Daily Devotional – 2/20/13 “Hasten to God’s throne!”

“I love the Lord, he heard my cry and pitied every groan, long as I, I live and troubles rise, I hasten to his throne!” This song was on my lips this morning and I don’t know why but obviously the Holy Spirit knows that someone needs to hear it. See, hasten is defined as to do or say something without delay, often in order to correct what might otherwise be a misleading impression. You know how folks judge you for what you used to do BUT you hasten to show them the God in you because your past mistakes no longer matters. How folk always think you’ll be defined by all the hell you’ve been through BUT you hasten to show them the new you whose scars have been removed. Yea, see folks are quick to count you out when they see you fall but they didn’t know that you hastened to God’s throne and He was already reaching to pull you up. Folks will give you a death sentence when the doctor says cancer but they didn’t know you hastened to God’s throne and your healing was on the way. Folks will tell you that you’re not good enough because you were raised in the projects by a single mother but they didn’t know that you hastened to God’s throne and He already had your purpose ordained. Folks will place obstacles in your way to keep you from going right but they didn’t know you hastened to God’s throne and He made left the right way. Yea, folks will even try to misuse and abuse you but they didn’t know you hastened to God’s throne and He had already strengthened you to handle it.

Again, I better leave this thang alone but somebody is feeling like you do your all and it’s still not enough – you need to hasten to God’s throne which means hurry and call on Him and He’ll see about you. You may be sick and tired of having hell on your back day in and day out – you need to hasten to God’s throne which means go down quickly on your knees in pray and God will ease your burdens. You may be worn out from crying yourself to sleep or walking the floor at night – you need to hasten to God’s throne because He’ll rock you in His arms and give you perfect peace. Even as trouble rise and the tears keep falling from your eyes; when your all isn’t enough even when you’re trying to be tough; when you are sick of this world’s fight and you can’t seem to see God’s light; when you keep falling and the bill collectors keep calling; when your body can’t get well and you have no testimony to tell; when your own family won’t answer the phone and you feel like you’re all alone; when your friends stop coming by and you ask for the truth but they’d rather lie; when you are barely making ends meet and wobbling when standing on your feet or when you’ve cried until you have no voice and giving up seems like the easiest choice – hasten to God’s throne. Hurry and don’t delay because God is simply a prayer away!

Matthew 11:28-29 “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Daily Devotional – 2/19/13 “Oh, how I love Jesus!”

There is a name I love to hear, I love to sing its worth; it sounds like music in mine ear, the sweetest name on earth. Oh, how I love Jesus, Oh, how I love Jesus, Oh, how I love Jesus, Because He first loved me!

See, there’s not a love like the love of Jesus. That kind of love that make you love yourself when man won’t. That kind of love that make you feel like somebody even when the world say you’ll never amount to anything. That kind of love that rocks you when you feel lonely even though you’re surrounded by folk. That kind of love that sing you to sleep when your mind is racing and you want to pace the floor. That kind of love that will give you strength when you know you should have fallen a long time ago. That kind of love that lets you know everything will be alright even when the doctor says it won’t. That kind of love that pick you up when you’ve fallen too many times to count. That kind of love that’ll comfort you like momma after she is gone home. Oh, how I love Jesus …

Even when I was a filthy nobody running from His anointing, too scared to step out on faith, too blind to see His light, too worldly to be worthy, too ungrateful for His grace, too messy for His mercy, too mean to hear His message, too selfish to tithe, too talkative and still not testifying, too lazy to listen, too angry to be used, too ashamed to acknowledge Him and even when I felt like I was too broken to believe, too hurt to heal, too fearful to fight, too scared to stand, too weak to walk and too damaged to be delivered; He loved me anyway. Oh, how I love Jesus!

I better leave this thang alone because I feel something stirring in my spirit but somebody needed to know, today, that Jesus loves you. Yes, he does! It doesn’t matter what his or her text said because God’s text says in Romans 5:8, “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Yea, it doesn’t matter that folk say they don’t love you anymore because Romans 8:37 says, “Despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.” When it is all said and done, Jesus loves you!

Daily Devotional – 2/18/13 “Live a life worth celebrating!”

