By Rebecca Vickery

​The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may
pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of
sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.   Each of you should use
whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in
its various forms.    If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very
words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so
that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the
power for ever and ever. Amen. 1Peter4:7-11

Last month in part 1 of The End of All Things is Near, we talked about being
soberminded to pray, about loving deeply, and offering hospitality without grumbling.
Regardless of how far away the glorious return of Jesus is or isn’t, one thing is certain.
We are closer to the end of things now than the disciples were when they were warning
about it. As such, we continue with the admonition to use whatever gift you have
received to serve others. We need to steward God’s grace in its various forms.
How delightful to think that there is grace in various forms and that we should the be the
delivery mechanism for that grace. What gifts have you received from God? Do you
know? If you don’t know, have you asked some of your close Christian brothers or
sisters? What am I gifted in? Once you know the answer to that, how are you using
your gifts to serve your friends? Your neighbors? How are you serving in the body of
believers?

I believe that part of the mathematics of God is that we give and we serve, and he
multiplies our gifts and our impact. I think the more we serve, the more he gives us to
increase our giftings. Our gifts don’t exhaust us (although saying yes to too many
things can do that.) We want to use our yeses to say yes to the best thing. If we say
yes to everything, we don’t have the capacity to use our gifts well.
Peter goes on to give examples of some of the gifts and the ways in which they may be
used. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God.
What a high calling to which to aspire. Matthew 12:36 says that we will have to give an
account for every idle word we speak. I don’t know about you, but as an extrovert (and
an external processor) I found that verse somewhat terrifying. Nevertheless, it is good
for me to be reminded of (and maybe often.) I need to be thinking through what I say
and asking the Holy Spirit to speak through me. Maybe I won’t always get it right, but
thankfully, there is grace enough for that. It is my hearts desire that I should glorify God
with my words.

Words are very important to me, but they are even more important to God. 1 Peter
1:24-25a says, “All men(people) are like grass and all their glory is like the flowers of the
field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands for ever.”
And Isaiah 55:10-11 says As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do

not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields
seed for the sower and bread for the eater,   so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the
purpose for which I sent it. What these verses all suggest to me is this: God’s words
will accomplish more than mine could possibly, and his word is eternal. So when we
speak, the more we speak the word of God in love and in deed, the more our words will
literally be as if God was speaking.
​
“If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things
God may be praised through Jesus Christ.” This goes hand in hand with showing
hospitality without grumbling. There are countless opportunities to serve, so when we
do it, we ought to make sure that we are doing so joyfully. We can show up to serve
and know that God is going to provide the strength for the task at hand. What a
beautiful partnership that is to be found in Jesus with these things!! He gives us the
strength, the people we serve are blessed by our service, God is blessed by our
service, and we are able to be blessed by having been able to use our gifts. God math.
He helps us, and everyone involved is blessed by it. And God is praised in the efforts
that we expend on his behalf. Colossians 3:23 Do all things as though working for the
Lord. Imagine, you have been invited by the King to serve in his courts. What a
privilege that would be. It is the same thing to serve here in the Kingdom of God. It is a
high honor. Our attitudes and demeanor should reflect that.

To Him be the glory and the power, forever and ever. Amen. As we continue to turn our
lives over to the Lord, we decrease, and he increases in us. Then those around us will
be able to see. The gospel in us causes us to rise up into our good works, which he
prepared in advance for us to do. Peter was a common fisherman before he became a
follower of Jesus. I was a 16 year old exchange student. We are called from all
different backgrounds. And we are each invited to use our gifts in service of the King,
that we might glorify him, that we might point others in the right direction. The more of
use that do that, the more people will be unable to deny the work of God in his people.
And maybe, just maybe, they may join us in praising our Father up in Heaven. Peace to
you.

Linda as a seminary student, praying during an Associational Missions Committee Meeting in New Hampshire in 1992 during a snow storm. Two years later, a church starter used our resources to start churches in New Hampshire we were praying about that night.

By Linda Hokit
​God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble…
Be still and know that I am God. Psalms 46: 1 and 10 (NIV)

Oh, my word. The young ones in my community are on the streets heading for schools, running to cars and buses for pickups and filling the little library in my town after school. The energy level is at a high pitch, the enthusiasm is high and I love to see it. Their hope, joy and enthusiasm are contagious! However, there are times I just want to pull aside and linger with the Lord and imagine how God will turn things to good for them!

If you read the verses between the ones I shared above, you’ll recognize similar upheaval that exists in the world today. Upheavals that affect young and old alike. And yet, we are told to go to God and let Him lay the course for the future.

