Tag: Devotion

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God Laughed.

keeshonpatrick

Hello Father, thank You for giving me another opportunity to share Your word. Use me God to do Your will. You are a way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper, light in the darkness. My faith lies in knowing that regardless of what I think I want, You will always provide me with what I need. This is an opportunity to ease the burden of those who have put themselves on society’s timeline. For Your glory, amen.

Have you ever heard the saying, “When we make plans, God laughs.”? This is dedicated to that quote. The reason why it is funny, is because everything we do has already been written. No matter how many ideas come to mind, you can live with the belief that where you are, is exactly where you are supposed to be.

During our life many of us write a will or have written down a timeline of when we expect to accomplish certain things in life. Some of those timelines, may look a little depressing if you look at them now. It is okay, because remember: Where you are, is exactly where you are supposed to be. A plan without God is just an idea, it’s just a thought. If it does not align with His will then, it does not matter why or when you want it to be done. It will NOT HAPPEN! Remember: There is nothing that surprises God, meaning that if it is happening… IT IS NOT A SURPRISE and if it is not happening… THEN IT IS NOT A SURPRISE.

How many of us can be just as glad for what he did not allow, as we can be for what he did allow? I ask this question, because growing up everyone told me a certain timeline my life should abide by. It actually felt like you were a disappointment if you broke that timeline in anyway. To society; kid before the marriage, disappointment, didn’t graduate in four years, disappointment, didn’t go to college at 18, disappointment, not married by 30, disappointment… BUT GOD LAUGHED.

What you realize is God purpose for your life will prevail, whether you are 10, 16, 25, 60, 99, or even 120. If God wants your life to be used for a specific reason, it will be used. Look at Abraham and Sarah, “old and dusty” to society, but God made a promise to Abraham that he would be the father of many nation’s and it had to be fulfilled. Look at David, the youngest son of Jesse, but still chosen to be the king. Why? Because God judges the heart. Society may judge what you have, but God wants to know who you are. Society may judge the physical, but God works through the spiritual. So, if you are not the tallest, if you are not the most chiseled person, it will not take away from the purpose that God has for your life. If it is through him then it will always prevail.

This is so important to understand, because right now you are stressing and stretching yourself. You are doing things that you do not even like to do, just to fit in with society’s ideas (even me). Stop forcing it. Just try giving those things to God and watch how your life begins to flow. God has been laughing at my plans for 23 years. He is not dissing me, but he knows the plans he has for me. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11) After reading that verse, ask yourself … what am I doing that is harming my life? The harm may not be physical it could be mental. The harm may not be mental, it could be spiritual. If it is harming you, it cannot be God. Even if you heart is desiring it, if that desire is harming you in anyway it is not God. God does not tempt us with evil. (James 1:13) Stop making excuse to keep doing those things, that you are doing literally to only please others and give it to God. He wants to see you prosper, He wants to give you hope and a future… He wants His purpose to prevail in your life. But He cannot do it without your permission.

He wants to make provisions that will surpass all of the desires of your heart. He wants to give you exactly what you need, when you need it. Right now, I feel this conviction to give some people who are tired of doing things on their own a chance to truly give it to God. This is a chance to give Him the most important thing, your heart.

So if this is your first time or your 100th, Read this aloud:

“Dear Father,

I now believe that Jesus Christ is Your only begotten Son, that He came down to our earth in the flesh and died on the cross to take away all of my sins and the sins of this world. I believe that Jesus Christ then rose from the dead on the third day to give all of us eternal life.

Lord Jesus,

I now confess to You all of the wrong and sinful things that I have ever done in my life. I ask that You please forgive me and wash away all of my sins by the blood that You have personally shed for me on the cross. I am now ready to accept You as my personal Lord and Savior. I now ask that You come into my life and live with me for all of eternity.

Father, Jesus – I now believe that I am truly saved and born again.

Thank You Father.
Thank You Jesus.”

If you said this aloud and believed it in your heart. I would love to personally congratulate you. He led you to this post for a reason. He used it to open your heart and ease your burden. Never forget that He loves you and has plans for you, that you have not even planned for yourself. Let Him use you. Yield yourself, so that He can show you the plans He has for you.

