Daily Devotional – 3/30/12 “If they are meant..”

God does have a plan and purpose for everything that he does, but you already know that right? Then why are you questioning him now? I know that he took momma and you weren’t ready but you do know that ready or not death will come? I know that you lost your job even though you never got a bad review, didn’t take a lot of sick days and was the most reliable but God did it so that you could start your career because that was just a job. I know that when it seems like you finally have things under control, 2 things go wrong but that’s just a test to see if your faith in God is still strong. When your husband walks out after 15 years together, that’s just a test to see if your trust in God is still working. When family hurts you and leaves you questioning their love for you, that’s just a test to see if your love for God is still present. When friends stab you in the front, back and side after all you’ve done for them, that’s simply God testing you to see how much you’ll do for him. Stop questioning and start rejoicing when folks leave because they are making room for the true folks God wants in your life so let them go and stop chasing them. Whatever is meant for you is for you and they will never leave especially when the times get hard or the fire gets too hot. See, a person who really cares for you will be there when all the crap has hit the fan, when the money runs out before all the bills are paid, when you lose all your hair from chemo, lose your breasts from cancer, when you have to spend more time taking care of your elderly parents than you do them, when you run out of gas, when the car stops, when stress has beaten you down, when the job is constantly taking instead of giving and when you no longer have a taste for lemonade even though the world keeps giving you lemons. Yea, if they are meant, they’ll be there after the dust settles.

See, a person who truly cares won’t run away when the tough gets going but they’ll run to you with their arms open, they’ll stand beside you to prop you up when you lean, they’ll reach down to grab you when you fall and they’ll stand in front of you offering their shirt for your tears. A person who honestly loves you will cry with you when the news from the doctor is grim. A person who genuinely means well for your life will be there holding your hand when your loved one is lowered into the ground. A person who is meant for you will know, by the sound of your voice, that things aren’t alright even though you’ve said 5 times they are. A person who loves you with their whole heart won’t scare you because 1 John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” For the bible says in Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” It’s alright to go have a drink alone sometimes but having someone there with you to share an appetizer is always better and you don’t always have to face this mean world alone if you let people in. Not everyone that comes into your life will hurt you even when you’ve been hurt a million times before. Not everyone that shows up at your door will let you down although you’ve been knocked down more than you can count. I realize that your heart is cold towards men because your daddy left but baby your daddy is the one missing out on your life so stop punishing all men for his choice. You want every woman to cater to you like your momma does but honey your momma is your momma and your wife is your wife, there is no comparison so stop doing it. Just because your momma did everything for you while you were at home, you’re in a partnership now so start acting like it. I know you’ve been hurt but forgive those who hurt you and move on. I know you’ve been lied to but get over it because some folks would rather lie when the truth would surely do. I know folks don’t keep their promises to you but they are human and bound to make mistakes, forgive AND forget.

If folks are meant for you then they’ll be for you. Stop trying to make folk into something they are not. Just because you go to church every Sunday, don’t hold it against your spouse because if you live the right way then they’ll eventually want to see for themselves the God that you’re worshipping. Stop trying to turn your wife into a basketball fan or your husband into a fan of Glee. Allow the folks around you to be who they want to be just like you are being who you choose to be. Life has enough, promised, trouble without you adding to it. You’d better stop taking advantage of whom or what you have at home because after so long it/they may not be there when you open the garage one day. Love the one you’re with and stop chasing after someone that’s not yours. Trust the one you’re with now and stop holding them accountable for what someone in the past did. Believe in the one you’re with now and stop thinking they’ll break promises like others did. Cherish the ones you have in your life now because they won’t always be there. Quit chasing after what is not yours because if it’s meant for you they will not run. Love has feet that will walk to the end of the earth, arms that’ll wrap around you a thousand times over, shoulders that’ll withstand the weight of the world, knees that can stand the hours of pray needed to make it work, eyes that will cry with you, legs that can help carry your burdens and hands that can soothe every ache in your body. Love is given and love is received. Love is God and love is of God. If you have God then you are capable of loving. 1 Peter 4:8 says, “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.” Love is meant for you, so receive it. If he/she is meant for you, they’ll show you in their actions because 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 says, “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” If it meant for you then it shall be!

