Daily Devotional – 12/3/18 “Would you still?”

What would you do if there was no crowd, no camera phones or video? Would you still preach, speak, give and serve the same? What would you do if nobody knew your name or never supported your gift? Would you still use it? What would you do if nobody ever read your book? Would you still write? What if nobody knew of your doing? Would you still do? I’m only asking because we live in a society where mostly everything is broadcasted and I am wondering if what you’re doing would still be done if nobody else was watching. Yes, we know God is watching but right now, I’m talking about people because reality is, we sometimes seek to please them and not Him. However, if nobody saw you feeding the homeless, would you still do it? If nobody recorded you helping somebody up, would you still do it? Would your giving, your talking, your living and your actions be the same if nobody knew it was you? If you never got the accolades and recognition, would you still? If there was no pastor’s love day, would you still serve the same? What I am sharing is, you don’t need an audience all the time. You don’t have to tell folk when you’re praying, just pray. You don’t have to post every time you sow a seed, just sow. You don’t have to video every act of goodwill, just do it. Every sermon doesn’t have to be recorded, just preach. Just give, just serve and just help because even if you never get paid what you’re worth, get back what you’re due or receive the recognition of man; God has an award ceremony already planned in your honor and it’ll happen when He’s ready.

This is why Bible shares in Matthew 6:1-6, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. “So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. “But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. “But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”

Chased … She can’t outrun her secret

Available now HERE

Excerpt:

“Magnolia, aren’t you tired of being in this sunken place? Are you not tired of the voices that keep you up at night? Are you not exhausted from being chased?”

“YES!” I yell wiping tears from my face. “Yes Dr. Mitchell I am tired but I didn’t ask for this. These demons have been attached to my bloodline since before I was born. I DIDN’T ASK FOR THIS!”

“I know you didn’t but don’t you want to break the cycle and destroy the generational curses?”

“How, huh? How am I supposed to break what I didn’t create? This mess started long before I was born and it has carried over from generation to generation.”

“But you have the ability to stop the cycle, if you want too.” She coolly says.

“What do you mean, if I want too? I’ve been trying and I don’t know what else to do Dr. Mitchell. I keep thinking about the dirty secrets of my past, trying to forgive myself and even forget but my life seems to be spiraling.” I pause and look at her. “And the nightmares are the worse.”

“Magnolia, you do realize your nightmares are coming from the thoughts in your mind, right?”

“Then tell me how to turn them off.”

“You have to forgive yourself. If not for you then do it for your daughter because we both know if you don’t stop, Kai will be sitting where you are, having this same conversation, in ten years.”

“No!” I shout sitting up. “She cannot go through this. She can’t.”

“Then what are you going to do to break this curse of addiction?”

“I am not an addict! I’m scared, there’s a difference.”

“Is there?” She asks. “Look, whether you want to believe me or not, you are definitely an addict. The only difference between you and your mother; her addiction was heroin, yours is fear and until you claim it and call it out, you’ll continually stay right here.”

“I’m trying.” I whisper.

“This isn’t trying dear; this is called positioning your mask. Truth is, you haven’t tried to break the cycle but you have gotten great at creating barriers.”

“Barriers were the thing I needed to survive.” I state, getting angry.

“And how has that worked for you so far? Hiding from your past will not stop what has tainted your bloodline. You have to face your fears head on or they’ll keep chasing you. Look Magnolia, you stand up before a congregation of people, Sunday after Sunday pretending to be this free woman but once the lights are off in the sanctuary, you go right back to your prison.” Dr. Mitchell says.

“That’s not true.”

“Then why are you here?”

I don’t say anything.

“Magnolia, I don’t care how well you can preach and teach the gospel; you will never be able to free someone else when you’re still in bondage. On the contrary, you’ll only draw people who can relate to your demons but at the end of the day, all of you will still be in captivity. Oh, but you preach well and the people will come back because you tickle what’s in them. However, serving God isn’t about babying the sheep, it’s about saving them.”

“Then why would God give me this anointing? Why would He call me to preach?”

“Because He designed the plans for your life, long before you were ever created.” Dr. Mitchell says. “God tells us that He knew us before we were formed in our mother’s belly. This lets me know He knew what you’d endure and the only reason you haven’t lost your mind is because He made you strong enough to overcome everything that tried to kill you.”

“Yea, well I don’t feel strong.”

