Daily Devotion

We are not Orphans

 

"We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed."  2 Corinthians 4:9

 

I do not think it ever truly dawned on me what the latter part of this scripture meant: "There shall not any man be able to stand before you all the days of your life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with you: I will not fail you, nor forsake you." Joshua 1:5  God is omnipotent and omnipresent.  God says I will never fail you or abandon you.  But have you ever asked yourself why would the person that loves us the most ever leave us?  Why would the person that sacrificed of Himself for our salvation ever desert us, especially in times of trouble?  Why would God ever flee from us?

 

What made me realize it was when my dad died.  I isolated myself from everyone, friends, family, and everyone so I could avoid dealing with the pain.  But the truth was that the pain was there no matter what I did.  It would not go away.  I didn't realize in my decision to cut myself off from the world, that I turned my face away from God, the only person that can heal me and take the hurt away.  So instead, I was hunted down by the devil and his demons, to be tortured and taunted until I remembered who I am.  I am not a parentless child.  Yes I still have my mom, but it was something in the loss of my father that made me feel alone in the world.  But God never left me.  He never leaves us!  On the contrary, it is us that turn away from Him with our sins and in our immaturity of faith.  It is us that walk away from Him.

 

"When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, Because the LORD is the One who holds his hand."  Psalm 37:24  God held my hand and He will hold yours.  You are not alone, you are not an orphan.  You have a father or a mother or a friend in God--He is whatever you need Him to be!

 

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."  Romans 8:38-39

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"No weapon formed against you shall prosper; and every tongue that rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of God and their righteousness is of me," says the Lord.  Isaiah 54:17

Daily Devotion

What about Your Friends?

"Stop becoming unevenly yoked with unbelievers. What partnership can righteousness have with lawlessness? What fellowship can light have with darkness?"  2 Corinthians 6:14

 

Hey yall!!  I'm great!! I'm tired, but great!  I hope that everything has been going well in your life and simply that you are just enjoying the walk.  Okay so here's the scoop.  Lately I have been evaluating my friendships and associations.  One of my best friends has been doing the same thing.  And in this process we have been allowing ourselves to be open to the changes God brings.  I was checking my facebook as I have not really sat down and looked on it in a while.  One of my friends posted a video from Pastor Justin out in LA about being unequally yoked.  His was directed at romantic relationships, but I felt it on my heart that it also applies to all relationships and associations we have.

 

  My title makes me think about that TLC song (I LOVEDDD THEM growing up lol).  But really, what about your friends? What kind of people do you surround yourself with? Are they people that are hindering your growth and keeping you away from God's light? Are they extinguishing the embers that fill your soul or do that add fuel to it?  Are they building you up? Are they encouraging you when you are weak? Are they filling you on the word of God? Are they pulling you out of the pity pit when you take a weekend (or week) trip there or are they the ones that took you there?  Are they telling you its okay to party all night and not to go to church on Sunday or are they calling you to go with them?  Are they joining you in a roasting your ex session or are they helping you see the blessings God has given you, the deliverance, the prosperity?  What about them??? Are they adding to your life or taking away??

 

The video I watched pointed out 10 things about being in a relationship were the two were unequally yoked.  But some of us are being pulled down by the "friends" we have, people that want us to stay where we were 10 years ago.  We've got to stop people!! I don't know about you, but to me its truly a divine privilege to be set apart by God and to live wholeheartedly for Him!  Even if I don't keep a friend, guy or girl, because they don't agree with where God is leading me, I'm all the better for it because He has truly helped me to see what is more important...and that's to be friends with Him.  I'd rather have Jesus as my friend any day that someone who is not adding to my life.  Good night!! 

 

"You are my friends if you do what I command."  John 15:14

 

Here's the link to the video that I saw earlier:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5ePPBWJy8E
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"No weapon formed against you shall prosper; and every tongue that rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of God and their righteousness is of me," says the Lord.  Isaiah 54:17

Daily Devotion #6

No Substitutes

“And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19

I don’t know about you, but when I was in school whenever there was a substitute teacher, we never got any work done. Some of my classmates would act a fool and get in trouble later on with the principal. But the crazy thing is that nothing has changed…my friends that teach tell me how their kids act crazy when they are out. My, my, there’s nothing new under the sun. There is no one like the real teacher to make you act right hahah!

But for a different twist, have you realized that when you try to substitute something for the real thing how it just isn’t the same? Mainly, when you try to fill the voids in your life with money, meaningless relationships, and other people instead of with God? Lately, my prayer has been that God fill the voids left open in my life. And I really realized today how He has done that. For my earthly father, He himself has stepped in to make me really see what love is. For a lack of relationships with members of my extended family, He has blessed me with a huge extended family of Christians to be there for me. He has had my friends and other family members step up when I feel lonely; He has blessed me with new friends to make my home feel like my home. He has blessed me by having my little brother and dog stay with me this summer so that I will not be by myself so much. My mama told me I used to ask for a little sister, and I always secretly wished I had an older sister and if you don’t know that God has given me plenty of sisters, through Delta, church, and just life so I know that He does provide. Every need I have asked, God has provided. When I was trying to substitute people and things for His presence, I felt empty and truthfully, under attack. It wasn’t until I went back to the source, to the original, that things started going right again. Don’t ever try to use a substitute in place of God because it just won’t work.

