Daily Devotional – 8/8/12 “T.E.S.T. – Taking Everything Satan Took!”

I just had to let you know today that the test you’ve taken, the one you’re taking now or the one you’re getting ready to take is simply God’s way of giving you everything back the devil has stolen. Stop trying to figure out why your storm is lasting longer than other folks when it because you got more stuff to get back than they do. Yea; I know you’re tired of being tired, tired of robbing MLGW to pay rent; tired of taking ibuprofen because you can’t afford your real pain medicine; tired of eating cheap hamburger meat when you want a steak; tired of wearing the same pair of shoes & pants; tired of having to limit your drive to save gas money but just wait, will you? God isn’t punishing you by placing you under that storm cloud but he’s giving you time to clear some space for all the things he’s about to give to you. Haven’t you read the story of Job? When God allowed (yes, the devil had to have permission) the devil to attack Job, He gave him permission to take all that Job had; everything but his life because God was simply setting Job up to receive an overflow of blessings. Yet, even when Job questioned God’s test; God asked him in Job 40:8-10, “Do you presume to tell me what I’m doing wrong? Are you calling me a sinner so you can be a saint? Do you have an arm like my arm? Can you shout in thunder the way I can? Go ahead, show your stuff. Let’s see what you’re made of, what you can do.” See, we sometimes get this thang twisted in wanting to question God when we think that things should be a certain way but don’t you realize that God has our best interest in mind when he allows these things to happen? He had to allow you a few months off with no job in order for you to appreciate the one that He’s sending to you. He is allowing you sick days in order for you to appreciate the well ones. He is allowing you to struggle in your finances so that you’ll appreciate saving. He’s allowing the rain to come so that you’ll appreciate the sun. He’s allowing you to be restless so that you’ll appreciate the sleep he gives.


So, stop acting like you are too good for a test because we all have to go through them. The only thing that is different from one person to tthe next person is how you go through them and if you’ve studied and prepared for the test then you won’t have a problem when test taking time comes. If you’ve stored up your praises and prayers, beforehand, they’ll carry you through the test. If you’re obedient to God’s word and repent when you’re not, He’ll protect you during the test. And once the test is over, you’ll be rewarded for a job well done by receiving all that was taken from you and more. Don’t believe me, read Job 42:10 which say “After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD gave him success again. The LORD gave Job twice as much as he had owned before.” See, even during his test when Job questioned God, he asked for forgiveness and he continued to pray, not only for himself but for his friends even though they told him to give up and because he did; God restored all that he lost two times over. So don’t think of your test as being a way to knock you down but it’s a way to bring you up. Your test isn’t to take you out but it’s a way to take you higher. Your test isn’t to make you fail but it’s simply taking everything Satan took to begin with. So go through your test with God because with all the stress the world has to offer, He’s a better stress reliever and cheaper than a massage. When your body is aching with pain, He’s better than Tylenol because He doesn’t take hours to take effect. When your mind is racing, you can’t fall asleep because you’re pacing the floor; try the best sleep aid that won’t give you side effects like Ambien. Yes, you will have trials and tests; yes there will be days and nights you want to give up and throw in the towel; yes there will be days and nights you’ll want to let go of the rope, days and nights when your legs just want walk any farther, days and nights when you have no more cheeks to turn, days and nights when your flesh won’t be as strong as it should be and days and nights will your all just isn’t enough anymore but they won’t last. Believe me when I say, the test won’t last! This test is just a teacher teaching us that these trials are simply a temporary trouble that we have to trespass through in order for us to be thankful for and to be able to testify about our testimony so that we are able to teach those who are thinking about throwing in the towel that if they tarry today, God will carry us tomorrow! The test is just a tower over your transgression. This test is a track over that trap that was set. This test is the ticket out of your trouble. This test is simply Taking Everything Satan Took! So don’t allow it to consume you because, baby, what the devil meant for your bad, God will turn it around for your good. Just hold on!

