Daily Devotional – 3/20/18 “Shake off the dust!”

Sometimes you have to take your loss, chalk it up to lesson learned, shake the dust from your feet and move on. Sure, you can sit and cry over the mistakes, beat yourself over the should haves and could haves and even wallow in your pity but what good will that do? You were denied, you didn’t get the promotion, you couldn’t get approved for the car you wanted, the church didn’t choose you as pastor, you were not selected as chairperson, the relationship didn’t work, the marriage failed, the medicine didn’t heal you and etc. but you cannot give up. What you can do, you can make notes of what didn’t work, this time, and try again. Understand, it means more work on your part but it’ll be worth it. This means you may have to do more research, take more time to get you together, go outside of your comfort zone, shed a few more tears and hear a few more no’s. However, eventually, it will pay off. Ask me how I know. It’s because I’ve been there. Even more transparency, there are still some days things don’t work out in my favor but I keep grinding.

I know I’ve shared a little about my struggle but it doesn’t go away overnight. There have been plenty of times I’ve had to cut my losses and move on. Did it hurt? Heck yeah but it pushes me and it makes me stronger. It also teaches me to value my worth. Look, I am a female preacher in a society where most say a woman can’t preach. This means I either don’t get an invitation to the table or if I do, I am paid significantly less than a man. Does that stop me? Nope, I simply shake the dust from my feet and move on. In the bible, when Jesus sent the disciples out to minister, He tells them in Matthew 10, to enter a place and find someone who is worthy and announce a blessing. If it turns out, they are indeed worthy, let your blessing stand but if they aren’t take it back. AND if they will not receive you or listen to you, shake the dust from your feet and leave that house or town. In other words, stop staying where you aren’t welcomed and stop wallowing in what you think is when you know it isn’t. If that’s a job, a relationship, a place of worship, a business, the grocery store or wherever. Cut your losses and move on because there is someone/something waiting on you elsewhere.

Excerpt – The Pastor’s Admin

The Pastor's Admin Banner

Tomorrow … touch your neighbor and say tomorrow. Tomorrow, beloveds, is release day for my twin sister, LaQuisha Dionne’s and my book “The Pastor’s Admin.”

I will be posting a giveaway, later today, as soon as I figure out what it will be. However, in the meantime, you can still pre-order your copy BUT let me tell y’all sumin.

Yes, this book is Christian based but it has sex scenes AND language. So govern thyself accordingly.

Get your copy HERE

EXCERPT::

JOSEPH

Walking into the church, I am met by Dee.

“Where’s Torre?”

“She’s not feeling well.”

She looks at me.

“What? She has a stomach bug or something.”

“I bet she does.”

“Dee, I am not in the mood for your shit this morning. I need to get ready for Sunday school.”

“No, you need to get ready to repent. Damn spawn of Satan.” She says before walking off.

I go into my office and close the door. When I see the Sunday school book on the corner of my desk, I pick it up and throw it across the room.

I press the intercom button. “Dee, have one of the deacons teach my class this morning.”

She doesn’t respond but I know she heard me. I take a seat at my desk and put my head in my hands before beginning to pray.

I am interrupted by a knock on the door.

“Not now Dee.”

“Pastor Thornton?”

“Oh Raven, what can I do for you?”

She smiles before coming in and closing the door.

“I was coming to see if you needed anything this morning.”

“No, I think I am good.”

“You sure there isn’t something I can do for you?” She walks around to the back of my chair, placing her hands on my shoulders. “You look a little stressed.”

“I am. Do you have something that can help with that?”

“I might.”

I take her hand from my shoulder and pull her around in from of me. “What did you have in mind?” I ask sliding back to let her sit on the end of my desk.

“Whatever you need.”

Her eyes travel down to the bulge in my pants.

I rub myself through my pants. “He could use some attention this morning.”

She moves from the desk to the couch. I stand and walk over, stopping in front of her. She unzips my pants and takes my penis into her hands before sliding it into her mouth.

“Ah,” I moan.

Sound of tapping on the door.

“One second.”

“Pastor, I need these–”

I look into Dee’s face as she stops at the door.

— The Pastor’s Admin

Releasing, March 20, 2018.

Get your copy HERE

The Pastor's Admin

Daily Devotional – 3/19/18 “Why God?”

Why God? When you initially look at these two words, the first thing that probably comes to mind is to question God. Why God is this happening? Why God hasn’t this happened? Why God do I have to suffer? Why God did my business fail? Why God isn’t anybody calling? Why God? But today, my question isn’t to God but it’s to you. Why God? In other words, why have you chosen God? Why do you go to worship every Sunday, bible study and Sunday school? Why do you attempt to live right? Why be devoted? Why pay tithes? Why God? I am asking you this question in order to prick your mind. See, it is easy for us to want to give up when trouble comes but then I remember why God. Sure, it’s easy to fall back into our old ways but then I remember why God. Yep, I can be angry at God for things not happening as quickly as I want but then I remember why God. For me, the answer is easy. I could tell you that I chose God because He chose me, He first loved me, He paid the ransom to the enemy for my life or because He’d anointed me. And while all these things are true, I chose God because He allowed me to try everything else and still called me worthy.

