Daily Devotional – 6/7/18 “Do Disturb!”

In my book, Dear God: Hear My Prayer, I wrote this message; “When you give up, you remove the block you’ve placed on God. It’s like placing a Do Not Disturb sign on your hotel room door. As long as the sign is there the housekeeper, whose job it is to clean, can’t come in and do what he or she has a responsibility to do. But when you remove the sign, the housekeeper is then able to enter in; remove the trash, change the dirty linens and make your room habitable again.”

I don’t know who this is for but baby, remove the Do Not Disturb sign from your heart and let God in. Do you not hear Him knocking and calling out, “Housekeeping?” I know you do because you’re looking around at the current state of your life and see the mess. And as much as you need Him to come in, you’re embarrassed for letting things get out of hand. You want to let Him in but you’re afraid of how He’ll look at you when He seems the damage that has been done. But beloved, God already sees and knows and although He does, He will not force His way in. He needs your permission. Will you remove the sign? When you do, God then comes in to clean up the mess that has been made in our life. The mess of bad relationships that plague us like the smell of unemptied garbage cans. The mess of soul ties that cling to us like dirty linens. The mess of addictions that linger like a ring around the tub. The mess of immoral decisions that hurt us as much as a bill for a damaged hotel room.

When you remove the sign and declare like David in Psalm 51:2, “Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin,” (Throughly spelled this way in King James means in a way that penetrates fully and completely), God has a responsibility to do it. You don’t have to believe me, I got bible and it shares in Psalm 32:5, “I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”; And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.” Remove the Do Not Disturb sign and ask God to wash you throughly and He will. He will beloved, He will.

Daily Devotional – 6/6/18 “What did God say?”

Stop being afraid to move when you have clearly heard God tell you to pack up and go. I get it. The place He is sending you too isn’t as glamorous as what is on your vision board, the man or woman doesn’t exactly match with what you have been daydreaming about, the car isn’t the one you would have picked, the pay isn’t what you think it should be, the congregation isn’t as large as you’d wish for or the diagnosis isn’t what you planned. But what did God say? Sure, things haven’t exactly gone according to your list and you have spent some nights crying and some days trying to negotiate the terms but what did God say? I know, it doesn’t really make sense but what did God say? It is out of your comfort zone but what did God say? For some of you, you did move and now you feel trapped. It feels like you are in bondage for doing what God said and it feels like you have to fight, tirelessly for what God has promised you but what did God say? In Jeremiah 33, Jeremiah finds himself in prison for preaching God’s word but while in the midst of guards and chains, God tells him in Jeremiah 33:3, “Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”

Beloved, it may not make sense to your natural but what did you hear God say? Do you not trust Him? Do you not believe He will provide and protect? Do you not trust what you heard? Because for me, I know what I heard and the bible tells me in Psalm 91:9-13, “Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.” I know what I heard God say and He told me “Because you love me and know my name, I will deliver you and set you on high. When you call me, I will answer and I will be there when trouble comes to rescue and honor you. I will reward you with a long life and show you my salvation. (Me paraphrasing Psalm 91:14-16.)” I know what I heard God say. So, I ask you again. Why are you afraid to go when you have heard God give direction? Why are you afraid to step out when you have heard God call your name? I know it looks terrifying but what did God say? It hurts but what did God say? You have lost some folk but what did God say? Trust God’s word because He has never failed you yet.

Daily Devotional – 6/4/18 “Breakout before breakthrough!”

When a person suffers with acne and they try new medication to fix the affected areas, there is normally a breakout that occurs. Does it look good, no but it needs to happen. See, during my research I found that when you switch to new medications and/or treatment, your skin has to purge or detox itself. When this happens, all of the ugly stuff lying dormant under your skin comes to the surface. Why? Because this new treatment plan doesn’t just treat the surface but it is attempting to get to the root of the problem and in order for the new medicine to work, it first has to clean out the mess that is occupying the space it needs. And for somebody reading this, you are trying to figure out why it seems that everything is popping out, around you, all at once. Everywhere you look you see pimples (Pain, illness, mistakes, persecution, longsuffering, emptiness and sadness) and scars (shame, calamity, accusations, rebuke and stumbling blocks). You can’t make sense of it and no matter what you do, you can’t get rid of it. Beloved, it’s because you switched to a new treatment called Jesus and in order for Him to clean you up, He first has to clean you out and this means getting to the root of the problem. Jesus is going beneath the surface because this time, when you asked Him to clean you up, it is for real and you are ready.

