Daily Devotional – 6/12/18 “Stand firm in faith!”

Look, I know you are hard pressed when the enemy has deliberately disrupted your day but that is his job. You have to understand something. When you pray for God to open doors and He does, the enemy opens distractions. When you pray for God to enlarge your territory and He does, the enemy sends termites (folk to feed on your prosperity) to eat away the structure. When you pray for a harvest and it happens, the enemy sends weeds to choke out your fruit. IT IS HIS JOB! This is why it is important to eat, digest and regurgitate God’s word because bible says 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.” Devour means eat hungrily or quickly, consume destructively or be totally absorbed by an unpleasant feeling. Baby, the enemy does not show up to play with you, he comes to slay you. Want to know how you can survive without being devoured. Stop entertaining him when he shows up. In other words, stop dabbling in mess. Stop trying the quick fix schemes. Stop falling for the smooth talk. Resist the urge to go back to what used to make you feel good and fight the feeling to reply to that text. For 1 Peter 5:9 continues and it says, “But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.”

BUT RESIST HIM, FIRM IN YOUR FAITH! What does this mean? It means, although I can’t see it, I will faith it until it happens. Even though it doesn’t make sense right now, I’ll faith it until I understand. Yea, I might be lonely but I’ll lay in my faith until God sends me who is mine. I want to get even but I’ll let faith do the fighting. I can’t see how I’m going to make it but I got faith so it has to work on my behalf. Sickness getting worse but my faith tells me God is a healer. Folk praying for my downfall but my faith tells me, God rewards those who diligently seek Him so when I want to succumb, I’ll submit to God instead. When I want to surrender, I’ll stand tall in faith knowing whatever God has for me, is for me and no man or enemy can keep me from it. Therefore, I rejoice in knowing I must endure tribulation before I can enter the kingdom of God. Beloved, your work is not in vain. All I need you to do is stay the course because in due time you’ll hear, all clear for takeoff. In the meantime, before you take flight; prepare for the turbulence so you will not be caught off guard.

Daily Devotional – 6/11/18 “Be quiet this time!”

There are days I do not write a devotional. It’s not due to being lazy, picking and choosing but I move by the command of the Holy Spirit. See, if I were to write, from a personal space, this devotional would not benefit you spiritually. Yeah, it will give you access to my life but it would do nothing for yours. This is why I am sometimes quiet. I don’t know why I was led to share this but somebody needs to know today, it is okay to be quiet. Stop reacting to everything. Stop flying off the handle. Stop engaging every argument. Stop giving your two cents to every discussion. Stop posting on social media when things happen. Sometimes the blessing is in your silence. Sometimes the ending to your hurt is in you hushing. Not everything deserves a response. Sure, it may feel good but when you are lying awake at night, replaying the words spoken; you’ll wish you could take them back. Beloved, not every fight is your fight. Sit this one out and hush. When you do, you allow God to fight it for you. Moses told the people, while they were whining and complaining about being saved from their bondage in Egypt, in Exodus 14:13-14, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

I know you want to do it on your own but be quiet, this time. I know you want to fix it but be quiet this time. I know you’re looking at what you can physically see but be quiet this time. I know the date is nearing for when they will cut off your service and there is no check in the mail but be quiet this time. Surgery date is drawing near and God’s promise of healing hasn’t shown up but be quiet this time. You want to call it quits on your marriage but be quiet this time. You are thinking about resigning from your position in the church and the deacon meeting is coming up but be quiet this time. You are recounting the pills that will end your life because nobody is there to help you but be quiet this time. It don’t make sense but be quiet this time. That addiction is calling your name but be quiet this time. Want to fight but be quiet this time. Because, “The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.” And get this, the very enemy you are facing NOW, you will NOT see them again. Refer back to Exodus 14. If this isn’t enough to make you shut up and shout, the bible shares in Lamentations 3:25-26, “The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.” Yes ma’am, sir; It easy to fight and hard to keep quiet but being quiet may just keep your life. Be quiet this time.

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.