Daily Devotional – 3/29/12 “It’s all in who you know!”

I am usually not a person who watches the news but when I woke up this morning and set up in the bed, the news was on and the video was playing of the man who killed Trayvon Martin being brought into the police station and God dropped in my spirit, “All things work together for the good of them that love me!” In the wake of this tragedy, I had to stop by to let you know that no matter what you’ve done in your past and no matter what mistakes you made on yesterday, God is always in control. See, when they tried to lie on Travyon the first time, the cell phone records came out. Then when that didn’t work they start pulling his past into it and all the things that he had done, but again God said in Isaiah 43:18, “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.” Then when that didn’t work, the police department released the initial report stating that Trayvon had beat this grown man almost to death so he had to defend himself but again, that didn’t work because the video is now out showing not one scratch on him. Don’t you know that when you’ve done all you can, God is saying it’s not your battle? Yea, see when all else fails God doesn’t. When man lets you down, God doesn’t and when folk try to scandalize your name, God is simply pushing you over to the side saying, “I got you!” Isn’t that something? I’ve never commented on this case, in this devotional, because I know that no matter who you are, if you do wrong then you will be punished and this doesn’t necessarily mean while walking on this side but you will because the bible says in Colossians 3:25, “But if you do what is wrong, you will be paid back for the wrong you have done. For God has no favorites.”

See, it’s all in who you know because Trayvon’s parents aren’t political figures, his sisters aren’t top notch attorneys, his brothers aren’t well known doctors, his grandparents aren’t members of Congress, his uncle isn’t the president and his aunt isn’t the First Lady but his Father is a King which means his death isn’t in vain. Yea, folks tried to cover up the truth but the bible says in John 8:32, “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Now, don’t think that this only applies to this case because it’s the same for you because it’s all in who you know. If you know God and if you’ve accepted God into your life, then you have the best doctor, the ultimate lawyer, the greatest listener, top notch security detail, number 1 rated insurance carrier and an undying provider! (Some things to shout about!) It doesn’t matter that you used to be a thief and now some folks always refer to you as that no matter how you’ve changed and as soon as something comes up missing, they quickly assume it’s because of you and they still judge but you have a lawyer on your side that has never lost a case and he says you don’t even have to take the stand in your defense because I will speak for you. It doesn’t matter that the doctor has given up on you because God says, I got you covered. It doesn’t matter that folks won’t listen to you because they don’t think you’ve changed because God is saying; keep talking because I’m listening. Bay-bee! Don’t you know that God will work thangs out in your favor when you trust him? Don’t you know that he’ll make your enemies your footstool if you believe he will? Don’t you know that he’ll remove the obstacles in your way if you ask him?

When it seems like you’re in the middle of an earthquake because all hell is breaking loose, that’s just God shaking your life to put the things that matter back into perspective. All of the stuff/people that were lost during the quake are things that you no longer need, now focus on the stuff/people that are left and live on. When it seems like that fire that spread quickly through your home has destroyed everything you had and even took a part of you, that’s simply God removing the old in order to restore it with all new stuff. See, in order to make room for your new blessings you have to remove the old stuff that’s in the way. If it was meant to take you out, then God wouldn’t have allowed you to go to work early instead of still being sleep in the room where the fire started. When it seems like the tornado of trials and tribulations blew through your life quickly and quietly and took all of your possessions and your strength, look back because your foundation is still there and as long as you have it you can always rebuild. When things are taken, they can be replaced. When folks leave, they didn’t belong to you any way. When folk talk about you, let them because talking doesn’t define your character. When folk keep pushing you down instead of helping you up, they’ll pay for it. When folk speak bad over your life, don’t pay them no mind because as surely as they sow they shall also reap. It’s all about who you know. Becky wasn’t the one that promoted you on the job because her name didn’t have any weight. John wasn’t the one that approved you for that car because his name has no merit. Sara wasn’t the one that cured you of cancer because she doesn’t have healing in the hem of her clothes. Tylenol PM wasn’t the thing that put you to sleep on last night because it has no power. That towel wasn’t the one that dried your tears yesterday because it couldn’t stop them from falling and my hands wasn’t the one that pulled you out of that ditch that you’ve been in because my hands can’t deliver. But it’s all in the power of who you really know. God has a plan and purpose for everything that he does. You’d better step back and watch him work!

