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

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

 

 

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

Can these dry Bones Live?

In Ezekiel 37 we read the account of the valley of dry bones. In this story Ezekiel reported that the Lord placed him in the middle of the valley of dry bones and then asked him the question “son of man, can these dry bones live?” As I think about this passage I can imagine how confused Ezekiel may have been to be asked such a question of a person who should know the answer. Ezekiel as many of us would, replied “Oh Lord God thou knowest” Good answer, however I am not sure that Ezekiel expected to hear what the Lord told him next and this was Ezekiel 37: 4 - Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.

  However Ezekiel was given a command “prophesy” to them. Ezekiel did not argue with God as foolish as this request may have been, instead Ezekiel did as he was commanded and prophesied to the dry bones and in the end we see where the bones came together finding there adjoining parts, sinews, flesh, skin, then covered the bones and the wind came and blew breathe into them and they lived.

 I love this story not just for the imagery, but this is a classic account of resurrection from death to life.  These dry bones depict such a sense of bareness and complete emptiness it is just difficult to imagine that their situation could be changed. Although the Lord was using this story to show the deplorable state of Israel, I cannot help but apply it to some of us in this 21^st century.

Some of us are still wrestling with our valley of dry bones. These may be our children, jobs, finances, or our relationships. It may be a dry bone from our past as far back as our childhood or even the dry bone of our spiritual lives. You look around at these dry bones and you feel despair, you see emptiness, desolation and hopelessness. Can these bones live? You have tried everything seemingly possible but there seems to be little or no change.  Can these bones live? Here is your answer: PROPHESY to those bones. Prophesy life to your situation, tell your children they are children of God that walk in obedience. Tell your job situation that your father owns the cattle on a thousand hills and He cares for you more that the lilies of the field. Tell your finances that you are a lender not a borrower; tell these relationships that you are a leader not a follower. Tell your past it can no longer keep you bound, for there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Tell your spirit arise and praise the Lord, command your mind to think on things that are lovely, pure and of good report.  Stand in faith and watch things start to fall in place. As a matter of fact, I can already hear a rustling in the valley, can you?

 

In His Service,

 

Vilma

 

 

What it Means to Give Thanks

In 3 days it will be thanksgiving a time of year that is greatly anticipated by many.  It is a time where travel is expected to more than double as most families come together around a great feast of turkey, stuffing, ham, greens, yams, macaroni and cheese, pumpkin and sweet potato pies and so… much more. No one will be watching calories on Thanksgiving Day; the gym will take care of the extra pounds gained. Although it is known as Thanksgiving Day, some of us will forget to give thanks, others will only give thanks if they had a successful year and others will focus on the bad things that may have happened to them and cannot bring themselves to give thanks. Each of us knows in which category we fall. We can all justify giving or not giving thanks, but does our reasoning fits into what the bible says about giving thanks?  Let us look at what Ephesians 5: 20 say about giving thanks: Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

 Is Paul really serious about this? It is just impossible to give thanks all the time, and worse yet giving thanks for all things. Paul you don’t know what I have been through this year, there is no way I can give thanks for those things.  Really Paul, you can say what you want, but one thing I know is that only “he who feels it knows it”. I lost my child- wait my children – Paul they represented my future, I lost my sibling -my present, I lost my parent-my past, I lost my spouse- my everything. Did you hear me Paul? I lost my home, my job; I just went through a horrible divorce, I just lost my baby at term. Paul, do you want to hear more? My child was incarcerated, my finances took a dive, I just went through hurricane Sandy and I lost everything I possessed. Give thanks always and for all things- you have got to be kidding?  What was that you said Paul, II Corinthians 11:23-27?

Whoa Paul this is unbelievable! You have certainly been through a whole lot and after all this you can still say “give thanks”. I guess I’ll reconsider my position.

 As the word says we should give thanks at all times and not just at Thanksgiving and we give thanks for everything not just the good things. This certainly is not easy to do, but we should do so regardless of the position we find ourselves in. It sounds superficial- but things could have been much worse. God does not do bad things to us, but will turn around the bad things that happen to us for His glory. The things God allows in our lives are things that He knows we are able to manage and the good thing is that there is on Satan cannot cross over.