I remember early in my career hearing about a mother who found a brilliant way to pull aside
and linger in the Lord’s presence. Her name was Susana Wesley. She had a son named John and another named Charles. They were among the 19 children Susana and Samuel had! I can not even imagine what craziness must have gone on in their home! Even so, Susana set aside time during her busy day to pray. As the story goes, she laid her apron over her head when she wanted time alone with God. The children soon learned that when she covered her head and shut out the world, it was time to settle or go outside the house so their mother could pray. John and Charles must have witnessed her prayer routine many times.

The Wesley’s lived in England during the 1700’s, which is before the Revolutionary War. John and Charles were among those God eventually used to bring Spiritual Awakening to England. They also wrote a number of hymns still sung today, such as O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing, Hark the Herald Angels Sing and Christ the Lord has Risen Today. They also helped form the Methodist denomination.

In 1735, John and Charles sailed for America to minister to the English who had settled near
what is now Savanah, Georgia as well as the nearby native tribes. James Oglethorpe who
founded the Georgia colony invited them to come. Charles got sick and went home early but John stayed about a year longer. Even though he started the first Anglican church in American, he did not consider his efforts successful. I had the honor of praying in that church!

John may have considered his journey a failure, but it triggered a spiritual renewal in his life. Once back home, a Moravian minister led him to the Lord. Soon John began preaching in the highways and byway of England and was part of a spiritual awakening there. In 1784 John ordained Thomas Coke, who Methodists then sent to American. I fully believe that had Susana not stopped and prayed so faithfully things would have worked out very differently in the livesof John and Charles.

We have had a number of spiritual awakenings in America. However, there were three historically recognized Spiritual Awakenings in early America: 1) The First Spiritual Awakening (1730-1755) that covered primarily the American Colonies; 2) The Second Spiritual Awakening (1790-1840) that spread across the nation existing at the time; and 3) The Third Spiritual Awakening (1857-1859) in New York City known as the Businessman’s Revival. It started as a
result of a noontime prayer meeting when a financial crisis was happening.

There have also been more modern-day revivals. A friend of mine was part of the Saskatoon in 1971. I was part of the awakening known as the Jesus Revolution. Many might be aware of his awakening because of the movie by that name. Although that movie focused on the California
awaking, it happened in other locations. Perhaps you know about one of the revivals that broke out on a college campus over the past few years. And, of course, there were awakenings recorded in the scriptures.
An evangelical awakening was defined by a man named Edwin Orr as, “a movement of the Holy Spirit bringing about a revival of New Testament Christianity in the church of Christ and its related community.” It often comes about as a result of prayer and in answer to great need.

So, are we willing to pull aside like Susana Wesley on a regular basis? Are we willing to pray on a regular basis for the children and young adults in our families, church and community? Are we
willing to ask God to lead us to our knees and beyond our doors for His sake? Do we believe
God is our refuge? Do we believe He is able and active in our world today?
In closing, I am reminded of the chorus of a song by the late Andrae Crouch wrote in the 1990’s.
Do you remember it?!
Jesus is the answer for our world today. Above Him there’s no other. Jesus is the way…

By Kaydeen Edwards


This season has been quite challenging for many believers. However, John 15:5 says if you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit.

Bearing fruit takes time and it’s beginnings aren’t very beautiful. Fruit starts as a seed which is sown in the dirt. Dirt is not pretty yet it is an important part of the production of fruit. When the seed sprouts it takes root and there’s one major root the tap root  that goes down deep. It is there so that in dry seasons, the plant can still find water even when there’s no sign of rain. Our tap root is the Holy Spirit. 

A plant is also rooted, so that when the storm comes, and the wind blows, this plant will not be uprooted. Sometimes there are many seasons before a plant produces fruit. In those seasons, not only is there no fruit, but this plant must weather many storms. The more storms the tree weathers the stronger its roots. It is like our faith we weather many seasons that are unfruitful. When we experience dry season, we must tap deeply into Jesus that we could be refreshed by the well of life. 

Eventually, the seed that was planted many storms and seasons ago bears fruit. The thing about fruit trees is that not only do they bare fruit, but they must be pruned that they will become even more fruitful. The seed of faith has been planted within us, and we will experience, dry seasons. We will also experience storms and winds. 

Eventually we will bear fruit, however, it does not end there. There is the upkeep of our faith and that means we will experience seasons of pruning and drought. Yet the more seasons we weather like the tree, the stronger our faith grows and the more fruitful we will be. 

