Sunday, August 31, 2014

Have patience your character is being built



This has been an incredible hectic week, leaving me very little time to do much including my daily posts on face book. As a matter of fact things did not start getting crazy just last week. If the truth be told various situations have just being bombarding me as well as my family continually since 2010.  As if God was not aware I started to recount to him all that I was going through and then began to wonder what he was up to. I began to ask God when is "enough" enough.   To me complaining was certainly justified.

Well so it seemed until God reminded me of I Thess. 5:18-give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
 Before I got through meditating on this scripture He brought another one to my remembrance- Romans 5: 3-5
Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
Another verse that the Holy Spirit brought to my mind was Romans 8:28
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

 Ok God what are you trying to tell me? Well I quickly readjusted my thinking and began to allow these words to minister to my spirit. Here are some of my take away points which I hope will bless you also especially if you are going through a difficult period in your life.

        1.      We should give thanks for the good and the not so good things that happen in our life
              in obedience to the word of God
 
 2.      We should go further than giving thanks to “Glory” – (boast, rejoice) in our suffering (Tribulations). As Andrew Womack reminds us - Tribulations exist, not because God creates them, but because there is a battle between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the devil. And when we operate in faith, God can grant us such victory that we are actually better off because of the battle
 
      3.      Suffering brings perseverance- patience (a fruit of the spirit), in other words it is a building up
            of  our Faith

4.      Faith and Hope works hand in hand and is a result of the love God has for me

5.      Instead of protesting my tribulations, I should start praising my way through them.
 
Whatever you are going through this evening, give God thanks, give Him a sacrifice of praise and show Satan that he is a defeated foe and through Christ Jesus you are guaranteed victory because “all things” work together for good to them that love God.

In His Service,

Vilma

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

P.U.S.H (pray until something happens) for our Men



This morning I would like to implore you to join me in prayer for our men. It remains very disturbing to me all that we see happening in Ferguson Missouri as a result of the shooting death of 18 year old unharmed Michael Brown. I can imagine how many mothers of young men are presently living in fear and uneasiness as they worry about their safety every day that they leave home until they return home. 

The truth is we cannot watch them every step of the way. We see them as precious and unique, but not everyone will have that same opinion and have that love and compassion towards them. We can teach them what is righteous, and lovely and pure, but they will eventually make their own decisions with or without your advice. We may try but cannot determine the friends they chose or the places they go especially when they are grown.  

Having said all this let me remind us that things are not hopeless and we still have a weapon that we can use that is very effective and this is the weapon of prayer.

This morning I call on you all to pray for our sons, grandsons, nephews, uncles, brothers, significant others and for our husbands. Let us pray for their protection and wellbeing. Let us pray that they will walk upright and will conduct themselves in a manner that is pleasing to God. Let us pray that they will not depart from the biblical teachings they received. Let us pray that others will see them as not “just another black person, or Hispanic or white person, but as a person that was created in the image of God and is special and full of worth.  Let us pray that no harm will come near them and thank God for His angels who are constantly watching over them just in case they stump their toe against any stone that may be in their way.

Please continue to pray for our various cities in our 100 cities in 100 days marathon. Today we pray for Tokyo, Japan and tomorrow we pray for Sydney, Australia. Please check out www.mpush.org to see the calendar

 
In His service,

 

Vilma

 

Monday, August 18, 2014

Going through your storm


 
 I feel compelled to write a word of encouragement to all of you mothers who may be going through a difficult time at the moment.
Whenever we are going through something we tend to withdraw from others, question our faith, question God or we start to question what we may have done to cause these things to happen to us.
Here are some things to remember if you are a child of God.

 1. God loves you unconditionally- that means that He has no intention to hurt you, to cause you pain or make your life unbearable

 2. God is a forgiving God-The scripture tells us in I John 1:9 that-If we confess our sins He is Faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Not only does God forgive us but He also forgets about the wrong we have done. Our past is not a factor in our present or our future unless you decide to hold on to it.

 3. God wants to see you prosper and do well and hence He has a well thought out plan for your life. Just trust Him.

 4. Some things we go through are purely to bring God glory and not because of something we or our parents did wrong.

 5. God promises never to leave you but will be with you as you go through your dark valley and will sustain you through your journey

 6. Take your eyes off your problem and instead focus on God. In doing this we minimize the problem and magnify God

 7. Praise your way through your situation until you get your breakthrough.

In His Service,

 Vilma

Thursday, August 14, 2014

May there be peace and Justice



It is very sad to hear of all that is going on in St Louis, Missouri, stemming from the recent killing by the police of 18 year old un-armed Michael Brown, a black teenager. Things have gotten so bad that the Missouri highway patrol has seized control of the St Louis suburb- Ferguson, stripping local police of their law-enforcement authority.  It would appear that this community is in a state of disarray as one group fights against the other finding no solution.

 Words cannot begin to express the grief and pain that this mother and the rest of Michael’s family must be going through. This incident is a tragedy of immense proportions and this family’s life will never be the same again.

  Emotions are high in this city as people no doubt are remembering quite vividly the Trayvon Martin case, not so long ago. I can imagine the frustration and helplessness that some may be feeling as they are perhaps convinced that there is no justice for some. However our protest and outrage need to be handled in a more civilized manner.  I cannot understand what looting and destroying other people’s property has to do with justice. The individuals whose properties were destroyed and things stolen I am sure had nothing to do with Michael Brown being killed.

 What is the answer? Yes we should peacefully make our dissatisfaction be known, but we should also seek God’s face that justice will prevail. As Hagar said of God in Genesis 16: 13 “You are the God who sees me" we can also say today-He is the God who is seeing what is happening to us. God not only see’s what s happening, He knows who is right and who is wrong and He has a way of turning situations around if we just let Him. Please continue to pray for this family that they will find comfort and peace in this very difficult time.

 
In His Service,

 
Vilma