Daily Devotional – 12/24/11 “This Journey!”

On this day many, many years ago, I would imagine Mary and Joseph were making the long, tiring trip to Bethlehem with the anticipation of the arrival of their baby son, Jesus. As the pains begin to hit Mary, Joseph searched for a place for them to lay as she labored. With all the inns being full, they ended up in an animal stable without so much as a place for the baby to lay but see that didn’t stop Mary from bringing forth God’s only Son. Because it didn’t matter about the location or the surroundings that determined Jesus’ gift because he was destined for greatness. Its the same way with us on this Christian journey. See, it doesn’t matter about your location, whether you’re up or down and it doesn’t really matter about your circumstances because God doesn’t call the qualified but he qualifies those he call. He can take a drug addict, alcoholic, whoremonger, adulterer, liar, backbiter and sinner; clean them up, put them through the fire, bring them out shining and then place them in a pulpit on Sundays to deliver his word.

God isn’t worried about where you are as long as you follow him. He doesn’t worry about who you are as long as you trust him. He doesn’t worry about where you came from as long as you believe in him. Even on this journey and the obstacles I sometimes face, I wouldn’t take nothing for my journey now because it makes me who I am! This journey is mine and God made it just for me. Yea, I may have bad days but my good out weigh them. Yea, I may sometimes drink tears for water but my smiling days make the crying days bearable. Yea, I may have been lied on and talked about but that only adds pegs to my footstool that raises me above. Yea, I may have days with no money but God has never let me go to bed hungry. So see, your journey may have some bumps called haters to go over, so potholes called enemies to go around, some ice called lies to slide on and some dead-ends called mistakes that make you turn around but go on because it’s your journey!

See, God is in the renewing business and once you’ve been renewed, you’ll be refreshed and with refreshing comes restoration and with restoring comes a new shine that’ll make you look brand new. Then, all of the old things won’t matter because if you’re in Christ, you’re a new creature and all of the old things are passed away. It doesn’t matter that you were abused, because God can heal you. It doesn’t matter if you use to steal because God will forgive you. It doesn’t matter if you were raised in the projects because God will take the little that you got and turned it into a lot. It doesn’t matter about what folks say because God already has you’re future planned and not even the devil can change that. See, God doesn’t count the starters because he is only concerned about the finishers and it doesn’t matter if you’re last because with God in control, the last shall be first! God is that type of God and I’m glad to be in his number!

Daily Devotional – 12/23/11 “A dab of faith will do!”

While you are out getting your last minute gifts and things for dinner and entertaining, stop to help somebody.  I know that some of you might not have a lot so you are thinking how you can help, but a few dollars is a lot to somebody who is without.  I am reminded everyday looking at the news and reading Facebook that my life could be much harder than it is, but I am thankful that God is still in the blessing business.  See I could complain because I want more money than what I have, but somebody is standing on the street begging because they have none.  I could complain because I wanted to get more gifts but then I think about the many names that were on the Angel Tree because they really needed help.  I could complain about my home but what about the folks living under the overpasses or sleeping on the streets?  I could complain because I didn’t get to eat what I wanted for dinner last night, but somebody is digging through trash to get the scraps that someone threw away just to eat.  What do I have to complain about?  I could complain about family members but then I think about the families who are without loved ones for the first time this Holiday season.  I could complain about the pain in my body, but then I think about all that Jesus had to go through in order for us to be free and I realize, my complaining means I’m ungrateful.  God has given us all that we need, if we just have faith.  He didn’t say we needed a gallon jug of faith, but the bible said faith the size of a mustard seed is all you need.  Just imagine what a dab of faith could do for you?

The man at the pool of Bethesda was laid on his bed of affliction for 38 years (John 5:1-8), but we complain when we have a cold for 2 days.  The woman with an issue of blood toiled for 12 long years (Mark 5:25-34), but we complain when we hit our toe.  Blind Bartimaeus had no sight but he heard Jesus coming through Jericho (Mark 10:46-52) and he asked for healing and it was received, but we lay on our beds with sickness asking why God is punishing us.  Baby, God isn’t punishing you when sickness comes, but he is testing your faith.  See, the 3 people mentioned above were all healed, not because of the power Jesus had, but it was because of their faith.  Jesus said to all of them, “your faith has healed you.” Don’t believe me, read it for yourself.  When I watch my Uncle Larry anoint folks, who are going through pain, sickness, cancer, etc., with oil he always tells them that the oil has no power because the power is in their faith.  If you stand before your Pastor asking for him/her to pray over you and you don’t believe what you asking for, then you ask in vain.  The power of your healing and blessings are in your faith.  Faith, in the dictionary, is defined as confidence or trust in a person or thing but faith in the bible is defined as “the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see (Hebrews 11:1).” 