So I love when James says consider it pure joy the testing of our faith because it is joy is not the in the pain that we feel, but joy is in the result of testing. As the apostle Paul said I have learned to be content in any in every season. Contentment is a place we can live because in the storms God is with us and when we bare fruit, he is with us still. And there nothing can separate us from the love of God for he will always be with us. Where the spirit of the Lord is there is freedom.

By Rebecca Vickery

The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.  If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.  1Peter 4:7-11

However your eschatology looks, the end of all things is nearer today than it was when Peter warned of it being near.  He did, of course, remind us that God was not slow to bring about his promises (as some understand slow to be) but instead that God was patient, not wanting that anyone who was supposed to come to faith to perish.  At any rate, we have some good instructions for the times.  

We are to be sober minded so that we can pray.  This might mean we have to spend less time taking stuff into our minds that will make it harder to pray.  For some that might mean spending less time surfing through reels on Facebook or Instagram, Tik Tok or other social media.  It might mean less time taking in Fox News, or CNN, or other media machines.  It might mean you don’t keep drinking or having substances that might make sober thought literally impossible.  Whatever it is, we are to be alert to pray.  How is your prayer life?  What would our world be like if believers everywhere took time to pray for our neighbors, our families, our friends, our communities, and our nation?  What would that look like for the kingdom of God?  Revivals and entire movements have started with believers on their knees.

Love one another deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.  What a beautiful thought.  I don’t know how that works in the fabric of our reality, but if I my love can cover over a multitude of sins, I want to love well.  Again, what would the world around us look like if we loved so well that they could know we were Christians just by seeing it.  I believe that our capacity to love is one of the biggest ways that God’s love is made visible in this world.  And yet sometimes in American Christianity, we justify stingy love.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and strength, AND Love your neighbor as yourself.  Believers, we have been given a love that can never run out, so that we can share it with the world.  
Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.  And from Hebrews13:2 Don’t neglect to show hospitality, for by doing this some have welcomed angels as guests without knowing it.  Won’t it be neat to get to heaven to find out that some of the times we have welcomed guests into our home, we were entertaining angels unaware?  Sometimes in our hurried schedules, we forget to think about showing hospitality, but we ought to be interruptible.  We ought to be those who hear a knock on the door and don’t hide in the basement, but instead open the door and say, won’t you come in?  I think in this way we could transform our neighborhoods.  And if we show hospitality, we will have more opportunities to know our neighbors well enough to pray effectively for them.

And while I am encouraging you to show hospitality, let me add a personal note.  September marks our 6 year anniversary of having started attending Daybreak.  I have been to many churches before this one, and I have greatly appreciated being welcomed into such a wonderful Church that offers hospitality frequently to others, and without grumbling.  To those of you who serve in the kitchen, and in the areas of hospitality, I say, thank you.  You are seen, and appreciated.  

Dearest friends, no matter if the time left is years, decades or any other number that God sees fit, we would do well to follow the encouragements in 1 Peter 4 and the verses I have started.  For more understanding of the rest of these verses, stay tuned for Part 2 of, The End of all Things is Near.  

By Toney Driver

​Joel 1:15 For the day of the lord is near, and as destruction from the almighty comes 2:1 let all the inhabitants of the lands tremble, for the day of the lord is coming it is near 2:13 Return to  your lord your God, he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and he relents over disaster.

By Donna Churchill

I am a collector of quotes. I have been collecting meaningful-to-me quotes for many, many years. This year, thinking these quotes were just too good to keep to myself, I began sharing them with friends via a weekly text. This is the quote I shared a few weeks ago:

“Humility teaches us to find rest in confession. Rest from the need to hide, the need to be perfect. We rest by saying, both to God and others, ‘I am not enough. I need help.’”
Hannah Anderson

I grew up knowing I was not enough. Lest I forgot, my mother reminded me often. As a result, I made it my life’s work to be more than enough. I worked hard to pretend I was enough. I’m sure I didn’t fool anyone, but I worked extra hard to fool myself. I could never confess I was a fraud. On those occasions when the façade cracked, when I had to admit to myself that I wasn’t enough, I still found it hard to admit I needed help. I set myself up as the “god” of the kingdom of my own making.

Thankfully, that began to change when I met the real and true GOD! As a loving and merciful God, He began the work of sanctification in me.

I, as the “god of my kingdom,” am very unforgiving and a merciless taskmaster when I fail.
God, the real and true God, is not only forgiving and merciful, but picks me up with great love when I fail.

I, as the “god of my kingdom,” on my quest to be perfect, needed to prove to myself that I was enough and that I didn’t need help.
God, the real and true God, tells me that I don’t need to be perfect, only faithful. He tells me that yes, I am not enough, but I don’t need to be because Jesus is. 

