I pray all is well and you are in a place of perfect peace in the Lord. I was grounded the last couple of weeks due to COVID hitting me and my husband hard. I am still healing and getting stronger. Thanks be to God, that my praise and worship of the Most High God did not shake or waiver.
When everything is said and done, nothing else matters except our relationship with the Triune God, consisting of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. If our spiritual life is out of synch, every other area of our lives will be out of synch.
Scriptures of Decision
Joshua 24:14-15
New King James Version
14 “Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of [a]the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! 15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of [b]the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Songs of Worship and Praise
Family, please search your heart today. If there is anything that is blocking the path to God in your life, I pray that you lay it before God and repent. Open up your heart to God and allow the amazing, pure, and holy love of God to overtake every cell, atom, and molecule of your body.
Open your mouth and communicate with God. Go back to the heart of worship and stay there. I love you all with the amazing and everlasting love of our Lord and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, in whom we live, move, and have our being. Amen and Amen.
I pray you are living boldly in the peace and joy of our Lord, Jesus the Christ. Life may not always be perfect, and circumstances may change from day to day, but because our strength and identity are in the Lord, we are not easily shaken.
Last week and this week, my husband and I were both so sick. We are on the mend, but everything we did felt like so much work because our immune systems, respectively, were using all our energy trying to heal us.
Sometimes, we may feel in our spirit that we have nothing left to give and it’s just not worth the energy and work it takes to go on any further. It is in those times that we must remember to call on our Help.
In our scripture passage this week, the Lord led me to the story of the prophet Elijah and the widow woman and son who were starving to death. She was ready to die, but God spoke to her. In this passage, the most important verses are 8 and 9. None of the rest of this passage would have been possible if the widow had not been obedient to the instructions given by the Lord.
God may ask us to do some of the strangest things when we are in our darkest hour. If we would only trust God and be sensitive to His voice, a day of darkness can quickly turn into our greatest testimony.
Scriptures of Hope
1 Kings 17:8-16
Living Bible
8-9 Then the Lord said to him, “Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. There is a widow there who will feed you. I have given her my instructions.”
10 So he went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the gates of the city he saw a widow gathering sticks; and he asked her for a cup of water.
11 As she was going to get it, he called to her, “Bring me a bite of bread too.”
12 But she said, “I swear by the Lord your God that I haven’t a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jar. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I must die of starvation.”
13 But Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and cook that ‘last meal,’ but bake me a little loaf of bread first; and afterwards there will still be enough food for you and your son. 14 For the Lord God of Israel says that there will always be plenty of flour and oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!”
15 So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her son continued to eat from her supply of flour and oil as long as it was needed. 16 For no matter how much they used, there was always plenty left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah!
Song of Faith
Bishop Marvin L Winans
Family, can’t you just hear the widow singing this song as she was gathering sticks to cook what she thought was her and her son’s last meal? With tears in her eyes, she listened to the Lord, even though she didn’t know that her greatest blessing was on the other side of her obedience.
Hold fast, Family. We may not always have the full picture of what is about to happen, but we must trust God’s voice. Family, I pray your strength in the Lord. Keep pressing on…
I pray that you are living peaceful and full of joy in the presence of God. I love learning and growing in the Lord. There is always so much that the Holy Spirit teaches me. Do you know what’s crazy? No matter how many times I read the same passage of scripture, the Holy Spirit ALWAYS reveals something new.
Being open to instruction and guidance from the Word of God is important. We probably each know a person who thinks that they know everything about everything, especially when it comes to knowing what is best for their lives.
When we talk to people and they begin to share what is going on in their lives, our Spiderman Spiritual Senses began to go off and we offer support by sharing a certain passage from the Word. Nine times out of ten, their sesponse will be one of these:
1. I know that passage. I already read it.
2. I tried it once, and it didn’t work.
3. I gave God a chance and He let me down
What all of those responses have in common is that the person is relying on their own strength to get things done. As Christians, we must know and understand that our strength comes from the Lord. We were not created to fly solo. This life is a two person job, us and God.
