Daily Devotional – 11/26/11 “Sweep around your own front door”

I wonder if you feel or look better when you talk about me, but child I’m not worried because I am covered by the blood you see. 

I don’t have to try to fit in with the world to be all cool, because God promised in his word, that he’ll make my enemies my footstool. 

You do know what that is, a footstool, I mean? Oh, well it allows me to reach things higher than you and I don’t even have to lean. 

God has placed a shield around me to protect from folk like you, when you always gossip and lie, it seems that’s all you do. 

You’re always throwing rocks and then running to hide your face, but baby I suggest you get yourself together before it’s too late. 

Stop worrying about what I have sitting on my front porch or the leaves in my yard, because if you want something to fix, look at home, you won’t have to look far.

I don’t have to worry about the bones you have buried in your backyard because I have my own, the same way you don’t have to worry about what I reap, because if I reap it, it’ll be sown.

You don’t have to drag my name through the dirt in order to make yourself look good, because you’ll be blessed just like me if you do what you should. 

Stop digging ditches for me by scandalizing my name, because I have struggles and strife too; it’s hard playing the world’s game,

If you took as much time minding your business as you do mine, then you’d be able to do more God work and let your light so shine.

But instead you find fault in belittling your sister and brother, whom God says you should love, but you’ve allowed the devil to put his hands around your neck tighter than a glove.

Yea, you call yourself a Christian when it is convenient for you, but even the devil studied and he knows God’s word too.

So, don’t be fast to sweep my front or back door, when you got chaos, backbiting, and judging laying all over your floor. 

Clean up your own house sometimes and then invite me in, but don’t expect me to join in with you in your daily sin.

Yes, I make mistakes too because I’m not perfect but a work in progress; so I don’t need your messy self adding to my stress. 

So when you feel the need to peek through the hole in my fence to see my mistakes and faults, I hope you have your eyes closed when God starts throwing salt.

See, he is the only way that is able to make you pay for the things you try to do, so I am not worried about the things you try to put me through.

You can continue to talk, spread lies and drag my name through the dirt, because you won’t have a bearing on where I go when I leave this earth.

God has promised me an eternal home in paradise, one that he has built; so I’ll continue to let you be you and I’ll be free from guilt.

So clean your yard before you try to jump the fence into mine, because you may just trip coming over and then what will you find?

Sweep around your own front door before you try to sweep around mine, all the time may be taken cleaning yours, because there is no telling what you’ll find.

Daily Devotional – 11/25/11 “Black Friday”

Somebody woke up this morning in tears because they couldn’t afford any of the black Friday sales. You’ve been trying to figure out how you’re going to make ends meet the last few weeks and now that Christmas is coming up, you don’t know what to do. You just celebrated Thanksgiving with family and you ate more than you should have and yet you’re still down. You have a place to sleep, healthy kids, food to eat, TV to watch but yet you’re still down. You’re not upset because you got bad news from the doctor, your lights are off, car won’t work or death has knocked at your door but because you don’t have money to shop. Are you serious, really? You’d rather get up at 1am, get dressed to stand in a line that is wrapped around a building for an $8 toaster or blender when Wal-Mart will have 30 of them next week? You’re crying because you want to get this Xbox game for your son that he’s been asking for, but he is failing at school. You’re crying because you can’t afford the new cell phone your daughter wants but she won’t even clean up her room after asking 12 times. Chile, cut it out! You weren’t raised with none of the stuff that kids these days get and looked how you turned out. You never stood talking back and being disrespectful to your parents but you allow yours to do it and then you turn right around and reward them. No ma’am! No sir! This is foolishness. If you don’t have the money for it, then tell them no and if you can afford it and they are undeserving, tell them no. But instead you’re wrapped up like a mummy in clothes, trying to stay warm for a Black Friday sale.

