Devotionals Archives

September 19, 2020September 18, 2020

Praise Him In The Bad

“¹⁰And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.” ~ Job 42:10

Sometimes the LORD will allow us to go through times of difficulty, sorrow, pain, and suffering, so that the accuser may test us. See Satan accuses us day and night, and the LORD allows for him to take us through hardships that we don’t think we’ll be able to make it through. But that only lasts for a season, and if we still hold on to God. If we still trust in Him and give Him the praise and glory He deserves, He will take us through to the other side. And once we enter that other side, there will be a reward like we haven’t seen before. Whatever the devil took, God, will repay us, but with interest. Thank the LORD. For Job didn’t just receive back what was given to Him, but He received twice as much as before.

Times of trouble will come in each of our lives, but it’s how we react to those times of trouble that matter. It’s who we become in those times of hurt and pain that determines where we will end up, whether it be on the other side with less or on the other side with more. Don’t turn from God, for His benefits are everlasting. Praise in the good. Praise Him in the bad. And see if things will not change before your eyes. God honors the righteous.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Praise Him in the Bad.

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September 18, 2020September 14, 2020

The Garment of Praise

“to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.” ~ Isaiah 61:3

When we go through times of difficulty, we usually do everything in the book except praise. We cry. Scream. Yell. Rant. Get angry. Get counseling. Pray. Talk to each other. But we never stop and start praising. I understand why it’s hard to praise when your world comes crashing down on top of you. When you’re overwhelmed, and you can’t seem to get it together. It is hard to praise! But it’s necessary.

Praise isn’t for God. He doesn’t need our praise. God doesn’t suddenly get weak, or His glory grow dim because we stopped praising Him. Praise is for us. When we praise, God hears us. And if God is hearing us, then He will answer. Things begin to change when we praise because we’re no longer looking at our own self, we’re no longer looking at our own problems, we’re now completely focused on God. That’s when He can heal what’s been broken, breathe fresh life into us, and change our point of view. Depression has to flee when you praise. Suicide has to flee when you praise. Anxiety has to flee when you praise. Illness has to flee when you praise. Don’t stay defeated, put on the garment of praise, and watch your new outcome take place!

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Praise.

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Submit

²⁶Now two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the Spirit rested on them. They were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. ²⁷And, a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” ²⁸And Joshua, the son of Nun, the assistant of Moses from his youth, said, “My lord Moses, stop them.” ²⁹But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” ³⁰And Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp. ~ Numbers 11:26-30

Isn’t this us today? We get envious because someone else is doing great things in the Church and we try to discredit them. We doubt where it comes from. Or if we don’t understand why God gave them a gift that we feel they shouldn’t have or anyone should have, we doubt. We try to stop them. We try to shut them up. We try to quiet the spirit all because we do not understand. Because we don’t get it.

We get this false humility that tries to weaken the Church, but what we don’t understand is that God wants the Church to be strong. God wants His Spirit to rest upon all of us. He wants to use all of us. Why? Because that’s how He shows His glory. We are God’s biggest threat. Why? Because we are the only ones that can limit Him.

We limit Him with doubt. The lack of faith. Fear. False humility. A Judgmental Spirit. The lack of prayer. The lack of understanding. The lack of fasting. The lack of trust. The lack of belief. We limit God. We would have a much different world if we wouldn’t limit and hold back God. If we submitted to Him fully.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Submit.

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Sit At The Table

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” ~ Psalms 23:5

As Christians, Psalms 23 is one of the first verses we memorize. We all know it by memory, but do we fully understand it? Specifically, Psalms 23:5. What exactly was David getting at? What exactly was David trying to say? I believe David was trying to combat his fear. He was saying, when I’m surrounded by my enemies, you still prepare for me a table. No matter who is against me, no matter who is watching, no matter how much the world hates me, you still prepare for me my fill. You still give me more than enough. No matter how afraid I am. No matter how many there are of them, I am still given my blessing. I am still going to reap my harvest. I am still going to receive my just rewards.

David is overcoming his fear. He said to fear even though you speak loud, I will only keep my eyes on God. He said that it is God who anoints my head with oil. Why? Because in the midst of his enemies, God has chosen him. God has separated him and called him to a purpose. His cup overflows from the blessings God has poured out for him.