Daily Devotional – 8/7/12 “Take me to the King”

I’ve been listening to this song by Tamela Mann entitled “Take me to the King,” and this song just speaks to my spirit. See, this song was sang at granddaddy’s home-going and although I didn’t hear the words then, I’ve listened to them now and it’s simply saying take my broken heart and soul to the King as my offering to him because at this point it’s all I have to offer. When I had cried out, when I didn’t have any more strength to move even though I had to move; when I had to open my eyes even when I didn’t want to; when I had to go and I didn’t know my location; my soul, my broken soul was saying Take Me to the King. When granddaddy’s body was restless and his soul was tired, I can imagine him telling the death angel to Take Me to the King. When you’re tired of being tired, you have no more options to choose from, seems like praying isn’t working and church is just becoming a repetitive thing with no change; all that is left is the broken pieces that now need mending; I can hear you singing; Take Me to the King. Yea, see; this King is a mender of broken hearts, He is a repairer of broken souls and a fixer of broken spirits because Psalm 147:3 says, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds,” so I know He can make us whole. This King is a Man who can restore the joy even when it looks like all the joy is gone, if we ask because John 16:24 says, “Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” This King is a Man who can renew your strength even after it’s passed its renewal date because Isaiah 41:10 says, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” This King! Oh, a Man who don’t mind coming to see about you in the wee hours of the morning or the pitch black darkness of the night. This Man doesn’t mind coming into gang infested neighborhoods or drug ridden alleys to bring your healing. This Man doesn’t care about whose around you when he enters your heart because it doesn’t matter that it’s Tuesday morning because He’ll still put a shout in your mouth and dancing in your feet.

Yes, I’m saying Take Me to the King for I know that one touch from Him will save my life because even when my flesh wants to die my soul refuses too! Even when my legs want to give out, my soul keeps walking and when my eyes want to close; my soul keeps looking. I need a touch from the King. So I’m taking all of my broken pieces to a Man who doesn’t have initials in front of or behind his name; yet He can perform surgery on me. I’m taking my broken pieces to a Man who doesn’t have a couch for me to lie on yet he hears all my problems because Psalm 34:18 says, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit,” so I know I’m not alone and He is near. I know that God will come and see about little ole me. See, we need to take some “me” time and go before the King in order for Him to hear our pleas. We have to have some one on one fellowship time with God in order for Him to be able to know our voice. It doesn’t matter because you don’t have much and it feels like your spirit is running on empty because Matthew 5:3 says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

So when you get to a point where it feels like giving up is your only option and giving in is the easiest way out; take your burdens to the King. When looking up is your only choice because you’ve fallen to the lowest part of the ground, cast your worries on the only King who can reach that far down to get you. When you are sick and tired of being plain ole sick and tired, reach out for the only King who won’t push you away. When you have nothing left to give and nothing more to offer; take your broken pieces to the King and let Him fix it.

Daily Devotional – 8/6/12 “Have you ever?”

Have you ever had an unsettling feeling in the pit of your stomach and couldn’t really explain why? You may feel like crying, shouting or like something bad is about to happen? Well, I have that feeling today and I just don’t know why. I’m not worried about anything or anyone in particular and I don’t think there is anything negatively happening around me but I still have this feeling. Don’t get me wrong, there is no doubt within me because I believe that everything that happens is in God’s plan so I have no reason to doubt because Psalm 34:17-20 says, “When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.” So, I’m going to take this unsettling feeling as a way that God is using to speak through me and I shall listen. See, I didn’t have a clue about a devotional topic today and I was going to skip writing one but then my husband text to see where the devotional was and when I said I may not do one he asked, “What’s troubling you?” I, then, realized that this isn’t about me because although I write these devotionals as my release; they are much more to those who read them so I couldn’t and wouldn’t be selfish. No matter what happens and no matter what the reason is behind this feeling that I have, I have work to do. I have to push through in order to see what it is God is trying to get me to see because had I wallowed in this feeling, then the enemy would have succeeded in what he sat out to do today which was to keep me from sharing God’s word. Well, the devil is a lie because I woke up with the use of every one of my limbs and in my right mind; so I will do just what God has ordained me to do. I don’t have to have a specific topic to tell you how good God is; how he’ll be there for you through the dark nights; how he’ll provide sleep when it just doesn’t want to come; how he’ll send peace when all hell is breaking loose in your life or how he’ll provide for you when you’re down to your last and it seems like there is no help coming.

