Archives for September 2016

Good Morning Breakfast BFF’S,

This morning’s devotional is a call to prayer. During your personal prayer time, please remember to pray for:

• The nation
• Our children
• 2016 US Presidential Election

The only way we will begin to see change in our situations, is if we go to the one who can change our situations.

If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14 (NKJV)

Focus Verse: So submit to [the authority of] God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him] and he will flee from you. James 4:7 (AMP)

Do you remember when you where a child and someone was messing with you? Or maybe you were the one that was messing with someone else and soon you became the recipient of disciplinary actions because of your behavior. Do you remember how you would tattle on your classmates when they did something that was against the classroom rules? I was reminded of that same practice when I thought about the enemy and how he tries to pick on God’s children.

The enemy’s job is to try to convince you of things that are contrary to God’s Word and what you know to be true. Revelation 12:10 calls him the accuser of the brethren. But because we know that he is the father of lies and was defeated over 2000 years ago, we don’t have to subject ourselves to the bully of this world. Instead, we can call on the name of Jesus and we can be confident that He will come to our rescue.

We don’t call on the name of Jesus as some afraid child on the playground in elementary school, or because we are scared and defenseless. We call on the name of Jesus because we know that if He came to our rescue once, He will do it again. We call on the name of Jesus because we know that in our own strength, we are limited, but with Christ on are side we are limitless.

As children of God you don’t have to go back and forth with the enemy or try to convince him of what Christ said; you don’t have the time for that. You have a responsibility to build God’s kingdom and advance His agenda. Don’t get caught up on focusing your attention on entertaining the devil and his lies. His only job is to trick you, but you have a greater assignment and he knows that. One of his many tricks is to keep you distracted from what you should be doing and focused on him.

Make a decision that when the enemy reports to his job post today, you won’t give him the time of day, but instead you will call on your Savior, Jesus.

Prayer: Father, thank You for always coming to my rescue. You rescued me over 2000 years ago and if You did it before I am confident that You can do it today, in my day to day life, here on earth. Help me to remember I have a great calling on my life and that done not include trying to convince the enemy otherwise. Instead, remind me that my focus should be on You and You will handle everything else. In the name of Jesus, Amen!

I will give you the keys (authority) of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind [forbid, declare to be improper and unlawful] on earth will have [already]been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose [permit, declare lawful] on earth will have [already] been loosed in heaven. Matthew 16:19 (AMP)

I recently got a new car. With a lot of newer cars, the automatic lock system has been upgraded. I was leaving church with my mentee and as we were approaching the car, it made a beeping sound and flashed the lights indicating that the key was in close proximity. Once she got to her door, the front passenger side, she tried to open it thinking that the car was unlocked, but nothing happened. Then I reached out and pulled the handle and the door opened. She was shocked! “How did you do that,” she asked, as she started looking at the handle and around the door for answers. I then had to tell her, “it’s because I have the key.”

You see, my car recognized that the key was close by. But even though this was the case, the car wasn’t going to give just anyone access, only the holder of the key. This is what our relationship with Christ is like.

When we possess the keys to the Kingdom, God gives us access to things that not everyone else has. When Jesus was speaking to Peter in Matthew 16:19,  He was communicating to him that He would indeed give him the same authority to represent Him. Everything that Jesus was able to do, He was giving that same authority to Peter.

Jesus makes this same statement again in Matthew 18:18. But, why would He tell Peter the same exact thing just a few chapters earlier? In Matthew 18, Jesus was no longer talking to just Peter, but the rest of the disciples as well. He wanted them to know that the same power and authority He spoke about to Peter in Matthew 16 was available to them as well. And the same holds true for you too.

When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, He gives us access to His power and authority that not everyone has. Just because you are in the proximity of Jesus and have attended church a few times or felt emotional doesn’t mean you have the keys. It’s not until you accept Him into your life that you gain access to those keys.

Today, will you operate in the power and authority that God has given You through salvation?