When we have faith, we know that no matter what we go through its only temporary but without faith we allow our struggles to overtake us.  When we have faith we see sickness as a temporary ailment but without faith we allow it to kill us.  When we have faith, we see the friends that walk off as God’s way of removing a stumbling block but without faith we see folks giving up on us.  When we have faith, when folk count us out we take it as a sign to work harder but without faith, we become what folk say we are.  2 Corinthians 5:7 says “for we walk by faith, not by sight.”  See, when you walk by faith, you continue to walk even after it looks like the road has ended.  Yea, you said I wouldn’t graduate high school but now I am a college graduate.  You said I wouldn’t amount too much after having a baby as a teenager, but now I am a successful career woman doing things on my own.  You said I’d always be a junkie, but God picked me up, washed me off and threw all my old sins away and made me brand new, now I only get a high from the Holy Ghost.  You said I’d never have anything because of who my momma & daddy were, but you forget who my Father was and now I’m your boss.

When it seems like giving up is your only option, look up.  When folks have knocked you down, get up.  When it seems like the weight of the world is on your shoulders, stand up.  When you’ve gotten down to the bottom of the barrel and it seems like there is nothing more, reach up.  2 Corinthians 4:16-18 says (The Message Bible) “So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.”  Isn’t that good news?  God is saying, you may see clouds now but keep looking because when the clouds break, the sun will shine.  Yea, I know you may have cancer and you’ve lost all your hair to the chemo, but it’s just shedding away the old in order to get the new.  I know you may be without a job but I am just preparing you for the blessing that is on the way.  I know that momma and daddy is gone, but I am just strengthening you for future battles.  So just hold on!  With faith comes fullness and when you’re full you’re filled with the Holy Ghost that allows you to fulfill all the things that God has destined for you.

Daily Devotional – 12/22/11 “What’s wrong with you?”

Have you ever looked at a person and although their physical appearance hasn’t changed, they don’t look the same?  You know friends and family members, that you’ve known forever, begin to talk and you start wondering who are they?  They look the same but they don’t act or sound like the person you once knew.  Kids start acting crazy in the streets and at school when you know you didn’t raise them that way.  Spouse comes home talking foolish and you are still trying to figure out what happened.  With the stress of the world today, especially financially, a lot of people are changing and don’t even realize it.  Killings, robbing, stealing and suicides are on the rise because folks can no longer provide for their families, so they take drastic measures to do so.  I know that whoever you are will never admit this, but there was a time when you thought about suicide.  You thought the world and your family would be better off without you, but baby, I am here to tell you that God has a purpose for your life and if he wanted you to leave this world, he wouldn’t allow it by your own hands because Ecclesiastes 7:17 says “Do not be overwicked, and do not be a fool–why die before your time?”     

Yea, I know that things are hitting you hard right now, but hold on to God’s words for Proverbs 10:27 say “The fear of the LORD adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short.”  I am a believer that God will never leave nor forsake us.  When I look at my grandmother and I think about all the things they endured growing up and how they survived with raising 5+ children, I can appreciate all the things that I go through now.  See, when you had less, you had fewer problems but the more you add the more problems comes along.  It’s just like you having 2 books in your arms, you are able to walk upright just fine without pain in your back, but add about 5 more books and you add more weight and now your back begins to hurt and your knees start shaking and you begin to wobble when you walk.  See, your shoulders are only capable of handling the weight that your legs can support.  If you know that you can only lift 25lbs, then why are you trying to show off and lift 50?  Trying to prove something to folk will cause your legs and back to give out.  You go and get this big, expensive house and now you’re working so many hours to pay for it that you barely get to see it or enjoy it.  Now, you are stressed out, got aches in your body and tossing and turning in your sleep because you are trying to hold on to something you know you can’t afford.  If you spend all of your time working to save, when will you enjoy it? There isn’t a thing wrong with saying you made a mistake and then correcting it.  The problem is making a mistake and then acting like you didn’t because it’ll soon catch up with you.  You know like the repo man, foreclosure, credit card debt and/or bankruptcy.   Matthew 6:19-20 says “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal, But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” 

