Welcome to VOH Ministries: Recent Episodes
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The struggles of life all around us can easily become overwhelming. It seems at times there is nothing but bad news. That may have been how the Israelites felt in slavery to the Egyptians and in their journey to the Promised Land. There were challenges and difficulties at every turn.
The quiet moment when you’re standing in the mirror, checking out yourself, wondering am I beautiful, am I skinny and am I enough for the man I’m with? Out comes a sigh and then an hmmm…resounding in your mind. You turn sideways looking in that same mirror at the
December, a month that provokes so much inner conversation and this year, I have been given an added dimension to my inner conversation…Pastor! As Pastor, I am faced with dual conversations; one that focuses on my individual relationship with God and the other, concerning those whom I shepherd.
Everything in your world may be screaming at you, the negative…Coming from every which way. There are times when those negative influences get the best of you; causing you to react and to believe whatever they are saying. Your reactions come in many forms…(i.e. reduced prayer time
12 months ago you said, “I will not be in this same place, this time next year”. Are you? If so, why? Are you one of the ones who are ALL talk and NO Action? Afraid to move on because you think you will miss
I was riding into work today reflecting over all the things we as MEN are responsible for. Most of us do it without complaining and we don’t look for anyone to notice. We are driven by the desire to make things better for ourselves and our families; with the hopes
With half of the year past already, what have you been busy doing? Many of you have been running and accomplishing what God has called you to; some are moving along at a slower pace, some have gotten stalled along the way; hindered by the distractions the enemy has thrown
How long will you wait on the promise? That’s a question that many would outright say, “as long as it takes!” That maybe a real answer for some, but a “textbook” answer for others. What happens if along the way to the promise, unanticipated things happen? I am reminded of
Today I decided to combine several posts that were shared on our Facebook Page. With the end of the year fast approaching, I thought I’d give you something to assist in your preparation for the Next Season in your Life….2014! I. Preparing for the Next Season: Preparing for the
Every scar I have on my body tells a little about who I am and what I’ve gone through, throughout my life. You might not understand it, but if you look over your own body I’m sure there’s a story of how and when your scars occurred. Those are the
For the last several weeks, I’ve meditated on the Apostle Paul’s words to the church at Corinth, “…though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers.”
The Message translation says it like this: “…there are a lot of people around you who can’t wait to tell you what you’ve done wrong, but there aren’t many fathers willing to take the time and effort to help you grow up.” (1 Corinthians 4:15)
As I look around me today, nothing has ever been more true and more evident in our society: our homes, our schools, even in our churches. As it was at the time of Christ’s birth, there has been an all out war waged upon man-kind. The enemy’s utmost goal has always been to destroy man. People underestimate the enemy. The enemy knows that if he can reach man, he has the potential to destroy every relationship in that man’s life.
Interestingly, the most bless-ed or most destructive relationship experience that any man can have – and the most lethal to his emotional and spiritual growth – is the relationship between a father and a son. The same way we as believers are supposed to obtain our spiritual identity from a relationship with our heavenly Father, is the same way a son is to obtain a sense of identity from his earthly father. Sadly, if enough damage is inflicted upon the psyche and emotional well-being of a young man, his ability to trust father-figures, including the heavenly Father is greatly diminished. Unfortunately, every traumatic experience a child endures from an early age carries with it the potential for stunted emotional growth, and the likelihood of onset of a dysfunctional existence.
We learn to trust and not trust and accept or fear others as children, based mostly on the “filters” ingrained in us subconsciously, by our parents. If an unnatural fear, penetrated the mind by an overbearing or abusive father, that young man will shun and cower in the presence of most adult men, at least until a trust is established.
Years and years of abuse, neglect, and disapproval will ultimately drive a man to self destruction. Any attempt to intervene by an older, wiser gentleman (or father-figure) will initially always result in rejection by that younger man. He has no reason to believe that the older gentleman is acting out of a pure motive, and thus will reject the man’s attempts to mentor and even befriend him.
Conversely, a man who grows up with trust issues – consequential of the parent/child experience – will carry those trust issues into his spiritual life, ultimately being unable and unwilling to trust a Spiritual Father.
Foolishly – and often times through an innocent form of ignorance – a man will cycle through bad relationship after bad relationship, attempting to gain approval from one-night-stands, girlfriends and short-term relationships, and even attempts at marriage in pursuit of a level of acceptance and approval, which should have come many years prior…from his father.
It took me so many years to come to grips with my Dad’s rejection. The approval I sought just never came. I finally gave up – and in some ways I grew up, realizing he just wasn’t willing (and therefore incapable) step into those shoes and be a father. I grew up, watching so many young men – my contemporaries – with their father’s hand and voiceof blessing being active in their lives. And the results and the contrasts were astonishing. Night and day.
Thanksgiving!
It has a different meaning to all of us. In the United States we are fortunate to have a national holiday set aside, specifically for the occasion. Originally an idea derived from Native and European tradition, the United States and Canada are the only countries where Thanksgiving is actually a holiday.