I was sitting here thinking about what to write this morning and I didn’t have a clue. So, I went back to see what I had written this time last year and the devotional on 2/17/12 was entitled “What will your dash say?” and the wheel started turning. There was a funeral at our church on Saturday for one of the older members who passed away and it was the second one in 2 weeks and both times the funerals weren’t really a celebration of their life. I mean the services were both so dry yet the program said “Home going Celebration”. On the way home my daughter asked why I was so quiet and it was because I was reflecting back on my granddaddy’s final service and how much different it was. See, we celebrated his life because his life was worth celebrating. It just doesn’t make sense to have a person live their life in this mean old world and then once they die, we don’t celebrate their life especially if they’ve left a legacy behind. We should be celebrating that they’ve gotten out of this hell and are now headed to truly live where pain no longer resides, no judgment among folk, sickness can’t get in, no killings, no stealing, no hurt, no jealousy and no backbiting. There’s no this is mine and this is yours, no copays for doctor’s visits, no surgeries to schedule, no chemo or dialysis to take, no scars on your body, no glasses to wear, no wigs to put on and you don’t even have to worry about a change of clothes. A place where there are no bills, bill collectors, past due notices or phone calls all day long! Oh, isn’t this worthy of a celebration?

Yea, I know I’m in my feelings this morning but I’m feeling some kind of way. Yea, I want my life to speak for me when I die from this world to live again. I want my dash to say that I used to be nobody but God stepped in and made me into somebody, so celebrate it. Somebody can say, ”My dash will represent the new me because even though I used to be a drug addict, I committed myself back to God and he dipped my broken body in his blood and I came out clean and whole;” so celebrate it! Someone can say, “My dash will represent the new me because even though I used to lie and steal, God came into my life when I invited him and now I lie with him during the good and the bad and I only steal away when I need to pray;” so celebrate it! Somebody can say, “My dash will show that even though I made mistakes, God forgave me for them over and over, if I asked:” so celebrate it! Someone can say, “I was once afraid to acknowledge God before folks that I knew but when I realized the power that he can place over my life, how he can bring me through storms, comfort me when friends are gone, heal me when sickness comes and send rest when I toss and turn, I proudly proclaim to be a child of the king!” so celebrate it!

All I’m saying is live a life worthy of being celebrated when your time on this side is over.

Daily Devotional – 2/15/13 “Check yourself!”

God has done it once more and again! He touched you early this morning with His anointed hand and gave you sight in your eyes, hearing in your ears, the ability to speak when you open your mouth and even the use of all your limbs. He gave you your mind back because you knew where you were and who you were when you looked in the mirror and He gave you everything back that you had on yesterday even if you didn’t thank Him for them, so why are you complaining? So, you woke up with a little pain in your body, sinuses acting crazy, throat a little sore or body a little tired; baby somebody laid down last night healthy and didn’t wake up this morning. Oh, you complain about the job you got that pays the bills to maintain the space you live in, the car you drive, the clothes you wear, the food you eat and the extracurricular activities you indulge in when someone has been fighting with unemployment for months after they were laid off and on the verge of losing all of their things. You even got the nerve to complain about food you have in the refrigerator, the free food somebody gave you, the $1 biscuit you had the money to buy or even the lunch the job purchased when somebody is digging in someone else’s trash right now looking for scraps. You need to check yourself! If you’re still mad about the gifts you didn’t get on yesterday, imagine your life without your spouse or significant other. While you’re at work complaining about the gifts you did get, think about the husband who would have loved to shower his wife but she died a few months ago or even the wife who had to make funeral arrangements for her husband on yesterday. Check yourself! You could be a lot worse than you are. You could even be a little better if you checked yourself from time to time.

Daily Devotional – 2/14/13 “Don’t let today ruin tomorrow!”

Yea, it’s Valentine’s Day but it has always been God’s day so start by thanking Him. Now, before your attitude gets rude because you didn’t get what you wanted for Valentine’s Day, sit back and think about the things that your spouse or significant other do every other day of the year. See, love should be shown EVERY DAY and not just today. Yea, it is set aside to show your love but don’t allow what you didn’t get today to ruin what you might get tomorrow. And before you get bent out of shape, know that the bible says in Ephesians 4:26-27, “And don’t sin by letting anger control you. Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.”

While you are being jealous over the things other folk got, you don’t know the hell they’ve been through to get it. You’re mad about the roses your coworker got but they could be for the beating she had to endure last night. You’re upset because you didn’t get a new ring like she did but you didn’t see the struggle her marriage overcame from this time last year. You’re mad at your husband because he didn’t go all out for you but did you go all out for him? Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy holidays just like everyone else but I’m not materialistic. I don’t have to have the roses delivered to my job because they’ll soon die. I don’t need a box of chocolates that will add a few more pounds to the ones I’m trying to lose. I don’t need a teddy bear that will sit and collect dust and I definitely don’t need a balloon from my husband as a way to show his love. Did he buy me things, yes but he also knows that I would have been just fine without anything because I am not wanting for nothing! All I’m saying is, if your spouse or significant other has been a constant in your life this past year and they give and show love every other day, don’t lose focus in the worldly mess of today.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 says, “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.