This is my truth but let me be clear. God wasn’t the last resort because I could have stayed in my hell and continued to struggle. He wasn’t the, “I guess I’ll try Him now,” kind of choice because I could have continued to shack up with trouble. I chose God after He’d allowed me to try everything else and He still waited on me. I chose God because He never gave up on me, instead He allowed me to make mistakes. I chose God because He never stopped calling, even when I’d ignore His calls, He’d simply leave a voicemail and then try again. God never stopped showing up, even if He had to peek through the window. Why God? Because everything else was easy but choosing God was hard. Why God? Because while being faithful to flesh was fulfilling, sacrificing to the spirit saved me. Why God? It’s like David says in Psalm 34:4, “I sought the LORD, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.” So now I ask you again, why God?

Daily Devotional – 3/15/18 “Spiritually equipped!”

Read the next line carefully … You cannot join a fight and not expect to get hit. This goes for physical but it absolutely goes for spiritual. This is why you have to be careful the battles you choose to war against, spiritually, because you may find it to be harder than expected. This is also why you have to be careful the conversations you join and the pity parties you accept invitations too. And going just to be nosey can get you caught up in some stuff you aren’t ready for. Beloved, the enemy doesn’t like the oily and the anointed. The enemy cannot stand the fact your feet hit the ground this morning. The enemy needs you to shut up and die but you won’t and now you got the audacity to be praying for the very folk he’s trying to break. Guess what’s about to happen, the enemy will attack you. Why? Because he needs you to hush. This is why you cannot take on what you know you cannot handle spiritually. Stop trying to cover everybody who shows up at the altar when you know you are a spiritual lightweight. Baby, there are levels to the anointing and when you tap into someone else fight, you better be ready to fight for them and FOR SELF! Please understand me plainly. I am in NO way insinuating your inability to handle whatever it is you’ve think you can handle but I need you to be aware of the things you may not expect.

The enemy doesn’t play fair and he will send attacks, to your house, simply for being in the meeting. And if you are unprepared to see the attacks before they happen, bind the attacks before they get loose and cast down the attacks after they’ve infiltrated your home; you’ll find yourself needing the same help you just gave. This is why you cannot lightly discount the real prophets, preachers and pastors who are willing to go to war for people because their suffering is ten times harder than the average believers. When you take on the demons of others, you feel the effects. Why do you think those prophets, preachers and pastors, who are for real about this spiritual thang, find it hard to sleep at night? It’s not because the TV shows are good but baby there is some work being done in the spiritual realm and the majority of time, it’s not for their house. No, you don’t have to stop praying for people and please don’t stop going to war for those who need it. However, equip yourself for the battle before you find yourself enlisted in a fight that can potentially leave you wounded, scarred or on the brink of death. Paul says in 1 Timothy 1:11-12, “Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.”

Daily Devotional – 3/14/18 “This test!”

Not every test, you go through, is because of the enemy. Don’t get me wrong, he can get down, dirty and nasty which makes it is very easy to blame the enemy but what if it isn’t him, this time? Couldn’t it be God testing your faith, strength and belief in Him? Could it be God testing your ability to keep the vow you just made? Could it be God seeing if you will hold up to what you just said you were fasting from? Could it not be Jesus testing to see if you still believe what you’ve witnessed? When Jesus tested Philip, before feeding the 5000, bible says in John 6:6, “He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do.” See, Jesus knew what He was about to do but Philip didn’t. BUT Philip had already witnessed Jesus performing miracles. So in a sense, Jesus was trying to see if Philip’s faith had the, “I’ve seen what you can do and I believe you’ll do it again,” praises. For us, Jesus knows what He’s about to do in our life but you don’t. However, you have seen Him perform miracles, haven’t you? You have seen Him heal, haven’t you? You have seen Him make ways when your natural had already determined there was no way, haven’t you? You have seen Him regulate reprobate minds, haven’t you? You have seen Him provide, haven’t you? You have witnessed miracles, haven’t you?

Then what makes you think Jesus can’t do it, this time? Yes, I know you’ve rechecked things, for the fifth time and you can’t see it working. Yes, I know you’ve tried all the courses of chemo, surgery and medicine and nothing has helped. Yes, I know you’re looking at the natural and you can’t see how this check is going to do it. I get it. However, you have two choices. You can either do as the bible says in 2 Corinthians 13:5, and “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves? Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you–unless, of course, you fail the test?” Or you can buckle under pressure and fail the test. Please understand, failing the test doesn’t mean you fail the course, it simply means you have some work to do. Philip’s response was based on what his eyes were seeing. He knew they didn’t have the resources to feed all those people. It’s didn’t mean, his belief was any less in Jesus but he was simply being realistic. You know how the story ends but what you may have missed is this. Jesus gave thanks, broke the bread and then gave the food to the disciples to hand out. Jesus put the blessing back into the hands of those who previously failed the test. Why? He needed them to work the miracle because working it made them partakers of it and not just witnesses. Beloved, you might have failed the test before but Jesus is about to take the very thing you failed at, give thanks, break it and then put it back in your hand for distribution to all those who need it. You simply need to stick close enough to get it. So you can’t give up based on what your natural sees, when you’ve been a witnessed to miracles before. This time, though, you won’t only be a witness but you’ll also be a recipient.