There use to be a saying, “God is my copilot.” Honey, if God is your copilot, then y’all need to switch seats.
Scriptures of Instruction
Proverbs 3:1-10
New International Version
Wisdom Bestows Well-Being
3 My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, 2 for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity.
3 Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.[a]
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. 8 This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.
9 Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; 10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.
Song of Praise and Adoration
Vanessa Bell Armstrong /Malaco Music 1984
Family, in God, we must continually be in a place of humility and have a teachable spirit. We don’t know all there is to know. We must ask God to lead us in ALL THINGS.
I love you with the amazing and everlasting love of Christ Jesus, our Lord, Savior, Redeemer, and Way Shower.
I pray all is well and you are in a mindset of peace and joy in Christ Jesus. For the last few months, God has been calling me to fast and be in prayer regarding breaking a major stronghold in my life that began in my childhood. Praise God, now that the this particular fast is over, I can give a praise report.
Sometimes, our past mistakes, hurts, wounds, and scars can haunt and even torment us. The enemy has a way of up bringing painful thoughts and memories in order to distract us from our purpose and to take our eyes off of God.
Remember, the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy by any means necessary. The enemy doesn’t have to kill you to get you off track. He just has to distract you/us from our purpose.
There comes a time when we have to take a stand and take our power back. We must fight for peace and wellness in our mind, body, and spirit. Two powerful tools that Jesus told in his Word have to be used to break strongholds. Prayer and fasting are the combination punches that we can use as our special weapons in the ring.
There will come a time when you will get tired of the enemy winning. There will come a time when you stop running and turn around to face the enemy. We don’t face the enemy in our own power. We come packing with weapons and tools that put the enemy in a headlock, and we start pulling teeth out of the enemy’s mouth, so that what is left is a toothless liar.
Fasting and prayer reminds us to refocus our attention back on God. Fasting and prayer looks past our problem and allows us to see that there is peace and strength on the other side.
Holy Scriptures
Matthew 17:14-21
Living Bible
14 When they arrived at the bottom of the hill, a huge crowd was waiting for them. A man came and knelt before Jesus and said, 15 “Sir, have mercy on my son, for he is mentally deranged and in great trouble, for he often falls into the fire or into the water; 16 so I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t cure him.”
17 Jesus replied, “Oh, you stubborn, faithless people! How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to me.” 18 Then Jesus rebuked the demon in the boy and it left him, and from that moment the boy was well.
19 Afterwards the disciples asked Jesus privately, “Why couldn’t we cast that demon out?”
20 “Because of your little faith,” Jesus told them. “For if you had faith even as small as a tiny mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move!’ and it would go far away. Nothing would be impossible. 21 But this kind of demon won’t leave unless you have prayed and gone without food.”
Worship and Praise
James Bignon
Family, REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE!!! Take your power and authority in Christ Jesus and use them to defeat the enemy. The enemy knows what tricks to use on us because they have always worked in the past. Laugh in the face of your trials and begin using what God gave you, which is the Word of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. You ALREADY HAVE EVERYTHING YOU NEED, NOW GET UP AND FIGHT!!!
As a result of my fasting and prayer, I offered forgiveness, grace, mercy, and all-around love and blessing to those that may have caused me harm. In the very moment that I did, I was delivered from my stronghold. In the very instant that it happened, I felt a release. Hallelujah!!
Family, I pray that you walk boldly in your birthright, as a Child of God. I love you with the amazing and everlasting love of Christ Jesus, our Lord, Savior, and Redeemer.
I pray this week’s devotional finds you in a place of peace and hope in Christ Jesus. How was your summer? I hope you set aside some enjoyable time for yourself or with your family.
Self care is extremely important. You are one of a kind with a special and unique spiritual and physical fingerprint. Your assignments are specific to your gifts, talent, anointing, and calling.
If we are not conscious about our self care, then we can burnout and run out of steam and/or motivation. I encourage you to set aside time for yourself and time with God.
If your days are full, like mine, I understand that setting aside time can feel like you are being unproductive, or even selfish. Think of it this way, if Jesus set aside time to be alone and have time with God and time with himself, how are we different?
