Daily Devotional - God's Way Works

Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is everyone who fears, reveres, and worships the Lord, who walks in His ways and lives according to His commandments. 
—Psalm 128:1

The Bible says, "Do not be deceived and deluded and misled; God will not allow Himself to be sneered at (scorned, disdained, or mocked...For whatever a man sows, that and that only is what he will reap"(Galatians 6:7). God's Word is true; He will not be mocked.

If it seems that the enemy has erected walls to keep you from your purpose, just keep doing what is right anyway. Speaking of the Lord, the psalmist says, "You have broken down all his hedges and his walls; You have brought his strongholds to ruin" (Psalm 89:40). God is in control; if you do right today, you will be blessed.

Trust in Him In what specific situation do you need to believe you are more than a conqueror? Trust that through Christ, you are equal to anything.

Mayer Hawthorne - Crime featuring K. Dot

Tinashe - Pretend ft. A$AP ROCKY

Yelawolf - Till It’s Gone (Lyric Video)

Daily Devotional - Simplicity Brings Joy

. . . Truly I say to you, unless you repent (change, turn about) and become like little children [trusting, lowly, loving, forgiving], you can never enter the kingdom of heaven [at all]. 
—Matthew 18:3

Christians have available to them the abundant quality of life that comes from God, Who is not full of fear, stress, worry, anxiety, or depression. He is not impatient or in a hurry; He takes time to enjoy His creation. And He wants us to do the same.

Unfortunately, I don't really think that the majority of people are enjoying their lives. When you ask them how they are, their response is nearly always "Busy! I am just so busy with work, the kids, church, and school activities."

We live in a stressful world that seems to be getting more stressful with each passing year. People are hurrying every where. They are rude, short-tempered, and it is easy to see that many people are frustrated and under pressure. They are experiencing financial stress, marital stress, and the stress of raising children in today's world.

I have a thought for you to consider: Simplicity brings joy but complication blocks it. Matthew 18:3 says God wants us to approach life with simple, childlike faith. He wants us to grow up in our behavior, but remain childlike in our attitude toward Him concerning trust and dependence. He wants us to know that we are His precious little ones—His children. We show faith in Him when we come to Him this way, which allows Him to care for us.

We cannot have peace and enjoy life without childlike faith. When you begin to live your life with all the simplicity of a child, it will change your whole outlook in a most amazing way.

Start looking for ways that you complicate things and ask the Holy Spirit to teach you simplicity in those areas. He lives in you, and although He is extraordinarily powerful, He is also extraordinarily simple. He will teach you simplicity if you truly wish to learn.

Trust in Him Take the time to observe a child and notice how they approach things with such simplicity. Approach God with that same kind of innocence and complete dependence. Trust Him to take care of all of your needs so that you can enjoy your life.

Daily Devotional - No Offense

Great peace have they who love Your law; nothing shall offend them or make them stumble. 
—Psalm 119:165

There is no doubt about it—as long as we are in the world and around people, we will have opportunities to be offended. The temptation to become hurt, angry, or offended comes just as surely as any other temptation comes, but Jesus said we should pray that we will not give in to temptation (see Matthew 26:41).

People who want to live powerful lives must become experts at forgiving those who offend and hurt them. When someone hurts your feelings or is rude and insensitive, quickly say, “I will not be offended.” If the person is in your presence, you can say these words quietly in your heart, but later when the memory of what he or she did returns to haunt you, repeat aloud, “I will not be offended,” and ask God to help you forgive them.

There will be times when God leads you to confront others who have committed offenses. He may lead you to initiate a necessary reconciliation. But we should never let the offenses of others cause us to stumble, to become hard-hearted, or to harbor unforgiveness in our hearts.

Power Thought: By God’s grace, I am difficult to offend.

King Louie - Live & Die In Chicago

Daily Devotional - A Clear Conscience

Let us all come forward and draw near with true (honest and sincere) hearts in unqualified assurance and absolute conviction engendered by faith (by that leaning of the entire human personality on God in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness), having our hearts sprinkled and purified from a guilty (evil) conscience and our bodies cleansed with pure water.
—Hebrews 10:22

I have learned from experience that a guilty conscience hinders the flow of confidence. Confidence is faith in God and a belief that because He is helping you, you can succeed in whatever you need to do. However, if we feel guilty, we will shrink back from God rather than boldly expecting Him to assist us. We will give up rather than face our challenges in life because we feel bad about ourselves.

