Daily Devotional – 2/8/13 “Just one of them days!”

Today is one of those days when I’m toiling with something but don’t know what and feeling some kind of way but I don’t know why. Trying to figure out what it is, exactly, that God is trying to get me to understand. I’m listening God but am I misunderstanding you? I’m going God but is it to the wrong place? I’m trying God but can I try harder? I’m praying but the devil is still sneaking through the fence. I’m praising but my enemies are still throwing rocks and hiding their hands. I’m doing the best I can but I still feel like I’m failing. I’m trying to smile but the tears keep falling. I’m trying to be strong but the punches from the world are getting too hard to take. I’m trying to hide the scars from the hell I’ve already been through but they’re getting too hard to cover. Yes, I put on a brave face when I keep getting hurt but I don’t know how much longer I can stand before I crumble. Oh God!

Father,
I come petitioning your throne this morning with my mouth filled with thanks. I thank you for opening my eyes to see, my ears to ear and my mouth to speak. I thank you for being my all in all and for making my today greater than my yesterday. I thank you for my pain because it makes me appreciate my healing. I thank you for my tears because they make me appreciate my smile. I thank you for the down days because they make me enjoy the up days. Oh God! I need your touch! Somebody needs your touch now. I don’t know who it is or even what they need but you’ve placed it on my heart to pray for them so I come asking you to touch them now. Someone’s self-esteem is low, God fill it back up. Someone is thinking about suicide but I ask that you bind those evil thoughts. Someone is even thinking about giving it all up but I know that you are able to fix it for them if they give it to you. God somebody got paid today and their checking account is still negative but I know you to be a provider. Someone is fighting a battle that is not theirs but I know that you can give them the strength to come out victorious. God remove the evil thoughts, bind the hands of those who want to hurt folk, bind the tongues of those who want to bully and bind the traps that have already been set. God deliver on today. Break down doors that have been placed in the way and break the chains that have been used to bind your people. Do it now God! Give strength where weakness resides. Give hope where there is none. Replace hate with love. Replace hurt with your mercy and replace toiling with your grace. God, I ask you to do it now. Do it for me and do it for them. I humbly submit this prayer as if it is already done. Amen!

Daily Devotional – 2/7/13 “Angry much?”

But why? Why are you always angry? Why should the folks around you be subject to your attitude that changes with the wind? Just because you had a bad day does that mean we all have to bear the brunt of it? Don’t you know that anger tends to lead you to evil thoughts that turn to evil words that’ll eventually lead to evil actions? Well Psalm 37:8 says, “Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret—it only causes harm.” Yea, I know you are still mad at daddy for leaving but baby you’re grown now, get over it and stop taking it out on every man that walks into your life. Yea, you were hurt in the past by a few women; chile, you’re grown now – get over it and stop treating every women like she is the one that hurt you. Yea, ok; you’ve had your heart broken a few times; learn from your past mistakes and stop wallowing in them. You aren’t the only one that is entitled to a bad day so stop acting like. Oh, and for the record; if you keep treating people like crap, don’t be made at them when they walk off and leave you because there is only so much a person can take before they get tired. You may be the one doing all the talking but it’s no fun if you’re talking to yourself. Learn how to treat folk and treat folk how you want to be treated. You can’t keep treating folks bad and then expect to always be treated good; it doesn’t work that way. Stop giving out what you know you can’t take.

Daily Devotional – 2/5/13 “Let me reintroduce you …”

On your daily journey, the road gets a little bumpy; there’s twist where there shouldn’t be any and curves that pop up out of nowhere that makes you sometimes doubt your purpose. Yea, I know about those restless nights and tear filled mornings; so I thought it necessary for me to reintroduce you to somebody who can help. No, He is not a lawyer who will charge you by the hour. He is not a doctor that will charge you an office visit. He is not a shrink that will charge you to listen to you talk and neither is He a gossiping friend who will tell all of your business. BUT, NEVERTHELESS, HOWEVER & STILL; He is the Man who will wait by the wayside until you call Him; hear you call His name even when you’re whispering, bless you with a gift when the world say you’re not worthy of it; increase that same gift when folks say you’ll fail and intensify the same gift when they wish bad over your life. When you have pain in your body, He’s better than ibuprofen. When folk break your heart, He’s a heart fixer. When the job lays you off, He’s a provider. When momma is gone, He’s a comforter. When daddy isn’t around, He’ll send someone to fill the void. When the stress gets to be too much, he’s a burden bearer. When you want to give up, He’s a lifter of your spirit. When you can’t see where you’re going, He’s a light. When you’re hanging over your cliff of despair, He’s the rope. When you fall, He’s there to catch you. When friends won’t answer, He says call me. When folks let you down, He says count on me. When you’re tired, He says lean on me.

Who is this man? The bible says in Revelation 1:8 He is, “the Alpha and the Omega–the beginning and the end, the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come–the Almighty One.” But I say He is my first, my last, my beginning, my end, my all and all, the dryer of my tears, the mender of my heart and the finish to my start. He puts burning on the inside of me I never want to burn out. He makes me feel like running when no one is chasing me. He makes me feel like crying even when I happy. He makes me want to shout will I have no problems to report. He heals me when I’m sick, covers me when I feel like I’ve been left in the cold and protects me when the storms are raging. He never makes me worry about him coming home late because he is always there. I don’t have to worry about him being unfaithful because faith is in His name. Even when I am mean to him, he doesn’t leave. When I don’t speak to him for a while, he comes running when I say his name. He doesn’t even mind that I don’t talk to him before I go to sleep because he said He’ll be there when I wake up. Oh, this Man is just what I need when I feel like I’m at my breaking point. When I feel like I’ve fallen too far for him to reach me, He can still pull me up. He doesn’t judge me when I make mistakes because He said He’ll forgive me.