If you feel that this post can help anyone, send it to them and ask them, “Can you hear God Laughing?”

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You Can Have My Heart.

keeshonpatrick

Hey God, thank You for another opportunity to spread Your word! I never take these moments for granted. I truly am blessed to be both entrusted and used to give people a message from you. I realized that in order to do this, I had to give You my heart. Make You the center of my life. That was the best decision I ever made. I pray that you help people see how important the decision was and how it changed my life forever. For your glory, Amen.

My life changed when I uttered the words: You Can Have My Heart.

As I am growing in my faith, I have realized how important it is to have your heart focused on the right things. In fact Proverbs 21:2 says, “A person may think their own ways are right, but God weighs the heart.” This verse showed me that there is NO TRICKING GOD. Again it is about the Heart! Say it with me,”God weighs the heart.”

Now let’s unpack this verse.

“5Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart and lean not unto your own understanding;” This verse will come up again and again as you are making decisions and trying to decipher “your” choices as you walk with God. Trust is such a vulnerable thing. In fact trust means that you put confidence in said thing, that you believe in the reliability, truth, or strength of said thing. So my question to you is… what is keeping you from putting ALL your trust in God? Did he not wake you up this morning? Did he not give you the ability to read this post? Did he not show you mercy after leaning unto your own understanding. Is His grace not sufficient? Did he not let you go through a storm, just to show you how strong you truly are. Did he not let you wander off just to chase you down and show you how much he truly loves you? Did he not send his son to die for our sins? Did he not help you make something out of what you already deemed as nothing? Did he not…? (Fill it in with the problem that he brought you through. Fill it in with the reason why you should probably put ALL your trust in Him.)

So, what is keeping you from putting all your trust in God? Take your phone, laptop, or tablet with you to the closest mirror and look at yourself (if you are on a desktop computer bring a mirror to you). Now say “devil I will no longer let you keep me from trusting God with all of my heart!” See we have to remember it’s a heart thing. Stop letting the devil get between you and what God is trying to show you. The reason I am not going to blame you, is because the devil is here to steal, kill and destroy. He wants to trick us into thinking that God does not love us. That God does not want our heart. That God is judging us. The devil is a liar. But when we are battling our flesh, the devil understands that we are weak. It is when we are battling our demons, that the devil sees an opportunity to cause confusion. But today, if you have not started already, DECIDE THAT YOU WILL TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART.

Doing this makes verse 6, so much easier to apply to your life. “6In ALL your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. One thing that stuck out, was a word that is consistent in both verses,”ALL.” It just reminds me that when I think I have given enough, He does not want just enough… but He wants it ALL. With ALL my heart and in ALL my ways, I trust Him and I will give it to Him. Will it be easy? Honestly, not at first. Especially when you are still leaning on your own understanding. But when you truly submit your life to God, you will see Him work in ways that you could never imagine. You will see Him bring things out of you that you didn’t even think existed. You will see Him begin to use you to bless others. Why? Because when you submit yourself, you give Him the opportunity to show you your purpose.

See depending on your decisions you are giving away two opportunities with your life. You can do what you want (lean unto your own understanding) and give the devil free reign to steal your joy, rob your peace, destroy your relationships, kill your confidence, and the list could go on forever. BUT GOD! This is why I love the God that I serve, because just by believing in him, I know that the devil can only try me as much as God allows (Read Job). I know that even if the devil tries to take me through hell and back, God is with me. God is my strength, God is my peace, God is my relationship goals, God is my joy. Why? Because I have trusted in Him with ALL my heart and I have submitted ALL my ways unto Him. As result, I can be at peace knowing that wherever I am or whatever I do, it is through HIm.

So my question to you, is can He have your heart? Not a sliver, not a piece, not a half… BUT ALL of it!

