DAY 26
YOUR FOCUS
2 Corinthians 4:18
Paul clarified that we need to fix our eyes not on
what is seen but what is unseen. What is seen is temporary, but what is unseen
is eternal. Our inner person is being renewed day by day.. Our focus doesn’t
need to be on the visible things, which are temporary, but instead on invisible
things, which are the promises of God – eternal life.
When eternity is our primary focus, we are more
courageous. We are able to recognize the
temporary nature of our troubles, which are momentary and light compared to the
highest weight of eternal gain it is promised by God.
Prayerfully, we will move as Christians. We need to concentrate, focus on the positive
side and lift up our eyes in heaven and start seeing God as He is and our life
through His perspective. Then we can be joyful and thankful in all circumstances. We need to focus, concentrate and fix our
eyes to the author and perfector of our faith which is God.
Julian Baga
DAY 27
LOVE YOUR FAMILY
1 Timothy 5:8
One of the special treasures that God gives to people
is the family. The bonds of love within a family are deep and go beyond words. I
have a simple family. We might not be,
shall I say, lucky enough to have the things what we wanted, and our deep
relationship maybe working silently, but I can say that we are happy deeply as
we gather together even if we can only do it often times. Sometimes I envy
other families, wishing that I could have that in my family too.
I know that I have the best family for me. We have
our parents who will do everything to provide us our basic needs with all the
best that they can. We have a loving and caring family who will always be there
in sickness and in health. My family is
one of my inspirations, through the years. I do all the things that I can to
provide them with a good life, a life that we are dreaming of. That is why our
loving God helps me to find a way to do that for them.
I believe that without God I can do nothing. But with
God, there is nothing that I can’t do. Building my relationship with God, being
a disciple of Jesus, helps me to realize that the best thing that I could
provide to my family is to give them the love and care in different ways that I
could. I am really excited and hoping that prayerfully, I could have them as my
spiritual family too.
What is the most important way to love our family and
provide for them? We can give them the chance to know and respond to the gospel
of Christ and bring them to God’s great family. Amen.
Alvin Comendador
DAY 28
DECISION MAKING – ASK: WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
John 8:31(NIV)
“If you abide in my word, then you are truly disciples of mine.”(John
8:31 NASB, 1978 edition)
In order to build your life on the Bible, it must become the
authoritative standard for your life. It must become the map you rely on when
you need direction, the counsel you listen to for making wise decisions, and
the benchmark you use for evaluating everything. The Bible must always have the
first and last word in your life.
Many of our troubles occur because we base our choices on unreliable
authorities: culture (“Everyone is doing it”), tradition (“We’ve always done
it”), reason (“It seemed logical”), or emotion (“It just felt right”). This is
very hard to see or even do when all of your life, you were programmed to follow
what your parents were doing or practicing, what tradition dictates, and what
religion says about morality or immorality. Yet, what we need is a perfect
standard that will never lead us in the wrong direction. Only God’s Word meets
that need: “Every word of God is flawless” (Proverbs 30:5a NIV).
The most important decision you can make today is to settle this issue
of what will be the ultimate authority for your life. Decide that regardless of
culture, tradition, reason, or emotion, you choose the Bible as your final
authority. When making decisions, determine to first ask, “What does the Bible
say?” Resolve that when God says you do something, you will trust God’s Word
and do it whether or not it makes sense or you feel like doing it.
Based on the current way you make decisions, who or what is the
ultimate authority in your life? How
would your life change if you always give God’s Word the final say? (Or, how
has your life changed since you gave God’s Word the final say?)
Annie Angel
DAY 29
ARE YOU REALLY A BROTHER/SISTER IN CHRIST?
Matthew 14:13-21
I have this question in my mind a while ago and it
inspired me to research the answers in the Bible. Does baptism alone make me a
sister to all of you? And the following are the results of my research:
• From Matthew 12:48-50
Aside from knowing God, His Words and participating
to His death and resurrection, I must do the Will of the Father in Heaven to be
recognized as your sister.
• From Ephesians 4:25 and Ephesians 4:29
Another thing is to speak truthfully to you,
remembering that it is God whom we intend to please and not one another. And
watching one another to be righteous is a way to please Him.
• From Ephesians 4:2
For it was God who chose you to be my brothers and sisters,
though you have characters that conflict with mine, I must learn to accept and
love you unconditionally.
• From Galatians 6:1-2
And finally, I must not be surprised if I am affected
by your situations. Because it is a proof that I weigh a part of your burdens
as your sister and vice versa. You weigh
a part of mine as well. But just a part, not the whole.
How about you? Are you a brother or sister too? God told us to meet together regularly
because He knows we need each other to enter the narrow gates of Heaven.
Rowena Digal
DAY 30
GOD IS NOT LIKE THOSE PEOPLE WHO REJECTED YOU
Psalm 27:10; Psalm 55:12-14
There are people who we could not please or win over,
who give us no attention or who give up on us. Who is this person in your life?
For me, it was my aunt. My aunt didn’t love me or like
me. My aunt passed away when I was 16. It took me a few months to think it
through. After I was twenty years old, I
came to understand that my view of my aunt was wrong. But it was my view and I was consciously
adopting it. I believed it within my deepest self but it was not my aunt’s
fault. It was just the way I took things. I would have done it with someone
else other than her. It was the way my mind worked. And because I deeply
embedded these thoughts in my mind and emotions, I easily transferred them to
God.
But God is not like us. God is always eager to
forgive and to have a relationship with us. He lets us make our own decisions,
but He is not like those people who rejected us. Whoever it was who rejected
you, perhaps they may not have really rejected you anyway.
Vivian Belmonte
