By Rebecca Vickery
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:23-25 I didn’t want to go to Church today. My joints were stiff and painful. Sitting in a hard chair was the opposite of appealing. Besides, what would I say if someone asked how I was? I was not alright. And sharing as much would likely be met with tears. Would they want to know? Too little sleep. Too much pain. The obstacles felt bigger than the solutions, and I couldn’t see past them. I planned to stay in and my husband tried to convince me that I would be better off going. I created a list I couldn’t see past and wept at my bedside. I love our Church. But even moreso, God was worthy of my worship, even though I was in pain. I went in spite of my obstacles. It was not easy. Yet, I was greeted so beautifully by one, then another, then another. I did end up crying. More than once. But something interesting happened. My husband set up a chair for me in the back. A beautiful friend of mine who happens to also struggle with pain and mobility hobbled over to where I was. “You’re not doing so great,” she said, not asked. My tears were confirmation, she held me tight and said, “I look forward to the day when both of us are pain free.” I knew from that moment that I had made the right choice to go. From the sermons, to the worship music, to the fellowship, I felt my focus being reestablished. Had I stayed home, I would have missed out on many wonderful blessings that the Lord gave me through all the people of Daybreak. I would have also missed out on a great reminder. Our lives are designed to be spent in relationship with our Creator. My biggest reason for going to Church had nothing to do with me, and everything to do with Him. My pain doesn’t diminish His faithfulness, but it sure does a good job to distract me from my relationship with Him. That is exactly why we need others around us to point us back to God. Walking alongside others puts us in a position to point them back to their relationship with God, but it puts us in a position to be encouraged by others as well. We are not always going to be the encourager, nor will we always need the encouragement. As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17 And let us consider how we might spur one another on towards love and good deeds. Let the message about the Messiah dwell richly among you, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, and singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, with gratitude in your hearts to God. Colossians 3:16 Singing has a way of reminding our hearts of what our heads sometimes forget. “All creation groans as we await - What our eyes have longed to see Every pain and evil we've long endured - Will be crushed by Christ our King” All Glory Be Forever (Sovereign Grace Music) Pain is not the final outcome. Even constant, it is not forever. In the end of the book of Revelation, it says that there will come a day that He will wipe away every tear from our eyes. There will be no more grief or pain. Worship song lyrics should point us to the promises of God. They should, in the same way as the Word of God, incline our hearts back to our Creator. We are prone to wander in the best of circumstances. We are driven easily to distraction. Growing in community sometimes forces us to lower the façade and allows us to be vulnerable. We don’t have to be perfect. Sometimes we just need to show up and let God move through His people. By Joyce Pelletier
Acts 2:28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence. If we stop to consider all the pathways God has placed us in, we need not be overwhelmed. Think about one pathway that you were on and you gasped, “I can’t do this!” This picture depicts a path that is straight and somewhat narrow. We visited the Waterbury Dam last Fall. I’d never been there so when our son suggested we go, I was all for it. We packed up a lunch, my walker and whatever else we thought we’d need. When we arrived, we parked the truck and took out my walker, because I knew I would not get far with my cane. I stood at the beginning of the path and took a deep breath and started to walk. We didn’t measure this walkway, it looked short, but it was long. What kept me going was the beautiful colored leaves. We stopped once in a while to take it all in. We walked slowly but it was such a gorgeous day we just weren’t in any hurry. I kept my focus on the white building at the end of the path. In my mind I could see God’s hand beckoning me on. Then I knew that I could do it. Now, you might wonder if I was being overly dramatic, but it turned out to be one of those lessons from God that always starts simplistically. I took one step at a time. I kept my focus on God, whose hand reached out to me. I took many stops and deep breaths along the way, then I realized that I was not alone. God was with me. I wasn’t going to fail, I kept on going because I wanted to know how this walk ends. Each new day is a new pathway. Sometimes it’s pretty much the same as the day before, but the challenges are different. When God gives me something new to follow, then that new journey starts. I may be on a new path, but I was not alone. This made it easier to just follow where He wanted to take me. I keep on learning that even in my old age, I’ve still lessons to learn. All I have to do is stay on the path that God has in mind. When I try to resist, the lessons come with some reluctant pain. At some points I wanted Joe to go get the truck, so I could have a ride. But, Knew that I had to finish what I started. He would see me through. Where would we be if Jesus gave up on His journey? He knew He had to be nailed on that cross. He didn’t turn back. He kept His eyes on the Father. There was a mission to complete! All my journeys had lessons preparing me for what was to come next. With the many jobs I had in my lifetime, somehow the next step became a follow up to whatever was next in my working phase of life. After we came to Daybreak, I thought my working days were over. Then Brent approached me to consider a position to serve the church in the Administrative Assistant role. It was another role that God had prepared me for. It turned into 14 years that I will never regret. I learned so much. I knew it was where I belonged. I got to know my Christian family. My parents and only sibling were gone. Now my original family was gone, but I had a new family that gave me courage, strength and love. There is nothing more important than to feel like you belong somewhere. I searched my whole life trying to find my ‘family.’ So, in all this, I offer my gratitude first to God for putting me on this path and secondly to all of you that I’ve had the privilege to know and be my family in Christ. There is something about pathways that piques my curiosity. You never know where these ordained paths will lead, but we can know that we never walk alone. Our God is always with us. Along with God, I know my brothers and sisters will love me through anything He has planned for me. I look forward to the continuation of this journey with each of you. Be reassured that God has our needs taken care of. By Tony Driver
Psalms 86:12 – I will praise thee, O Lord my God With all my heart: and I will Glorify thy Name for evermore. Psalms 89:2 – I will sing the mercies of the Lord, Forever: with my mouth will I make Known thy faithfulness to all generations. Psalms 107 – Give thanks unto the Lord, for He is “Good” For His mercy endureth forever Psalms 18:28 – For thou wilt light my candle. The Lord my God enlighten my darkness. Psalms 20:5 I will rejoice in thy salvation and in The Name of our God Luke 20:38 – For He is not the God of the dead. But of the living: for all live unto Him! by Rebecca Vickery
“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.” Luke 6:46-48 In 1998, on March 13 in the middle of a small café, I heard about Jesus in a way that instantly connected and resonated with me. He was not a far-off Savior unfamiliar with my suffering, but a man/God who loved me enough to live a life devoid of privilege, facing temptation and suffering, and to die that I might have a relationship with him. My response was a radical shift from an earlier me who had laughed in the face of someone who shared a gospel tract with me. Instead, I knew that I could have no response but to follow him forever. I was 16 years old. After this time, I would devour the Bible as if I truly required it for living. Because I did. I have a treasure trove of His word in my heart from my earliest days of following Jesus. Even now, when I am spending less time in His physical Word than I should, I still have this treasure trove to return to. I can reflect upon it, and it comes to mind readily when I am spending time in prayer or faced with stressors in this world. God’s Word lays a foundation in our hearts that cannot be broken when battered upon by fierce winds or rising flood waters. I reflect upon this even as our state capitol is under water and being threatened by an overtaxed dam. Our physical world around us can literally be washed away, and if we have a foundation that is built upon the Rock that is Jesus, then even if we are crushed, even if we are outwardly wasting away, even if we are swept away in the floods, we will stand firm. My health has been so strange and frustrating for me in the last few years. I have faced relationship challenges that have left me bewildered. I have faced health issues with my children that have kept me up nights researching. I could lament and cry at God, and ask Him why my life can’t be as perfect as everyone else’s looks on facebook. But instead, I cry with God and thank Him that He’s there with me when I do. And I rest upon my foundation. The rock on which I stand. Jesus told us that in this world we would have trouble, but that He would give us peace. Peace that passes understanding. Recently my good friend spent a sabbatical at our home after the recent passing of his mother. At the end of his time with us, he thanked us for a peaceful sabatical. Even amidst the chaos and overpopulation of my tiny home, he had a place for refuge. Peace that passes(d) understanding. A prayer: Lord God, we know that you control the winds and the waves. We know that you can bring restoration and destruction. Lord we need your mercy in our state. Please help the people in Montpelier and other areas affected by the flood waters. Preserve life and preserve properties. Preserve our infrastructure and restore roadways that have been damaged and communities that have been cut off. Lord I also pray for those experiencing a metaphorical deluge of flood waters. Be our firm foundation. Help our hearts not to be troubled. Help us not to be afraid. Remind us of your promises and your mercy that is new every morning. Help us to be rooted and established in your love AND in your word. We know that you are the one who keeps us from falling. Help us come to you even when we can just communicate to you with our groanings. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for interceding as we need it. In Jesus’ Name. Amen By Mary Spence