Ladies and Gentleman, I am pleased to introduce you to this Man. Many of you may know him and some of you may have even read His book because it is a best seller. No, he hasn’t been on any book tours because the book can speak for itself. No, he doesn’t give autographs, but He’ll write your name in His book if you believe in Him. No, He doesn’t answer questions, but He does answer prayers. No, he doesn’t have an email address, Facebook account, Twitter, or text but he is only a call away. No, he doesn’t have a limited supply of minutes to use for the month so you’ll never receive a busy signal. This Man! God, our Heavenly Father. Will you promise to love, honor, cherish and obey Him through sickness and in health for all the days of your life until death do you part?

Daily Devotional – 2/4/13 “Every Sunday should be Superbowl Sunday!”

I wonder how much better some of us would be if we treated every Sunday like superbowl Sunday. I mean folks who haven’t cooked all year, cooked on yesterday. Folk who are normally asleep until the late afternoon was wide awoke early, yesterday. Folk, who claim they never have money, had some on yesterday. And folks who don’t even like the 2 teams that played, still went out and purchased clothes to go and sit in somebody else’s house on yesterday. And if the truth shall be told, some of y’all didn’t even go to church because you just had too much to do on yesterday. But what if God had too much to do when you called him on last night to get you home safe after all the beers you had? What if God was too busy to protect you on last night when you were acting foolish after your team lost? What if God treated us like some of him treats him? I’m just saying! You never have clothes to wear to God’s house but you bought clothes to wear to your friend’s house. You never have money for gas to go to God’s house but you had money for gas to go to your sister’s house who was throwing the party. Yea, you never have money for the up building of God’s house yet you had $20 to go towards the beer in someone else’s house. I’m just thinking to myself, this morning, on how much better a lot of us would be if we treated God the way we treat worldly stuff. Folk you haven’t seen since Christmas showed up yesterday. Folk you hadn’t talked to in weeks, showed up yesterday. Why, because you invited them when you sent out the text messages or the event request on Facebook. Oh, but let the church have revival and you won’t tell a soul. Let Pastor say something about family and friend’s day and you won’t even show up.

All I’m saying is, treat every Sunday like Superbowl Sunday. Get up on Sunday morning excited about the team you joined. Get up and put on your jersey with God on the back and wear it proud. Plaster Team Jesus on your cars and trucks and stop being ashamed to tell folks whose team you’re a part of. Invite folk to go with you to watch the play by play at your church and then invite them over for dinner to talk about your worship experience. Post a Facebook, Twitter or Instagram post about the coach of your team who has never been defeated. Tell folks on the job about the blessing of being alive that God gave you this morning instead of arguing over the bogus calls the refs made. All I’m saying is, every Sunday should be like Superbowl Sunday because every day God makes the plays that allows you to defeat the devil. He huddles up with you to give you the plays for your family (teammates) to guide them safely through their day and then he places folks around you to tackle the enemy when he tries to come your way, to clear a path and to protect your back while you’re running from here and there to make sure you make it safely into the end zone (home). Even when you sometimes get tackled and knocked down by the enemy who may slip pass, he gives you another opportunity to regroup and go again. Every Sunday should be like Superbowl Sunday!

Daily Devotional – 2/1/13 “Praying for healing”

This is the beginning of a new month so I’ve decided to start it off with a prayer for healing. Healing from sickness and disease, addictions, hating, abuse and whatever is ailing you. So, if you don’t mind agreeing with me this morning as I need a special healing prayer for my niece Kelsey in Detroit.

My Heavenly Father who art in Heaven, holy is thy name and may your will be done here on Earth as it is in Heaven. God I come petitioning your throne with a heart of thanks; thanking you for loving me despite my faults, for forgiving me even though I sin, thank you for blessing me even when I don’t deserve it and thank you for your grace that covers me daily. God, I come to you today praying for healing for my niece Kelsey. I don’t have to tell you what the issue is because I believe that you’ve been at her bedside since the beginning but I need you to heal now. Father, touch her body now and make her greater than she was before. I don’t know what you have in store for her but I am asking you to give her a regulated mind to handle whatever it is, give her the strength to endure even on the days when giving up will seem easier, give her your hand to hold on those nights when she wants to cry herself to sleep, give her your arms on those days when she needs to feel comforted but doesn’t want momma or daddy’s touch and then God give her your shoulder to lean on when it feels like she’s falling. Then, oh God, turn around and touch her mom and dad and siblings so that they have the strength to endure during this time; give them the words to say when words are needed and then give them the strength they need to be the help she needs. God, I need you to do it now. Then while you’re healing and delivering in Detroit, I need you to heal the person reading this. They may not be fighting a physical sickness or illness but it may be emotional. For the person crying over a broken heart, heal them. For the person who is dealing with peer pressure, heal them. For the person fighting alcoholism or drug addiction, heal them. For the person who can’t put the cigarettes down, heal them. For the person who can’t stop stealing, heal them. For the person who finds joy in abusing others, heal them. For the person who enjoys knocking folks down with their mouth, heal them. For the person fighting dialysis or chemo, heal them. For the person with heart disease, high/low blood pressure, kidney disease, prostate/colon cancer, migraines, sinus problems, asthma, MS, lupus, arthritis, ulcers, flu, stomach virus, sickle cell .. Oh God; heal and deliver now. Remove hate and judgmental thoughts. God, I just need you to touch your people now even in the midst of their sin, forgive them. Even when they are to mean to thank you, bless them anyway. Father, can you hear me? Please Lord because someone is thinking they can’t go on but I know you to be a deliverer and way maker. Do it! Do it now! Do it now, Father! I humbly submit this prayer in your name; asking as if it is already done. Amen.