Typically, I add a scripture passage to the devotional. However, this week, I want you to listen to this song in your alone time and pay close attention to how God speaks to your heart. Please share with us, as you feel led, what passages you heard or were led to read.
I love you with the amazing and everlasting love of our Lord and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Go in peace, while serving and praising the Lord.
I pray this week’s devotional finds you in the perfect peace of God. No matter what is going on in our lives, the Peace of God is consistent.
What are some signs that we are walking in peace, God’s peace? What do the scriptures have to say about the Peace of God? Why is it so important to dwell in a mind and heart of peace?
The peace of God commands how we respond to any situation. The peace of God calms us to a state of knowing that whatever it is, God has already made a grace-filled provision to handle it. Being still also strengthens our faith muscles. We understand, by faith, that by trusting in and relying on the perfect peace of God, we have nothing to fear.
I especially love the clarifying and descriptive words of the Amplified Bible in this passage about Peace. Read the passage below, taking in every word.
Scriptures of Peace
Colossians 3:14-16
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
14 And above all these [put on] love and enfold yourselves with the bond of perfectness [which binds everything together completely in ideal harmony].
15 And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state] to which as [members of Christ’s] one body you were also called [to live]. And be thankful (appreciative), [giving praise to God always].
16 Let the word [spoken by] Christ (the Messiah) have its home [in your hearts and minds] and dwell in you in [all its] richness, as you teach and admonish and train one another in all insight and intelligence and wisdom [in spiritual things, and as you sing] psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, making melody to God with [His] grace in your hearts.
Songs of Peace…
Final Words…
Family, be steady in your faith walk. Make every step an act of worship. Be mindful of your words, your energy, and your actions. Plant seeds in your life that will bring forth good fruit (because your fruit will always tell on you…good or bad).
I love you with never-ending and amazing love of God. May your hearts and minds be forever on and in Him.
Family, if you didn’t get a chance to read last week’s devotional, I encourage you to read it now and then come back and read today’s message.
Last week, we walked in love and asked ourselves if there was anything that we had replaced God with in our lives. We said that in the coming days and weeks, we were going to search our hearts with the help of the Holy Spirit for anything that we worshiped above God.
In the Ten Commandments, the most important thing to remember, if we don’t remember anything else, are the first and second commandments. The scripture directs us to search ourselves. Have we put anything in front of God’s Throne? Have we made a physical, mental, or spiritual connection with something or someone that is standing in the way of our full access to Throne Room of God?
The scripture for today is a question as well as a directive. What are the greatest commandments? I had to ask God for forgiveness. As the Holy Spirit searched my soul, I was shown the areas that had pushed God out.
Scriptures for Direction..
Matthew 22:34-40
New International Version
The Greatest Commandment
34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a]38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b]40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Worship Through Sacrifice…
This week, I have been spiritually cleaning house. I’m clearing my path back to the Throne. As I laid bare before God, the sounds that came out of my heart, as I travailed before him, was from the deepest part of my heart and soul. I asked God for forgiveness for placing anything before him.
In Genesis 22, God asked Abraham to sacrifice his most precious gift, his son Isaac. The scripture says that Abraham packed up and headed toward the location God gave him to sacrifice Isaac? When God saw that Abraham loved God more than anything or anyone, THEN THE RAM APPEARED.
There is a place of blessing that God is preparing us for, but first we must take our “Isaac” to the altar and be willing to sacrifice it because we don’t want anything to separate us from God.
Is there anything you use to “cope” or “manage” your feelings? Is there someone you always run to who makes you “feel” better? Those things and people are your “Isaac” if you go to them BEFORE you go to God.
Please hear me. If you have a medical condition that you are taking prescription medications for, that is not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about those things or people that numb the pain. Go to God. Give it to God. Lay it on the altar and sacrifice it.
I love you all with the amazing and everlasting love of our Lord and Redeemer Jesua Christ. May your journey to healing and wholeness be blessed. I’m joyfully and prayerfully walking with you. You are not alone. Travel Light. His Yoke is easy.
