Daily Devotional – 12/3/12 “You want God’s service yet you won’t serve!”

Isn’t that something? You are all the time requesting, no telling God what services you need from Him yet all He ask you to do is serve Him but you don’t. Yea, God says keep my commandments and worship with me (church) yet you say, “God knows my heart.” God says, love your brothers and sisters and help others; yet you say, “God ain’t told me to be no fool!” God says read and study my word for yourself; yet you say, “God knows I don’t like to read.” Child please! 1 Samuel 12:24 says, “Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you.” I mean, how can you honestly beg God to answer your prayers when you only pray for your benefit (when you find the time) or when all hell is breaking loose around you? I mean, you don’t pray for others but you want them to pray for you (oh, stop using the excuse that you don’t know how to pray because prayer is simply a conversation with God. Pick up the phone and talk to God like you do when you’re gossiping with your friends). You got the nerve to ask God to bless you with a car when you’ve already told Him that you wouldn’t help anybody. You know when you say, “I swear when I get my car I ain’t taking nobody nowhere so they bet not ask!” That’s asking for God’s service but not being willing to serve. Well, that’s telling God you have no intentions to help folk when Hebrews 13:16 says, “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” You do know that you need to be a servant in order to benefit from God’s service right? Exodus 19:5 says, “Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine.” All I’m saying is you can’t keep requesting service from God if you are not willing to be a servant. It’s like constantly trying to withdraw money from the bank when you know you’ve put nothing in. Eventually you’ll be overdrawn with no means to get more of what you need because all you’ll be getting is fees, something you neither need nor want. So choose to serve God and He’ll serve you because in order to get serviced you have to first show that you are worthy of being served!

“Praise the Lord! How happy is the man who honors the Lord with fear and finds joy in His Law! His children will be powerful in the land. Each family who is right will be happy. Riches and well-being are in his house. And his right-standing with God will last forever. Light rises even in darkness for the one who is right. He is kind and has loving-pity and does what is right. Good will come to the man who is ready to give much, and fair in what he does. He will never be shaken. The man who is right and good will be remembered forever. He will not be afraid of bad news. His heart is strong because he trusts in the Lord. His heart will not be shaken. He will not be afraid and will watch those lose who fight against him. He has given much to the poor. His right-standing with God lasts forever. His horn will be lifted high in honor. Psalm 112:1-9”

Daily Devotional – 11/30/12 “I’m forever thankful!”

Now, you would have thought that I’d be out of reasons to be thankful but nope, not in this lifetime! Yea, you’re questioning what else I could possibly have to be thankful for? Well, glad you asked so let me tell you. I’m thankful because I could be in a relationship with a man who finds joy in beating me but I’m not. I could be on a job that finds pleasure in belittling me but I’m not. I could be in a church that tries to hinder my praise but I’m not. I could be surrounded by friends who mean me no good but I’m not. I could find the solution to my problems at the bottom of a bottle but I don’t. I could find peace in my storm by shooting dope in my veins, up my nose or popping pills but I don’t. I could find a way to increase my finances by getting a few dollars from walking the streets at night but I don’t. I could lose sleep at night from having nightmares of being molested as a child but I don’t. I could pace the floor because my child is lost in the world but I don’t because my children are home. I could be contemplating suicide because of being depressed but I’m not. I could be drowning in credit card debt but I’m not. I could be gambling my check away but I’m not. I could be in worse shape than I am but I’m not so yes, I’m thankful. See, my pain could be worse, my heartache could be heavier, my hope could be low and my joy could be gone but it’s not. I could look like my bad situation but I don’t. You could see the tear stains on my face from crying all night long but you don’t. You could see the scars on my knees from praying all day long but you don’t. You could see the wounds on my back from being stepped on by folk but you don’t. You could see the marks on my body from being dragged through hell and back from folk who say they love me but you don’t. You could see all the burdens on my shoulders but you don’t. You could see the lines on my face from the stress that I face but you don’t. My smile could be gone but it isn’t. My heart could stop loving but it hasn’t. My hands could stop helping but they haven’t. My feet could stop moving but they haven’t. My legs and arms shouldn’t have any more strength but they do. My mind, ears and tongue could stop working but they haven’t. Oh, I’m thankful because my gift could stop working in my favor but it hasn’t. My devotionals don’t have to minister to folk but they do. My book doesn’t have to reach folk but it does. My words don’t have to comfort folk but they do. My prayers don’t have to be answered for you but they are. And just when I think I’ve reached the bottom of my barrel to find all my hope gone, God refills it with more hope than I can ever use. When I think I’ve fallen to the lowest point on the scale for me to even see a way out, God reaches down and pulls me up so that I can see the light He’s left for me. When I think I’ve backed myself up against a wall with no way out or come to a door that won’t open, God opens up a window big enough for me to climb out of. And just when I think I’ve gone the wrong way and I’m lost without directions, God sends me His GPS coordinates that navigates me right back to Him. So you see, I have a reason to be forever thankful!

Daily Devotional – 11/29/12 “Yep, still thankful!”