Our daily bread… not weekly or monthly or yearly but daily. He is asking us to trust him with our daily needs, To rely upon him and not ourselves, To trust him and know that he will provide for us. Each and Every day. To bring our needs to him and to trust that he will provide. Matthew 6:26-27 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? I used to struggle terribly with anxiety. Through my faith and growing relationship with God I began to exercise my faith muscle and trust in him for all my needs. I began to see over and over how he was providing: In the people he brought alongside me at just the right time, In how He provided opportunities and blessings beyond my greatest expectations. In unexpected provision when there seemed to be no way out. As I learned to keep my eyes focused on Him, I began to see that none of the many things I was trying to control was actually under my control. Slowly my anxiety became less as my faith became deeper and stronger. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and he will make your paths straight – Proverbs 3:5-6 In all your ways. Even those sinful secret ones. As if we can keep our humanness a secret from the one who created us. He knows our every thought; our every move before we even make it. And He still loves… just like we are. Even in our sin. Father As we come to you for daily bread help us to remember that your ways are not our ways, and our plans are not your plans. Help us to submit to your will; to hear when you speak, to answer when you call. Let us trust in you with all our heart. To lean on your understanding, not our own. Please make our paths straight and keep our focus on you, especially when we are being blown back and forth like a tumbling tumbleweed by the trials of this world. We thank you, that you declare, “No! They are mine!” That you are a firm foundation we can stand upon. That we can see your light in the darkness and find our way out of the confusion and discontent and disorientation. That you pluck us from the muck and mire and place our feet on the rock, on your firm foundation. AMEN! By Joyce Pelletier John 1:10-13 ‘He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him. Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His Name, He gave the right to become children of God. Children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.’ There is so much in this reading. God created us purposefully. The most important focus is when we come to realize is that we are children of God. When we recognize that we are chosen by Father-God, what does that really mean? Jesus is the most important person in my life. It took me many years and life experiences to accept that for myself. Somehow in the past few years, my heart has healed from growing up in sadness and pain from parents who really didn’t know what love was or how to express it. Like so many of us they were victims of not knowing how to love. Sometimes we fail, but the Father is there to lift us up again. We grew up poor but didn’t know it. Going to church was a must do on Sunday mornings. My brother and I were there every Sunday. We heard the Gospels and other readings. However, I rarely got anything out of going to a traditional church. However, it always piqued my interest listening to the Gospels. Something in me knew they were important, but I had no clue why. I remember hearing about Jesus, but that’s as far as it went. I went to catechism on Saturdays, but that’s all I remember. There was not much encouragement of developing a personal relationship with Jesus. It wasn’t until I was in my 30’s that I heard the truth from a friend. She shared Jesus with me. My life has never been the same since. Mom and Dad rarely went to church, let alone about Jesus. There was a lot of confusion and pain from growing up in the 40’s. This past year, as I reread my mom’s journal it opened so many new doors and it was a real eye-opener to me to read that she loved Jesus. She didn’t know how to show it. She was not mean or unfeeling, she just missed out on the closeness that could have been in her life. Her life experiences were very difficult. Reading through Mom’s words brought me peace and understanding that I missed along the way. God was showing me who Mom really tried to be. Now my memories swing towards the good she tried to live. My first Bible Study was with a group of women from our neighborhood. As we studied the Gospel of John, my heart was open to receive whatever God wanted me to have. I never understood why a man had to die on the cross. No one explained that to me. It was when I accepted Jesus as Lord of my life, that on the long road of not knowing, became a journey of an amazing awareness of who Jesus is. Through the study of John, I learned what having a personal relationship was supposed to be. Jesus gets down and personal with us. The concept of being an adopted daughter (child of God) is where I want to be the rest of my life. Even when I fail, God doesn’t abandon me. He gets me and is always ready to forgive my sins. I understand more why Jesus He so willingly went to the cross so we can receive the promise of Eternity. Every time the worship team leads any song that mentions being a child of God, the conviction of this truth opens my eyes wider and wider to the joy that comes with knowing who I am in Jesus. The reality of being a child of God is very real and has made tremendous difference in how I handle things that sometimes are hard to deal with. Maybe that is also true for you. I hope that you come to know that the Father never has left your side and He’ll never stop fighting for us. Psalm 139 has become a good friend to me. I tend to keep overly busy most days, sometimes I put more pressure on myself. That same friend who shared Jesus with me and I were texting recently. She asked me how do I keep my schedule so active. My response was… First – Keep my focus on Jesus and Second – One thing at a time. And third remembering – I am a child of God, I am never alone! By Donna Churchill
