Monday, December 24, 2012

The Unopened Gift



Tomorrow will be Christmas day, the most celebrated day for Christians all over the world. It is a time when we celebrate the greatest gift ever given in the birth of Jesus Christ who became the Savior of the world.  In capturing the essence of giving that is associated with Christmas many of us have gotten our priorities very mixed up. Some of us spend months and hours shopping around for gifts to give at Christmas time. Many people forego their mortgage payment, their rent, paying their electric bill, or making a car payment, so that they can get especially their children, the latest and most expensive gadget that there is.   At the end they are left with more bills and deeper into debt, but to them it does not matter because for one day at least they have accomplished their mission of giving.
 This is so much different than what it was many years ago. I can remember getting up at the break of dawn going through the neighborhood with other friends singing Christmas carols at the top of our voices, then rushing home to a big cup of chocolate. Growing up as a child in Jamaica, if it happened I was unaware of it, but giving and receiving gifts was not the norm. We were very happy with just getting a couple dollars to go to the long anticipated “grand market” and to choose whatever our hearts desired and our money could by. The excitement was with having people dropping by our home to share our dinner and to drink a glass of sorrel (our Christmas special) and to eat a slice of cake. In the end we were all full and very happy and the best news of all was that no one was in debt.
Nowadays after spending all this effort in preparing for Christmas and especially shopping for gifts we still do not make our recipients very happy and neither are we because we are so tired. Believe it or not some recipients of our gifts will be disappointed with what you gave to them, some will be going back to the store to exchange their gift for a different color, size or name brand. On the other hand some will simple re-gift what they got while others will leave it tucked away on a shelf somewhere. Sometimes with all the hustle and bustle and cooking, wrapping and unwrapping of gifts, most of us tend to forget to acknowledge one very important gift- that was given to us -the gift of a Savior. Like some, do we leave Him unopened on a shelf somewhere?

 Luke 2 tells the story about this gift - the birth of Jesus Christ which we have come to know as the “Christmas story”. How many of us know this story, or have retold this story to our children or share this great moment with our guests at the dinner table. After all that’s where we pattern our giving from, so let us unwrap this gift.
 
There will be many people who will wake up the day after Christmas feeling depressed, sad, lonely, hopeless and forgotten. How can we make their Christmas brighter? Well here are some suggestions.

1.    Find an opportunity tomorrow to reopen the Gift labeled “Son of God” and share Him with those we gather with tomorrow. If you only have time for one verse share what Isaiah prophesied in chapter 9:6- : For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

2.    Another thing that we can do to give them hope and comfort is to share with

  them the good news of Isaiah 61: 1-5.

3.    For those who may have never opened this gift at all let us encourage them to do so. Here’s how- First they need to acknowledge that there is this wonderful gift, then open their hearts to receive Him as their Savior and Lord and apologize for ignoring Him all along.
Giving gifts, getting together and celebrating is good but sharing the Gift of all gifts is so much more important. MERRY CHRISTMAS


In His Service,

Vilma

Monday, December 17, 2012

The Face of Evil


Today our nation stands in mourning over the recent senseless massacre in Newtown, Connecticut of 20 innocent children and 6 adults, by a lone deranged 20 year old young man. I cannot help but reflect on how uncertain life is. In a matter of minutes the lives of 26 families were dramatically changed forever. There was no warning, no email, no text message, no phone calls, nobody tweeted, and it was not on face book, it caught all these families by surprise

 How does one go from shopping for gifts to shopping for caskets? How does a person go from planning Christmas dinner to planning a funeral? How do you reconcile having just hugged and kiss a child with a “see you later” to being told in a very short while after “sorry, they will not be coming home”.  There are so many questions, not only by the surviving relatives but by the entire country. The question at the top of the list is how could this happen? How could something so bad happen to innocent children. Children who are just learning to read and write, who made silly faces, who played with dolls and trucks and made up silly jokes. How could this happen to adults who wanted to make a difference in life? Adults who cared for and taught children how to read and write, do math and English, for very little pay. What makes a young man do such a horrific act? There are so many different explanations. Some talk about a young man who was deranged with a trouble past and not being able to get help, to an outcry for tighter gun control. Whatever the reason, these families are left to pick up the pieces of their lives and try over the coming months to adjust to a new normal.

 About 6 weeks ago I had a deep desire to encourage mothers to pray for children in every state and I came up with “50 states in 50 days” and we started our prayer marathon. We prayed for states in alphabetical order and had already prayed for children in Connecticut. So why did this happen? Did God hear our prayers? Where was God when all this was going on? Well yes God did hear our prayers and to tell you the truth God was right there when it all took place. The reports we heard is that the young man had ammunition that could kill every person in the school. So thank God this did not happen, so as bad as this is, it could have been much worse. God never did this, why it was allowed, I have no explanation, but I do know that God will turn this around for good. What we see happen in Newton, is evil, which can only be canceled by good, not tighter gun control, not more secure schools, and more police officers and security systems. Those are good things, but it will take more than these measures. Ephesian 6: 12 tells us 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.