Daily Devotional – 3/28/12 “Misery, is that you?”

Misery is defined as a serious lack of contentment or happiness or something that causes great unhappiness. If something or someone is causing you to be unhappy, YOU can change it. If you are grown, no one is responsible for the state of your life but you. 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 says “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.” See, even though your life may not be where you think it should be it isn’t over. Just because you don’t have the job you want, you have one. Just because your husband doesn’t have the means to take care of you like a basketball wife, he is still yours and he is there, so stop keeping company with misery and enjoy your life and if your life isn’t pleasing to you then change it. If you are depressed, get help but stop making the others around you depressed by always bringing the rain to the parade. Just because you didn’t get anything sent to the office on Valentine’s Day don’t go around bursting other folk’s balloons. Just because you don’t have a good relationship with your sister doesn’t mean you try to ruin the one your cousin has with hers by spreading lies. You might be all alone in your misery state but it doesn’t mean others want to join you. Yea, misery may love company but your company doesn’t love her. Stop gossiping when others are hurting because you think they are getting what they deserve, because what goes around surely comes back around. Stop bringing all of your issues to the party because you want others to be as miserable as you. If all you do is complain about this and that, stay home. If the only chance I get to hang out and let my hair down is at girls night out once per month, the last thing I want is for you, with your miserable behind, ruining it. I know that you lost your job but baby that’s been 6 months ago, get up and find you another one. I am not going to sit at my job on the phone with you going over the same thing every day so that I can lose my job too. I know that you may be miserable in your life today but why are you taking it out on me? I know that you may be upset about the state of your marriage but just because mine is going well you’d try to sabotage it just so we can be miserable together? You say you want the best for your friends yet you throw rocks and hide your hands. You listen to one friend vent about something another friend did and instead of you keeping the information to yourself, you quickly run and tell; misery is that you? You can’t be mad at the man you married because he is not holding up his part of the vows when you knew he was a cheater before you stood before God and the preacher to take his hand in marriage. You can’t be mad at the woman you had a baby with because you knew she wasn’t lifetime material when you laid down with her. Yea, see when you lay down with a person (man or woman) and you choose to have sex, you need to make sure they are worth spending a lifetime with because if you have a baby it’ll be a lifetime you’ll both share.

You used to date a guy who never treated you right because he always cheated and never kept his promises. You are thankful that the 2 of you never had any children together so you decide to go your separate ways. It’s been 5 years and you see him at the movies and he introduces you to his new wife. He tells you that he turned his life over to Christ 3 years ago and he is a changed man. After this chance meeting, you go home steaming mad. You look him up on Facebook and see the pictures of him and his new family and it just seems to add fuel to the fire that is already burning in your head, so you decide to friend his wife. Now, you’re sending her messages talking about all the times he cheated on you, how he gave you a STD while you all were dating and how he was never dependable and trustworthy. You tell her that you don’t know why she married him because he isn’t worth her time or trouble. His wife, the woman that he married and bore his children doesn’t have time for this mess nor your games and she lets you know it quickly and to the point by simply saying, “Sweetie, get over it because although misery loves company I’m not the company you want!” See, when he was with you he may have been all those things but now he is not. When he was with you he may have not been marriage material but maybe you weren’t his rib that God had taken. Get over it! If you took as much time getting yourself together as you do trying to ruin other folk lives, your living would be better. Stop acting crazy, deranged and erratic making folks ask, “Misery is that you?” Matthew 5:22 says, “But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.”

