The Daily Dose with Dr. Daryl L. Williams

A Word every day to get you on your way!

Here is the Daily Dose for Wednesday, March 3, 2021.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23

Holding On

I have a confession to make. I am a fan of the New York Knicks. I have been a fan of the New York Knicks since I was a child. This means that I am acutely aware of and in tune with what it means to lose and lose a lot. You see, my beloved Knicks have not won a championship in my lifetime. As a matter of fact, in the last twenty years, the Knicks have missed the playoffs more than they have made the playoffs. On those rare occasions when the Knicks have made the playoffs, they have won a total of one, yes, one round of playoff games. So, the question that I am asked all the time is, why am I still a Knicks fan.

I am still a Knicks fan because I made a decision to be a Knicks fan. I decided that in good times and in bad times, I would support my hometown team. I made a decision that even if they disappoint me from time to time, there have been times that the Knicks made me feel great about being a fan. Yes, they drive me crazy. Yes, they are currently a laughing stock. No, we can’t attract free agents. No, the owner is not selling the team. None of this matters to me because I am a fan, and I am still holding out hope that the Knicks will live up to the faith that I have put in them one day.

Friends, many of us have supported losing teams in our lives. We have been on the wrong side of games and had our hopes crushed over and over, but we still hold out hope for those teams. In these times, I want to remind you to hold onto your hope and faith in God. Trying times can make us want to give up on God and wonder if our faith is misplaced. I want you to remember in these times that this is the same God of the good times as well. This is the same God that has brought us out, brought us through, and brought us over, time and time again. So don’t give up now. Don’t lose hope in your confession of faith. What we know for sure is our teams may let us down, but our God is always faithful and always comes through.

Be Blessed,

Rev

The Daily Dose with Dr. Daryl L. Williams

A Word every day to get you on your way!

Here is the Daily Dose for Tuesday, March 2, 2021.

The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making the wise simple. Psalm 19:7

Some Assembly Required 

After I became a parent, I realized that grandparents are both lovely people and also the enemy. Sure, they seem sweet and nice, but these people mean you no good as a parent. Sure they are great for advice and free babysitting, but we don’t realize it is all an elaborate rouse. Sure they love you, and they love your child, but these people are out for revenge. Being a grandparent is their opportunity to pay you back for everything you did wrong as a child, and they do it in the form of gifts.

If you are a parent, you know grandparents love to send gifts. Their favorite gifts come with three words, some assembly required. This is an act of violence. You would think “some assembly required” meant that you pop a couple of pieces together, and you are done. Some assembly required actually means that you will get a box of parts, a bag of screws, hundreds of stickers, and tiny instructions that are never quite clear for how to put it all together. You then spend hours trying to get it just right or right enough to let your child play with it. Then you send pictures of your child playing with the device to those grandparents who have great joy and a good laugh. By the way, their joy is in seeing their grandchild. Their laughter is at your expense for having spent hours putting that thing together.

Luckily for us, God does take a different approach. All of our lives come with some assembly required. We have to assemble the pieces that will lead us to joy, peace, and fulfillment, but God gives us clear instructions. Unlike toymakers, God’s instructions are clear and concise, leading to rejuvenation, not frustration. So are you go through the day, and as you put your life together, remember the Lord’s instructions are clear and trustworthy. They will put together the life that he promised you, even if it comes with some assembly required.

Be Blessed,

Rev

The Daily Dose with Dr. Daryl L. Williams

Hey everybody. Earlier today, you got an old edition of the Daily Dose. My apologies. I sent out the wrong one while editing for a different project. Below is Daily Dose that was intended for today. But if the first one blessed you, all the better!

Have a great day!

Rev 

A Word every day to get you on your way!

Here is the Daily Dose for Monday, March 1, 2021.

See, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is there anything too hard for me? Jeremiah 32:27

Confidence

There is a date that lives in infamy for all fans of the Kansas City Chiefs. That date is January 5, 2014. That is the day that the Kansas City Chiefs played the Indianapolis Colts in the wildcard round of the NFL playoffs. The date lives in infamy because it was on that date that the Colts erased a 28 point second-half deficit to defeat the Chiefs 45 to 44 and move to the next round of the playoffs. It was one of the largest comebacks in playoff history, but the outcome was never in doubt. At least to Colts quarterback Andrew Luck.

