Daily Devotional – 11/1/11 “And you call yourself a parent!”

In the bible, Psalm 127:3, says “Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him.”  Now, I know that some were unexpected, unplanned and came at the most inopportune time, but you had to know that having sex could cause pregnancy right?  Whether you used protection, the only 100% way to avoid this is abstaining.  For some, the pregnancies(y) were planned and others a trap set to keep a man.  However, your child (ren) came about, they are here and God blessed YOU with him, her or them.

So why do you treat them so bad, ignore them, mistreat them, throw them away and give up on them?  This is not for the parent(s) that will go to the ends of the earth for their child, willing & able to do all they can for their child (even when they do wrong) or punish them when they need it.  But this is for the deadbeat moms or dads who actually calls themselves parents but never acts like it.  How can you expect your 16-year-old daughter to go to school, take care of younger siblings, cook and clean and then work?  Then when she gets a job, you expect her to give you her entire check when she has to work because you told her that you weren’t taking care of her anymore.  Or, you’ve been drawing social security because her dad died and you haven’t once given it to her or taken care of her the way that you should have but as soon as she becomes 18 and starts drawing the check herself, you want half or all and then gets mad and put her out! Chile, stop it! You should be ashamed of yourself.  You think that you’re being blessed by hurting a blessing that God has given you?  No, ma’am, God doesn’t work like that.  1st Timothy 5:8 says “But those who won’t care for their relatives, especially those in their own household, have denied the true faith. Such people are worse than unbelievers.” And you have to wonder why your blessings and prayers are hindered. 

We wonder why young women in this day & time are so reckless and not able to maintain a job or home, when they haven’t been taught.  We expect them to cook dinner but never take the time to show them how.  We expect them to clean a bathroom or kitchen spotless, make a bed or handle household business; but never take the time to show them how.  We expect them to be good wives and mothers, but we never show them how to be that.  Then we sit back and judge them so harshly when the bible states in Titus 2:3-4, “Likewise, older women are to show their reverence for God by their behavior. They are not to be gossips or addicted to alcohol, but to be examples of goodness. That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children.”  How can we expect them to be faithful to one man, when you have them running in and out of your door?  How can we expect them to take care of their bodies, when you rarely wash yours?  How can we expect them to save themselves for marriage when you’re telling them they were born with a money-maker?  Girl, sit down somewhere and raise your daughter to be a women after God’s heart, a Proverbs 31 woman!

We wonder why young men are careless and always talking down to a young lady when they haven’t been taught how to be respectful?  It doesn’t matter that a father or male figure wasn’t around, because mom can do just as well.  You expect him to be a man, when you constantly tell him he won’t be nothing like his no-good daddy.  You expect him to be a great husband but you’ve never taught him how to be a man of his household because you’ve never taught him how to care for himself, wash his own clothes or balance a checkbook.  You tell him that he needs to fend for himself and then wonder why he is out robbing at 14.  You don’t tell him about the importance of school and then wonder why he drops out at 16.  You don’t teach him about the importance of waiting to have sex or the safe way to do it and then cry when he has a STD or 6 babies by the age of 18.  Be a momma!  Be a dad!  Stop acting like you’re a teenager when you’re in your 30s or older.  Stop club hopping every weekend, drinking and smoking like its ok.  Teach your children how to be productive young men and young women. 

Deuteronomy 6:6-9 says, “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads, Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”  Didn’t grandma raise you right on the word of God?  Wasn’t momma there to raise you better than the way you raise your children?  Why are you so quick to throw in the towel when your child makes mistakes but you’re quick to raise someone else’s child?  Kids, young & old, will make mistakes because no one is perfect but God.  Haven’t you realized by now that once you’re down and old, these same children you’re walking over will be responsible for you?  Don’t be too quick to give up on them because they may just return the favor and then you’ll be sitting in a nursing home crying because no one will visit you. 

Proverbs 22:6, “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.”  Even if they do stray, if you build a solid foundation from the beginning, they’ll come back.  It’s like a house that is blown away in a tornado.  Usually the only thing left is the foundation which allows you to rebuild.  It is the same way with children.  Start off with a strong foundation of Christ and his commandments and if they ever leave, they will have something to return to and to rebuild on.  I know that times get hard and sometimes you feel like giving up, but someone cared for you when you needed it.  You can’t be mad or sad when they are consumed by the streets if that’s the only choice you’ve given them.  Stop giving up so easily on your child.  Sometimes you have to take your hands off but that’s only when you have placed them in God’s hands.

