Hunted

The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. ~ John 10:10 NLT

Most of us are familiar with John 10:10, but have we really let it sink in that we are being hunted?

This hunter is unlike any other. He is wise, cunning, crafty, and has been doing it since Adam and Eve walked in the Garden with the Lord. He has nothing but time on his hands to study his prey, and he’s got you in his sites. The enemy’s not here just to steal your material possessions. He’s here to steal your victory by stealing your identity.  Jesus has gifted to us both power and authority, both of which are rooted in our identity, (Luke 9:1; Romans 8:17).  When you’ve lost your identity, you become incapacitated—completely unable to recognize, let alone exercise, your power and authority.

I recently walked through a form of identity theft. The enemy waited until I had gone without sleep for a very long time and then he started “testing the fences,” looking for weaknesses. When he found one, he continued to press on it to see if it would break.  But Father God called to His daughter and drew her away to Himself. He reaffirmed my identity and ensured that I was rooted in Him. Now, I’m constantly on guard, watching my fences to ensure there aren’t areas of weakness, or repairing and applying extra support when weaknesses are found.

The enemy means to destroy us, but Jesus came to give us the victory. If you’re struggling to understand or even stand in your true identity—found only in Him—ask Holy Spirit to reveal it to you in a tangible, experiential way, that you may exercise both your power and authority over the enemy!

©Heather Potts 2016

I Will Yet Praise Him

Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him
For the help of His countenance. ~ Psalm 42:5 NKJV

Have you ever reached the point that you didn’t know if you should laugh or cry? I have the nervous habit of laughing in insanely intense situations (as a side note: if I’m helping you carry something heavy and I begin to laugh, put your end down quickly because I’m about to drop mine).  The enemy has been coming hard against us for a while and though we’ve been doing our best to put our trust in God and not worry, sometimes worry still gets the better of us. While cooking dinner last night, the can opener broke and I had to work very hard to not laugh.  That was the laugh or cry point.

Last night when I was trying to sleep, Holy Spirit reminded me we have another option: praise.  What made the walls of Jericho fall? Faith, worship and praise. In Jeremiah 15:19, God offers us the chance to be His spokesman—to tell of His faithfulness—but we must “give up this mistaken attitude of despair and self-pity” and cleanse our hearts “from unwarranted doubt concerning My faithfulness.”

Maybe you’ve reached the end of what you think you can take before you break. When you reach that point, stand up and praise Him, kneel down and praise Him, get on your face and praise Him. Praising God, especially in your most desperate hour, removes the shackles from you and binds up your enemy, (Psalm 149:6-9).

©Heather Potts 2016

Just As I Am

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. ~ Ephesians 3:17-19 NIV

When we are filled with experiential wisdom—the knowing that surpasses knowledge—nothing can take that away from us. When what we experience is unconditional love, it sets us free. And not just free for the sake of freedom, but free to be ourselves—to be comfortable with our individual uniqueness, just as God designed.

I don't wear make-up.

I don't buy "trendy" clothes.

I don't own a closet-full of shoes.

I cannot take a selfie that’s not up my nose.

I do my hair to match my day or my mood.

I scream louder than the boys for my favorite football team.

I’m highly competitive and love to play card and board games.

If I can’t see it, I can’t write it.

I love to dance and sing and laugh in my Father’s house!

This is just me.

And that’s the way my husband says he loves me:

Just as I am.

When we experience the unconditional love of our Father, then we are free to share it with others, through marriage and through relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ. If you don’t feel free to be you, ask God to allow you to experience His unconditional love for you.

©Heather Potts 2016

I Hate Pantyhose

None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing…absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us. ~ Romans 8:38-39 MSG

I hate pantyhose—and tights too! 

Early in my pregnancy with Savannah, I wanted everything to be perfect, so I got pregnancy tights… And then I cried! I cried because I couldn’t get them on comfortably. Later I cried because once I did, I had to go to the bathroom, and then I cried because I had to start all over! I was so afraid that I’d failed my whole pregnancy because I couldn’t make the tights work. But then a dear friend reminded me that my husband would love me whether I wore the tights or not. She even told me that she hated tights and refused to wear them herself.  It’s so freeing when you know you are loved! When I realized that my husband would love me even if I didn’t do everything the pregnancy books suggested, it freed me from a lot of stress!

My husband’s love for me gave me freedom. It freed me from pain, frustrations and a lot of wasted of energy—energy needed for developing a baby. But my husband first had to experience this kind of love. He experienced it through Christ, through unconditional love. He learned that nothing—not his past or his present, nothing within or outside of his control—absolutely nothing would separate him from God’s love. And once he had that revelation, he was free to not only love God, but to love me, too.

If you’re still fighting with the pantyhose—the things that cause you undue stress—in your life, just remember things will go wrong, circumstances will go awry, plans will fail, but nothing will ever change how much God loves you!

