Devotionals & Testimonies



Testimony from a friend of Potter's Will....  (4/7/17)

 

For most of you that know me on a personal level...you know that the Burlington Tent Revival last summer changed my life. Changed my relationship with Jesus. It ignited a fire within me that is still burning today. The Lord used the Revival to stir something inside me that I had been begging the Lord for.

Fire.

But for the last two weeks the Lord has burdened me in a way I've never felt before over prayer and Revival.

Burdened me over Christians.

The Christians who have no fire.

Christians and the majority of our churches have never seen the glory of the Lord fall.

Bold statement I know...BUT if Christians and our churches had ever seen the glory of the Lord fall you would not be satisfied with anything else!! Nothing else would do.

We would be sickened with business as usual. We would long and beg for the presence of Jesus.
We would anticipate divine interventions.

If the glory of the Lord was falling in our churches they would be packed and growing on Sunday's...people would do whatever they needed to to be there. No excuse would be good enough.

I pray that Christians...(people who have been snatched from a devils hell by a penalty we didn't have to pay) will begin to beg God to pour His Holy Spirit out in a way we have never seen or experienced before.

Because if we did...we would sing differently...we would worship differently...some of you would actually worship! We would pray differently!

But in order to see the glory of the Lord fall it starts with you.

It starts with me.

When we ask the Lord to start removing things from our lives that shouldn't be there He will hear our petitions. Because James 5:16 says "...the effectual fervent prayers of a righteous man availeth much"....the Lord isn't going to hear your prayers if you aren't living right or according to His Word.

James 4:2 tells us we have not because we don't ask. How sad. We don't have the glory of the Lord because we don't ask for it. The Lord wants to pour out His Spirit and blessings on His people but if we aren't even asking Him for a dose of Him....how sad. How sad for us.

We have the remedy and we just choose not to use it!

A preacher man said one time we can have church services every week but without the power and presence of the Holy One to come down that's all we will have...just another church service.

The Glory of the Lord is when God shows up and shows out and not one person can take credit for what happens... it is only because of the presence of the Lord. When the glory of the Lord falls the Lord will draw people into Him. No song we could sing, no message that could be preached....just the Lords drawing conviction.

In 2 Chronicles 5:13-14 all the people were in such unity lifting their voices to the Lord that it says "so that the priests could not continue to minister: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God." The glory of the Lord was so thick the preachers couldn't even preach.

We have to realize the Lord does not need any of us to accomplish His Will...but He wants to use us!! But only if we are willing and obedient.

If everything we do is because we feel like we have to and not because we do it because what the Lord has done for us...then don't do it....because then you become a stumbling block and quench the Spirit. You see everything as a job instead of a chance to minister.

And in 2 Chronicles 30:9 it says "...for the Lord your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, IF ye return to Him."

Let's bring it all to Him. Give it all back to Him and say here Lord, it's Yours, it was never mine to begin with. Use it Lord. Use me. Use our church. Use Your people.

Pour Your glory out.

It only takes an ember to spark a fire. Just one small ember that catches fire in order for it to spread.

Amazingly you know what happens when a fire starts? It puts off a smoke cloud and usually people can see the smoke from a far distance. Sometimes that simple signal of a fire will be enough to draw people in even if it's just to see what is going on.

I'm ready for the Lord to show up! I'm ready and expecting great things from the Lord! I'm ready to see my lost family and friends to be saved! I'm ready to see my family to be healed!

We have a lot to be thankful for and we shouldn't waste a second not praising the Lord for all we have!!

Sometimes we just need to say THANK YOU LORD!

Thank you for saving my wretched filthy soul.
Thank you for making me whole!
Thank you for my family!
Thank you for my lifes joys!
Thank you for my church where I can worship and pray!
Thank you for Your presence!

Thank you for being my friend!
Thank you for giving my sad heart cheer!
Thank you for holding my hand when I could not stand!
Thank you for everything you've done for me!

Thank you Lord!!



*********************************************************************************************************




Devotion by Friend of Potter's Will

Ezekiel 47:1-7 

When true revival takes place in our lives it will begin to flow out of us and reach others just as the flood waters did in the scripture. Notice where the flood waters began to flow from? The temple! (vs1) 

The farther he walked, the deeper in the flood waters he became.... 

The ankles. 
The knees. 
The loins. 

The same thing will happen in our lives the farther we walk with Jesus...the deeper our relationship grows with Him by reading, praying, fasting, worshipping and serving. What happens when we wade deeper in the flood waters?! THE LESS FLESH YOU WILL SEE!!!  

Less of me but more of Him. 

It says the waters became so deep he couldn't pass, he had to swim! The waters had reached flood stage. 

What would happen if we seriously allowed the Holy Spirit to flood our lives? 

Our families. 
Our churches. 
Our circumstances. 
Our work places. 
Our finances. 
Our choices. 
Our relationships. 

What would happen? The same thing that happens when a flood comes through a community--it will get rid of things in its path. When you experience true revival and a true relationship with God, it will remove things in your life that should not be there. Completely washed out of your life. 

In order to receive a flood, the rain has to come. Rain? Who wants rain in their life? If it's the rain of His Spirit...pour it on me! 

Holy Spirit, You are welcome here 
Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere 
Your glory, God, is what our hearts long for 
To be overcome by Your presence, Lord 
Your presence, Lord




By: Stacy B. Branch 

True joy is found within us – we often mix up joy & happiness. Happiness is an emotion that comes from our circumstances & can change from day to day or situation to situation. But joy, TRUE JOY can’t be lost! The reason it can’t be lost is it comes from within.  When we become a Christian Jesus comes into our heart and that is where our Joy comes from. Jesus is our joy!  
When I started studying I searched the word Joy & Joyful in my online Bible and the words Joy or Joyful is mentioned 185 times! That should tell us that the Lord wants us to be full or and experience true Joy. These are some of the verses that spoke to me as I studied. 
  
