By Faith in the Name

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjPKfQ7fMoM

I Choose to Worship ~ Rend Collective

By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see. ~ Acts 3:16 NIV

Cancer. Yesterday, a relative received the news that this evil word has infected his body.

Cancer. 1a. A malignant and invasive growth or tumor… 2. Any evil condition or thing that spreads destructively; blight, (dictionary.com). 

How does anyone overcome this evil word? The same way we overcome every other sickness and disease: Pray. Seek wisdom and guidance. Walk in faith. Worship and praise God. Possibly make some lifestyle changes. Then wait with expectation.

But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] will gain new strength and renew their power… They will run and not become weary, They will walk and not grow tired. ~ Isaiah 40:31 AMP

Expectation. Something you look forward to and assume will happen. When you’re waiting on the Lord, you’re looking to Him with great expectation, as you believe He will move! I love Jesus’ words to Father God when He was standing outside of Lazarus’ tomb. “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me…” (John 11:41-42 NIV). If we are co-heirs with Christ, can’t we also know that Father God will hear our prayers?

There’s a story that Graham Cooke tells about a woman with an inoperable tumor who wants a word from the Lord. Knowing that Graham has the gift of prophecy, she sought him for an answer. Graham said that God didn’t give him anything for her, but said she should seek God in this matter, then worship until she hears from God. He said that the responsibility is on God to speak, not on her to hear, but to keep worshipping until God speaks. Peter and John also said the responsibility is on God and no one else. 

A man, whom scriptures say was crippled from birth, was begging from those entering the temple each day. When he saw Peter and John, he asked them for money. They said, “Look at us!” The man looked with expectation. “Then Peter said, ‘Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk,’” (Acts 3:1-6 NIV). It wasn’t money, luck, or even Peter or John who healed the man. We’re all healed the same way: “By faith in the name of Jesus...It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed [us].”

Whatever is coming against you or your family, don’t let it knock you down one more day. Come against it in the Name that is above every name, even cancer: the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth who came in the Flesh.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9plwKOkbf1I

God speaks to the lady with cancer ~ Graham Cooke

©Heather Potts 2021

Overflowing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs8WTFxEcEw&list=RDcs8WTFxEcEw&start_radio=1&rv=cs8WTFxEcEw&t=0

How Deep the Father’s Love for Us ~ Nicole Nordeman

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my [brimming] cup runs over. ~ Psalm 23:5 AMPC

As an adult, have you ever asked a small child to guess your height? The younger the child, the grander the answers, as they likely have no idea. If a small child, who can see you, can’t figure out how tall you are, how are we to grasp the amount of God’s love, whom we have never seen?

Ephesians 3:17-19 lay out a prayer that the Church would have the power to grasp the size of the love of Christ, and would be “filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” How can you even fathom the fullness of God, let alone be filled to its measure? First of all, the measure of the fullness of God is not like a level cup; it’s full to overflowing. If you dumped the water from an olympic-sized swimming pool into a thimble-sized container, you’d start to form an idea of “full to overflowing,” but it would still be a far cry from how much God wants to pour into us. And yet, a child of God, who’s been anointed with oil--representative of Holy Spirit--is being filled to full and overflowing with God’s love.

The secret isn’t in the container, or the action of holding what God pours into our containers. The secret is receiving with the expectation that whatever God pours into your life will overflow onto the lives of those around you. The jars of clay into which God breathed His life were not created with the ability, let alone capacity, to contain all that God longs to pour into our lives, (2 Corinthians 4:7). Why? Because His ultimate goal is not to make your life bigger, better, higher, grander, or more comfortable than everyone else’s. Rather, His charge, to us who follow Him, is that we would be a conduit, river,  and cup overflowing, letting His love flow to, captivate, and change the hearts and lives of others.

If you have been feeling dry, it’s time to open and humble your heart, and come back to the presence of Father God, who longs to pour His love on you. And if you are being filled, but still feel empty, it’s time to find, and surround yourself with, others to whom you can be a conduit, river, and cup overflowing. It’s only when we’re abiding in His presence as an open vessel--not trying to grab it all for ourselves--that we can truly live full to overflowing.

