FALSE STARTS

I truly enjoy watching the Olympics, especially, swimming, gymnastics and track.  I love to see the fierce competition in each event with the world’s best for a chance at winning the gold medal.  At every Olympics game there are those who beam with pride and excitement at their stellar performance, whether they qualified for a gold, silver or bronze medal.  There are those athletes, who are disappointed if they get a silver or bronze instead of the gold they anticipated.  Finally there are those athletes who are truly devastated because they fail to qualify for a medal.  I am not the one competing, but any athlete that qualifies to participate in the Olympics has my admiration and respect.
Each time that I watch the Olympics I cannot help but feel sorry for those athletes who get disqualified from an event for making a false start or for dropping their baton.  Due to the high caliber of the Olympics it is anticipated that athletes should know the rules and hence getting a second chance if they do make a false start or drop the baton is not considered.  Can you imagine an athlete training for long hours over at least three years to qualify for the Olympics and in the end getting  disqualified due to a false start or dropping their baton.  How devastating, not only for the athlete but their team and their country.

Have you ever wondered what would happen to us if we got disqualified when we made a mistake in our parenting or allow things to fall along the way as we got side tracked with other things?  Can you imagine waiting for another 4 years to redeem ourselves and get back to the role of parenting?  This could be devastating for us as well as our children.

In our role as a mother, we are involved in a race.  Winning this race is not determined by speed, but instead by our patience or endurance.  Heb. 12:1-Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset [us], and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.

As mothers we often make a number of false starts with how we raise our children, we sometimes neglect to train them up in the way they should go, sometimes we abandon our roles for other roles that seem more attractive.  We have the rule book (the bible) but ignore it and try to do things how we believe it should be done.  Wherever we miss the boat, if we choose we can always return to the race for a fresh start.  Some of us start off well, but stop along the way, and still we are allowed to get up, dust off and keep going.  Remember it is not speed but patience and endurance and the person who makes the calls (Jesus) wants to see you succeed, not waiting for a chance to disqualify you.

In His Service,

 Vilma

NOT FLESH AND BLOOD

As I sit pondering on what to write for this post, my mind goes to what seems like an escalation of violence that involves our young people.  One very well-known incident is the recent shootings in Aurora, Colorado.  In addition to the gun violence, there seem to be a number of car accidents which have also been claiming the lives of our youth. There are many opinions on what needs to be done to curb this violence like stricter gun control.  People express there empathy and concern by erecting memorials at the various locations where either the violence was committed or the accident occurred.  In some communities, people gather together to pray for peace, in other communities, local leaders get together trying to come up with what is the best strategy to implement that will be effective in curbing this violence.

In all this there are parents who are mourning, the loss of their children, children mourning the loss of a parent, siblings mourning the loss of a brother or sister, other relatives mourning the loss of an uncle or aunt.  With these losses, we see, many dreams go unfulfilled, a scientist, who will never find the cure for that rare disease, an inventor who will never come up with that great invention, one less doctor, nurse, lawyer, police officer, preacher or politician.  Ultimately, we have a country and a world that is left poorer because it has lost valuable resources.

We see the individuals who commit these crimes as heinous, needing to be punished to the full extent of the law.  Could there be a better explanation for all this?

I am going to propose that we look beyond the individuals committing the crime as well as to look beyond the accidents which you may not even be able to explain, to the force that is behind these events.  This force is the enemy who is controlling these individuals who are committing these crimes, the enemy who is bent on doing what he knows best which is to create havoc, pain and worry.  Here are a couple of verses to help explain this point.

Eph. 6:12- For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places].

Jn. 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have [it] more abundantly.

 What am I trying to say?  Let us pray that our children will not listen to the voice of the enemy, that they will not become an easy tool for him to use and to manipulate to carry out his deeds.  Let us use our authority to break the stronghold of the captor and set our children free.  We cannot allow Satan to have our children.  I beseech you mothers to rise up and P.U.S.H. our children into the will of God for their lives.

 In His Service,

 Vilma

When your Prayers seemed Unanswered?

Have you ever prayed for something and get no result?  Have you trusted God to come through for you and it appears as if he did not?  If this has happened to you- what did you do?  Did you stop praying?  Did you turn your back on God, perhaps you rationalized by saying what you were praying for was not God’s will and therefore, God did not give it to you.  Or perhaps you thought that God is angry at you and is punishing you for something you did in your past.  Perhaps you believe that you are not “holy” or “good” enough, or just maybe you are thinking that God does not answer prayers or work miracles as He did in the past.  Whatever the reason, do you believe God has failed you?