If I stopped ten (10) people coming out of Wal-Mart this morning and asked them if they got what they came for, all of them would probably say no. So why are you rushing to spend money you don’t have anyway? You’re rushing to put yourself into debt that it’ll take you half of next year to get out off. You’re rushing to get a TV that the store only ordered fifteen (15) of and there is 100 people wanting the same one. I don’t know about most of you but Black Friday is just another Friday for me. I’m at work while the kids are at home probably still asleep. I don’t think standing in a check-out line for 2 hours is worth the sale price of any item and I’ve never had the desire to get pushed and shoved for a few dollars off anything. Because I know that if I “Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you your heart’s desires. (Psalm 37:4)”

It is simply amazing to me the lengths that folk will go to in order to get to an item on black Friday but come Sunday morning you couldn’t beat them out of bed for church. Yea, they’ll quickly spend a few hundred dollars in Target but complain about giving God 10%. But wasn’t God the one who blessed you with the job when you knew you didn’t meet all of the qualifications? Hasn’t he kept you from drowning in bills even though you haven’t worked in months? Hasn’t he given you all that you’ve asked for simply because you believe his word in Matthew 7:8 that says, “For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened?” Then why can’t God get some of the same time you put into Black Friday? You go to bed early so you won’t miss the sales but you complain about the time church starts. You spend the few extra dollars to get those shoes you want but complain when you have to put $2 for offering. You stand in line for 4 hours to get in the store and then 2 hours to get out the store but you roll your eyes when church service last a few minutes longer. You’re excited to visit 4 stores to get the sales but let the secretary announce a church outing and you’re the first one mumbling under your breath.

Doesn’t God deserve the same dedication you put into Black Friday? You’ll put in a vacation day for the sale but you wouldn’t dare miss work for Sunday worship. Haven’t you read Matthew 6:19 that say “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal?” Worldly possessions can be taken from you just as quickly as the breath from your body. Not all folk are holy and they sit back and wait for you to purchase all of the things they want so they can go in, once you’re gone, and get them. You are so busy rushing from store that you don’t even notice folks watching you. You’d better slow down and get your priorities straight. I’ve said this a few times before but I think it needs to be said again. Christmas isn’t about the gifts under the tree, the tree nor the decorations. We need to get back to the real meaning. Stop taking the Christ out of Christmas because he’ll be the one you’re calling on afterwards when the money is gone. I am not saying don’t spend the money you’ve worked hard for but if you know you can’t afford to then be realistic. Yea, I know that the bills will always be there even after you’re gone but MLGW won’t take excuses when they come to shut off your power. There are plenty of ways to give gifts without spending every dime in your pocket and if you honestly look around, there is probably not much your kids need anyway. Be smart this holiday season and get back to the real reason for it. Matthew 6:20 says “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” For the blessings and the joy that God has waiting for you can’t be taken away and you don’t have to wait until Black Friday to get it.

Daily Devotional – 11/24/11 “Stop complaining!”

There was once this man who always complained.  There was nothing that could please him and he always found fault in everybody but himself.  He complained about his job, family, house, car, gas prices, weather and anything that he could think of.  He woke up on Thanksgiving morning to a house filled with noise from family who came to visit and he complained.  He smelled the food that was being cooked and he complained.  He grumbled when the kids ran to him for a hug because he didn’t want to be bothered.  He didn’t see the blessing that was staring him in the face daily because he was too busy complaining.  He didn’t read or understand God’s word in Philippians 2:14 that say “Do everything without complaining or arguing.”  He didn’t want to spend time with his mom and dad who had flown in for the holidays or his sister and brother-in-law who had driven 10 hours.  He didn’t appreciate all of the work his wife had put in making sure the house was together and there was food in the refrigerator.  He constantly complained and his complaining was tiring to all those around.