I am not trying by any means to absolve this young man, but his action was controlled by demonic forces. There is no other explanation for him committing this crime. We must recognize that Satan uses people to do his bidding. Wherever there is an opening He will enter. We cannot take things for granted. We cannot let down our guard because Satan does not play fair. We must be vigilant and be consistent in our prayer life and stand up at all times for what is righteous. We must denounce evil, we cannot compromise. Those of us who are Christians must continue to make our voices heard.

Do not become complacent because things are going well with you and your family, and in your neighborhood.  Let us as a nation seek God’s face and guidance, let us teach our children according to the word of God. Let us not overlook behaviors in our children as just a phase they are going through. Pray about it, your prayer will make a difference.

As we pray for these families, let us prayer for God’s comfort for them. The pain that they are feeling right now, cannot be eased by all our good intention words. It takes the love and comfort of a Great big loving God.

In His service,

 Vilma

Monday, December 10, 2012

The Power of the Tongue

For this post, I would like to talk about a very small but significant member of our body known as the tongue.  In James 3, we find some rather intriguing information about the tongue that we need to be reminded of.  James compares the power of the tongue with the power of a bit and that of a rudder.  The bit, he says is used to tame a horse as it controls the movement of the horse’s head.  The rudder on the other hand allows the captain of the ship to control where and how the ship turns.  The tongue is just as powerful it is like a small fire that is capable to ruin a forest. If set in motion this small tongue of ours can defile our entire body.  Both the bit and the rudder can be seen as items of control, where if they were not used, the horse would be able to run wild and the ship would go off course. This is the same thing with the tongue, if not controlled our bodies or sinful nature can go haywire. The tongue is capable to do good or evil.

James 3:5-10 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold how great a matter a little fire kindleth!
And the tongue [is] a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:

The tongue has been used to burn many people in the course of its operation. As a child I remember saying a nursery rhyme-“sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me. This sounds good but is so far from the truth. The injury and pain from words take so much longer to heal than a broken bone. Sometimes the psychological injuries may last a lifetime.

 Proverbs 26:18-19 reminds us: Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death, is the man who deceives his neighbor, and says, “I was only joking!”  In the end the person being hurt is never laughing, because they can’t see the joke.

 James goes on to say how we are able to tame the wildest of animals, but fail miserable at taming the tongue. James says- NO MAN CAN TAME THE TONGUE. He is correct, but take note that the emphasis is on man, because through the Holy Spirit, we will be able to curb this tongue of ours.

 James goes on further in the chapter to say that not only does the tongue hurt, and deliver deadly poison, but it is also contradictory. It is used for good as well as evil. Apparently it is unable to take a stand. The tongue offers the highest praise and at the same time the lowest blow to an individual in the form of a curse. We cannot have 2 different fruits from the same tree. So in our everyday life, let us be reminded that our tongue is a force to be reckoned with, do not take it for granted. Allow the Holy Spirit to take control and govern the things you say. Use it to bless and not to curse, to uplift and exhort, not to tear down, to encourage, not discourage, to speak life not death.

 In His Service,

 

Vilma

 

 

Monday, December 3, 2012

Lose the Gideon Mentality


I was speaking with a friend of mine a few days ago and she shared with me her devotion for that day which was about Gideon and she went on to say how blessed she was from some of the things that God had revealed to her. As I listened to her, I started to wonder how many of us behave like Gideon.

We can find the story of Gideon in Judges 6.  The children of Israel had done evil in the sight of God and He delivered them into the hands of the Midianites.  The Israelites became greatly impoverished by the Midianites and cried to the Lord for help. God chose Gideon who was also suffering at the hand of the Midianites as the person who would deliver Israel form the hand of the Midianites. An angel of the Lord came to Gideon to deliver the news. The angel greeted Gideon by saying: “The LORD [is] with thee, thou mighty man of valour” Gideon did not acknowledge this description of him instead he expressed his concern of why they were being defeated by the Midianites if God was with them. The Angel went on to tell Gideon that He was the one chosen to go and save Israel from the hands of the Midianites, because the Lord had sent him.

Judges 6:15 And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family [is] poor in Manasseh, and I [am] the least in my father's house. Not only did Gideon have this poor self- image, but we see further where he wanted signs to know that this was God speaking with him.

 So many of us behave like Gideon did, we see ourselves to be much less than how God see’s us. God sees mighty men and women of valor and we see poor and the least. We must start to see ourselves as God sees us instead of how we see ourselves or how other people see us. God sees potential and possibilities that is within us through Jesus Christ. God sees conquerors but we see defeatist. God sees blessed and highly favored, but we see cursed. God sees health and wealth and we see sick and poor. He sees Lenders, and we see borrowers. It is time we start to see ourselves with a spiritual eyes. We cannot afford to rely on how we feel; instead we have to rely on what God word says.

 Gideon seemed to have missed when the angel told him that God was him. God was simple going to work through Gideon to accomplish His purpose. Phil 4: 13 reminds us

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

 Gideon wanted to have some tangible signs that God was talking with him. So do some of us. We actually want God to come and literally tap us on the shoulder, write on the walls in our homes or audible call our name. Whereas these ways are not impossible, we need to rely on the direction of the Holy Spirit. We need to release our faith and trust what God is calling us to do. Let’s lose the Gideon Mentality.

 
In His Service,

  

Vilma