If you want to walk confidently, strive to keep your conscience clear of offense toward God and man. Even quitting when you know you should keep going will bother your conscience. God did not give us His Holy Spirit so we could be in bondage to fear. He did not send the power of His Spirit into our lives so we could be weak-willed, wimpy, or the type of person who gives up when the going gets tough. Remember: God gave us a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7).

Lord, thank You that through the blood of Jesus I can come to You with a clear conscience. Help me to walk in power, love, and sound mind today. Amen.

Daily Devotional - Doing the Word

But be doers of the Word [obey the message], and not merely listeners to it, betraying yourselves [into deception by reasoning contrary to the Truth]. 
—James 1:22

As a Christian, for a long time I didn't understand that believers could know what God wanted them to do and then deliberately say no. I'm not talking about those who tum their backs on Jesus and want nothing to do with His salvation. I'm talking about those who disobey in the seemingly little things and don't seem to be troubled by doing so.

In verses 23 and 24,James went on to say that if we only listen to the Word, but don't obey it, it's like looking at our reflection in a mirror and then going away and forgetting what we saw. But a doer of the Word, he says, is like one "who looks carefully into the faultless law, the [law] of liberty, and is faithful to it and perseveres in looking into it, being not a heedless listener who forgets but an active doer [who obeys], he shall be blessed in his doing (his life of obedience)" (v. 25).

Whenever Christians are faced with God's Word, and it calls them to action but they refuse to obey, their own human reasoning is often the cause. They have deceived themselves into believing something other than the truth. It's as if they think they are smarter than God.

I've met people who seem to think that God always wants them to feel good, and if something happens to make them feel bad, they don't believe it is God's will for them. Or they dismiss what they read in the Bible by saying, "That doesn't make sense." One woman, referring to Paul's instruction to "be unceasing in prayer" (1 Thessalonians 5:17), said that verse kept coming to her every time she prayed.

"What do you think that means?" I asked her.

"Oh, I think it means that day in and day out, we are to pray when we feel a need or when we want something."

Her words shocked me. "What about fellowship with the Lord?" I asked. "Isn't that a good reason? Or maybe God just wants you to spend time reading His Word and praying about what you read."

"I have too many things to do," she said. "That's fine for people who like to sit and read and pray for hours every day, but that's not the way for me."

In our brief conversation, I learned that her decisions about obeying God's Word depended on whether or not it was convenient for her lifestyle. When she read things in the Bible that didn't fit with the way she lived, she explained it to herself in such a way that she convinced herself God didn't expect her to do that.

By contrast, I remember a very dignified woman who had been a member of a traditional church most of her life. She often spoke of the noise and confusion in charismatic churches (although she had not been to one). Then she visited one of the services where I spoke and was transformed. "I couldn't believe that God would ask me to do something like clap my hands or sing loudly or even shout. But when I saw the joy on the faces of those in the congregation and heard you quote the Bible verse that commands us to clap our hands and shout, what else could I do? That was God speaking to me."

She had exactly the right attitude. She didn't try to reason it out or wonder why God commanded her to take that kind of action. She believed His Word and simply obeyed.

When the Bible speaks about obeying the Lord, it is not a suggestion. His Word doesn't ask, "Would you like to obey?" God commands us to take action by being a doer of His Word, and when we are obedient, He promises that we will be blessed.

Dear holy Father, I thank You for the instructions found in Your Word. I may not always like what I read, and sometimes it may be difficult to follow You without hesitating, but I know it is for my good. Please help me to be always obedient and to bring glory and honor to You. Amen.

Daily Devotional - Get Fit

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control. 
—2 Timothy 1:7

"Every athlete who goes into training conducts himself temperately and restricts himself in all things" (1 Corinthians 9:25, emphasis mine). That word all is a difficult concept for us to grasp.

We need to live a disciplined life, physically, spiritually, and emotionally, if we want to enjoy God's plan for us. The fruit of the Spirit is self-control, and the fruit of the flesh is no control.

Paul said, "I buffet my body [handle it roughly, discipline it by hardships] and subdue it, for fear that after proclaiming to others the Gospel and things pertaining to it, I myself should become un.t [not stand the test, be unapproved and rejected as a counterfeit]" (1 Corinthians 9:27).

