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February 2023

“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. John 16:33

Hi beloved family! This month our topic is ‘Run Over’ and there are so many applications! Blessings as you read and listen to the articles and videos from the team. Much love and many hugs from all of us! Vicky

Running over with Grace and Love for God and for Others! Sharing a video from the archives again this month. This was originally posted on the channel on 11.19.2020. Hope it blesses you!

Run Over....reminds me of a story.

A man was driving down the road and came to a stop sign. He asked his friend if anything was coming. His friend said, "No, I just see a dog coming down the road." So the driver pulled out and to his surprise, he heard tires screeching and a thud as something hit them. He looked at his friend and said, "A bus hit us." His friend said, "Well, it was a Greyhound."

Moral of the story: don't believe everything your friends tell you.

And don't forget, " A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones." Proverbs 17:22

Have you SUBSCRIBED to Chuck Adkins Music on YouTube?

MESSAGES FROM OUR MINISTRY TEAM

Feeling a little "run over" the last little while, things piling up that need attention, and time seeming to have sped up so fast that it is hard to find time to do all that needs to be done? I listen to the voices of many of us all crying the same cry..... "I feel flattened, and finding it hard to cope!" SO MANY of us sensing the enemy pushing us to "greater effort", yet the still small voice of the Lord gently reminds us of the words of the Psalmist,

"Be still, and KNOW that I AM God!" (Psalm 46:10)

If life in Jesus' time, here with us as Emmanuel, was busy then, how much more this insane "age of technology" is now. And as Satan is on the warpath to bring God's people down however he can, we NEED to be very conscious of the message that Jesus had for us all way back then......

"Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”
And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But ONE thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her." (Luke 10:38-42)

If we don't spend time seeking God we will dry up. HE is our fountain of life that never runs dry, and if we are not seeking Him, HE doesn't run dry, WE do!

Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. John 4:13-14

There was a little joke I heard many years ago back in Australia that went like this.

A man was walking long the footpath one night and spotted a drunk standing beneath a street-light peering down at the ground beside him. The man stopped and asked the drunk what was he looking for. "A coin I dropped..." he answered. Puzzled by the answer, not seeing anything that looked like a coin on the ground, the man asked him, "Where did you drop it?"
"Oh", answered the drunk, "over there, Mate!" pointing into the darkness way over by the gutter.
"Well, why are you not looking for it there?" asked the perplexed man.
"Oh, you see, the light's better here!" responded the drunk.

And we are a bit like the drunk! We head off into dark places and lose our way. It's no use going and looking for what we have lost under the street light, we have to go BACK to where we lost it, look for WHY we went "there", pick up what we dropped, and repent for whatever it was that took us there, and THEN seek the light of God's truth to shine again on our path and walk it out. Oft times what we drop is simply our time spent with the Lord, and the time we spend in His Word. But if it is, we can't complain that we can't find our lost coin under the street light, if we have allowed ourselves to be distracted by the world and the things in the world that draw us away from Him. Only by maintaining that relationship with Him will we find that no matter how tough the going gets, we have His grace and HIS strength to lean on to get us through. He will never abandon us, load us down too heavily, (Matt.11:30) for as He says:

"Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1 Pet.5:6-11)

Steamroller Flattening Your Plans & Dreams

When you witness your heart being crushed by a steamroller, and the one driving it is someone you know or love.

The people you love aren't usually out to crush your dreams. They are just driving along not paying attention to what's in-front of them, and following their own desire or might have no-control of the wheel even if they wanted to. We already know the actions of others will affect those around them. Many of us might have loved ones that are suffering from addictions, from mental or physical illness, those that have lied to us, cheated, or stole from us.Those that plainly have walked out on GOD, and walked out on us.

The steamroller that has crushed many plans and dreams wrecks havoc.

As the years pass along, I have realized that if it wasn't for that steamroller crushing and flattening my own plan that I had created, I would not have seen the path that was laid before me. My dreams had been obstructing that view and the path.

This new path has forced me to walk by faith not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). To bring my crushed spirit to the LORD, and lay all the pieces at HIS feet. This has made me KNOW the riches of his GLORY, and to be comforted by The Comforter. To experience that in my weakness, HE is strong (2 Corinthians 9-11). That as we die to ourselves, and our worldly dreams & aspirations, we make room for HIS life and HIS will in our life.