This power and authority is not available to everyone. If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and you have no clue what would happen to you if you died today, say this simple prayer with me:

God, I confess that I am not perfect. I have sinned and my sins have separated me from You, please forgive me. I know that I need a Savior who is perfect, so I ask You to come into my life, today. The Bible says in Romans 10:9, if I believe in my heart that Jesus is Lord and confess with my mouth that You raised Him from the dead, I will be saved. So I confess with my mouth and believe with my heart that Jesus is Lord and that You raised Him from the dead. Thank You for coming into my life and saving me. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen!

Bible Reading: James 2:14-26

Focus Verse: Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? James 2:22 (NKJV)

One morning, while waiting for Sunday service to start, one of my friend’s daughters began to tell me what she learned in Sunday School. As she was talking, one of her fruit snacks fell on the ground. I picked it up and proceeded  to throw it in the trash but before I could, she said: “No Ms. Tiffani, I can just blow it and pray over it and it will be ok.”

This blessed my heart because it is a perfect example of faith. But not just faith in itself, but faith working with action. You see, what my four-year-old friend had managed to learn at such a young age is that along with faith, we also have to do some work.

In her mind, if I had let her eat the fruit snack off the floor, she knew that God would bless it because she prayed. But she also knew that an action was required on her part. She needed to blow away any debris that may have collected on the fruit snack while it was on the ground.

This may be a little far-fetched for some to grasp, but let’s look at an example from the Bible of faith working.

Abraham’s heart desire was to please God in everything that he did, not just in mere lip service. But he wanted to please Christ so much that he was willing to sacrifice his only son out of obedience to Him. He knew that faith was not just about what he said he believed, but also what he did with that belief. Our works in themselves aren’t what justify us to be faithful believers.  But our actions due to our willingness to have enough faith in Christ in order to be obedient to Him.

You may not be eating food off the floor, expecting God to purify it or called to sacrifice your only child. But somewhere in between those extremes, God is calling you to work your faith.

Prayer: God, You are all knowing and all powerful. Thank You for blessing me with the opportunity to know I can put my trust in You alone. Father, I ask for a spirit like Abraham who not only trusted You, but also exemplified that trust with his actions. I want to be counted as someone who worked their faith in You. In the mighty name of Jesus, Amen!

Focus Verse: And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose. Romans 8:28 (AMP)

I was just about to pay for my hotel room, for a conference I am attending later this year, when I was prompted to inquire about who else was attending, in a group that I’m in. I exited the hotel reservation page and started to look in the group for previous conversations regarding conference attendees, but I wasn’t able to come up with anything. It was weird because I know I had just seen a conversation about two weeks ago about it.  So, I posed the question, that had been asked multiple times already in this group, “who will be attending the conference this year?” I also inquired in a couple of other groups I’m in as well.

I went about my day as normal, not really thinking anything else about it. An hour or so later, I checked and saw that a few people would be in attendance so I replied with small talk expressing my excitement about attending this year. Then I got a message that said, “Hi Tiffani, I’m going, but I am still looking for a roomie!” Now I purposefully did not include the reason for my inquiry because I’m not willing to room with just anyone.

I went to do a little bit of research about who this young lady was to make certain it would be a good fit. I soon found out she was a Chrisitan as well and appeared pretty normal so I sent her an email. Unbeknownst to me, she had been praying about a roommate for the conference for some time now. So when she got the email she was more than elated. I let her know my travel arrangments and my plans for lodging and they happened to be the exact same time as hers; arriving a day early, checking out a day early. There was no other explanation for this other than, God had specifically answered her prayers.

I honestly didn’t think anything else of it, until the young lady continued to go on and on about how grateful she was that I had reached out. Then God began to share with me how that wasn’t a coincidence, He had orchestrated the entire encounter. The idea that I had to reach out inquiring attendance, that was put there by Him. The fact that no one else in that group, or the other two groups I inquired in were even attending that this year, that was all Him. The fact that our travel arrangements, so unique, were exactly the same, that was all God again.

It forced me to be reminded about just how much God cares about us and wants to answer our prays with such attention to detail. Additionally, how we have to be willing to participate in all that God is doing, even the things we perceive as insignificant. He’s intentional.

