Daily Devotional – 9/26/18 “Are you on guard?”

Just when I thought my bout with migraines was over, only to be hit with one yesterday that had me down for the count. I mean, it came out of nowhere, like they typically do. Yet, here I am today typing a devotional. I still have a slight headache but I am here, in my right mind and blessed because I woke up in my bed and not in the hospital. I am grateful because oftentimes I am reminded things could be worse, much worse and while I could turn this into a “the devil meant it for my bad,” kind of devotionals, I will not. Sickness happens. Migraines happens. Bad days happens and many times, we cannot predict them or control them. What I will share is, sometimes we let our guards down before the battle is over. See, I have not had a migraine in months. Sure, I have had sinus issues but no migraine. Vertigo but no migraine so I got comfortable and let my guard down and baby, did I pay for it. As I thought about it, this is, sometimes, how some of us are with the enemy. We let our guard down when it seems like he is no longer punching and kicking. We let our guard down when it looks like we are in the end stretch and winning the game. We let our guard down when it looks like all is well when the bible shares in 1 Peter 5:8, “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

The enemy never leaves us alone; although he may get quiet, he is not gone. I know somebody is thinking, you cannot predict a migraine let alone an attack but I never said anything about predicting when it would happen. I said, be on guard for when it happens. See, had I been on guard I would have had migraine meds in my purse when my vision started to blur and my head begin to hurt. However, because I let my guard down, I did not have what I needed and by the time I got to my weapon(s) (at home), the migraine was at full capacity and kicking my butt. Are you following me? I let my guard down and did not have what I needed, within reach that could help me fight off an attack. I let my guard down and it knocked me down. I let my guard down and it wounded me. So let me ask you, do you have what you need or is your guard down too? Could you handle an attack, right now or is your battle gear packed up? Can you go toe to toe, at this moment or would you be down for the count? Are you on guard or will you be caught slipping? For the bible shares in Luke 21:34-36, “Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap; for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth. But keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Daily Devotional – 9/25/18 “Check the reins!”

God isn’t upset at the size of your offering but He may be a little taken back by the way you give it. Bible shares in 2 Corinthians 9:7, “Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” In other words, give what your heart has already decided but do so gladly, not reluctantly. Can we be honest? Sometimes we think, the more we give the more God will give to us. Truth is, He will give us what we deserve because God does not reward us based on the quantity but He will by the quality. Beloved, God rewards our faithfulness and the pureness of our heart. You don’t have to take me at my word but bible shares in Jeremiah 17:10, “I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.” This is the KJV because I need you to get the full understanding of just how much your heart dictates your reward. Sure, you can be the best tither but how’s your heart? You can be the most devoted member but how’s your heart? God searches the heart and He tries the reins.

What are reins? We know them as the straps we hold and use when we ride a horse but it also means the seat of the feelings or passions. Seat = base. To break it down, the base of your feelings or passions, the underlying foundation or simply how you truly feel. Jeremiah 17:11 continues by saying, “As a partridge that hatches eggs which it has not laid, So is he who makes a fortune, but unjustly; In the midst of his days it will forsake him, And in the end he will be a fool.” You cannot prosper from something that is not yours and this is why you have to check the foundation of your giving. If you give just to be seen, you need to check the rein. If you sow for privileges, you need to check the rein. If your offering is to outdo others, you need to check the reins because God does not reward us by the size of our giving but He will by the character of our heart.

Dear God,

Forgive me. Forgive me for thinking my unwillingness to give would be overshadowed by the amount I sowed. Forgive me for trying to bribe you with my behavior. Create in me, a new heart rooted firmly in you and remove anything that does not fit because God, I want to be rewarded because you’ve searched my heart and found me to be due the honor. I want to be rewarded because you’ve tried the reins and they are righteous. I want to be rewarded because my ways are aligned to your ways and they are good. I want a reward that shall sustain and maintain, not forsake me. Thank you God for it is in your name I pray. Amen.

Have you entered?

TMB_Giveaway

Have you entered?
 
 
Lynn and Jerome Watson have been together since meeting in the halls of Booker T. Washington High School, in 1993. Twenty-five years, a house, business and three children later they are on the heels of their 18th wedding anniversary and Lynn’s 40th birthday.
 
Her only request … a night of fun, at home, with her husband and maybe a few toys.
 
Lynn thinks their marriage bed is suffering and wants to spice it up. Jerome, on the other hand, thinks Lynn is overreacting. His thoughts, if it ain’t broke, don’t break it trying to fix it.
 