Baby, I just stopped long enough to tell you that no matter what you’re facing, going through, just came out off, got away from, need to get away from, whatever you’re running from or whatever has you bound; God is able to fix it for you. Yea, I know that you’ve called on Him and it seems like He isn’t hearing your pleas, but He is. I know it seems like every time you get to see over the water you’re drowning in, something comes along to pull you down but just hold on. I know it seems like every time you reach for a glass of water, you’re tears are filling the glass but just don’t give up. Yea, momma may be gone; daddy may be a deadbeat; sister is doing you wrong because of jealousy; brother is hindering you instead of helping; church folks pushing you instead of praying for you; folks on the job is throwing rocks and hiding their hands but God hasn’t changed. So just wait, don’t give up or give in! I don’t have all the answers for you and I can’t tell you how long you’ll be in your storm but I do know that everything that starts will eventually have to end, so just please hold on a little while longer. I’ve shared this on Facebook for 2 days and I feel the need to share it with you today because I want, no I need you to know that you are capable of doing all things through Christ because He is your strength. Baby, get you some God and then keep you some God. Keep God with you like you do your cigarettes & lighter. Keep God with you like you do that chapstick in your pocket. Keep God with you like your driver’s license. Keep God with you like you do your badge for work or your car keys. Keep God with you like you do that $1.25 for daily Coca-Cola habit. All I am saying is keep God with you because He’s better than bread, he won’t mold, he’s better than milk, he won’t spoil, he’s better than insurance because he won’t drop your coverage and he doesn’t lapse, he’s better than the sun because he never goes down, He’s better than the moon because he doesn’t have to wait until nightfall to show himself and he’s much better than so called friends because he won’t stab you in the back. Child, get some God in your life and you’ll be glad you did! Yea, I just thought I stop by to let you know that no matter how you feel and no matter what is going on around you, God never changes. Have you ever tried Him? Have you ever trusted Him? Have you ever tasted His goodness? Have you ever allowed Him to see you through? Try my God because He’ll never let you down.

Daily Devotional – 8/3/12 “Just thought I’d tell you!”

Sometimes we think the devil is busy but couldn’t it be God clearing out the mess in order for you to hear the message so that you can take it to others in order to bless them out their mess? (I know, go back and read that sentence again so that it can marinate in you!) See, God removes folks who are hindering our work for him, so don’t think you’re being punished when she or he leaves because most times they weren’t yours to begin with. Yea, you lost your job but all you have to do is wait upon the Lord and he’ll send you the right one that you couldn’t see from all the hours you spent at the last one. I know that you’ve lost a family member and it’s hard (I’m talking from experience) but that was just your wake up call to get YOU together. Chile, the dead don’t have worries anymore but you do so why are you stressing over their passing when you need to be getting yourself together in order to one day see them again? Church isn’t any different. I’ve been sitting back watching the changes that have been taking place in our church, from needing a musician to the final stages of the renovations and if you’re looking through natural eyes, you might say they devil is surely busy down in Hollywood, MS; but if you’re looking through spiritual eyes then you’ll know that it’s ALL GOD! I am a firm believer that God is simply taking us through the changing process so that we come out fresh and renewed and just like I told Uncle Larry, we won’t have to go looking for a musician because God will send us who we need to have. Plus, (I’ll throw this in for free), we had a great rehearsal on last night with NO music and praises still went up. Don’t tell me that you have to have music and instruments to get your praise on because you don’t.

Baby, when it seems like one moment you’re walking on top of the world and the next the world is on top of you, it’s simply your season changing. Don’t believe me? Then you need to read Ecclesiastes 3:1 which says, “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” See, God works in seasons in our life, why do you think we have 4 seasons of weather? The same way we experience the season of winter, spring, summer and fall; we experience seasons in our Christian life. We experience winter when the storms that are raging in our lives that leaves ice on the ground which causes us to slip and fall back into worldly desires and it causes power outages, which is the light of God, from shining in our lives to keep us from doing right. During the spring season, the storms are still there but they aren’t as bad as winter. Yea, you’ll experience a lot of rain but you’ve gotten used to it now, so you’re prepared with your rain boots and umbrella. You’ve started to pray a little now because you don’t feel like all hell is breaking loose in your world and you’ve started to see a little sun shining through the clouds. During the summer season, the storm clouds are few and far between & during this season, your praise is more real than it has ever been, your marriage/relationship seems to be going good, the kids are acting right, you got a little money left after paying bills, you got the job you applied for (the one you wanted) and all seems to be well. But then the wind picks up and it has blown the death angel into your home and he took momma with him. The leaves are falling outside and the tears are falling on the inside because the doctor says cancer. The weather is starting to get a little chilly and so is the relationship between you and your spouse because it seems like things were just going good, now you’re asking, “What’s happening?” The kids are acting up in school, job is stressful and the car keeps cutting off. This isn’t God taking his hands off of you; it’s simply you going into your fall season. See, during this season, the devil is trying to get you to fall so he’s keeping his hands on your back, pushing, but keep reading God’s word that says, “Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the LORD holds them by the hand (Psalm 37:24).” Then if you do happen to fall, read Psalm 20:8 that says, “They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm.” God didn’t say you wouldn’t have moments of falling as long as you get back up. Don’t allow the fall season to take you out because it’s just getting you ready to go into your next season. There isn’t a certain way our seasons appear and it really doesn’t matter how they come as long as you trust God through them. God hasn’t given up on you when hard times come, it simply your season changing. Hold on!

