Unless the Lord Builds It

Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain. ~ Psalm 127:1

We are giving a teaching on debt & finances tonight and I was thinking about this scripture, about how if God is not in the midst, not in the planning, not in at all, then the paper on which you plan out your budget isn’t worth more than paper, itself.  As I was typing up the notes, in preparation for tonight, I took a brief glance at Facebook and saw that Pastor Alex’s blog had a quote about this very thing.  “’Everyone was trying to dig out from under their mountain of debt; some made it but many did not’...I asked Pam how they had managed to keep their place…Pam said, ‘We got on our knees and asked God to help us keep our farm,’” (http://belifegiving.blogspot.com/2011/12/be-holy.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FVTVHC+%28Be+Life+Giving%29).

To some, just making ends meet, living paycheck to paycheck and feeling like you can’t breathe is like keeping a farm.  To others, it’s getting out of debt, out from under the mountain of creditors who call you each and every month.  And to each one, the Bible says there is hope!  Psalm 138:8 promises, “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me.”  It is not by my strength or my planning or my calculations that will make it all work out.  No, it is by the Lord’s strength and plan alone that His plans will succeed.  Whatever you are planning, whatever you are hoping for, whatever you desire, be sure you’ve included the Lord in your plans; for it is by His strength and guidance that your path will be made straight.  He will give you the answers you seek and the power to see them through.

When I called, you answered me; you made me bold and stouthearted. ~ Psalm 138:3

~Heather Potts~

Valley of Dry Bones

A life without hope or a promise clung to is like a valley of dry bones.

To illustrate both the detachment of the Israelites from God, but also God's great love for His people, God led Ezekiel to a valley of dry bones, (see Ezekiel 37).  The Lord said that His people cry out, "Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off," (v 11).  I've heard this cry time and time again; not just throughout the Bible, but in everyday life.  When we are close to God,  nothing can touch us.  We are full of life and the world seems open to us.  But as we slowly drift from an intimate presence with God, we begin to dry up.  The promises we've taped to the bathroom mirror seem empty.  The visions we'd hoped to see come to pass are fading in the distance.  But the Lord is faithful and He wants to fulfill His promises.  Moreover, He wants us to be in His intimate presence again.  And He says, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them...'I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life,'" (vv 4-5).

What is it in your life that seems like a valley of dry bones?  What promise seems dead and without hope?  Into what dry area do you need to prophesy life and breath?  What vision, hope, dream, promise do you want to see live?  When the Lord led Ezekiel back and forth through the valley of dry bones, the Lord asked him, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And Ezekiel answered, "O Sovereign Lord, you alone know," (v 3). Even if you have nothing more than a faint promise, speak life to it as you cling to the Lord-who is life and who gives life-and watch it grow into a promise fulfilled.

This is what the Sovereign Lord says...'I will put my Spirit in you and you will live...Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it,' declares the Lord. ~ Ezekiel 37:14

Training to be Warriors

Train even your weaklings to be warriors ~ Joel 3:10

I’m in training right now.  I’ve joined a friend’s small group in order to have accountability so that I will train and condition my body to be first, in better health and condition, and second, to stay motivated enough to work hard enough to win two days off of work next year in a speed-walking contest.  Training, the getting up early on Saturdays and working out outside-no matter the weather, isn’t a whole lot of fun.  In fact, several mornings, I debated not going (which is why I need accountability or I really struggle to do it).  But after I put in the time and effort and saw the results of each training session I felt both excited and proud of myself.  I think that’s what Hebrews 12:11-12 is referring to, “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.” 

Each time we take a step toward a goal, we are strengthening both our bodies and minds.  In walking, the faster you swing your arms, the faster your legs will move.  When I’m really tired and my legs feel as though they are going to give out, I tell my arms to swing faster and my legs follow suit.  This is the same thing, as we continue on toward our goal, no matter how tired or worn out we may be, we just need to keep going.  Because when we do we produce a harvest and we are no longer weaklings but warriors who are ready to go out and take on life’s challenges.

And now, O Lord, call out your warriors ~ Joel 3:11

From There

But if from there you seek the LORD your God… ~ Deuteronomy 4:29

Have you ever been floating on the water, whether on a lake or the Gulf, and noticed that after a period of time you gradually drifted away from where you started?  That can happen to us in our walk with God.  We’re going along, walking closely with God, but over time a million tiny interruptions come our way and one day we realize that we’ve drifted from the closeness we had to His heart.  Our first instinct might be to panic.  But no need to worry, for the Bible says, “Come near to God and he will come near to you…[for He has] loved you with an everlasting love; [and has] drawn you with loving-kindness,” (James 4:8; Jeremiah 31:3).

Where ever “there” is for you, you needn’t fear, for if you simply turn around and look for Him, God will be there.