©Heather Potts 2021

Don't Quit

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIGV3ms_9eM

Worthy of It All ~ Bethany Wohrle

...let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus… ~ Hebrews 12:1-2 NIV

When you’re running your race but cannot see the ending, you’re in danger of quitting too soon.

For the past two weeks, Brad has been battling a double ear and sinus infection. He has been in horrible pain. He felt like his left eye was being pushed out of his head, causing darkness on one side of his eye’s peripheral vision, and double vision on the other side. To help him, we’ve been praying; he's seen his doctor, and he’s taken essential oils and antibiotics. 

Last night, as we were drifting off to sleep, I prayed for him, again, outloud. Then, in my spirit, I asked God if it was handled. I know I heard God say, “Yes.” My night’s sleep was rather bumpy, but each time I would awaken, I would pray and praise, as “Worthy of It All” played in my spirit. Then this morning, Brad burst through the bedroom door. I jolted out of bed when he said his eye popped! I am relieved to say his eye is fine. He meant the tear duct in his left eye, which had been plugged, popped. He could see perfectly and ALL the pressure was GONE! PRAISE JESUS!

Though those days were long, it was only 12 days. Some of my friends have been waiting on God’s answers for years. Sometimes, when we’ve been in the trenches for so long, we can lose sight of what we’re fighting for and tend to focus only on what’s right before us. That’s why we’re told to fix our eyes on Jesus. Not only is Jesus our Finish Line, but He’s also our Victory, our Hope, and our Help. With Jesus before us, and Holy Spirit constantly by our side, we cannot fail if we don’t quit. Our job is just to take one more step, and then another. Then, before we know it, with our eyes fixed on Christ, we’ll be running towards Victory, empowered by His strength.

If you’ve been waiting on an answer from God, whether it’s been days or years, don’t quit! Just take another step, keeping your eyes fixed on Christ.

©Heather Potts 2021

Truth or Lies

https://youtu.be/1srs1YoTVzs

Fear is a Liar ~ Zach Williams

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. ~ Psalm 91:1 NKJV

There’s a series of books for young readers called, Who Would Win, which matches two animals against each other, shares their strengths and weaknesses, then asks the reader, “Who would win?”. The books are fun to read and the author does a good job of presenting the case for both sides. I wonder, if Truth was matched against lies, who do you think would win? Ultimately, we know that Truth will prevail, but what about in our everyday lives? Do we allow Truth or lies to run our lives?

It occurred to me the other day that I’d recently believed some old lies. Thankfully, I recognized them faster than I had in previous times. The other night, when I sat down with my journal and wrote down all the lies I'd heard, I was shocked to see I had believed seven lies. However, the benefit of writing them in a journal is that I was able to cross out each lie and write a Truth in its place.

John 8:44 says “there is no truth in [the devil]. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it,” (NKJV). Satan's distinguishing nature and personal character traits are pulled from his supply of lies. Jesus counters the devil's lies by reminding us to abide in and dwell with Him. It’s through our time with Jesus that we’ll learn the truth, and only the truth can set us free from the lies we’ve believed, (Psalm 91:1; John 15:4; 8:31-32). 

Reflecting, now, on your life and habits, are you abiding and dwelling with Jesus? Are you positioning yourself to learn, believe, and remember His truths? Or have you taken a vacation from abiding and dwelling? Taking a vacation is easy. Staying disciplined takes effort. But remaining disciplined will save you the grief of letting lies dictate your life and decisions. Based on your current choices, who would win: Truth or lies? 

©Heather Potts 2021

Cling to Your Life Preserver

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KRRCQ9bcAc

Made to Fly ~ Colton Dixon

“Do not let your heart be troubled (afraid, cowardly). Believe [confidently] in God and trust in Him, [have faith, hold on to it, rely on it, keep going and] believe also in Me.” ~ John 14:1 AMP

Have you ever been in one of those seasons where wave after wave attacking you caused you to turn your gaze from Jesus, and inevitably, your grip, as well? And when that happened, the next wave made you believe you were going to drown. I’ll confess that happened to me.

