Daily Devotional – 9/2/11 “You’re the problem”

When I walk pass you and smile, is it too much to ask for an acknowledgement?  You walk around in a funk because things aren’t going your way & then you say, “I got up on the wrong side of the bed!”  When the truth is, the bed is not the problem, it’s you! You get up on the same side of the bed & your feet hit the same floor every morning.  This doesn’t change.  You wake up with bad breath and an attitude and expect the world to join in. Chile, didn’t nobody tell you this world would be easy when God already promised trouble, in this life, before you were even born (Job 14:1). 

Your day goes bad because you allow it.  People make you mad because you allow it.  Your bills are past due because you allow it.  It is not because God hasn’t given you the necessary requirements to make your life better.  He woke you up, that’s a blessing! He allowed your mind to be right, that’s a blessing.  He gave you the ability to have a talent to get the job you got, that’s a blessing! But instead of thanking God for these things, we complain.  Please know, what you complain about someone else is praying about.

I won’t tell you that all things will be ok. But the bible states in Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”  According to God’s purpose! Not yours, not mine & not your family.  Be careful of the purpose you’re following because it might just be leading you to Hell!  You may be the problem right now but it can be easily solved.  Get out of your own way. Trust God & have faith!

Daily Devotional – 9/1/11 “WTF” (Where’s the Faith)

God says, “Why are you so fearful, oh ye of little faith?” (Matthew 8:26) When the door gets closed in your face, didn’t I give you hands to knock?  When folk talk about you, didn’t I give you knees to pray for them!  When you mess up, didn’t I give you a mind to think & learn from your mistakes? When your heartache seems to be too hard to bear, am I not a heart fixer? When folk speak death in your life, didn’t I give you a tongue that speaks life? (Proverbs 18:21)  When the car stops, didn’t I give you legs to walk?   When money is low, am I not your provider! When times are hard, won’t I be your way-maker?  When folk leave, am I not always there! When sickness comes, am I not a healer? When the job lays you off, don’t I always come through? When husband/wife doesn’t act right, don’t I wipe your tears?  When your gas light is on, don’t I get you home safe?  Then where is your faith? 

Matthew 17:20, God says, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you!”

Isn’t that enough? Stop stalling and step out on your faith. Surely if it only takes faith the size of a mustard seed to move your mountain, imagine what an immeasurable amount of faith will do for you? That job, car, house, business, etc., is yours!  But YOU must have faith! 

Daily Devotional – 8/31/11 “God doesn’t need help”

You ride in your car, smelling and looking good, hair done or a fresh-cut, smiling because you want the world to think you’re ok.  But at home you’re drinking tears for water.  Baby God has never told you to conform to this world (seek ye first the kingdom of God  … Matthew 6:33). What sense is it to have food & no appetite, a bed & no sleep, closet full of clothes with no desire to wear them! If the mess you’re in isn’t pleasing to God, then you aren’t pleasing to him. If you can’t praise him while you’re up, he won’t bless you when you’re down. Trust God and pray! But pray like it has already been answered.  Prayer without works is dead! Works without faith is failure.  If you’ve already counted yourself out, what’s the sense of wasting God’s time? There is no need for the both of you to be handling the same situation.  With God, two heads aren’t better than one.  God doesn’t need help from you.  He has his part under control.  What about you?

My Sister’s Keeper

I prayed for you this morning when I rose.  I prayed for the mother who paced the floor all night long.  I prayed for the father who has no job & worried how he will support his family.  I prayed for the daughter who is dealing with peer pressure from so-called friends.  I even prayed for the son who has anger issues.  I prayed for the sister whose grief is consuming her life and for the brother with the substance abuse problem. I prayed for you without calling your name because even though I don’t know the situation, I know a situation fixer.

Isn’t that what I should do? Isn’t that the way things are supposed to be?  Shouldn’t I be my Sister’s Keeper? Shouldn’t I comfort you when you need it? Shouldn’t I pick you up when you fall? Shouldn’t I be able to speak life into your circumstance? God has given me authority to do these things.  Proverbs 18:21 says Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

The bible states in Job 14: 1 that a man (this also means women) born of a woman is of a few days and full of trouble.  If you’ve already been promised trouble before you were even born, why add to it? If we, as Christian women & young women, would pray for one another instead of gossiping, bring each other up instead of tearing one another down, comfort instead of confronting, fast instead of fight, praise instead of partying, anoint instead of arguing, witness instead of worrying, testify instead of terrifying; imagine, just imagine how much better our lives would be.

Why should I be jealous of the clothes and shoes you wear when God says if I ask and it shall be given?  Why should I wish for your blessings when Gods says knock and the door will be opened for you?  See; don’t pray for my blessings because your legs may not be able to walk through the storm I did to get this blessing.  Your shoulders may not be able to carry the burdens mine have to get my car.  Your back may not be able to endure the backstabbing by friends mine have to get my house.  Your body may not be able to handle the sickness that mine has in order to get my testimony. Your heart may not be able to handle the heartache mine has in order to get my husband.  Your eyes might not be able to handle the amount of tears mine have shed in order to reap from my harvest.

We as women, Christian women have to be keepers of one another.   When you lean, I’ll be standing beside you to prop you up.  When you fall, I’ll be there to reach down and grab your hand to pick you up.  When you cry, I’ll offer my sleeve to wipe your tears. When you talk, I’ll offer my ears to listen. When you need a comforting word, I’ll offer my voice as vessel of God’s word. When you’re going through, I’ll be standing in front of you to offer my arms for a hug. And when you need me to just be there, I’ll do that too.  I’ll do all of these things because I am my sister’s keeper.