On that night when he laid down to sleep he complained about the smell of the sheets, the lumpiness of the mattress and the feel of the pillow that he slept on every night.  When he closed his eyes, he was too stubborn to thank God for keeping him all day long but instead be pulled the cover over his head to go to sleep.  In the midst of his night, an angel appeared in his dreams because he couldn’t understand why this man was so harsh and ungrateful.  He had all of his family with him and they were healthy, he had food and an appetite to eat, he had strength and blessings that others prayed for daily but he still complained.  The angel just couldn’t understand.  He was told that when he woke the next morning, all of the things that he complained about would be gone but the angel didn’t think he would mind anyway since he didn’t want them anyway, right?  How could he want his blessings with the way he acts every day?  But he quickly dismissed this as simply a dream, grumbled, grabbed the covers and rolled back over. 

The next morning when he got up, he didn’t hear any noise, he didn’t smell breakfast cooking or the coffee brewing, he didn’t hear kids playing or the sounds of the TV playing, he didn’t hear anything.  When he came out of his bedroom and went downstairs the house was completely quiet as if no one lived there but him, it was like his previous life hadn’t existed.  There were no pictures of his wife and kids, his parents or his sister and her family, the house was in a mess and he didn’t understand.  Surely there had to be an explanation.  He got dressed but realized he had no place to go; he had food in the kitchen but no appetite, he had arms but no one to put them around and words to say but no one to say them too.  He thought about the dream he had, but scoffed at the idea that it was coming true, it just couldn’t be.  He picked up the phone but had no one to call.  Maybe they were really tired of him and his complaining; maybe the angel was right after all.  What had he done?  He sat at the kitchen table and saw a letter, he opened it and it read,

 “Dear Mr. Grumbling Complainer,

If you are reading this letter it means that your dream has come true.  You complained about your family, so they are no longer here.  You complained about your job, so you no longer have one.  You complained about the noise you hear, so you can no longer hear it.  You complained about your kids hugging you, so you no longer have their hands to feel.  This is what you asked for right?  Your complaining has caused you to lose all of the things that once meant a lot to you.  What happened to the once loving man who would do anything for this family?  What happened to the man who use to love the holidays, spending time with his family and being the one to carve the turkey before dinner.  Where has he gone?  What caused you to be so bitter? I can only pray that you’ll soon wake up to realize all that you’ve lost and come to your senses.  Everything that you’ve taken for granted can be given back to you, if you ask but it has to be what you want.  When you are ready, call me and I’ll be there to listen. 

 God”

He bawled the letter up, threw it in the floor and put his head in his hands and he wept.  He couldn’t believe the person he had turned into.  He couldn’t believe that he had taken his family and his life for granted.  He fell down on his knees and he wept.  He prayed to God to forgive him for his selfishness. He begged for one more chance to appreciate all that he had been blessed with.  He promised that if he could have all the things back that he had taken for granted, he wouldn’t ever overlook his blessings again.  He stayed on his knees for what seemed like forever.  He kept saying over and over, “Lord, please forgive me for my sins!”  He jumped from his sleep, shirt wet from sweating and breathing hard.  He immediately ran to the bedroom door and flung it opened and ran down the stairs.  Once he got downstairs, he saw his wife in the kitchen with his sister and mom, his brother-in-law and dad were in the living room watching TV and the kids were running and playing.  His daughter ran up to him for a hug and this time instead of complaining, he bent down and picked her up into one of the biggest hugs she’d ever had.  He went back upstairs and he kneeled down on the side of the bed and he prayed.  He prayed, thanked God for all his blessings and promised to never take his family for granted again.

How many times have you complained about the blessings you have?  How many things have you taken for granted that you are wishing for now?  When you want to complain about your feet think about the person who had to have theirs amputated.  When you want to complain about your hands think about the person who is suffering from arthritis and can’t even open a bottle.  When you want to complain about your parents think about the children in foster care who are wishing for a family.  When you want to complain about the food being served for dinner, think about those digging through garbage cans for their meal.  When you complain about having a stuffy nose, think about the folk in ICU and the children going through chemotherapy and radiation.  When you are complaining, read 1 Peter 4:9 which says, “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.” When you are being mean read Ephesians 4:29 which say, “Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.”  Be thankful for what you have and stop wishing for those things you don’t have.  You don’t know the struggles others had to endure to get the blessings they have.  Be appreciative of the blessings you have and watch God enlarge your territory.  Stop complaining and “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope (Romans 15:13).”

