The Daily Devotional Blog

God is the rule changer, the deal maker, the changer of many things . He makes things happen that shouldn't normally happen. Yes, he is in the life-changing miracle-making business. If anyone says it can't be done, the next moment in a split second, that thing has changed. So this is my self-talk when I want something to happen that maybe shouldn't happen naturally:      If I don't try, how is it going to happen? They have to hire somebody, why not me? They have to sell that house or car to somebody, why not me? They have to get their college enrollment up, why not me? They have to increase their gym membership, why not me? In other words, things will change if God says they will change. That makes it so anything is possible. My mother used to always say, "people do what they wanna do." So if God says people will hook you up, then that's what they will do it even if their regular rules or procedures might dictate otherwise. God makes al

I like what Paul wrote in Ephesians 6 . He encouraged us to put on the armor (the shield, the protection, the defense) of God for us to be strong, mighty, and influential in the land. That is one of the main reasons we exist. I am going to break down and interpret each line of scripture that Paul talks about, because they are powerful words. The following is what Paul said: 10  Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. The Lord will give us what we need (the strength, power and boldness) to move on with our goals. 11  Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. Trust in God and stay atuned to Him. That way we will be able to stand boldly against any plot against us. 12  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. When people and things come against us, it

God exudes love . Everything about Him is good, loving, and gentle. God is not mean or the dark. He is kind and His light is bright. He is the light of the world . Who else can say that? Nobody. No thing. No place. So that means God can never hate you, only the opposite, He can only love you. Because the truth says, God is Love. Not much to write here. It's just that simple.

The Lord will give us what we long for in our hearts, but it will cost us something. We have to count up the costs. We have to be careful what we wish for. 

The Lord is truly the greatest. No person, place or thing is greater than He is. Period. End of story. That's great, because He makes all things good for us, His children. His kingdom.  There's a song by Vashawn Mitchell called, Greater. I love it, because the lyrics are so telling. S ome of the lyrics go like this:  " Searched all over, couldn't find nobody.  I looked high and low, still couldn't find nobody. Nobody greater, nobody greater than you Lord."  The search is over. There is only one person in this world, in this universe, who is the greatest. He is the great "I Am." He is everything. Without Him, we are void of life, void of love, and void of peace. We are nothing and can do nothing even if it seems we are doing something. We cannot truly exist without Him. I'm talking about Jesus Christ, the great Savior of the world. Let those words get into your spirit, let them soak up who you are as you continue to know Him, because no p

In the midst of a storm, no need to panic. That won't work. In the midst of drowning, no need to panic. That won't work. Operate with calm, in a cool fashion, in a collected manner, and you will be able to function much better and WIN. People also respect people who handle things that way because people think it's an organized and professional way to go about challenging situations. More of the Good News:  "The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace." Psalm 29:11

Why your Testimony is Important Many people believed in Jesus because of one woman’s testimony. She was the Samaritan woman who spoke to Jesus at the well. After her encounter with Jesus, her life changed. She wasn't the same person, so people thought wow if she can change so can I.  After the people heard her testimony, t hey said, “we no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.” This is the story from John 4:39-42 . And the moral of the story is, share your testimony, your story, your journey about how the Lord impacted your life and people will respond. Watch.

Change is hard, isn't it? But it must happen in order for growth to occur. Usually it's the hard things we experience that allow us to value who we are. It was that change that took us to the next level even if we went kicking and screaming, we are better for it. So we have to embrace those things that challenge us. Think about it, aren't you much better for the bitter pain you went through in order to get to the other side? It wasn't easy. And of course you wouldn't want to go through any of it again, but the lesson was worth where you are now. Yes all of those changes you went through, brought out the best in you so it wasn't all that bad now, was it? The process from a caterpillar to a butterfly is a painful one, but well worth it. Now you are even more beautiful and you can fly .  

Stay in the race. No matter how hard things get, k eep going. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer . Romans 12:12    

Don't grow weary of well doing because joy really does come in the morning or at some point. Problems are temporary, so keep praying and keep hope alive. Don't abandon that desire that longs in your heart, because what you dream about hasn't come yet. Look, I know how that feels. I'm in the same boat. I've been waiting for some things for so long that it's easy to just give up especially when those thoughts come in to abandon the dream.  But I know what the Lord said about me and I refuse to go let go of it. So keep on keeping on. You must not abandon the mission. That means, do not and I repeat, do not grow weary of well doing. You've come too far to go back now.

Stop being anxious, stop worrying, and start speaking positive words over your life. If any negative thoughts come in, go to automatic shift mode and quickly change those thoughts. It works. You will find you are able to relax, everything relaxes. Try it. I do it all the time and I'm telling you, it works. The proof: Proverbs 12:25 says, "Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad." So speak good words and listen to good words. Then watch what happens. You will be calm, cool, and collected. Those are other words for relaxation.