©Heather Potts 2016

Follow in Your Footsteps

God’s answer: “Because they abandoned my plain teaching. They wouldn’t listen to anything I said, refused to live the way I told them to. Instead they lived any way they wanted and took up with the Baal gods, who they thought would give them what they wanted—following the example of their parents.”  ~ Jeremiah 9:13-14 MSG

Just before Elizabeth was born, Savannah was obsessed with puppies, to the point that if she found a show with puppies, we would watch it over and over and over and over and over and over and over until we begged her to watch something else.  Beethoven became one of her favorites.  We didn’t mind her watching it until we heard her using the word “stupid.”  After realizing it came from the show, not only did we find something better for her to watch, we also had to go through the work of correcting her language.

Today’s scripture says it’s the parents’ example that caused the children’s hearts to be turned from listening to God’s Word and following in His ways.  Parents can’t be held liable for all of a child’s choices and mistakes.  But as parents, we must choose a life that exemplifies Christ, which is a product of an ever deepening relationship with Him. Children watch, listen and then do, not necessarily as they’re told, but what they’ve observed.

Joshua 24:15 says to choose for yourselves whom you will serve. Serving results from relationship, out of really knowing and understanding someone. When you have a relationship Father God, His Son Jesus, and Holy Spirit, you will want to know all you can about them, including how to serve them.

Father, help us not to just tell our children about You and Your love for them. Help us to demonstrate it through our relationship with You, reflected in our relationship with them. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

©Heather Potts 2016

Just Like You

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” ~ Matthew 19:14 NIV

Our Elizabeth wants to do everything her big sister does, so she’s already started potty-training.  Because she’s watched her sister do the routine enough times, Elizabeth knows every step. She loves to wear “love socks” just like her big sister, as well as her sister’s shoes.

Our Savannah is much more of a processer than her sister—very much like her daddy. When she enters a new situation, Savannah concentrates on it a long time, often watching others to learn how to do it. But sometimes, she comes up with her own creative solution, like when she was learning to stand, she would often use her mouth as a “third hand.”  

One day, Savannah said to me, “I want to be like you.” That’s both mind-blowing and attention-grabbing. What does she see when she sees me? What am I demonstrating? Who am I exemplifying for her?

Jesus said to let the little children come to Him. Just as our children want to be like us, we are to be like little children, observing and then replicating what Jesus does, in our thoughts, words, and actions.

Father, help me to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus, so that not only I, but my girls also, will become more and more like Him. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.

©Heather Potts 2016

Whatever is True

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. ~ 1 Peter 5:8 NLT

After the Daughters of the King conference, a woman said that today we feel strong, but not too far off, the enemy will try to steal and negate all the truths we’d learned over the weekend.  She said to memorize Philippians 4:8 and to think on the things that we know to be true.  Holy Spirit encouraged me to write down how I would refute lies with Philippians 4:8.

TRUE

·         I am a Daughter of the King; my dress is dazzling, lined and woven with gold (Psalm 45:9-15)

·         I can do All Things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13)

HONORABLE & WORTHY OF RESPECT

·         Brad is my spiritual covering as the prophet (diligently seeking to hear God’s voice and the truth, washing his bride pure in the water of the Word), priest (intercessor, connecting God and man, sacrificially sensitive to my needs—if I’m not well, then he’s not well and everything matters), and king (appointed and servant ruler of the home, initiator of decisions).

RIGHT & CONFIRMED BY GOD’S WORD

·         Now I am dressed in purity. Now I am robed in Righteousness. I will not suffer shame; I will not be humiliated. My victory is in the Lord! My Maker is my Husband—the Lord Almighty is His Name, the Holy One of Israel is my Redeemer, (Isaiah 54:4-5).

PURE & WHOLESOME

·         Let my adornment be [the inner beauty of] the hidden person of the heart, the imperishable quality and unfading charm of a gentle and peaceful spirit, [one that is calm and self-controlled, not overanxious, but serene and spiritually mature] which is very precious in the sight of God, (1 Peter 3:4)

LOVELY & BRINGS PEACE

·         Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, In His arm He will gather the lambs and carry them in His bosom, (Isaiah 40:11). I am embraced by my Father who loves me.

ADMIRABLE & GOOD REPUTE

·         Brad is the glory of God and I am the glory of Brad, (Hebrews 1:3, 1 Corinthians 11:7)

EXCELLENCE

·         If you repent [and give up this mistaken attitude of despair and self-pity], then I will restore you [to a state of inner peace] So that you may stand before Me [as My obedient representative];
And if you separate the precious from the worthless [examining yourself and cleansing your heart from unwarranted doubt concerning My faithfulness], You will become My spokesman, (Jeremiah 15:19).

WORTHY OF PRAISE

·         Delight yourself in the Lord, And He will give you the desires and petitions of your heart, (Psalm 37:4)

The enemy won’t attack us when we are strong and emboldened by the Lord. He will wait till the shine wears off and we are easier prey. Ask God to give you truths to refute the enemy’s lies and stay alert!

©Heather Potts 2016