Just a song to go with the devotion. Hopefully it works on your heart like it did mine.
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It’s Time For A Change

keeshonpatrick

Dear God, this one is a little different for me. I pray that you give me the words to make this as impactful as possible. We are living in a time of confusion, but I pray that you allow this message to be a very clear sign that you are still in control. I truly believe that things are beginning to progress for my people. Give them the courage, wisdom, and strength to make our next move our best move. God you have brought us this far. For your glory, Amen.

Today is Juneteenth. Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration honoring the end of slavery in the United States. On June 19, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger led thousands of federal troops to Galveston, Texas to announce that the Civil War had ended, and slaves had been freed. Approximately 250,000 Texan slaves had no idea that their freedom had been secured by the government. This was two years after Abe Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. At the time the country was divided, so states that separated from the Union did not follow the Proclamation.

Today, God has put on my heart to tell everyone that:

It’s Time For A Change.

Life is about evolving and submitting yourself to the purpose that God has given you. We all have fallen short, but God offers you the opportunity of repentance and a chance to “wash yourselves.” I believe that this verse is very essential to understanding the next move based off of the climate of today. We have protested, looted, cried, conversed, and taken many steps in the right direction of change. We have all taken our own paths for the cause of change, and IT IS WORKING. The world is unifying like never before. Just as this global pandemic separated us, the murder of George Floyd is bringing us back together in ways like never before. Corporations, churches, business owners, and people who you would not expect to be so openly supportive of the cause have made themselves visible.

The truth of the matter is, like in this verse, people have been forced to face themselves. So ask yourself, is there anything that I could be doing more effectively? Is there anything that I have done that I know is not right? Are there places I support, that support oppression? Are there people I follow, that actions do not align with the love that God wants us to share? Do I try my best to do good, to seek justice, to correct oppression? Do I need to wash myself of my evil doings?

As you answer those questions, you may begin to realize that it is truly time for a change. Time to change the mess that we digest, time to change the places we go to, time to change the time we waste dealing with things that are not going to positively impact our purpose. Once we realize this we must understand that it starts with us, individually. You can only impact others, after you have first practiced those things in your own life. That does not mean condemning those who are not doing the same, but taking that time to educate them. Just like you had to wash yourself of the evil and bad you have done, other may need to do the same.

A thought came to mind, while I was thinking about how difficult it is to wash yourself, once you’ve been exposed to bad things in your life. Imagine you have a cup of good drinking water. Then, you put a drop of bitterness in it. That one tiny drops makes the entire cup of water bitter. The only way that you could get rid of the bitter water without pouring it out, is to completely wash it out with the good drinking water. You have to overflow the cup until all the bitter water is out and then fill it up with good water again.

Though that process maybe difficult and drastic, many of the times change is. Yet, the process of change is not supposed to be comfortable or easy. There should be a moment of tension. The goals you’ve set, should be challenging enough that they lead you to the point of tension. The point of breaking down in order to grow. When I say tension, I do not mean problems with other people. I mean dealing with the problems within yourself, that are so tough to deal with that you might even have breakdown during this process.

THE BEAUTY OF IT IS, YOU DO NOT QUIT. WE DO NOT QUIT. WE PUSH ON. IF NOT FOR OURSELVES THAN FOR THE NEXT GENERATION. IF NOT FOR OURSELVES THAN FOR THE JUSTICE AND GOOD OF OTHERS!

I challenge all of my people, both white and black to first “wash yourselves from evil deeds.” Once you do that, please go and live verse 17 , “learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.” The change will be correcting those bad habits with good ones. To my white friends and family members, there are people of other races that need you to use the power and platform of your voice. Use it to be an advocate for good, for justice, because your voice could be used to help correct oppression. This may not be popular, but it is in His word. His word does not challenge a specific race, but it does challenge people to do good, to seek justice, to correct oppression. That should be all the conviction you need to stand on the helping side of change.

Typing this is not comfortable, but God is guiding my fingers. He is with me and this message needs to be shared. To my brothers and sisters now is the time that we also clean ourselves. As painful as our history is there are things that we are holding. As we continue to progress we will have to release the pain of those things. I understand your caution, we want to make sure that it is real this time. I warn us against allowing our caution to be what hinders the change that we deserve. We have to begin from within ourselves. Find the love of God in your heart for yourself, your brothers and sister, and also those who are trying to be allies for the cause.