This is why folks are showing their true intentions. God is purging them from your system. This is why relationships that once worked, aren’t satisfying you anymore. God is purging them from your system. This is why the job laid you off. God is purging them from your system. Wondering why it feels like your place of worship is no longer fitting, God is purging them from your system. Old stuff popping up out of nowhere, God is purging them from your system. Jesus needs all of the mess gone because if He was to leave it, it runs the chance of attaching itself to the new treatment and causing it not to work. Does it look and feel good, nope but it has to be done. Come here David. In Psalm 51 he requested of God a clean heart after he’d had an affair with Bathsheba. David had a need to be cleaned so he cried out, “Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night. Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just.” God did but first He had to bring the mess to the surface. He couldn’t cover his breakout and neither can you so stop fighting the breakout because afterwards comes your breakthrough. Yes, the breakout is ugly and painful but the breakthrough is unmistakable and precise.

Daily Devotional – 6/1/18 “What if it’s protection, not punishment?”

What if it’s protection and not punishment? You know, the thing you are mad at God for. What if it’s protection and not punishment? When Joseph was sold by his brothers, accused of rape, thrown in jail and endured all he did; it wasn’t punishment but it was God protecting the very thing growing on the inside of Him. And he had to go through it in order for the anointing to be cultivated until it was time to be birthed. What if it’s protection, beloved? I’m talking to you, who is in a place of despair because you cannot understand why things aren’t happening for you. I’m talking to somebody who is about to give up because nobody is requesting your services, they will not call you to speak, they will not buy what you’re selling and they will not support whatever it is you got going. But what if this is God’s way of protecting you because the very thing you’re trying to give away is worth selling? What if this is God’s way of protecting your gift from those trying to use it for their gain? What if this is God’s way of ensuring you are ready before you take the platform? What if God closed your womb because He needs you happy and healthy before, during and after birth? What if God gave you sickness in order to strengthen you for the work that needs to be done? What if God is protecting you to make sure nobody else can get the credit?

What if it’s protection and not punishment? Bible shares in Isaiah 54:17, “No weapon that is formed against you will prosper; and every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their vindication is from Me,” declares the LORD.” Yes, it hurts. Yes, it hurts a lot but if you are obedient and faithful, it has to pay off. Why? Because bible tells us in Deuteronomy 28:1, “Now if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God and are careful to follow all His commandments I am giving you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.” This is especially true in those times when it’s quiet and nobody is calling, when the pain is at its all-time high, when it feels like you’re being tormented for doing good, overlooked for your anointing, misused for the message God gave and beat up for the blessings you are due. What if it’s protection? God hasn’t allowed your bank account to grow because He needs you to be able to turn some folk down who continually use you. God hasn’t made your name known because you aren’t ready to handle the warfare that comes with promotion. So, you cannot lose hope because 1 Peter 5:6-7 says, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, so that in due time He may exalt you. Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”</span? God cares enough about us to protect, provide, pardon, partake, perfect, perform, prevent, promise and promote. It may not be punishment but protection.

Daily Devotional – 5/31/18 “I will not explain!”

Stop trying to explain to folk how you made it, especially when most of them never believed you would. Stop feeling sorry for walking in purpose after you’ve survived being knocked down, too many times to count. Beloved, you have to get to a place where you tell folk, “I will not explain.” See, they weren’t there those days you contemplated suicide when the pain was too much. They were not there the nights you had to drink yourself to sleep because you were tired of being alone. They were not there those Sundays, after you’d preached real good and checking account still in the negative. They were not there those times you were abused by the one who vowed to love you. They weren’t there when you had to figure out how to feed a family of four, for a week, with the $20 you just borrowed from grandma. They weren’t there when you had to deal with being broken because you are anointed. They weren’t there when you were rejected for being righteous. They aren’t there when you encourage everybody else yet still suffering. They are not there when the voices, in your head, would not let you rest but you made it. They weren’t there when the depression, sickness and a shut womb almost shut you down but didn’t. Baby, don’t you dare explain!

From here on out; stand with your head high, your shoulders back and your neck on go to roll and to tell folk … I WILL NOT EXPLAIN! I will not explain why I love who I love. I will not explain why I live where I live. I will not explain why I drive what I drive. I will not explain why I put up with what I put up with. I will not explain why I serve like I serve. I will not explain why I do the things I do. I will not explain why I worship God like I do. And I definitely will not explain why God called me because you don’t understand it. Please hear me well, this is not personal but let me take it there for a line or two. You hear the sermon but you don’t see the hours of studying, missed times with family and friends and the struggle of carrying this mantle. You see the books being written but not the hours it takes to make sure it’s right, the money being spent when there were years of no sales and royalties. You see the glory but before you speculate, ask for the story. To make it plain, keep your mouth off of folk’s lives and blessings when you don’t know the hell they have endured and/or still enduring. Either be happy or hush. For our testimony is now Galatians 2:20, “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”