When I begin writing devotionals I had no idea how magnificent of a gift that God has placed within me. Many times, I begin to peck on this keyboard without a thought in mind but then the Holy Spirit intercedes on my behalf and the words start flowing. I can be riding in the car, sitting in church or the hair salon and a topic will come to mind and I quickly grab my phone or a pen to write it down. And on yesterday, while in church, I thought about how powerful Jesus was simply with his touch, his tongue, his gift and even his spit. Yes, His spit. Sounds crazy but go with me. See, I know that in this day in time when a person spits on you it is the ultimate disrespect but when I read my word on some of the things that Jesus was able to do with His spit, I cry out; “Jesus, I need you to spit on me!” Yea, see; when the man who was deaf and could barely speak was brought before Jesus, the bible says in Mark 7:33-35, “Jesus led him away from the crowd so they could be alone. He put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then, spitting on his own fingers, he touched the man’s tongue. Looking up to heaven, he sighed and said, “Ephphatha,” which means, “Be opened!” Instantly the man could hear perfectly, and his tongue was freed so he could speak plainly!” When the blind man was bought before Jesus in Bethsaida, Mark 8:23-25 says, “He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?” He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.” Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.” Are you with me yet? When Jesus used His spit, healing occurred. When Jesus used His spit, lives were changed. When Jesus used His spit, miracles happened. When Jesus used His spit, breakthroughs took place. Oh, when Jesus used His spit some thangs happened! This is why I say, I need Jesus to spit on me. I need some mountains to be moved, some obstacles to made low enough to climb over, some valleys filled with water so I can swim across them, some graves that have been dug for me to be filled so I can walk over them, some enemies to be made my footstool so I can rise above them, I need some lending to be done because I’m tired of borrowing, I need some healing to be done because I’m tired of sickness, I need some joy down here because I’m tired of sorrow, I need some testimonies because the tests are getting too hard and I need some sunlight because the clouds from my storm are too dark. Oh, if I could just get a little bit of Jesus’ spit to open up my eyes to see the trueness of folk and to open up my hears so that I can hear the real talk; I can push on a little while longer! Jesus, if you would … please sir, spit on me!
Daily Devotional – 1/3/13 “My Year in Review”
I am not making resolutions because there is no need. If the truth shall be told, most of the folks who make resolutions are already lying so why bother? I mean, you know you’re not going to give up smoking because you got a cigarette in your hand now. You know that you’re not going to stop drinking because for some, you brought in the New Year with a drink in your hand and probably can’t even remember much that happened afterwars. You’re not going to change your eating habits and even if you sign up for a gym membership, it’ll be over by this time next month. So, stop lying to yourself. Don’t you know that resolution means a firm decision to do something or the process of resolving something? Well the bible also has a definition for resolution and it is 2 Timothy 2:15 which says, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” So, resolve to be better and then do better and change will follow.
So, back to my year in review… Here is what I’ve learned:
January – Folks attitude change because it’s tax time.
February – You learn your position in your relationship around the 14th of this month. Either you’re the main girl or the jump off.
March – Folks attitudes are back to the rude normal because the tax money has run out and so has their boothang.
April – Folks go into debt dressing up for Easter Sunday and take for granted that Jesus rose on a Sunday morning so that we could be forgiven of our sins no matter how many times we ask. We tend to think that Resurrection Sunday is all about the clothes, shoes and hair bows when it’s really about the death, burial and resurrection of the Man who rose with all power in His hands to heal a sin sick world like the one we’re living in.
May – We don’t cherish our mothers like we should. And that God still has work for me to do because He blessed me with another year of life and marriage
June – We don’t cherish our fathers like we should. We take so much for granted until there are no more grants to give.
July – That death can snatch the breath from your lungs, make your heart skip a beat and tears fall (RIP Granddaddy 7/3/12).
August – That God has blessed me with a strong mother who carries on no matter what circumstance she is faced with.
September – That my gift will make room for me because God allowed me to self-publish my first book. “Doses of Devotion”
October – That even though we sometimes FALL back into our old routines, God never stops reaching down to pick us up.
November – That we should be thankful EVERYDAY of the year and not just thanksgiving
December That Christmas isn’t about me, the gifts I give or even those I receive because if it hadn’t been for God sending His only Son to Earth, we wouldn’t be worth the rags we wear every day that we call clothes because our sins would have had us bound to hell a long time ago!
