Lakisha, the Author

Daily Devotional – 7/2/15 “Praying Together! “

As we’ve been walking the bible in bible study these last few months, we were discussing Deuteronomy on last night and the question was asked on why were most of the scriptures so repetitive. My answer was because Moses had to keep repeating himself to the wayward people of Israel. Please understand, God had a plan for the people of Israel and He wanted them to be on one accord when they went into the Promised Land. This is why He put into place decrees and regulations for them to follow. Now, it blew my mind how these people could be so rebellious, angry and even talk back at times when God promised them a new land that would be flowing with milk and honey, all the land they could ever want, all their needs provided for, their enemies taken care of, food, shelter and longevity and all they had to do was keep and obey His commandments. Oh but wait, it’s the same thing today! We have become a rebellious people. We walk around disobeying God’s commandments. We don’t respect our parents, we don’t help one another and we surely don’t love like we should, we idolize material stuff, we don’t honor the Sabbath day, some of us go to worship with so much hell in us that we should have stayed home anyway, we don’t pay tithes, we don’t honor the union of marriage, we don’t respect the Lord’s house, we surely don’t respect the men and women He has placed as the shepherd of His flock and yet we wonder why the world is in an uproar. We want to blame everybody else for our problems and circumstances when it’s us!

Oh, oh; but we are quick to say … “Chile, we are living in our last days,” “The Lord is surely on His way back,” “God isn’t pleased,” when the truth of the matter is – half of us don’t know this to be true because most of us don’t study enough to know. We won’t go to bible study but you’ll go to every party you’re invited too, we drag into church late but you’re on time for Happy Hour, we won’t pay tithes but you’re pay into a weight loss program, we won’t pray for the pastor but you’re surely prey on him (if he’s cute), you won’t shout but let a line dance play and you can’t do devotion but you’re devoted to raising hell! Baby! Leviticus 18:4-5 says, “You must obey all my regulations and be careful to obey my decrees, for I am the LORD your God. If you obey my decrees and my regulations, you will find life through them. I am the LORD.” We find life, y’all! But get this, after all this He knew we would sin (as being human beings) because then He gave us repentance if and when we fell but it doesn’t give us the authority to live in our mess. We’ve got to do better as a band of believers, we’ve got to! If you haven’t noticed, we are in a war, a spiritual war and unless we get together and starting fighting in the spirit; a lot of us spiritual folk won’t make it! It’s time to join the movement of praying from where you are and allowing our spirits to connect. Will you?

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I’ll start … Father, search me and remove anything or anybody that keeps me out of your will. For I need to be better for you! Amen

Daily Devotional – 7/1/15 “Stop wasting time!”

It’s a new month, seven months into 2015; how are you faring? Are thangs going alright? How you doing with those resolutions you made? Have you done anything toward your goals? Made any significant changes in your life spiritually? Taken any steps to be a greater you? I’m just asking. Don’t get mad at me when you were the one to set the goals you knew you had no intention on reaching. You can’t be mad at anyone but yourself. It’s like being mad because you can’t get air when all you have to do is inhale. Crazy, right? All you have to do is try! Baby, look here … I’m going to share this scripture again from yesterday because somebody needs to be reminded of the word that says in 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” So, what are you waiting on? You are the blessing, now all you have to do is believe in yourself. Be strong and be you in the fact that you’ve been blessed enough to get up. It doesn’t matter that you’ve fallen, get up. Yes, there’s a strong possibility that you might fall again but get up AGAIN! Yea, you might get hurt in the process of your elevation but keep climbing. You might get scarred up coming out of that valley but get out. You might even have wounds getting out of that abusive relationship but get out. You may have some effects from that addiction but get out. How many people do you know who have went through surgery and came out without a scar? Baby, when you go through some stuff to get some better stuff, you sometimes get left with a scar; deal with it. Use it as a reminder of where you’ve been and as a guide of where you’re headed. Healing comes with a scar. Deliverance comes with a scar. Salvation comes with a scar, ask Jesus!

All I am saying is this, stop wasting time because time isn’t yours to measure. Walk boldly in the blessing that God has granted you. Use the gifts; wisely, that God has graced you with. Utilize the anointing that God so mercifully fills us with daily. Stop being detoured with mess, stop being burdened down with the past, stop giving anger the upper hand and stop with the pettiness of the present; it’s hindering who you can be!

Author Lakisha – Speaking Engagement

As most of you know, I am an ordained minister. I was ordained on April 26, 2015 and I am grateful every day for being chosen by God. I’ve always known God had a plan for me but I was running, like a lot of us do. However, some have asked how I can be a minister and still write fiction novels and I answer, “It’s easy, I write.” See, God didn’t put a limit on my gift, He didn’t put stipulations on my sanctification and He didn’t affect His anointing in my life when I finally accepted His call to preach and I won’t allow it to be affected either. He said write so writing is what I shall do!

