Daily Devotional – 10/26/11 “Don’t be quick to judge!”

 Have you ever picked up a book because of the cover, flipped it over to read what it is about, buy it only to be disappointed by it?  Have you ever purchased something that you saw on TV and it was not what you expected or even received a gift that you automatically knew you wouldn’t like only to love it?  Maybe you judge a person by what they wear, by the color of their hair or by what other folk say.  You know, your girlfriend says “I can’t stand that girl because she thinks she is better than everybody else because she wear name brand and carry name brand purses, she ain’t all that!”  Then there you go.  Every time she walks by, you roll your eyes, not because she has ever done anything to you but because your friend don’t like her.  But one day you see her in the break room and she speaks to you, a conversation starts and by the end of it you’ve met a new friend because you realized that she is not the clothes that she wears or the purses that she carries.  Had you stopped earlier to speak to her you would have realized that most of the clothes she wears comes from her local Goodwill stores because she shops in the “rich folk” neighborhoods and the purses that she carry comes from Marshall’s.  Had you stopped to get to know her instead of judging, you could have had a friendship a long time ago.

See, we “Christians”, are quick to speak ill of others because of outside appearances.  We don’t take the time to see what is on the inside. But the bible states in Luke 6:37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”  Have you ever taken the time to see why I don’t smile or why I seem to stay to myself?  Have you taken the time to get to know me before you judge me?  I might not be smiling because I’ve been up all night with a sick child or because there is pain in my body.  I might not be the life of the party because I’m shy and not a people person but does that give you the right to talk about me?  Yea, I may dress and act like I got money in my pocket but all the time I don’t have a pot or a window to throw it out of.  But because I know how to match my clothes and shop on a budget, that gives you the right to judge me?  Just because I walk around with my head held high doesn’t mean I think I am better than you, it just means I know who I am and whose I am, therefore there is no reason for me to be down.  Just because I don’t join in with your pity party, it doesn’t make me more or less than you because I don’t deal in pity just praise. 

Romans 2:1 says “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.”  When you judge me, you are judging yourself.  When you speak down on me you are speaking down on yourself.  I may dress differently than you but that doesn’t make me different from you.  I put pants on one leg at a time, just like you.  I put my shirt on over my head just like you.  I sin just like you.  I make promises that I sometimes don’t keep just like you.  I have good days and bad days just like you.  So what makes us different? 

Don’t get mad at me because I don’t get drunk and act a fool.  Don’t hate on me because I’ve chosen a different path than you.  Don’t condemn me because I choose to go to church on Sunday, bible study on Wednesday and choir rehearsal on Thursday.  Don’t write me off because I don’t raise my children the way you raise yours.  Just because I do things differently don’t make me better, just different.  So why judge me?  I hurt just like you hurt, I bleed red blood just like you do, I put food in my mouth to eat just like you do and I cry tears just like you do.  So why judge me?  Does it make you feel or look better?

You look at the blessings that God gives folk and judge them harshly but do you even know what they’ve been through to get them?  You haven’t seen the nights they were up sick from the chemotherapy treatments, the pacing they’ve done when a child didn’t come home, the sleepless nights when there was no food in the refrigerator but having hungry mouths to feed, the long days of working overtime to get extra money for Christmas dinner or the scars on their knees from the hours of praying to God for his mercy.  You haven’t seen the long commute to work because of the 2 buses she had to take, the sacrificing her lunch money so her child could go to a school dance, the constant wringing of her hands because her arthritis is getting worse or the tear stains on her face from missing momma who recently died.  You haven’t seen the bruises she tries to hide from her abusive husband, the clothes that she wore from yesterday because she doesn’t have any more or that all of her possessions are in her car because she doesn’t have a place to live.  But you judge.

When you no longer sin or make mistakes, when you can heal me of my sickness, when you can raise the dead and walk on water, when you can forgive me of my sins, when you can take being beaten all night, dragged from judgment hall to judgment hall, wear a crown of thorns, take being speared in the side, nailed in your hands and feet, buried in a borrowed grave and raise yourself from the dead; then you can judge me.  Until that appointed time, don’t judge me! You are no better than me and I am not better than you!

“How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” Luke 6:42

Daily Devotional – 10/25/11 “What are you tired of?”