Then something happens that shakes up the Watson household and secrets are revealed but the biggest secret, Jerome has and his lips are sealed.
 
Bible says in Hebrews 13:4, “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.” But what happens when life starts throwing daggers, lies, turns and twists?
 
The Marriage Bed Banner

Daily Devotional – 9/19/18 “Spiritual or Situational?”

Yes, we are promised suffering and while this could be one of those posts, it’s not. Truth is, sometimes the stuff we go through is because of us, not God trying to teach us a lesson neither is it the enemy testing our gangsta. Fact is, it is US. We did it and unless we can face it, own up to it and do better, we will always find ourselves in the “pit.” When it’s really not a pit but a predicament. Yes, the checking account is temporarily out of funds but that is because we overspent and did not balance accordingly. That attitude you have has nothing to do with you getting up on the wrong side of the bed because we all know you sleep on and get up on the same side every day. Your bad day consist of a flat tire (from that pothole you hit), traffic (you left late and were caught in a school zone), left your badge (you did not put it where you normally do) and being late (you overslept); this is not God punishing you. The problems in your relationship could very well be the enemy working but how will you know if you cannot tell the difference between an evil spirit and you talking too much to the wrong person? Oh, the reason you maybe stagnant spiritually is not because God told you to stand still but truth is, you are angry He did and now you will not glean where you are.

Look, beloved, what you are experiencing is situational, not spiritual and you need to be able to tell the difference. Warfare is spiritual but an overdrawn checking account is situational. God’s rejection is spiritual but your fleshly clap backs is situational. What Job experienced was spiritual but this; the thing you are dealing with is a situation. Paul’s thorn was spiritual but that thorn of a relationship you know is wrong is a situation. David’s experience in the pit, spiritual but you losing your job because you do not know how to talk to folk is situational. Suffering for God’s sake is spiritual but suffering because you need the new pair of Jordan’s is situational. Isaiah said in Isaiah 8:11-12, “The LORD took hold of me with his powerful hand and said: I’m warning you! Don’t act like these people. Don’t call something a rebellious plot, just because they do, and don’t be afraid of something, just because they are.” Yes, we have to suffer, sometimes. Yes, we will face spiritual attacks. Yes, weapons will form against us. Yes, we may get rained on by the storms of life. However, not everything we face it spiritual. Sometimes the very thing we go through is because we have allowed flesh to lead. So ask yourself this question, “Is what I am facing spiritual or situational?” This will determine how to resolve it.

Daily Devotional – 9/18/18 “Because you moved!

On Sunday, I preached a message from Isaiah 62 and I want to share a part of it with you today. This might not be for everybody but for somebody who has heard God but afraid to move. Maybe the assignment seems too big. Maybe the move He told you to make is outside your comfort zone. Maybe He gave you a message that is not what you would normally say. Maybe He is sending you back to a place that holds bad memories. Maybe He has told you to reach out to somebody who hurt you before. Maybe He told you help somebody who still owes you money. Maybe, what you have heard does not make sense but I need you to be obedient because this next move could be the very move to crown you. What do I mean? I will explain. Have you played checkers before? I have not so I had to study up on the game. In checkers, the object is to capture all of your opponent’s pieces or place them in a position where they have no available moves. However, the only movement you can make is one space diagonally forward. If you happen to make a move that causes you to jump your opponent, you are then able to take their checker piece. You and your opponent take turns until one of you wins. Here is the blessing I got from checkers … When you reach the end of your opponent’s board, you get to crown a checker turning it into a king checker. Once it has been crowned and it becomes king, the king checker now has power it did not have before.

Pay attention because I need you to see why your obedience is necessary, in this season.

Before, your checker piece looked like your opponent’s, only a different color but now it stands taller and becomes more noticeable. In other words, you can tell it apart from the rest because you moved. Before, you are only able to move forward but now you can move forward and backwards on the same turn. In other words, because you moved you are able to make moves you could not make before. Beloved, I do not know what God has told you but be obedient and move. I do not know the assignment He has placed before you but be obedient and move. It may not make sense but be obedient because this move is about to give you power you did not have before. Yeah, you may have to leave some people behind but be obedient. It may take a few moves to get there but be obedient. It may not make sense to your natural but move. Because you moved, you are about to tap into a favor you didn’t even know you had the ability to possess. Because you moved, you are about to experience some stuff you thought you were not worthy of. Because you moved, things are about to line up. Because you moved, favor shall be your portion!