It's Not About Meatballs

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAIdo707Sac&list=RDHAIdo707Sac&start_radio=1&t=0

Freedom Reigns ~ Jesus Culture

 For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. ~ 2 Corinthians 3:17 NLT

 Have you ever fought about something as ridiculous as meatballs? If you’ve been married for any length of time (or have a sibling), there’s a good chance you’ve fought over something rather ridiculous. Last night, it was about meatballs. Long story short, there was the possibility (though it was slight) that glass got in the meatballs. I decided the risk outweighed the benefit of keeping them and threw them in the garbage.

 Let’s be real: the fight was never about meatballs. Our fight was about working through our fears. Because of a very old lie from the enemy, I believed that I had to hold everything together. The weight of the household—budget, meal planning, everything—fell on me. No human ever said this to me. In fact, both my mom and my husband have said quite the contrary, but the lie was embedded early and was hard to “unbelieve.” Praise God Jesus has given me freedom from these lies, and I am now able to (more quickly) identify them and command that they be burned back to their sources in Jesus’ Name! Sadly, my husband came with his own set of lies he’d believed. Praise God he, too, has received freedom in Christ and is also (more quickly) able to identify and command these lies be burned in Jesus’ Name!

 After being married almost 16 years, one might think we’d no longer fight about meatballs. But the truth is, we are all in a war and the devil aims to win. Thankfully, he’s not very creative and will keep using what’s worked in the past. But we have been given weapons to defeat our enemy! As we continue to walk in freedom, daily applying our spiritual armor and weapons of warfare, we’ll be enabled to walk in the victory and freedom Christ died and rose to give us.

 It’s time to break free from the bondage of old lies. Jesus came that all would know Him, walk with Him, and have freedom in His Name. Pray today that Holy Spirit would reveal the lies under which you’ve been operating and help you use your armor and weapons of warfare to defeat them, so that you can walk daily in the freedom and victory you’ve been given in Christ Jesus.

©Heather Potts 2021

Be Still pt.2

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1EwKwayzLM

Hold on to Me ~ Lauren Diagle

 Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!

~ Psalm 46:10 NKJV

God’s been showing me that He wants to grow some things in my life, but first, we need to remove anything from the soil of my heart that might choke out the blessings: thorns, grubs, weeds. In her book, Without Rival, Lisa Bevere recounts a conversation she had with God when He told her something similar. He showed her that grubs in her heart had “nibbled at the roots of [her] marriage and diminished the growth of the flowers of [her] friendships.” God told Lisa that she could choose to cover over them or renounce them in word and deed and give God permission to remove them. She chose God’s way. Then God told her it was also time to pluck out all the weeds. At that point, Lisa struggled, not wanting her soil to look “naked and barren.”  

Growing up in Wisconsin, I had no context for this. Our yard had the occasional prickly weed or dandelion, but pulling them wouldn’t make the yard naked. But after living in Florida, I understood. Our yard in Ellenton was sand, covered by a thin layer of dirt, and tons of weeds. Our landlords tried several times to plant grass, but there were so many weeds, they choked out the grass seedlings.  That’s what God was trying to convey to Lisa (and me). He doesn’t just want us to look fruitful. He wants our lives to be fruitful. The weeds gave the appearance of a full yard, but a bit of mowing or kicking around the dirt revealed the emptiness. As long as our hearts are full of weeds, we can’t bear the fruit God wants to grow in our lives, because there’s no room for healthy roots.

If, like me, God’s been calling you to pull the weeds from your heart so that the rich and juicy fruit He wants to bring forth will grow and flourish, it’s time to do it. Remember God—your Creator, Friend, and Defender—will cover over you. This isn’t a trick to shame you, but to heal and strengthen you. It’s time to give up your ways, allowing God to produce the fruit of the promises He’s buried deep within your heart.  

©Heather Potts 2021

Be Still

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HznXBBCdBE

Into the Sea (It’s Gonna be OK) ~ Tasha Layton

Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!

~ Psalm 46:10 NKJV

I got halfway through writing this piece, as prompted by Holy Spirit, and realized I hadn’t yet laid the groundwork for the most important part of this verse. “Be still” is the command given by God to “leave off” or “desert” our plans. We are to do so in light who He is because He is God. But what does that mean?

I did a devotional time with my girls, yesterday, and asked them that question: Who is God? Here’s the list they came up with:

·         Our Creator

·         Our Friend

·         Our Powerful Defender

·         Our Love

·         Our Daddy (I smiled at this one)

·         Our Shield and Very Great Reward

·         Our Wise God

·         All Knowing

·         All Powerful

It’s hard to walk away from something, especially when we think we’re right in our decision or when it’s something we really want. But when we know and trust the One who’s asked us to go another route, is there really any other choice?

Lord, when what I think and what I want don’t go with what You ask of me, help me to be still and know that You are God.