2 Chainz - Dresser (Lil Boy) f. Young Thug

Lil Wayne - Grindin' (Explicit) ft. Drake

Daily Devotional - On-Purpose Thinking

But Jesus, knowing (seeing) their thoughts, said, Why do you think evil and harbor malice in your hearts?
—Matthew 9:4

It's amazing how quickly and completely our thoughts can change our moods. Negative thinking of any kind quickly steals my joy and causes a variety of bad moods. When we are negative and gloomy, other people don't enjoy being with us; when our thoughts are down, everything else goes down with them. Our moods, countenance, conversation, and even our body can begin to droop in a downward position. Hands hang down, shoulders slump, and we tend to look down instead of up. People who tend to be negative in their thoughts and conversations are usually unhappy and rarely content with anything for very long.

Even if something exciting does happen, they soon find something wrong with it. As soon as they see one thing wrong, they tend to fix their minds on it; any enjoyment they might have is blocked by concentrating on the one negative. They may occasionally experience momentary enthusiasm, but it quickly evaporates and gloom once again fills their entire demeanor. They probably do not realize that they could be happy if they would simply change the way they think. We must stop merely waiting for something good to happen and take action to ensure that something good will happen.

I am truly amazed when I consider the fact that we have the ability to make ourselves happy or sad by what we choose to think about. The Bible says we must be satisfied with the consequences of our words, whether they are good or evil (see Prov. 18:20).

Our words begin with our thoughts, so the same principle that applies to our mouths also applies to our minds. We need to be satisfied with the consequences of our thoughts because they hold the power of life and death. I would add that they hold the power of contentment and discontent, of joy and sadness.

Trust in Him God has given us the ability to make choices about so many things in life, including our thoughts, and we must be responsible to make those choices carefully. Trust Him to help you choose positive thoughts and to think on purpose.

Daily Devotional - A Two-edged Sword

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 
—Hebrews 4:12 NKJV

Second Corinthians 10:4–5 teaches us that casting down imaginations, thoughts, reasoning, and theories not in agreement with God's Word requires us to use our spiritual weapons, not physical. When we speak the Word of God out of our mouths, it becomes a two-edged sword—defeating the enemy with one edge and opening the blessings of heaven with the other. There are many other defensive weapons protecting us from attack, but the Word is offensive—it defeats the enemy.

Like any other principle in God's Word, this will not work if it is not applied. Just knowing this information doesn't change anything. Faith needs to be active. It must be released. We can release God's Word through prayer, confessing His Word out loud, and taking God-inspired action.

Power Thought: I am armed for battle with a two-edged sword—the Word of God.

Daily Devotional - There’s More

For He satisfies the longing soul and fills the hungry soul with good. 
—Psalm 107:9

Have you ever done everything you knew to do as a Christian, yet found yourself thinking, Is this it? Is this all there is? Have you tried to be "a good Christian," but wondered if there's a new level of fullness, if there's more to loving God and receiving His love for you than you are currently experiencing?

I spent many years as a believer just going through the motions of serving God. in my heart I felt that something was missing from my relationship with Him, though I didn't know what it was. God had done many wonderful things for me, but my life was frustrating and not really much different from the lives of those I knew were not Christians. At the same time, I could not believe life as a Christian was meant to feel so meaningless and empty at times.

I finally asked God to give me whatever I was missing and God gave me the answer! I learned that growing in the knowledge of who God is and seeking intimate fellowship with Him is a vital necessity of being deeply satisfied and joyful in life. intimate fellowship with God releases His power to help us accomplish what He has called us to do.

When Christ made the final atonement for our sins, God immediately invited us into the holy place of His presence. God wants us to come close to Him and see that His attitude is filled with love toward us. We can now enjoy intimate fellowship with God!

Love God Today: "Lord, teach me how to enjoy intimate fellowship with You."

Daily Devotional - Humble and Bold

Be strong (confident) and of a good courage, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only you be strong and very courageous, that you may do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you. Turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. 
—Joshua 1:6–7

Not only is it possible to be humble and bold, it is impossible to be truly bold without humility. Joshua was a man who was both. God told him to finish the job Moses started and take the Israelites into the Promised Land. Immediately after giving Joshua the command, God announced to him, "No man shall 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 or forsake you" (Joshua 1:5).

