Daily Devotional – 7/9/13 “Now what?”

You didn’t listen to the warnings, you ignored the signs and now you’re in a predicament; now what? What are you going to do? That car is a piece of crap, now what? That man, isn’t really a man but a boy in a grown man’s body, now what? That girl and I use that term loosely, doesn’t even recognize the gem she has in you; now what? That job really doesn’t appreciate your talent, now what? That church isn’t helping you spiritually, now what? Those friends who are really dressed up enemies are still smiling in your face, now what? What are you going to do now? If your gas light is on, you either get gas or run out; right? Well, now that the warning signs are still blinking, the bell is still ringing and the light is still flashing what are YOU going to do about it? Are you going to continue to ignore it like you did that check engine light until the car no longer starts? Are you going to continue to ignore it until you have some much hell in you that no one wants to see you coming? Are you going to continue to ignore it until you make yourself unlovable? Then what? Stop sitting in your pity because of the mistake or mistakes you made, get up and dust yourself off and move on. You aren’t the first person to make a mistake and you surely won’t be the last however, if you never learn from them then you are doomed to make the same mistake or mistakes again. So, what now? Stop falling for the first person who whispers all the right things because that doesn’t make them the one; it simply makes them the one saying the right thing at that moment; search their heart first and trust their actions, not their words. Proverbs 21:2, “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart.” Stop giving your all to everybody because eventually you’ll have nothing for yourself, do you sometimes. 2 Corinthians 8:12, “Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have.” Pay attention to those you attach yourself too. 1 John 4:1, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” And simply trust God first! Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”

All I am trying to get you to see now is, even though you ignored the warning signs you can still make this thing right. I’ve watched my Grams take a cake that has fallen apart after coming out of the oven, add her magic touch and some icing to make it look like nothing is wrong; simply because she didn’t just throw it out. Haven’t you realized yet that you were nothing but a filthy rag that God has taken, dipped you in some bleach (that His blood), ran you through the rinse cycle (that’s His tears), hung you out to dry (that’s repentance) only to shake you out and make you look brand new and worth using? Then stop hanging on to the mistakes you’ve made because there will be some more and get about the Kingdom’s business because there is some work that has to be done down here! Yea, you’ve ignored the warning; now what?

Daily Devotional – 7/8/13 “Didn’t you see the warnings?”

Yea, you know you did but you went anyway. You know you saw the warning signs blinking over that man or woman’s head but you went in head first and now you have the audacity to be mad at God when He wasn’t the one to make you go. You know you saw the warning signs in that car, when the check engine light stayed on, yet you signed your name anyway and now you’re still without a ride and the car is in the driveway. You know you felt the signs of your health failing and you ignored them too until you ended up on your back in somebody’s hospital bed and who’s to blame? Why are you ignoring the signs when you asked God for them, didn’t you? You ask God to show you if that church is where you need to be, when you know you aren’t getting fed spiritually, but you still stay. You ask God to show you if you should be marrying him or her and even after you’ve caught them cheating, you still walk down the aisle to recite the vows of “til death do us part” when you know it won’t be death but cheating yet you still go. God keeps showing you the warning signs about that job you’re on, however you keep walking pass them until the doors are closed and you’re unemployed when you should have been looking for another one. Why are you ignoring the signs? Would you drive down a street that has been closed? Would you walk over a bridge that has “closed for repair” sign? Would you drive a car that has “no brakes” warning attached? Then why are you attaching yourself to a man who is known as an abuser? Why are you chasing a woman who is known to sleep around? Why are you buying a car from someone who is known to sell lemons? Why are you constantly giving your heart to a person who didn’t care for it the first 3 times? Why are you still hanging on to a marriage that has been over? Why are you still ignoring the warnings? Before you go to sleep, don’t you get sleepy? Before the backstabbing, didn’t you see the signs of your so-called friend changing? Before you fall, didn’t you feel your legs getting weak? Before a storm, don’t God sends the clouds? Before a flood, doesn’t it first have to rain? Before night comes, doesn’t God send the day light? Before a heart attack, haven’t you been made aware of the signs? Then why ignore them when Matthew 6:22 says, “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light?” Open your ears to hear and your eyes to see because they’ll never fail you when it comes to the warning signs. How do I know? Proverbs 20:12 says, “Ears to hear and eyes to see–both are gifts from the LORD,” and He hasn’t made anything to fail. Don’t ignore the warnings!

Daily Devotional – 7/2/13 “What a change!”

At this time last year, I kissed my granddaddy goodbye asking him to wait for me until I got home not knowing that as I sat at work, this time the day after he would be gone. Yea, I knew it was coming but boy what a change! Isn’t it something how fast things can change? Not only for the bad but for the good as well? You can go from being unemployed to having the job of your dreams or you can go from being married to a widow simply with a phone call. Isn’t that something? One minute your body can be wracked with pain and within a few minutes a pain pill can kick in and it all goes away. You can think your home is the happiest place on earth until a mistake ruins everything you’ve put together; what a change! This is why the bible says in Matthew 24:36, “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”. I know, you think you got it all together. You got your goals set out, your vision written and your plans planned but then life happens and it all falls to pieces. You have your vacation planned and then the bill happens. You have your night planned and then your child gets sick. You have your day planned and then your car’s tire is flat. You have your speech prepared and then the meeting changes. Man, what a change! Yet, I’ve learned that through change whether good or bad, it’s all God because He tells me in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope,” so I press on. Then my bible says in Proverbs 16:4, “The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble,” so I walk on. Then Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose,” so I get back up. Then 1 Peter 2:9 says, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellences of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light,” so I claim what’s mine. And then Psalm 138:8 says, “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands,” so I work on! Oh, yes change comes but I’m called for this so I’ll stay calm and continue to carry the charge that I’ve been chosen to complete. What a change it is but I’m confidently continuing to get my crown.