Daily Devotional – 10/31/11 “What’s in your medicine cabinet?”

Talking to my grams the other day she told me about the ways things where when she raised her children.  She talked about the difference between sickness & medicine today than back then.  How kids were rarely sick because they didn’t count on Walgreens and CVS pharmacies but on the same stuff they grew up on.  You know stuff like castor oil for colds, sweet oil for ear aches, warm tea and calamine lotion for chicken pox.  When kids were sick, they were at home and if you had a baby you stayed in for 6 weeks.  See, grandmas and mommas then had faith that God was the only healer they need.  They trusted his word that states “For nothing will be impossible with God.” (Like 1:37)  They didn’t have the medical bills, copays, prescriptions and all these surgeries that we suffer with today.     

Now, we got a pharmacy and doctor’s office on almost every corner.  For headaches we take Goody’s, Excedrin and BC’s when God says, I’ll be all you need.  For arthritis in the knees, we got bengay and Advil when God says, use your knees to pray and I’ll send relief.  For upset stomachs we take Pepto Bismol, Colonoscopies and scopes down our throats when God says have the faith the size of a mustard seed and I’ll send relief.  We complain about our shoes, feet hurting and corns but we won’t walk for God.  We complain about carpal tunnel in our arms and hands, but won’t wave them to give God praise.  We take vitamins for strength when Exodus 15:2 says, “The LORD is my strength and my song.”  We cry over a broken heart when Psalm 73:26 says “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”  When doctor says disease, we give up but God’s says give it to me!  Doctor says you got 2 weeks to live but God says “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.”

Why do we depend on anything other than God’s word?  Now, I’m not saying to not trust the doctors because God has given them (well some) a gift as well.  What I am saying is, trust God first and then what you hear or go through will be that much easier.  If you’ve already decided that you’re dying then all you hear from the doctor’s mouth is a death sentence.  But, oh, if you go in knowing that you shall live and not die, it doesn’t matter what diagnosis or grim news the doctors deliver because God got it all worked out.  Yea, the chemo, radiation, surgery, knee replacements, arthritis, high blood pressure, diabetes and heart attack or stroke may have a hold on you now but chile, God won’t let it break you.  Psalms 46:1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”  Ain’t that good news and isn’t that enough?  You might be sick and your body is weak and aching with pain, but hold on.   You might be ready to throw in the towel, but hold on.  You may be on your bed of affliction but God can raise you up.   

Getting over diseases – That’s God! God is able and he won’t bring you to anything he won’t give you what you need to get over it! Trust God! Believe God! Praise God!  

               

Daily Devotional – 10/30/11 “What’s the verdict?”

Prosecutor: The Devil
Defendant: Saint Christian
Judge: God
Charges: accused of lying, backbiting, judging others, digging ditches for folk, talking about folk, playing church and robbing God.

Opening statements –
Prosecutor– Well you’re honor we are here today because the defendant has been accused of the charges that have been read. I will offer evidence to back up this claim that Saint Christian hasn’t been what he claims to be. He says he is a Christian but I will call witnesses who have firsthand knowledge of the worldly behavior Saint shows outside of church. I’ve pulled his record and you will see for yourself that he’s guilty and wasting this courts time. You will see without a doubt that this is an open and shut case and he shall be found guilty and placed into my custody. He’s already half in the world anyway so cast him out and I’ll have a place for him.

Defendant: Yes, you’re honor I haven’t always done what I’m supposed to do and I sometimes go where I shouldn’t go. I know I’ve made a commitment to leave the world, I don’t study my bible like I should, I don’t go to bible study & Sunday school and I sometimes backslide when I shouldn’t but if you would give me one more chance, I’ll change. I know that I sometimes wish bad on my brothers and sisters, I don’t pray for folk when they ask, I dig ditches for others and that I hate when I should love and I know that you’ve heard this all before but.. But you’re honor, please you’re honor, I ….

The prosecution laughs at the idea of him changing. He begins to enter into evidence pictures of him clubbing on Saturday night with a drink in his hand. He has witnesses present and statements from them so called friends, to testify that he is neither trustworthy nor accountable. He offers into evidence his lack of praise during worship service, the texting that he does while Pastor is preaching and the eye rolling at Sis. Ruth because you don’t like the dress she is wearing. Yes, he knows that Saint Christian is guilty and he ask the judge to say it! He already has his uniform ready and space available in his camp. He shouts, “Judge, I rest my case!”

