Archives for August 2016

Focus Verse: Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (ESV)

When I first entered into adulthood and decided to really get serious about Christ, I didn’t feel like I could be used by God. I didn’t feel like I had a story. God hadn’t delivered me from drug addiction or healed me from a sexually transmitted disease. I had not been the recipient of God’s grace and been dropped of criminal charges leading to thirty years in prison. I lived a pretty safe life. What could I ever give to God’s Kingdom?

Then God began to show me, my lack of experience didn’t disqualify me from sharing the wisdom I have gained through observing others who may have experienced unfortunate circumstances. I have always been one to learn from the experiences of other. It’s not necessary for me to go through it for me to learn from it.

Because a huge number of people in the church are in the category where they need restoration and deliverance from bad decisions, I feel, we minimize and diminish the power and wisdom from the stories of those who may have made better life choices. In actuality, if we had experienced those stories sooner, we very well may not find ourselves in those unfortunate positions.

We truly need to hear more stories about people doing things the right way and how their intentional decisions affected their lives and the lives of those around them. I thank God for all the ministries in the church that are designed to help people, but the majority of the ministries we have in the church, we wouldn’t need if more people made a choice to live intentionally. I’m not saying that there won’t be difficulties when we do live intentionally. But I honestly believe those difficulties will be few and far between.

Furthermore, there are people who do want to live lives that are intentional and purpose-driven. Through the stories of those who are living intentional, they can receive encouragement and motivation to continue on the path they have chosen.

Make a declaration today that no matter what your past has been, you will choose to live intentionally from here on out. Then watch how it affects your life and the life of those connected to you.

Prayer: Lord, Thank You for loving me for me. I haven’t always done everything You desired for me to do. Some of my decisions hurt You, please forgive me. As I declare today, that I will live intentionally, help me to remember to always keep my mind on things that are pleasing to You. In the mighty name of Jesus, Amen!

Bible Reading: 2 Kings 4

I didn’t ask You for this.” I’m sure that’s what Sarah was feeling as she was waiting on the promise of a son in Genesis 18. Or maybe Joseph, when he was in prison, after already having dealt with his brothers and then being sold into slavery in Genesis 39. “I didn’t ask you for this.”

What do you do when God has given you a promise that you never asked for? He just said He was going to do it. However, He has yet to perform what He said He was going to do. You may have been waiting for years, with expectation and anticipation. Telling others of what God has spoken over your life, preparing mentally and physically for the promise, nursing it and praying over it. Only to be met with nothing.

When we start to consider the promised blessing too much for us to handle, we do like the Shulamite woman in 2 Kings 4 did after the son, she never asked for died. We give it back to the one who initially gave it to us. We don’t try to figure it out. We don’t try to make it work in our own ability. We just give it back, as a way to say, “God, this was yours to begin with. I’ve done all that I can do. Now I put my faith in You to do what only You can do to bring YOUR promise back to life.”

Have you ever experienced this? Where you trusted God, not because you asked Him, but because He said He would? Maybe you are experiencing it right now. I encourage you today, to take your hands off of it and give it back to God. And watch Him bring His promise for your life back to life.

Prayer: Merciful God, this has been a long process. I have experience faith, doubt, fear, excitement, and uncertainty, all at the same time. Lord, this was initially Your promise, nothing I could have ever thought to ask for, for myself. But because You are the omniscient God, You know the deep, unspoken and unknown, desires of my heart. Thank You for giving me a glimpse of the future You have prepared for me. Now I give it to You, trusting that You will breathe life into Your promise. And I will remember to give You all the praise. In Jesus’ name, Amen!

Bible Reading: Exodus 16

Focus Verse: Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not. Exodus 16:4 (NKJV)

Oftentimes, I’m asked, “Tiffani, do you write devotionals each day to send out? Why don’t you write them in advance?” And the answer is honestly I can’t. Because this ministry was given to me by God, I only want to deliver what He gives me and majority of the time, He gives me just what needs to be delivered exactly when it’s needed.

As I was thinking about this, it reminded me of the Children of Israel in Exodus 16 and how God provided for them exactly what they needed, when they needed it. They didn’t have to worry about storing anything up. God was faithful to provide everything they needed daily. For forty years, there was never a day that they woke up and there wasn’t bread in the morning and meat in the evening, excluding the sixth day.

