Daily Devotional – 4/11/12 “God, I need a little more!”

Please don’t take this the wrong way because I am grateful for all the blessings that God has given me, and I hope you are too, but I am still in need of a little more. I want my territory enlarged so that I don’t have to rob Peter to pay Paul. I want my heart cleansed so that I won’t be the person I was in the past. I want my sins thrown into the sea of forgetfulness so that I can get into Heaven. I want my spiritual walk to be pleasing to God so that he continues to give me gifts. I want my light of God to shine so that others, who may not know him, can see it. I want to be what God has ordained me to be and that takes a little bit more from him. Am I grateful, yes because 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you,” but my prayer daily is for God to not take his hands off of me. I know that you say, “If God doesn’t do anything else for me, he has already done enough.” But what if God doesn’t do anything else for you, what would you have? If God only gave you the things that you thanked him for on yesterday, would you still have your right mind, health, house, car, children, spouse, breath and strength? Too many times we take simple things for granted like our hands and feet, when there is a soldier somewhere who came home without theirs after fighting for OUR freedom. We take clean water for granted when kids in other countries are dying to take a sip of water with no dirt and harmful germs. We take breathing for granted until a family member is on a ventilator that’s breathing for them. We take momma for granted until she is gone, we take our husband for granted until he has a woman who values his worth and we take our kids for granted until they are laying on a cold board in the morgue because they chose to find love in the arms of a man who beat them to death.

Yea, you may sing if God doesn’t do anything else for you, he’s done enough when in actuality you need a little more, too. You need a little more guidance, patience, caring and helping. You can use a little more taming of that tongue that you speak so harsh with. You can use a little more self-worth about yourself instead of falling so quickly for the first guy who tells you that you’re beautiful or the first girl who tells you that you’re a real man. You could use a little more perseverance so that you can continue to go even with doors being shut in your face. You can use a little more love after your heart has been broken so many times. You can use a little more strength after all the times folks have pushed you down said you’d amount to nothing. You can use a little more money when it always seems to run out when it’s time to pay rent/mortgage. So see, you can use a little more but that’s alright because it says in Matthew 7:7, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” Now, don’t think that because you asked and you didn’t receive that God isn’t a man of his word because it could be the way you’re asking. Let me explain. Firstly, if your heart isn’t right, your prayers aren’t reaching God’s ears anyway because Psalm 66:18 says, “If I regard wickedness in my heart, The Lord will not hear.” So clean your heart and then renew your spirit so that God dwells there. Secondly, don’t spend your prayer time asking God for meaningless things because James 4:3 says, “And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong–you want only what will give you pleasure.” Now, you know doggone well that God is not about to give you that woman’s husband so stop praying for him just like you know that God is not in the middle of your mess while you’re hiding out in the dressing room because security is looking for you for stealing. Child, no! God isn’t a messy God and he won’t keep cleaning up behind you every time you keep stepping in the same pile of mess. Thirdly, you have to do what God has asked you to do because 1 John 3:22says, “And whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.” Will you be perfect every day, no, but all you have to do is repent with your mouth the sins that you’ve committed so that you can be forgiven and your sins washed away. Finally, pray but pray the right way for Matthew 6:9-13 says, “This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

Prayer is having a conversation with your Father. Don’t be afraid to pray for a little bit more in your life but make sure it’s for the things that can help your walk with God and not hinder it. Don’t be afraid to ask for a little bit more but be sure you are using what you already have. It’s like asking for a little bit more food before you’ve eaten what’s on your plate only to get it and then realize you don’t have room for it. Use what you have in order to make room for the increase. God won’t take his hands off of you for asking but be ready for the answer that he gives because although it may not be no, it could be not right now and that’s simply telling you that it’s not time yet.

Daily Devotional – 4/10/12 “What in the world is going on?”