I am not saying that there is anything wrong with enjoying what your money can buy but if you know you can’t afford a $40 shirt then don’t go get it.  Stop trying to keep up with the Joneses because they are struggling too, they just do a great job at hiding it well.  You can look just as good in the $7 shirt you got from Wal-Mart, if you dress it up nicely.  No one has to know how much you spent on the clothes and shoes you wear and if your friends would be honest, they don’t have it all together either.  You are trying to out-do one of your co-workers who could care less about the cost of a pair of jeans but because she dresses like she got money in the bank, you go broke trying to keep up.  Trying to impress folk will have you staying at a homeless shelter.  I know that you don’t want the kids to know that you are struggling and they don’t have too if you keep them out of grown folk business.  So what if you can’t afford to get them all the things on their Christmas list, most of the stuff they don’t need anyway.  If you weren’t so busy running to 3 different fast food restaurants because each of the kids wants something different to eat, you’d realize that in this city alone 1 in 4 children go to bed hungry every night? I can remember growing up in momma’s house and if you didn’t eat what was fixed, you went to be hungry.  Now, we give the kids choices like they work every day and we have to wonder why we are robbing Peter to pay Paul.    

What is wrong with you?  Stop spending every dime you got trying to please folk because it’s not about the clothes and shoes you wear, the car you drive or the house you stay in that will get you to Heaven but it’s about what’s in your heart.  Jeremiah 17:10 says “But I, the LORD, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.”  So stop allowing earthly wants to stress you out and change you into a person that no one wants to be around.  If you constantly complain about everything, you’ll eventually be all by yourself because who wants to listen to a grown person whine?  Stop trying to act like you got it all together in front of friends because if the truth be told, they are having it just as bad but they, too, are afraid to say it.  If you don’t have the green then you don’t have the means, so stop acting like it.  Yea, I know you want steak for dinner but you got a ground beef budget, so eat it because it’s all the same beef!

Daily Devotional – 12/21/11 “This joy!”

I’ve come to realize, in my adult life, that we control how our day starts and finishes.  We decide if it will be a good day or a bad day, by the way we allow folks to change our mood.  Now, I am not talking about the things that can happen, unexpectedly, that can cause a shift in our attitude but I am referring to folks and the things they may do or say.  It’s easy to blame the bed when we say, “I got up on the wrong side of the bed,” because our attitude makes us unapproachable.  But, like I’ve said times before, it isn’t the bed’s fault because for the most part you get up on the same side every morning because you’ve grown accustom to sleeping on just that side.  So, in actuality, it’s all you.  Just because you didn’t sleep well on last night because your spouse was snoring, doesn’t mean you come into work making others miserable.  Just because you had to work a little late and now you’re rushing with a case of road rage, doesn’t mean you should come home hollering at the kids.  You’ve got to decide that no matter what happens you can’t let folks steal your joy.  Why not, you ask?  Because they world didn’t give it to you and the bible teaches us that the joy of the Lord is our strength and once that joy is gone, we become weak vessels.  Once you’ve become weak you’ve opened yourself up for more attacks by the enemies, but this time they are easy because your guard is down so it won’t take much to break you. 

Romans 15:13 says “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Hope is defined as to wish for something with expectation of its fulfillment. Now, we all know what overflow means, right?  If not, think about leaving the water on in a sink that has a stopper in it.  Eventually, the sink will overflow with water and it’ll begin leaking onto the floor.  So, if you fill yourself with the Joy of the Lord, then you should be overflowing with expectancy for great things. Let me repeat this, because somebody missed it.  If you fill yourself with the Joy of the Lord, then you should be overflowing with expectancy for great things. Yea, I know that folks said you probably wouldn’t amount too much, but your expectancy level should be so high that even the devil in hell can’t reach it, so that when they see you now successful and living all you have to do is nod your head and leave them in disbelief. See, no matter what you deal with and no matter what the devil throws at you, if are you filled with the Joy that the Lord, it might shake you but it surely won’t break you.  Do you remember the game, at the fair, that you had to throw a ball at to knock down the pins but each time you did, they would rock over but then stand back up?  Well, if you are filled to your capacity with the Joy of the Lord, you’ll be the same way each time life throws you a curve ball.  Yea, you may bend, wobble, tilt to the side and may even fall; but you get back up because 2 Corinthians 4:9 says “We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.”

