Daily Devotional – 7/7/14 “Why are you fighting?”

Why are you fighting with the enemy? Why are you even wasting your energy? Don’t you know it makes no sense for you to constantly keep fighting a battle that isn’t even yours? If you’re wondering why you can’t win, it maybe the tactics you’re using. God never told you to fight those who consistently do you wrong but the bible says in Romans 12:14, “Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them.” God never said to hate those who hate you, misuse those who misuse you or turn away from those who turned you away but the bible says in Romans 12:20, “Instead, “If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.” This is why you have to love the hell out of folk. It’s not for your good but it’s for theirs. Don’t you know by now that the enemy’s tricks are more clever and the more you fight them, the harder they fight back. So, why not love them to shame? This means loving them until they become shame they ever even tried you in the first place. Don’t you know the enemy has no other choice but to back down when they see their schemes and plans no longer work on you? I mean, if you keep pushing on a door that won’t open, wouldn’t you eventually give up? Well, it’s the same thing. If the enemy constantly tries to break you but every time he throws something your way, you allow it to bounce off of you, the enemy has no choice but to flee because he’ll soon get tired of fighting a losing battle. Oh, and let me drop this in your spirit; you don’t even have to do any heavy lifting to get rid of your enemy because he digs his own grave. You don’t have to take my word for it but take God at His because the bible says in Proverbs 26:27, “Whoever digs a pit will fall into it; if someone rolls a stone, it will roll back on them.” This is why I asked, why are you fighting? It was never said that your enemy wouldn’t try to attack you and most times it’ll look as if the enemy is winning but God has already made provisions for your enemies but you have to let him do it His way. This is why Isaiah 54:17 says, “No weapon that is formed against you will prosper; And every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their vindication is from Me,” declares the LORD.”

Oh but get this, just because you don’t have to fight it doesn’t mean you run every time the enemy shows up. The bible didn’t say fight but it does say in James 4:7, “So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Have the fight in you to resist the enemy but don’t fight him. Have the fight in you to declare that nothing evil that is formed against you will succeed but don’t fight. So again I have to ask, why are you fighting anyway when the battle isn’t even yours, its God’s? And you can check God’s references, He’s never lost!

Daily Devotional – 7/1/14 “Eviction Notice!”

Yea, I know you are tired of being told to hold on until God moves, prayer changes things, trust in God, it’ll be alright in the morning, when God shows up He’ll be on time, trouble won’t last always or there’s a purpose for what you’re going through; when you can’t actually see your way but hold on! See, I’ve found that most times the hell we’re going through can be solved by facing the enemy that has set up camp in our home. I’ve even found that trouble can get in without even setting off the alarm but that’s alright because today we will take back what’s ours. Yes, today we are giving the enemy, the devil, those wolves in sheep’s clothing, those folk who have surrounded us sucking our joy, mooching off our living and taking advantage of our giving an eviction notice! Today is the day we take back what is ours!

Notice of Immediate Eviction:

Date of Notice :

Roommate in Possession: Devil {other names he goes by; Enemy, Backstabber, Liar, Deceiver, Fake Friend and Hater}

Leased Premises: My life, house, my family, my friends, my job

You are in default of your lease because: You’ve overstayed your visit

Reason for eviction:

You’ve occupied my house way too long and you’ve overstayed your welcome. There’s no need for a 30 day notice because an immediate evacuation is in order today. Don’t worry about packing your bags because I’ve already placed them by the curb. Oh, all the things you gave me, they are out there too because I found that they came with a price. No, I don’t need any more help from you to pay my bills because a new roommate has already paid the cost. There is no need to clean or even paint because the new roommate will take care of it all. No need to leave the keys because the locks have been changed too. Yes, I know you’ve enjoyed the time we’ve spent but I can’t say the same because you came in with the intentions of destroying my home and it almost worked when I started to stumble but I’ve gotten my balance back now. All those folk you’ve sent to do your dirty work, they almost had me fooled until I asked them to show me proof of what they could do but I got you now because you no longer have power over me and my house! You can stay if you want because I see my new roommate coming and He’ll take it from here. Yea, I’ve found a new one and I didn’t even have to place an ad in the paper. Oh, He even came with great references that I’ve been able to verify. He said I didn’t have to worry about all the damage you’d done here because He’ll make it look brand new. He said He’ll patch the holes in the roof that were leaking from the rain during my storm. That closet you closed off, He said He’ll open it back up for me so that I’ll have a place to pray. My bed I hardly slept in from the nights of toiling, He said He’ll replace the mattress so that I can rest. That carpet that was run down from my nights of pacing, He’s replacing that too. Your half of the groceries; don’t worry about it because He said I’ll never be hungry again. Your half of the electric bill, He got that too. But before you go, let me thank you for the time you’ve spent here because it has made me stronger and wiser. You can continue laughing, thinking that I’ll be back; He told me you’d say that but I ain’t got no worries because my new roommate has prepared me for that. So you go on now because there’s no room for you here as a matter of fact, here He is now. Enemy, meet my God!

Yes, He now resides here and He handles all of my affairs so you have to go through Him to reach me. Oh, but if you should ever stop by and hear the music playing, that’ll be my praise party. You can watch through the window. Now grab your bags, hitch a ride and get the hell off my property!

If you have any questions, call God; the line is never busy.

Signed: God’s chosen one!

Daily Devotional – 6/30/14 “Are you a fair weather Saint?”

