Weekly Devotionals
Genesis 1:27 “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them…”
I had the biggest crush on Maurice Simms during my teen years. At the time, no one could convince me that it wasn’t real love. I had plans that we would share our lives together… big house, four or five kids, flourishing careers and maybe even a dog. The only problem was… Maurice Simms barely knew that I even existed. Although he was one of my brother’s best friends and we all hung out, he always seemed to overlook me. But I noticed that LaChelle seemed to catch his eye. LaChelle was nothing like me. She stayed completely away from all sports, she always wore a dress, her hair was always curled very neatly and her lipstick seemed to always be perfectly applied. Me on the other hand, I hadn’t worn a dress (outside of Sunday) in years. My hair was always in a ponytail and lipstick was just not an option. But girls like LaChelle is what Maurice seemed to like.
Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good, acceptable, and perfect.”
Weird title right?! I said the same thing when God gave it to me and thought “Ain’t no way in the world those two words supposed to go together!” Then God responded with the scripture above. He be real quick and funny with His clapbacks, so I just receive it. For some of us, that scripture won't be enough to make sense of that title, so let's first breakdown the two words separately.
Romans 8:18 “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”
I don’t know who cried more that day, me or my son. Reading Pastor Wilson’s devotion last week reminded me of one of my most painful experiences as a mom. My son was starting Kindergarten and had to get vaccinated. As the nurse called us from the waiting room, my heart began to sink, knowing my baby was in for a painful experience. He had to get three shots. I saw how he tried to take the first shot like a “big boy”. He sat there all confident and brave, until that needle pierced his little skin and the pain started to push through his leg. My little boy started to cry.
Philippians 1:29 – “For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him.”
When I was younger, I was afraid of needles. So, as you might expect, every time I went to the doctor and they had to draw blood it was an exercise in embarrassment. I would scream, holler, twist, and contort until I either gave out in exhaustion or someone had to hold me down. As inconvenient as it was for me, that’s the kind of fear you can live with as a little kid. You simply don’t have to give blood that often and if you don’t wander into any Doctor’s offices unprotected then it rarely comes up. However, even when the doctors said I would need to have my tonsils removed, I wasn’t bothered. Cutting something out of my body? Not a problem. I’m going to need like 7 shots?… hold on there Doc we got a problem.
