Daily Devotional – 11/10/14 “Trust God!”

Isn’t it amazing how we can put our trust in just about anything and anybody but we second guess God, question His reasoning, think twice before stepping out or close the door all together before going where He sends us when He has never steered us wrong? We sit down in a chair without a thought on whether it will give out yet we don’t trust God as our foundation when concrete will crack yet He won’t. We will drink milk past the expiration date yet we won’t fill up on God’s word when the bible says in John 4:14, “But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” You trust your insurance to cover you, until you use too much and it either cost you more than you can afford or your coverage lapse but God is there covering every part of your life without fail yet your trust waivers in Him. You trust man who lets you down because flesh can sometime fail us yet you won’t give God the same respect. What gives? You trust the bank but not Jehovah Jireh (provider). You trust the doctor but not Jehovah Rapha (healer). You’d rather trust your carnal mind to fight battles you can’t win than Jehovah Nissi (banner).

What is it going to take for you to trust God? He’s proven Himself to be worthy. His resume speaks for itself. You don’t have to keep wondering why your way is dark, it’s because you won’t trust God to be the oil for the lamp to light your path. You keep falling because your faith is failing. You’re leaning because you’ve yet to learn this life’s lesson (and you only get one). You’re stumbling because your sight is set on seeking the shady stuff. You’re missing the mark because you’re magnifying minor mess. And your talent is tainted because you’re tarrying in trouble when God is asking, “Oh ye of little faith why do you doubt?” Psalm 37:3-7 says, “Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. All you have to do is trust God. You don’t have to see your way out of the situation but trust God enough to know that He’ll make the way. You don’t have to know where the money will come from but trust God enough to know that He’ll provide! Because He will!

Daily Devotional – 11/7/14 “You’re already strong!”

It’s Friday and someone is looking at their bank account trying to figure out how to stretch the last few dollars until payday next Friday. Someone got paid today and it’s still not enough to cover everything you got going. Someone else has to endure yet another doctor appointment only to leave feeling worse than when you came. Someone is headed to the funeral home to pay their last respects to a family member while another one makes arrangements. A mother or father somewhere is sitting next to the bedside of their sick child and there is nothing they can do for them. Some girl is contemplating suicide because she is being bullied and afraid to tell somebody. Some boy is being harassed by the local gang and he won’t tell out of fear. An elderly person is being abused by the same person they gave birth too even though they claim to love them. A pastor is sitting at his desk overwhelmed by the lack of respect he gets from those God told him to lead. A new minister is hiding their calling out of fear of being rejected. A man somewhere who has worked for 20+ years can’t find a decent job anywhere after being laid off. A child went to bed hungry and no one even notices. A child can’t even read but he or she will be passed to the next grade. Domestic violence is up but not just between spouses but also between parents and children. Children are acting like they have no sense and …

Well, it’s a struggle y’all. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you are from, what you look like, what kind of car you drive, the kind of house you stay in or even about the money you have because at this very moment; life is a struggle. But you know what I’ve found out? God is able! Yep. That’s it! God is able and I don’t have to continually ask Him for strength to climb, to overcome, to outlast and to get through because He has already given us this; we just need to tap into it. Isaiah 41:10 says it like this, “Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Stop waiting to be strengthened because you are, stand up. Stop waiting for validation that you are capable because you are, get up! Psalm 18:32 says, “It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure.” Psalm 18:36 even says, “You widen my path; my feet do not slip.” So, what are you waiting on? Get up! You have what you need. God is your strength and He’s made your path wide enough to keep you from slipping. All you have to do is trust Him because He has proven that He’ll do it!

Daily Devotional – 11/6/14 “It’s just a storm!”

Why is your head hung down in defeat? Why is it every time we, as Saints, go into a storm we think it’s because we are being punished when the simple truth is every one of us has a stormy season to endure? The same way the weather goes through stormy season is the same way we have to endure them so why do we cry each time we see the clouds roll in? Do you not understand that the same way the storm rolls in; it has to roll out which means it’ll end eventually? Do you not understand that God is there before, during and after your storm? Do you not get the fact that Psalm 34:19-20 says, “The righteous person faces many troubles but the Lord comes to the rescue each time. For the Lord protects the bones of the righteous; not one of them is broken?” That alone is worth shouting over (if you’re righteous)! Yea, see; it doesn’t matter that man will try to hurt you because the word says, they can’t break you. I didn’t make it up, read the verse again. It doesn’t matter how hard folk try, they can’t break the righteous. It doesn’t matter how hard folk push for you to fail, they can’t break you! What are you crying for? Why are you concerned with the naysayers? The only reason you have to worry is if you aren’t as righteous as you say you are.