Colts teammates fondly recall that as they were losing, their quarterback never seemed down. He was walking along the sidelines smiling, cheering people up, and confidently telling them, “Don’t worry, we’re going to win.” There was no objective reason to believe that they would win when Luck was saying this, but somehow he kept believing it, and so did his teammates. Little by little, they kept believing, kept clawing their way back, and eventually pulled out the win. After that, the team never doubted what Luck said again.

Friends, there is a funny thing about confidence, where you put it matters. Too many times, we have misplaced our confidence and been disappointed by the results. We believed in people and things that simply did not deliver. But when you put your confidence in the right place, all you have to do is keep believing, and everything will turn out fine. I know you’re asking, what place is that. Well, it certainly isn’t Andrew Luck. He’s retired now. I want you to place your confidence in God. God will never abandon you, never let you down, and will always come through. No matter what you are dealing with, nothing is too hard for God. He will come through.

Be Blessed,

Rev

The Daily Dose with Dr. Daryl L. Williams

A Word every day to get you on your way!

Here is the Daily Dose for Wednesday, March 25, 2020.

Let us then, with confidence, draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16

Confidence

You ask him. No, you ask him. I’m not gonna ask him. Why can’t you just ask him? If it’s so easy, then you just ask him. Fine, I’ll just ask him. This is the round and around that most children go through when they want to ask someone in authority for something. They go back and forth about who should do the asking until one of them gets up the nerve to walk over and make the big request. It doesn’t matter if the request is for ice cream money or just to go somewhere special. The song and dance are still the same. Unless one of the kids is asking their parents. Then they will stroll boldly up to them and ask for what they want.

Our confidence in asking for something often depends on our relationship with the person we ask and what we are asking for. When you ask someone that you know well, you are more willing to ask because you know them well. You know their character. You know their capabilities. You know their willingness to help you. So you are more willing to ask them without hesitation. By contrast, people that you don’t know well you are less willing to ask for things. You don’t know them well and are not sure what may happen. So you may not ask them, or you come to them with fear and doubt when asking.

Friends, how do you approach God when you need something? Do you approach him as if he is someone you don’t know and are not sure how they will respond, or do you approach him like a parent who you are close to and know you can ask for anything? How you view God, and your relationship with him will influence how you approach him. When you become a believer, you become a child of God. That means that you have access to him and a relationship with him. So approach your father with confidence, knowing that you will receive grace and help with whatever you need.

Be Blessed,

Rev

The Daily Dose with Dr. Daryl L. Williams

A Word every day to get you on your way!

Here is the Daily Dose for Thursday, February 24, 2021.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5

A Judgement Call

I love watching baseball games live. There is nothing in the world like being in the park, eating a hotdog, and watching a game. I remember going to my first game with my dad. I was taking in all of the sights and the sounds, and as a kid, I had many questions. I wanted to know the what, the why, and the when of everything. My biggest question to my dad happened around a swing that was a close call. The batter had taken a swing and tried to hold it back as a check swing. Then a strange thing happened, they pointed to the third-base umpire, and I asked my dad why.

HE told me it was straightforward. When there is a check-swing, the umpire behind the plate can’t always see if the swing goes all the way around. To make sure they make the right call, they ask the umpire up the baseline who has a better view to make the call, and they go with what he says because he has a better view. I was amazed. The fact that the umpire behind the plate would substitute his judgment for someone else’s judgment because they could see better was mind-blowing, but it made all the sense in the world. The home plate umpire trusts the third or first base umpire to see what he can’t because they are a part of the same umpire crew, and they just want to get the call right no matter who makes the call.