Saint, again, pleads his case. He tells the judge that even though he is out on Saturday night and then comes dragging into church, he still comes. He tells the judge that he was going to pay tithes but seen this & that in the store that he just had to have and decided he’d pay them later. He knows that he can’t serve two masters and need to choose what side he is on but he thought he would have more time to get it together. He didn’t realize that time was almost up. He says that he doesn’t have any witnesses to his character and evidence of the good he sometimes do but he is willing to change. He says “Judge, please..!”

The judge begins to deliver his ruling and starts by saying – “You’ve both presented a good case so far and I’ve heard enough. Mr. Prosecutor, I know that you’ve come to condemn this person because of their wrongdoing but I can’t allow you too. See, in my word I say that a just man may fall 7 times but he can get back up. Doesn’t Bro./Sis. Christian deserves the same? Didn’t I forgive the woman at the well who was committing adultery? Didn’t I protect the 3 Hebrew boys who were thrown into the fire? Didn’t I heal the woman who had a issue of blood, raise folk from the dead, give sight to the blind, deliver a multitude from the hands of their attacker, part the red sea in the mist of adversity, heal bodies and protect Daniel while he was in the lions den? If I can do all these things, surely I can hear and deliver the plight of Saint Christian!

Saint Christian, please rise for your verdict. Do you have anything else to offer this court? Saint Christian slowly rises and with tears streaming down his face he begins to speak but before he can, the judge cuts him off to ask; Bro/Sis Christian, are you willing to walk for me, will you go even if you don’t feel like going and if you have to go by yourself? Will you be a vessel of my word and will you be willing to witness to those in need? Will you repent when you fall because there will be days that you do? When you get knocked down, will you get up instead of giving up? Will you believe in me and my word? Will you weather the storms that’ll come in your life and will you praise me through it? Will you stop playing church before it is too late? Will you sacrifice your life for me? Now, I need you to think before you answer because this is a lifelong commitment.

Saint Christian shouts “Yes God! I’m willing and able to stand in your army and if you give me another chance I’ll fight for you until I die!”

The prosecutor hollers, “It’s a lie and you can’t believe what he says! You must find him guilty and hand him over to me!”

God says, “Saint Christian, your sins have been forgiven because I’ve already paid the price. If you’re willing to be mine, then I find you Not Guilty! If you praise me and seek me and honor my commandments, I find you not guilty and you are free to go!”

The prosecutor shouts as he’s leaving, he’ll be back before the court so I’m not worried!

So, what’s the verdict in your life? Will God find you not guilty? Are you willing to be a soldier and run on? Can you be trusted? Can God count on you? I pray that you decide before court adjourns.

Daily Devotional – 10/28/11 “Why are you mad?”

 You woke up this morning with a chip on your shoulder bigger than Texas and then you say, “I woke up on the wrong side of the bed.”  But the real truth is, it’s not the side of the bed that is the problem but it’s you.  See, you get up on the same side of the bed every day because it’s the side you always sleep on.  Stop blaming the bed for the frown on your face and the attitude in your voice because it didn’t cause it. 

You’re mad because your baby’s daddy is a deadbeat but wasn’t he trifling when you laid down with him?  You had to know there was a chance you could make a baby when you weren’t using protection, right?  If he was a horrible boyfriend, then chances are he will be a horrible father.  If you couldn’t count on him to come and change a flat tire when you were stranded then you should know that the chances of getting those pampers he promised are slim to none.  So why are you mad?  You had to have seen all of the signs before you bought a baby in this world.  Now you want to run to court to put him on child support when he has never worked in the eight years you all have been dating.  You want him to support the child but you’ve been supporting him the whole time.  Chile, stop it!  You’ve got to take responsibilities for the choices that you’ve made.  Stop hating him and wishing bad on his life because ultimately you are to blame and it’s only hindering your praise.  He has probably gone on to make other babies and more problems so why are you still allowing him to ruin you?  Let it go and learn from the mistakes that you made and move on.  God has given you a blessing in the baby or babies whose face you look upon every day.  Stop making their lives miserable by constantly talking about their no good daddy.  Everybody around you knows because you keep saying it.  Love them unconditionally and place your heart in God so that the next man than comes along goes through God to get it and then you’re know they are daddy and husband material.

