April 6-10, 2012 Quiet Time Series

DAY 6

TRUE GREATNESS

Matthew 20:26

True greatness is shown by humility, not pride. This was powerfully demonstrated and taught by Jesus Christ, who told his disciples: “Not so with you, instead whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be the first must be your slave-just as the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many”. (Matt. 20:26-28)

When God himself walked on earth as a man, He washed feet, welcomed children, and willingly gave his life. We can do great things for the Lord if we are willing to do the little thing for others.

Betty Belmonte

DAY 7

SATAN DOESN’T MIND BIBLE STUDY NEVER APPLIED

Matthew 7:24 (NIV)

Receiving, reading, researching, remembering, and reflecting on the Word of God are all useless if we fail to put them into practice. We must become doers of the word (James 1:22 KJV).

I understand this is a hard step, because Satan fights it so intensely. He doesn’t mind you going to Church or Bible Studies or Bible Talks as long as you don’t do anything with what you learn. We fool ourselves when we assume that just because we have heard or read or studied the truth then we have internalized it.

Actually, you can be so busy going to the next bible talk, bible study or seminar or Bible conference that you have no time to implement what you’ve learned. You forget it on the way to your next study. Without implementation, all our Bible studies are worthless. There are even times when we deliberately decided to disobey after hearing a message from God because of our own personal reasons. I know because I can totally relate.

Jesus said, “Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24 NIV)

Can you imagine a house built on hay or sticks? How much effort could be exerted to blow the house in? None at all, so why bother exerting an effort in blowing the house, right? It is so easy to destroy. The foundation is so weak. At anytime, Satan wins. There is no challenge at all. But who is at the losing end? Not Satan, but the one who builds the house with poor materials. It is us who does not like to obey because it discomforts us. It is us who does not put the word of God into practice.

Jesus also pointed out that God’s blessing comes from obeying the truth, not just knowing it. He said, “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” (John 13:17 (NIV)

I cannot overstate the value of being in the fellowship or constantly present in every Bible talk activities. We always learn from others’ truths which we may never learn on our own. Other people can help us see insights we would miss and help us apply God’s truth in a practical way. But the best way to become a doer of the Word is to always write out an action step as a result of your reading or studying or reflecting on God’s Word. Develop the habit of writing down exactly what you intend to do. This action step should be personal (involving you), practical (something you can do), and provable (with a deadline to do it). Every application will involve either your relationship to God, your relationship to others, or your personal character.

What has God already told you to do in his Word that you haven’t started doing yet? Start doing it before it’s too late.

Anecita Angel

DAY 8

LIVING SACRIFICE

Romans 12: 1-8

All I wanted is to belong to a great family, a family where love and care are shown in different ways. I am so grateful that I had the chance to be part of the great family, the family of God, the body of Christ.

To be a great family, we are to give ourselves first to God. We are to worship Him by repenting and by offering our strengths. We can offer or give to one another as members of the family to the best we can because we are glorifying our God.

We are all in this together, we belong to each other, we are all members of one another. Individualism is prohibited by God. The grace of God has been given to us through our different gifts and strengths. There are so many strengths that God has given to us. Let us all together share and develop these strengths in helping each other to grow in Christ. God, bless this family. Amen.

Alvin Comendador

DAY 9

PICK UP YOUR SWORD

Galatians 6:10-18

Sometimes or most often we rush ourselves in the battlefield without the sword. That is why we end up our day worn out or worst, defeated because we have forgotten or intentionally left the armor of God. (Gal. 6:10-18). It is a spiritual battle.

I couldn’t imagine without our sword. We let ourselves be beaten up and blown up by the breath of the fire of the dragon until our armor is worn out. We are just, as if, taking all the blows that the enemy is throwing on us. And sometimes we say to ourselves, it isn’t a fair fight. Whose fault could that be?

We do have the defensive armor but have forgotten the sword of the Spirit, our only offensive weapon, or fail to ask help from our allies which are our prayers and petitions.

Let us always equip ourselves with the Words of God and carry the sword of the Spirit as we fight against the ruler, against the authorities, against the power of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil. Do you see how many are our enemies? Isn’t that enough proof to prepare ourselves in the battlefield?

Pick up your sword. Always bring it along with you. Because if you don’t, it might be your last stand.

Raul Pabilando

DAY 10

”GOD ADDICTION”

Psalm 27:4

The heart of David is really amazing. He really has the heart addicted to God. For me, it is rare to know someone pleading not for self comfort, love, and blessings from God but pleading for God Himself to be with him inseparably. How I hope and wish I could have that heart everyday.