Joshua's confidence rested in the fact that God was with him, and because of that he was able to go forward to do something that he probably felt unqualified to do. Joshua must have felt fear because the Lord repeatedly told him to "fear not," which means "don't run!"

God told Joshua that if he would be strong, confident, and full of courage, he would cause the people to inherit the land that God had promised them.

Lord, what an amazing promise this is! I receive it as my own. Help me to know Your Word and to be absolutely faithful to it. Amen.

August Alsina - No Love (Remix) (Explicit) ft. Nicki Minaj

Rich Homie Quan - Too Short (Official Video)

Daily Devotional - Learn from Jesus' Prayers

Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.
—Luke 23:34

I believe that the way people pray and the things they pray about reveal lot character and spiritual maturity. There was a time when my prayer life did not indicate much spiritual maturity. Even though I was a born-again, filled with the Holy Spirit and teaching God's Word, my prayers were pathetically carnal. When I prayed, I had a list of requests I thought God had to say yes to before I could be happy—and all of them were natural things: "Lord, make my ministry grow. Give us a new car; do this; do that. Make Dave change. Make the kids behave," and so on.

In response, God simply said to me, "I want you to examine the prayers of Jesus and the prayers of Paul. Then we'll talk about your prayer life." Of course, there are many prayers throughout the Bible, especially in Psalms, but God told me to pray the prayers of Jesus, which are found in the gospels and the prayers of Paul, which are found in the epistles.

When I began to pray the way Jesus prayed, I discovered that there really is no more powerful way to pray than to pray the Word of God because it shows us what is important to Him. He prayed prayers such as we read in today's verse and many others, including His prayer to, "Sanctify them [purify, consecrate, separate them for Yourself, make them holy] by the Truth; Your Word is Truth" ( John 17:17); His prayer for unity among his people (see John 17:23); and His prayer for Peter: "But I have prayed especially for you [Peter], that your [own] faith may not fail" (Luke 22:32).

I encourage you to read the gospels and see how Jesus prayed, then pray similarly as you talk and listen to God.

Daily Devotional - Be Content

Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have.
—Hebrews 13:5 (NKJV)

Contentment is a decision to be happy with what you already have. But I am convinced most people are not truly content. Unbelievers certainly aren't content, whether they realize it or not, but it is very sad how many believers have not learned to be truly content in their circumstances. I wonder how many people can truthfully say, "I'm happy with my life. I love my spouse and my family. I like my job. I'm satisfied with my house and my car. There are things I want God to do for me, but I am content to wait until He does them in His timing. I do not covet anything that belongs to my neighbor. I am not jealous of anyone else or envious of what others have. If God gave it to them, then I want them to enjoy it."

I believe God actually tests us in this way. Until we can pass His "I-am-happy-for- you-because- you-are blessed" test, we are never going to have any more than what we have right now. Yes, God wants us to prosper in every way. He wants people to see His goodness and how well He takes care of us. But we must desire God more than we desire His blessings. So He tests us to make sure this is the case before He releases greater material blessings into our lives.

Daily Devotional - My Normal Mind

 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers. [For I always pray to] the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, that He may grant you a spirit of wisdom and revelation [of insight into mysteries and secrets] in the [deep and intimate] knowledge of Him, by having the eyes of your heart flooded with light, so that you can know and understand the hope to which He has called you, and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints (His set-apart ones). 
—Ephesians 1:16–18

This section in Ephesians is difficult for many of us to understand. What does Paul mean by “the eyes of your heart flooded with light” (v. 18)? I believe he is referring to the mind, because that’s what needs enlightenment. It is with the mind that we grasp God’s truths and hold to them.

Too many of us have difficulty being “flooded with light” because we are distracted with too many other things. The apostle prays for us to have what I call a normal mind—a mind that’s open to the Holy Spirit’s work—so that we may follow God’s plan and live enriched lives.

One way to think about the idea of a normal mind is to look at two of Jesus’ friends, Mary and Martha. Most people know the story of the sisters and the visit Jesus made to their home in Bethany. Martha scurried around, making certain that everything in their home was exactly right, while Mary sat down to listen to Jesus. Luke says Martha “was distracted with much serving” (Luke 10:40), and she complained to Jesus that she needed her sister’s help.

“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things” (v. 41), Jesus told her, and then He commended Mary for having chosen the “good portion.”