The enemy is surely busy in this world! With the amount of killings happening on a daily basis, the way children are acting when they try to be an adult instead of a child, the way parents are no longer being parents because they are too busy acting like a teenager themselves or they have taken their hands off their child(ren) and with all the diseases and sickness in the world, I’m surprised God hasn’t come back to destroy it already. Folks walk around acting like they have tomorrow to get themselves together when tomorrow isn’t promised to anybody. Why do you think the bible says in 2 Peter 3:10, “But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.” You walk around hating on other folks blessings because you feel like God isn’t blessing you but have you stopped to realize that you might be the one blocking your own blessings? If you got mess in your heart, filth on your lips, lust in your eyes, death on your tongue, hurt in your hands and you walk in deceit; you are blocking your blessings. It’s like bowling and each time you get ready to roll your ball down the lane it never reaches the pins its intended for because something or someone always gets in its way. Well, it’s the same way when God gets ready to send a blessing your way. When you lie on folk, you are getting in the way of your blessing. When you misuse people, you are getting in the way of your blessing. When you put your hands on folk to hurt them, you are getting in the way of your blessing. When you get caught up in other folk’s mess and problems, you are allowing them to get in the way of your blessing and when you allow other folk to cause you to sin; you are allowing them to get in the way of your blessing. At some point you’ve got to get right in order to unblock the pathway to your blessings and if I may make a suggestion, you’d better do it now before you won’t have a chance too.

Even the best Christians won’t make it past judgment day because while you may be at church every Sunday, your heart isn’t. Yea, you may pay your tithes every Sunday but as soon as you get around the naysayers who say, “Chile, I ain’t paying no tithes because it goes to the Pastor anyway,” you join in and agree; you’re paying in vain. When you can stand in God’s house talking about folks, cheating with the deacon/usher, cursing like you’re in a bar and dressing like you walk the streets, you are getting further away from God’s grip. I know, you think just because you’re young, you’re healthy, you pay your tithes, you go to church on Sunday and you pray; that you got it all together or that you got time but baby, read the obituaries, watch the news and listen to some other folks talk and you’ll soon realize that on your best day you’re still sick enough to die. See, death doesn’t have a respect of person because he has to visit every one of us. If you don’t believe me, then go visit St. Jude and LeBonheur and look at some of the kids that are battling rare forms of cancer, read about the young children that died of heart attacks when they’re heart hasn’t even been beating long enough to be wore out or Google car accidents and find out how many of those folks were healthy and just driving home when their car was hit by a drunk driver or they fell asleep at the wheel. Time won’t stand still while you decide to get yourself together. If you know that smoking is killing you, stop. If you know that the drinking you’re doing is affecting your life, stop it. If you think you can’t live without snorting or shooting up cocaine, keep doing it because you won’t have long to live with it. If you have to wake up to pills only to be put the sleep with some (that are not prescribed to you), keep doing them because one time you won’t wake up. You need to get it together because with the way things are happening, in this day and time, you might not have as much time as you think.

Why do you think that your husband will continue to stay around when you treat the dog better than you treat him when the bible says in 1 Corinthians 11:9, “Man wasn’t created for woman but woman for man.” Why do you think your wife will stay around when you make it known to the world that you can’t be faithful when Hebrews 13:4 says, “Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.” Why do you get to jail and call on God when you’ve taken a man’s life over something that you could have walked away from when the bible says in Exodus 20:13, “You shall not murder.” We are quick to come to God when trouble comes in our lives but where are you when everything is good? Why do we have to wait for things to happen to us before we reach out our hands to God? Doesn’t he deserve our praise when things are good? You shout the loudest when your light bill is due and the money is few but you’re quieter than a church mouse when the income tax check comes. You had your own amen corner when your car was broke down but then won’t even come in the rain when God blesses you with a new one. You were crying uncontrollably when husband/wife left but then stand there yawning when they come sliding back. But Ephesians 5:20 states “Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This doesn’t say just when it’s convenient for you or when you feel like it.