Have you ever been addicted to something? Like food, games, movies, actors/actress, clothes and others? Then imagine substituting God into it...What do you imagine and feel? Is it possible? Or does it need more effort? Are we excited to pray and to read our quiet times to God just like how excited are we when watching our favorite movies?

For me personally, maybe God addiction is the only addiction that takes time and effort to be really addicted. It may even take a lifetime. But are we going to give up? David is just human like us. We can be God addicted too if we desire to be.

Rowena Digal

April 1-5, 2012 Quiet Time Series

DAY 1

HABITS: EASY TO FORM, HARD TO BREAK

1 Corinthians 9:27

Can you identify your habits? Do you think your habits are helping you or tearing you down?

All of us have stumbling blocks in life but there is an encouragement to break them. There are many people who are striving and thinking of how to change their habits. Some try to lose weight. Some try to quit smoking and drinking. Some are working on bad habits of speech. Some are working on their posture. For long-standing habits, it takes courage, determination and a lot of self-discipline to break them. In our lives, we will either allow our habits to dictate the result or develop the habits that guarantee the result we want. But not all habits are bad ones.

The effort needed to discipline ourselves is a great character builder. We all need to develop self-discipline. We become stronger and more likely go where we wish to be. Change habits that hinder your progress.

If you are too lazy to do your quiet times with God then expect spiritual dullness. If your mind is too consumed on worries then you may lose the joy of living. If you keep on looking at other peoples’ mistakes then you may lose the great opportunity of building friendship. If prayer is not part of your life then you will miss the power of prayers.

I’m determined to lose weight so it takes proper diet and exercise. Rather than changing our direction to conform to our habits, we need to change our habits to conform to our goals. Whatever your habits are, let these be habits that lead to progress.....

Rosalie Natural

DAY 2

LOVE: SUPERIOR TO ALL GIFTS

1 Corinthians 13:1

In the morally corrupt Corinth, love had become a mixed-up term with little meaning.

Today, many of us are still confused about love. But do you know that love is the greatest of all human qualities and it is an attribute of God himself (1 John 4:18)? Love involves an unselfish service to others; to show the evidence that you care.

Faith is the foundation and content of God’s message. Hope is the attitude and focus. Love is the action. When faith and hope are in line, you are free to love completely because you understand how God loves.

Is our love patterned in the way God loves?

Romeo Samson Jr.

DAY 3

MY LIPS OVERFLOW

Psalm 119:169-176

I believe appreciating someone can be easy because of two reasons. Either (1) the person is full of great qualities that you just cannot help but appreciate him or (2) you are humble and grateful enough to recognize the value of the other person.

When it comes to praising God, appreciating Him would definitely be not the problem since God is full of great qualities and He deserves our reverence. In fact, no word is enough to really describe His greatness. I then realize that the problem lies within me. I am not humble and grateful enough to recognize who God really is in my life. In Exodus 3:14, God said “I am who I am.” No man can truly fathom all of who He is.

In the book Crazy Love written by Francis Chan, it states there:

To the Jews, saying something three times demonstrated its perfection, so to call God “Holy, holy, holy” is to say that He is perfectly set apart, with nothing and no one to compare Him to. His perfect holiness assures us that our words cannot contain Him... Not being able to fully understand God is frustrating, but it is ridiculous for us to think we have the right to limit God to something we are capable of comprehending.

My prayer is for God to give us understanding according to His Word… and may our lips overflow with praise, for God has taught us His decrees. Let us live to praise God! We may not come close to fully understanding who God is, but let us not make this a reason not to praise and glorify Him each day. Let us be humble and grateful before our Almighty God. Let us shout to God all the great names we can give Him. Let us lift Him up wherever we go and give Him the due reverence and honor. Let us not be ashamed to carry His name as we share our faith, our lives and hearts to the people around us.

If even the lips of infants and children praise God (Psalm 8:2) and if even all of Gods creation praise Him, then let us, as God’s disciples, God’s children, even more praise Him!

January Samson

DAY 4

HOW GOD DEMONSTRATES HIS LOVE

It is my joy to share with you one of my quiet moments with God...

Upon browsing the net, my eyes caught attention to this online devotional by Katherine J. Kehler...She shared about how she is amazed and grateful for the many ways GOD demonstrates his LOVE.

She began to make a list of How GOD Demonstrates His LOVE...

• He never changes. “I the Lord do not change” Malachi 3:6.

His love is always sure. Seasons change, people change, the world is changing, but God never changes. We can rely on Him.