 So whatever we may be going through at this time, let us remember that our father who loves us with an everlasting love will give us the grace to endure and though it feels like it will, it will not take us out. Isaiah 43:2 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.

 So even if you do it in tears let us open our mouths and Give God thanks, that He is sovereign, faithful, omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent and He can and will turn our situation completely around. Happy Thanksgiving!

 In His Service,

Vilma

Praying Scriptures Over Our Children

Some people are hesitant when asked to pray for their children. Some mothers feel that they are not eloquent enough to pray. Others feel that they are not spiritual enough to go to God, and there are those who will tell you that they do not know what to say.

It is for these reasons that from time to time I will suggest certain scriptures that can be used as prayer points when we pray for our children. For this post I would like to suggest the following scripture from Isaiah.

Isaiah 11:2 And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;

Although Isaiah was referring to Jesus the messiah we can also apply this to ourselves and our children. As you pray, make sure to verbalize each phrase of the verse and insert your children and grandchildren’s names each time.

Pray that the spirit of the Lord will rest on them

Pray that they will have the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,

Pray for the Spirit of counsel and of power, and

Pray that they will have the Spirit of knowledge and of [reverential] fear of the Lord.

Having the spirit of the Lord resting on you, is one sure way to ensure that your steps will be directed. Wisdom helps in decision making and having understanding of why one should or should not do certain things is certainly valuable. The ability to counsel and be counseled and operate in the power that God has given us is also essential. It is also beneficial to have an intimate knowledge of the Lord and a sense of awe for who He is.

In His Service,

Vilma

Psalm 23

Earlier today, I was speaking with a friend of mine and we started to talk about psalm 23 and we both shared our perspective on what this psalm really meant to us.

  Psalm 23 is a psalm that I was taught as a child and one that I also taught my children at an early age. I have quoted portions of this psalm on numerous occasions, but over the last 7 1/2 months this psalm has become so very real to me and here is why. As some of you may know from previous blogs, I unexpectedly lost my 28 year old son on April 22^nd 2012. In this very difficult time, I made the decision to keep going with my ministry Mothers Praying Until Something Happens (MPUSH) as a way of God getting the glory through this tragedy and showing the devil, that he had lost his bet. Psalm 23 is one of the many scriptures that have kept me going when everything else in me is trying to tell me to give up.

 

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. It dawned on me that in order for me not to be in lack and enjoy the things that the remainder of Psalm 23 talked about I had to be willing to be lead or be shepherded. So I quickly decided not to travel the many paths that looked or felt good for me. Some paths that looked so incredible attractive like disappointment, anger, resentment and depression, instead I decided follow the path of Shepherd Lord. By so doing I was able to find green pastures instead of lingering in the wasteland. I found that instead of a raging sea I was in still waters, no ripples, waves or currents, I started to feel safe, secure and loved. Before I knew it my soul began to feel the effects of being restored, (Re-establish) as the incredible pain that I was feeling started to become more tolerable. Each time I felt like getting out of line, He instead kept leading me in paths of right living because of what His name represents. So I came to the conclusion that, I will not be afraid of the valley of death- because, my Shepherd will be with me as I know He was with my son. I have a new perspective knowing His rod and staff is always there to comfort me. I now fully understand what it means to have a table carefully prepared for me with bountiful provisions for both my body and soul right where my enemies are standing waiting to see me fail. I can actually feel the oil running down my face as He anoints my head with oil, so my cup is now overflowing, instead of emptiness. I also realized that with this Shepherd goodness and mercy will be following me around as long as I live. My decision became easy, I think I prefer being led, and I will without a doubt just camp in His house for all times.

If you are going through a difficult period at the moment, I am encouraging you to add psalm 23 to the other scriptures that you are reading. You will be amazed at the sense of peace, comfort and reassurance it will bring.

 

In His Service

 

Vilma