Your problems shouldn’t dictate your life. Your problems shouldn’t determine the way you praise. If you don’t comb your hair, it’ll show by your tangled hair. If you don’t bathe, it’ll show by the smell of your body. If you don’t change your clothes, it’ll show by the stains they have. If you don’t pray, it’ll show in your relationship with God. If you don’t study his word, it’ll show by your walk with God. If you don’t trust God, it’ll show by your test and if you don’t praise God, it’ll show by your testimony. The world and the people in it is changing everyday which is why you need to have a relationship with God who never changes. With all the stress the world has to offer, you should want a relationship with a stress reliever who is better and cheaper than a massage. When your body is aching with pain, you should want a relationship with a pain reliever that’s better than Tylenol. When your mind is racing and you can’t fall asleep, you should want a relationship with the best sleep aid that won’t give you side effects like Ambien. God never changes and he never fails, try him before it gets too late!

Daily Devotional – 4/8/12 “New dress, same old attitude!”

It’s amazing the amount of money folk spend for Easter Sunday. You’d rather miss paying MLGW so that you and the kids can go to church looking colorful than a basket of Easter eggs, when you haven’t been to church in months. Baby, God isn’t concerned about the suit, dress, shoes and new haircut/hairdo, but he’s concerned about your attitude, character and your heart. Yea, you may have on new clothes but you’re still sporting that same old attitude. When are you going to change that instead of the color of your nails? When will you change the way you talk to and treat folk? While you’re changing the style of your wig, you need to be changing the way you lie. Please don’t think God is fooled because you got dressed all up with your makeup looking good because you do that for the club too, right? At some point you’ve got to change that hard exterior and that foul mouth if you plan on passing through Heaven’s gates. Yea, I know, I know; God knows your heart, but haven’t you heard that from the heart the mouth speaks? Luke 6:45 says “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.” If you talk like that then your heart is like that so, yes, God knows your heart. Please don’t get me wrong, I’m excited about Easter Sunday but that’s because we are celebrating that Jesus didn’t stay dead but he rose so that we would have repentance and forgiveness and not to dress up and hide Easter eggs.

Your attitude makes you and it precedes you. Don’t believe me? All you have to do is be the troublemaker on your team at work and see how many folks would choose you when it’s time to change groups. If you always have your mouth on folks, that doesn’t change just because you got a dress on to your knees today instead of the mini skirt you had on last night. Just because you put your heels on and got the kids dressed in perfect Sunday wear with their Easter baskets, it doesn’t change the fact that you never forgive or forget. If your heart is cold, hard and mean; your clothes won’t change that. You’ve got to make the change from the inside so that God can know your heart. How can he dwell in you if you have steel walls around your heart? Change your attitude for the good and see what God has for you. Stop being a CME (Christmas, Mother’s Day & Easter) Christian but be one every day of your life so that you can receive the blessings that God has for you. You are better than the old attitude, filthy mouth and cold hearted person that you’ve become so when you throw out the old clothes, through the mess out with it.

Happy Easter to you and yours!

Daily Devotional – 4/6/12 “Good Friday!”

Now, I know someone woke up asking what is good about this day but let me tell you. You woke up this morning, that’s a good thing. You opened your eyes and could actually see, that’s another good thing. You moved your arms and legs and they worked, another good thing. You could feel with your hands and feet and speak with your mouth which is yet another good thing. You didn’t have to wait for someone to open the door, you didn’t have anyone telling you when to do this and that and you didn’t have to eat the food that someone else chose because you were in your own home instead of being behind prison walls. You didn’t need help to the bathroom to handle your business and you didn’t have to worry about being poked and prodded by some doctors and nurses because you’re not in the hospital. And your family didn’t have to identify your body at the morgue or visit the funeral home to make last preparations for your home going celebration because you are yet alive, so yes this is a Good Friday. See, this time many, many years ago God’s only son was getting prepared for his execution. I can imagine Jesus still praying for folks as they prepared the cross, the heavy cross for him to bear. I can only imagine Jesus still forgiving folks even though they were preparing a crown of thorns for his heads and for their fists to hit every part of his body. I can even imagine Jesus not mumbling one word against those who found joy in the suffering he was about to endure, yet you got up with a reason to complain. Matthew 27:12 says, “But when the leading priests and the elders made their accusations against him, Jesus remained silent.” Even with the crowd yelling for him to be crucified, Jesus said nothing; see he didn’t need to explain himself because he had done no wrong for the bible says in Matthew 27:18, “For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up.” Yet, you scream the loudest when you know that you are guilty. When they hung him in between 2 thieves, mocked him for the promises he made, laughed at him for saving others instead of saving himself, he still never said a word. See, Jesus knew the promise that his Father had made him so he didn’t need to worry about what the folks did to him. Although they pierced his hands and feet with nails, they could never pierce his spirit. Although they speared him in his side, they couldn’t take away the power that God had entrusted him with, so Jesus had no reason to worry because he knew his Father was a man of his word.