Stop wallowing in your misery pool of pity, however, if you choose too don’t think I’ll be quick to jump in. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll reach out my hand to pull you out but I won’t allow you to pull me in. Yea, I’ll listen to you when you call but I won’t spend all my free time tied up in it when I should be spending it with my family, that’s keeping misery company. Yea, I’ll go walking with you when you need to vent but not every day because that’s keeping misery company, I also have a life. I may even have a drink with you to listen to you complain about your man or woman problems, but not every night, that’s keeping misery company, because I’ll either become an alcoholic or lose the family I have at home. I know that it’s hard being alone but if you try to be less gloomy you may get company every now and then. If you tried being pleasant every once in a while you may get invited to dinner. If you stopped being sad all the time you may just realize that you have great friends to enjoy your life with. James 5:11 says, “We give great honor to those who endure under suffering. For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance. You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy.” God says although you are going through suffering now, it’s not meant to last because after your suffering comes God’s mercy and his mercy endures forever. Even during your depression, your trials, your tribulations, your test and your storms; hold on! Don’t try to make others feel like you do because it isn’t fair. Don’t think that God has left you during these hard times because he hasn’t. Your life will have bad days but don’t allow them to outweigh the good ones. 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.” After you’ve endured all the bad it makes you stronger and in your strength you gain patience and being patient allows you to present yourself as a living sacrifice to God which is pleasing in his sight. Romans 5:3-4 says, “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.” Misery is miserable and if you allow her in she’ll take over. You are entitled to a bad day just don’t allow it to turn into a week because weeks leads to months and months to years and years into a lifetime.

Daily Devotional – 3/27/12 “Social Networking but your character!”

I’ve often wondered what would make a person put their business out on the internet for the world to see. I mean does it do you any good to vent one week about your boyfriend cheating and then 2 days later you are the happiest you’ve ever been? Then, you have the nerve to let everyone know that your wife isn’t any good but get mad when someone comments calling her trifling. Can you honestly be upset at the fact that folks are talking about you or that they are dipping all in your Kool-Aid when you’ve allowed them in your home and told them the flavor you’re drinking? Social Networking was designed to network with family who may live out of town, friends you’ve lost contact with since high school or those co-workers you used to work with before you changed jobs. It’s not for your baby momma, baby daddy, pooh bear and sugar dumpling’s business. I’ve learned the only way to keep a secret is to keep it between you and you because no one can tell what they don’t know. My daughter asked the other day, after seeing the news, if I would give my boss the password to my Facebook if he asked and she was surprised that I said yes. When she asked me why, I told her that there was nothing on there that I would be ashamed to own. See, if I can’t live what I speak then I am not pleasing to God. Am I perfect, no but I am a work in progress and I don’t need anything negative added to my list when I stand before God at judgment.

Don’t you know that when you put stuff on the internet you can never get it back? Yea, I know that your sister made you mad because she didn’t give you the $10 you asked for but that’s no reason for you to blast her on Facebook. Yea, you’re still mad at your mom because she wouldn’t keep the kids last weekend but that’s still no reason for you to tweet about it because they are your kids and your responsibility! See, folks aren’t looking at the ones you’re talking about but they are looking at you and your character and if you don’t know this, your character speaks for you. Why, because character is defined as the set of qualities that make somebody or something distinctive, especially somebody’s qualities of mind and feeling or qualities that makes somebody or something interesting or attractive. When all you do is curse and argue with all misspelled words, for the world to see, then your character is tarnished. When every picture you post is of you half naked with your butt cheeks hanging out, your character is tarnished. If you are always looking for trouble and you don’t care who knows it then your character is tarnished. If you aren’t ashamed for the world to know that you sleep with anybody so you post it on social networking sites, then your character is tarnished. And if you don’t know what tarnished means its damage to somebody’s reputation or good name, or become damaged. Now, would you buy or accept a damaged piece of anything? I would think not.

