DAILY DEVOTIONAL:
1 Peter 2:9-10
The Message (MSG)
9-10 But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God's instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted.
Father, Creater, You have taken ashes and made them beautiful, You have made something out of nothing, You have taken the rejected and made them acceptable through Your Son Jesus! You have chosen each of us, calling us to be Your instruments! You are transforming us daily removing the old and leaving the new creation in Christ Jesus! Thank You Father!
Help us to never forget where You have brought us from but not to dwell on the past. Help us to keep our eyes on You and the positive things You are doing and have done in our lives. Help us to see the vision You gave to Diane Provencher Dike, though we are broken crystal bowls, You are putting us together. The cracks and holes in our lives allows Your light to shine beautifully into the lives of others! I chose You Christ, I chose to serve and allow You to shine through my brokeness! Thank You Jesus! In Your precious Name, Amen!
THE BEAUTIFUL BROKEN BOWL by Dr. Diane Dike
Recently as I suffered another painful and sleepless night I slipped back into bed next to my husband, Paul, quieting my groans as I tried to give slumber another chance.
As pain shivered through my body, I shifted my baby Gracie. Her closeness to my heart created warmth, which thinned the globs of blood laboring through my veins. This night I battled intense kidney distress. As I teetered in and out of coherency, I wondered how much more agony my body could take?
Oh Lord, I prayed silently, tears pooling around my lashes, how am I supposed to serve You when I’m so broken? There’s so much I want to do. This is not how I dreamed it would be...
I burrowed into my damp pillowcase, praying for help. Just then, I beheld a room, its lone occupant a pedestal displaying a crystal bowl. Light shimmered down upon its beauty, but as I approached I saw the bowl was deeply cracked. A water pitcher appeared, and in dismay I watched sparkling liquid cascade into the basin and immediately stream out through the holes and cracks.
I sighed. Yes, Lord, that’s me. Broken. A useless vessel; a terrible waste.
Then the room went dark. Slowly the glory of the Lord emerged and emanated from below the bottom of the pedestal and beamed up toward the bowl, which was now upside down. Within moments, the room filled with brilliance. Yet it was through the broken parts that His beauty shined the brightest.
At last, I understood.
In spite of and because of my weakness He is strong.
So I promised, to let Him shine.
God continues to help me survive the darkness so I can be a light to others. He likes to breath life through the most unlikely of candidates. Whereas my brokenness once dragged me into the pit, it now lifts me up into the open arms of a loving God who has an important purpose and plan for each life. The disease hasn't left yet, but sometimes wellness doesn’t mean the absence of sickness. By letting my mess become my message and my tests become my testimony, day by day, I’m an overcomer! And like Peter when I keep my eyes on Jesus and not the storm that surrounds me, I walk on water.
Since few are acquainted with the illness, we’ve written several books including: Gracie Comes Home and God Made Only One of Me, developed a web site, http://www.dianedike.org/, to inform and help, as well as an outreach non-profit organization called Second Chance with Saving Grace and Oprah's OWN Mystery Diagnisis TV featured our medical story. I’m strong and courageous in spite of persistent challenges because I’ve learned the key to happiness: focusing not on myself but on the needs of others, just as Jesus did.
I believe in miracles, I am one.
http://youtu.be/SKVDvEH4exU
1 Peter 2:9-10
The Message (MSG)
9-10 But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God's instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted.
Father, Creater, You have taken ashes and made them beautiful, You have made something out of nothing, You have taken the rejected and made them acceptable through Your Son Jesus! You have chosen each of us, calling us to be Your instruments! You are transforming us daily removing the old and leaving the new creation in Christ Jesus! Thank You Father!
Help us to never forget where You have brought us from but not to dwell on the past. Help us to keep our eyes on You and the positive things You are doing and have done in our lives. Help us to see the vision You gave to Diane Provencher Dike, though we are broken crystal bowls, You are putting us together. The cracks and holes in our lives allows Your light to shine beautifully into the lives of others! I chose You Christ, I chose to serve and allow You to shine through my brokeness! Thank You Jesus! In Your precious Name, Amen!
THE BEAUTIFUL BROKEN BOWL by Dr. Diane Dike
Recently as I suffered another painful and sleepless night I slipped back into bed next to my husband, Paul, quieting my groans as I tried to give slumber another chance.
As pain shivered through my body, I shifted my baby Gracie. Her closeness to my heart created warmth, which thinned the globs of blood laboring through my veins. This night I battled intense kidney distress. As I teetered in and out of coherency, I wondered how much more agony my body could take?
Oh Lord, I prayed silently, tears pooling around my lashes, how am I supposed to serve You when I’m so broken? There’s so much I want to do. This is not how I dreamed it would be...
I burrowed into my damp pillowcase, praying for help. Just then, I beheld a room, its lone occupant a pedestal displaying a crystal bowl. Light shimmered down upon its beauty, but as I approached I saw the bowl was deeply cracked. A water pitcher appeared, and in dismay I watched sparkling liquid cascade into the basin and immediately stream out through the holes and cracks.
I sighed. Yes, Lord, that’s me. Broken. A useless vessel; a terrible waste.
Then the room went dark. Slowly the glory of the Lord emerged and emanated from below the bottom of the pedestal and beamed up toward the bowl, which was now upside down. Within moments, the room filled with brilliance. Yet it was through the broken parts that His beauty shined the brightest.
At last, I understood.
In spite of and because of my weakness He is strong.
So I promised, to let Him shine.
God continues to help me survive the darkness so I can be a light to others. He likes to breath life through the most unlikely of candidates. Whereas my brokenness once dragged me into the pit, it now lifts me up into the open arms of a loving God who has an important purpose and plan for each life. The disease hasn't left yet, but sometimes wellness doesn’t mean the absence of sickness. By letting my mess become my message and my tests become my testimony, day by day, I’m an overcomer! And like Peter when I keep my eyes on Jesus and not the storm that surrounds me, I walk on water.
Since few are acquainted with the illness, we’ve written several books including: Gracie Comes Home and God Made Only One of Me, developed a web site, http://www.dianedike.org/, to inform and help, as well as an outreach non-profit organization called Second Chance with Saving Grace and Oprah's OWN Mystery Diagnisis TV featured our medical story. I’m strong and courageous in spite of persistent challenges because I’ve learned the key to happiness: focusing not on myself but on the needs of others, just as Jesus did.
I believe in miracles, I am one.
http://youtu.be/SKVDvEH4exU
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