are too many homes, of Saints, in disarray because we don’t teach how to cast out demons, we don’t teach men and women how to effectively love nor do we offer confidential help to those in need. Yea, I know you say ‘resist the enemy’ but it’s hard and I need help. You say, ‘speak and it shall be’ but what do I say? Can I come to you for help or do I have to wait until the next deacon board meeting? Can I talk to the pastor or do I need an appointment? Understand, some things have to be done properly and in order but sometimes the traditional service won’t go as planned. I may be in the worst storm of my life and don’t have time to wait until “tradition” says I can petition the church for help. There are marriages on the brink of divorce, children on the edge of give up, sisters on suicide watch, brothers who are broken physically and spiritually, grandparents at their wit’s end, bishops who drink their sorrows away, teachers abusing our children, pastors on the verge of a mental breakdown and ministers still in the closet so they destroy a woman’s self-esteem and tradition can’t fix it. Beloved, when the traditions are suffocating the Holy Spirit out the church and the people, they need to be broken. This is why the bible says in Colossians 2:8, “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.”

Daily Devotional – 8/19/16 “Turbulence”

Baby, that shaking you’re feeling; yea, the one you can’t understand … That’s just turbulence! I know you feel the rocking and thought all hell was breaking loose but that’s just God getting ready to shift you higher. You’re probably asking, why does it have to hurt so bad but did you think this journey would be easy? Did you really think there’d be a physical bridge over your troubles, a faucet to fill your valley of circumstances or a rope to climb out of your despair? Beloved, if it were that easy, you wouldn’t appreciate the sacrifice. Look, you need to understand that this moment in your life isn’t really about you. Of course, you’re the one going through but that’s because God has use of you and keeping you on this level won’t do it! And in order to anoint you with the oil of true sanctification, He has to first elevate you and that comes with turbulence.

And guess what? It hurts like a __________ (insert your word)! However, if you are lucky enough to experience turbulence, (a sudden change of conditions, an unexplained change in the way things are happening in your home, all hell breaking loose, children acting crazy, folk on the job talking foolish, spirit seems unsettled, etc.,) that means God has chosen you from among millions for such a time as this! Don’t you dare fall for the schemes of the enemy when all he’s trying to do is get you to miss your flight, fight on! Because when it’s over you’ll realize that everything you experienced through turbulence; from the knock downs, the names you’ve been called, the wanting to give up moments, the heartaches, the closed doors, the sickness, the let downs, the addictions, the could haves, the should haves and even the woe is me moments made it all worthwhile once you hear the captain say you’ve reached your destination at destiny!

“Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.” —1 Peter 4:12-13

Daily Devotional – 8/18/16 “The time is now!”

I don’t have a full devotional today, I simply stopped by to tell somebody … The time is now! All you have to do is believe it and it shall be. Trust God and He’ll make the provision. Take God at His word and it’ll never return void.

For whomever you are, reading this; whether it was forwarded to you or you follow this blog, know this … the time is NOW for you to move. My God! You’ve been sitting still too long, stagnant in a comfortable place that has been everything but comfortable, shifting to make it work, covering up for what’s not working and hiding out of fear! Baby, the time is NOW for you to take up your bed and walk.

Dear God,

Thank you for opening my eyes, for I now know I’ve been walking blind. God, I thank you for saving because I now know I’ve been wandering lost all this time. God, I thank you for saving me because it has made me realize all the time I wasted in bondage. God, I thank you for shielding me from what I thought I needed. Oh God, I simply thank you for sparing this ole life of mine, one more time and for snatching my ignorant behind from the hands of those I thought were good for me. Thank you Father for shaking me when I started to get comfortable in my mess. Lord God, I just thank you for it all! And after this … I’ll get the chance to write my testimony for the world to witness.

Amen!

Give it to God

Daily Devotional – 8/17/16 “The pull!”