Stop allowing social networking to damage your character. Your character defines who you are and it also defines the children that you raise. If your mouth is filthy and disrespectful then how can you expect your daughter to talk like she got sense? If every time you talk to her daddy on the phone, you hang up and call him names, she’ll start calling him those same names because it’s all she hears from you. Who you are defines the children that you raise and if you don’t believe me, Matthew 7:17 says, “A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit,” or Matthew 12:33 that says, “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.” Our children learn from their upbringing and from the things that we teach them but more from the things they see. If every time my daughter logs into Facebook, she see me arguing with folks and calling them all kinds of names, how can I tell her that when she does it it’s wrong? The only way for me to teach her how to be respectful of her mind, her body, her soul and of those around her, I have to show her by being a good example. Do I expect her to act this way all the time even when she is not around me, yes, but I know that probably doesn’t happen? However, if I build a solid foundation for her to build on, when she falls down or gets knocked off of it she will be able to get back on it. I refuse to be the type of person that allows a social networking site to define my character because I feel the need to fit into a certain stereotype. I post devotionals and thoughts daily and if folk choose not to like them they can delete me from their friend list.

We’ve got to get back to Social Networking and not social neck rolling. It doesn’t matter about the number of friends you have on Facebook or the number of followers on Twitter because God will only be concerned with the number you tried to bring to him. It doesn’t matter that you can curse really well although misspelling the majority of the words because God will curse you for the way you treat others. It doesn’t matter that you got a relationship on Facebook with the cutest boy that all the girls want because your relationship with God is the only one that will save your soul. Stop allowing mess to take you away from the message of God. Use social networking for what it is for and not for what you want it to be. Stop acting foolish and damaging your character just because someone posted something on your wall when all you have to do is delete it and them. Stop putting yourself out there like a crazy person because that will be how folks will see you. When you have to wonder why you can’t get a job, look at your profile picture because it could be the game changer. When you wonder why folk don’t call you when they need guidance or prayer, check the statuses you post. When you invite folks to a party and they never come check the guest list. Your social networking profile speaks volumes about the person that you are. You can’t expect someone to call you because you own a business and they have a hard time reading what you’re posting because of the shorthand and misspelled words. You can’t expect folks to invite you to a family affair when you’re half naked with a joint in your mouth everywhere you go. You damage your character and you are the only one standing in the way of your blessings because of the BS you keep involving yourself in. Yea, it’s social networking but it’s your character.

Daily Devotional – 3/26/12 “Quit crying wolf!”

Have you heard the story of the boy who cried wolf? He was sent to watch over the sheep and if he seen a wolf, he was supposed to cry out in order for the villagers to run out to save their sheep, which was their livelihood. One day he was bored and decided to cry wolf so that he could get a laugh out of seeing the folks running to his rescue and the rescue of the sheep. Well, after a few times of this the folks in the village were tired of his games and the next time he cried wolf, no one came to his rescue and him and the sheep were killed. Why would a person continue to cry out for help when help really isn’t needed? Is it because they find joy in seeing folk run to their rescue? Don’t you know that if you lie long enough sooner or later, lying is all you know? This is true but it’s so sad. Why would you want to wish a sickness over your life by lying about being sick? You want folk to have pity on you so you lie about having this or that until cancer actually attacks your body and now, no one believes you. Why would you want to speak death in your family by lying about one? Your grandma has died so many times that now the folks on your job are requesting an obituary, with your name in it, before they will even pay you bereavement. Why would you want to speak a financial lost in your household by constantly crying broke? You’re always the one begging for money, always the one begging for food and always the one without gas in the car every time someone ask you to drive, yet you always got a new pair of shoes on with the matching shirt and hair do. Baby, folks aren’t fooled by you anymore and then when you really need something or someone, no one will be willing to offer you a helping hand because you’ve cried wolf for so long. Stop lying all the time because lying make folk dislike you. You always got a sad story posted on Facebook because you want folk to feel sorry for you but why don’t you get up off your sorry and do something? You want folk to feel bad because you didn’t have the money to join them at girl’s night but you could get up and get a job because they are tired of always having to skip an appetizer to pay for your meal. You always got a sad story about your lights being off, kids need this for school, car quit on you or you’re going through a lot but baby help yourself sometime. For 2 Thessalonians 3:10 says “While we were with you, we gave you the order: “Whoever doesn’t want to work shouldn’t be allowed to eat.”