You’re mad because your sister, brother, mom, dad or uncle wouldn’t let you borrow the money you asked for; when actually it is not borrowing because you probably don’t have it to give back so it’s giving.  Have you ever called to ask them how they are instead of always begging?  Maybe they are having a bad day or really don’t have it to give.  But you always think they got it because of the way they dress or carry themselves, so now you leave pissed off and telling everybody.  Don’t you know that your mouth is blocking a lot of the blessings that God has for you?  You’re constantly talking about everybody when they don’t always give you what you want, but your attitude is different when your needs are being met.  But aren’t you capable of working and providing for yourself?  You’re mad because folk won’t take from their household to fill your needs or help you pay your bills when you should be doing it yourself.  Why are you mad?  Get up and change your circumstances.  If you don’t have a car, get a bus route and a few dollars and go job hunting.  There are plenty of places that are offering and willing to help but they won’t track you down to give it to you, get up!  Stop with the woe is me attitude because you are not the only person with problems and it isn’t your family or friends responsibility to provide for you and your house full of children.  Get up off your butt and do something!

You’re still mad at daddy because he wasn’t there for you growing up and you are now over 30.  Get over it! Daddy is the one that has missed out on your life.  What have you missed?  Didn’t mom still provide for you, wipe your nose when you were sick, attend school functions when she could, raise you with morals and character?  Daddy is the one that has to answer to God on being an absentee father so why are you trying to condemn him too?  Let go of the anger and resentment that you have in your heart for him because it’s blocking your path to God.  Your dad has moved on and has a new family and may even be a Christian in the church but God still has the final say in his life so why are you mad?  Let it go!  Having hate and malice in your heart is stopping your prayers and praise from reaching God and in this day and time, you need all the blessings you can get.  Stop allowing man to rob you of what God has for you by fighting battles you can’t win.  Just because you are angry and mad won’t change the past and it surely won’t change your daddy.  Let it go baby and move on because God has blessings and work for you to do but he can’t reach you with all this other stuff built around you.  Tear down the walls and stop treating every man who comes along like your daddy.  Just because he left doesn’t mean every man will leave.  You need to break the curse and start today!

Stop with all the foolishness! Stop being an angry female or male! If you didn’t get that job that you claimed, it wasn’t yours.  If you’re spouse chooses to leave, he or she wasn’t yours.  If you lose your house or car, it wasn’t yours.  God won’t give you anything he won’t give you the means to keep.  Stop looking at all things as blessings from God because you know that most of this mess you got yourself in and now you’re crying to God to get you out of it.  If you asked him to get you out of debt and they repossessed your car or foreclosed on your house, why are you mad?  If you asked him to bind your enemies and folk left, why are you mad?  If you asked him to release the strongholds that have you bound and stressed and you got laid off, why are you mad?  If you asked him for confirmation in a decision and then you receive an email, phone call or text, why are you doubting or skeptical?  Didn’t you ask?  Stop asking for stuff you’re not ready to handle and stop acting like God is punishing you because you’re having it hard right now.  I can guarantee that everyone you know has been, is about to, or is coming out of a storm. 

So, again, I ask why you are mad.  If you still have a reason to be, then you need to open your bible to Proverbs 14:29 that says “People with understanding control their anger; a hot temper shows great foolishness” or John 1:19 “Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.”  You can also read my post entitled Dear J.O.H.N Letter. 

Daily Devotional – 10/27/11 “What’s your attitude?”

While having a conversation with my teenager on last night, I tried to explain to her that not everything she wants will always be within her grasp.  I had to tell, this child that because you expect things to happen doesn’t necessarily mean they will.  Then I thought about the different attitudes of folk.  Some of us have an expectancy attitude, some a wishful or a hopeful attitude, some an don’t care attitude and others a grateful attitude.

See, she has an attitude of expectancy which will get her nowhere, no time soon.  She is like some people who expect things to be handed to them without working for it.  It is like praying for God to change you but you’re not willing to help.  You say “Lord, can you please change my smoking habit because it’s killing me” but instead of you putting the cigarette down you EXPECT God to come down and snatch it from your lips.  Chile please!  In order for the taste of nicotine to be taken from your mouth you have to work towards it and the first step is throwing it away.  If you expect things to go your way all the time, you will constantly be disappointed.  I don’t know if Momma ever told you but the world isn’t yours and you can’t always have it your way.  You expect God to pay your bills when they’re due but you don’t pay tithes and you blow every dime you get.  You expect folk to jump when you call but you can’t be depended on if your life depended on it.  You expect momma to always be there to bail you out but what will you do when she is gone?  When you’re expecting a baby, nine months later he or she is born the expectancy is gone so what makes you think you can continue to expect things to go your way without it coming to an end?  Expectancy leads to hurt, hurt leads to hate and hate leads to hell.  Is this your path?

