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.

Daily Devotional – 3/12/18 “The need to be stretched!”

God will put you in a painful place, intentionally and allow you to hurt. God will deliberately place you around folk who talk about you, all day long and you’ll know it. God is going to assign you some stuff to do, you know don’t make sense to your natural. God is going to strategically place you at tables with the same folk who have denied you access, more than once. God is going to send you into places ‘they’ said you didn’t deserve entrance too. God is going to give you First Class tickets to platforms people said you didn’t belong and you’ll see them roll their eyes. God is going to methodically put you in covenant with some people who have screenshots of you in their phone. Those same ones who wake up every morning talking about you in group texts will be the very ones God sends you to help. And He’s going to fill the audience with people who will never clap for you. You want to know why? It’s to stretch you. Beloved, God is stretching those who have been in the background, passed their time. God is stretching those of us who have been overworked and underpaid. God is stretching those of us who has a sound for this season. God is stretching those of us whose shoulders are now strong enough to carry the mantle. God is stretching those of us who are now capable of paying the cost for oil. God is stretching those of us who are no longer afraid but now are willing.

But why do we need to be stretched? To keep motion in our joints, to prevent muscle fatigue and to keep us from snapping. You don’t have to believe me but pick up a rubber band that has been sitting somewhere for a while and stretch it. More than likely, it’ll snap. When you work out and you don’t stretch (before and after); you may find it hard to move the next day. This is because there has been no mobility given to the joints/muscles. Oh but had you stretched, you would still feel the workout but you’ll be able to handle it better. So you see, God has no choice but to stretch those of us He is about to use. This is to ensure we can handle the pulls and the pushes and still be able to move afterwards. And it’s to make sure we can be stretched and then bounce back to look like nothing ever happened. Sure, it’s going to hurt but that is only for us to remember being stretched in the first place because when we do; it ought to make us thankful to have survived. If that isn’t enough, think about this … if Jesus could stretch out His arms for us, when we didn’t deserve it, surely we can be momentarily stretched for Him because He does.

New Book Alert – The Pastor’s Admin

The Pastor's Admin Banner

PRE-ORDER HERE

THE PASTOR’S ADMIN

Coming March 20, 2018 from Lakisha Johnson and Laquisha Rucker

**DISCLAIMER** This is Christian FICTION which includes some sex scenes and language. ***

Daphne ‘Dee’ Gary used to love being an admin … until Joseph Thornton.

She has been his administrative assistant for ten years and each year, she has to decide whether it will be his secrets or her sanity.

And the choice is beginning to take a toil.

Joseph is the founder and pastor of Assembly of God Christian Center and he is, hell, there are so many words Daphne can use to describe him but none are good. He does things without thinking of the consequence because he knows Dee will be there to bail him out. Truth is, she has too because … it’s her job, right?

A job she has been questioning lately.

Daphne knows life can be hard and flesh will sometimes win but when she has to choose between HIS SECRETS or HER SANITY, this time, will she remain The Pastor’s Admin?

EXCERPT::

“No, this time you don’t get to apologize. This time, I’m the one who’s sorry for staying with a piece of man like you. I’m the one who is sorry for giving my all to you when I knew it was too much for you to handle. I’m the one who is sorry for ever thinking my favor was fashioned for you. This time, I’m the one who is sorry for ever giving you a position you weren’t trained for.”

Coming March 20th

PRE-ORDER HERE

The Pastor's Admin

Daily Devotional – 3/9/18 “Two choices!”

God can give you an abundant blessing and it still will not grant you abundance if your mindset is limited. Think about this … God wants to stretch you, in every area of your life and what you’ve been praying for, finally shows up. The career you’ve been dreaming of which can give you the house, car and a few dollars in the bank but it’s in another state. The book idea that can soar you beyond your wildest imagination but it’s not what you’re used to writing about. The lead pastor position but it’s a church that is smaller than you pictured. A car but it’s not the model you pinned to your vision board. The spouse but they don’t fit the requirements on your list. The promotion but it’s not the department you wanted. The healing but it can only happen going a route you hadn’t planned on taking. And now you’re still stuck because the thoughts, in your mind, made you believe it was outside of your limits. What do you do now? Well you have two options.

Number one: You can hush and continue to bust your butt in that dead-end job. You can hush and continue to sleep in the room you grew up in at your parent’s house. You can hush and keep accepting the minimum because that’s what your mind has made you believe you’re worth. You can hush and keep stopping at the limit OR Number two: You can take the limits off. You can stop placing a limit on what you think you’re worth. You can act like the millionaire until your net worth matches your mindset. You can walk like the promotion until it reflects beside your name. You can walk like you’re healed until healing comes forth. You can act like your 2002 Nissan is a Benz until it’s parked in the garage. You can act like you are worthy of being a spouse until someone changes your last name. You can walk in the mega until it manifest itself. Baby, I may not be preaching to hundreds, down in Hollywood, MS but I act like I am. I may not have thousands in the bank but I act like I do. I may not walk in hundred-dollar shoes or dress in designer but I act like I do. You might now know my name when I walk in but I act like you do. Why? Because I’ve taken the limits off. I stopped praying for God to bless me with the amount of my monthly mortgage, I asked God to pay it off and then some. I stopped asking God for an amount to sustain me, just this week, God I need you to make me prosperous for the rest of my life. God’s word says in John 14:13, “Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” So why are you putting a limit on your limitless God?

Daily Devotional – 3/7/18 “What’s distracting you?”

Distraction, a noun, is defined as a thing that prevents someone from giving full attention to something else AND extreme agitation of the mind or emotions. In Lakisha’s words, it’s the thing preventing you from doing what you know you should be doing. It’s that thing that shows up every time you’re happy, just to agitate your mind. It’s that thing that occurs, taking your attention away from completing your vision. It distracts you from seeing the God in your situation so you’ll only focus on the bad. It, she, he or they are those that know how to toy with your emotions and they are good at it. They know the right words to get you to open the door. They know the right place to touch to get you to pull back the covers and let them in. They know the exact moment to text, knowing you’ll respond. It’s that thing that looks and feels good but means no good. Distractions, how many of us have them? You don’t have to raise your hand but I need you to recognize and call out your distraction(s) because when you can be honest with yourself, you can deal with it. Because let’s be real with self for a moment and admit you know who or what your distraction is and why you still fall for it.

And the reason you still fall so easily for it, is because it still tickles your fancy, it’s comfortable, you know it and it is easy to get. Why do you think an addict, who has access to what they are addicted too, has a hard time getting clean? Why do you think it’s hard to focus on your new relationship when you are still being distracted by the remnants of the old one? You can’t even focus on your new place of worship because you keep checking to see what the old church is doing. You keep stalking your ex’s pages, looking at old text messages and going through old pictures. You still got emails when folk denied you and old medical records of when you used to be sick. Baby, if you don’t get rid of those distractions. A person losing weight cannot keep a refrigerator and freezer full of the old things they used to eat, it’s a distraction. In Luke 10:40, while Mary was at the feet of Jesus, bible shares that Martha was distracted by preparing dinner and when she spoke to Jesus, He replied in Luke 10:41-42, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” Beloved, what’s distracting you?