Fear will surround you and tell you, you’re not enough, and you’ll never be enough. But look to God, for He has set a table in the presence of your enemies so that you may eat and be made full. So that you may be chosen and anointed. So that you may drink and never go thirsty again. Don’t allow fear to keep you held back from the table, but walk boldly towards your call.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Sit At The Table.

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Wait

“When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.” ~ Acts 2:1-4

On the day of Pentecost, the disciples went into the Upper Room together. They were in one accord. They were waiting patiently. They could feel something happening in their atmosphere. And at the perfect time, The Father sent down the Holy Spirit, and He filled them. Things changed for each of them after that day. Death was no longer a fear for them. People were healed just by their shadows. Great things happened.

In our day and age, we don’t see that same greatness very much. The Holy Spirit didn’t change. Jesus’ promises didn’t fail. The Father didn’t suddenly change the rules. So what changed? The Church. We did.

We changed because we no longer wait upon the LORD, we no longer gather together, we no longer seek, we no longer follow Christ’s words, we have turned towards the world and allowed them to dictate to us what is important and what is right. On the Pentecost Sunday, I implore you to seek the LORD, to wait for an answer, and to follow His word. Don’t look to the right or to the left, look to the LORD for He is good and His plan is perfect. His ways are just. Don’t be distracted by church tradition, but let us come as one body because when we are united, there is nothing we cannot do.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Wait.

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Follow In Strong Footsteps

²¹Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed.” ²²So Laban gathered together all the people of the place and made a feast. ²³But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and he went in to her. ²⁴(Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.) ²⁵And in the morning, behold, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?” ²⁶Laban said, “It is not so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. ~ Genesis 29:21-26

When Laban heard Jacob’s story, he said “surely you are flesh of my flesh and bone of my bone”, could that be a family curse? Rebecca convinced Jacob to pose as Esau to receive Esau’s blessing. Laban tricked Jacob into serving 14 years for his daughter Rachel.

Was that a family trait? To be cheating and conniving? Do we have family traits that cause us to be held back in life? Laban cheated Jacob more than once, and was held back in blessings because of it. Do we have family traits that hold us back? Imagine how much blessings Laban could have received if he wasn’t always trying to cheat to get ahead. Imagine the blessing if we didn’t continue in our old ways because it’s how our family works or how our family thinks. What if we changed our mindset and broke the yokes of our past.

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Become Even More Undignified Than This

²⁰When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!”

²¹David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the Lord. ²²I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.” ~ 2 Samuel 6:20-22

A lot of times pride will stop us from praising God. We’re so caught up in what people will think, that we stop caring about what God thinks. We’d rather please humans than please God. God desires us to give Him our very best. He desires us to give Him our everything, but how can we do that when we’re focused on what the person next to us will think? David, the King of Israel, didn’t care what anyone said, not even his wife. David said he would make himself more undignified than this.

See, we get caught up with how we will look to people. Or how we will come across to people. We say, ‘oh I don’t want to turn them off from our church,’ but really we’re saying, ‘I don’t want to offend their religious spirit, it is better we offend God and not give Him our everything.’ Too often we allow the spirit of religion and pride to overtake us. We have to make a stand as David did, we have to decide who we’re doing all of this for. Who we’re celebrating before. Bringing praises to. We need to make a stand before man and before God. We have to choose who we’re going to worry about offending.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Become Even More Undignified Than This.

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September 12, 2020September 11, 2020

Be Unoffended

“⁴And Jesus answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you hear and see: ⁵the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. ⁶And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.’” ~ Matthew 11:4-6

Blessed is the one who is not offended by me. It’s hard to believe that people would be offended by Jesus. I mean He’s doing all these miracles, healing the sick, the blind, the deaf, the mute, He even raises the dead, how can people be offended by Him?

But people are offended by Him today as well. People are offended by anyone who calls out their sin. People are offended by anyone who can do things they cannot. People are offended by anyone who is righteous if they are not. People are offended by others who are blessed, financially and favorably. People are offended by things they do not understand. God said the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge. Therefore how can they understand Jesus, when they have no knowledge because they have no fear. They have no regard for the things of God, so they are offended by those who do.