So, why are you so quick to fall when trouble comes? Don’t you know that God is a man of his word? Yea, I know somebody woke up this morning without a job, but you’re still living and able to hit the streets to find one. I know that somebody woke up hungry because they didn’t eat on last night, but all you have to do is swallow your pride and ask for help. I even know that somebody is crying because they can’t buy their children clothes and Easter baskets for Sunday, but try teaching them the real reason we celebrate Easter. We’ve gotten so accustomed to Easter egg hunts, when bunnies have never laid an colored egg in their life. We spend more money on clothes and shoes for the kids that we forget about spending time telling them about the greatest sacrifice that was ever made. I know that someone is mad because they didn’t get this day off but just imagined what Jesus had to go through when he had to work on Good Friday. He was stripped down in front of a crowd of folks who wanted him to suffer because they couldn’t explain the power that he possessed. He was beaten because they found joy in inflicting pain on him. He was made to carry a cross, the same cross that he was going to be nailed too, while he was marched through crowds of people spitting on him because they chose not to believe. He was nailed to that cross and hung between 2 thieves, although he had never committed a crime. He was made fun of when he cried out to his Father before death swallowed him up and his spirit was released. He was wrapped in borrowed clothes and laid in a borrowed tomb, all because folks choose not to believe in him and the things he could do. So, why is this a good Friday? Because you have the choice to be who you want to be, go where you want to go and do what you want to do. You still have to wonder why this is a Good Friday, because you have to work when you have a job while there are millions without one. You got the nerve to complain about this Good Friday, when someone is sitting in a clinic with a huge needle in their vein receiving chemo, radiation or dialysis when all you have is a headache. You got the audacity to complain because your child doesn’t have a new dress while a parent in sitting in St. Jude wishing her child could smell the fresh outside without it compromising his immune system. Is this a Good Friday? Yes, because while you have a chance to celebrate the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, someone is preparing to bury their son or daughter, mother or father, sister or brother. Is this a Good Friday? Yes ma’am, yes sir; because it could be Messy Monday, Trouble Tuesday, Weeping Wednesday or Temptation Thursday but instead you get Good Friday! Is this a Good Friday, yes it is! Why, because Jesus endured in order to ensure we’d be forgiven of our sins, if we simply asked? I’d take Good Friday every chance I get because it lets me know the ultimate price that God had to pay by sending his only Son to Hell in order to reach Heaven!

Daily Devotional – 4/5/12 “Cry if you must!”

