The Christmas story- day 4

Today's passage is found in Mathew 1:18-25

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.

But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

In His Service,

Vilma

Day 3 of the Christmas Story

 

Today's passage highlighting the Christmas story is also from the book of Luke

Luke 1:67-79

 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:

That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; The oath which he sware to our father Abraham, That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.

And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,
Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

In His Service,

Vilma

Continuing the Christmas story- The good news

Today's passage highlighting the Christmas story is
Luke 1:39-55

At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

In a loud voice she exclaimed: ...“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!
But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”
And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name.

His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.”

In His Service

Vilma

The Christmas Story

As the Christmas season approaches, let me encourage all of you to become familiar with what I love to call the "Christmas story" It is also important that your children become familiar with this epic story. If as parents we push the Christmas story, our children will understand that Christmas is not about them and all the gifts that they can get. Instead they will have a better understanding of why Christians make such a big deal about Christmas.

 So what is the Christmas story? It is a "good news Story" a "glad tidings" story a story of love, hope and compassion. It is the ultimate story of a Savior who redeemed us from a life of destruction and gave us eternal life. Well, don't just take my word for it. Starting today and for the next 9 days I will post a passage of scripture that very nicely unfolds the Christmas story. Please take a few minutes to read these daily. Today's passage is from Isaiah 40:1-11

In His Service,

Vilma

Happy Thanksgiving

 I wish for all of you a great and HAPPY thanksgiving day. I do realize that for many of us the holiday season can be extremely difficult especially for those of us who have lost loved ones- spouses, children, parents. The pain for some is still very piercing, as this may be the first, second or third holiday without our precious loved ones.

However, let us make the best of today and:

Give God thanks for those that are still with us and for a chance to still let them know how thankful we are for them.

Give God thanks for a place that you can call home, where you are sheltered from the cold and wind.

Give God thanks that He woke you up this morning and that you are in your right mind.

Give God thanks for the food that He has provided for you today, whether in your own kitchen or in someone else's kitchen.

Give God thanks for all the leftovers you will have for days and the creative ways that He will allow you to use up your left over.

Give thanks that He keeps His word and the spirits of your loved ones are secured in His arms until He returns when you will all be united once more.

In His Service,

Vilma

Get out of the boat

Yesterday, pastor preached from the story about Peter walking on water at the command of Jesus which is found in Mathew 14:22-30. I have read this story numerous times, and have heard several sermons preached from this text and each time I listen in amazement at how the events unfold.

Jesus actually compelled his disciples to get in the boat without him, telling them that they were going to the other side. While the boat was in the midst of the sea there was a storm, the boat was being tossed around because the wind was blowing the opposite direction of where the boat needed to go. Jesus turns up walking on the sea and the disciples thinking he was a spirit, cried out in fear.

Jesus reassured the disciples that it was Him and they should not be afraid. Peter promptly responded "if this is You, allow me to come to you on the water. Jesus responded by telling Him to "come". Without hesitation Peter proceeded to walk on water, amazing!!!  However as the waves continue Peter took his eyes off Jesus concerned about the waves and started to sink. He criedut to Jesus who promptly came to his rescue.

It is just reassuring to know that if Jesus tells us that we will accomplish a task or goal that we should believe that it will happen. As you can see, the disciples were told about their destination, but not about their journey getting to that destination. I am sure that if most of us knew the journey, we would hesitate or refuse to travel the path.

We must understand that our journey through life will have some contrary winds, large waves and rocky boats, however we cannot focus on these things, instead we must keep our focus on Christ and keep walking. Whenever we feel afraid, it’s OK to call out to Him, He will come to your rescue.
Sometimes we question our decision to get out of the boat, we think we may not have heard correctly when Jesus has called us, and at times we become afraid thinking that we won’t make it to our destination.

What is God calling you to do, that you have not done because you believe you can’t do it?  Be a” Peter” step out of the boat- and do the impossible- walk on water. Put your faith in action and Trust His judgment. He already knows the journey; nothing along the way will surprise Him. He is equipped for whatever storm will come upon you.

Make it happen for you- step out of your boat!

In His Service

Vilma

Do you have 15 minutes??

I realize how busy our lives are, especially those mothers with younger children. At this very moment you are probably wishing you had an extra hour in the day to be able to get done the very many tasks on your “to do” list.

Believe it or not I do understand as you try to get the children situated, keep the house looking clean, and at the same time making sure that there are healthy meals for all to eat.  As busy we are however, we must find the time to pray. If we spend the time first thing in the morning before the rest of the household is awake truly will set the tone for our day.

Giving God the first 15 minutes of our day can give us an extra 1-2 hours in our day.  As we commit our day to God, He will tell you the way to go about getting done the things you need to do. We simple need to listen and follow what He tells you.  God has a way of working out the kinks in our day and making it run so much more smoothly.  He has a way of anticipating and providing all the resources that we will need to accomplish what is necessary for each day. We find that things that looked so insurmountable to us was really “a piece of cake” after given it all to Him.

I also realize that spending the first few minutes of my 15 minutes of prayer in just worshipping Him for who He is before even asking Him for anything, makes my day even more successful. I also find that when I take some of the focus off myself and start to pray for other people causes even more surprises and unexpected blessings throughout my day. Why not give up those 15 minutes, or perhaps 10? What about 5 minutes?  If that is all you have, that is a start you can gradually build on it.

There is so much happening around us that we cannot afford not to pray.  In case you cannot find anything to pray about-here are a few things-

1.      Start by just thanking Him for being a good God and for loving you in such an incredible way that despite your shortcomings He is still full of compassion and is merciful to you.

2.      Check out our September Calendar as we continue to pray for 100 cities over 100 days. We are almost at the end.

3.      Continue to Pray for those affected by the Ebola virus in West Africa and let us pray for the protection of all those who have volunteered to work in these countries

4.      Pray for protection and the safety of our children as they return to school and college. The semester has just started and there have been tragedies already.

5.      Let us pray for a solution of how our leaders can deal with ISIS- this Islamic militant group that gets enjoyment in the barbaric things they do- such as beheading the 2^nd American person in about a week.

6.      Let us pray that our young people will not be drawn to join this group but will instead find validation in themselves through Jesus Christ. We have many young men from Canada, England and the USA who have been recruited and have joined ISIS.

Your prayers do make a difference

In His Service,

Vilma