I know that you’ve been crying because your “boo” left, but baby that just means God has something greater in store for you and if he or she left, then they weren’t the one anyway. Proverbs 10:28 says “The hope of the righteous brings joy, but the expectation of the wicked will perish.”  Again, the word says the hope of the righteous, which says the expectancy of God’s people brings joy.  If you expect love, then you receive love.  If you expect trust then you get trust.  If you expect patience, then you get patience.  If you are single and dating and you’ve already made your list of expectations in what you’re looking for, then usually you set out to find just that but if you have no expectations, you’ll fall for the first person that comes your way.  See, if you expect more then you won’t settle for less.  When you plant a seed, you expect it to grow and when God plants a seed of life into you, he expects it to grow.  Sometimes it takes more nourishment, food, water, sun and weeding for some more than others, but that doesn’t change God’s expectancy of us.  Jeremiah 1:5 says “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”  God has already destined us for great things before we were even born, so he expects a lot from us.  I know that you don’t always feel like going when folk need help, but go on.  I know that you are down to your last $20 and somebody just called asking for $10, but give it.  Hebrews 13:16 says “And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God.”  When we help others for the right reasons, it allows us to be blessed.  If you give or help because you want recognition from folk, you are doing it for the wrong reasons.  But when you help and give with a cheerful heart because God gave it to you, then you open yourself up to be blessed more abundantly for it states in Luke 6:38, “Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”  If you give me a teaspoon full of love, you can’t expect a tablespoon back.  You get back what you give.  When you see somebody begging on the street, you are supposed to help no matter what they are using the money for or if they actually need it because if they choose to take from others, for the wrong reason, then they will have the same amount taken from them.  If you don’t believe me, read the above scripture again.  Proverbs 19:17 says “If you help the poor, you are lending to the LORD–and he will repay you!”  It didn’t say help, when they look like they really need it and it surely doesn’t say help them when it’s convenient for you but it says if you help.

When you decide to be joyful because the Lord has been good to you, then you become stronger and in your strength you can stand, fight and conquer your enemies when they rise against you.  When you decide to be joyful because the Lord keeps making a way for you, then you are renewed with a greater reward.  When you decide to be joyful just because you are a child of the King, then you allow yourself to smile when you should be crying, walk when you should be crawling, live when you should be dead, give when you should be broke, loving when you should be hating and helping when you should be hindering.  When you fill yourself with the Joy of the Lord, you won’t sweat the small stuff because they won’t matter.  The Joy of the Lord makes you strong enough to handle battle yet humble enough to win without bragging.

Daily Devotional – 12/20/11 “You have work to do!”

As a gardener, do you ever throw seeds into the ground and then do nothing and expect them to grow?  I would assume no because without making sure the hole is deep enough, moist enough and has the right amount of light, etc., the seed probably wouldn’t grow, right?  Well, it’s the same way with prayer.  Haven’t you heard the scripture “Faith without works is dead?”  James 2:14 says “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?”  I am here to tell you that faith WITHOUT works is surely dead.  If you don’t believe me, then go to your daily instruction book, that’s the bible, and read.  When God healed the blind man, he told him in John 9:7 “and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam”. So he went away and washed, and came back seeing.”  See, the man had faith that God could heal him but if he never went to wash his own eyes, with his own hands (work) he wouldn’t have his sight.  What about the man that was laying on his bed of affliction, for 38 years, outside of the pool of Bethesda?  Jesus asked him if he wanted to get well and then told him in John 5:8 “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”  If the man didn’t pick up his own mat with his own hands (work), then he would have still been afflicted but because he did work, his body was healed.  Just like this man, God is speaking to somebody right now about something that is afflicting them and he is saying pick up your mat and walk, but you’re still laying there.  You know that you should have been gone from whatever it is that is causing you pain but you’re still laying on your mat.  You know that you should have left that cheating/abusive spouse years ago but you’re still laying on your mat.  If you’re still putting up the deed to your house for a child that keeps going back to jail and never learns his/her lesson, you’re still laying on your mat.  If you’re still gossiping with that same friend who always tells your business and leaves you crying and hurt, you’re still laying on your mat.  Baby, God is telling you to pick up your mat and walk, so what are you waiting on?  If it’s fear, then that means your communication to God is broken because he says in Matthew 8:26 “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Is it because you’re scared of falling? God says in Proverbs 24:16, “for though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again.”  Is it because you’re afraid that you’ll be alone?  Well God promised in Hebrews 13:5 “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

