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.

Daily Devotional – 3/23/12 “Death is mandatory, living is optional!”

I’ve only experienced a few deaths in my lifetime and no matter how close to home death is it’s still a reminder that we all have to die from this life in order to live again with God. Now, I know that it sounds strange but this is the way God left it. See, we all know that death is the way to get to Heaven and to God but what we fail to realize is that living, here on earth is an option that we have to choose. Let me break this down to you. You get up every day with a fresh anointing that God has placed on your life, with new mercies and with health, strength and a right mind yet you choose to live today mean and depressed because things aren’t going the way you want them to go. You have the option to be happy or sad and you choose sad but why? If you choose to curl up on your couch for 3 days without being bothered by family and friends, that’s your choice but God has given you the option to live which is why he woke you up today. You can choose to be the meanest person in the world every day but God has given you the option to smile, that’s why he allowed those muscles to work in your face. You can choose to take your life, before it’s your time to go, but God has given you the option of living which is why he hasn’t sent the death angel to take you yet. Yea, death is a mandatory thing because in order to see God in Heaven you have to die from the fleshly body in order to be with him in your spiritual body but at this moment you’re living is the option that he has presented to you.

No one can make you live the life that is being given to you each time you open your eyes because it has to be your choice. Just like Baskin Robbins offers 31 different options of flavored ice cream, God gives you the option of living minute by minute and hour by hour everyday but it’s up to you to take it. You have to choose to live. You have to choose to have life. You have to choose whether to be this or be that. You choose to be a drug addict, an alcoholic, a whoremonger, an abuser or just plain unhappy. You choose because just like living, these are all options that you can either choose or not choose. Philippians 1:21-24 says, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live. Knowing this, I am convinced that I will remain alive so I can continue to help all of you grow and experience the joy of your faith.” So you see you do have the option to live and in choosing life, live it. Don’t keep being tied down in unhappy places because they drain the life out of you. Don’t keep being pushed into tight spaces because they suck the life out of you. Don’t keep walking into unsafe territories because then you’ll have to fight your way out and it can possibly snatch your life from you. Choose to live and live to choose. Choose life and let it be a life that is pleasing to God and to you.

When you die on this side you leave sickness and gain singing in the Heavenly choir. When you die on this side you leave pain from worldly mess and gain praise on golden streets that never end. When you die on this side you leave hurt from friends, hate from family and gain the Holy Spirit which never leaves you. Oh when you die on this side you leave tears, struggles, situations, circumstances, temptations, bills and mistakes but on the other side you gain a new life with rejoicing. See in living you get heartache, but dying you gain a never ending heartbeat. In living you get mess but dying you get the Messiah. In living you get pain but dying gives you never ending praise. In living you get sleepless nights but dying you gain rest. In living you get strife but dying gives you shouting. In living you get worldly stuff that can be taken but dying gives you a home that man’s hands didn’t touch. In living you go through hell but dying gives you Heaven. Revelation 21:1-4 says, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” See, when you get to Heaven all of the things down here won’t be a thought anywhere in your mind but that’s when it’s your time to go. That’s why you have to live! Don’t rush death because we all have a date set. Yea, life down here can get too hard and it seems like it’s getting too much to bear but you’re strong enough to endure it because God made you in his image and as long as you have him you have the strength to overcome.

So, don’t be afraid the live for Romans 14:8 says, “If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord,” and then be afraid to die for Psalm 23:4 says, “ Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” In your living, when your going gets tough and your obstacles seem to get bigger by the minute, keep living because God promised that all that he ordains he’ll also give you the means to maintain it. Even in your living when it seems like dying will be easier, keep trusting in God to give you all that you need. Even in your living when it seems like the world is against you, keep praying for your enemies because when the world turned against Jesus yet he still asked his father to forgive them. You do have the option to live and although you may suffer, don’t let you’re living be in vain. God has a purpose for your life which is why he gives it to you every morning. Choose to live and then live to the best of your ability. Yea, I know that the death of a loved one can hurt you to the bottom part of your soul but its mandatory however your living afterwards is optional. You have the option to keep on breathing, so do it. I know that the sudden death of a brother or sister makes you weak in the knees but you have the option to still stand because God will give you that strength. I know that you thought you’d have a few more years with your spouse because the doctor said the cancer was gone but you have the option to continue living after they are gone by keeping their legacy alive. Choose the option to live because you don’t have a choice in death.

Daily Devotional – 3/22/12 “God’s puzzle!”

