Make it happen Monday

   

In Mathew 19:16-22 we read the story of a rich young ruler who went to Jesus to ask what he should do to inherit Eternal life. As the conversation continues with Jesus we find that this young man was living an upright life, and had kept the law from a young child.

He was very pleased with himself and must have smiled thinking t “surely I have this all together”. Jesus however, surprised him by telling him that he was lacking something. Jesus told him "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow Me.

Unfortunately this young man became sad and walked away from the opportunity of having eternal life. His love for God somehow did not translate to having love for others. I often marvel at this young man - he was willing to lose his soul rather than share his earthly treasure.

This rich young man could have made it happen for him- “Eternal life” He could also have made it happen for a lot of needy people by giving them some money from the sale of his vast possessions.

What can you do today to make some other person’s day? As you make your last- minute shopping and wrapping of gifts, think of someone in your neighborhood, your church or work that you can buy a gift for. Let us spread our love a little further than our homes this Christmas.

In His Service,

Vilma

Foolish, weak or both?

I am so fascinated by this verse of scripture in I Corinthians 1: 27. This is what it says:

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.

There are many times that God chooses us to do some things and we don't for the simple fact that what He has asked looks and sounds down right foolish. However if we are obedient in the end people will be simple amazed at what you are able to accomplish, and the lives that have been touched. 

God requires our total dependence on Him, when He does things through us there should be no mistake that it is God. He opens doors for jobs that you are not qualified for and make you excel.  He brings people into your path for you to encourage and strengthen that blows your mind as well as theirs

Take a look at the story of Noah building an ark for many years in anticipation for rain that he has never seen or heard of before.  To everyone around him, this was absolutely foolish, but in the end his family and a number of animals were saved- it took him 120 years.

What of Abraham picking up his family and telling people that he was going somewhere, which he really had no clue about? Look at Abraham and Sarah so far pass the age for conception- how foolish Sarah must have looked pregnant in her 90's.

What of Moses with a little staff to part the red sea, what about the feeding of the five thousands with two fish and five small loaves? To the natural mind and through our physical eyes these things look and sound foolish, but check the end of each of these stories and see how God manifested His greatness.

Be that foolish weak person and just do what God is calling you to do and see how the wise and the strong get confused

In His Service,

Vilma

31 Biblical Virtues to Pray for Your Children | Articles | Revive Our Hearts

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31 Biblical Virtues to Pray for Your Children | Articles | Revive Our Hearts

Uplifting Words

Jesus and Paul are examples for us in their use of uplifting words to encourage.

We find Jesus always offering us hope and encouragement even at very difficult times in our lives or times when we know we had blown it. Can you hear Jesus saying- "be not afraid for I am with you" Can you hear words like I have come to set the captive free, to deliver those who are oppressed, to give a garment of praise for a spirit of heaviness etc.(Isa.61).

In his many letters to the various churches we see Paul encouraging and uplifting the saints. As much as he rebuked them for things they were not doing right, he never left them without encouragement.

Today we find that many people are bowed down under heavy emotional loads and are weary of life's struggles. They crave an uplifting word. Let us not turn away- instead follow the example of Jesus and offer some words of encouragement. Pleasant words not only encourage but can lift us up to high places (Prov. 22:11).

In His Service,

Vilma

Giving thanks

 

     If living in the United States, I hope you had a great Thanksgiving holiday and most of you had a chance to spend some quality time with your families and friends. I also hope you had some good food, great fellowship and some fun.  For those who have children living away from home, I hope you had a chance to connect in some way.

 

What in particular were you thankful for this holiday?  Sometimes we feel as if we have nothing to give thanks for especially when life is not going the way we anticipated. How do you give thanks when your prayers seem to go unanswered?  Why should I give thanks when I have no job, or I just lost a loved one?  

 

As difficult as this may be I Thessalonians 5:18- has a different take on things- "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus".

 

This is never an easy thing to do when we face those very challenging situations in life. We have all been there, thankful is perhaps the furthest thing from our minds.

 

Perhaps we could try a different approach and think of something that may be going well in our life and thank God for that one thing, as small as it may be.  One of our Thanksgiving tradition in our home is to say something or someone that we are grateful for. This is one way to get especially the younger ones to get in the habit of being appreciative.

 

 Giving thanks is a subject that is taught throughout the old and new testament. Psalm 100: 4 tells us to: Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, [and] into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, [and] bless his name.

 

So for today let us pray that God will give our children a heart of thankfulness.  Pray that they will learn to be grateful for small things in their life.  Pray that they will not have the attitude of entitlement, but instead be grateful when people are kind to them. 

 

In His Service,

 

Vilma

Turning back the hands of time

I hope all is well with you and your family. As for myself and family, we are all doing well. God blessed me to celebrate another birthday on Thursday for which I am so grateful.

 

As you may be aware tomorrow night we turn our clocks back an hour for which most of us are happy as we can always use an extra hour of sleep.

 

What if we could turn back the hands of time to a particular occasion or period of time in our past? For some of us it may be to a time when we were young and had no responsibility. For some it may be your wedding day and the bliss you felt as you walked down the aisle. Perhaps you want to turn the hands of time back to when your children were young and innocent and cute.

 

For some of us we wish we could go back to the time just before we made that decision that turned out to be very costly or to the time when we may have said some very harsh words which caused so much pain to a friend or relative or severed a relationship.

 

Unfortunately turning back the hands of time is only wishful thinking. Our best bet is to use our time wisely. Try to savor our good moments. As much as possible enjoy spending time with your children, your spouse or significant other. Spend less time arguing and more time communicating. We need to speak more kindly and positively to others and less time tearing each other down or speaking negatively to one another. We need to spend time to encourage and praise the efforts of those lives we impact rather than using our time to discourage and put them down. We must use every opportunity we get to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with someone rather than advance propaganda our own personal agenda.

Don't be like R. Kelly- "If I could turn back time..."

 

In His Service,

 Vilma

 

What is your excuse?

As Human beings we tend to thrive on coming up with excuses. 

There is always an excuse to justify why we are late for work, why we eat so much or so little, why our children behave the way they do. Why we don't go to church or why we keep ripping and running.

Some of these are legitimate but most of them are simple a poor way of saying no. I think we even walk with a pocketful of excuses just in case we need one in a hurry it is in easy reach.

What I realize not only do we have excuses for each other but we also come up with just as many excuses when God has asked us to do something.

Rick Warren puts this best. Here is how he responds in "The Purpose Driven Life" to those who make excuses concerning why they cannot serve the Lord.

"Abraham was old, Jacob was insecure, Leah was unattractive, Joseph was abused, Moses stuttered, Gideon was poor, Samson was co-dependent, Rahab was immoral, David had an affair and all kinds of family problems, Elijah was suicidal, Jeremiah was depressed, Jonah was reluctant, Naomi was a widow, John the Baptist was eccentric, Peter was impulsive and hot-tempered, Martha worried a lot, the Samaritan woman had several failed marriages, Zacchaeus was unpopular, Thomas had doubts, Paul had poor health and Timothy was timid"

 The 12 men called to be God's disciples could have come up also with a lot of excuses as to why they were not fit to serve, but they did not- common men, unimportant folks. In the end they turned the world “upside down” for Jesus.

When Jesus calls us to follow him, He's not looking for the smartest or strongest.  He does not call you because of what is in you but instead of what He can do through you. Feel honored that you were chosen and just watch and see what He can do with your inadequacies. You have no valid excuse!

In His Service,

Vilma