Friends, for too many of us, we are more concerned about who makes the call instead of getting the call right. Who makes the call is not nearly as important as the call being correct. When we make the correct call, our lives go in the best way possible. The correct calls will save your marriage, guide your career and take you to the next level, but you can’t see everything. That is why you need to let God make the call. Like the umpire behind the plate, you have to realize that God is on your side, and he can see much better than you can. When there is a call to be made, don’t rely on yourself. Ask God to make the call. Remember, He has a better view, Never gets it wrong, and you are both on the same side. So don’t worry about you making the call. Let him make the right call.

Be Blessed,

Rev

The Daily Dose with Dr. Daryl L. Williams

A Word every day to get you on your way!

Here is the Daily Dose for Tuesday, February 23, 2021.

I call out to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain. Psalm 3:4

911

There were three phone numbers that I had to know as a child. I had to know the number to our home in case I got lost. I had to know the number of my aunt’s house if I was in trouble and there was nobody at home. Finally, I have to know the number to 9-1-1, which is the actual phone number, in case there was an emergency that transcended the capabilities of my parents or my aunt. 9-1-1 was the number that I was only supposed to use if the situation was really bad and I need real help in a real hurry. So I always kept that number in mind just in case things went completely haywire.

As I got older, I realized that some emergencies were not going to be in the hands of my parents, and that would transcend my aunt, but that 9-1-1 was probably not the right number to dial. Who do you call when you are in spiritual trouble? Who do you call when you’re being attacked not by criminals but by those who would do you spiritual and emotional harm? That is when you get past the phone numbers and get a direct line to heaven.

Friends, when you are in trouble, call God immediately. When something is stealing your joy, or your spiritual house seems to be on fire, call God. All too often, we call God last when we should be calling God first. At the first sign of trouble, God is ready to step in on your behalf. From his seat in the heavens, God is taking emergency calls at all times, and believe me, he answers. When he answers, he can calm your distress, push back your enemies, and put out the fires trying to consume you. So the next time you find yourself in trouble, call the 9-1-1 of the heavens and watch your help show up.

Be Blessed,

Rev

 

 

The Daily Dose with Dr. Daryl L. Williams

A Word every day to get you on your way!

Here is the Daily Dose for Monday, February 22, 2021.

And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. 2 Corinthians 9:8

Enough To Spare

So there was one rule in elementary school that all of us remember, “If you don’t have enough for everybody, then put it away.” Now it was not a written rule. It was never found in a syllabus, but we had all heard it one time or another. It was pronounced whenever someone would try to sneak a snack in class. The teacher would say, if you don’t have enough for everyone, then you can’t eat it.” This was a great way to keep order in the class unless Chris Franklin was in your class.

One day in the third grade, Chris was trying to have a snack in the back of the class. Of course, he got caught, and the teacher told him the rule. So he put his chips away and went back to doing his school work. The next day, Chris did the same thing, and when the teacher stopped him to remind him of the “rule,” Chris stood up, went to his locker and pulled out a box of chips, and started giving them out to everyone in the class including the teacher. What our teacher didn’t know was Chris’s parents ran a corner store. When she told Chris the rule the day before, he went home and decided to bring a full box of chips to school the next day from home because he had more than enough to share. Needless to say that day, we feasted in class, including the teacher.

Friends, when you are connected to God, you will have enough to spare. God has the cattle on a thousand hills and everything else on the earth. When we are children of God, God supplies enough for us and will give us enough for others. God is a generous God and wants us to be generous as well. So never be afraid to go to God for anything. Like our father, he will give you enough and enough to spare.

Be Blessed,

Rev

The Daily Dose with Dr. Daryl L. Williams

A Word every day to get you on your way!

Here is the Daily Dose for Thursday, February 18, 2021.

God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit, God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. 1 Corinthian 1:30

Joined At The Hip

When I was in daycare, my best friend was named Jason. Jason and I went everywhere together. From the moment we got to school, we were together. We played together. We had breakfast together. We finger-painted together. We hung out at recess together. We had snack time together. We sat on the bus together. We were partners on field trips together. We were together so often that our teachers often would comment that it was like we were joined at the hip. If you saw one of us, you expected to see the other no matter what.