We will feel like we are being run-over many times in this life, but we need to ask GOD to help us see with discernment & understanding, to give us HIS council so we can learn from it. Many times the is path being cleared out for us that will lead us back to our Father in Heaven. The word of GOD says that now that we are HIS we are no longer being crushed (even though it might feel like it still).

2 Corinthians 4:8-9 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.

Thank you LORD for the revelation of your wonderful gift of knowing that your path leads to life, and I sigh in absolute relief knowing Your strength is made perfect in weakness.

In Christ love,

Teresa = Harvest

Laundry Day

Where is your confidence? Have the cares of this life dulled it? Has it been cast off like a battle-stained worn garment into the hamper? If so, come with me to the Laundry Room.

Laundry has been given a bad rap. It’s seen as a chore, one of those things we put off till we’ve come to the point of necessity. Our faith can be the same way. Paul tells us in Hebrews 10:35-37 not to cast away our confidence (faith) which has great reward, for we have need of endurance, so that after we have done the will of God, we will receive the promise. We have need to endure, to suffer through, suffer L-O-N-G.

A well worn shirt can look dingy, full of blotted out stains. It looks as if we attempted to appear clean, but in reality it is only a little less noticeable. We don’t throw it away (cast it off) to go buy a new one. We launder it. Sometimes I’m amazed at how good that old shirt can look, feel and smell when it’s been tossed about - agitated with some soap, softened and dried. Our precious Father does the same thing with us and for us when we become stained, complacent, dull, and lifeless. He puts us around people that irritate us or places us in agitating circumstances that we can’t get out of. Then He adds the refiner’s soap of His Word that cleanses and transforms. He daily launders us through our “light and temporary afflictions” so that a “far greater work (weight) of glory is seen” (II Corinthians 4: 16-18) Our confidence, hope and outlook are renewed in our inward man and shine forth outwardly.

The need for stirring & agitation is important to the working out of our salvation. Paul in His letter to Timothy (II Timothy 1:1-7) encouraged him to “stir up the gift given to you by the laying on of my hands.” At first I wondered what that gift was, but as I read on it was the gift of faith that had first been seen in His Grandmother Lois and His mother Eunice. As we look further into the chapter we see Paul didn’t want Timothy to wane in His confidence (faith) because of Paul’s chains for the Gospel. We will face opposition - even chains - but we are not to feel shame for those chains or let our hope suffer defeat; for God has not given us a spirit of fear (or shame) but of love, power and a sound mind.

So how do we “stir ourselves”? First we put ourselves into the Word (the washing machine)

“Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:27).

We need to submit to it, let it agitate and cleanse and stir us unto righteousness. We cannot cleanse ourselves good enough by our own works (washing) we need the washing of regeneration.

David had another key element found in Psalms 105:

“making known His deeds among the people, thanking Him, calling on His Name, singing Psalms to Him, talk of all His marvelous works.”

Lastly we are to

“Let that word dwell in us richly and admonish one another through Psalms & hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. Colossians 3:16

and to

“Provoke one another to love and good works.” (Hebrews 10:24-25)

Next time you’re tempted to dread laundry day, why not sing, and consider with me of all the marvelous things the Lord has done through the stirring of and giving of water, all the healing that took place at the pool of Bethesda, Naaman who received His sight and countless others who were touched by living water-water that was full of life, stirred-agitated unto life.

New Creation in Christ – Part 1

The Father spoke to my heart about Pondering. To take His word and ponder what I read, take it in small pieces at first and chew it…. Ponder the meaning.

• Imagine myself there… ‘what was Jesus thinking when He said those words?’

• Who was He directing His message to?

• What do you think people were feeling when they heard what Jesus was saying?

• How do those words affect YOU today? Or What is the Lord’s word speaking to my heart Today?

Then shortly after that the Holy Spirit dropped into my Heart…. JUST take ONE TRUTH and begin to live that one Truth and watch and see the ‘fruit’ you will bear in your life. So, this is how my journey of discovering this truth of being a new creation began!

As I began my pondering, I heard this in my spirit. I want you to take this ONE saying and think on this…

I am a NEW CREATION, and I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!

So I found a scripture about being a New Creation and I began to realize as I am a new creation this means Christ is able to strengthen me!