Have you ever purchased a puzzle with a lot of pieces with the thought of putting it together? If the answer is yes, then you know in order to get it to look like the picture on the front of the box, you have to first dump all the pieces out, scatter them around and if you’re like me you put all of the edge pieces together in a pile, right? Well, this is only to make it easier on you when you start to fit the pieces together. Now, have you ever thought that is how your life looks to God? If Genesis 1:26 says, “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth,” then he knew how he wanted you to look (the picture on the box). Now after he has the image of how he wants you to look and in order for him to put you together as the final masterpiece he has to pour all the pieces out, scatter them around and move all of the edge pieces together in one pile in order for him to start his work. Yea, when everything starts to fall apart around you and you don’t know what to do or what direction to take, that’s simply God pouring out the pieces. When it seems like all hell is breaking loose in your home, that’s simply God pouring out the pieces. When it seems like you take 2 steps forward only to be pushed 4 steps back, that’s simply God pouring out the pieces. See, he has to shake up the stuff that has been going on in your life and the only way for him to do it he has to pour out the pieces. Then when it seems like things can’t get any worse but they do, that’s just God scattering the pieces. When it feels like you can’t take any more weight on your shoulders because you might fall, that’s just God scattering the pieces. When it seems like your knees are worn out from praying but nothing is getting better, that’s simply God scattering the pieces. See he has to look through all the pieces of this and that in order for him to see what has to be used, what has to be removed and to be sure there are no extra pieces of stuff hanging on that can potentially through him off when he’s putting you back together. Now, you’re wondering why you seem so all alone, where your family and friends are when you need them and if you’re in this thang by yourself; but that’s simply God putting all the end pieces together in a pile. See, the end pieces surround you in order to shield you from the attacks of the world, they put up a barrier against evil things and evil folk to hinder them from coming through so God has to make sure they will all be there when he needs them.

Now as you start to see a little light peeking through the darkness that’s simply God starting to put the pieces together. When it seems like you’re starting to breathe better because now your head is rising above the water, that’s simply God putting the pieces together. When you feel the weight starting to lift from your shoulders, it’s simply God putting the pieces together. I told you before that God is creating you in his image and he knows what he wants the final piece to look like so it doesn’t take him long to put the pieces back together. He just simply needed to remove a few extra pieces that were distorting his image of you. Those friends that are no longer there after the crap hit the fan, they were the extra pieces. When your spouse ran because the heat became more than they could bear, they were the extra pieces. When your job fired you because they couldn’t understand why you needed time off, they were the extra pieces. When your church home didn’t do it for any more so you had to find a new one, they were the extra pieces. All of the things that caused you to not look like God’s final masterpiece was thrown in that pile and guess what, you look better even greater without them.

Stop trying to add pieces to the image that God has created. 1 Timothy 4:4 says, “For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving.” Stop trying to be something that you know you’re not. If you know that you can’t handle more than one drink, stop at one instead of trying to hang with the “big girls” because they won’t be around when you get that DUI. If you know you don’t steal from department stores then don’t do it just to be with the in crowd because I can guarantee you, they’ll leave you holding the bag when security shows up. If you know you love your spouse and take your vows seriously, don’t cheat just because your friend is doing it and egging you on to meet the friend of the person they are cheating with because when it’s judgment day, you’ll have to give an account of your actions and not theirs. Stop trying to make those things that don’t belong fit into your life because they only make your image look bad. Baby, you’d better watch the company you keep because most times you’re guilty by association even when you aren’t doing anything. You are God’s masterpiece and he made you strong. He put you together on a firm foundation so that when worldly folk and things try to move you, you don’t lose any of your pieces. When you accepted God into your life, he glued you to him just like folk sometime glue puzzles to their foundation in order for them to be framed or for others to see the work that they’ve done. 2 Timothy 2:19 says, “But God’s truth stands firm like a foundation stone with this inscription: “The LORD knows those who are his,” and “All who belong to the LORD must turn away from evil.” Show all the work that God has put into creating you by loving, caring, sharing, giving, praying and staying in his word. Show others the masterpiece that God created when he worked on you by letting your light of God shine. Don’t allow folks to peel your pieces off by stealing your joy and don’t allow holes in your artwork by filling your heart with hate for folks who have hurt you. Be the work of art, the masterpiece that God created so that when he looks at you he says, “That’s my work and it is good!”

Daily Devotional – 3/21/12 “In God’s time!”