©Heather Potts 2021

Fragrance of Christ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plN1TK1P3SM 

Incense ~ The Belonging Co. (feat. Sarah Reeves)

 For we are the sweet fragrance of Christ [which ascends] to God, [discernible both] among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; ~ 2 Corinthians 2:15 AMP 

Every summer, growing up, my grandparents dried their laundry in the sun. Sun-dried sheets were my favorite. They had a soft, gentle smell which was a distinguishing smell of summertime, almost as much as watermelon, grilled burgers, and fireworks smoke. A few years ago, I found a candle claiming it smelled like clothes dried in the sun. Let me assure you, it did not! I understand wanting to bottle those childhood memories, but an imitation of the real thing is repelling. 

2 Corinthians 2:15 says, “For we are the sweet fragrance of Christ [which ascends] to God.” Because we abide in and belong to Christ, God breathes us in as a sweet fragrance. A humble and sincere heart, fully devoted to the Lord is a sweet fragrance in which God is well-pleased. But it’s not just God who notices this fragrance. 2 Corinthians 2:15-16 say that “among those who are perishing” we are “a fatal, offensive odor”. But “among those who are being saved” we are “a vital fragrance, living and fresh”. 

In his Bible commentary, David Guzik explained that the Romans celebrated their war heroes with a parade and burning incense, as the soldiers marched their captives through the streets. To the Romans, the incense was the sweet smell of victory. But to the captives, it was the smell of death, as well as bitter and utter defeat, (Blueletterbible.com). To those who are being saved by receiving Christ, our sharing the gospel with them is like the sweet smell of life and victory. But to those who refuse, our sharing the Good News is repulsive, a fatal odor. 

 The world is going to judge for itself what is a sweet aroma or a repulsive stench. Our job isn’t to water-down the gospel to fit their liking, but to be obedient in sharing Christ where, how, and with whom Holy Spirit leads. At the end of the day, it’s not man with whom I want to be concerned. Instead, I’d rather my Father look at me and say that I am a sweet fragrance with whom He is well pleased. ©Heather Potts 2021

The Gift 2

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6xSOMdt_2g

Only You ~ David Crowder Band

 

“Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown...” ~ Luke 7:47 NIV

 

I remember seeing the picture someone had taken of my friend during worship, with the caption: If you understood my past, you’d understand my praise. Knowing part of her story, I could better appreciate her freedom in worship. Her story, like so many others, was one of awe and gratitude for the One who rescued and restored her life from the pit.

 

A story similar to King David’s of dancing before the Lord, was the woman who wept and poured perfume on Jesus’ feet, as they both longed to praise the One who is worthy of all praise! After entering the house of the pharisee, the woman sought out Jesus to worship Him both kissing and anointing His feet with her expensive perfume. Obviously uncomfortable by her display, onlookers scoffed at her. But her focus was solely on Jesus, as her overwhelming desire was to share her gift of worship with her Lord.

 

She was the first of many who would come to Jesus, aware of their brokenness, longing to worship Him in freedom. Carrying a heavy, emotional load, I slipped into a pit class on campus during a Campus Crusade for Christ worship service. Though I don’t remember their names or faces, I’ll always remember that night. I was struck by the passion the worship team had as they sang to the Lord. Then, as if in response to my thoughts, the worship leader said, “We’re no different than you. We’re just worshipping God in the front.” His words were just the invitation I needed, and I told God, “I want what he has—I want that passion in my heart.”

 

Like the woman kissing Jesus’ feet, my friend in the picture, and King David, we all have the opportunity to worship God with our whole being. When we remember our own testimony, the story of how God—in His infinite love for us—found us in the muck and mire and rescued us from it, pulling us out, cleaning us off, and causing us to shine in the radiance of His presence, we can't help but worship. Just like the woman who worshipped at Jesus’ feet, fully unhindered worship is our response to His overwhelming love.

 

The next time you enter His presence, ask God to show you—and to remove—anything that’s holding you back from unashamedly worshiping Him with your whole life.

©Heather Potts 2021

The Gift

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvafDio5MrM

With Everything ~ Hillsong UNITED

 

David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the Lord with all his might. ~ 2 Samuel 6:14 NIV

 

I don’t remember how old I was the first time I saw her dancing. In front of the whole church, my mom poured out her heart in dance before the Lord. My grandma also loved Jesus with her whole heart. She would often sit at her piano and praise Him. Joyfully they shared their love of Jesus with everyone. They worshipped Jesus through dance and music as a gift to Him, simply because He was their Lord. 

 

Because of all the Lord had done for him, David danced before the Lord. 2 Samuel 6 says, “David and the whole house of Israel were celebrating with all their might before the Lord, with songs and with harps, lyres, tambourines, sistrums and cymbals… David…danced before the Lord with all his might, while he and the entire house of Israel brought the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets,” (vv.5, 14-15 NIV).

 

Whatever our method, we’re called to worship the Lord with all our might, with our whole lives. But the devil despises our worship of the Lord. He longs to choke it out with the worries and cares of the world, including the disapproving opinions of others—whether real or perceived. Sadly, we often let the fear of man outweigh our fear of the Lord, restraining our worship rather than letting it freely flow. But God tells us to remember that we’re worshipping before an audience of One. That’s exactly what David said to Michal when she scoffed at David’s display in front of others. He said, “It was before the Lord… I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes,” (2 Samuel 6:20-22 NIV).

 

Whether you sing or dance, paint or write, play, pray, or praise, be like David and worship with all your might before the Lord!

©Heather Potts 2021