Pineapple

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rezg4jYFoj0

Fruit of the Spirit

Peace I leave with you; My [perfect] peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. [Let My perfect peace calm you in every circumstance and give you courage and strength for every challenge.] ~ John 14:27 AMP

I like pineapples. From the hard and prickly outside, you wouldn’t know how tender and juicy they are inside. To save money, I decided to buy whole a pineapple and cut it myself. The first time was a flat-out fail! I didn’t own a sharp enough knife. But then a friend gave me a knife that was supposed to “cut through anything.” And it did, including the pineapple!

Waiting on answers to life’s circumstances can sometimes feel like trying to cut into that pineapple. The tender, juicy fruit feels unreachable without the proper tools. We’ve been waiting on answers to some things going on in our lives. Nothing health-crisis related, but still, things we’d like to get answered, so we know how to proceed. When I read today’s scripture, I realized I’ve been missing peace. When I’ve got peace, everything else works itself out, including waiting for answers.

I’ve been trying to crack open these problems to get to the desired results, but I forgot to strap on my peace. The best part about having the fruit of the Spirit is not that there are multiple to choose from for each situation. Scripture says the fruit of the Spirit is…  We get them all for every circumstance we face. Are you facing some circumstances where the answers feel far away? Take a moment and review the fruit of the Spirit. Which attributes haven’t you been operating out of, but really need to bring along? God has given them all to us, shouldn’t we honor Him and utilize them all?

©Heather Potts 2019

Prayer for Marriages

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOEviTLJOqo&list=RDyOEviTLJOqo#t=1

Old Church Choir ~ Zach Williams

But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you. ~ Psalm 5:11 ESV

Father, as even Brad and I have been under attack, ourselves, I do not take, nor speak Your Words lightly. Father, my wholehearted prayer for my married friends who are under attack, and sadly have been attacking each other, is for a fresh filling of Your Joy.

Joy is its own Spiritual fruit and does its own Spiritual work within us. It starts in the core, bubbling up from the inside, flushing out of our hearts, minds, and bodies, all the worldly toxins (unmet expectations, resentment, fear, doubt, comparisons, etc.). But unlike a chemical cleanse, which leaves us feeling empty and weak, Joy refreshes, recharges, and reignites us. What had dimmed down to an ember, has been fanned into a blazing, raging fire because of Joy. 

Joy is what emboldens us to stand and fight against every enemy that dares come against what You have tenderly placed in our loving care. Joy is what breaks the heaviest chains from around our arms and legs and lifts the most oppressive burdens from our shoulders, leaving us feeling lighter than air, bubbling out of us songs, dances, and words of Praise and thanksgiving, to Father God, who, through Jesus, has set us free!

Father, I pray that all who read this prayer will be blessed. I ask that You fill each of us with a fresh anointing of Your Joy. I ask also that You would continue to spread Your protection over us, our marriages, and our families. I pray that 2018 would be markedly different, that our marriages and our relationship with You would not only grow in strength and increase in depth, but would also be a beacon of hope for those who need You. In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen.

©Heather Potts 2018

Yucky Goo

And I will give them one heart [a new heart], and put a new spirit within them. I will take from them the heart of stone, and will give them a heart of flesh [that is responsive to My touch] ~ Ezekiel 11:19 AMP

Last year, God said He was going to remove all the impurities from my heart in order to make room for what He wanted to do in my life. I began to pray over myself, that I’d live my life through the filter of the Holy Spirit. I especially asked that God would remove from my heart anything that was not of Him and fill me with His life.

This past August, the need for that prayer became evident as Savannah struggled through the change of having to start school. Though Savannah was excited, the change scared her and she clung to any form of control she could muster, including refusing to get dressed…every single day. We tried everything we could think of, but the most effective was prayer: praying with and for her, and praying over our parenting. One particularly rough morning, Holy Spirit told me to pray my prayer for her on the way to school. I did. After a few weeks, Savannah participated in the prayer, asking God to remove the “yucky goo” from her heart (the things that don’t belong), and replace it with the Fruit of the Spirit.

God’s still working on my heart, reminding me to surrender and cast aside the impurities—things that don’t belong. I wish it was a one-time-and-done event. Unfortunately, I’ve allowed circumstances and people’s careless words to shift my focus, which fills my heart with yucky goo things. But God continues to lavish His love upon me, calling me, again, to surrender those things to Him, so that He can replace them with His love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control—the Fruit of the Spirit.

Maybe, like me, you’ve allowed people or circumstances to shift your focus, filling your heart with yucky goo, when what you really need is His love, joy, or peace. But He’s a faithful God and He’s waiting for us to confess and surrender those things to Him. His desire is to replace the yucky goo with a new heart, one that’s filled with His Fruit. The choice is ours. Which will you choose?

©Heather Potts 2017