You call into your job on Monday to let them know that your son is sick in the hospital and the doctors are running all kinds of test. You don’t know how long you all will be there or what’s wrong with him but he’s really sick and you end the call by asking them to “Please keep us in your prayers.” They, being the kindhearted folks they are, take up a collection for you so that you’ll have a little extra money for the hospital food, they send you a blanket along with books and magazines to keep you occupied and they even send a few items for your son, you know to help him get through. Now, you’ve been off work 2 weeks but you’ve kept everybody updated with your son’s progress. Then one Sunday morning, one of your co-workers just happens to be out eating at Perkins when they see you and your son, who by the way is looking very healthy. How can you explain that? Oh, let me see a miraculous recovery, right? Now, everyone at your job is disappointed in the choice you made because you could have just asked for time off, help or whatever you needed instead of resorting to such low measures. The bible says in Luke 8:17 says, “For all that is secret will eventually be brought into the open, and everything that is concealed will be brought to light and made known to all.” Now, 6 months later your son is really sick because you spoke this over his life with the lies you were telling but guess what, no one believes you now and they surely aren’t coming to your aid this time which happens to be the time you really need someone all because you kept crying wolf!

Haven’t you realized, whether you believe this or not, there will be a time when you will need someone? So stop wearing folks out with all the lies because when you really truly need the help, no one would come. Proverbs 19:9 says, “A false witness will not go unpunished, and a liar will be destroyed.” If you find pleasure in using folk, God finds no pleasure in using you. If you find joy in lying to folk, God finds no joy in lying with you. Proverbs 12:22 says, “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight.” Why is it so easy for you to lie? Don’t you know that if you’ve been labeled a liar, folks no longer answer your calls because they are tired of listening to your farfetched stories and the time you really need someone to come to your rescue, you won’t reach one person. You’ve cried wolf so many times about needing help from this or that, that when the time really comes for someone to rescue you from a bad situation, no one will be there. If every time you call me to ask for a little help in feeding the kids and each time I see you out at Applebee’s eating with your boo-thang, there is no way I’ll continue to help you and the time the kids are really in need of food there won’t be any. Stop crying wolf just because you know folks will come running to your aid because after too many false alarms, no one will come when the real danger presents itself because they will be too tired from running all the other times. It’s just like a pregnant woman running to the hospital every 2 days thinking she’s in labor. Yea, the first few times folk will drop everything they are doing to rush you there but after the 3rd or 4th time, baby they’ll have you waiting all evening because they already think it’s just another false alarm. Genuine help comes from genuine folks but if they feel like they are being taken advantage of, the help stops and it usually stops when you need it the most. If you are in need of help, ask and in your asking you’ll receive all that you are supposed to receive. Why, because God works that way. He knows what your needs are before you even ask and he uses regular folks like you and I to help. You don’t have to keep praying for the same thing over and over because he knows. Matthew 6:7-8 says, “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!” Don’t keep using folk because you seem to be getting over on them because you surely can’t get over on God. Yea, you might be used to beating the system but God can’t be beat. Don’t keep crying wolf when you know you don’t see one because when one actually shows up, you are as good as eaten because you won’t have anyone around to help you.