Daily Devotional – 12/19/14 “Favor can work together!”

Baby, I simply stopped by to tell you that God is about to shift some stuff around. Please! Please! Mark these words I write. God is about to shift ministry like never before. In 2015, ministry won’t be the same. I keep trying to tell you but you won’t listen. Can’t you see? God isn’t pleased with the current state of ministry and some things are about to be shaken loose. This is why I keep saying, you need to be mindful of the folk you are around. You keep thinking that you are surviving off of your merit when baby, its grandma’s prayers that’s keeping you. Keep thinking that it’s only your prayers, when it’s yours and some co-worker’s prayer’s that keeping the doors of the job open. Keep thinking it’s you that’s carrying the church because you’re the oldest deacon when it’s yours and God’s unmerited favor that He placed in the shepherd that He sent to govern the flock too. Sir, ma’am; it’s not only you but it’s the person you’re standing by and it’s the person you’ve surrounded yourself with whose favor you’re stepping in. It’s not only you.

This is why you have to be careful, again, who you surround yourself with. For God’s word says in Psalm 23:5, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows,” and what sense is it to allow your enemies to step in the favor that’s overflowing from your cup? Oh but if you surround yourself with like spirited, like favored, like-minded people; whose cup is overflowing like yours then it shouldn’t matter if your oil mix because then your oil would be mixing for the good and not for bad because Ephesians 1:11 says, “Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.” Oh, do you get it now? We work better together! As Saints of God, we have to first walk in our favor and then surround ourselves with others who walk in their favor and who’s willing to share their favor. Baby, this spiritual journey is hard on our good days and sometime even the best encourager may need a little bit of your favor to pinch off of just to make it through, will you share? I don’t need all of it, I just may need to lean on you every once in a while, can I? I may not even need to call, just a text every now and then, is that cool? I don’t need your judgment, criticism, snide remarks nor could haves; a simple hug would do; can you do that if the time comes? I don’t want handouts just a hand, will you? Psalm 5:12 says, “For surely, O LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.” I shared this a few months back on Twitter and it fits today, “Even as a team, in order for US to be successful, we have to link our FATES together and that starts by linking our FAITH!”

Daily Devotional – 12/18/14 “God’s favor!”

On 12/18/12 I wrote a devotional titled, “Why me” and in it I spoke about how we sometimes question the purpose or the portion (from yesterday’s devotional) that God gives us and the sad part about it is, some of us are still questioning the same purpose today. Think about it! God has given somebody a business plan months ago and you’re still questioning Him. God has given somebody the means and opportunity to move and you’re still questioning whether you should. Do you not get the fact that God has chosen you for this specific portion to handle? Look around, you aren’t the only one He could have picked when there are millions of others. Every day, when we wake up, the Holy Spirit impregnate us with unmerited favor yet we get up swallowing fruitless mess that cause us to miss our mark and then we begin with the why me Lord, why did this happen, why do I have to go here, why didn’t this happen, why do I have to be sick, why did you take this person, why didn’t I get this job, that car, that house; when baby you need to let God work! Obviously, God has found you favorable or He wouldn’t have picked you out to use. How do you think Mary felt when the Angel Gabriel appeared to her and told her that she would carry God’s only Son? She didn’t think she was worthy and yes she was scared like many of us are when God is ready to use us yet he simply told her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God . See, Mary, just like us, had no idea the type of favor she was about to possess but God did. Mary had no clue how God was about to use her but she answered saying, “I am the Lord’s servant, may your word to me be fulfilled .”

And it’s the same way with us. We don’t know the type of favor God is about to drop into our possession, we don’t have a clue how He is about to use us, where He is about to take us and we will never know if we won’t allow Him to do it. God gave Mary the ability to birth Jesus, imagine what He can give us the ability to birth if we give Him the chance to impregnate us with it. Yet we won’t spend enough alone time with God to get us pregnant (plan) let along nurture what He impregnate us with (purpose) and then push it out (pursuit) because we are too busy questioning, being afraid and running! Well beloved, Ephesians 1:11 say, “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.” In other words, we are already destined to have favor, it’s up to us to get it; if we stop running from it! I don’t know about you but I wake up in favor because I lie down in it. I wake up expecting God to show out in my life everyday with favor because my bible tells me this what I was ordained for. You should too! Allow God’s favor into your life and you’ll be glad you did because it can open doors men haven’t even built yet, take you places a plane can’t and elevate you places an elevator can’t begin to reach! Favor can!

Daily Devotional – 12/17/14 “What will you do with your portion?”

I often reflect back on the many devotionals I’ve written over the years and I sometimes wonder why God chose me. Why was I selected for this calling? I mean it gets hard a lot of the time but then I thought back on something that God dropped in my spirit on Sunday and it was simply this … God favored me for this fight not so I could fall or fail but so that I could fulfill my portion. See, this isn’t about me; never has been. Any time I stand to deliver a word whether it’s preaching, teacher or simply speaking, whether I deliver a devotional or post my words on social media; it isn’t about me because my prayer each time isn’t for me or my words to be seen but for God to be heard or reflected. I want God to be manifested through me every time. It isn’t about me. I can’t save you, I don’t have a Heaven or Hell to send you too but I can tell you about a man whose grace is sufficient. I can tell you about a man whose power is everlasting. I can tell you about a man who is willing to save you, if you are willing to be saved. I can tell you about a man who don’t mind coming when you call but you have to call first. I can tell you about a man who can heal you, if you give Him a chance too.