As I thought about that incident, I realized it was more than Martha being distracted. I’m sure her mind jumped around, making certain that everything was exactly right. The implication is that even if there had been nothing more to do, Martha wouldn’t have stopped to sit at Jesus’ feet. She was so caught up in busyness that her mind would have searched for something else to do.

The Marthas seem to be in control of our world, don’t they? They are the ones who get things done. When they’re not accomplishing their own goals, they seem to be telling others what they should do. In today’s world of “multi-tasking” the Marthas seem to get the awards and the accolades. Some people are busy all the time. They wear their busyness like a badge, as if that makes them more important. Their busyness can easily distract them from developing a solid relationship with God. They’re the ones who often lack depth of peace and rarely know spiritual contentment. That is, they don’t have what God considers a normal mind. It is not in the condition He would like it to be in.

People who are excessively busy cannot even sleep when they lie down at night. They are either mentally going over the day’s activities or making mental lists of the tasks for the next day.

This isn’t the lifestyle Jesus calls us to. As believers, we are spiritual beings, but we’re also natural. The natural doesn’t understand the spiritual and constantly fights that part of our nature. The Bible makes it clear that the mind and the spirit work together. That’s the principle I call “the mind aiding the spirit.”

For the mind to aid the spirit, we must learn to pull back from all the distractions around us. There will always be demands on our time and energy, and we can always find plenty to do. But if we want to live with the mind of Christ, the one that should be normal for Christians, it means we must learn to imitate Mary. Despite all the clamor and activities going on around her, she was able to sit, relax, and listen to the voice of the Master. That’s how the mind is supposed to work. It should be quiet and under the control of the Spirit. However, we often find that our minds are so set in a wrong direction that they actually hinder the Spirit from helping us, as they should be free to do.

If you realize from this devotion that your mind has been behaving abnormally, ask God to forgive you and teach you what a normal mind is in His kingdom.

Dear God in heaven, distractions constantly come at me. When I try to pause and focus on You, my mind seems to be filled with dozens of things I need to do. I realize that I truly need only one thing—to focus on You. Please help me push away every distraction and noise so I can hear only Your voice that says, “Come unto Me, and I will give you rest.” Amen.

Daily Devotional - Control Your Temper

He who is slow to anger has great understanding. 
—Proverbs 14:29

It is uncomfortable for others to be around us if we are easily angered. We need to learn how to respond to life instead of react to it, so that we can enjoy God’s power in our lives. God says that a person who can control his or her anger is better and mightier than an individual who can take a whole city (See Proverbs 16:32).

God’s Word says, “Understand [this],my beloved brethren. Let every man be quick to hear [a ready listener], slow to speak, slow to take offense and to get angry. For man’s anger does not promote the righteousness God [wishes and requires]” (James 1:19– 20). Be a ready listener, and enjoy the freedom from anger that God offers you.

Daily Devotional - Hearing from God

But the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire [a sound of gentle stillness and] a still, small voice. 
—1 Kings 19:11–12

God speaks in a still, small voice. If you want to hear from Him, create a quiet, peaceful, strife-free atmosphere, and set apart regular time to fellowship with Him there. He may not always speak what you want to hear, or in the way you might think that He would, but don’t get discouraged—God will lead you. He rarely lets us in on His entire plan at the beginning.

Obey what you sense in your heart that you are to do, and when He is ready He will show you the next thing. And always remember to be thankful. As you do, you will find your sensitivity to God’s voice increasing. He will speak to you, and you can hear from Him. Just get quiet and listen, and expect Him to lead you in all that you do.

Power Thought: I can hear the still, small voice of God.

fR€$H aka SHORT DaWG ft. Maxo kream & dough beezy - DANNY GLOVER

Wale - The Album About Nothing (Trailer)

Daily Devotional - Time Is a Gift

To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven. 
—Ecclesiastes 3:1

Time is a resource God gives us, and we must use our time to be fruitful. One of the phrases we should avoid, both verbally and in our attitudes, is: “I just have a little time to kill.” Time is not a commodity to kill or to “pass”; it is a gift to steward. If you are like I am, you like to be productive with every minute. In my daily life, I make a diligent effort to keep everything on schedule. Sometimes that gets me in trouble because circumstances sometimes cause me to fall behind, and then I have to rush. I do not like to hurry, so I am learning to put a little more margin in my life—to allow more time between appointments and scheduled activities—and that relieves a good bit of frustration.