We’ve all heard the saying, sick and tired of being sick and tired, right?  We are quick to say it.  Girl, I so sick and tired of being sick and tired! Man, I’m tired of this and that!  Then I have to ask, “What are you tired of?”  Are you tired of being broke? Do something about it.  Sit down and plan a budget and stick to it.  Stop wasting money on the name brand clothes and shoes for the kids to go to school in only to get there and act a fool.  Some of us are getting ready now to spend entire paychecks on Christmas for children who have just about everything they could ever ask for.  But we don’t care, we spend until we are broke and then what.  Two days later we’ll be screaming, I shouldn’t have bought you anything, when they are standing in our faces talking back.  You do notice the word we, because I am also talking to self.  But this year, we are doing Christmas differently because the children will be volunteering some time at local charities because, believe me, they don’t need anything.  If your paycheck is running out before the next one comes, then some changes need to be made.  Stay at home on the weekend and instead of club hopping, shopping, and/or eating out.  There is nothing wrong with going out dancing with friends, but if you can’t afford it, stay at home.  There is also nothing wrong with shopping, if you have the extra money, but if you don’t stay at home because you probably already got 3 of what you’re buying anyway.  Instead of constantly out eating with your girls, plan a girl’s night in and ask everybody to bring a dish and bottle of wine.  Stop trying to keep up with the Joneses because they are struggling too! There are ways of saving money.  Go to the beauty shop every 2 weeks and the nail shop on the off week, put groceries in the house for the week and take your lunch.  Start thinking and stop spending.  Luke 16:11 says, “So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?”

I ask again, “What are you tired of?”  Are you tired of that relationship that is going nowhere?  Do something about it! You are constantly going home to a house (because it is not a home) where the stress level is shooting pass the roof and when you walk in your attitude changes and everybody notices.  But your house should be your home where you can go and release the stress of the world, where you can relax from the hectic day you’ve had and where you should be able to laugh and tell somebody about your day.  Home should be where your heart is and if it isn’t, change it.  I’m not saying divorce or pack up right away and leave but if changes need to be made then make them.  Pray, sit down and talk, pray and fast, go to counseling and pray, fast and pray some more.  If the both of you are willing to change, then a change will come.  The change does not come if one or both of you are too stubborn to realize that you need to.  Marriage is a sacred covenant that should not be entered into if it’s not for keeps.  Yea, people change and sometimes love is placed on the back burner but if this man or woman was worth your heart before what’s the problem now?  If there is cheating involved or your spouse is an unbeliever, the bible gives you the right to divorce.  (2 Corinthians 6:14 and Matthew 19:9) Now, if your home is unhappy because you got folk there (other than your spouse) that is making it that way, change it as well.  I know that you are always helping folk and it’s hard to say no but for your own sanity, sometimes you have too.  Whether it is grown kids that should have been on their own, family members or friends who always run to you when they hit rock problem but can’t find them in the day time with a flashlight when you need help; change it! You have to choose to be happy and if home is not happy, then YOU have to change it!  Because everyone deserves a place of happiness!

So what are you tired of?  Is it being talked about, lied on, passed over for jobs, turned on by family or not having someone to count on? Well, child, these things are promised so get over them.  Folk will always talk about and lie on you so give them things to talk about.  Become more than what they would have ever expected.  Use your haters as your motivators and as your step stool to reach higher heights.  When doors are being closed in your face it doesn’t mean it’s locked, so don’t give up keep knocking because eventually someone will answer.  If folk walk away from you, let them go, family included, because if they are meant, they’ll return.  Stop chasing folks that walk away because if they left you once, they’ll do it again.  What or who God has for you will be for you. If you spend all your time chasing those that mean you no good, when will you have time to see those that are meant for you?  Stop worrying about the stuff that you can’t change, focus on those that you can.  Let go sometimes and laugh, dance like no one is watching, sing in the shower or just live.  Your life is precious but if you keep allowing the job to weigh you down, what folk say about you get you down or stressing yourself out about bills and no money, you are sending yourself to an early grave.  Stop rushing your life, slow down and enjoy it.  Matthew 6:33 says “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”   Isn’t that great news? Let go of the stuff that keeps you from living.  Stop spending your entire weekend on work stuff because if you’re in the hospital over the weekend, won’t it wait until Monday?  Matthew 6:34 says “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”  Set aside time to talk to God, whether it is on your drive to work, while you brush your teeth or before bed.  Spend some time with him so that he may know your voice when you call him.  Just because you are a Christian doesn’t mean he knows you.  It’s the same way as moving into a new neighborhood.  Just because they see you move in don’t mean they know you.  Spend some time getting to know God and he’ll get to know you. 

“Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear.  For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.  Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!  Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?  Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?” Luke 12:22-26

Daily Devotional – 10/24/11 “Don’t count yourself out!”