Maybe it’s not.  Maybe you have a wishful attitude.  “I wish the Lord would bless me with a new car.”  “I wish I didn’t have to go to work.”  “I wish folk would stop talking about me.”  Wish means a hope or desire for something and hope is defined as the emotional state which promotes the belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one’s life.   It is the feeling that whatever you want can be had or that everything will turn out for the best.  It’s like someone being in a car accident and instead of praying for healing you hope or wish for it, “I wish God will send a healing.”  You are hoping that God will show up but you haven’t called him.  You are hoping that healing will come, but you haven’t asked for it.  But Psalm 37:4 says “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.”  Take for an example, you are hungry and you have no money.  You sit at home saying “I shoal wish someone will bring me a sandwich,” you are hoping that someone will.  But if you prayed with faith that God would do what he said he would, he’d send a neighbor by with some leftovers or a friend to call inviting you to dinner.  What are you wishing for when God promised in Matthew 7:7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you?”  What are you hoping for when God promised in Matthew 21:22 “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer?”  Wishing leads to disappointments, disappointments lead to deceit and deceit leads to hell.  Is this your path?

Maybe it’s not.  Maybe you have a don’t care attitude.  You don’t care what folk say about you, you don’t care what they cost, you don’t care how they feel and you don’t care when folk walk away.  But in actuality you do.  You care what folk say but you don’t show it so you go home and cry yourself to sleep.  You do care about the cost of this and that but you’ve got to keep up with the world so you’re spending yourself into debt.  You do care about folk’s feelings but you have to stay “hard” so you speak without thinking and then regret it later.  You do care when folk walk away but instead of admitting your wrong, you let them leave and then wonder why you have no friends.  Bay-beh, that don’t care attitude will leave you with a lot of restless nights.  Keep acting like you don’t need nobody and you don’t care about nobody, you’ll eventually have nobody.  Every time your daughter comes to you to talk, you have to holler and scream until she is in tears, not taking the time to hear what she has to say because you don’t care about anybody’s feelings and then you wonder why she is pregnant at 14 or not talking to you anymore.  You cut your spouse down with your harsh tongue and then why wonder why they found comfort with somebody else who knows what to say and how to say it.  You wonder why folk don’t call you or come around you anymore but that don’t care attitude has ruined all your relationships. The bible states in Ephesians 5:2 “Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.”  You not caring leads to carelessness, carelessness leads to condemnation and condemnation leads you to hell.  Is this your path?

Maybe it’s not.  Maybe you have a grateful attitude.  If you don’t you should. You should be grateful for the blessings that God gives every day.  When you had a place to sleep last night and woke up this morning, that’s a blessing.  When you saw your family rise, you were in your right mind; you had food and an appetite – that’s a blessing.  The car you drive, the job you have, the friends that call – all blessings! These are still not enough?  When man said cancer, God covered you through chemo, surgery and radiation and all you lost was hair – a blessing!  When man said cancer free – a blessing!  When folk said you wouldn’t be nothing and now you’re a college graduate with a career paying six figures – that’s a blessing!  You’re still not convinced?  How about you still got momma, daddy and all your brothers & sisters, you still make it even though your money ran out 3 days before you get paid or your gas light was on but you made it home.  Isn’t that enough to make you grateful?  See, God didn’t have to do it but he did.  Every morning we wake up God sends new mercies our way to protect us from the dangers of this world, from the hate people have because of how you look, from the lies people tell, from the obstacles placed in our path, from falling into the ditches that have been dug for us and from the death that is spoken over our lives!  If you don’t believe me, read Psalm 27:5 that states “For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock,” or Psalm 31:20 that says “You hide them in the shelter of your presence, safe from those who conspire against them. You shelter them in your presence, far from accusing tongues.”  Isn’t that good news?  Doesn’t it make you grateful to know that even though we sometimes forget God, he doesn’t forget us? Aren’t you grateful that because we have been dragged from pillar to post, we don’t look like?  Aren’t you grateful that even though we have sometimes faith, God got all time blessings?  Doesn’t it make you grateful that even though you don’t always do right, God is still here?  When your way is dark he sends light, when you fall he sends strength to get up and when you get knocked down it doesn’t knock you out.  Isn’t that enough?

You should be grateful!  Being grateful leads to giving, giving leads to grace and grace leads you to Heaven! Is this your path?  If it isn’t you may want to change tour guides.