You don’t have to make a resolution in order to make a change when all you have to do is be yourself but in being yourself, be the best you that you can be! Don’t lie to yourself and please don’t lie to others because we didn’t ask you in the first place to volunteer that lie. If there are things you need to change, do it but do it for you and not because the year’s date changed from 2 to 3 because next year it’ll change again.
Daily Devotional – 12/31/12 “A YET Person!”
I was on Facebook on yesterday and I saw a post from one of my friends on what his Pastor had preached on and of course it piqued my curiosity. So I went to Habakkuk 3:17 and it says, “Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty,” and I was even more curious because if all these things have happen how could there be something good at the end but then Habakkuk 3:18 says, “yet I will rejoice in the LORD! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!” Now comes the rejoicing and the shout! See, this tells me; I may be struggling in my finances, yet I shall not be without. I may be drinking tears for water yet my weeping won’t last. I may be heartbroken at the moment yet my God is a heart fixer. I may have a few storms in my life yet God is my umbrella. I may have to lose a few friends yet God is always a whisper away. I may lose a few loved ones through death yet God never leaves. I may get burdened down in my trials yet God is my strength. I may not always see my way yet God is my light. I may sometimes do wrong yet God forgives me. I may not always know my worth yet God continues to bless me. I may not always do what I know I should or go where I know I am supposed to yet God still uses me. Yea, I may fall at times yet I can still get up. Yea, so called friends may have dug a dusty grave for me yet I shake off the dirt, pack it under my feet and rise. Yea, sickness may be attacking my body yet I’m living. Yea, my road may be longer and my fights may be harder yet I’m willing. Oh, I feel my help on this morning sitting at work on the last day of 2012 because I’m a YET kind of person. See, I may not have done everything right in 2012 yet God is keeping me. I may not have been the person that I should have been yet God is keeping me. I may not have even seen all the things that God has for me to see yet He is keeping me. I’m excited about the things to come in the New Year. No, I’m not making resolutions yet I’m making changes. I’m not going to make a promise to do this or that more, stop doing this, stop going there, eat better or to even lose more weight yet I am striving to be better than I was. I may not have all the answers yet God is still teaching me. My new year will bring about new appreciations, new dedications, new elevations and even new territory enlargements because in the midst of my prayers I believe in His power because even through my momentary memory loss when it feels like my hope is slipping and my faith is weak I am yet holding on to God!
Daily Devotional – 12/28/12 “Take the lemons you’ve been given…”
Make some lemonade and add it to your moscato wine and have a glass! Yea, I know it says take the lemons you’ve been dealt and make lemonade but aren’t we all grown? With the world the way it is, sickness hitting every part of your body, debt on the increase, jobs and income on the decrease, men aren’t acting right, women letting it all hang loose without trying to keep it tight, kids acting like strangers in your home and some have moved back even though they’re grown, death has been actively roaming in your family tree and you’re trying to be as strong as you can be; you need a little spirit to lift your spirit. Child please! Proverbs 31:6 says, “Alcohol is for the dying, and wine for those in bitter distress.” This is why I said wine and not alcohol for the bible says in 1 Timothy 5:23, “Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.” Now, let me make a point here before one of you go out and get drunk saying, “She told me to drink!” … Because I said wine, not alcohol and I said A glass and not the whole bottle. See, I understand the toils that a person can go through in their day to day life but that doesn’t have to make you an alcoholic. You can go home at night and have a glass of wine to calm your nerves in order to sleep well but don’t get drunk and start acting a fool that keeps the whole house up. Because even though the bible says that wine is for those in distress, it also says in Ephesians 5:18, “Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit.” God says, in His word, that we have to be sober minded because the devil is always prowling (1 Peter 5:8) for a way to slip into our lives and being funky drunk, tore up from the floor up and wasted with your buzz on; allows him to do just that. And now, you’re sitting around making excuses after you’ve wrecked your car, taken an innocent person’s life, slept with somebody you just met or acted a complete fool at the club. If you have to remember what you did the night before because you were too drunk to know; you have a problem. What I’m saying is this; living is hard and you will have troubles, you will get lemons from things that you thought were sweet but turned out to be sour but that doesn’t mean you have to be some other person than who you are supposed to be. You don’t have to be that girl at the club who is always drunk and the guys like to feel on or that guy at the bar who is always drunk and shows out when his team loses. You don’t have to be known as the alcoholic of the family; so get yourself together before it’s too late because if you don’t and you say, “I’m high as hell,” you will be because hell is where you’ll be!