Anyway, I stopped by to tell you all of an engagement I will be speaking at on July 25, 2015. The address is The Minister’s Building at 591 E. McLemore in Memphis, TN 38106. It’s sponsored by the Women’s Ministry of our church and I am excited about it. It’s a conference/luncheon and the cost is only $10.00. If you’re in the Memphis area or if you’re close by and are able to attend (man or woman) come by and share with us.

You can purchase tickets through Eventbrite or through PayPal (authorlakisha@gmail.com)! You can also purchase at the door on the day of the event. If you would like to purchase a table, email me. If you are an author, owner of a company or have promotional items you would like send to me to add to our gift bags, email me at authorlakisha@gmail.com. (There is no cost for this.) If you would like to donate an item to be given away as a door prize, also email me. All gifts are accepted.

I am looking forward to the fellowship as I know it is going to be great.

–Lakisha

Daily Devotional – 6/30/15 “Your gift!”

I finally had a chance to go to bible study on last night after missing it for over 12 weeks (due to being in class) and I am glad I did. Pastor Letcher was teaching from 2 Timothy 1:6 and this verse says, “This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you.” Now, Paul was writing to Timothy as a way to encourage him just as I am writing today to encourage somebody reading this. See, there are so many folk, in the Christian body, who are sitting on their gifts; who are not fanning the flame of their favor, who are afraid to tap into the anointing that has been placed in their spirit all because you are fearful of the unknown. 2 Timothy 1:7 says, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind (KJV).” So what are you fearful of? Don’t you know that when God gifts He also grants? What do I mean? Well, when He gifts you with His anointing, He also grants you His protection. What do you have to be scared of? All you have to do is be faithful in that which He told you to do. Pastor Letcher said on last night, “One who is faithful is keeping God’s agenda yet one who is fearful is keeping the enemy’s.” Baby, that’ll preach any day of the week!

Don’t you know that God didn’t make us to be fearful? Romans 8:15 says, “So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” And Romans 8:16 continues with this, “For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.” And being God’s children entitles us to God’s protection. So tell me again, why are you fearful of using your gift? Is it that you don’t believe in yourself? Where is your faith? You have to know that God believes enough in you or He wouldn’t have chosen you. This is why you have to stand with power every time you use your gift, to show God that you aren’t ashamed of Him and that you are proud to be in the number. Your gift is yours and yours alone, use it. So stop being afraid to use that which is yours, for you ought to be able to proudly proclaim by now Philippians 4:13, “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength!” All you have to do is have faith in the God you serve and believe in the gift that has been placed within you and you can!

Daily Devotional – 6/26/15 “They weren’t there … “

This word of encouragement was shared today on Facebook by Rev. Warren Perry, who is an awesome encourager and it blessed me down in my soul. He said …

“Often times the very reason individuals can’t comprehend the depth of what you are called to do, is because they were not included in the planning of your Creation when God commanded you to be!”

Baby, if this won’t preach on a Friday! My God! See, we spend more time trying to explain our calling to folk rather than doing what we’ve been called to do when those folk we are explaining too aren’t listening anyway … Show them instead! Don’t you know your actions can speak louder than words anyway? You don’t have to keep explaining, tell them “Don’t believe me, just watch!” Listen my brother and my sister; there is folk grumbling around you who can’t grasp the gravity of God’s glory over your life; that’s alright. There are folk camped out at your celebration who can’t comprehend the complexity of the change taking place; that’s cool. There are folk everywhere, ear hustling on your elevation because they can’t explain the effectual enlargement that is taking place; that’s evident. There are supposedly saved folk standing around, speaking on your status because they can’t seem to see the Holy Spirit shifting in your spirit, strengthening your scrawny spaces, soothing your sighs and sanctifying your shout; that’s satisfactory too, keep going! They don’t understand because they weren’t included in the planning of what God intended for your life, let me go. They can’t fathom it because they were not there when you fell but got up. They can’t measure it because they were not there when God plucked you out of the mess you were in, cleaned you up, stood your feet on solid ground, told you to hold your head up high and your shoulders back and go forth! They can’t gage your anointing because baby it ain’t for them too! They weren’t there the nights you had to pace, the days you had to cry in the stalls at work, they many times you had to go hungry, the times you had to lay out in the floor while God worked on you, the many times you ran only to end up back at the beginning; they weren’t there! Stop trying to explain to them! They can’t understand your shout but show them how it’s done. They don’t understand your cry but let them hear it. They don’t even understand why you praise the way you do but do it anyway, they may eventually join in. The ones who don’t understand your calling aren’t meant to be in the vicinity of you, who have been called! Check your circle!