Somebody woke up this morning and after hearing the news report about rain or seeing the rain fall, you begin to think that just like outside, the rain won’t stop dropping in your life. But baby, I stopped by to tell you, the rain is meant for your good. Like I said on yesterday, I know the window of life you may be looking out of only shows dark clouds, lightning, rain and you hear the thunder coming but it’s not for your bad. No, because when the rain comes it’s either to wash away mess/dirt or to water the seeds you’ve sown? See, when you’re in a relationship with someone who is not the man or woman for you, they tend to throw dirt on you. Not actual dirt but they cause you to be dirty and degraded every time they call you out your name, every time they lie to you or on you, every time they cheat or break a promise. Then you pray to God for guidance so he sends the rain and it starts falling when they decide to leave or you finally decide to do what is right and put their butt out. This is simply God washing away the dirt because see, if you sweep it, it only gets deeper into the carpet or your clothes and although it seems like it’s gone from the surface, it’s still deep enough to affect you. Don’t believe me, put on some white socks and walk on the floor. You have to put water on the mess in order to completely remove it, so God sends the rain. Yea, I know that during this storm you may feel like you’re losing but hold on. I know it may seem like you’re drowning but all you have to do is stand up. God is not a man that he should lie and when he said he wouldn’t forsake you, he means it. Matthew 7:25 says “The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” See, if you have your feet planted in the right soil, the storm won’t be able to move you. If you have your house built on the right foundation, even water can’t make fall. Yea, you may bend from the wind but you won’t break. You may even get more water than your bucket can handle but it’ll never be too heavy to carry. Welcome the rain and then stand in it with your arms outstretched ready to accept your cleaning and once you are cleansed, don’t go back playing in the dirt.

If that person left, you lost the job you say you loved, your favorite car was totaled or you are still grieving, honey, stop trying to hide the tears that you’re shedding because they let folk know that you’re alive and it’s also another way to let God know that he’s working in your life. See, I’ve always said that tears are just liquid prayers from your eyes to God’s ears during those times you can’t find the words so don’t feel bad because you cry. Haven’t you realized yet that when the Holy Spirit dwells within you, you’ve got to get your praise on and sometimes that means crying? Plus the tears you are sowing now are only watering the harvest that you shall soon reap. Don’t believe me, the bible says in Psalm 126:5, “Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!” For when harvest time comes, you won’t have to shed anymore tears because you’ve sown enough to last you through that season. As a parent, you’ve had nights you had to cry from some of the choices your child made but then they finally grow up and get back on the right track and all the mess they used to cause, they don’t do anymore; you watered your harvest. As an adult, you cried many days from not knowing how you would pay your bills when the money always ran out before time but God allowed you to work hard, save a little money and now you’ve retired and enjoying the life you have left to live; you watered your harvest. As a cancer patient, you cried those evenings when the chemo treatments made you want to die when you had to eat but couldn’t keep nothing down, wanted to go but had no energy or had to breath but it hurt so bad but now you’ve been cancer free for 4 years and healthier and happier with no trace of cancer; you watered your harvest. That day in the doctor’s office when she said you had to lose weight or die from diabetes, you walked out crying but you didn’t stop walking and now 6 months later and 30 pounds gone she says the diabetes is now under control; you watered your harvest. When man said if you didn’t find a kidney soon, you’ll die so you cried and cried, but then you received a phone call to come into the hospital right now because a match had been found and now 10 years later, you’re still living, you watered your harvest.

Don’t be ashamed to cry because some days crying makes you feel better. Don’t be scared to cry because crying doesn’t make you less than the man or woman God has designed you to be. James 1:12 says, “God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.” Yea, I know that it seems like your drinking tears for water, but just hold on. I know that it seems like you’ve cried and you may even be saying like Psalm 6:6-7 says, “I am worn out from sobbing. All night I flood my bed with weeping, drenching it with my tears. My vision is blurred by grief; my eyes are worn out because of all my enemies,” but hold on because even though you may be worn and tired, tell your enemies like Psalm 6:8-9 says, “Go away, all you who do evil, for the LORD has heard my weeping. The LORD has heard my plea; the LORD will answer my prayer.” God has heard you and he will come and see about you in your time of need. Don’t be ashamed of the tears you cry, just don’t wallow in them for too long. As like anything that starts, it shall end maybe not when you expect it to, but in God’s time. So cry on if you must!

“This storm is just a shower to cleanse me of the dirt that have been thrown on me by my haters. I won’t be afraid to cry and I’ll walk through the rain because when the SON shines, I’ll be renewed and through my renewal comes restoration and with restoration I am being restored back to a previous state or an even better one that allows me to reach my full potential so now I shine like pure gold. Yea, the rain may fall but I’m covered by the umbrella of God’s grace and mercy that always keep me dry!”