Daily Devotional – 11/23/11 “You have something to be thankful for!”

As the holiday fast approaches, I am sure there are a lot of people asking the question, “What do I have to be thankful for?”  Your spirit is low because it’s the first holiday without your mom or dad or you don’t have the money readily available to cook dinner for your family.  You may even be without a job and living in someone else’s house and you just can’t seem to get your head above water.  But I am here to tell you that even though you are going through, there is a blessing in your storm.

I know that it’s easy for me to tell you that the death of your loved one will get easy because I haven’t dealt with it but I believe in God’s word in 2nd Corinthians 4:17 that say “For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!”  Yea, not having momma around to cook her turkey and dressing this Thanksgiving is hard for some, but momma wouldn’t come back here if given the chance.  Because, see, all of her suffering, pain, heartache and circumstances came to an end the moment the angel kissed her to sleep.  I’m sure that she has instilled in you God’s word and she has prepared you for a time such as this because momma knew that in order for her to live again that she had to die.  For some the death was unexpected and they are still questioning God’s choice but who are we to question him when his word clearly states “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2).  When I look at granddaddy’s face and I see the suffering he has endured by being bedridden for the last few years, I sometimes wonder why God hasn’t ended his suffering, but I then realize that it’s not up to me. Maybe God still has some work for him to do from the bed that he lays in from day-to-day.  Who am I to speed up or slow down the day he chooses to pluck his flowers?  I know that it’s hard right now, but you have memories to share and recipes to cook this holiday season, so you still have something to be thankful for.

You may be drowning in a sea of bills and it seems like every time you pull yourself up that you get sucked back down, but I am here to tell you to just hold on.  You might not have the extra money you were hoping to buy that big turkey for dinner but you got your health, be thankful.  You might not have the extra money to get that honey baked ham that you wanted but you still got an appetite, be thankful.  You probably won’t make all the desserts that you normally do but all of your kids are home and healthy, be thankful.  Most of the time we have everything we need right in front of us, but we miss it looking for something else.  You know that every holiday you waste more food because folk now days don’t do leftovers but you still want to cook an overabundance of food to throw away.  You should be thanking God for giving you the sense this time to save instead of throwing away.  Nobody will think any less of you because you have 2 fewer cakes than you did last year.  All you have to do is try out a new recipe and they’ll never notice and for the ones that do, tell them to cook one and bring it.  Stop trying to act like folk will think any less of you because your funds are low because I’m sure theirs are too but they are just too proud to say.  Who cares what folk think of you, who are they?  If they had it all together then they should have hosted Thanksgiving at their house this year instead of coming to yours with their to-go plates already in a bag.  Everybody is going through some things and just because you are too, it doesn’t mean you have to look like it.  You have food on the table when some families go without all year-long, so you have something to be thankful for.