Have you ever asked someone for something but talked yourself out of it before it was even given?  You say to your mom, “I know you are going to say no but can I go to the movies with my friends?”  What else can she say but no?  You’ve already counted yourself out without giving her an opportunity to answer.  You go to the Lord in prayer and the first thing you say is, “Lord I know you might not do it but can you help me get approved for this car?”  Why would you get the answer you want when you already doubt?  Mark 11:24 says “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

When you’re praying for a new career, business venture, healing, love, financial increase or for peace; you have to ask with faith and belief.  If you’ve already told yourself that you can’t do it, why would God bless you with it?  You’ve been planning to start a business for years now; you’ve researched everything and have all of your things in order.  You pray daily for God to send you the confirmation you need but when you pray you say, “Lord, I think I’m ready to start this business so if it’s meant can you please show me a sign?” If you doubt yourself can you honestly expect God to drop the business in your lap only for you to fail?  You’ve got to have faith that God can do it and then believe in yourself.   Haven’t you read the story of the little engine that could?  Now, you can chant to yourself, I think I can, over and over but if you don’t really think you can then you can’t.  You have to chant, I know I can! I know that God can do it and because he believes in me, I believe in me.

Would you get into a boat with a captain that tells you, I think I can handle this or on a plane with a pilot that tells you that he has some doubts about himself flying the plane?  It’s the same way when we come to God with our shaky prayers and our fears.  “Lord, I think I can handle the mortgage on this new house.”  “Lord, if you would just give me this new job, I think I can do it.”  “Lord, I know you blessed me with this gift but  …” You are already counting yourself out.  It’s like being in a boxing match and your opponent has knocked you down, instead of getting up before the 10 count ends you throw in the towel on number 2.  How do you know you can’t handle it, have you tried?  In order to experience the taste of a new food dish, you have to first eat it.  You can’t tell how it taste until you put it in your mouth.  You won’t be able to know if you can handle a situation until you stand in it. 

If every time God brings something to you and you doubt yourself, it’s like telling him to give it to the next person and come back to you.  God asks in Matthew 8:26, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?”  How many times do you think God will continue to try to bless you?  It is almost like me trying to give you something but every time I come you say, give it to her or him.  Eventually, I am going to always give it to him or her because that’s what I expect your answer to be anyway.  Isn’t that crazy?  Why does God need you to tell him to whom to bless when he has enough power to bless everyone, every day and at the same time?  Don’t give away your blessing trying to bless someone else.  Stop counting yourself out of the equation. 

Believe in yourself!  Matthew 7:7 states “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”  Ask in faith with a heart that is free from hatred, malice and strife for your brother.  If you go to God in prayer with hate in your heart for your mother, God isn’t listening to your prayers.  Mark 11:25 says “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”  Whatever anger and resentment you hold for anyone let it go! It only hinders you.  It doesn’t hurt them because most times they’ve forgotten about the issue that you’re holding.  Why not let it go?  What good is it doing for you to bring up something that happened 15 years ago at every family function?  Pretty soon, you’ll notice the crowd of folks listening is down to 1, you!  Let it go baby! Stop making the weight of burdens on your shoulders 25 pounds when they only start off as 1.  You’ve made the situation bigger and now you’re mad at the world for not seeing it your way.  It’s like you being with your sisters and you all are picking up your own trash and when you all are done and finally dragging this large bag to the dump you decide you’re not ready to throw yours in.  You continue picking up trash in other folks area and now your bag is too heavy to carry and you’re mad because your sisters won’t help.  But why should they offer to help you carry someone else’s trash when you should have thrown yours away a long time ago?  Chile, folk got enough stuff of their own to handle without offering to carry somebody else’s. 

Matthew 17:20 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 great news?  Isn’t that enough for you to believe in yourself?  Stop counting yourself out because usually you’re the only other one counting for yourself.  God believes in you because if he didn’t he wouldn’t give you new mercies every morning.

“What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.” Mark 9:23

Daily Devotional – 10/23/11 “You shouldn’t look like your problem!”

When I woke this morning and realized that I had overslept, I rushed to get dressed without first taking the time to thank God for waking me. I didn’t take the time to thank him for my family rising around me or the food I had in the refrigerator, because I was in a hurry. I didn’t stop to pray for those that woke up this morning with a weary mind or those who had been up all night toiling with the problem of this world because I was rushing. I didn’t stop and ask God to protect us our journey in the rain but he bought us safely anyway. I didn’t stop and ask him to keep my mind but he did anyway. Isn’t it good to know that God doesn’t treat us like we treat him?