For believers, that is the relationship we are supposed to have with Christ. The word tells us that God has joined us with Christ Jesus and made him into wisdom. Think about that for a minute. As a follower of Christ, we are joined with him, and he is wisdom. So wherever we go, wisdom goes with us. When we are at work, we should have good answers to hard questions because wisdom is with us. When we are on a date, we should be able to see through people’s representatives and see the person for who they really are because we have wisdom with us. In fact, everywhere we go, and in everything that we do, we should be doing it well because we have wisdom with us.

Friends, when you become a believer, you are joined with Christ. Being joined with Christ means that where we go, he goes. The problem that causes for us sometimes is there are places we go that we don’t think Christ should be. There are environments that we enjoy that we know would make Christ uncomfortable. The problem is joined, which means joined. Christ is always there, always with you, and always wanting the best for you. Many of us have to make the decision to remember that Christ is always there no matter what. Since Christ is always there, make sure of three things: 1) That you are listening to him because he can give you wisdom, 2) that you are only going places where both of you should be so you don’t have to feel uncomfortable because Christ is there, and finally, 3) that you are getting all the benefits that come with having a relationship with Christ because at the end of it all you are joined at the hip.

Be Blessed,

Rev

The Daily Dose with Dr. Daryl L. Williams

A Word every day to get you on your way!

Here is the Daily Dose for Wednesday, February 17, 2021.

If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us. 2 Timothy 2:12

We’re In This Together

All of us have, at one time or another, had to work on a group project. Now the words group project either conjure up great memories or push you to want to scream. It all depends on what type of group you were working with. The best groups have people who are all working hard towards a common goal. They are helping, supporting, and working with each other, even in difficult times, because they know that in the end, they are in it together. By contrast, the worst groups are a completely different experience.

When we are in a bad group, we know it from the beginning. In a bad group, everyone is in it for themselves. While we are working together, in a bad group, people just want to do “their” part and not be bothered with anyone else. They don’t want to meet, they don’t want to help, and they just want to do their part. And when the project does not meet expectations, everyone in the group says they don’t know what happened because they did “their” part. So they deny each other, and everyone walks away with a bad taste in their mouth that can last for years to come.

Friends, you have to be in it together. Walking with the Lord is a perfect example of a good group project. The Lord promises us that he will be in it with us at all times. He promises that he will suffer with us. He will walk with us. He will be with us. Finally, he promises that in the end,  we will reign with him. Notice, the reigning doesn’t come without the walking, the being, and the suffering. In other words, we don’t get a great ending if we don’t do our part along the way. So make sure day by day that you remember that you and the Lord are in this together.

Be Blessed,

Rev

The Daily Dose with Dr. Daryl L. Williams

A Word every day to get you on your way!

Here is the Daily Dose for Friday,  February 12, 2021.

But you O Lord are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. Psalm 3:3

Shields Up

I was a little late to the Star Trek fold. The originals with William Shatner seemed a little hokey to me, and some of the other series were just not my cup of tea. Then the reboots of the movies came out and I loved them. They were so good that I went to the beginning and started watching them all. I went back to the very first Star Trek episode and sat down and committed to catching up on all of the seasons, from all of the series, so that I could have the full Star Trek experience. So yes, I guess I would now be considered a Trecker.

No matter which series I am watching I have a favorite part. It is when the captain of the ships yells, “Shields Up!” Whenever the captain gives the order for the shields to go up, that means that something is about to go down. No matter if it means that the Romulans are attacking or if they are about to attack the Borg, shields up is the command that lets you know that everyone onboard needs to get ready for some action. The shields go up so that if they are hit by something it may bounce them around but whatever is thrown at them will not bring them down.

Friends, like the ships of Star Trek we have shields in life too. When the enemy attacks the Lord becomes the shield around us. The Lord is our keeper when we go into battle when we find ourselves under attack, and just as we go through our day to day life. God loves you so much that he surrounds us with protection so that the enemy can’t destroy us. The enemy will attack us. The enemy will take his shots but always remember when you get in trouble you have shields up and you will make it through.

Be Blessed,

Rev