“Who is like you among the gods, O LORD? Who is like you? You are glorious because of your holiness and awe-inspiring because of your splendor. You perform miracles.” Exodus 15:11

Daily Devotion #5

All It Takes is a Seed

“Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.” Luke 8:11

A corn stalk grows from a single seed; a tulip or onion from a single bulb. Faith is like that…and so is fear and doubt. Have you ever notice how you can be thinking about something and your mind goes off on a tangent with the insertion of one word? Or have you ever realized that one bad thing can spoil your entire day, that is, if you let it?

For me, growing up all it took was reading one scripture during the church service to stimulate me to read the rest of the chapter (and often resulting in me ignoring what the preacher was saying). Even now it takes one word or thought for me to get upset, one word or thought to change the direction that my mind was going in. We have the power to uproot negativity. We can choose to plant the seeds of God, the Word of God, in our hearts and minds so that we bear fruit reflective of Him or we can continue to feed on the negativity and defeatist seeds that serve to destroy our souls. Prime example: if you keep telling a child how bad or worthless they are, they eventually believe it, and start doing things that line up with that way of thought. They rebel, they do things that are unhealthy and destructive until they hit rock bottom. And why? Because someone planted the seed that they were worthless and that they had to conform to the image of worthlessness that they began to construct of themselves. Choose the right seed! Speak life into everything you touch and everyone you come across because as you speak you hear for yourself…

“For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned.” Matthew 12:37

Daily Devotion #4

Check Your Motives

“For the LORD sees clearly what a man does, examining every path he takes.” Proverbs 5:21

In college, I used to do people’s hair in my dorm to make extra money. Some of the girls were my friends, whose hair I did not mind doing at all, while others just became friends with me so that I would do their hair. Me, being kindhearted and just social, did not really realize that some people were only friends with me because of that. But I eventually got wise and stopped doing their hair. I have had several other situations like that where people became friends with me because of something I possessed or something that would help them get ahead in some way. I myself am guilty of becoming friends with people under the wrong pretenses. I felt convicted today because I was ready to just stop being friends with someone because of all the faults I found in that person…not searching my own.

The scripture above says that God sees everything that we do clearly—without blinders, knowing our every intention, desire, and purpose. God examines everything we do, and fortunately for me today, He will often convict us if we so desire that correction. Hebrews 4:13 says “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” So know that God sees all! You are only lying to yourself if you do not acknowledge your motives! Search yourself and look for the real reason you are doing something. Ask yourself as Job’s no-good friends asked him, ” Will it be well when He examines you? Or will you deceive Him as one deceives a man?” Job 13:9 Make sure that your motives are genuine, pure and of a loving heart…because God sees and knows everything!

“All a man's ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the LORD.” Proverbs 16:2

Daily Devotion #3

Mended Hearts

“He heals the broken in heart, and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3

We all at some point or another have the painful experience of a broken heart. A break-up, or the even more painful loss of a loved one…the feeling of hopelessness is about the same and it feels as if the world has come to an end. Life is unpredictable; there is no way to know what will happen over the course of a person’s existence. One thing is certain—people will experience ups and downs, with some of the downs being more painful than the rest.

But God does not say we will walk around without pain. In fact, countless times we are told to endure suffering with joy and with expectation of the glory of God at the end of our trials. We are told that God will mend our broken hearts. We are told to give our cares (which would most certainly include our heartaches and pains, right?) to Him. We are told not to worry or fret. So it seems that we can rectify this by simply giving the pains to Him.

Jesus was sent to be the sacrifice of all sacrifices. He was sent to redeem us from eternal damnation and permanent separation from God. (Colossians 2:13) He was sent to heal the sick and to forgive our sins. (Ephesians 2:5) He came to give us life, and how can we truly have the life He intended for us to have if we are walking around broken? Turn to Jesus for your healing!

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,” Luke 4:18

Daily Devotion #2

Open Your Fists

“He has given with open hands to the poor; his righteousness is for ever; his horn will be lifted up with honour.” Psalm 112:9

I can’t remember where I was, maybe at church, but the speaker said, you cannot get anything in your hands unless you open them. You cannot get more by clinching what you have. And not just for money, but for everything. You cannot have more friends until you try being a friend. You must truly be willing to give of yourself in order to receive. Even down to your problems. You cannot possibly be healed if you won’t let go of the problems that you are holding on to. Quit grasping onto everything and let God in! That is all He wants, for us to open our hands and take hold of His.

Daily Devotion

The Art of Letting Go

“Throw all your worry on him, because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7 ISV

You let go of a balloon string one finger at a time…someone’s hand by unclasping your fingers. You let go of your breath by exhaling. You let go of the past by leaving it where it is…behind you. You let go of the future by taking each day as it comes. You let go of worries, cares, anxieties, frustrations, and issues by leaving them at the throne with God. But how do you do these things if you have never done them before in your life? How do you simply learn to release when you have never released?

Isaiah 61:1 says “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the LORD has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners;.” Take note of the last part: to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners. You are holding yourself prisoner to every problem you hold on to. You make yourself captive to whatever it is that you cannot relinquish to God. Letting go is a day to day, moment to moment thing. You cannot let go if you constantly are taking your problems back for yourself. Letting go involves trust—trusting that if you exhale you will automatically inhale again, that if you give your problem to God He will do what He says and take care of it. Maybe you feel you cannot let go because of how things have happened in your past…but you cannot live if you live in the past; you will make the same mistakes and ultimately repeat those same decisions and reap the same results. Letting go is an art because no one comes to it the same way but you can all get the same solution. It is something you must learn to do, but you have to be willing to be taught and trust that God will never do anything to hurt you.