There are times when you do not have enough minutes or hours to go complete a task or do something you want to do, but it’s too early to do the next thing you need to do. When you have five, ten, or fifteen minutes, don’t just “kill” your time. Use it to bear fruit. Keep a book or a Bible with you and use those few minutes to read something. Listen to a worship music or part of a sermon. Pray. Make a few phone calls. Write someone a note of encouragement. When you have a few minutes, make them count.

To me, one of the worst things that can happen to people is to grow old and look back upon their lives and realize they never took time to do what they thought they were supposed to do or what they wanted to do. I do not want you to look back in your latter years and think you wasted your life or feel you never really did anything worthwhile. No matter what your age is today, it is not too late to start right now using your time to bear fruit.

Love Yourself Today: Lord, help me today to use wisely the gift of time You have given me.

Daily Devotional - Change Ingredients

To everything there is a season, and a time for every matter or purpose under heaven: . . . a time to break down and a time to build up, . . . a time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together, . . . a time to get and a time to lose, a time to keep and a time to cast away. 
—Ecclesiastes 3:1–6

If you are stressed out all the time, something will have to change in order for the stress to be relieved. It will not just go away as long as you keep doing the same thing. If you want different results, you have to change the ingredients. Now, as soon as I mentioned the word change, perhaps you tensed up because you are afraid of change. Almost one hundred years ago, the clerk of Abbington Presbytery came up with percentages for the kinds of attitudes people have about change, and I think they still apply today:

Early innovators (2.6 percent) run with new ideas; Early adaptors (13.4 percent) are influenced by innovators but are not initiators; Slow majority (34 percent) are the herd-followers; Reluctant majority (34 percent); Antagonistic (16 percent) will never change.

If you’re like the bottom 84 percent of people in the above list, you want the safety of sameness. It is amazing to me how some people spend their lives resisting change while others thrive on it. Change keeps life fresh and adventurous.

Lord, my time is in Your hands. Help me to be fearless as I face change and embrace change. I want to be vibrant and fully alive. Amen.

Daily Devotional - Hold Your Tongue

Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good; seek, inquire for, and crave peace and pursue (go after) it! 
—Psalm 34:13–14

You really have the gift of gab,” one man told me many years ago, when I first started in the ministry. He had pointed out something that I already knew: God had given me “a ready tongue,” that is, I speak easily. Words are my tools. The Lord first gave me that gift, and then He called me into the ministry to use that ability to work for Him.

I have no trouble talking. That’s my gift; that’s also been my greatest problem. Because I seem to always have something to say, I have struggled many, many years over the right use of my tongue.

It has not been an easy battle.

Over the years, I heard various people saying things like, “Hold your tongue.” “Do you have to speak every word that comes to your mind?” “Do you always speak first and think later?” “Must you sound so harsh?” Had I truly listened to what people were saying, I might have realized that God was trying to tell me something. But I ignored their comments and continued in my own stubborn ways.

I know I have wounded people with my words in the past, and I am sorry for that. I’m also grateful that God has forgiven me.

Several years ago, I realized that if God was going to use my life, I had to gain control of my tongue—not to just stop talking, but to keep my tongue from evil, and my lips from speaking deceit, as the psalmist David says.

I had a choice. I could hurt people with my words—and I could do that well—or I could bring my lips into subjection to God. Obviously, I wanted to be subject to the Lord, but it was still a battle.

Our words are expressions of our hearts—of what’s going on inside us. If we want to know who a person really is, all we need to do is listen to their words. If we listen long enough, we learn a lot about them.

As I learned to listen to my own words, I also began to learn a lot about myself. Some of the things I learned did not please me, but they did help me realize that I had a character flaw that needed to be addressed. My words were not pleasing God, and I wanted them to. Once I confessed my failure to God, the victory came—not all at once and not perfectly, but God is patient with me. I’m growing, and part of my growth is keeping my lips from evil.

No matter how negative you are or have been, or how long you’ve been that way, God wants to change you. In the early days after my confession to God, I still failed more often than I succeeded, but every time I did succeed, I knew I was closer to God’s plan for my life. God can do the same for you.

It won’t be easy, but you can win. And the effort will be worth it.

Lord, help me use my mouth for right things. Put a watch over my mouth lest I sin against You with my tongue. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You. I ask it in Jesus’ wonderful name. Amen.