What if I say to you that perhaps it is none of the above reasons, it is not that God has failed to answer, but perhaps you have failed to receive the answer.  Ok before you get too upset let me explain the reasons for saying this.
Jeremiah 33: 3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
Others may quote from Isaiah 65:24 And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
You are probable saying that is from the Old Testament, and it was abolished when Jesus came- No!  
Mathew 7:7-8 echoes this principle- Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

The word of God is true and God never goes back on His word He cannot lie (Numbers 23:19) and therefore what He has said in these verses has not changed.  So since God is keeping His end of the bargain then the problem must be at the other end - us.

From the preceding verses we see that when we ask in prayer God moves immediately.  So what happens?  He gives us the answer in our spirits.  It is our duty to fully believe this and act accordingly to bring the answer into the physical world.

 In John 4:24 we find these words: God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.  It would appear that when God answers our prayers it goes to the spirit man.  So how do we bring this to the physical ? - Hebrew 11: 1 tells us- Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  So then our Faith has to come into play.

Ephesians 3:20 - Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us. Can we then say that this is the key?  We have a part to play!!!

Mark 11:24 puts it this way- Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

It may take 1 minute, 1 week, 1 month, one year to manifest, but until it happens we cannot waiver or doubt that it will happen.  There are hindrances to us activating our faith, sometimes it is ourselves or it may be the enemy, but one thing is for sure it is not the God.  This is really food for thought – so let us think about it and the next time we ask God for something let us put our faith in action to bring it from the spiritual to the physical.

In His Service,

Vilma

Learning From the Model Prayer...Part 3

Today I will conclude our discourse on the model prayer.

 
Mathew 6:9-13: After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.  Thy kingdom come.  Thy will be done in earth, as [it is] in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread.  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.  Amen.

"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil"

 Is God the source of our Temptation?  No He is not. 

James 1:13 makes that very clear:  Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man.

Who then is the tempter?
Mathew 4:3: And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.  If this is so, why is it necessary to ask that God does not lead us into temptation?
I Thess. 3:5: For this cause, when I could no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and our labour be in vain.

 So why are we told to pray that the Father would not lead us into temptation?

Temptation can be seen here as a test.  God has promised however to keep us from any testing that is more than we are able to manage.  

I Cor. 10:13: There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God [is] faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear [it].

We are simple asking from God what He has already provided. In Psalm 91 we get the full scope of his protection for us.  However we need to ask in order to activate or release our faith. James 4:2 we are told- Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume [it] upon your lusts.

We ask for God's guidance and protection as we journey through life.  The final part of this prayer says: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.  Amen.  

So at the end of our prayer we are instructed to turn our attention back to God, acknowledging His supremacy and position as the Almighty ruler. It is God’s kingdom, and all the power and Glory belongs to Him forever - so be it.

So in conclusion, when we pray let us try to pattern our prayers after this one:

1. Acknowledging our Relation with God

2. Recognizing His worth and his supremacy

3. Asking that His rule be established on earth

4. Ask for daily Bread, not just for us but for others

5. We then ask for Forgiveness as we forgive those who have wronged us

6. Request guidance as we deal with temptation

7. Close with the way you started, recognizing His worth and agreeing that all power        and glory belongs to Him

In His Service,

Vilma

Learning From the Model Prayer.... Part 2

Mathew 6:9-13: After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.  Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as [it is] in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread.  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.  Amen.

For today we will continue to look at and learn from “the Lord’s prayer.” As pointed out in the last post this prayer is an example of how we should pray.  As a reminder, first we go before God acknowledging our relationship with Him.  We then recognize his worth by giving Him worship and honor.  We then move forward to ask that His rule and will take precedence here on earth as it does in heaven.
It is only then that we present our needs to God- Give us this day our daily bread.  This is a request to have our basic physical need satisfied.  It should be noted that our physical well-being is important to our spiritual well-being. After attending to our spiritual being it is now time to take care of our physical being. So many times we do the opposite, where food takes first place to our spiritual need. This statement also teaches that we should not worry about having enough to hoard but instead, to trust God to provide for us on a daily basis.  This can be anxiety provoking for those of us who like to worry or who trust in our ability to provide for what we need.  This also points out that we are not just asking for my or your bread but for our bread, which shows consideration for others.  Bread is nothing extravagant or superfluous, but it is however sustaining and filling.

Phil. 4:6 tells us- Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Luke 12:27 reminds us- "Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.  Other translations use transgressions or trespasses instead of debts.  When we say these words we are asking God to forgive us as we forgive those who have transgressed, wronged us or owes us.  How well do you forgive those who have wronged you or who owe you something?  The standard for us being forgiven is similar to the standard we set when we forgive.  Having said that we should not forgive others just because we want forgiveness ourselves, but we forgive because this is the right thing to do as Christians -Forgiveness should involve the heart.  Forgiveness is liberating for both you and the person you forgive. 

Please stay tuned for the conclusion next week.

In His Service,

Vilma