Daily Devotional – 8/7/13 “My soul cries out … “

When I have cried out, when I have no more strength to move, when I have to open my eyes even when I don’t want to; when I have to go and I don’t even know my location; my soul, my broken soul is saying Take Me to the King. When you’re tired of being tired, you have no more options to choose from, seems like praying isn’t working and church is just becoming a repetitive thing with no change; all that is left is the broken pieces that now need mending; I can hear you singing; Take Me to the King. Yea, see; this King is a mender of broken hearts, He is a repairer of broken souls and a fixer of broken spirits because Psalm 147:3 says, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds,” so I know He can make us whole. This King is a Man who can restore the joy even when it looks like all the joy is gone, if we ask because John 16:24 says, “Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” This King is a Man who can renew your strength even after it’s passed its renewal date because Isaiah 41:10 says, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” This King! Oh, a Man who don’t mind coming to see about you in the wee hours of the morning or the pitch black darkness of the night. This Man doesn’t mind coming into gang infested neighborhoods or drug ridden alleys to bring you your healing. This Man doesn’t care about whose around you when He enters your heart because even on a Wednesday morning He’ll still put a shout in your mouth and dancing in your feet.

Yes, I’m saying Take Me to the King for I know that one touch from Him will save my life because even when my flesh wants to die my soul refuses too! Even when my legs want to give out, my soul keeps walking and when my eyes want to close; my soul keeps looking. (I need a touch from the King.) So I’m taking all of my broken pieces to a Man who doesn’t have letters behind his name; yet He can perform surgery on me. I’m taking my broken pieces to a Man who doesn’t have a couch for me to lie on yet he hears all my problems because Psalm 34:18 says, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit,” so I know I’m not alone and He is near. I know that God will come and see about little ole me. See, we need to take some “me” time and go before the King in order for Him to hear our pleas. We have to have some one on one fellowship time with God in order for Him to be able to know our voice. It doesn’t matter because you don’t have much and it feels like your spirit is running on empty because Matthew 5:3 says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” So when you get to a point where it feels like giving up is your only option and giving in is the easiest way out; take your burdens to the King. When looking up is your only choice because you’ve fallen to the lowest part of the ground, cast your worries on the only King who can reach that far down to get you. When you are sick and tired of being plain ole sick and tired, reach out for the only King who won’t push you away. When you have nothing left to give and nothing more to offer; take your broken pieces to the King and let Him fix it!

Daily Devotional – 8/6/13 “Quit lying on the devil!”

Yep! You read this right, quit lying on the devil. Yea, the devil is a spirit that is real and his main purpose is to make your life hell on earth but please understand; he cannot do anything to you that God does not approve. However, but, yet and nonetheless; those thangs you’re doing on your own accord are of your doing and not the devil so stop lying on him. The devil didn’t make you give your cell phone number to that dude in the club, his sweet talk did. The devil didn’t make you follow that girl to her car, her short skirt did. The devil didn’t make you steal, you chose too. The devil didn’t make you lie when you could have easily shared the truth, you did. The devil didn’t make you curse that person out who said something you didn’t like, your rude attitude did. Am I defending the devil? No, but I am simply telling you that you need to be accountable for your actions; all of them. Stop saying that God is tempting you because He doesn’t, this is why James 1:13 says, “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.” When you’re in a relationship and you’re missing all the things they did to get you, you start looking elsewhere for them and this is when the devil comes in. See, although you’re just thinking about the things you’re missing, your eyes are looking for them and when they see it, temptations start and once the temptations start turning the devil is getting a way in and we are warned about it which is why James 1:14 says, “But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.” Once this happens, all hell breaks loose because James 1:15 goes on to say, “Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”

It’s a lot, I know but let me break this down in Lakisha’s lingo for you to get; clearly! When you start lusting, you open up the door for conversation and through conversation you get comfortable and once you’re comfortable you get caught up in carelessness of your actions until they cause you to lose what you have at home. When you start stealing, you get satisfaction that you didn’t get caught so you get greedy and continually do it until your hands are behind your back in handcuffs and your face is plastered in Just Busted on Tuesday. See, the temptation started and the devil took over and made it look easy to do again and you fell for it. When you start smoking that marijuana, snorting that powder or drinking that alcohol; the temptation was calling your name because it made you feel good so the devil latched on to that feeling and started making you feel like you couldn’t live without it and now you’re addicted and losing everything and everybody you’ve ever loved. Yea, the devil may have a hold on you now but the devil didn’t make you do it to begin with. You chose everything that you are a part of and if it hasn’t been exposed yet, keep on living because it will be. Stop lying on the devil! Man/Woman UP and take responsibility for the mistakes you’ve made. Learn from the mistakes and then try your hardest not to make them again or you could wait until God exposes you but you may not like the attention!

Daily Devotional – 8/5/13 “Exposed to edify!”