But then I got to church and opened my bible to Matthew 11:28 which states “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” I realized that no matter what I face if I take it to Jesus, he’ll work it out! See, I realized that no matter what I go through I don’t have to look like my problems. Just because my bills are late, my boo don’t love me anymore, job isn’t treating me right and my head is hurting, it doesn’t have to show on my face. If I don’t wipe the tears from my face then it’ll show that I’ve been crying. If I don’t shake the dust from my clothes then it’ll show that I’ve been dragged through the dirt. If I don’t change my shirt with the holes in the back then you’d know that I’ve had folks turn on me. If all I show is the problems that I have how will you ever see my deliverance? If I never show you the love that God has given me how can I bring you, who are in the world, to God?

If I never get up out the hole that has been dug for me how can I move on? If I keep waiting for somebody to walk by and pull me out, they may never come and then this hole becomes my grave. If I have to wait for folk to pray for me then God might not ever know my situation and if he doesn’t know how can he come see about me? Matthew 11:29 says “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

So many times you run to friends for help and they need more help than you do. We are so busy waiting for folks to pray for us that we don’t realize their prayers may not be getting through. Why do we have to wait for things to happen to us before we reach out to God? Doesn’t he deserve your praise when things are good? You were shouting the loudest when your light bill was due but was quieter than a church mouse when the income tax check came. You had your own amen corner when your car was broke down but then won’t even come in the rain when God blesses you with a new one. You were crying uncontrollably when husband/wife left but then stand there yawning when they come sliding back. But Psalm 100:4 states “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” This doesn’t say just when it’s convenient for you or when you feel like it.

Your problems shouldn’t dictate your life. Your problems shouldn’t determine the way you praise. If you don’t comb your hair, it’ll show by your tangled ad nappy hair. If you don’t bathe, it’ll show by the smell of your body. If you don’t change your clothes, it’ll show by the stains they have. If you don’t pray, it’ll show in your relationship with God. If you don’t study his word, it’ll show by your walk with God. If you don’t praise him, it’ll show by your testimony.

Just because you’re broke doesn’t mean the world has to know it. Get up and comb your own hair, polish your own nails, wash your own car and fix your own food. Just because you’re without a car, doesn’t mean the world owes you. Get up, get a bus map and a few dollars and keep it pushing. The world won’t stop because you’re suffering. Let go of that attitude that you have because baby you’re responsible for you. Don’t think because you have your problems on your shoulders you’ll get help to carry them. Folk got problems of their own without reaching for yours. Take those same problems, write them down, find a scripture in the bible and put them there. When you close the bible, turn off the worry because God is taking over. Just because you’re going through doesn’t mean you have to look like it! You shouldn’t look like the problem that you have. Let go and get God. Let go and let God.

Daily Devotional – 10/22/11 “What is this?”

What is this that I feel deep inside and it keeps setting my soul on fire?  What is this that has me acting strange and makes me want to run when no one is chasing me? What is this that makes me loves my enemies even when they lie on me, smile when I feel like crying or sleep when I should be pacing the floor? What is this?  This feeling that makes me wants to do right when I want to do wrong.  What is this that makes me forgive when I want to hold a grudge?  

Is this the joy that God promised?  The joy the world didn’t give and surely cannot take away.  Is this the joy that can bring me sunshine on a cloudy day, healing when my heart is hurting, comfort when friends walk off and keeps me smiling on my job in the midst of haters?  Is this that joy?  “The joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10            

Is it the peace that God promised?  The kind of peace that can surpass all of man’s understanding and calm the waves when the storm is raging.  Is it the same peace that can hold you when the doctor gives up on you, family turns their backs and doors are being closed in your face?  Is this the peace you find when you take a ride to clear your mind or a walk to sort things out?  Is this the peace you find when you got more problems than solutions and more bills than money?  Philippians 4:7 says “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  Isaiah 26:3 says “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.”  Do you want this peace?  It can be found and it is free if you trust and believe in God.

Deuteronomy 28:13-14 states “The LORD will make you the head and not the tail, and you only will be above, and you will not be underneath, if you listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully, and do not turn aside from any of the words which I command you today, to the right or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.”

Isn’t it good to know that you’ll always find comfort even when no one is around, arms to hold you when you are by yourself, someone to talk to when friends won’t answer the phone, guidance when you can’t find your way and healing when the world has broken you down?  God is that type of love, peace, healing and understanding.  God is a shield against the attacks set by your enemies and he promised to be a fence around you that will keep you out of harm’s way. 

What is this you ask?  It is God.  Do you have him? Do you want him?  He can be found if you open that door that he is standing on the outside of knocking.  He is worthy of the good and bad days you face, the tears you sometime shed and the restless nights you sometime have.  He is worthy when the sun shines and when the clouds loom and he is worthy on your sick days as well as your well days.  If you don’t believe me, try him for yourself.