• He is faithful. “You can trust the One who calls you to do that for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:24

God is not moody or fickle. We are. People will love you for a while and then they don’t. But God is not like that. He sticks with you. Whenever He asks us to obey Him, He also provides everything we need.

• He is our protector. “So our hope is in the Lord. He is our help, our shield to protect us.” Psalm 33:20.

He is our shield. Our “always there” protector. It is so comforting to know that everything that comes our way has to go through “the shield about us” before it touches us.

• He is always thinking about us. “How precious it is, Lord, to realize that you are thinking about me constantly! I can’t even count how many thoughts turn towards me.” Psalm 139: 17.

This is one of the neatest things. When you think about it–there are over 6 billion people in the world and He still thinks of you and me constantly. He is able to give us His undivided attention.

• He is always with us. For He Himself has said,

“I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5.

• He is never to busy for us. He never goes away, or takes breaks or a vacation.

When we are in trouble and think we are going under, we can be encouraged because,

“Underneath are His ever lasting arms.” (Deuteronomy 33:27) I pray that you’ll be blessed as you are reminded of His great love.

Raquel Culango

DAY 5

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE ‘DEAD’ IN YOUR SINS

Ephesians 2:1-3

If you ever want to see a visual picture of what it means for you and me to be dead in our sins, try this simple exercise: Take a glove and a Bible, and place them on a table next to each other. Then yell as loud as you can, “Glove, pick up this Bible!”

That glove would be helpless, hopelessly unable to pick up that Bible. That is a perfect picture of the spiritual reality described in today’s passage. We can stand up and preach, but the undeniable truth is that every person is just like that glove and can not reach out to God on his or her own.

But if you were to put your hand in that glove, then the strength of your hand would become the strength of that glove. And anything your hand could do, that glove could do. As a Christian, because the Holy Spirit draws us first to Christ, we are able – enabled, that is, to come before God.

This world is still full of men and women who are utterly lost and dead in their sins. They can never come to Christ on their own. But for many, God supernaturally draws them to Himself. So thank God today for His work in you. And as you share Christ with others, pray that God would open their eyes to His eternal truth!

ONLY GOD CAN DRAW PEOPLE TO HIMSELF. SO THANK HIM FOR HIS WORK IN YOU AND PRAY FOR OTHERS’ EYES TO BE OPENED TO CHRIST.

Halbert Tillor

March 2012 Quiet Time Series

DAY 31

ASPIRE

1 Corinthians 11:1

“Aspire” means to seek to attain or accomplish a particular goal; ascend, soar.

Psalm 37:4 NIV says, “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

It’s nice to look up to people and think they’re something special but let us take it a step further and aspire to be like those people in our lives whom we admire. I’m not talking about people who look like they are successful but whose lives are falling apart behind closed doors. I want you to think about those people in your life who are tried and true. They are the real thing. Nobody’s perfect but it’s good to admire the people in your life who genuinely show the love of God to others. Just being with them, you know that they have spent time with the Lord. I believe you know the blessing of this kind of relationship.

It is also important that you be someone others look up to. Your example (good or bad) will speak louder than anything you say. You are a witness of the love of Christ. You are an ambassador. You are God’s son or daughter—a son or daughter of not just a king but of the King of Kings.

Aspire to be someone great and be someone others aspire to be!

From the book: Little Pink Book – Special Gift Edition by Cathy Bartel

March 2012 Quiet Time Series

DAY 30

DELIGHTED in the lord

Psalm37:4

“Delight” means to take great pleasure; to give keen enjoyment; to give joy or satisfaction to.

Psalm 37:4 NIV says, “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

What do you think about that? God would not only give you the desires of your heart but would actually place His desires for you in your heart – and make them come true. How amazing is that? Because you love God as your Father and because He loves you as His child, your desires and His desires for you become one desire! Remember: He has the absolute best plan for you.

You may be thinking, “How will I know it’s God’s desires I am following?” His Word and His will for you will agree. If you are delighting in the Lord, you’ll be reading His Word. And if you’re reading His Word, He will reveal His will to you.

From the book: Little Pink Book – Special Gift Edition by Cathy Bartel

March 2012 Quiet Time Series

DAY 29

A source of Joy

1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18

There are so many things where we could find a source for joy. What are the sources that you are getting into to find joy?

As a young Christian, I could stop praying when my prayer time or my heart is not into it. Sometimes, it feels like something is pushing me not to pray. Why do you think this is happening to me? Thanks to the Word of God, I realized that I did not see the prayer as a source of joy.