Have you ever wondered why it is said that things done in the dark will come to light or why secrets really aren’t secrets? Well, as I was sitting in church on yesterday it struck me that God exposes us, people and things so that He can edify us. Now, in order for you to finally get this, you have to first know the meaning of the word edify. Edify means to improve the morals or knowledge of somebody. Again, edify means God exposes your mess in order to improve your morals. (You knew you had no business tipping out on the one you said you were committed to anyway so God had to expose you in order for you to get back on track.) Again, edify means God exposes the messiness of somebody in order for you to see them for who they really are. (Yea, you know how you catch your “best” friend texting your boo because they’ve secretly been the one trying to ruin your relationship anyway but you couldn’t see it. However, God had to let you see the things that you would have seen had you been looking through your spiritual eyes.) Again, edify means God exposes your lowdown, mean and hurtful self so that your morals can now be in line with that spiritual shout you do on Sundays. God has to expose your rock throwing in order for your morals to match the Christianity that you display so proudly. God had to expose the way you were walking in order for you to see that you were headed straight for a dead end. God had to expose your spouse because they really weren’t the one for you yet you’ve still been holding on. God had to expose your boss because they’ve been the one hindering your elevation. God had to expose Sis. Talk A. Lot because they were keeping you from the message with their misery. God has to expose us, every time we get caught up in this worldly mess because it’s keeping us from His word. God has to expose us, every now and then, when we get so high and mighty and start acting like we can raise ourselves up. God has to expose us, sometimes, when we start holding our head up like were better than everybody after God has taken you higher instead of you reaching back to help somebody else. Yea, God has to expose us in order to edify us otherwise we’d always be out of His will. Yes, God has to expose us in order to edify us otherwise we’d always be talking instead of listening, hindering instead of helping, hell mates instead of helpmates, liars instead of laborers, burdens instead of a blessing, a problem starter instead of a peace maker, greedy instead of gifted and an adversary instead of anointed. You ought to be glad that God exposed your mess so that you can now finally be the person you are supposed to be instead of the one you are sometimes.

Daily Devotional – 8/2/13 “Show me, no wait!”

This is how must of us are when it comes to getting our prayers answered. You ask God for a sign then you ignore it when it comes. You ask God for direction then you go an entirely different way. You ask God for a way out then you close the door. You ask God for a second chance and then you have the audacity to mess it up and still act unappreciative. What do you really want? You pray every night for God to show you the man or woman that is yours yet you still don’t recognize the one that has been standing in your face every day. You ask God for healing yet you won’t go and get the prescription that has been ready for 2 weeks. You ask God to show you your true friends yet you’re still chasing the ones that keep stabbing you in the back. You ask God for the career you want then you’re too scared to fill out the application. You ask God to protect you from the hands of that abusive man or woman yet you won’t move when He tells you too. You ask God to take this addiction from you yet you won’t give it up. What are you scared of? Are you too afraid to see the world through sober eyes? Are you that afraid of commitment? Are you that terrified to change? It’s like receiving a shot at the doctor’s office and each time the nurse comes toward you, you holler wait unless she finally gets fed up and goes ahead and stick you in the butt only for you to realize that it wasn’t even that bad. Yea, if you just take that leap of faith that God keeps dropping in your spirit, you’ll see that everything you’ve wanted has always been within reach.

Stop waiting to see the things that God has been showing you, after all you asked for it, didn’t you? The bible does say in Matthew 7:7, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” Stop asking and then running scared from the answer. If you ask for a sign, be ready to receive it. If you ask for an answer, be ready to accept it. If you ask for a way, be ready to go. If you ask for a blessing, be ready to work. If you ask for healing, be ready to be healed. And if you ask for a burden, be ready to carry it (You’ll get that later). All I am saying is, be ready to accept and receive whatever you ask for!

Daily Devotional – 8/1/13 “Holla in the hallway!”

What do you do when one door closes and the next one hasn’t opened yet? What do you do when the job hands you a pink slip and you don’t have an interview lined up? What do you do when the car quits and you don’t have the means to get a new one? What do you do when the doctor says I’ve done all I can do and you feel like giving up? Well baby, I stopped by to tell you to holla in the hallway! Yes, I am aware of the way I spelled the word but that’s because I need you to understand that when you holler you know exactly what you’re yelling about but when you holla, you have no idea because when you really holla you give God an ugly praise for the things He is getting ready to do. Yea, you know the one that lets God know that in spite of your current circumstance, you still trust Him. A praise that lets God know regardless of the situation, you still got faith in Him. A holla praise that tells God I am ready for my next level. Ok, so the situation is looking critical and everybody around you is looking pitiful but that shouldn’t stop your praise because in John 15:7, Jesus tells me “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” Then He says in Mark 11:24, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” So, what do you do when your spouse has left? Holla in the hallway for the one that God will send that will belong to only you. What do you do when the job terminates your employment? Holla in the hallway for your career that’s on the way. What do you do when you’ve done all you can and it still doesn’t seem to work out? Holla in the hallway and let God take control! What do you do when you’re stuck in between no’s and a yes hasn’t come? Holla because it’s on the way!