There is always an open door.

Did you realize that God always have an open door for you?  Yes He does let me show you the proof. 

 In Rev 3:8, speaking to the church of Philadelphia Jesus said the following words: I know your deeds.  See I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut.  I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.

In Isaiah 22:22, Isaiah is showing how the Lord lifted up Eliakim instead of Shebna-servants of Hilkiah- I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David, what He opens none can shut and what He shuts, no one can open.

So here is my question for all of us-why do we flounder around?  Here are my thoughts about this.  Sometimes we spend time looking at the door that was closed and miss the other doors or perhaps window that was opened up for us.  Always remember that if you are in God’s will there will always be an open door.  God does not leave us without any resource or areas of escape.  Most times we do not recognize the open door and we wander outside closed doors and stand the chance of being devoured by some wild animal passing by us.  Sometimes we see the door, but because it was not what we expect we keep looking.  After all we were expecting a square door, not a round, or a brown door not a green.  So my advice is that we pray about that open door and if it is one that God has opened step right on in.  He does not does not always do things the way we want.  So if that dream job is no longer there for whatever reason, and you find another job, think about this as being that hidden door of opportunity that will catapult you to the next level that God wants you to be at.  You may not have that tall dark and handsome husband, or perhaps no husband, well perhaps having that husband you wanted would hinder your effectiveness in what God wanted of you. So not focusing on that closed door, stop moaning and groaning, lift up your eyes and see the one right next to it and remember GOD STILL OPEN DOORS!!!

In His Service,

Vilma

Onions make you cry but.....

I came across a tweet earlier this morning which said: Life is a like an onion, you peel it layer by layer and sometimes it makes you cry.

Whereas this is true, I also see the value of that onion that may make you cry, adding flavor to your food, or decoration to certain dishes. There are times when we go through some tough spots that may cause us some pain or tears , but the end results make it worthwhile. Some of you may be feeling the pressure of being a single mom, a taxi driver for your children who need to go different places, or holding down two jobs to make ends meet.  However, in the end, when you see your children do well and blossom, it puts a smile on your face.

Here is another aspect of life that I would like to share with you: Life has its ups and downs, sometimes it like riding the waves when the ocean is rough, or sailing along when it’s smooth, there will be times of laughter and times of tears, but whatever the state we find ourselves in someone else will be doing this with you. 

 Isaiah 43:1-2 tells this explicitly: But now, this is what the LORD says— he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.  When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.

So whether the onions of life make you cry or the comedians make you laugh remember the Lord of your life will keep you balanced.

In His Service,

Vilma

Standing Firm

 

 http://img.heartlight.org/cards/g/1corinthians15_58.jpg

As I read this verse of the day -I Cor. 15:58 I wondered how well I was standing. It does get difficult to "Stand firm" at times when it seems everything is coming at us. However that is the time when you cannot let our faith waver regardless of how things seem crazy. You cannot run away and hide.  When things at the job get to you- "Stand firm".  When your children think you are the worse parent because you do not allow them to do what every other child is doing "stand firm" when your friends and relatives start to act funny for no reason "stand firm"
My encouragement to you today as you go about your daily activities is to stay focused. Keep your eyes riveted on the One who is able to keep you from falling. So don't get disturbed when that driver cuts you off- just thank God you were not involved in an accident.  When you go to work and say good morning and no one  responds- Just thank God you have a job and a voice to speak. When the school nurse calls for you to come and pick up your child who left home this morning and was well- thank God you have a child and a nurse who cares.  Believe it or not that is "standing firm", because you did not allow Satan to control how your day turned out. Be blessed.

In His Service,

Vilma

Many Are called -Few are chosen

April 16, 2013

About 1 month ago I received a notice from superior court summoning me to appear yesterday for Juror duty. The security at the courthouse was unusually tight, which I expected given the shooting incident that took place there about 2-3 months ago.  After I checked in I was asked to sit in what could be termed an “assembly room” with about 120 other potential jurors. After the orientation, we were asked to wait until they received directive from “upstairs” to say how many cases and how many people they would need. After about 30 minutes the list of names arrived and it so happened that I was in that group. There were about 50 names.  We were told to report to the 8^th floor and wait for further directives.  The clerk of courts read the case that was on trial, the names of the lawyers, defendant and plaintiff.  The Clerk then read a list of questions and we were asked to make a mental note of any yes answers.  At the end people were asked to raise their hands if they answered yes to any of the questions.  All the persons who raised their hands were excused from the room- which was about 25 people.  After these people left, the clerk read the names of 14 people and asked them to sit in the jury box.  I was not one of them.  As I thought about it we started out with many- who were called to report for juror duty, but only a few- 14-were eventually chosen. 

  Although a different circumstance this scripture came to my mind that can be found in Mathew 22:14- For many are called, but few [are] chosen.  This passage is found in the parable Jesus told about a certain king who made a marriage for his son and the invited guests did not attend the wedding and eventually as the story goes on we see the king sending his servants to go out to the highways and edges and compel men to come.  After they came in the King examined them all and found that one person was without his wedding attire.  He was bound and cast out.  This is where this verse came in “Many are called but few are chosen” When God calls us to him He wants to clothe us in his cloak of righteousness; however some of us prefer to wear our cloak of righteousness, we want to come by our efforts and by our own works.  This will not work as our righteousness is like filthy rags.  As we see the man who rejected the King’s covering met a horrible fate- cast out in total darkness, so will those who reject God’ covering of righteousness.