2 Cor 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, He is a New Creation; old things have passed away, behold all things have become new.

Let’s start by breaking down this one scripture:

[Therefore if ANYONE is in Christ]. If I have been ‘born again’ – invited Jesus into my life and surrendered my heart to Him; indeed, I am IN CHRIST, so this next part applies to me!!

[He is a New Creation]; Amazing, so what does this actually mean – that I am a ‘New Creation’?

Somehow when I accepted Jesus and invited His Holy Spirit into my life, He gave me a new life. I became a “new creation”. He took my ‘old’ nature and gave me a NEW one.

[Old things have passed away, behold all things have become new]. My spirit man was dead. It had no way of communing with the Father and His Spirit until I surrendered and invited His Son Jesus into my life and into my heart. Then the Holy Spirit took up residence in me. Suddenly my spirit became alive, and now I have ‘new life’ inside of me! My old nature is what I inherited from Adam and the fall. My old nature is automatically defaulted to be ‘Self-Centered’, and ‘I’ based. My flesh will always be geared to ‘what it needs’. Consider a toddler and how you have to teach them to share or not to have tantrums when they don’t get their own way? A child is born clearly displaying the old nature. People could argue that once they learn how to behave then all is well. But the truth is, we still have that old nature in us; but most of us – as we grow up – will just learn how to control it better than a two-year-old!

How do we become a new Creation?

When I was first born again, a term that isn’t used much anymore albeit Nicodemus used it in John 3:3. At the age of 18 - I clearly remember the tug in my heart and soul that was going on because my “WILL” had to decide that I was going to go to this Christian Meeting where people were getting filled with the Holy Spirit.

I had always believed in God as I was raised in a Catholic home and praying the rosary after dinner, evening prayers, and learning catechism was our nightly routine as a family of 7. Yet on this particular day (Oct 30, 1981), the battle for my soul had begun. I knew of God and his son Jesus and believed in Him… but my spirit had not been born again. I was still living in the sins of Adam. The spirit in me was still dead (the cause of the fall in Genesis). I had not yet experienced that amazing rebirth of knowing that I am loved by God and that amazing peace that floods your heart and soul when you finally receive God’s spirit into your life.

So the story continues… Of course, I did end up going to the meeting, the speaker made an altar call for anyone who wanted to be ‘filled with the Holy Spirit’. I was aware that some cousins and family members had already received the gift of tongues (evidence of being filled by the spirit of God) because during the worship I heard them singing in this heavenly language and my soul was moved. I knew I wanted what they had. I took my 18-year-old body and soul (mind, will, emotions) up to the altar and was asked what I wanted to receive. I responded very quietly. “I would like to receive the gift of tongues”.

Well, this joyful preacher shouted out to everyone in that room, this young lady wants to receive the gift of tongues. As my face changed to 15 shades of red and yes, my mind was saying, ”Ground, swallow me up now”, somehow my body remained standing. Then he prayed. As soon as he began to pray and laid his hand on my head, this amazing peace and electric-like power hit my body. As I laid on the floor he continued to pray, and my tongue started to flap inside my mouth.

All of a sudden, I began to speak this unusual language (sounding Asian). I felt this warmth and amazing love that I had never experienced in all my years of going to church or prayers. When I got off that floor, everything was different! I somehow knew I had entered a ‘new life’. I felt different inside.

As the days went on, I literally felt like I was on cloud nine. Nothing could rattle me. I was feeling this love and presence of God that was so real that my heart was bursting to know Him more. I developed an insatiable appetite for the word of God and wanted to be anywhere where His presence would be. The world looked different in my eyes now. I didn’t see things the same way; I had hope in my heart. Suddenly Gods kingdom was the most important reality to me. Everything just made sense!

What happened? I received my Father’s spirit on the inside of me and I was now a NEW CREATION. My life truly had meaning and hope and understanding.

Next month I will expand on this teaching of Old Nature – New Nature that we have been invited into. For further teaching, please join us Sunday afternoon on our Zoom call “CREATED for His GLORY” with Dave and Amelia. Email us at vineyardconnections@outlook.com and you will be sent a link to join in!

Amelia Petrunia

LOOKING FOR PAST ISSUES OF THE VINE? Coming in March…the previous issues will once again be available…we hope! Blessings from all of us to you!

Vicky and Chuck