Daily Devotional – 3/6/15 “Why won’t you wait?”

You have to get to a point in your Christian life and on this spiritual journey where you don’t mind waiting on the Lord. Yea, you have to at some point, work on your patience and wait this thang out! I know you’ve wanted that car but it ain’t your time yet. You’re tired of being single but don’t rush into something that might cause you more hell and money to get out of. You’re sick of being overlooked for that promotion but pump your brakes, in due time. You’ve been eyeing that house on the corner yet your loan was denied, that’s God working; wait! You have your vision for your business but come to fruition, hold on and wait! Stop rushing God’s plan. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future,” so why are you constantly changing it by adding your two cents, veering off course or getting the opinions of people (some of whom want to see you fail)? When will we wait on the Lord? See, I’ve found that in my waiting, I’m being restored. In my waiting, my joy is being refilled. In my waiting, my hardened heart is being replaced. In my waiting, hateful friends are being removed. In my waiting, my battle is being fought by my master. In my waiting, I’ve found that when the Lord shows up, He’s always on time! This is why we have to get to a point where we don’t mind waiting on God! Why won’t you wait?

My words may not reach your spirit but the biblical word says this in Isaiah 40:28-31 “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Why won’t you wait? Yes, it’s hard waiting but work on your patience and wait on the Lord! That battle you’re trying to fight, it’s already won, God sent you to the end of the war zone to see if you’d go. That worrying you’re doing, God has already answered your prayers, He’s simply waiting to see if you trust Him enough to let it go. That sickness, it won’t defeat you; God is trying to see if your faith will wait it out. Will it? Will you wait on the Lord?

Daily Devotional – 3/5/15 “What are you sowing?”

When you step in the snow, don’t your shoes and pants get wet? When you step in mud, don’t your shoes get dirty? When you put your hands in a bag of chips, don’t they get greasy or covered in the flavor of the chips? And when you dig a hole and plant a seed, don’t you reap from that which you sow? Then what makes you think the same thing won’t happen when you sow spiritually? When you sow something good, you reap something good but when you sow something bad, you reap something equally bad, don’t you? Well, that’s what the word says. Galatians 6:8 says, “Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” See, at some point you’ve got to get to a place where you no longer want, no you should get to a place where you no longer need to live to please folk because when you live to please folk, you’ll sow into things that can send your soul to hell. You’re sowing unsportsmanlike conduct to your coworkers and then you have the nerve to get mad when no one will support you. You’re sowing anger into every relationship you get in and then wonder why no one will stay with you. You steal for a living and then get mad when you get arrested. You raise more hell than the devil then you got the audacity to get mad when the Pastor won’t choose you to chair a program or sit on the trustee board. You stay in folk business but don’t understand why no one tells you anything. You ruin every party but don’t get why no one invites you anywhere. You need to look into what you are sowing.

And please, PLEASE stop blaming God for everything we go through. Baby, don’t you know if God would pay us back for most of the things we did; most of us would be raggedy, good for nothing nobodies worth nothing! We get back what we put out, we reap what we sow! What are you sowing? Stop blocking your blessings by being jealous of somebody else blessing, rejoice with them until yours come. Stop throwing rocks and hiding your hands, stop hating on folk, stop putting your angry mouth on the man or woman of God (pray for him or her) and stop talking about the church (work to make it better). For Proverbs 6:16-19 says, “Here are six things God hates, and one more that he loathes with a passion: eyes that are arrogant, a tongue that lies, hands that murder the innocent, a heart that hatches evil plots, feet that race down a wicked track, a mouth that lies under oath, a troublemaker in the family.” Be careful what you sow because that’s what you’ll reap. What are you sowing?

Daily Devotional – 3/4/15 “Shed that old stuff!”

Sometime you have to shed some old stuff in order for you to grow. I don’t know who this is for but baby, you are stagnant where you are because you are still in the same old stuff you used to be in! You are still allowing folk to label you by your past. You are still being held hostage by what you ex did you to. You are still being knocked down by what your momma and daddy did or even by what the church did years ago. It’s time for you to shed that stuff beloved. Baby, even a snake has to shed their old skin in order for them to grow. So, why are you still holding on to old stuff? Yes, I get it; folk talked about you – shed that old stuff! Folk hurt you – shed that old stuff! Folk didn’t come when they said they would – shed that old stuff! You’ve had some rough days, some weary nights – shed that old stuff! You’ve had days when you felt like you had hell on your back, more bills than money, more tears you needed to shed but no more to cry, more pacing you needed to do but no more strength, more tossing and turning you needed to do but no energy, more help you need but no one else to call – shed that old stuff!