Despite the common belief that Thanksgiving was a celebratory event that followed “harvest” season, the origin is more accurately associated with survival – that is, having survived a long journey of storms, icebergs, and the tumultuous seas, which the seagoing explorers experienced attempting to find a northern passage through the Pacific Ocean.
Whatever brought upon the reason for the celebration from a historical standpoint should matter little to us today. What should matter most is that all of us – anyone living and breathing at this moment – has more than a few things to be thankful for today. Today and every day.
– According to the CDC (Center for Disease Control), there are more than 12,000 disease categories known to science.
– On average, there are more than 6,000,000 auto accidents in the United States alone every year.
– The data is not in for 2011 yet, but there were more than 1,000,000 foreclosures in 2010. More than 1,000,000 families in just one year experience the loss of what is traditionally associated with as the symbol of the “American Dream.”
– There are 25,000,000+ unemployed in the U.S. as of this month.
– Almost 50,000,000 U.S. Citizens are recipients of Food Stamps.
– Nearly 500,000 people – men, women, and children living in the U.S. are living with HIV flowing in their blood stream.
You get the picture.
I walked out onto my balcony last night, when it was around 40 degrees, just outside of Dallas. I couldn’t help but wonder, “…this is what more than 5,000 people in the Dallas area will deal with tonight, until the sun comes up tomorrow morning and the temperature (hopefully) begins to rise.” It’s cold outside this time of year. I am privileged to be in inside.
Be thankful!
More than likely, someone that you know – or maybe even you – is just one “notice” away from having their heat cut off. One or two weeks away from getting their “pink slip” at their job. Maybe your best friend won’t finish out the year, spending the holidays with their family because their on the brink of divorce. A cancer diagnosis can change the moral of a family in a split-second.
6 people boarded a plane this morning, not knowing that their last Thanksgiving with their family was a year ago today. They all perished when their plane hit the side of a mountain in Arizona.
Be thankful!
Life is a vapor. Here today, and gone at any moment.
If you have use of your hands and feet; if you are able to get a full night’s sleep; if you receive income, whether weekly, bi monthly or monthly; if you enjoyed a Thanksgiving meal with your family and friends today, or just one person; if you wake up every morning without having experienced a terrorist attack on your native soil; if you have a loved one who returned unharmed from War; if you had the privilege of turning on the water faucet today; if you’ve lived another day to love another person… be thankful.
Every second you feel the oxygen fill up your lung cavity is God’s way of nudging you…”You’re alive!”
With so much to be thankful for, there is so little to complain about.
Be thankful!
For the last several weeks, I’ve meditated on the Apostle Paul’s words to the church at Corinth, “…though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers.”
The Message translation says it like this: “…there are a lot of people around you who can’t wait to tell you what you’ve done wrong, but there aren’t many fathers willing to take the time and effort to help you grow up.” (1 Corinthians 4:15)
As I look around me today, nothing has ever been more true and more evident in our society: our homes, our schools, even in our churches. As it was at the time of Christ’s birth, there has been an all out war waged upon man-kind. The enemy’s utmost goal has always been to destroy man. People underestimate the enemy. The enemy knows that if he can reach man, he has the potential to destroy every relationship in that man’s life.
Interestingly, the most bless-ed or most destructive relationship experience that any man can have – and the most lethal to his emotional and spiritual growth – is the relationship between a father and a son. The same way we as believers are supposed to obtain our spiritual identity from a relationship with our heavenly Father, is the same way a son is to obtain a sense of identity from his earthly father. Sadly, if enough damage is inflicted upon the psyche and emotional well-being of a young man, his ability to trust father-figures, including the heavenly Father is greatly diminished. Unfortunately, every traumatic experience a child endures from an early age carries with it the potential for stunted emotional growth, and the likelihood of onset of a dysfunctional existence.
We learn to trust and not trust and accept or fear others as children, based mostly on the “filters” ingrained in us subconsciously, by our parents. If an unnatural fear, penetrated the mind by an overbearing or abusive father, that young man will shun and cower in the presence of most adult men, at least until a trust is established.
Years and years of abuse, neglect, and disapproval will ultimately drive a man to self destruction. Any attempt to intervene by an older, wiser gentleman (or father-figure) will initially always result in rejection by that younger man. He has no reason to believe that the older gentleman is acting out of a pure motive, and thus will reject the man’s attempts to mentor and even befriend him.
Conversely, a man who grows up with trust issues – consequential of the parent/child experience – will carry those trust issues into his spiritual life, ultimately being unable and unwilling to trust a Spiritual Father.
Foolishly – and often times through an innocent form of ignorance – a man will cycle through bad relationship after bad relationship, attempting to gain approval from one-night-stands, girlfriends and short-term relationships, and even attempts at marriage in pursuit of a level of acceptance and approval, which should have come many years prior…from his father.
It took me so many years to come to grips with my Dad’s rejection. The approval I sought just never came. I finally gave up – and in some ways I grew up, realizing he just wasn’t willing (and therefore incapable) step into those shoes and be a father. I grew up, watching so many young men – my contemporaries – with their father’s hand and voiceof blessing being active in their lives.
And the results and the contrasts were astonishing. Night and day.