Somebody woke up this morning in a rush for God to send them a confirmation or an answer to their prayer. Somebody paced all night long crying out to God for him to come and to come now. Somebody worried all day yesterday about a situation that they supposedly turned over to God but took it back when he didn’t come fast enough. Well, I stopped by for a moment to let you know that everything works in God’s time and not yours. Yea, you know that you should have died a long time ago but God keeps sparing your life trying to give you time to get it together. You know that car wreck was supposed to kill you but instead God allowed you to walk away with just a few scrapes and bruises because he is trying to give you time to get it right. You know that bullet that went into your chest was supposed to kill you instantly but God turned that thang around so that it missed your main artery because he’s trying to give you time to forgive folks who hurt you. Baby, you’d better wake up and realize that God won’t keep sparing you when you keep not caring. You want God to show up as soon as you open your eyes from praying with the answer to your question, but it doesn’t work like that. Why, because God moves at his own pace and at his own time. When Mary and Martha called for Jesus to come heal their brother Lazarus, he tarried for 2 more days because he had to wait for his Father to give him the power that he needed in order to wake him from his sleep. So when he finally came Lazarus had been in the tomb for 4 days but Jesus simply prayed “Father, I thank you that you have heard Me. And I know that you always hear me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that you sent me,” (John 11:41-42) Even Jesus had to wait for God’s time.

So stop rushing God when he is trying to do his will. I know you are trying to see if you should take this job but if it is meant for you, they’ll wait. I know you need to decide if this car loan is the one for you, but it is meant for you, they’ll wait. Philippians 4:6 say “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” God has a specific reason and time for everything that he does. That’s why Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven.” See, if God showed up every time you snapped your fingers, you’d be too busy counting your blessings instead of thanking God for them. If God came to get you out of trouble as fast and you got in it, you’d never learn from your mistakes. Sometimes God has to allow us to wallow in our mess in order for us to learn the error of our ways because if he snatched us out of every bad situation right when they happened, how would you stop making that mistake? You know how you’ve had too much to drink but you still get behind the wheel, swerving while you driving and as soon as the police get behind you with their lights on you start praying to God expecting him to change your blood alcohol level before the cops get to your window. You get caught stealing and now you want God to make the shirt disappear from your bag before the security guards checks it when you know you shouldn’t have been stealing in the first place. No, God doesn’t work that way. He allows you to go through the consequences for your actions in order to learn from them.

Don’t you know that a baby will continue trying to touch the hot stove even after you’ve told them 4 times not too, until they touch it and get burned? Well, God is the parent telling you not to do certain things and even though he’s told you over and over, you do it anyway until you get burned and now you expect God to drop everything he’s doing to come and see about you. No ma’am, no sir, it doesn’t work that way! He told you not to rob and steal, yet you do and as soon as you get caught and go to jail, you become a jail house preacher when you could have been one outside the bars. God says don’t commit adultery but you do until that person’s spouse catches you and all the crap has hit the fan and now you’re at the altar crying your eyes out. God says don’t lie but you do until it catches up to you and now you’re trying to back paddle out of it by quoting scriptures. Child cut it out! God’s word says in Ecclesiastes 8:5-6, “Those who obey him will not be punished. Those who are wise will find a time and a way to do what is right, for there is a time and a way for everything, even when a person is in trouble.” If you’ve done wrong there will be a time to pay for your actions and although it may not come at the time the wrong is done, it will come. If you’ve been blamed for something that you haven’t done, the time will come for your wrong to be made right as well. That’s why Proverbs 12:21 says, “No harm comes to the godly, but the wicked have their fill of trouble.”

Stop rushing God and stop rushing time. If it’s meant for you to have a new job, car, house, spouse, baby or friends; they’ll come when the time is right. Haven’t you notice that things seems to fall into place when you least expect it? That’s because God is working on his time and not ours. If he worked on our schedule some of us would be worse off. You know this to be true when some of us will sleep the day away, some of us are never on time and then when we do show up we complaining, some never stay the entire time and then when you do you complain and some just don’t have a care in the world about nothing or nobody so they move when they say move. You know that your sister asked you last night to drop her off at work this morning at 8AM and although you agreed and charged gas money, you still didn’t show up to 8. What if God treated us the same way? You’d better stop taking God for granted because when you need him the most he won’t be there. Stop taking time for granted because when you need it most, it won’t be there and stop taking folk for granted because when you need them most they may not be there. God moves at his time because he knows what you need, when you need it, how you need and where you need it to be. Take him at his word and let him do his part, concentrate on yours!