Unity is not just all of us as one race coming together, but it is for everyone under the son (sun) coming together.

It’s Time For A Change.

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Are You The One?

keeshonpatrick

Dear God, thank you for meeting me on the side of that hill. You came to me and saved my life. I will never be able to repay You, but I will spread Your word forever. Today I need You to touch those who are around me. Meet them in their place of need and let them know they are not battling life alone. You have blessed me with this talent, thank you for entrusting me enough to make it a gift. You gave me something that I can give to the world. This is and always will be for your glory, Amen.

I am excited to be back from my week hiatus. It is proof that I will only move when God moves within me. I will never force content, because it will cause me to lean on my own understanding. If I do that, then it will be all jacked up. With that being said, I am back with a question that someone asked me a while ago, “Are You The One?”

When you hear that question, most people assume that it is a good thing. I did not realize that this person had been studying me and realized the things that I was dealing with. He realized that quite frankly, life was kicking my butt. Life was harder than it ever had been, because I had become separated from God. Like the verses for today, I was that sheep that strayed away and was lost in a unfamiliar world. I was alive, but literally doing just enough to survive. I know that, because of how different I feel now. See I grew up believing in God. Going to church every Wednesday and Sunday, but somewhere I had made a U-Turn. I was doing all of the the things that I was told not todo at my Christian summer camps and Wednesday Night Bible Studies. I felt so far down the hill that I figured God could not see me anymore. Little did I know how important my life was to him. I have great news. If you are feeling that way, just know that your life is just as important.

See we serve a God like the man in verse 12 “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?” I can imagine God, sitting on His throne and seeing me begin to stray off. Yet, he waits. He does not come, because He understands that if he comes now, I will fight it. He waits until, I know that something has to change. Then He opens my heart. He comes down to rescue me from falling deeper down the hill of life. This is why I am so thankful, because He took His focus off of the 99, just to come save the one (me).

Now, you are probably wondering … how does this help me? Do you realize how far I have strayed off? Where is He? Why has He not come for me? I get that feeling. I have even felt it before, but let me ensure you that He is on the search. Just like He was on the search for a new King after Saul messed up his blessing. After reading the text, I realized that He was looking for something that the eye cannot see. The reason He choose David, is because He could see his heart. (1 Samuel 16:7)

So my question for you is, Are You The One?
Are you the one that feels like there is no way God will come find you? Are you the one that wants help, but every time it comes you run it off? Are you the one that knows you should do better, but you still are doing those same things? Are you the one that fears letting God down? Are you the one that strayed away? Are you the one that feels attacked right now after reading those other questions? Are You The One?

See when the man asked me was I “The One”… even though I did not answer, truthfully I knew I was. I was afraid that God could not see me from under my pile of sin. I was afraid that people would judge me if I was honest about the things that I had done. I figured that it would be better if I STAYED LOST… BUT GOD! That was not His plan. His plan was for me to come back to him. His plan was for me to make connections with people that I never thought were possible. His plan was for me to spread His word. His plan was to use me in ways I never imagined. His plans were a million times better than mine, trust me!

So if you are “The One”, say this aloud:

“Father, I come to You in the Name of Jesus Christ.  I confess that I have fallen away from You.  I confess that I have sinned against You by backsliding away from You, Your ways and Your Word.  Like the prodigal son, Lord, I humbly ask for Your forgiveness for the evil I have done.  I repent and turn away from this evil life that I have lived.  I miss You so much!

I now recommit my life to You, Lord Jesus.  I just want to come home.  I want You to be the Lord of my life now and forever more.  Please forgive me for wandering and walking away from You.  I’m so sorry that I have hurt You.  I ask that my sins be washed away by Your Precious Blood.  I thank You for the price You paid so that I can be cleansed from all my sins!

Lord, fill me once again with Your Holy Spirit that I might live unto righteousness with You.  Create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me O Lord.  I choose on this day, a new life.  As for me and my house, I choose to serve the Lord!