So many times we pray, whether in our car, at home kneeled beside the bed, in our prayer closet, lying in bed or on the couch, because it doesn’t matter where you pray just as long as you do; but once we pray we think that our work is done and God is to do the rest.  But that’s not the case.  Praying to God is asking him for something that you may need or confirmation for a change that you want to make, but it’s not the work.  Faith is the belief that it is already done but working for it is completing the job.  See, praying is like asking your parent for permission to go out with friends. Faith is asking like she has already said yes because you’ve already told your friends you can go but following the rules and coming home on time is completing the job.  You have to put something in if you expect to get something out.  There isn’t much sense in going to the ATM to withdraw money if you know you haven’t put anything in the account.  Well, it doesn’t make much sense to keep expecting a withdrawal from God’s bank account when you never deposit anything.  If you have an illness in your body, how can you expect a healing if you haven’t asked for one?  If you’re tired and need rest, how can you expect God to send it if you never ask?  If you are wondering if the guy or girl you’re dating is the one, how can you expect God to send you confirmation if you never ask?  Matthew 7:7 says “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”  The bible doesn’t say wait.  So why are you waiting?

There is a song by Leandria Johnson called I shall leap into my destiny (http://youtu.be/9w3rNPWi7DE). The lyrics say “Taste and see that the Lord is good and his mercy endureth forever. Don’t give up; your blessing is around the corner. Just remember, he wants you to have everlasting life.  I shall leap, leap into my destiny.”  The song goes on to say, “I will get everything God has for me.  Lord, no matter what I’ve been through, I shall leap into my destiny.”   Jeremiah 29:11 says “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  If this is what God has declared, then why are you wobbling at the first sign of defeat?  Sometimes it’s not the devil that is blocking our blessings but it is us by speaking death over them before they even happen.  If you don’t have the confidence in yourself, then why would somebody else.  It’s like me sitting in your chair to get my hair cut, but you say I don’t know if I can but if you want me too I will.  Chile, no!  If you don’t have faith in yourself, then how can I?  You have to stop being afraid to work for the things that you’ve prayed to God for.  If you asked God for a new car and he got you approved even after most of the banks said no, then you have to work to pay for it.  You can’t tell the finance company that God got it covered because it’ll be repossessed just as quickly as you signed for it.  If you asked God for a spouse, then you have to work at the marriage in order for it to grow.  You can’t just sign a marriage license and then you live your life and your spouse lives theirs because you both have to be on one accord, if you want it to last.  That’s called work. 

See, when God anoints you, even the devil in hell can’t take it away.  When folks talk about you, God will handle them.  When he says in 1 Chronicles 16:22 “Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm,” he wasn’t just talking about Pastors, Ministers, Bishops, Evangelists and etc., but he was talking about you too, if you’ve been anointed.  Anoint means to choose by or as if by divine election.  So, if God has chosen you, then that makes you anointed and the scripture is talking about you.  So let folks talk about you because the more they talk, the higher God raises you for them to see.  The more they hate, the more you pray.  If God uses your enemies as your footstool and if a footstool is used to elevate you to be able to reach things that are not within arm’s length, then you should welcome your enemies.  The more enemies you have, the higher your footstool.  Now, this doesn’t mean when you step on this footstool, you become so Heavenly bound that you’re no Earthly good because you can still fall, it just means you have a longer way down.  You have to accept what God has given you and with acceptance come appointment and with God’s appointing he sends anointing and with God’s anointing you’re available for the destiny that he has for you.