As I journey this Christian walk, things happen that I cannot understand. People act in a way I can’t make sense of and changes occur I probably wouldn’t have made yet I’ve come to realize that not everything that happens will make sense to me but as long as God ordains it; I’ll be it, go, do it and say it. Why? Well because I’ve finally understood that God cannot launch us into the next level without first pulling us out of where we are. And guess what, it hurts. That means we may lose some people, move from some places and sever some relationships. And it hurts but it’s necessary. Think about a sling shot. In order to propel the object within the sling shot forward, you have to first pull it back. And the further you pull it, the farther it can go. This is what happens when God snatches us out of our comfortable places, when He shows up and pulls us out of messy conditions and when He plucks from our grasp those things we thought meant us some good. Beloved, this is why things around you look distant. This is why it seems like some people are far away. This is why you can’t seem to grasp ahold of what you used to. And this is why you can’t make sense of some stuff today that you understood yesterday. Baby, God is pulling you in order to launch you forward. No, you may not understand it but trust whose hands you’re in. It may seem hard but trust the hand of the one pulling you. You may have not been ready but when has God ever worked on your timing?

See, God has a way of getting our attention and if that means snatching our ignorant behinds out of the confines of comfortability, He’ll do it. If that means hauling us from the hands of hindrance, He’ll do it. It that means plucking us from some pleasures, it’ll happen. If it happens to mean pulling us from some people and places, it’ll be done. And we can’t stop Him. Yes, we can fight it but it’ll only make it harder. Yes, we can run from it but it won’t go away. We can even ignore it but it’ll happen eventually. So why prolong the inevitable? The pulling, the snatching out and the plucking … it’s necessary and if you’ve yet to experience it, your time is coming and you need to be ready. The bible says in Psalm 119:71-73, “My suffering was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees. Your instructions are more valuable to me than millions in gold and silver. You made me; you created me. Now give me the sense to follow your commands.”

Daily Devotional – 8/16/16 “Want it or need it?”

I walked over to the cafeteria at work this morning, thinking I was going early enough, to get me a blueberry muffin. Only to get there and there wasn’t any left. I mean, I had my mouth set for that muffin. Instead, I had to get some eggs that didn’t satisfy my want but they met my needs. Somebody missed that so let me break it down. Many times WE make plans that meet our wants but not necessarily our needs and when they don’t work out like we’d hope, we get upset or in our feelings instead of recognizing the blessing in it. See, I WANTED a muffin but in actuality, all I NEEDED was food. Yes, the muffin would have been better yet the eggs still satisfied my hunger pains. So I have no reason to complain. And many of us ought to take a moment and reflect on some things. There’s probably some stuff, right now, that has you pissed off because it didn’t work out the way you wanted. Yea, your attitude is probably on ten simply because what you want you can’t get. Never mind the fact you have all you need, you’re still focusing on what you want. I want a six figure paying job but in the meantime I’ll appreciate the one I have that keeps meeting our needs. I want a big, fancy house however I’ll appreciate what we have that’s exceeding our needs, in the meantime.

I’m realizing now that sometimes OUR plans won’t work out like WE planned but they’ll flow like GOD ordains. This is why I’m working on not complaining. We can’t change the outcome, every time. We can’t fix everything. We can’t make it all work out. God is awesome all by Himself and he doesn’t need our help. All we need to do is trust in Him and then move. You may not be in the house you desire, driving the car you had your heart set on, working in the career you want or doing the things you thought you’d be doing at this age but in the meantime (while you work to get there) ask yourself this question … is it satisfying my needs? Is the car you drive taking you from point A to point B? Is the house sustaining your roof, wall, door, heat/air, etc., requirements? Is the job achieving what you need, right now? Is the food you have access to fulfilling your hunger needs? If the answer is yes, stop complaining because it could be worse. This is why the bible says in Philippians 4:6, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” You may not have what you want but you have what you need so appreciate it because it could be gone in the blinking of an eye.