Prayer brings joy to us, because it is the time that we are talking to our heavenly Father. God comforts us by all the blessings and strength that He has given and His faithfulness. Amidst trial, prayers can also brought joy in our hearts, give us courage and determination to overcome difficulties.

If we are to pray powerfully, we must not only see the importance of prayer and the need of surrender and faith in prayer, but we must appreciate the joy that our prayer brings. The Word of God says, “Be joyful always; pray continually”. This just says that prayer really is a good source of joy. Amen.

The greatest joy we could find is only with God. Have a joyful day.

Alvin Comendador

March 2012 Quiet Time Series

DAY 28

TRUE RICHES COME FROM THE LORD

Phil 4:12-13

Wishes comes into my mind, hoping that I could buy those things and I could give more to my family (If only I have the money, things would have been better).

Have you encountered these thoughts? I have read an ebook about this riches (money) and its dangers – what it could offer, when you go after these thing. This could lead you to worldliness if you’re not careful.

First, we need to understand that there is nothing evil or wrong with money. There is nothing sinful if you were born wealthy. Nor it is wrong to be involved with earning money and dealing money. The danger here is that when you put this into a priority before God Himself or it could carry us away from God to his gifts.

It is all a question of priority and perspective. We need to recognize that true riches come from the Lord and from Him alone. That we are stewards of His riches. Learning to be content. Let us visit some scriptures to help us see these riches that come from the Lord.

The LORD sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts. (1 Sam. 2:7).

Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. (1 Chron. 29:12).

The Proverbs writer reminds us that ‘the blessing of the LORD makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it’ (Prov. 10:22).

As we trust in the Lord of Glory then we will know his rich blessing. That blessing will have no sting to it. There is no trick to God’s blessings. He does not mock or play games with us. He genuinely blesses us with no strings attached! His blessing comes upon us and he ‘adds no sorrow to it’. The NIV says he ‘adds no trouble to it’.

Jeremiah put it this way:

Thus says the LORD: Do not let the wise boast in their wisdom, do not let the mighty boast in their might, do not let the wealthy boast in their wealth; but let those who boast boast in this, that they understand and know me, that I am the LORD; I act with steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight, says the LORD (Jer. 9:23–24).

We should boast not in our wealth but in the goodness of our God. We should exalt Him for the riches of His grace which He lavishes upon us. Thus recognizing that all our wealth ultimately comes from Him, we are to do good and share what we have with others with liberality and generosity.

Raul Pabilando

March 2012 Quiet Time Series

DAY 27

THE SPIRIT OF SELF-DISCIPLINE

2 Timothy 1:7

It’s almost six months since I decided to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Part of being a disciple is putting myself under our Lord’s discipline. But for this long, I don’t think if I am helping myself to be disciplined. In result, my heart and body struggled. To tell you, I don’t see any discipline in myself lately, to submit this quiet time series for almost two weeks late since the deadline, something is wrong. The thing is, at this time I know that I really need self-discipline.

Discipline is an important part of doing the will of God in the most effective way possible. Our God has given us a spirit of love, of power and a spirit of self-discipline.

In my case, I had so many kinds of excuses for being undisciplined, and at the end, I realized that they are not really valid at all. But, I believe that I can be a disciplined person no matter what my situation is. From this time forward whatever changes need to be made will be made, by the power of the Spirit that God has given me.

Another thing in 2 Timothy 3:16-17. The inspired words of God will really help in becoming disciplined. Living a Christian life is bringing all the areas of our lives under the control of Jesus Christ so that all we do fits together and contribute to our one purpose: to bring glory to God.

Alvin Comendador

March 2012 Quiet Time Series

DAY 26

GOD DOESN’T LIKE US TO BE ALONE

Upon writing this quiet time, I remember one of my room mates. In her Guidance 4 subject, a situation has been given as her assignment. The situation was this; a young girl liked a guy but the problem is that they don’t share the same faith. Should she continue to like that guy, or should she give up on him and focus on God? It brought me to deep thinking, how should I respond to such situation? In Genesis 2:18-22, God doesn’t like us to be alone.

In the book entitled “IT IS BETTER TO STAY SINGLE THAN TO BE MARRIED TO AN UNSUITABLE PARTER”, it said that most Christians are attractive to the world. How are we going to fight this situation? Do we still trust God? Proverbs 23:26 and Psalm 20:4, God encourages us to surrender our heart’s desires, and let His will be done.

Brothers and sisters let’s never cease fighting the good fight. Let us continue to trust and hold on to Him. Believe that God answers all our prayers in His perfect time.