Thank You, Father, for restoring me into fellowship with You.  Thank You for the Blood of Jesus that has cleansed me.  Thank You that, like Peter, I am restored to fellowship with You and I ask Lord, that we would continue our walk again.  Flow through me to advance the Kingdom every day of my life.  I ask all these things in the Name of Jesus.  Amen and Amen!”

If you said this aloud and believed it in your heart. I would love to personally welcome you back. God’s grace and mercy never forgot about you. He led you to this post for a reason. He used it to meet you on the side of that hill of life. He loves you and has plans for you, that you have not even planned for yourself. Let Him use you. Yield yourself, so that He can show you the plans He has for you. If you feel that this post can help anyone, send it to them and ask them, “Are You The One?”

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What Does Impossible Mean To God?

keeshonpatrick

Dear Lord, may you get the glory for this. There are people who are dealing with life right now and feel like their bad days will never end. They are needing a reassurance of faith. Allow these words to be the reminder of the Power of the God we serve. What Does Impossible Mean To God?

When we are at our lowest moments. You know the moments where the only thing that seems possible is staying in that rut. This is where I think the fellowship with God is so important. As you read your bible, as you listen to gospel music and sermons, as you stop looking at certain things, you begin to realize something. You can ONLY pull out those things that you have put in your spirit. My grandma always told me this; you cannot expect to pull out a verse that you never read, just like you cannot expect to pass a test you never studied for.

Why is it important to put in?

Well, in life when you put in on something, it normally means you are going to get something back. Your spirit is the same way and getting out of that rut takes the same dynamic. How would you know that nothing is impossible to God, if you never read his miracles in the Bible? Putting in is important because it equips your faith for moments that help you battle your lows. You will never feel alone if you read about the sufficiency of His Grace (2 Corinthians 12:9). You will never question, is having just a little faith enough for God to hear you, if you read that you only need a mustard seed sized faith. (Matthew 17:20). You will know without a doubt, that he will never leave you in your lowest moment, if you read that he will never leave you not forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:6). Lastly, you will know that God did not send His Son to condemn those who believe in Him, but to save them (John 3:17). There are many more blessings, miracles, and relatable stories that you are missing out on by not putting in on your fellowship with Christ.

The context of this moment we are focused on today, A man comes up to Christ, as he is teaching his disciples. He walks up wanting to know what good works must he do to receive eternal life. Christ let him know there is only one who is good, then told him to keep the commandments, if he wanted eternal life. Then He told him in verse 21, “if you want to be perfect, go sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven. Then come, follow me.” The man was sad because he had great wealth. (Matthew 19:16-22)

Let that sink in, he was content doing things he thought was good, but when he was told what would make him perfect he was sad.

Let’s Put The Bookmark Right There.

Right now, how many of us are trying to live right? How many of us are trying to do good? Trying to put works with our faith, but we have our vices that we just cannot let go of. We have those things that we love and idolize, and they get in the way of our love for God. These things are why it is impossible for man (humans), to be “good.” We all have vices that we cannot get rid of without God. If we tried 100 times, 99 times by ourselves, and 1 time with God. We would only truly be successful once, because we lack the strength that God’s grace gives us.

Why did he get sad when he was told that he had to give his possessions away and give to the poor? Maybe it was because we don’t mind giving the parts of us that don’t require much sacrifice. Yet, we want to make it to Heaven, where our God sacrificed His Son for us. I’ve noticed that about myself during reflection. I will give you my first fry or piece of gum, but that last one is a different discussion. I will give something as long as it is not leaving me without. I know I am not the only one. This is why we need to do things with him. Without him, we lack the love, the empathy, the courage, and grace to do the things that we KNOW we should do.

This is what makes our God so great, because he gave. He did not think about it, he did not question what he will gain or lose, he just gave. This is why we cannot do it on our own, but with him we can. I know that with him nothing is impossible, nothing is too hard, and nothing is too large. So, to answer the question, “What Does Impossible Mean To God?” it is simple. Impossible means nothing because he is the God of making the impossible, possible.