It's amazing how we forget about God when we feel we are successful (ie, status, position, title, job, money, houses, cars, etc). Yet when we were down and out, when we had nothing, we were crying at the altar and we gave God much of our time.  As God elevates us, we can't give in to the temptations that will come around. You've heard it before, new levels new devils. We have to be careful if we are to be fruitful and multiply.  So as God blesses us with those things we desire, we have to continue to praise, honor and worship Him. We must make the time to stay prayed up, read His word, praise and honor His holy name, and sing His praises. We must stay humble because going on without God will be an empty temporary existence. As we move to new heights we have to tell ourselves I won't go, Not without God .

We have to watch the people who tell us we're crazy for pursuing a DREAM they don't understand.  Just know that God birthed a DREAM in you for HIS glory. Not to make a bunch of scaredy cats comfortable because they're too scared to live out their own dreams.  Trust me, I know it's hard, but keep doing your thing and watch God. God put that dream in you to be blessed to be a blessing. That means the Lord will give you abundant resources in order to help people. Isn't Jesus awesome?  'Our dreams are to help someone else. Comfort is to help ourselves' ~Bruce Wilkinson'

I stumbled across a great book yesterday. It's called The Success Principles, by Jack Canfield. He said many things that resonated with me and some of the people I know.  For instance, Canfield said:   "You will never become successful as long as you continue to blame someone or something else for your lack of success. If you are going to be a winner,  you have to acknowledge the truth—it is you who took the actions, thought the thoughts, created the feelings, and made the choices that got you to where you now are. It was you!" Isn't THAT the truth? Although I didn't have time to read much of the book, I thought, wowwww yes that was me. Yet I have come to the realization that I have been my worst enemy when it came to accomplishing the things I should have accomplish, but no mas . No more holding up the many blessings and successes the Lord has for me. It's never too late to get what's mine. That's right. The Lord said I will restore all

You know why you're awesome? Because God does not make junk. It's impossible. It will never happen. You know why? Because God is perfect ( Matthew 5:48 ). Isn't that great? It's great for many reasons. One reason why it's great is that you are not an accident. It doesn't matter how you were conceived, it doesn't matter the mistakes your mother and father made, you are awesome. God knew exactly what He was doing way before your parents did, He knows what He's doing now, and He will always know what He's doing.  So that means since God is perfect, you are perfectly made too and if you are perfectly made, you are indeed awesome. Get it? Good.

It's amazing how we're too busy for God. Too busy to give Him a bit of our precious time. Too busy to go to the house of the Lord because we have too much going on. Too busy to have a conversation with Him because there's not an ounce of time left. Too busy to read His word because how in the world can we squeeze in another thing? What if God was too busy for us? Then what?

A golfer was once asked how he was able to win so many championships. He said, "I see every shot in my mind before my body gets involved." So that's how he wins. In other words, he wins before he wins. Before he even makes a move he paints the picture, he gets the image, he sees himself successful. Awesome.

Confidence looks good on you No matter what, we must believe in ourselves. Remember how I laid around (mostly at night) feeling sorry for myself? Well guess what? I wasted a lot of time just waiting for things to happen, waiting for things to fall out of the sky. Guess what else? It doesn't work like that. You have to get up and get going. I always thought I was the most confident girl in the room. Now I know that wasn't the case, because confidence is when we're with people and when we're by ourselves. What do you in your alone time? How do you feel? That's when we know how much confidence we really have. Confidence is silent and confidence is loud, but not the rowdy kind of loud. The effective kind of loud where we're making a positive difference and making an impact. Believe and you will achieve  As I go through life I realize what I need to do to put that confidence to work no matter where I am. How I make that work is by listening to God'

So I'm reading 2 Chronicles 20 , the story of how King Jehoshaphat defeated the armies of the Moabites and Ammonites (with some of the Meunites). I read it because during Sunday's sermon, Pastor Henderson, my pastor at New Beginnings Church in Matthews, NC, suggested we read it for perspective about praise. Pastor Henderson preached about the praise we all have in us that will help us fight our battles. Like Jehoshaphat, all we have to do is praise God, show up, and collect the plunder of our enemies. Yes the haters, because we all have haters, the people who wish us harm and may even try to do us harm, the people who want to take us out. Yet that can't dismay us. It can't make us give up. We can't let that scare us. When we sing the Lord's praises, 2 Chronicles 20:17 says, You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tom

So I'm reading 2 Chronicles 20 , the story of how King Jehoshaphat defeated the armies of the Moabites and Ammonites (with some of the Meunites). I read it because during Sunday's sermon, Pastor Henderson, my pastor at New Beginnings Church in Matthews, NC, suggested we read it for perspective about praise. Pastor Henderson preached about the praise we all have in us that will help us fight our battles. Like Jehoshaphat, all we have to do is praise God, show up, and collect the plunder of our enemies. Yes the haters, because we all have haters, the people who wish us harm and may even try to do us harm, the people who want to take us out. Yet that can't dismay us. It can't make us give up. We can't let that scare us. When we sing the Lord's praises, 2 Chronicles 20:17 says, You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face

What is success to me? So many things, namely, how we do what we do, how we work when no one else is around. Integrity. Having people count on us without lies coming out our mouths every 2 seconds. Success is being reliable. Success is hard work and showing ourselves approved by God.