I know you’re asking, “What could she possibly still have to be thankful for?” Well, I’ll tell you. I’m still thankful because my husband could have found my body cold, the blood not running through my veins and my eyes closed to open no more; when he woke up this morning but he didn’t. I could be laying in ICU with a tube down my throat but I’m not. I could be headed to get a chemo or dialysis treatment but I’m not. I could be on the list waiting for a transplant but I’m not. I could be driving to the funeral home to make the final arrangements for a loved one but I’m not. I could have received a call to come and identify the body of my son or daughter but I haven’t. I could have a sick child at St. Jude but I don’t. I could be visiting my husband behind the confines of a prison wall but I’m not. I could be holding the hands of one of my sisters battling breast cancer but I’m not. I could even be standing at the graveside of one of my brothers killed by gang violence but I’m not. I could be standing in the unemployment line but I’m not. I could even be living outside and searching the dumpsters for food but I’m not. I could have been one of the ones driving home last night from work and killed by a drunk driver but I’m not. Why am I still thankful? Oh, because when I could have been dead, God allowed me to live. When I should have been hungry, God made a way for me to eat. When I should have been broke, tore up from the floor up, raggedy and without hope; God provided. When I should have been sick, God healed me. When I should have thrown in the towel, God allowed me to use it to wipe the sweat from my head. When I should have fallen over that cliff of burdens, God gave me a rope of hope to hold on too. When I should have been buried in that ditch that so-called friends dug for me, God allowed me to pack the dirt under my feet and rise. When I should have been nothing, God made me into something. When I should have been a dirty, filthy rag; God cleaned me up and made me look brand new. When I should have been drowning in my tears, God made it into a stream of His salvation for me to swim in. When I should have been filled with anger, bitterness, resentment and hurt; God saw fit to fill me with His love. And just when I thought I was knocked out in the first round of my trials by enemies, jealous friends and hurtful family members; God tagged himself in and took over where I feel short and WE came out victorious which is why, yep I’m still thankful!

Daily Devotional – 11/28/12 “I’m still thankful for … “

Yea, I’m still in my feelings today so I’m going to continue on in my thankful series…Now, I may be saying I and me but this here is for you too because we all have to get in our feelings sometimes to see exactly what it is God is trying to get us to see. We have to sometime stand in front of the mirror to look at ourselves to see that although it feels like you’re going through hell, you’re still alive. So, yea I’ve got to continue on.

Why? Glad you asked, because I’m blessed like that. See, when I don’t see a way in my dark situation, God works this thang right on out. When I think I won’t have a dollar to my name, I get an unexpected check in the mail. When I think that nothing is going right, God shows me that my blessing was in me going left. Yea, when I know I shouldn’t have gotten that promotion on my job, I did anyway. When I know I should have been dead from cancer, high blood pressure, kidney disease, heart problems, lupus, sickle cell, brain tumors, aneurisms, stroke, heart attacks and even at the hands of folks who mean me harm, I survive! When I shouldn’t have the energy to get up, I do. When I shouldn’t have the strength to go on, I do. When I shouldn’t have a regulated mind to know right from wrong, I do. When I shouldn’t have a mouth to repent with, I do. When I shouldn’t have a heart to love with, I do. When I shouldn’t have unwavering trust for folks who’ve hurt me in the past, I do. When I shouldn’t have hope for the future because I can’t see it clearly, I do. When I should want to give up, I can’t! When I should want to give in, I don’t. When I should want to throw in the towel, it never happens! Oh, when I think about all the hell I go through, I rejoice knowing that Heaven is my final destination and this is simply a stop along the way. Oh, when I think about all the times I’ve fallen, I know that it’s just a temporary stumbling situation to strengthen me. Oh, when I think about all the nights I’ve cried myself to sleep; I realized that it’s just a current circumstance that’ll change! Oh, when I have a momentary memory loss and I start to doubt, I see that it’s just a minor detour to my destiny! Oh, when I have to pace the floor at night dealing with my problems, I know that it’s just the position that God has placed me in to get my purpose! When it seems like the storm will never end, the dark clouds will never roll away and the rain never stops; I see God working by washing away all the stuff that has separated me from His salvation and tried to defeat me in my fight. Oh, I thank you Lord because when I feel like I’m nothing, You tell me that I’m necessary! When I feel undeserving of my gift, God, you enlarge my territory, which lets me know that I am. When I feel like I’ve always been last, God, you turn everything around and make me first. And when it seems like my race is almost over and I won’t reach the finish line, God, you simply reach back and take the baton and keep running in my place and that’s what I’m still thankful for!

Daily Devotional – 11/27/12 “I’m thankful for …”

Oh Lord, I thank you for my struggles because they make me stronger. I thank you for my problems because they show me my purpose. I thank you for my burdens because then I appreciate my blessings. I thank you, Lord, for my grief because then I know what your grace feels like. I thank you for my afflictions because they don’t stop my anointing. I thank you for my debt because it doesn’t discourage me. I thank you for my dark days because they won’t make me doubt. I thank you for allowing me to be judged by folk because it helps on my journey. I thank you for my groans because they make my gift better. I thank you for trials because they build my trust. I thank you for folks leaving because its then I see your true love. I thank you, God, for the times I’ve fallen because it makes me faithful to you. I thank you for my test because they give me my testimony. I thank you for my weeping because it washes away my woes. I thank you for not allowing me to be a victim because you’ve made me victorious and I thank you for always believing in me to make me somebody!

Oh, I’m in my feelings this morning because I’m thankful. See, even when I feel like giving up, God simply wakes me out my sleep to tell me to keep going. Even when I feel like I have no strength to go on, God simply sends somebody by with a word of encouragement. Even when I feel like crying, God wipes my tears before they even fall. Even when I know I shouldn’t be surviving, I am; when I shouldn’t have any money, I do; when I could be mad and angry and taking it out on my family, I don’t. When I … hmph … When I feel like a nobody, God tells me that I’m His somebody. When I feel unworthy, God intensifies my gift which lets me know that I am. When it seems like I’ve done all I can do, I simply bow out gracefully, wave the white flag and concede with my head held high because it is then that God takes over to fight my battles and that’s what I’m thankful for!