“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” Matthew 6:7, 8 When I read this, it makes me think that because my Father knows what I need, He has prepared the answer for me before I even know the question. Most of the time I don’t know what I really have need of, but God always does and He has already prepared the provision for that need. Before I can even articulate the prayer, the provision is on the way. Now that doesn’t always mean that I see the immediate answer to the need, but I believe it does mean that God has seen the need. In the subsequent Scriptures, when Jesus teaches us how to pray, He includes this request, “…Give us this day our daily bread….” He knows and understands that we will have need of daily bread, which I believe encompasses our physical needs as well as our spiritual needs; the needs of the whole person. He knows we will have needs. Several weeks ago, the Lord illuminated a Scripture from Psalms to me. I have probably read that psalm many, many times. But on this particular day, it jumped off the page to me. “He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.” Psalm 112:7 Wow, I thought, as I read this. I need to stop here and ponder this for awhile. My mind went to all the bad news we hear in the world every day that just gets worse and worse and I thought this is a good verse for trusting the Lord with what’s going on in our world. I’m going to hold on to this one. Two days later, I received personal bad news and in the days since I read that verse, (it’s been a few weeks now) I have received several personal pieces of bad news! The first “bad news” I received, I will admit, threw me for a loop. It was very unexpected and quite overwhelming and has the potential to affect my daily life. And I will also admit, I didn’t receive it very graciously. Thankfully, it came via text so I was able to “contain” my response, but I still did not respond with the grace available. For about five hours, I stewed and plotted about how I was going to handle this “bad news” going forward; how I was going to rearrange things to compensate for this “bad news.” Looking back, I can just picture the Lord allowing me to get myself all worked up and in a frenzy about how I was going to fix this. I’m sure He was shaking His head, saying, “Donna…Donna…Donna!” Then the Holy Spirit gently reminded me of the Scripture I had read just two days earlier. “Are you going to trust me with this? Are you going to trust that I knew about this before you did and it’s no surprise to me? Are you going to trust that I have made provision for you? Haven’t I always provided for you? Is your heart firm, trusting in me in this “bad news?” God had given me the answer when I didn’t even know yet the prayer! Trust in Him! Two things were at play in my heart in the midst of this: Did I believe that God is good regardless of the circumstances and do I believe God is sovereign over all of life? The answer has to be yes and with that yes comes the ability to trust….in ALL things because I know He’s got this. For the rest of the day, I felt the Holy Spirit ministering to me with this verse and others He has given me, gently reminding me of all the Lord has done for me and reminding me of things He has spoken to me over the years. I repented and prayed through the evening and the next morning. The next day, I called the person who was the messenger of the “bad news” and apologized and was able to share, even though this person is not a Christian, the word the Lord gave me and the fact that I was trusting God and I understood her part in it. I don’t know what the Lord did in her heart through the Word, but I know what He has done in mine. Since that first piece of “bad news,” I have received several more pieces of “bad news.” I’m not entirely sure what God is up to, but I know He continues to teach me day to day what it means to completely trust in Him. With each piece of “bad news,” I have determined to keep my heart firm, trusting in Him. Some of this news has immediate effect in my life, some will be worked out over time. I continue to see that I have everything I need for today and I trust my God for tomorrow. What I needed that day was this Word from the Lord to sustain me and He provided it before I even knew I would need it! “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me? Psalm 56:3, 4 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5 By Peggie Potter Genesis 25:34 – Back in the ancient days, the firstborn son was entitled to the birthright. Esau was always more interested in immediate gratification than waiting for his inheritance. Neither he nor Jacob were perfect by any means. Esau was like many today: wanting satisfaction & now! Jacob was sly & calculating. He gave his brother stew to eat in exchange for his birthright! We have a birthright today & it doesn't depend on our birth order. Our birthright, salvation, was purchased for us on Calvary over 2,000 years ago. We have only to accept it for ourselves & then wait for our inheritance in glory forever with God! It is very sad how many simply don't care & go about every day with their eyes & hearts on the world & today's cares. And so, they despise their birthright! Please remember 1 Cor 2:9: eye has not seen, nor ear has heard, & no mind imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him. That is our birthright & it is absolutely worth waiting for. So don't be an Esau! By Rebecca Vickery “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take up My yoke and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 I have this tendency to take on other people’s burdens. This can be a good thing in some ways. After all, we are supposed to bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2), so it seems good for me to do that. I am lightening the burden for someone else by hearing them, coming alongside them. But then I keep their burdens. I fret about them. I try to figure out ways to fix the burden for the person. Sounds great, right? Except I can actually do very little to help people out of their burdens. Sure, I can help with tangible things. But I can do very little to help people with their real burdens; the things that weigh so heavy on the soul. I hold onto them and feel their weight. I take on my children’s burdens, my husband’s burdens, my friends’ burdens. And keep them. At the same time, I have my own burdens to bear. Inability to lose weight. Basing my value on a number on a scale or a size. Chronic health battles leading to battles with insurance