Romans 15:13 - Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost. 

Galatians 5:22 - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 

John 16:24 - Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. 

1 Peter 1:8 - Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see [him] not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 

James 1:2-4 
2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 
3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 
4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. 

1 Thessalonians 2 :20 - For ye are our glory and joy. 
  
Luke 2:10 - And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 
  
     
I have often heard the acronym for Joy being (Jesus Others Yourself )– the more that I thought about that the more it made since to me and the more it spoke to me...

Jesus – If we will give ourselves truly fully & wholly over to Jesus, He will take care of us and He will give us unspeakable joy!  With it coming from the inside, even in troubles, tragedy, heartbreak, etc we can still feel joy. 

Others – Doing & praying for others, if done with a true heart & honest intent – this can bring us joy as well. Because when you pray for someone and you see there need met, it brings joy. When you send a random text, letter, card, flowers, meal, etc to someone that God places on your heart and they message you back or tell you later that was exactly what they needed in that moment, that my friends brings joy. 

Yourself – this is the tough one for me because I sometimes put myself Waaaay down on the list but if we will reach out & let others pray for us instead of keeping our problems to ourselves this can bring Joy because you are allowing someone to share you burdens and it becomes easier.  
  
Spiritual joy is a sweet and delightful passion, arising from the apprehension and feeling of some good, whereby the soul is supported under present troubles and fenced against future fear. 
  
There is no greater filling than that true Joy that comes from when you pray & praise our Lord & Savior.  When you allow God’s love & Joy to abound in your heart, you will have a spring in your step even in the bad times. The bible didn’t promise us that bad times wouldn’t come but it did promise us this… 
  
  
Psalm 30King James Version (KJV) 
30 I will extol thee, O Lord; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me. 
2 O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. 
3 O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. 
4 Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. 
5 For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. 
6 And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved. 
7 Lord, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled. 
8 I cried to thee, O Lord; and unto the Lord I made supplication. 
9 What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth? 
10 Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me: Lord, be thou my helper. 
11 Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness; 
12 To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee forever. 
  
** Sackcloth - cloth made of black goats' hair, coarse, rough, and thick, used for sacks, and also worn by mourners 
  
I know that some of you may have been through, just coming out of, or may be facing something right now & you are surrounded in darkness, but all want you to know that it is always darkest before the dawn & that scripture just told us that JOY COMES IN THE MORNING!! 
  
My friends it is time to rejoice about the morning & forget about the nights. We need to put behind us the hard times & the pain & rejoice & praise our Lord for bringing us through and giving us true Joy!  



By: Stacy B. Branch  

Life is filled with storms of one kind or another. In the midst of those storms, we tend to respond as if God has somehow been caught off guard. The storm makes no sense. We can’t explain why terminal illness strikes godly people, how our strongest friends quickly become our fiercest critics, why money troubles bring us to our knees and heartbreak over takes us and sometimes this drives us to doubt God’s purpose, plan and provision.   Remember God is in control & He has a plan! 

The Bible is filled with men and women who faced storms & survived – people of God who endured great pain and weathered intense life storms because they chose to follow Him. The Apostle Paul, was known for persecuting and murdering Christians, and was forever changed when he met Jesus. Yet while God gave him a life of great power and eternal impact, it was also a life filled with great storms. Paul learned to “patiently” endure the troubles & hardships that came his way. 

While studying for this lesson and came across this &  thought it was perfect to go with this lesson…..
Because grain was a precious food source to the Romans, threshing grain was a natural part of every day in ancient Rome. In pictures of early Rome, one man is always seen stirring up the sheaves while another rides over them in a crude cart equipped with rollers instead of wheels. Sharp stones and rough bits of iron were attached to these wheels to help separate the husks from the grain. This simple cart was called a “tribulum” from which we get our word “tribulation.” No Roman ever used his tribulum as a tool of destruction – only refinement. God uses our trials and storms as tools of refinement to build in us endurance. The word “endure” comes from two Greek words that when combined, give the meaning “to remain under.” It is the capacity to stay under the load, to remain in the circumstances without running away or looking for the easy way out. 

The purpose of every storm is to purify us & teach us endurance. Just like Paul, we may sometimes feel as if we are being torn to pieces under the pressure of circumstances. But his challenge to the Romans should make us want to re-examine our response to each storm we face. “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us–they help us learn to trust & endure. Endurance then develops strength of character in us. 

Romans 5: 3 - 5 
3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 
4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 
5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. 
  
  
 There are very few things that we can count on in this life – but we can count on storms to come. We can also count on God’s continual and unfailing strength for those storms. When the hard times come and when bad things happen, we do not have to wonder where God is. Instead we can hold on to the promises that is found in God’s word, 

Psalm 18 1&2 
1. I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. 
2 The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. 

Isaiah 12:2 
2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. 

1 Chronicles 16:11 
11. Seek the Lord & His Strength, seek His face continually 

Psalm 27:1 
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? 

Psalm 27:14 
Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord. 

Psalm 28:7 
The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him. 
  
No matter what storm rages in your life today – no matter how fierce - where you are is no surprise to God. He will supply everything you need to stand firm in the storm. 
Quote:  When you enter His presence with Praise, He enters your circumstance with Power!! 
  
    
Look back at the storms you have come through. Have you learned more about endurance? Are you stronger now than you were then? 

Memorize Romans 5:3-5. Examine the storms you are facing today. Choose to rejoice in the midst of each one, knowing it is an opportunity to trust God & grow in God & to be refined!!