Daily Devotional – 2/22/13 “There’s a praise on the inside …”

That I can’t keep to myself, a holler stirring up from the depths of my soul. So excuse me if I seem a little giddy or maybe even strange but praise is the way I say thanks!

Yes sah! See, there’s a praise on the inside because my body could have been cold when my husband rolled over this morning but it wasn’t. I could have found his body cold when I rolled over but I didn’t. I could have a child missing or longing for the streets but I don’t. I could have slept in a homeless shelter last night but I didn’t. I could have to get my next meal from somebody’s garbage but I don’t. I could be standing in the unemployment line but I’m not. I could be preparing my mother’s funeral but I’m not. I could be holding one of my sister’s hands while she goes through chemo but I’m not. I could be on the transplant list waiting for a heart or a kidney but I’m not. Why do I have praise on the inside that makes me feel like hollering? Because I could be worse than I am but I’m not. I could look for the answer in the bottom of a bottle but I don’t. I could shoot momentary joy through my veins or up my nose but I don’t. I could find pleasure walking the streets or selling my body but I don’t. I could be abused at the hands of a man but I’m not. I could be contemplating suicide but I’m not. Why do I praise? To say thank you God for loving me when I wasn’t fit to live but not ready to die, for forgiving me every time I dip in sin, for picking me up every time I fall into temptation, for propping me up every time I lean the wrong way, for lifting me up when folk keep pushing me down, for believing in me when I want to give up on myself, for healing me when sickness should have snatched my life, for protecting me even after I’ve done what I know I shouldn’t and for instilling in me your Holy Spirit when I feel like I’m all alone. Thank you God! So when you see me and I don’t act the same, it’s the God in me. When I don’t look the same, it’s the God in me. When I don’t talk the same, it’s the God in me. So excuse me if I seem a little giddy or maybe even strange but praise is the way I say thanks!

Psalm 150:1-6 says, “Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!”

Daily Devotional – 2/21/13 “What is this?”

Once again the Holy Spirit has interceded on my behalf and dropped this song in my spirit. “What is this got me feeling so good right now, what is this, it keeps setting my soul on fire; whatever it is and it won’t let me hold my peace!” Then it goes on to say, “It makes me love all my enemies, makes me love my friends, and it won’t let me be ashamed to tell the world that I’ve been born again!”

That alone is enough to make you want to rejoice. See, the Holy Spirit can make you feel like running when no one is chasing you, smile when you know you should be crying, shout when you don’t have a dollar in your pocket, dance when you should be face down in your mess, help folks even though they won’t help you, go when you don’t have a drop of gas in the car, stay put even though you’re surrounded by hellish folk, keep walking when the enemy is throwing obstacles in your path, continue to trust even though you’ve been hurt times before, love when you don’t get love back, push folk up although they keep pushing you down, reach out to folk even when they keep dodging your hand, pray for folk when you should be praying for yourself, do for folk when you can barely do for yourself, feed folk with only the 1 slice of bread you have left and believe in your destiny even though you can’t see your way. Yea, the Holy Spirit will show up right in the nick of time when your words are caught in your throat and you’re trying to get your prayer through. The Holy Spirit will step in right when you think you don’t have the energy to go on. Oh, what is this? That makes folk say I’m acting strange? What is this that makes me wanna run on in Jesus’ name? Whatever it is, it won’t let me hold my peace!

“In the same way, the Holy Spirit helps us where we are weak. We do not know how to pray or what we should pray for, but the Holy Spirit prays to God for us with sounds that cannot be put into words.” Romans 8:26

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.