How can we continually expect God to bless us abundantly, keep on crying out come on and see about Jesus, pray Lord I need you or sing Jesus be a fence when God can only anticipate us going to worship service when the weather is fair? I mean, how can we assume God is alright with us not worshipping with other blood bought believers because it’s raining outside? I find it odd that we can go EVERYWHERE else in the rain except church. The weather report can say tornado yet we will still go out to eat but then act crazy when choir rehearsal isn’t canceled. I don’t get it. What’s the difference about going to church when it’s raining or when it’s 90+ degrees? Isn’t God still worthy of praise? Oh but let the pastor not show up and it’ll be a church meeting scheduled so fast. Yet aren’t we all accountable? The bible says in Hebrews 10:23-25, “Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful and let us be concerned about one another in order to promote love and good works not staying away from our worship meetings, as some habitually do, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” I don’t know what you read but there isn’t any mention of only going to church when the weather is good. We’ve got to stop neglecting that which we know we’re supposed to do. One day a week for however long your worship service is, isn’t asking you for too much. Stop picking and choosing when you’ll serve God. Stop picking and choosing when you’ll worship. Stop giving God the leftovers when He should be served first. All I’m saying is stop allowing your worship to be based on the weather, stop being a fair weather Saint (only serving when the weather is fair) and just be a Saint who is ready, willing and able to serve and worship at all time because you never know when you won’t be able too.

Daily Devotional – 6/27/14 “Are you not tired yet?”

Now that you know you’re simply a sinner who has been saved and now called saint (Sinners Abiding In New Territory), aren’t you tired of running from God? Aren’t you tired of playing with the calling that God has placed over your life? Aren’t you tired of getting dressed up on Sunday just to go play church? Aren’t you tired of acting like you got it all together when you need to let go and let God? Aren’t you tired of putting on a face to portray someone you’re not? Are you not tired yet? Aren’t you tired of being mentally abused by someone who isn’t even yours? Aren’t you tired of being hurt by someone who promised to never hit you again? Aren’t you tired of peeping and hiding because you’re with someone else’s spouse? Aren’t you tired of living in someone else house? Are you not tired yet? Aren’t you tired of begging from folks? Aren’t you tired of stealing? Aren’t you tired of being messy? Are you tired of being the starter of trouble? Aren’t you tired of being the person folk don’t like to see coming? Aren’t you tired of tired of posting all of your business on Facebook? Are you not tired yet? Aren’t you tired of laughing at folk’s shout because you’ve yet to tap into the Holy Spirit who lives inside of you? Aren’t you tired of acting like God hasn’t been good to you? Are you tired of downplaying someone else dance when you should be joining in? Aren’t you tired of being in your pity party? Are you not tired yet?

Baby, all you have to do is watch the news, read the newspaper, visit a funeral home, hospital, homeless shelter or mission and you’ll realize how fast your life can change. Don’t you understand that it’s time NOW to get your life together? If you died today, would someone be able to stand up and speak on your behalf or would they have to lie? But I guess you think you got time, don’t you? Honey on your best day, you’re sick enough to die and I should tell you that Matthew 24:36 says, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” So, go on thinking you have time because although tomorrow is promised, you aren’t promised to see it. When will you be tired of all the games, mess and foolishness? Aren’t you tired of running instead of reaping, tired of crying instead of answering God’s call, tired of wandering when you could be worshipping, tired of falling and failing when you should be faithful, tired of being weary when you should be willing, tired of stumbling when you should be sanctified in the spirit, tired of pacing when you should be partaking in the promise of God, tired of being a victim when you should be vigilant in your victory, tired of being bound when you’ve already been bought and tired of being broken when you’ve been beautifully built? Are you not tired yet? You should be!

Daily Devotional – 6/26/14 “Saint!”

Yea, you’ve probably being saved ever since you sat on the mourners’ bench at revival when you were 12 yet you haven’t always acted like it. Yea, you probably keep your bible in the car but when you do take it in the house to share the word with your family? You can probably even recite scriptures from memory but are you living by them? Stop acting like you got a Holier than thou card in your wallet because we are all just saved sinners called saints. (Saint = Sinner abiding in new territory) Chile, stop acting like your salvation is greater or better than mine. Don’t you know we are all sinners who have been saved by the same blood? Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” So cut out the act like you don’t sin every now and then because even the bible says in Romans 3:23, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Let me tell you this, God doesn’t keep track of the numbers of years you’ve been saved but He’ll ask how many souls you’ve saved since then. God isn’t concerned with that fancy bible you got in that nice looking bible bag but He’ll ask how many times you’ve opened it to share His word with someone else. God isn’t concerned with the make and model of your car but He’ll want to know how many times you’ve given a ride to those in need. He won’t even ask you to recite a scripture from memory but He’ll want to know how many did you share with non-believers. Baby, God doesn’t care about the number of followers on Twitter, the friend count on Facebook or the likes on Instagram but He’ll want to know how many people you invited to church or shared the message with. It isn’t about the brand of phone you have but it is about the number of times you’ve answered it to pray for someone. Does God want us to be perfect? Yes, because the bible says in Matthew 5:48, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect,” but this doesn’t mean we are punished when we make mistakes because if this was the case He wouldn’t have given us repentance.

We are all sinners striving to be better which is why I said we are saints – sinners abiding in new territory. So again, quit acting like the baptism water gave you a higher calling than anyone else because we all have the same road to travel to get to God. Yea, our paths go in different directions but in the end we all have to take the same route, death. We need to get back to saving souls because we are losing too many of them and God isn’t pleased. We need to take the world out of church and take the church into the world. It’s time out for playing fleshly games and get back to kingdom business. We are all saved sinners who should practice what is said in 1 Corinthians 9:22-23, “When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings.” It is our responsibility to help one another through the sharing and teaching of God’s word instead of trying to beat the hell out of one another with harsh criticism and hate. We are all sinners, oh but (don’t you love but) Romans 3:24 says, “Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.” So, please know, I am no better than you and you are no better than me for we are all saints, “Sinners Abiding In New Territory!”