But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul. ~ Deuteronomy 4:29

Do You Want to Get Well?

Rather than trying to write God into our stories, we would be wiser to sit patiently with our Father and let him tell us his. ~ Redemption, Mike Wilkerson

I have a silly personality trait: I like to do math.  I like to figure out formulas on spreadsheets; I like to do calculations.  I used to play Yahtzee again and again just so I could figure out the average of my scores.  I like to play with numbers.  This silly trait of mine has helped in budgeting our family's money and writing a personalized debt-freedom plan.  When curve balls come our way, I actually like to sit down and figure out how to get us back on track.  But then I read the above quote and it's been poking at me ever since.  In fact, the other day, I was getting antsy, because I couldn't figure out how God was going to make it all work out; I couldn't make it make sense in my head.

On our way to church yesterday, we were talking about plans again and my husband said, "You can't figure out all of God's plans. Sometimes, you just have to have faith."  When we got to church, they were running through the end of the sermon and I heard Pastor Randy talk about getting a rhema--or personal--word from God.  So I figured the message was going to be great!  Perfect timing.  All I had to do was wait for the moment when God would speak to me.  I sat all through service and waited and didn't get "it."  At the end of service, when the emcee was bringing the service to a close, he told a brief story about a man who'd been crippled and had an encounter with Jesus (see John 5).  Jesus asked the man, "Do you want to get well?" (John 5:6)  To me, that seems like a pretty silly question, but the point is that we think--I think--we know how God's going to make it happen and the point to that story is that things are not going to be the way we can figure out, we must have faith.  I must have faith and "sit patiently with [my] Father and let him tell [me] his story."

According to Your Promise

May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant. ~ Psalm 119:76


I've heard many pastors say that the Bible is God's blueprint for our lives and His Word holds the answer to every question we will ever ask.  In fact, several authors have tried to simplify things for us by writing books that contain 365 promises from God's Word and Q&A books written by topic, so that you simply need to look up a topic and several scriptures will be listed regarding that topic.  These little books are great and make nice gifts.  But these books, like the Bible, will be worthless if no one ever opens them up.  And if we never read God's Word, we're missing out on so many things He wants to tell us and teach us.


God wants us to know, for example, that we are made in His image; that He chose us when He planned creation; that it is His desire to lavish His love on us; and that He has always been and will always be our Father (Genesis 1:27; Ephesians 1:11-12; 1 John 3:1; Ephesians 3:14-15).  And that's just a small sampling of the things we will miss if we never open up and read His Word.  The Bible, like an elephant is a big thing to try to devour all in one shot.  But the way you eat an elephant is one bite at a time.  The same is true for reading God's Word.  If you've never read much or any of the Bible before, don't try to do it all in one sitting, or even in one month.  Do a little bit at a time.  I encourage you to get on a reading plan.  Christian bookstores have many bibles that have reading plans written into them.  I follow a reading plan from 66 Books (www.66books.wordpress.com).  


One other thing I would encourage you to do is to get a journal; it doesn't have to be fancy, I use a lot of spiral notebooks.  In your journal, record your conversations with God.  Record His answers.  Record the promises He makes to you, personally.  Record the things He teaches you.  In the back of every journal, I've got pages of the things He's taught me and the promises He's made to me.  With each new journal, I copy those things into the last pages, so that I can add to them and carry those things with me.  What promises and teachings will you carry with you?


Your hands made me and formed me; give me understanding to learn your commands. ~ Psalm 119:73
~Heather Potts~

He Notices

When we are more concerned with the opinions of other people than with what God thinks, we start drifting away from intimacy with Him…’I, even I am He who comforts you.  Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies…that you have forgotten the Lord your Maker…’ (Isaiah 51:12-13). ~ Jack Frost, Experiencing Father’s Embrace

We live in such a fast-paced society that more often than not, we will stop a supervisor, manager, etc. to tell of how an employee wronged us in some way, but rarely do we stop to tell an individual of how they were a great help to us.  We all want to be recognized for our hard work and great effort.  We all have these thoughts: I want to do a good job.  I want to be approved of.  I want my work to matter.  I work hard and I want someone to notice.

Father God wants you to know that He notices and He's proud of you.  No matter the kind of day you've had, He loves us just the same.  On our “good” days and our “bad” He is very proud to be called “Dad.”  He wants nothing more than  for us to spend our time with Him.  So the next time you are fed-up and throw your hands up, ready to give up, all because you think you screwed up, remember that Father God looks at you and He sees beauty.  He loves you and doesn’t care about the rest…and thinks you shouldn’t, either.

For the Lord is pleased with and accepts His [sons and daughters] favorably; He will adorn with beauty those who are afflicted, bowed-down, and downcast and He will raise them up into deliverance and great victory. ~ Psalm 149:4