We have gotten away from being thankful during these holidays.  Now we rush through Thanksgiving in order to get to Black Friday when, if truth be told, you don’t have the money to spend any way.  We take the money for bills to go stand out in the cold at 2AM to catch a TV on sale when the store only ordered 10 to begin with.  We are pushing and shoving in a crowd of 100 people to get the best deals on stuff that we already have anyway.  We are too busy trying to get these ungrateful children everything they’ve asked for through the year and then come the Monday after Black Friday, you won’t even have gas money.  Chile, you need to wake up.  Christmas isn’t about the gifts under the tree, the tree nor the decorations.  We need to get back to the real meaning.  Start a new tradition with your family this year by staying up to watch movies, play some games, bake cookies and drink hot chocolate.  Buy a gift for a needy child or adult and give to the food bank whose shelves are empty.  Teach the children the real meaning of the holiday.  I can remember waking up on Christmas morning at grandma’s house to the smell of the turkey and ham that she cooked all night and breakfast on the stove.  She’d have the sweet potato pies cooling and her cakes already frosted, her cornbread would be in the oven for the dressing and the potato salad already in the refrigerator.  We would each have a shoe box with our name on it and inside it’ll have candy and fresh fruit that granddaddy bought from the market some days before.  The house would be filled with folk but it never seemed crowded because it was filled with love.  It wasn’t about how much was spent on the gifts and if somebody got more than me but it was about the real meaning of the season.  We’d usually go to early morning service at church so that we understood what Christmas was about before any gifts were opened. See, then we appreciated what we received and the food we ate; we had reasons to be thankful.

So, even when you don’t think you have a reason to be thankful, look around.  Go down to the Mid-South Food Bank and look at the empty shelves that have with no food and then go home and look in your refrigerator – you have something to be thankful for.  Go down to St. Jude and look at the children who are spending their holidays there, then go home and look upon the faces of your healthy kids – you have something to be thankful for.  Ride down the street in your car and look at the folks begging for change or those sleeping on the streets and then pull into your driveway, walk into your warm house, and flip a switch for power that comes on – you have something to be thankful for.  Go to the nursing homes and see some of the people who have no one to visit them but you’re complaining about your family – you have something to be thankful for.  Be thankful for what you have no matter how small or how big it is.  Somebody is praying to be in the shoes you’re in, to have the food you eat, the car you drive, the house you stay in and the family that you take for granted.  Don’t be too busy overlooking the blessings you already have wishing for those that you don’t because you might not be able to handle the storm it’ll take to get them.  Be thankful!

Daily Devotional – 11/22/11 “The pumper needs thanks too!”

There is another story that my uncle likes to tell.  The story goes, “There was once this famous organ player who traveled all around the world playing for sold out theaters and auditoriums.  Every time he would get on stage he would thank all those who’ve helped him along the way.  But each time he forgets the one person that is the most valuable to him but because he couldn’t see him all the time, he would occasionally forget him.  This was his pumper. Now the pumper was responsible for pumping the air into the organ that made the beautiful sound the organist created when he pressed on the keys.  One particular night on stage in front of a packed audience, the organist did his usual routine, but this time when he set down to press the keys, nothing came out.  He pressed again and still nothing.  Finally he looked up into the rafters of the theater and remembered the pumper.  He stood and thanked the pumper and gave him the recognition that he deserved because without the pumper he wouldn’t be able to do the job that he was so good at.  Once he acknowledged him, he was able to press on with the making of the beautiful music.”

Isn’t that something?  How many of us forget to give our pumper thanks every day?  Even though we all know that without the pumper pumping into us, we wouldn’t be able to make the sounds that comes out of us every time we pressed.  Yes, we press every time we walk, talk, laugh, cry, chew food, curse people out, gossip and backbite, etc.  Without the pumper how would we go on?  However, unlike the pumper in the story above, our pumper never gives up on us.  Even though we don’t thank him before every show, which is starting our day, he still shows up ready to work. 

See, the pumper wakes us up and give us breathe every morning, that’s pumping life into our bodies.  He gives us our right mind and activities of our limbs, that’s pumping air into our bodies.  He gives us the ability to work, go to school, care for a home and our families, that’s pumping gifts into our bodies.  He gives us the energy to withstand pressure, being talked about, lied on and being walked over, that’s pumping strength into our bodies.  He gives us a smile when we feel like crying and heals our broken hearts when folk walk away, that’s pumping joy into our bodies.  He gives us arms to hold us when mother is gone and knees to pray when the world is against us, that’s pumping comfort into our bodies.  He gives us a dance and a shout on our lips when the money is gone but bills are due, that’s pumping praise into our bodies.  Would you survive without your pumper?  Would you be the person you are today without your pumper?  Could you perform every show without the assistance of your pumper?