In His service,

Vilma

Don't be controlled by Your Feelings/Emotions

I was once given a magnet postcard with a number of facial expressions and emotions. The aim was each morning to choose the facial expression and emotion that corresponded with how I was feeling. After about 2 weeks I gave up because I kept moving back and forth, between all the different emotions and facial expressions: happy, sad, glad, mad, angry etc.

I come to realize that I could not rely on my feelings, because they were not stable, they changed daily and sometimes for no apparent reason. Did you know that one of the greatest challenges we face has to do with our emotions?

Most days we tend to operate based solely on how we feel. However this can sometimes ruin your day as well as everyone else’s who you interact with. Say you wake one morning feeling grouchy, you growl at everybody at home, you curse as all the drivers who drive too slow before you or cut in front of you; then you get to work and fuss about every think you are asked to do. You refuse to be civil to your co-workers, and you bite of anyone's head who tries to engage you in a conversation.  All because we allow this feeling of grouchiness to determine the kind of day we will have. Instead of allowing our emotions to dictate our behavior, we should instead operate our lives based on the truth of God’s word. Our feelings and thoughts do not always communicate the truth to us. So often our perception can be so way off from reality we must be careful.

When feelings of loneliness, anxiety, depression, sadness, emptiness, anger come upon us, we should search the word of God for scriptures that will counteract these feelings. We should also pray and ask for the guidance of the Holy Spirit to control these emotions. None of the above emotions or feelings is ordained by God. Jesus has given us the Holy Spirit to be our comforter, counselor, helper, and intercessor. Jesus also gave us Peace, Joy and Power and free access to His throne room. So grab a hold of them and let go of those feeling and emotions.

 Practice this with your children by speaking into their lives the promises of God, by calling them as how God sees them not what you are seeing in the moment or how you may be feeling when they have plucked your last nerve. Instead let us purpose in our hearts to show love, compassion, and kindness to our children even when you may not feel like it. The Holy Spirit has already given you victory over your emotions, take it!

Phil 4:13- I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me

 

In His Service,

Vilma

Is is Possible to get to Hope without Tribulations?

Is it Possible to get to Hope without first going through tribulations?

The answer to this question lies in Romans 5:1-5 (NIV).

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we^[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we^[a] boast in the hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only so, but we^[b] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ 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.

 

Paul reminds us that we have peace with God by reason of our justification. Our debt has been paid in full by the work of Jesus on the cross. God’s justice towards us is eternally satisfied and because of this we have Peach with God. This is not the same peace of God spoken about in Phil 4:7, it is Peace with God- the battle is over between God and us. Not only do we have Peace but we also have access to His Grace- unmerited favor. This means I do not have to prove my worthiness of God’s love, it means there is no record being kept of my wrongs, it also means that God loves me and finally it means that the door of access is permanently opened.  Having this access to Peace and Grace gives us a reason to rejoice in the hope of the Glory of God.

Paul then quickly go on to say, not only should we rejoice in the Hope of is glory but we should also rejoice in tribulations. The word tribulation is a very strong word, which does not signify light afflictions, but instead Paul is referring to hardships. These are the things that come upon you suddenly, and unexpectedly, these are things that seem to come at you relentlessly. Sometimes these tribulations may cause pain, tears, or may cause loss of friendships, and jobs. However, Paul says to rejoice in them and this is why, because tribulations produce endurance. It toughens us, it makes us stronger, and it causes us to have some “stick-to-it-tuve-ness”   

Let me pause here to say that it is difficult to survive in this world without endurance or patience, so when faced with tribulations lets us find the strength to rejoice. We need patience at home, at our workplace, with our children, our friends, in the supermarket line or even when driving. Athletes keep training to build up their endurance; Christians face tribulation to build theirs.

 

Here are the remainder of our building blocks to maturity- perseverance produces character; and character produces hope. One virtue builds on the other as we become mature Christians. Please notice that there is a sequence of events, so as much as some of us would like we cannot arrive at hope without going through tribulations.

The hope that tribulation builds for us will not be disappointed, and we are sure of this because the love of God has been poured abroad in our hearts. Not sprinkled or trickled but poured. This love is ours as was given to us by the Holy Spirit. With this kind of love, there is no room for disappointment.

 

In His Service,

 

Vilma

Harnessing the Greatness Within....Part 2

In my last post I showed that as Christians we all have greatness within us and in order to harness this greatness we first must believe it is there. Meditating on God’s word is one sure way to change or mindset about who we are in Christ Jesus.  Not only should we meditate on the word of God, but we must also be obedient to the word of God. In our obedience to the word we are saying to God “I trust you with my life” So whatever He asks me to do I know it is something that will build me up, not harm me.

Coupled with obedience is submission to God and then to each other. To submit means to come under, to give in. James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Harnessing the greatness within calls for us to live a life of humility. Jesus Christ was the greatest example of Humility- Phil. 2:5-8
Phil 2:3 tells us- Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves (NIV). Humility is allowing God to do what He wants to do in our life.
To harness the greatness within we need to live a life of patience, we must wait on God’s timing for things in our lives. We cannot become anxious; we must wait on the Lord. Hebrews 10:35-39; Isaiah 40:31.

Living a life of Love is another necessary ingredient in harnessing the greatness within. John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

With a life of obedience, submission, humility, patience and love we can boldly approach the throne of God in whatever circumstance we find ourselves.

Mt. 21:22 says- And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. In addition the word of God further states in John 15:16: Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and [that] your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. I can hear some saying “whatever I ask in His name”?  Yes, because if we are grounded in God’s word then we will not ask for unnecessary things- James 4:3 calls this asking amiss.

In His Service,

 

Vilma