Our summer break hasn’t started as relaxing as I would have liked. Within the first two weeks we needed a major fix on both vehicles, and then my back locked up while we were camping. Then, just after God brought us through that (including healing my back--Praise God!), the girls got burned. At first we assumed it was a sunburn, but 48 hours later, it appeared more like a chemical burn, causing me to feel completely helpless and overwhelmed. Thankfully, after getting some outside help, it’s calmed down a lot and is almost gone. Honestly, though, the attack on the girls scared me. I felt helpless when I didn’t know how to “make it better”. By the end of the day, yesterday, I realized just how drained I was and how cranky I was acting towards others.

Fortunately, God wasn’t bothered by my crankiness, and led me to John 14:1. After just glancing at the words, I realized that I’d let trouble into my heart, but it was time for it to go!

When going boating, you put on a life preserver, because if the unexpected ever happened, you’d be prepared. Ephesians 6:13-15 tells us to put on our spiritual armor, because we’re in a spiritual battle. Though the breastplate of righteousness and shield of faith sound like they’d drag you to the bottom, they become the straps, binding you to Jesus, your Life Preserver. The next time you’re being beaten by a churning sea, don’t let go of your Life Preserver to try to swim to shore faster. Instead, lean into it, letting the Lord use the waves to push you to shore, as you keep clinging to your Life Preserver, never shifting your gaze or releasing your grip.

©Heather Potts 2021

Don't Get Derailed

 https://youtu.be/o4KEgwLDLHw

Don't Tread On Me ~ We the Kingdom 

Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour. ~ 1 Peter 5:8 AMP

When we were little, it was common fun to lay coins on the railroad tracks, then see how the train had flattened them. At some point, however, a report came out, saying that coins on the tracks could derail the train, damaging the train, and possibly killing the engineer. Though the report was later debunked, it was reported that snow, ice, and rocks had caused trains to derail.

If a small pile of rocks are enough to derail a train, how much more could the cunning, conniving devil derail us from God’s plans? Think about it: the average train travels about 26 mph and weighs anywhere from 1,500 to 18,000 tons. In comparison, the African elephant, the largest land animal, weighs between 2 and 7 tons, and the Blue whale, the largest of all creatures, weighs about 198 US tons. It’s doubtful that the elephant or the whale would get put off course by a few rocks, and yet a train, which weighs 10 times or more than either animal, is in danger of derailing from what wouldn’t bother them. 

How does that relate to us?

1 Peter 5:8 says the devil prowls around like a lion, looking to devour you. He’s hunting and studying you, waiting till you’re weak and easy prey. Maybe he won’t kill you, but as long as he can derail you from following God’s plans, he’s won. Perhaps as a young child, you felt God’s call on your life, and knew where you were to follow. Then in college, someone you highly respected was harsh towards you. After a few more similar blows, you chose to take another path, turning away from God’s initial calling.

We live in a 3D world with time and space constraints. But God, who is a Spirit being, lives outside of time and space. He, who was before the beginning and will be after the end of time, knows all of time and is not restrained or defined by its rules, (Revelations 1:8). Though the enemy thought he’d won, because at age 20 you followed another path, God used all those years, trials, hurts, and victories to shape you and the calling you would step into much later in life. If God, who is no respecter of persons, will do that for one person’s calling, won’t He also do it for others, including those called to be teachers, parents, astronauts, dancers, painters, writers, pastors, doctors, lawyers, zoologists, park rangers, presidents, actors, and anything else He lays on your heart? The answer is yes, for everyone who turns to and follows Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Maybe you're realizing that you let hurts and other things derail you from God's calling. Don't despair. Remember God's promise from Ephesians 2:10, that He has a plan for you. Now that you know, do three things: 1) Pray. You’ll never get anywhere without God’s guidance. Ask Holy Spirit to guide you each step of the way. 2) Stay Focused. This world has lots of distractions--many, even good. But the world’s good will never measure up to God’s best for you. Be determined to follow where God leads. 3) Stay Alert. The devil is still trying to thwart God’s plans, and he’ll keep using hurts, lies, and distractions to do it. Fortunately, you're no longer ignorant to his schemes. Now, stay alert and don't get derailed!

©Heather Potts 2021