When God provides in this manner, it requires us to remain connected and fully dependent upon Him.  If I can be honest, when I first started Breakfast With Tiffani, I would get anxiety around lunch time because in the back of my mind, I knew another devotional needed to be prepared for the next day and I didn’t have anything. But just when I needed it, sometimes at 9:57pm God would start to speak to me and pour out everything that He wanted me to say. Just like the Children of Israel challenged God’s plan, there have been times where I would say, “Are You sure God? I think I should talk about this…” But in God fashion, whenever that would happen, the next morning, I would get a comment, text message, email, etc. from someone about how the devotional ministered directly to them.

Have you ever been required to trust God in this manner like the Children of Israel? Where He gave you just what you needed when you needed it and sometimes when it seemed like You had nothing, He came through and provided everything?

Prayer: Father, You are amazing! Thank You for being faithful to who You are as my provider and always coming through. There have been times where I challenged Your sovereignty and ability, please forgive me. In those times when I feel tempted to question You, remind me that just like You provided for the Children of Israel for forty years, like Your word says, You won’t leave me either. Thank You for consistently being faithful to me. In Jesus name, Amen!

Focus Verse: “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? Numbers 23:19 (NKJV)

A while ago I remember thinking, “But what if it doesn’t happen? I have been waiting so long. What if what He said never comes to pass? What if it doesn’t come out the way I envisioned?”

But then I remembered it wasn’t my vision to begin with. Everything that I’m trusted God for is because of what HE originally spoke to me about. The Bible teaches us in Proverbs 37 that when we take great pleasure in the things of God, He will place, in our hearts, the things that we should desire, the things that please Him. When our heart is solely fixed on serving and pleasing Him, He places desires in our heart that line up with Him. How foolish of me to think that what He said just isn’t going to happen. Like He just says things with no intention of following through with it.

The most amazing part about waiting for the vision to come to pass is, as much as we want it for ourselves, God wants it even more for us. We have to remember that it all belongs to Him. All of our dreams. Our goals. The ideas that we thought were mere mindless expressions of “that would be nice.” They all originated from Him. He wants it for you and it will come to pass.

Prayer: Thank you for hearing my heart, Father! There have been so many times that I have questioned what You said, please forgive me. You aren’t like me, Your words aren’t fleeting and You keep all of Your promises. Thank You for reminding me that You can be trusted. In the mighty name of Jesus I pray, Amen!

Focus Verse: Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. Romans 12:18 (NLT)

Whether we notice it or not, our human relationships are directly connected to our relationship with our Heavenly Father.

Whenever I’m in conflict with someone, one of the first things I’m lead to do is check my relationship with Christ. Have I been praying like I should; constantly reading The Word? Has my mind been continually stayed on Him and His Word consistently on my lips? Or have I been struggling with getting some alone time with Him? Have I been skimming through pages of the Bible just to say that I read something?

If you are  carefully walking in the Word, it is impossible to consistently be in communion with God and have tension with people. Because God cares so much about relationships, He won’t allow you to be at odds with someone while having a perfectly healthy relationship with Him, See Matthew 5:23-24

I can’t tell you how many times I have had a disagreement with someone and before I could move on in my relationship building with Christ, He convicted me to get it right with them first. Even when they were the ones that initiated the disagreement.

Are you experiencing some tension in one of your relationships right now? Maybe you and your spouse aren’t seeing eye to eye. Or you are having conflicts with your chain of command. What about your children or your parents, could there be some tension in any of those relationships? I would encourage you to examine the condition of your relationship with Christ.

Prayer: God, thank You for loving me the way You do. I have not always done everything right, but You continually pursue a relationship with me. Thank You for reminding me that You are concerned that I maintain a healthy relationship with You as well as with other that I am connected to.  Lord, I ask You to reveal to me the condition of our relationship, as well as, anyone that I may be in conflict with so that I can live Your word and order to live peaceably with everyone. In the name of Jesus, Amen!

Focus Verse: For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 (AMP)

I was sitting on an airplane crying my eyes out to a perfect stranger. He asked me one question and the floodgates of heaven opened up allowing the tears to began to overflow from my tear ducts. The truth is, I didn’t expect my life to end up this way. I didn’t expect to be at a place of such unfulfillment where I was consistently searching for the next best thing, running around doing things trying to feel fulfilled.