It’s the same for all of us, in this Christian walk. God didn’t pick us out so that we could be picked on but He chose us because He knew we could handle that which He gave us. See, at this exact time, on this exact day last year my sister was undergoing brain surgery for a condition that has been deemed the “suicide disease” yet God knew she could handle it, so He gave it to her so that He could be manifested in her healing. God didn’t just give it to anybody but He gave it to somebody He knew could handle it and she handles her portion with strength and dignity even on her worse day. The same way He gave you what you’re dealing with. He gave you what you have because can’t just anybody handle it but you. Yea, other folk have the same condition but not the same circumstance because everybody handles everything differently. What you have is meant for you but it’s not to make you fail but it’s simply time for you to handle your portion of it. So, what will you do with it? Will you use it, sit on it or bury it? For Matthew 25:29 says, “To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.” You have your portion, what will you do with it?

Daily Devotional – 12/16/14 “We are in this together!”

I may not be who you think I should be but I am becoming exactly who God says I’ll be. I may not look how you think I ought to look but God made me in His image and that looks pretty doggone good to me. I may not say what you would have me to say but if you keep listening you might just hear something that will get you out of that rut you’re in. I may not have on a $200 pair of shoes but baby Sweet Soles does my feet justice on any day and I walk better because I don’t have to worry about messing them up because I can afford to buy another pair. I may not have on a $100 pair of jeans but have you seen the ones I got on, they were probably from Goodwill, could you tell? I may not live in a million dollar house but I have a home that has a roof, warm water, security and my family; I’d called that being blessed! I may not carry a $300 purse but I’ve never seen the sense in carrying a purse that cost more than what I had to put in it. Do you? Baby, I’m not trying to keep up with you because you’re probably struggling too. And that’s a problem! Why are we, as Saints of God; living under the umbrella of being God’s children, trying to outdo one another? I’ve never understood that. Why can’t we be real with one another without having to worry about being judged by those who are supposed to uplift us in our time of need?

Don’t you understand that when we die, the inside of our grave will be the same? Yea, our caskets may be different colors, yours may be fancier depending how much your family spends but when you peel everything back; it’s all the same because it’s only to serve one purpose, to hold this shell of a body. When we die, our money won’t send us to the front of the judgment line any faster because we will still have to give an account for our deeds down here. God won’t care about the money we had in the bank because when we die we can’t take it with us. God won’t ask how much we had saved but He’ll want to know if we saved any souls while we were roaming down here. God won’t care about our 401K plan but He’ll ask if we invested any time in His word. God won’t care about that house we lived in but He’ll ask if we opened the doors to help anybody else. God won’t care about all the clothes we had hanging in the closet but He’ll ask how many times we helped to clothe others. This is why Romans 15:1-3 says, “We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification. For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.” Jesus had the power to save himself but instead decided to save us the least we can do is help one another! Can’t you see that we are in this thang together? It’s not a competition. We got enough to battle with the enemy, why do we have to battle each other. I need you and you need me!

Daily Devotional – 12/15/14 “It’s all in who you ask! “

I’ve come to realize that it’s all in who you ask. See, I asked God to enlarge my territory and he called me to minister. I asked God to increase my gift and I became a published author. I asked God to use me and He said you’ll have to go where I send you. I asked God to heal my heart and He said you’ll have to love again. I asked God to give me sight and He said you’ll have to see the good and bad in folk. I asked God to clean me up and He said I will but you’ll have to get dirty again, in this line of work. I asked God to forgive me of my sins and He said you have to forgive too. I asked God not to forget about me and He said I won’t but there are some things you need to forget about too. And when I did … thangs start happening in my life, for the good! God shifted my life and hasn’t been the same and neither have I and it was because of who I asked.

I told you before that you can continue to pray until something happens but something is defined as an unspecified object when you ought to be specific in your prayers to God. Don’t you know the bible says in Matthew 7:7, “Ask and you shall receive?” Matthew 21:22 says, “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” Get this, 1 John 3:21-22 says this; “Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him.” Isn’t that enough for us to go to God with our desires to ask of Him that which we need? Why are we without? Why are we in need? Why are we suffering? Every day should be a day of rejoicing, if we are in the body of Christ. It shouldn’t matter whether the day is good or bad, it should be a day of rejoicing especially knowing that we can get whatever we want from our Father who is in Heaven. Why are we, as a body of Christ, suffering? It seems to me we are either asking the wrong person, asking the wrong questions or either we are out of the will of God? What do you think? It’s all in who you ask! You don’t have to believe me but try it for yourself and you’ll see. Ask in faith!

P.S. Here is the video of my sermon from yesterday titled “PUSH – Pray Until Shift Happens” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnVbUa_SS2s