Am I in God’s will?

God’s assignment will NEVER cause you to sin. I do not care where He has told you to go or given you to say, His instructions won’t put you in position to sin or be outside of His will. It can sometimes hurt, bring some confusion and anger, create restless nights and draining days but not sin. No beloved, you’re in this mess because you allowed flesh to fight a battle only anointing could win. In your feelings you made a decision, flesh made look good and instead of owning up to ‘said’ mistake, apologizing and repenting; pride took over and now you’re too far in.

Can you guess what happened next? You had to do whatever it took to keep up appearances. You have to keep on playing the game in order to pay for being the boss. Sure, your pictures portray happiness but hell is all through your home. Your flyers are pretty but most of them are premeditated in pettiness. This is why you have to stop making rash decisions, in your feelings. God did not tell you to start that ministry, leave your spouse, take out that loan, say yes to the job or get in covenant with them. Truth is, you were mad, in flesh and struck out when you should have stayed. Somebody hurt your feelings and you lashed out when you should have left. Somebody removed you from a position and instead of being patient and praying; you permitted the pain to alter your posture.

Ask yourself these questions; is where I am God ordained, is what I’m doing God’s will for my life, is who I’m with helping or hurting me and is the place I’m residing delivering or depressing me? The most important question, am I still in God’s will? Reality is, you are either in God’s will or not because there is no in between. And please, do not judge your ability to slay people in the spirit, the amount of money in your checking account, the number of dates filled in on your calendar, the likes on your posts and views on your videos to being in God’s will. Some of you no longer have God’s anointing but are still being booked because of your name, not the oil.

The oil of God anoints, it does not anger.
The oil of God protects, it does not provoke.
The oil of God enlarges, not endangers.
The oil of God rebukes, not rejects.
The oil of God is deliverance, not deceitfulness.
The oil of God is beholding, not betraying.

God ordained you, not for you but for those He knew you could reach. He called you because of the fire in your belly and you said yes, so now you have a responsibility to that yes. What are you doing with it? “Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.” – 1 Corinthians 15:34

Doses of Devotion

In 2012, after I’d been penning devotionals to this blog, God gave me the authority to create a printed devotional titled Doses of Devotion. It was my very first Christian Devotional and I am very proud of it. I believe it, like the many fiction books God and I have created, has helped many.

On last week God said it was time for it to be revised. The name is still the same but the content is different. In this revision, I’ve included prescriptions of Faith, Strength, Courage and Obedience for those times you need something a doctor can’t give.

I recognized the need for the revision because my work in ministry has changed and so has my writing. This is something I can’t take credit for because it’s been ALL GOD. You know what I say, “It isn’t just writing, it’s ministry,” because it is.

And it is my prayer, through this devotional, you’ll find the strength to press on because it could be the right Doses of Devotion to urge you to try again. Below, for an inside look, download the first 15 pages of the devotional and if desire the full book, the link is included.

For those of you who want to bypass the sample, you can get your ebook version HERE for $2 or download it with Kindle Unlimited. Paperbacks will be available by Wednesday.

DOSES OF DEVOTION SAMPLE

As always,

Happy Reading,

Lakisha

Daily Devotional – 8/12/20 “Still praying.”

Our God in Heaven,

As I humbly petition your throne, I come submitted to your authority asking your will to be done. God, give us bread to fill us, provisions to sustain us, power to resist the enemy and he’ll flee and strength not to fall into temptations. God, by your power, deliver us from evil and give us the words and voice to forgive others so that you forgive us. God, yours is the kingdom we seek, and this is why we ask you to destroy whatever keeps us from it.

Then God, thank you for healing, providing, protecting and shielding us. Thank you for never being too far away that our cries cannot pierce your ears and your hands not reach us. Thank you for even being a silent Father those times you have to let us fall and then thank you for picking us up. And while I have your ear, will you heal and restore our land. I know we aren’t perfect, but will you go into every city, town and country and heal.

God, will you calm anxiety, wipe tears of fear and comfort those who are grieving. God, will you keep us close to you and allow us to abide in your shadow because you are our refuge and strength. Surely, you’ll deliver us from the noose of the wicked, this deadly plague called Covid-19 and the demonic pestilence of racism. Surely, you can cover us because your faithfulness is our shield and protection and we shall not fear.

And I still pray, that no man or woman will succumb to sin, fall into depression, be anxious, commit suicide, be bound by fear, devoured by mental illness,  hunger, thirst, become homeless nor sick. I still pray for us to trust, seek, hear, feel, taste, pray, tithe and devote ourselves to you, God. Keep protecting the essential workers and healing those who are sick. Today God, we’re still praying, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Daily Devotional – 7/31/2020 “Urge vs Urgency

When a woman is in labor, there’s pain during delivery and all she wants is that thang out of her and quick, playa!

Yet, here’s what I learned. You can’t push simply because you want it out. In order to reduce the decelerations of the baby’s heartbeat and to promote a more safer delivery, it’s better for mother to push when she feels the urge.

What are you getting at Pastor?

Some of y’all are in spiritual labor and the pain is heightened, contractions coming every 3 to 5 minutes, lasting 45-90 seconds; you’re crying, snotting, screaming and acting silly because you want this thang out. However, you need to wait. Why? Well, pushing is most effective when the mother feels the urge to push.

Some of you are pushing and your cervix ain’t even dilated yet or the “baby” (fruit of your labor) is crowning and the perineum needs to stretch gradually. Keep on pushing when it’s not time, and you might tear some stuff up that has the potential to cause more pain that could have been avoided.

I know you’re ready for it, get into position, but push when you feel the urge, not for urgency.

“Shall I bring to the time of birth, and not cause delivery?” says the LORD. “Shall I who cause delivery shut up the womb? ” says your God.” — Isaiah ‭66:9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

New Book – I’m Not Crazy

Imagine waking up one day different. You can’t explain it, but something just isn’t right. One minute you’re happy and the next sad. One moment you’re loving and the next angry. The voices you hear, the different moods you experience and the sad looks in people’s eyes makes you wonder if you’re losing your mind.

For Savannah Graft, she’s been dealt some heavy blows in her lifetime, but has managed to overcome them. Now, happily married to her husband, Pastor Shane Graft, mother to Kennedi and Baby Shane, First Lady of Victory Temple and the owner of SG Graphics; life is good.

Until one morning, she woke up different. She isn’t herself, yet she can’t see it. She recognizes something is wrong, but she can’t explain it. All she knows and continually says, I’m not crazy. Truthfully, she isn’t she’s depressed.

In this book, we begin a conversation to peel back the layers of postpartum depression, in the home and in the church. Although this is a work of fiction, every day somebody is dealing with the effects of mental illness and depression. In the church they tell you to pray and fast more. In the world, people say you’ll be okay, but how do they know.

Read Savannah’s story to see if she finally admits to needing help or will she continually hide from fear of herself, judgment or ridicule.

I’m Not Crazy is now available for download on Amazon Kindle and Kindle Unlimited. Paperback version will be available soon.