How many times have you too ran around doing things trying to feel fulfilled? Chasing things, people, and opportunities, hoping that the next best thing will be it. Only to end up unfulfilled.

The fulfillment that you’re looking for, yearning for, only comes from purposeful living. You will never experience true fulfillment until you are doing what God created you to do, so stop it.

Stop looking for the temporary fix. The temporary people, temporary opportunities, temporary things that allow you momentarily happiness but once the newness wears off, it’s back to searching again.

It wasn’t until I got God’s understanding and started actively walking in the direction that He instructed me in that I achieved ultimate fulfillment.

If you truly want to get to the place where you overcome the cycle of searching, make a vow to stop searching for the next best thing and do want God had called you to do.

Prayer: Lord, Thank You for Your truth. I want more for my life. I have searched all over looking for fulfillment, only to end up empty-handed in the end. God show me what your desire for me is so that I can stop searching and start doing exactly what You called me to do. In Jesus name, Amen!

Focus Verse: God may kill me, but still I will trust him; Job 13:15a (CEV)

Do you remember what it was like when you first liked someone? Everything had to be perfect. You wanted to make certain that everything you did and said was just right. You had to be flawless for that person.

Then after a while, the newness begins to wear off and you no longer felt like you have to put on a facade. The real you began to show and not your representative. Because you had gotten comfortable, you allowed yourself to be vulnerable with that person. You all grow closer and then the unthinkable happens, they disappoint you. You were heart broken.

The epitome of a real relationship.

This same thing holds true with our relationship with Christ. I remember when I first accepted Jesus and decided to follow Him. Everything was perfect, He began to change my life. I couldn’t wait to spend time with Him. I tried to pray really cute impressive prayers. It was great! And then after a while, the newness began to wear off and Tiffani, outside of Christ, started to reveal herself much more. Things got real and we honestly began to grow together. I found myself becoming more vulnerable and open to dealing with the condition of my heart. And then just like in a human relationship, there was disappointment, heartbreak, and even anger. No longer was I concerned with appearing perfect, I wanted to tell Him how I felt, how He hurt me, how I couldn’t believe He would do that to me.

It’s not until you get close to God that you begin to feel the pain of being hurt by Him. Often times as Christians, we don’t feel like God should hurt us. But how else would He ever get us to look like His Son if He didn’t? However, we can be encouraged because we know that God uses everything to work together for the good of those who love Him and are called for His purpose, Romans 8:28.

Prayer: God, Thank You for the opportunity to truly know You. There have been times in our walk together that I have experienced true pain and disappointment. I thank You that the pain did not come without a purpose and that it’s all a part of Your plan for me to look more like Your Son. I accept whatever You bring my way because I know it is meant for my good. In the mighty name of Jesus, Amen!

Focus Verse: Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how He did it. Because He never lost sight of where He was headed – that exhilarating finish in and with God – He could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now He’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. Hebrews 12:2 (MSG)

Recently, I went on a tubing trip with some friends on the Potomac River. As with any river, the depth of the river varied depending on where I was. Some places where more shallow than others. Because I was on an inner tube, there would be times that I didn’t realize I had come to a spot where the water was shallow and I was just resting on a rock underneath me. After this happened a few times, I thought to myself, “there has to be a way to determine if I am actually moving. If I continue down this path, it will take much longer than the estimated 2 hours to get to my final destination and the bus will leave me.” Then out of nowhere, I thought, “look up for the sun.” The position of the sun would tell me if I was moving or sitting still. Whenever I felt like I wasn’t moving, I would just look up at the sun to see if it was moving closer to me, if it was, I was moving and if it wasn’t, well I needed to figure out how to get off the rock I didn’t realize I was resting on.

Our Christian walk is the same way. We should always be looking towards the Son for direction and guidance. He will tell us whether we are moving closer to Him or just sitting still. Interestingly enough, just like when I was on the Potomac River, whenever I was sitting still, the sun was moving farther away from me. Walking with Christ, we are either moving closer towards Him or further away from Him, there is no in between.

Ask yourself today, “Am I moving closer to Christ or further away from Him?

Prayer: Thank You for Your continual guidance Father. There have been times in my walk with You that I wasn’t walking at all, just sitting still, not realizing that because of that, I was moving further away from You, please forgive me. It is my desire to always be walking in communion with You. Speak to my heart today and reveal to me my position in relation to Your Son. It is in Him name that I pray, Amen!