December 5, 2021 Hebrew Date: 1 Tevet, 5782 |
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Hi Family! Here's our video update from both of us! Let's persevere together! - Vicky and Chuck - |
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“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” Come,” Jesus said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” Matthew 14:28-33 |
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NOTES FROM THE HEART "Getting Out of The Boat" I stood on one of the music stages at a local event one day many years ago and looked out over the crowd as I sang. For a moment my gaze came to rest on the face of a woman that I hadn’t seen for quite a while, and my mind drifted back to the numerous times I’d gone to visit her at work seven years previously. Each visit was in response to the voice of the Lord, Who told me to go tell her that she was healed and not to be worried or afraid. She was struggling with breast cancer back then, and God kept telling me that He wanted her to trust Him for healing and to rest in Him. I felt strongly impressed to tell her what He had said to me and did so each time I went to see her. We would pray together in a room adjacent to her office on those days, and Father’s Spirit would envelop each of us with beautiful peace. As I prayed, she would often fall asleep, resting gently in the Lord. Hard to believe seven years had passed, and as I watched her sweet face while I sang that beautiful September morning, I was again reminded of the love and mercy of our precious Lord. She and her husband came to me after I came off the stage, her face beaming with the love of Christ. After all this time, she is still cancer free. (Of course she is – God said she was healed!) We embraced and her husband shook my hand, offering words of gratitude for the times I would go to his wife when she was sick. He was grateful to have someone who would encourage her to believe in the healing that God said had already taken place in her body. You know, speaking those words to her back then was an act of faith that I was growing into at that time in my life. I had asked the Lord to help me be unshakable in my faith, and this was one of the ways He chose to strengthen me. I often wondered what He was preparing me for as I sat before a woman I barely knew back then, telling her she was already healed despite all the physical evidence that said she was not. I’m sure I sounded like a kook to many people, but I didn’t care. God said she was healed. I had to extend my faith and believe that I was really hearing His voice, and not just imagining it. Sometimes it’s hard to trust that we are hearing God’s voice and to move in obedience. There have been times I ‘jumped out of the boat’ holding my breath, just in case it wasn’t Him calling, fearful that I was mistaken and that He wouldn’t be there to catch me. I can only say that, even though there have been times I have had to fight everything logical to stay on top of the water, by the grace of God, I haven’t gone under yet! He is truly with us. Even as it is written in Proverbs 3:5 & 6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.” (NKJV) WORTHY IS THE LAMB! Let's step out of the boat together, shall we and keep our eyes on Him. Love and hugs, Vicky COMMENT-LIKE-SHARE |
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Chuck's Anecdotes What if God is Real? |
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Many years ago, my younger sister moved to San Diego to teach after she graduated. During one phone conversation she told me about a church she visited. She told me how great the worship was...how excited everyone was. I forget the name of the denomination but in my spirit I knew it was a cult. I warned my sister and she did get out. Then, I called the church and talked to the pastor. They had some very strange beliefs about God. We had a long conversation about God and the Bible. The thing that troubled me most was his belief that whenever anybody dies, they 'ascend to a higher plane.' I ended the conversation with this thought..."If you are right, I guess I'll ascend to a higher plane with everyone else. But if I am right, I'll go to Heaven to live in paradise with God for eternity and you will go to hell for eternity." Since then, I have seen some relatives come up with some weird rationalizations about God and the Bible to justify their sins.... even having abortions and living the gay lifestyle. They said, "God understands." I said "Yes, He understands it is sin. He will forgive you if you repent, but you have to realize it is sin." I grew up in a country and society where it seemed everyone believed in God, but now more and more people don't believe. They have strange ideas about what happens when you die. They are willing to risk eternal life because of Satan’s only trick..."Has God really said?" To them I ask...."What if God is real?" Shalom Family. Chuck P.S. Please share this with any unsaved relatives, friends or acquaintances. COMMENT-LIKE-SHARE |
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"I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the Word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. John 15:1-8 |
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A Message From Clare I was pruning back my grape vine, a few days ago, and as I was cutting off a pile of "wild" growth Jesus' message about the vintner in John 15 came to mind. Back in the 80's I owned a 70 acre tropical fruit farm in Australia and there was always a need to prune back the trees. We had quite a variety, from bananas, through papaya, custard-apples (Cherimoya), figs, limes and mangoes. I learned from this that pruning is a very necessary operation. Not only does unproductive wild growth reduce the nutrients available to the productive branches and therefore have to be cut off, but the branches that produce poor quality or stunted fruit also have to be removed. Now, the latter can be a hidden problem to the rest of the tree. They have to be burned, because there are three things that could be causing the branches to bring forth poor fruit - (1) Insect Damage, (2) Disease, (3) Fungal infestation. All of these can spread through the tree and eventually cause the tree and even the whole orchard to be infected and die. All the removed branches have to be carried away and burned. |
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“I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are." John 17:9-11 |
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Father God, thank You for waking us up this morning and for us being able to come together to pray with all those who are needing extra voices to petition on their behalf. There are names who prefer to be private, but you know their needs so we come together with them. There are many that are encouraged by you LORD as you use this ministry to reach out to the lonely, broken, abandoned, sick, weak, and desperate seeking communion with those that hold your WORD in their hearts and in their lives. Many of us feel like outsiders and outcasts seeking shelter in this corner of Father's Vineyard, in order to sit down, catch our breath, and release the burdens of the world, to come and soak in your WORD, to heal the wounds and dissolve the worries that consume us from the inside out. We come together in agreement to seek You with all our heart, minds, and soul, and to bring before you the prayers - those that email us with new prayer needs and those who continue to petition You Father with their ongoing needs. May we join together for each of those that come to this ministry (website, youtube, etc) to seek YOU LORD, the Eternal, In Jesus mighty name we ask our Father. Amen |
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THE VINE IS INTERACTIVE NOW! All the articles in this monthly newsletter are now interactive. Click on the Read More Buttons to finish reading the articles, post comments, like & share. We love hearing from you all and connecting in every way possible. For Vicky & Chuck's monthly articles - you can click the comment-like-share to engage with them. |
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| | We have been working diligently on the website but are aware it is a new way of doing things for many and we still have some technical glitches for members trying to log-in! We have some answers, troubleshooting help & a video tour of the site. We hope this clears some things up. | | |
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| | Have you been to The Fence Post? Members of our website can gather together - share resources, testimonies & engage in building up the Body of Christ. Each of our community groups have a section specific for them as well as general community topics that we believe are timely for this season that is upon us. Come & join the conversations! | | |
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Be Encouraged We are so grateful for you joining us in this journey. Whether you are here to receive or you are here to fellowship and/or support us through prayer, financially or simply encouraging us to keep running this race, we thank you! Each newsletter we would like to bless you with a gift for being part of our community! This digital pdf file can be downloaded, kept, shared or printed out and given to who it will bless. The pdf has one in color and one in black and white. | | |
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