“I get it and I know this is hard for you but–”

“You know?” I laugh, cutting her off. “No Dr. Mitchell, I don’t think you know how it feels to find your mother dead the day before your sixteenth birthday. I don’t think you know how it feels to be a child and hear people calling her an addict when I never saw the signs. I don’t think you know how it feels to wake up and be a motherless child or know the heaviness fear gives when I think of leaving my daughter the same way my mother left me. YOU DON’T KNOW!”

Available now HERE

Happy Reading

Lakisha

Daily Devotional – 11/27/18 “My seeds need me!”

I’m proud of me! I am the bomb diggity! I got it going on! Girl, you rock! Yep, I am talking to myself today because sometimes you have to appreciate and encourage your own, doggone self. I told you yesterday that not everybody is praying you win but let me add this in, for free; not everybody who shows up is there to support, not everybody clapping, cares and not everybody cheering is glad. Sure, I could have picked another subject instead of dwelling on those who don’t but God gave me these words to encourage me, you just happen to be reading it. LOL! Seriously, you have to stop focusing on those who won’t and don’t. Those who won’t show up. Those who don’t return the support you give. Those who won’t say congratulations and especially those who don’t care if your feelings get hurt. It’s time you cut them loose, beloved, because there are 34 days before 2018 ends and we don’t have time to babysit and pacify folk. There are lives on the line, there is gifts to be used, testimonies to be told and time to make it happen. We don’t have energy, space or time to concentrate on who won’t because we got too much to do. There are business plans, books and sermons to write. There are businesses to open, ministries to grow and seeds to sow. There are gifts that have to be cultivated, now, in order for them to pay off later.

In other words (I am about to get gangsta again) … We ain’t got time to dwell on foolishness when we’ve got to prepare for spring time harvest. Baby, I don’t know about you but I need my seed to pay off and in order for that to happen, I have to tend to my own garden. This means, I cannot worry if you never stop by to say hello, my seeds need me. I can’t keep calling you to figure out why you won’t/don’t, my seeds need me. I can’t keep begging you to show up, to come, to do this/that; my seeds need me. And if I continue to put the focus on you, my seeds just might die. So, you can keep ignoring me, I’ll be over here watering my seeds. You can keep acting funny, I’ll be over here preparing to reap my harvest. You do you and I’ll be over here making room to receive the abundance of my harvest. But make sure you keep good notes on how you treated me, make sure you have details on all those times you didn’t show up and be very sure you state facts because they’ll be what you’ll have to refer back to when I pull a you on you! For my bible tells me in Matthew 7:12, “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.”

Daily Devotional – 11/26/18 “Everyone is not praying you win!”

Pastor William Smith made a status this morning that simply said, “Remember, everyone is not praying you win!” (My apologies for what I’m about to type but I can get a little spiritually gangsta at times.) Mane, if you don’t get yourself up and let them folk gone on! Your winning isn’t due to them but your failures can be. See, when we depend on people who aren’t and never will cheer for us to win, we miss those who do. When we get upset over those we don’t see their face in the crowd, we overlook those who are. When we get our feelings hurt because they never buy what we’re selling but will support everybody else; we lose focus on those who are always there. Beloved, you need to understand something … Sometimes there will be some folk you’ve allowed in your personal space, to come along on your journey and to eat at your table who will sell you out for 30 pieces of silver, call your name and then kiss you on the jaw. Truth of the matter is, they are who they are and while I could make excuses for them, I will not because they don’t deserve it. Sure; I could call them bitter, jealous and selfish but is it possible, they just don’t want to see you win? No, you’ve done nothing to them but it’s you. You’ve never spoken ill of their name but it’s you. You’ve never hurt them but it’s you. You’ve never sold them out but it’s you. And because it’s you, they will never pray you win. Yet, they’ll come along because your favor can get them into places their money can’t.

How do you know who’s praying for your demise? Pray for God to pull back the veil and He will. Be careful though because it might be somebody you’d least expect. What do you do when you find out who it is? Nothing because their sorrow, for the betrayal, has already been written by God. How do I know? The bible. Jesus knew He would be betrayed yet He says at the last supper in Luke 22:21-22, “But here at this table, sitting among us as a friend, is the man who will betray me. For it has been determined that the Son of Man must die. But what sorrow awaits the one who betrays him.” Jesus didn’t need to handle the one(s) who would betray Him, their sorrow was already written. Let me ask you, why are you trying to handle those who have betrayed you? I understand it hurts but you’ve got to move on because when did hurt feelings provide for you, progress you and protect you? Baby, stop keeping count of those who willingly pray against you because the time you’re spending on them is time wasted. Pray for them and then get up, you got more wins to get and if they couldn’t stop you then, they sure in the name of all things holy can’t stop you now.