Yea, we all have faults and shortcomings. We all make our share of mistakes. We all fall, a time or three yet God has given us another chance to make it right. God didn’t expect us to be perfect, why else would He give us repentance but He does expect us to try to live our lives decently and in order. Beloved, you can’t expect to be praying over folk at the altar on Sunday and then preying over them on Facebook on Monday; it doesn’t work like that. You get points for going to bible study on Monday but that doesn’t last if you forget it on Tuesday. All I am saying is this… We all have seasons to go through and some of them will be better than the others but go through them with the faith that God hasn’t left you. Your religion, praise and faith shouldn’t be based on your situation anyway; it should be based on the fact that you have a man in your corner who has already equipped you with everything you need to weather the storm, if you would tap into it. Lift your head and stop being defeated so easily when you have been made God tough. If you were meant to be gone by now, you would be! If you were meant to fail by now, you would have!

Daily Devotional – 11/5/14 “It starts with me!”

God has places for us to go, things for us to do, people for us to help save, lives to help restore and even blessings with our name on them yet we won’t get out of our own way to be useable. Yea, God has work for us to do but we have to first be dependable, capable and trustworthy workers who can be used in God’s service. But isn’t it something how we can blame everybody and everything else for blocking our paths except ourselves? We are quick to blame folk for us failing when it was our fault for not learning. We blame man for the negative press that is being brought on “church folk” when church folk are the ones doing the negative stuff to get the press. I mean, when will we, as Saints, get back to God’s business of teaching, reaching and saving souls? When will we clean ourselves up in order to be able to help someone else? When will we get out of our own way in order to be used and elevated?

When will we stop using excuses? “God knows my heart.” Yep, He does yet you still have the nerve to question Him on why you can’t move from point A when your heart is so full of anger and malice. Your song ought to have changed by now to “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me (Psalm 51:10).” “When I get myself together…” God never put a requirement in His book that you had to be right to come to Him because the bible says in Romans 10:13, “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” God needs willing workers. Haven’t you seen the state we’re in? Parents are burying their children, mothers are throwing their babies off bridges, depression is taking over, stress is at an all-time high because folk can barely eat and they are working two jobs, medication and doctor visits are too expensive to pay for, working everyday yet your check seems like you’re paying them, sickness won’t leave you alone, children won’t act right no matter what you try and that’s not even half of it. We’ve got to get it together Saints! We are losing and it’s not supposed to be that way when we have a victorious God. We all have to do better and it starts with self first. Stop waiting on someone else, change you! Start with you! Get out of your own way!

Daily Devotional – 11/4/14 “You still angry?”

A new month but the same you with the same ole messed up attitude and jacked up spirit. Didn’t you say you were working on that last month? Wasn’t that one of your New Year’s resolution? Well, don’t you see that the year is coming to an end? When is this change coming? Aren’t you tired of being mean and hostile to everyone you meet? Don’t you know by now, God doesn’t reside in anger for it is a foot hole for the devil? Each time you allow anger to take control of you, the enemy rejoices. Each time you allow your anger to get the best of you; the enemy does a victory dance. Why? Well because, again, you’ve given him an open door into your spirit. What are you angry for child? Stop allowing the same folk to hurt you. Stop going into places where you know you’ll be hurt. Stop giving your heart to someone you know will break it especially if they’ve broken it before. Release past hurts and FORGIVE AND FORGET!

Matthew 6:9 tells us how we should pray and in the midst of the same prayer, Matthew 6:12 says, “And forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.” See, in order for us to be forgiven, we have to first forgive because not forgiving is one main cause of anger (in my personal opinion). When we hold on to the things people did to us, words folks said to us, promises broken, relationships that didn’t work out and most of all church hurt … that stuff, that mess turns to anger. Now, here you are a grown angry adult who folk hate to see coming because you’re always complaining or mad. This is why Ephesians 4:31-32 says, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” And yes, forgiving and forgetting has everything to do with the person who hurt you because it shows them that they didn’t win! Stop allowing anger, hurt and not being able to forgive hinder you. God has places for you to go, things for you to do and blessings with your name on them; He’s simply waiting on you to get out of the way of getting them.