companies. Not finding my worth in the decisions and outcomes of those same insurance companies. Marital struggles. Struggles with loneliness. Unmet connection needs. The list goes on. Sometimes I can get lost in the fray. I lose sleep trying to figure out ways to fix things. My things. Other people’s things. To help. And sure, I pray. I pray about those things and ask God to take care of them. I give them to Jesus. And then upon finding these problems not instantly fixed, I take them back so that I can worry about them some more. The struggle is real. In my family, we play on those words and say, “the struggle of Israel.” In this case, it is literally like the struggle of Israel. Jacob wrestled with the Angel of the Lord (the LORD, it later says), and His hip was wrenched in the fight. He wrestled ALL night long. Imagine what it would have been like for Jacob (Israel) if he simply stopped wrestling. He might have gotten to sleep. Maybe his hip wouldn’t have been wrenched in the process. Maybe we’re not meant to win that kind of wrestling. How often have I wrestled with an issue that I’ve brought to God, and played tug of war holding so tightly that I just end up keeping it as a burden, when I could have found rest for my soul? In the past few years, I have been learning to actually give these things to God more readily. I have actively sought to recognize the things I’ve held onto for so long when I should have let go. God has allowed me to see how holding on has taken a toll. Gradually, my fingers have released their death grip on the burden I’m holding. Some of us have held onto certain burdens for far too long. The process of learning to let go can be painful. But we were never meant to bear these burdens alone. And in some cases, we were not meant to bear them at all. “Come to me.” We are meant to come to Jesus with our heavy burdens. I have been weary and heavy laden for far too long. I have been anxious about many things. But I want to take up the yoke of Jesus and learn from Him. I want to be gentle and humble in heart. I want to be able to throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily (way more easily than I care to admit) entangles. I want to untangle myself from the burdens I am holding and give them over to the One who is more than able to bear the weight of them. And I want to find rest for my soul that only comes from surrender. By Joyce Pelletier
1 Peter 1:5-7 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge, and to knowledge; self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness love. All of my Christian journey has been filled with so much kindness from my brothers and sisters in Christ. There is a key ingredient in where this kindness comes from; the Holy Spirit. Nearly ten years ago, Maurice had his aortic valve replaced. It was only his second major surgery in his lifetime. We had every reason to believe that it should all go well. The surgical procedure went quite well. Following recovery, he was sent to ICU, which is quite normal. Two days later he was placed in the step-down unit, and that’s when things went sour. The problem was not the surgery, but the medication that not only kept him somewhat pain free but also with an element of confusion. Little did the doctor realize that the medication caused him to be anxious, irrational and restless. I was with him soon after he first arrived from ICU. He became confused at where he was and why. We were sitting in his room when he started having hallucinations, like he was sitting in the doctor’s waiting room or thinking he wasn’t sick at all, a door to a closet turned into a refrigerator. This didn’t help the situation we were experiencing. The nurses came to his room and asked me to step out of the room so they could discern what the problem was. I was quite concerned at that point. I started pacing the hall and praying that God would send someone to help. As soon as I prayed that prayer, I turned around and I saw a familiar face coming down the hall towards me. It was one of our dearest friends. Art listened to my concerns and simply said “It will be okay!” He also told me why he was there. He felt led by the Lord go to the hospital to see Maurice. I was so amazed. There was no question, and I knew God sent Art. Things started to turn around as the doctors decided to stop giving him that medicine. Art spent several hours with us as Maurice went through the struggle to figure it all out. They put an alarm on his bed as well as moved him to the room nearest the nurse’s station. Art was there for us. We talked about many things. Finally, mid-afternoon, Art went home. By that time the medication was wearing off and I felt safe enough to return home to get some rest myself. Art showed us kindness, comfort, calmness, and love. This revealed what his true friendship was. The surgery turned out successful. The struggle at the hospital was somewhat traumatic. But God’s kindness through our friend, Art, gave me the courage to not be afraid. Somehow also knowing the clarity of each part of the situation, somehow calmed me to know God was in control. So many times, I’ve had the opportunity to be in a place consoling a friend or run into someone who needed a special word of comfort. For me it was a totally unexpected and unplanned occurrence. Realizing that it was Jesus who sent me, it started to make sense. We often hear the word, “God-incidences” related to this kind of event. It’s then we know God sends us to someone such as this that is unexpected. It is so important to realize, we can’t only be givers of God’s comfort and word. There are so many times for us to receive this as well. If each of us only give, who’s there to receive? Role reversal is so valuable in learning how to give and receive. Jesus gave all the time, but there was a time when He received, when Mary washed his feet. |
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