Prayer: Most gracious and intentional Father, Your concern for Your children never cease to amaze me. You are consistently working things out for my good in ways, I know absolutely nothing about; thank You! Help me to continue to be mindful of You and Your presence in my life so that I am able to participate in everything You are doing in my life and in the lives of those I am connected to. In Your Son, Jesus’ name, Amen!

Guest Writer: Ana Florence

Distractions. They have one purpose: to divert our attention, for amusement or distress, from reaching an end goal. They come and they go. Ideally, they would come in anticipated increments so that we are fully prepared to handle them as they creep their way into our lives. Wishful thinking. They don’t come as expected. Quite frankly, it may often seem as if they pop up at the most inopportune time. They come when you’ve finally found your rhythm… When you’re steadily headed toward achieving your goals… When you’ve finally mustered up the courage to follow the path to fulfilling your purpose.

Take it from me, do not, I repeat, DO NOT allow yourself to be so easily overcome by distractions. The consequence can be fatal and recovery can seem impossible. Since you already know they’re coming, how will you respond to these unanticipated interruptions? As I assess my own life, it is evident that when distractions come, good or bad, my attention is so effortlessly shifted. Instead of being Christ-focused, my engrossment with temporal satisfaction conveniently diverts my attention. My focus is masterfully redirected on clinging to that temporary “thing.” On the other hand, when adversity strikes, I almost instantly begin to question my purpose and whether I’m traveling the right road… I question God, His promises, and the word He has spoken to me. Either way, when I seem to get off track, it can be difficult to rediscover the path toward the assignments God has ordained for my life. Somehow, by the grace of God, I always find my way, but not without considering the time wasted on these senseless distractions.

Stay focused. Stand guard. Anticipate the distractions that will soon come. Understand that these prudent disruptions are specifically designed to shift your focus and deter you from reaching your destiny. Beloved, always remember to never allow your distractions to cause your destruction.

Did this devotional speak to you? Have you been dealing with distractions lately? For more inspiration like this one, visit Ana at DEER Daughter~ Develop Esteem, Embrace Reflection.

Focus Verse: Heaven and earth [as now known] will pass away, but My words will not pass away. Matthew 24:35 (AMP)

How do you pray? Are you praying the Word of God back to Him? Are you praying according to the things God had already shown Himself faithful towards?

A while ago while in prayer, the Lord prompted me to pray according to how He had already performed and what He had already done in the lives of those in the Bible. For example, as long as I can remember, wisdom and discernment have always been something I desired and prayed for. The bible tells us that God gave King Solomon wisdom and insight greater than all the people of the east. See 1 Kings 4:29-30. So often times I will pray, “Lord, I ask You for wisdom and exceedingly great understanding like You gave to King Solomon according to 1 Kings 3 and 4 so that I am able to discern between good and evil.” Or when I find myself concerned with or involved in more things than I should, “God, give me a spirit like Mary so I am not troubled with those things that aren’t important, but that I choose what You would have me to be involved in, according to Luke 10:42.”

All throughout the Bible are promises that God has given to those who believes in Him. Often times, I find myself using those same promises and praying them back to God to remind Him of what He already promised. Not that He needs reminding, but as a way to say, “God You said You would do this and I’m believing You to do it.” For example, when I find myself struggling in the area of my purpose and God’s plan for my life, I often pray, “God, Your word tells me in Philippians that I can be confident because You began a good work in me and You will complete it until Jesus returns.” Because I know God is not a man, so He can not lie, Numbers 23:19, if He has said He would do it He will, He will. Additionally, as humans, it’s easy for us to forget things, so this is done as a reminder to myself that His record is God and He can be trusted.

So I raise the question again. How are you praying?

Reference Verses: 1 Kings 3:9; 1 Kings 4:29-30; Philippians 1:6

Prayer: Father God, thank You for Your word that never changes and will remain forever. Thank You for being faithful to Your word. There are times that I need reminding of what You have already done in the past and because I know You have done it before, You are able to do it again. I pray that You help me to let the word do the work in my life. In the matchless name of Jesus, Amen!