I send my love to you. I encourage you to have joy and to be at peace. Even though the peace and the joy of the Lord are freely given, sometimes we as humans carry so much stress, pain, and other things that it prevents us from knowing how to release control and allow God to handle “it.” I like to call those things Spiritual Weeds. The weeds become evasive and over time they strangle our relationship with the Lord.
What would it take for us to know that we can trust God? What would it take to release those things that God has clearly said, “Let me carry the load. Please let go.”
I understand that we are used to being in control. We are taught to be the masters of our own destiny. As believers, we have read and studied that more than anything God does not want any other god to be put in His place.
When we show God that we believe we can manage the situation better than he can, we are pushing God off the Throne and takung his place. God is forced to let go until we get to a point that we surrender whatever it is that we are trying to control, fix, or change.
Are you tired yet? Have you lost enough sleep yet? Are you using substances to try and numb the feelings? If so, it’s time to give it to God.
Scriptures of Hope
(Scripture 1) Matthew 11:28-30
New International Version
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
(Scripture 2) 1 Peter 5:6-8
Amplified Bible
6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God [set aside self-righteous pride], so that He may exalt you [to a place of honor in His service] at the appropriate time, 7 casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully]. 8 Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour.
Song of Hope
Family, I love you, and I am sending so much love your way. I know the thought of letting go of whatever you may be holding my be scary, but trust me, God is big enough to handle it.
Allow God to place his yoke of peace and joy on you in exchange for whatever you are carrying.
I pray this week’s devotional finds you in a place of peace and joy. This week, on my Facebook page, I honored my mother in celebration of Juneteenth.
Why celebrate my mom? Two reasons, my mother was my first role model and the first Bible I ever read. A child, under the age of five years old, has no full understanding of what it means to be a Christian. The only examples I had were my mom and dad.
Growing up, my father’s first love was music. My Dad played the organ while my mom and other family members sang in the choir. My mom taught me how to pray the Lord’s Prayer. She also taught me to talk to God any time. She would always say, ” If you are ever scared, just pray and talk to God.
My mom was a Civil Rights Activists, a Social Worker, and a part of the Big Sister Program. The one thing I always saw is that my mom loved helping people. No matter what they looked like, smelled like, what their political position was, or who a person loved, my mom saw everyone as a Child of God that deserved love.
Scriptures of Love
Luke 6:32-36
New International Version
32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Songs of Sharing God’s Love
Danny Gokey
Precious Family, if we say that we love God but don’t love our brothers and sisters that are different from us, how can we love? The Word says that it is easy to love someone who loves you. Are we guilty of loving ONLY when it’s easy? I hope not. Where would we be if God did that to us.
I will tell you a secret. The more you give love and share it with the world, the more love will come to you. Whatever kinds of seeds you plant Think on these things. Love NEVER FAILS!!!!
I love you with the amazing and everlasting love of Christ Jesus our Lord, Savior. Redeemer, and Wayshower.
I heard a song by Smokie Norful a couple of weeks ago. The song went straight to my pain. When I tell you that I was having a bad that day, it would be an understatement. I was questioning so many things. I needed reassurance, from God, that I was going in the right direction.
I was driving home from work, the song “I Still Have You” came on. In that moment, God was telling me that he knows my heart and my desire is to please Him. Some days, it feels like so many things are taking my time, and I’m running from one task to another.
I remember, when I was younger, I would spend hours reading the Word, singing and worshipping God. I would dance before Him and then I would feel the Holy Spirit’s presence enter the room. I would instantly fall to the ground and bow or lay prostrate.
Sometimes, I miss my life when it was just me and God. However, I know that my time with God has been preparing me for my life now.
Scriptures of Grace…
Ephesians 2:8-9
New King James Version
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
I pray that this song, by Pastor Smokie Norful, blesses you as much or more than it blessed me.
Song of Hope...
I love you all with the amazing and everlasting love of our Lord, Savior, and Way Shower, Jesus Christ. Amen and Amen.
Sacred Journey Devotionals - Where Christianity and Metaphysics Meet 