I, as the “god of my kingdom,” consistently fall short of living up to my expectations.
God, the real and true God, releases me from the pressure of living up to my own unrealistic or harsh expectations. His only expectation of me is to be faithful.

“Humility teaches us to find rest in confession.” I find rest in confessing my sin, humbling myself before God and laying bare before others that I need help. I find rest from trying to be perfect, rest from trying to hide my sin and imperfections, rest from pretending to be “god of my kingdom” in complete control, for there is only one real and true God and one Kingdom. Rest follows repentance and as I repent of trying to be “god” and give up the control of my life to the only One who has genuine control, I find true rest.

Psalm 25:9 says, “He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.” How can I be led and taught if I don’t acknowledge my need for help?

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6) I do not want to be opposed by God; I cannot win that war and I don’t even want to try! He knows best!

“Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.”  1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

How thankful I am that I am no longer the “god of my kingdom” and that I no longer have to pretend to be! 

How thankful I am that the work of sanctification is His and He promises he will do it!!

     by Joyce Pelletier
​Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good those  who love him, and who have been called according to his purpose. [Even Weeds!]
     This summer has brought about many challenges I wanted to ignore. The weather has been a challenge I despise. I am not a fan of hot sticky weather, yet every year it shows up and puts me to the test.

     After breakfast one morning, I was pondering the task of pulling out the crab grass in my  Iris bed in front of our condo. In May of this year, I put out a request for help in cleaning out this tough grass that has taken control of one of my favorite flowers. My friend Denise joined me in taking on this task get rid of this weed. When we finished, it looked so good. I felt the excitement when the blossoms showed their beauty of blue and purple. I felt thankful for having Denise’s help to get this weed under control.  We worked hard and it was successful. In this purposeful morning, we had fun! It gave a new meaning to our friendship. We had such fun joking back and forth happily putting the tools away when we were done.

     It’s now August and this morning as I sat on the couch contemplating cleaning out this bed of wonder, after noticing the mounds of grass covering the ground with this unappreciated harsh grass. This had to be cleaned up. I got up off the couch, went to retrieve some garden tools to start the “not wanting to do” task. Only this time, I coaxed Maurice to help with this task.  He hunkered in there with me.  We pulled many plants out as well as weeds and dirt and two hours later we finished the job. We now have a new composted irises with a new task, and I venture to say a new Iris bed in the woods.

     I will admit I lost my enthusiasm ended with about 85% completed, but I managed, and only with the help of Maurice, We were both ready to be done. It’s not a perfect job, but it was much better and I promised in the spring when I'm ready to tackle it again next growing season.

     I realized that Jesus didn’t slack off on completing his task on the cross. I did  gave it my best shot, as did Maurice. But at every turn in life there are lessons to be learned. I guess it goes along with aging and aches and pain to boot. Gaining another year has taken that element of courageous optimistic strength then just a few years ago. Since hitting a higher birthday number has taken it’s tole on us. I can see that it means to reevaluate our approach for gardening. Artificial flowers might work, but they are not as pretty.

     Condemning myself for my lack of completion, would not make any sense.  God understands my lack of finishing and the good news is we did give it our best shot. There is that saying ‘Do your best, and leave the rest to God.’ That might help, some!

     Offer God what you can give, don’t be afraid to ask for help, because we never walk alone. Again, I am reminded of the disciples falling asleep in the garden as Jesus prayed the night before he died, asking them, “Could you not stay awake for a short time?”

     Understanding the human condition we are in, Jesus didn’t condemn them, He understood. He knows the human condition. He also reminds us to trust him completely, in all things and don’t lean on your own strength but trust him in all things. Thinking more on where  the focus should be on our journey, like purpose, over failure. What is the most important part of success? It overrates the outcome or multiplying the final result with the purposeful lessons as we walk the path.  

     Spring will come again and those weeds will be there, perhaps a few less, or  maybe I’ll be more prepared to try again. Who knows, I may have conquered the worst of them. There is a time for success. When we take the time to re-evaluate what success is all about and putting what’s really important into perspective provides more success than we realize.

    Our Sunday school kids lead us in our monthly memory verses. They are so enthusiastic and they want to please everyone in their successes, they are amazing! They lead the way for our whole church family. We cheer them on, because they set the example for all of us to give it our best shot. This kind of thing inspires me. Then I might be more successful.

​

By Rebecca Vickery
​Ever since I can remember, songs have spoken to my heart.  I remember one time when I was sitting in Church as a child feeling restless.  My father told me, you need to pay attention to the lyrics of the hymns, because they are rich with meaning.  It was something that stood out to me and would begin to connect music with something higher.