Daily Devotional – 8/2/12 “Tomorrow isn’t promised!”

Reflecting over the past month and how things have surely changed, I am reminded that death nor trouble nor blessings have a specific date to show up. See, death comes at an instant even for those who have been toiling a while, death still comes quickly with the stopping of their heart and their breathing. Trouble also comes in a blink of an eye because one minute you’re driving home and the next you can be in the back of an ambulance fighting for your life or walking around the grocery store and then the next minute gone from a heart attack. Blessings, they too, come in an instant because one minute you’re drowning in depression and the next you’re swimming in progression. My point is, don’t waste too much time wondering if, wandering lost and just simply wavering between to have faith or not because while you’re crying over the things that are going wrong you’re missing out on the things that are going right.


This is why you have to stay prayed up, faith filled, favored down and salvation wrapped. Child, don’t even let the enemy get a foot into your home because you’ll have a hell of a time getting him out. Just to let you know; the only way the enemy gets into your home is by riding with somebody else, so be careful who you open your door too. You are equipped with what you need to handle the struggles, strains, circumstances and situations of walking in the flesh but you have to believe that you can. The bible says in 1 Corinthians 1:27, “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.” See, God doesn’t choose folk who have already qualified themselves but He qualifies those whom He calls. You’re wondering why God chose you to be the Youth Director with all the stuff you’ve done in your past but He chose you because He knew those things made you strong enough to be a testimony to all those after you. You wonder how God could take somebody walking the streets, strung out on drugs, with a filthy mouth and attitude and turn them into a living testimony for the world to see but know that He had a purpose and a plan for them all along. Baby, God can take a whoremonger and turn them into the best husband. He can take an alcoholic and turn them into a Preacher who minsters to thousands with very little effort. He can take a prostitute and make her one of the best Congresswomen. He can take a crackhead and turn her into the best mother you’ve ever seen. And he can take a wretch like me who isn’t fitting to live and not ready to die; pick me up, dip me into his blood (baptism water), whisper to me “It’s all good now”, forgive me of my sins and erase my past and turn me into somebody who writes devotionals for you to ride by simply putting my fingers to a keyboard and my eyes on Him! Isn’t that worth a praise break? There isn’t anybody who can make me doubt this Man because I know for myself what he is capable of doing!


You know it for yourself and with a strong belief in God and a strong belief in self; you’re ready to win this fight. See, sometimes you have to give your own self a standing ovation to admire the things you’ve overcome and the heartache and disappointments that got you there. Don’t be afraid to pat yourself on the back and don’t be afraid to congratulate yourself every now and then. You are supposed to be your number one fan because if you don’t believe in yourself, you’ll have a hard time getting someone else too. Now, this doesn’t mean brag on yourself but let your work speak for you. This also doesn’t mean walk around with your nose in the air because no matter how far up it gets, you can still smell crap a mile away. Toot your own horn, congratulate yourself, encourage yourself and give yourself a round of applause but don’t allow your head to get bigger than what your body can carry because the last thing you want is to knock your own self down. Take the time to live before your chances run out. Your life has been purposely made for you so don’t spend time allowing your time to run out. No man knows their day or hour so live every day like tomorrow isn’t promised simply because it’s not.

“Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother’s womb. I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration—what a creation! You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; you know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, the days of my life all prepared before I’d even lived one day.” Psalm 139:13-16 (The Message Bible)