We are also offended by the amount of time that we are in trials and tribulations because we don’t deserve this. We’re good Christians. Here’s the thing. John the Baptist was a great prophet, what does this have to do with anything? This was when John was imprisoned in Galilee, during that time, Jesus was preaching in Galilee, but He never released John from his cell. In fact, John was eventually beheaded by the same man that put him in prison. Jesus is also saying here, don’t be offended by what I do. Trial and tribulation comes, but the Son of Man is not to always intervene. We will receive our reward after the trial, whether on Earth or in Eternity. Which is why He says, “Blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” It’s a hard pill to swallow, but when it goes down, great things happen.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Unoffended.

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Worship Away The Pain

¹⁹David noticed that his attendants were whispering among themselves, and he realized the child was dead. “Is the child dead?” he asked. “Yes,” they replied, “he is dead.” ²⁰Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions, and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request, they served him food, and he ate. ~ 2 Samuel 12:19-20

Because of David’s sin, his son died as a baby. David could have closed up and drawn into himself, but instead, when the news was told to him, he went and prepared himself that he would be accepted before the LORD and he worshiped. He went to God even when it was God who took his child, He still went back to God. He didn’t get angry at God. He didn’t rebel against God. He humbled Himself before God and worshiped. When we worship, we release pain. Regret. Sorrow. Anger. We release emotions that hold us back, and we give them to God.

How often can we say we bring our pain, sorrows, and hurt to God? More times than not, we go to friends. Family. Alcohol. Drugs. Facebook. Instagram. Snapchat. We go to social media more than we go to God. Why is that? The majority of the time, we don’t want to let go of our pain. We want to hold on to the pain, post on social media unnecessary TMI posts all to get sympathy and pity. We don’t want to release the pain, we want to gain recognition that we have it hard, that it’s such a difficult thing to overcome. Now I’m not saying, never talk to another person about your problems, or never share on social media your trials. I’m saying go to God first, worship, release that hurt and pain, then go to trusted friends and family. Go to them not seeking pity, but seeking to build each other up. Use social media to tell the world it’s possible to overcome, not woe is me. Worship changes things, don’t neglect a time of worship!

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Worship Away The Pain!

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Bring Your Best

²²And David said to Ornan, “Give me the site of the threshing floor that I may build on it an altar to the Lord—give it to me at its full price—that the plague may be averted from the people.” ²³Then Ornan said to David, “Take it, and let my lord the king do what seems good to him. See, I give the oxen for burnt offerings and the threshing sledges for the wood and the wheat for a grain offering; I give it all.” ²⁴But King David said to Ornan, “No, but I will buy them for the full price. I will not take for the Lord what is yours, nor offer burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” ~ 1 Chronicles 21:22-24

How often do we bring offerings that cost us nothing, and expect God to move mountains for us? We don’t want to be uncomfortable or be put out in order to give God what He deserves. We will settle for less than the very minimum so that we can ease our conscience and continue on with our lives. We expect God to do great things for us, to have mercy on us, to show us favor and grace, yet we never want to step out and give God our best. We never want to sacrifice our flesh for God. Sacrifice our time. Sacrifice our food. Our music. We want our cake and eat it too.

Stop settling for the bare minimum. You want to see great things happen? Then you need to do great things. You need to sacrifice your time. Your food. Your flesh. Your music. You have to bring your very best when you come before the altar of God. Don’t be fooled by the idea that God is just a genie waiting for you to make a request. Sure He desires you to come before Him, to make your requests known to Him, but not empty-handed. Not without bringing something first for Him. Bring your offerings and sacrifices that cost you something.

Too often we are like Cain, we bring whatever falls off the tree and expect God to be excited and thankful for some dropped fruit. We need to be like Abel, who brought his very best. He brought the first and gave it to God. We see the Abels of the world being accepted, and we become envious. Instead of us giving our best and doing what we know we need to do, we focus on the Abels, and we try to destroy them, in turn destroying ourselves. Don’t look at others and their rewards, you never know what they sacrificed to get it. Bring your own sacrifices, your own offerings to the Altar of God.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Bring Your Best.

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