Since becoming a believer, I have at various points in my life used songs to remind myself of what God has delivered me from, or what he was speaking to my heart at various times in my walk.  Eventually, I plan to go through and write a little story about each of these momentous songs and how they ministered to my heart at the time of their hearing.  But for now, I want to introduce you to one of my favorite hymns of old. 
Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, by Robert Robinson is a hymn I’ve known since I was a child.  After I became a follower of Jesus, it became a theme of my heart:

Come Thou fount of every blessing
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace
Streams of mercy never ceasing
Call for songs of loudest praise
Teach me some melodious sonnet
Sung by flaming tongues above
Praise the mount I'm fixed upon it
Mount of Thy redeeming love
 
Here I raise my Ebenezer
Hither by Thy help I come
And I hope by Thy good pleasure
Safely to arrive at home
Jesus sought me when a stranger
Wandering from the fold of God
He to rescue me from danger
Interposed His precious blood
 

So to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be
Let Thy goodness like a fetter
Bind my wandering heart to Thee
Prone to wander Lord I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here's my heart Lord take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above

I love the jubilation of the first verse.  It is so good to find ourselves overcome with love and admiration for the God who is the source of our every blessing, and the streams of mercy that never cease.  Could you not just bathe yourselves in the streams of mercy?  And I find myself inclined to worship as I think about such things.  And in that first verse, he’s fixed upon that Mount of his redeeming love. 
The beginning of our relationship with Jesus can be filled with these high highs that you think will be all that there is to be in your relationship.  In fact, we used this song in our wedding ceremony.  It is a wonderful song to remind us of our allegiance to God and also to one another. 

Much like marriage, when you first start out, you think it will always be a precious and wonderful thing.  But we are nothing if not fickle.  We don’t tend to stay in this place of exaltation either in our relationship with the Lord or our relationships with other people. 
And yet, as we move into the second verse, we have a resolution.  Here I raise my Ebenezer.  Hither by thy help I come.  What is that all about?  Well, in 1 Samuel, the Philistines were rising up against the Israelites.  This is right after the Israelites had turned back to God.  (We are fickle, aren’t we?)  They say to Samuel, PLEASE don’t stop praying to God on our behalf.  So he does.  And the Lord answers his prayer and throws the Philistines into confusion so they do not defeat the Israelites.  In response to this, Samuel takes a stone and sets it up and names it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”  (Read from 1 Samuel 7:1-10) Thus far the Lord has helped us, or Hither by thy help I come.  The Ebenezer or stone of remembrance is there for the people to remember what God has done for him.  It is then a prayer that God will continue helping until he is brought home.  Until WE are brought safely home to God, we depend on His grace and mercy to get us from our first confession of faith until the end. Lord God, remind me that you have helped me so far, and that you will continue to be my help.

“Jesus sought me when a stranger wandering from the fold of God.”  This is one of my favorite lines, because I do remember so well how he adopted me into his fold.  I was a different person, but he still is the one who guides me and rescues me from danger.  He still rescues me from danger on a regular basis. 
 
“So to grace how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be.”  What a relatable phrase.  It is so easy for us to fall into sin.  “Let thy goodness like a fetter bind my wandering heart to thee.”  I have prayed this over and over again through the seasons.  Let your goodness by my heart to you.  Chain my heart to you Lord.  Bind me.  “Prone to wander, Lord I feel it.  Prone to leave the God I love.”  Oh Lord, again, I know how fickle I can be.  I know that I am prone to wander.  I am prone to leave the God I love.  Why?  Because sometimes being a Christian is hard.  Demanding standards for myself that apart from his grace and mercy are hard to attain, the easy road is far more tempting.  You want me to love when I don’t feel anything in return?  That’s not an easy ask.  But I know what I know.  Jesus redeemed me.  And HE is the one who can keep my feet from stumbling, and place me before his throne blameless at the last day.  “Here’s my heart Lord, take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above.” 
 
This song has taken on so much more meaning for me since we sang it at our wedding all those years ago.  Jesus is still the One who seeks and saves the lost.  Jesus seeks those who as a stranger wander from the fold of God.  But I can remind my heart again and again and again that He is the God who rescues—not only me but everyone who I love as well. 
​
Jesus, thank you for seeking me even when I was far off from you.  Lord, I ask that you would seek and save those who are wandering from the fold of God.  Rescue them from danger and cover them with your precious blood.  Tune my heart to sing your grace Lord.  Strengthen us with the hearing of your word and by the grace and mercy of the Holy Spirit in our Lives.  Take our hearts Lord, take and seal them for your courts above.  Amen.