Listen … You may be going through a rough time right now but that’s just to get rid of that old stuff! I know the enemy got you thinking it’s because of something you did, he’s probably even tempting you to backslide but pump your brakes! Don’t you know that in order for a snake to get its old skin off, he has to rub against a rough surface? What are you crying about?? Go through your rough patch, it’s simply to get off everything old in order to get you something new! Rub the rough surface, its removing the old stuff. I can remember grandma using a brillo pad to clean a pot that had something stuck in the bottom. She’d rub and rub against it until the stain was gone in order for her to shed the old and get the pot to back like new. Well… what are you waiting on? The stain of insecurity you got stuck in you, rub it out! That stain of fear, rub it out! That stain of not forgiving, rub it out! That stain of anger, rub it out! That stain of procrastination, rub it out! That stain of church hopping, rub it out! It’s time for you to shed that old stuff that is keeping you from growing. For the bible says in Isaiah 43:18-19, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”

Daily Devotional – 3/3/15 “It could be worse!”

Just when you think you are doing badly, look around someone is doing worse. When you thought you were hungry because you didn’t eat last night, talk to someone on the street that hasn’t eaten in days and you’ll realize they are doing worse. When you thought you didn’t sleep well on last night, talk to someone who had to sleep on the street and you’ll soon realize they had it worse. When you thought the pain in your body was bad, talk to someone (like my sister) who has a debilitating disease that’s labeled the suicide disease, with no cure, and you’ll realize someone is far worse than you. You think you got a problem because your husband won’t put the toilet seat down, well talk to the woman who just made funeral plans for her husband. You think you got a problem because your wife doesn’t cook the chicken like your momma, well talk to the husband who just found the suicide note left by his wife who was depressed and he couldn’t see it. You think you got problems, talk to the parent who has to bury a child killed by a drunk driver or a stray bullet and all you got is one who won’t clean a room. – Your problems could be worse!

You complain about the church, so you don’t go but then you complain because God doesn’t hear your prayers yet He still allows you to be in your right mind day after day, night after night – your problems could be worse. You complain because God doesn’t bless you like you think you ought to be but you won’t even bless Him by paying your tithes because you got an issue with that too yet He still allows you to go to the job He blessed you with to get a paycheck every pay-day – your problems could be worse. Yea, you could be a tore up mess! You could be a jacked up fool! You could be out of your mind, wandering lost, walking among your people and not know anybody. You could be in a pit of hell right here on earth feeling alone even though you live in a house full of people. You could feel like nobody loves you although you get a hug every morning from somebody. All I’m saying is … your living could be worse! Stop taking your life for granted. Give God EVERYTHING He’s due from us whether it be money, time, praise and worship! Give it to Him! It ain’t ours anyway because everything under the sun belongs to God. Increase everything we give to God and see if He won’t increase His rewards to us.

Daily Devotional – 3/2/15 “What are you doing?”

A new month, how you doing on those resolutions? Seen any changes or should I ask, have you made any changes? Been to church any this year? Lost any weight? Wrote any visions? Made any plans? Stepped out on faith at all? It’s just the 3rd month of the New Year, what are you waiting on and what have you been doing? You do know that time waits for no man or woman, right? Or have you not realized that death doesn’t care that you’ve yet to start your business, get your affairs in order, apologize for the wrong you’ve done, repent for the sins you’ve committed or even left a legacy behind? No, death doesn’t stop to ask if you’re ready; it just shows up. Sickness doesn’t care that you need to work; it shows up. Depression doesn’t care that you have a family to take care of, it’ll show up. Suicidal thoughts doesn’t care about the pain you’ll leave behind, they’ll still invade your space … If you aren’t prepared ahead of time to deal with it. This is why you have to be prayed up! What have you been doing? Keep thinking you got time to get it right. Keep thinking you got time to get it together. Just stay in the hell you’re in, thinking you got time to get out until it’s too late and the doors shut.

Let me drop this in your spirit … Being in the world isn’t as easy as you think it is. You feel like all the hell will begin the moment you give your life to Christ but baby, you were already living in hell before. The only reason you couldn’t see the enemy anymore is because you all had become friends. See, when you are in the world, the enemy no longer has to fight you because he gives you everything you need to be his and you’ll give him everything of yours to be his. It’s like a person with an addiction, they will sell the close off of their backs to feed their habit and when you are a part of the enemy’s team; he is your addiction and he’ll keep dangling your “habit” over your head and you’ll keep coming back to feed your habit. Why does he need to fight you? You’re paying for it with your life. When will you stop? What are you doing? You’re wondering why your home is full of hell, keep staying at home on Sunday morning. You’re wondering why your heart keeps getting hurt, keep giving it to the wrong person. You’re wondering why you can’t forgive, keep staying away from God. It’s just the 3rd month of the New Year, when will you start making this your year? That is what you said at the end of 2014, isn’t it? What are you doing? Time isn’t dependent upon you for the bible says in James 4:14, “How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog–it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.”