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.

Daily Devotional – 1/31/13 “Where are those resolutions?”

Well, you’ve made it to the last day of the first month of the New Year? Have you accomplished any of the resolutions you swore to God, this time last month? Are you still smoking, drinking, gambling, lying, stealing, judging folks and back biting? Have you still not found anything to wear to attend church? Are you still saying that God knows your heart? Are you still shopping even though you said you’d stop until you got your bills paid? Are you still getting wasted even though you said you were done acting a fool? Are you still gossiping even though you said you were leaving the drama in 2012? Are you still tipping through the rose bushes into your neighbor’s yard even though you said you were working on doing better? Like my uncle Larry says, you may be getting away with the tipping for now but one day it’ll rain and your footprints will be caught in the mud. (You’ll get that later) Oh, are you still throwing rocks and hiding your hands, throwing salt into other people’s Kool-Aid because you don’t like their flavor or spreading hate on their blessings because you’re jealous of their favor? Didn’t you say you were changing for this New Year? What happened baby? You’ve had 30 days (I’ll give you New Year’s Day). I don’t have to tell you that you need to get it together, you know this already. You know that the death angel is taking more and more young folks than ever before, trouble is knocking on everybody’s door, storms are lasting longer because we aren’t learning our lesson and times are harder to deal with because we keep missing our blessings. Yea, God is trying to bless us but we’re too busy gossiping with our neighbor instead of staying at home, when you should be raising those kids that keep posting on Facebook, “I’m too grown” yet they come running home when the cold world is smacking them in their face when they should have been learning how to be covered by God’s grace. Can’t you see that it is time out for playing with God? When will you get yourself together? If you live to see tomorrow, you will see the beginning of a new month with another opportunity to keep the promises that you made to God. He didn’t ask you for those lies; you volunteered them; so now get to work on making them come true. In Ephesians 4 Paul is talking while being locked up in jail and in verses 17-24 he says, (now this is The Message bible version but it means the same); “And so I insist—and God backs me up on this—that there be no going along with the crowd, the empty-headed, mindless crowd. They’ve refused for so long to deal with God that they’ve lost touch not only with God but with reality itself. They can’t think straight anymore. Feeling no pain, they let themselves go in sexual obsession, addicted to every sort of perversion. But that’s no life for you. You learned Christ! My assumption is that you have paid careful attention to him, been well instructed in the truth precisely as we have it in Jesus. Since, then, we do not have the excuse of ignorance, everything—and I do mean everything—connected with that old way of life has to go. It’s rotten through and through. Get rid of it! And then take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you.”

If you want to get the full understanding, read the full chapter. Simply saying, stopping putting off your greatness until tomorrow because although tomorrow is promised, you aren’t promised to see it!

Daily Devotional – 1/30/13 “The last shall be first!”

On last night we watched this movie called Courageous and there was a man named Javier who, throughout the movie, had his faith in God tested yet he never wavered. Now, one part of the movie he had finally gotten a decent job to support his family and after being there a month, his boss called him into the office to offer him a manager position with more duties but better pay. However, there was a catch. He wanted Javier to receive a shipment of 17 crates but wanted him to say that only 16 came in. Well, he went home and talked to his wife who he told he just couldn’t do it because his faith wouldn’t allow him too. She cried at the thought of him losing his job and them being hungry again but then she said God will take care of us. The next morning he went into his boss’ office and when he asked what his decision was Javier told him that he just couldn’t do it. When he asked why, he simply replied because it is wrong and will dishonor my God and my family. Afterwards he bowed his head because he knew he would lose his job but his boss stood up and held out his hands and said, “Javier, you have given me the right answer because this was a test and you passed. See, I’ve been looking for someone to manage this area and truthfully you were the last one on my list but I need someone I can trust and I now know that it’s you. Would you accept this offer?”


Isn’t that amazing? See, it made me think about God’s promise in Mark 10:31 which reads, “But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then.” See, in Mark 10:28, Peter said to Jesus that they had given up everything to follow Him. And Jesus simply replied in Mark 10:29-30, “Yes, and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property–along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life.”


Now, get this … in choosing God, you lose so-called friends, some family and even some material things but if you hold on; you get it all back greater than it was before but in your getting, you also get a little hell on your back but hold on. You may get pushed to the back of the line but that’s alright because the last shall be first. You may be the last one on the list but that’s ok because the last shall be first. You may get knocked down and be the last one to get up but baby that’s alright too because the last shall be first. You may even get tested with some things that make you want to throw in the towel but hold on because the last shall be first. So, don’t worry about always being the first to get this, the first to try that, the first to go there and the first to finish because God isn’t really concerned about the starters because most of them drop out anyway but He rewards those who endure until the end. Don’t believe me, then read His word for yourself because it’s in there.