Daily Devotional – 7/2/18 “Hit and you may get hit back!”

You cannot be the one doing the hitting and then hollering when you happen to get hit back. What I mean by hitting is … Hurting, Ignoring, Threatening, Tormenting, Injuring, Neglecting and Grumbling against people. You get what you put out. If you hit folk, there is a chance they will hit back. If you hurt, ignore and/or torment folk; you stand the chance of being hurt, ignored and tormented back. Beloved, you can’t cry victim when you started it. Please understand, you are deemed the victim when you ARE the victim, not when you are the aggressor. And understand, this is NOT for victims of abuse and mistreatment of any kind but I am speaking to the bullies who are quick to want to strike. You know those who find joy in making others suffer. Those who are quick to start an argument about something that had nothing to do with them. Those who find it easy to demean people on social media or attack through text. Those who belittle for the fun of it. You’re the bully and you cannot cry victim when the victim of your attacks strike back. Keep your hands and words to yourself. Bible shares in Isaiah 29:20-21, “The ruthless will vanish, the mockers will disappear, and all who have an eye for evil will be cut down–those who with a word make someone out to be guilty, who ensnare the defender in court and with false testimony deprive the innocent of justice.”

How long do you think you can get by hurting folk? How long do you think you can get away with doing people wrong? Just because you don’t get caught, doesn’t mean you are getting away with it. God sees all. Yes, you may borrow from me and not pay ME back but you will pay IT back. You may steal and cheat and still get blessed but you will not get away with it. The only reason some of you are still being blessed in spite of your evil ways, is because of God’s compassion and love for us. You are not getting away with anything but bless your heart if you think so. I shared this before but it fits. There are some of y’all, in high places, whom God has snatched the oil from and the only reason you’re still being promoted is because of your name, not the anointing. Some of y’all are hiding behind the pretense of being holy when you’re really hellish and the only reason folk are not dying, on your watch, is because God’s hand is on His people. It’s not you boo. God hasn’t knocked you down, YET, because He’s giving you time to fix it. How long will you wait? How long will you act like this? Will you fix it before it’s too late? You can’t keep hitting and not expect to be hit back. That’s all I’m saying.

Daily Devotional – 6/29/18 “Tame your tongue!”

On my ride to work, I pass this church whose sign I usually look at to see their weekly message. This morning, it says, “Only speak if you make the silence better,” or something close. Anyway, this statement is the absolute truth. I have said it before and I will said it again, if the words you speak are not spoken to help, encourage or push someone in the right direction, HUSH. See, your mouth has the ability to speak criticism, counsel, calmness, cheer, comfort and compassion. But that same mouth can also callously communicate complaints, commotion, calamity, captivity, carnality and condemnation. What are you speaking? If your words do not make the silence better, swallow them. Do you understand the power of your tongue? Bible shares in James 3:6, “And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.” I find it quite strange yet peculiar that there is one muscle in our entire body that can ruin our lives, if it’s not properly controlled. Can we really tame it though? When the bible continues in James 3:7-8 saying, “People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison.”

However, to answer my own question, YES! Yes, we can tame our tongue for tame is defined as willing to cooperate. So, we definitely can. We can tame it the same way we tame the parts of our body we don’t like with spanx, compression garments, girdles, extra shirts and waist trainers. Yep, we can tame it the same way we tame our hair, on bad hair days. Certainly, we can tame it the same way we tame our actions when we’re on other folk’s job. Sure can, we can tame it the same way you tame your speed when you see a police car. It can be tamed, if we want it to be. How do I know? Go in the same room with your grandma and see if you don’t. You have the ability to tame your tongue, if you wanted to so stop being quick to spout off advice, if nobody asked for it. Stop inserting yourself into conversations you were not invited. Stop being the one to always tell people how they should control their house, even if yours is in good standing, if they didn’t inquire on how you did it. Stop telling people how to control their children, if they didn’t seek your advice. In other words, tame your tongue. Why? Because bible says in Proverbs 21:23, “Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.”

Daily Devotional – 6/28/18 “Trail Mix!”

I was looking at this bag of trail mix, laying on my desk. It has peanuts, M&M’s, almonds, cashews and raisins. Now, all of these things can be eaten separately and taste just as good but the blessing is; they taste even better when eaten together because you mix the sweet with the salty. I know you’re trying to figure out what this has to do with a devotional. I’ll tell you. We are all different. We each have different talents, looks, voices, hair styles and even clothing styles. We are all anointed, individually, which means we can stand alone. We have the ability to do things on our own like pray, fast, speak in tongue, sing, cast out and etc. But what happens when we all come together? Do you not see the blessing in all of us being on one accord? Do you know the things that can happen when we link our faith together? Bible shares in Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. For if one falls down, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to help him up!” But you know this, right?

What I am saying is, imagine what could happen if we all linked our faith and prayed instead of preyed. Imagine how greater we could be, as a body of believers, if we linked up and offered grace instead of gossiping. Just imagine how many folk could be saved, if we linked up and laid hands instead of laying down together. Imagine if we prayed on the altar, collectively for things to change in our community. What if we worked together and cried loud against the schemes of the enemy. Sure, we are good individually but can you imagine what could happen if we combined. Think about the healing that could take place if the elders of the church were on one accord. Imagine the people being saved from bondage, sickness and diseases, pits of hopelessness and valleys of fruitlessness and etc. if intercessors linked up with prophets, prophets with preachers, preachers with deacons, deacons with mothers, mothers with ushers, ushers with choir members, choir members with pew members, pew members with missionaries and missionaries with visionaries. Just imagine if we all blended our faith instead of fighting. Just imagine how greater we could be a body of believers if we mixed our faith like trail mix instead of separating like oil and water.

Daily Devotional – 6/27/18 “Don’t leave dirty!”

It will not always be like this. However, in the meanwhile, you might get dirty. Dirty? Yep! You might get dirty from people throwing dirt on your name. You might get dirty from folk who try to walk all over your assignment. You might get dirty when folk seek to do you wrong for doing what’s right. You might get dirty from lies being spread. You might get dirty from who you’ve associated yourself with. You might get dirty from who you’ve laid down with. You might get dirty simply for being collateral damage. You might get dirty beloved. But here’s a question for you. If you were not dirty, what would God have to clean? Understand, I am not suggesting you go out and get dirty but what I want you to get is, if you happen to get/be dirty; God can and will clean you up. Titus 3:3-7 says, “For at one time we too were foolish, disobedient, misled, enslaved to all sorts of desires and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. This is the Spirit He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we would become heirs with the hope of eternal life.”

Baby, it is not about you but God cleanses us because of His mercy towards us. However, you have to first, confess that you’re dirty; secondly, be willing to be cleaned and finally be obedient to the cleaning process because your cleaning process may not make sense to you. When Naaman was trying to be healed/cleansed of his leprosy, Elisha sent a message and told him to wash himself, seven times, in the Jordan. This made Naaman angry because he’d assumed Elisha would come out, stand before him and perform the healing by calling on God’s name and waving his hand. He had it all figured out and when it didn’t go according to his plan, he became angry. How many of you have become angry and missed out on your deliverance because it wasn’t what you were expecting? Had Naaman not been surrounded by folk who had the sense to tell him his wrong, he would have left there still dirty. Don’t leave dirty when the thing you need to cleanse you is within reach. Don’t leave dirty when the very thing you need only takes you stepping in. Don’t leave dirty when obedience has the ability to change your life.