Some may say yes because they don’t believe in this pumper or have given up on him because he didn’t come when you needed him.  Some may even say they are better off without this said pumper because they are still living.  But don’t you know that the devil blesses just like God does?  But in order for him to bless you he still has to get permission from God.  If God created all things under the sun, don’t you think that means the devil too?  Yea, he started off being an angel in God’s camp until he got the big head, like some of us do, and wanted to run the entire show.  So, see the devil only does what God allows because we have been equipped to handle him.  Ephesians 6:13-17 says “Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

I know you are probably wondering why God would allow babies to die, why he took your mom, sister, brother or spouse, why he allowed you to lose your job when he knew you needed the money or why he allowed you to get cancer when there are other folk who live worst lives that should have been punished.  Baby, God isn’t punishing you when he allows you to go through things.  He is just simply preparing you to receive what he has for you.  How else will he know if you’re capable of handling a harder task if you can’t stand the small one you’re facing?  It’s just like being on a job, you have to start from the bottom before you can reach the top (you have to learn and work your way up).  Well, it’s the same thing in climbing God’s ladder.  How will you be able to climb and endure if you can’t stand the harsh conditions you have to go through to reach the ladder? A soldier isn’t just thrown on the front line of war without first going through basic training, which is a preparing you for what you’ll face.  You will not see everything that is right in front of you, that is for you, but that’s why you must have faith.  “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).” 

God isn’t punishing you simply because you are facing a rough patch right now.  In order to get to the testimony you have to first go through the test.  The same way a cancer patient can’t claim to be cancer free without going through the chemo or radiation.  Every time you go through a storm, it’s simply washing off the dirt that has been thrown on you from haters, it’s washing off the mud that covered you when folk was dragging your name from here to there, it’s washing off the blood from being stabbed in your back, it’s washing off all of the signs that folk have placed on you calling you this and that and it’s preparing you to enjoy the sun that’ll shine once the storm is over.  Don’t you realize that just because you can’t see other folk struggles it doesn’t mean they aren’t going through?  If I looked like the things I’m going through I’d be tore up, hair all over my head, shoes ragged, pants with holes in them and an overall mess.  Just because your account is in the negative, your cable might be off, you got a cut-off notice for your lights and your rent is late, you don’t have to look like it.  Deuteronomy 31:8 says “Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.”

Stop taking your pumper for granted because even though he doesn’t give up like man does, he needs to be acknowledged.  If every time I walked into your house and you didn’t acknowledge me, I’d begin to think that either you’re blind or you just don’t want me there.  If it is the latter of the two, I will eventually stop coming to your house.  God deserves our thanks and our praise.  Some of us aren’t worth the mercies that he sends new every morning but we still get them.  Some of us aren’t work the strength he places in our legs, arms, hands and feet; yet he does it still.  Some of us aren’t worth the sight in our eyes, the taste in our mouth and the knowledge in our brains, yet he continues to give it.  So, isn’t he worth a simple Thank You Lord?  I surely think so and if you don’t then you may want to read your bible more.  1 Thessalonians 5:18 say “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”  Ephesians 5:20 says “always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Just because you aren’t where you are supposed to be, don’t blame God.  He has given you all the necessary requirements to be all that you can be but he won’t show up to snatch your lazy butt out the bed.  James 2:17 says “So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.”  You’ve got a responsibility to put your blessings into action.  You wouldn’t keep putting water into a bucket with a hole, the same way God won’t keep putting gifts into a Christian with one because it eventually all seep out.  Use what God has given you in order for him to enlarge your territory. Be grateful and thankful for what you have and use them.  If you use all the dishwashing liquid, don’t you replace it?  Well God works the same way but instead of allowing you to use it all up, he replaces it before it’s gone but the next time he adds a little more.  You should be saying “Here I am Lord, use me!”