Vivian Belmonte

March 2012 Quiet Time Series

DAY 25

NEW HEAVEN AND NEW EARTH

2 Peter 3:7-14

From Genesis to Revelation, All of GOD’S GIVING, all of what He has done point us to where God wants us to lead. The revelation of Scriptures leads us back to Him and to enjoy His heavenly kingdom. He is about the business of reconciling rebellious men and women to Himself in order that He might have a vast family of sons and daughters who will love and worship Him in spirit and truth. His gifts of creation and redemption are therefore all to end this purpose. (Ephesians 1:3-14).

The Scriptures are always pointing us to what lies ahead. Our attention is always being directed to the age to come. God is about a great thing in history. He is about the restoration of his family and his kingdom. He is about the stupendous task of bringing together the nations into one family reversing the curse of the Fall. He is about the process of bringing to fruition the plan that was conceived at the very beginning to re-unite all things in Christ, in order that his creation might once again be brought back into its creational purity.

(from the Grace of Giving John Dunn)

Raul Pabilando

March 2012 Quiet Time Series

DAY 24

WE ARE LIKE A CLOTHES

John 1:29-30

Most often than not, we find washing soiled clothes tiring. But sometimes we are like those soiled clothes. We are soiled when we sin, so we need washing. And God is our washer.

But what if we’re not just soiled, but stained? Of course, we need a stain remover. God has a way of removing our stain. He let us undergo thorough cleaning until we’re like new and fresh again. He never allows us to remain dirty and to live in sin. God even sacrificed His own Son to cleanse us. Even in His process of cleaning us, He showed unconditional love.

To complete the washing out of our sins, He has given us the Bible, which I can compare to a fabric conditioner. It enables us to see and know God’s word that can give us a pleasing aroma before God.

Are you happy and confident now that we are already clean and good-scented because God has made us so? Let’s remain clean and good scented for Him. Let us never let go of His teachings and enjoy His great love for us.

Vivian Belmonte

March 2012 Quiet Time Series

DAY 23

THE WOMAN WAS HEALED

Matthew 9:22

I have shed tear over a particular hurt in my life. Though it is not a recent wound, it reopens when I am most fragile. Like many women, I live the daily stress distract me from the pain, but eventually the heart and mind return to the source of anxiety. I always ask forgiveness from God for holding this sorrow within my soul, for thinking I could fix it on my own.

This wound never mended because I have never reached out in desperation to Him. I wanted control over my hurts and sometimes, I was ashamed to come to Him. But day by day, He gave me the chances to bring back the faith to Him like the dead girl and the sick woman. God heals for I am His daughter once and for all.

Betty Belmonte

2012 Men's Forum

THE MEASURE OF A MAN...

It is not his height...

It is not his strength...

It is not his possessions...

It is not his career or position...

It is not in his talents and abilities....

It is his humility...

It is his learning and growth...

It is how he values God...

... the measure of a man is who he is before his Father.

CONGRATULATIONS BROTHERS!

The Men's Forum was a success last March 17, 2012.

To GOD be the glory!

March 2012 Quiet Time Series

DAY 22

From: JESUS KNEW HE DID NOT HAVE

TO CLOSE EVERY SALE TO BE A SUCCESS

Galatians 6:9, John 1:11-12

I don’t know where I got this quiet time lesson but I learned from this lesson during my times with God last February 8, 2004. I wrote down the things I learned and the notes that impacted me, as follows:

• “No” simply means “to ask again.”

• Rejection is not fatal. It is merely someone’s opinion.

• Jesus was also rejected but He didn’t quit.

• Jesus knew His worth. He did not give up but went to those whose hearts were open to His Word.

• Jesus knew that His critics and persecutors will die but His eternal plan will not.

• He was willing to experience a season of pain to create an eternity of gain.

• Goals and drams last longer than rejection. Sometimes we have to do things we hate (as long as it is not a sin) to create something we love.

• Someone needs me and my contribution is a necessity for that person.

• Move on.

• Jesus risked rejection to become the golden link between man and God.

• Be inspired to look for open people who will respond to God’s calling.

In the business world, success means a closed deal or a sale. But Jesus patiently went through rejections (upfront, harsh, discouraging and challenging rejections) and moved on. He fixed His eyes on the goal which is to lead as many as possible back to heaven with the Father.

I believe we are in the right track guys! Let’s continue to evangelize Bohol – pass or fail! Because for God, evangelism is surely worth more than any deals… each person we evangelize is worth the body and blood of Jesus!

January Samson