Daily Devotional - Pursue Your Purpose

But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides. —Matthew 6:33

Have you ever thought, “What is my purpose in life?” Each of us wants to feel we have a purpose . . . that we’re making a meaningful difference in the world.

God has a purpose for each of us, and that is to do right and glorify God.

How do you pursue your purpose? By getting up each day and putting God first. There are many other things we may be tempted to chase after—job position, education, relationships, money, material possessions, and so on. But too often when you attain these things your life is just as empty and unfulfilled as when you started.

God knows what you need and is well aware of your heart’s desires, and He will grant them if you will just pursue your purpose by seeking Him first.

Berner ft Young Thug, YG x Vital - All In A Day (Music Video)

Jeezy's "Seen It All" Roundtable

Daily Devotional - A New Direction

O Lord,You have heard the desire and the longing of the humble and oppressed;You will prepare and strengthen and direct their hearts. 
—Psalm 10:17

Sometimes we come to an unhappy place in our lives. If we examine ourselves on those days, we will most likely discover that the things that make us most unhappy are the fruit of the choices that we made earlier.

Today can be a new start. I think God gave us twenty-four-hour days because He knew that was all we could handle. His mercies are new every morning (See Lamentations 3:22–23). You can start over this morning and live today for the Lord. Determine to follow wherever God leads you, and do whatever He tells you to do. You can expect better tomorrows when you live right today.

Daily Devotional - The Key to Being Satisfied

Then shall your light break forth like the morning . . . 
—Isaiah 58:8

We all probably want more light in our lives. That would mean more clarity, better understanding, and less confusion. The prophet Isaiah declared that if we would divide our bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into our homes, cover the naked and stop hiding ourselves from the needs around us, our light would break forth (see Isa. 58:7–8). He also said our healing and restoration and the power of a new life would spring forth quickly. That sounds good to me, and I am sure it does to you also.

Isaiah also wrote of justice, and he said it would go before us and conduct us to peace and prosperity, and that the glory of the Lord would be our rear guard. If we are actively helping the oppressed, God goes before us and He also has our backs! I like that feeling of safety and certainty.

Isaiah further said if we would pour out that with which we sustain our own lives for the hungry, and satisfy the need of the afflicted, our light would rise in darkness and any gloom we experienced would be comparable to the sun at noon (see Isa. 58:10). The sun is very bright at noon, so it sounds to me like helping people is the way to live in the light.

The Lord will guide us continually, and even in dry times He will satisfy us. He will make our bones strong and our lives will be like a watered garden (see Isa. 58:11). All of this happens as a result of living to bring justice to the oppressed.

I hope you are seeing what I am seeing through these promises. I think most of us waste a lot of our lives trying to get what God will gladly give if we simply do what He is asking us to do: care about the poor, the hungry, the destitute, orphans, widows, the oppressed, and needy. Live your life to help others, and God will satisfy you in every way possible.

Trust in Him When you care about God’s children you can trust Him to release more light into your life. If you follow His instructions, as written in His Word, for how to live a godly life—living your life to help others—He will gladly give you all He has promised.

Chevy Woods Meet and Greet x Fly Times x Secret Scientist Pop Up Shop

This past weekend Fly Times x Secret Scientist was able to set up at Kore Boutique in Mobile, AL. Chevy Woods came out and met with fans at the meet and greet. It was a great success. I appreciate all the support so much. 

Daily Devotional - Forgive and Your prayers Will Be answered

And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.
—Mark 11:25 NIV

If you are praying for a miracle or for God to bring something into your life and you aren’t getting it, ask yourself if there is someone you need to forgive. Don’t try to justify your anger and unforgiveness. Don’t complain about your circumstances or what people have done to you; instead, trust God to be your Vindicator and have a loving attitude toward everyone.

When you pray, say to God: God, I don’t want to have any unforgiveness or anger in my heart toward anyone, so if I do, please reveal it to me so I can pray for them instead of being angry. I’m not mad at anyone. I’m not angry; I’m not bitter; I’m not offended; I am going to believe the best. Don’t waste your life being angry; instead, be difficult to offend and quick to forgive.

Power Thought: When I pray, I do so without any anger or bitterness in my heart.

Secret Scientist White Crew

Secret Scientist has released the white crew and its now available online. Its $50. Go pick it up online.