Daily Devotional – 7/1/13 “God’s Benefits”

Oh, I bet you thought God didn’t offer a benefit package like your job does; didn’t you? You thought God wouldn’t give you healthcare, dental, vision and life insurance coverage but haven’t you read Psalm 103:2-4 that says, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy?” When you’re sick, God has you covered with insurance that won’t lapse and all you have to do is simply say the words found in Jeremiah 17:14, “Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise.” Yea, even if God doesn’t remove the pain from your body, He’ll give you slumber in order to rest through it and when it’s your time to be healed; then it shall come to pass because He has that type of health insurance that is never denied, too expensive or accepted at certain places because it is everywhere you need it to be. And just like healthcare, He has all of your dental needs covered which is why Matthew 7:7 says, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” See, this scripture says, ask which means you have to open your mouth to do it and I know that sometimes you allow things to be said that shouldn’t be, your repeat stuff that shouldn’t have been and you even let your anger get the best of you but Proverbs 13:3 says, “Those who control their tongue will have a long life; opening your mouth can ruin everything.” Oh but that’s alright because then came along repenting which is like going to the dentist. Yea, when you repent you floss and get rid of all the mess that has tried to lodge itself in the cracks, you brush out all of that filth that was once stored in your mouth and then you gargle and spit out all of the stuff that shouldn’t have been there anyway.

God has your health and dental covered and it goes right along with the vision because if you can’t see clearly then how can you walk right? This is why Matthew 6:22 says, “Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light.” But hold on because verse 23 says, “But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!” And if you have vision coverage and don’t use it then you’re to blame when it becomes impaired because Luke 11:35 says, “Make sure that the light you think you have is not actually darkness.” It didn’t say that I needed to check to see if your light is shining but it says that you need to make sure. This is why He gives us His benefit package of strength to be strong enough to endure, to go on through, to test the spirits that we encounter on a daily basis, to see folk and things for what they truly are, to overcome what others didn’t make it through, to be able to go through cancer and other illnesses and then come out healed, to be addicted to drugs and alcohol only to be delivered, to be talked about only to be triumphant when it’s over, to be pushed down only to be picked up again, to be used only to be understood, to be victimized only to be victorious and to be picked simply for your purpose! Yes, God gives you life and life more abundantly so that after the time here is over, you’ll die only to live again!

Daily Devotional – 6/28/13 “Aren’t you tired yet?”

Aren’t you tired of being abused by the belittling words coming out of his or her mouth or being hit by the hands of the one person who promised to never hurt you? Aren’t you tired of being messy because others have what you want although you haven’t worked to get it? Aren’t you tired of hating on your sister because she has it to give every time you call? Aren’t you tired of downplaying someone’s shout simply because you haven’t tapped into the spirit that’s inside of you? Aren’t you tired of going to church every Sunday playing church? Aren’t you tired of laughing at their blessed dance when you should be dancing about the blessings you’ve received? Aren’t you tired of talking about folks? Aren’t you tired of using folk? Aren’t you tired of dipping and hiding with someone else’s husband or wife, don’t you want your own? Aren’t you tired of stealing what other’s work hard for when you can work and get your own? Aren’t you tired of always being the one begging or with a sob story? Aren’t you tired yet?

Well, you should be! All you have to do is turn on any news channel and you’ll quickly realize that the next moment of your life isn’t promised so when will you get it together? If you died today, who would give your eulogy, at what church? Would anyone have nice words to say or would they simply sit there because you never stood up for them. Would the life you live actually speak good things about you when you’re gone or that doesn’t matter now? Oh, you think you have time don’t you? Well baby, I may as well tell you now 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 you go on thinking that if you want. If you aren’t tired of being without, keep being without but if you are; do something about it. If you aren’t tired of playing saved, keep playing but if you are; you have right now to change. Haven’t you noticed that it’s not about you but it’s about the God in you? This is why Matthew 5:16 says, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Haven’t you realized yet that you should be intimidating the enemy and not your brothers or sisters or that you should be attacking the devil and not God’s power when James 4:7 says, “So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you?” When will you be tired of running when you should be reaping, tired of crying when you should be chosen, tired of wandering when you should be worshipping, tired of falling when you should be faithful, tired of being weary when you should be willing, tired of stumbling when you should be satisfied, tired of pacing when you should be partaking, tired of being a victim when you should be victorious, tired of being bound when you’ve already been bought and tired of being broken when you’ve been beautifully built? When? Aren’t you tired yet?