How important is Relationship for You?
• As we start another year, evaluate your sense of belongingness….
Please read Ecclesiastes 4: 8-12
• A man alone, without family or close friend will never be satisfied with a career and wealth.
• Life is about relationships, not possessions or accomplishments. We need a buddy to help us work and to help us up when we fall.
• Teamwork not only increases accomplishments, it makes work more enjoyable.
Reflection….
Learning to live in harmony with another is not an easy task. Our partnership both came into the relationship with our own needs, desires, views, and sometimes they may conflict. When differences arise, we will need to find ways to make our partnership a wing proposition for both of us.
Raqz Culango
DAY 18
PURE LOVE
1John 4:7-8
Everyone believes that love is important, but love is usually thought of as a feeling. In reality love is a choice and an action. Our God is the source of love. He loved us enough that He even sacrificed His son for us. God’s love always involved a choice and an action. We need to think also that our love should be like His’.
To think about:
How well do you display your love for God in the choices you make and the actions you take?
Julius Baga
DAY 17
WHAT SHOULD I BE, BUT JUST AS I AM
Romans 12:6
It’s not easy to overcome insecurities based on my experience. When I was a younger, I hate myself for being tanner than my siblings. I find myself ugly. I envy people with good heads, being able to talk in straight English in front of a large crowd. I envy tall people with super shiny straight hair and all of that good attributes of a lady. I self-pity and I kept asking why am I like this?
But I should know better. God wonderfully made me. He plans every single detail of me and He never left anything by chance. He made me exactly the way I am for a purpose. And our purpose is to complement each other. Where like the spaces between our fingers where somebody’s hand fits. These very words of him became the foundation of my self-acceptance. Each individual is made differently so it’s insensible to hurt ourselves by comparing our self to others. Personally, I thank God for creating me the way I am.
Ruby Digal
DAY 16
PRAYER FORMULA
Matthew 6:5-14
Does prayer have formula or techniques?
First, read the questions below; then I want you to close your eyes and ponder this question.
Q. In your Christian life; do you still remember the most intimate prayer you have experience or you have done?
For me, I could never forget the times in the hospital together with my brother who is sick and bedridden. I would sing songs christian songs to encourage myself. I feel hopeless at that moment. I know the sickness and it’s really scary. I am really begging and praying to God to heal my brother. I could never stop crying even just buying the diapers and medicines and even just walking it would really drop me into tears. I am thankful for that experience and truly God answer prayers.
As much as I could remember; there were no techniques and fluency on those times. I want to go back to that kind of prayer. I have goal this year to really grow in my times with God, especially in my prayer walk with Him.
I have been listening to prayer of leaders like Gordon Fergurson, Douglas Jacoby, Manong Rolan. I envy their prayers of how graciously they speak those words and their fluency in prayer. I just want to capture the heart on how to pray. But I can’t pray like those brothers and one of the best thing that I realize when you pray is to be yourself and it does require a consistent and constant practice. I see that God just want the real me. It doesn’t matter the fluency of words, the language you use but the heart behind prayer.
Let us always remember that what matters to God is our heart. I will leave these scriptures for us to ponder: Romans 8:26; Luke 18:9-14.
Raul Pabilando
DAY 15
WHEN YOU PRAY STAY FOCUS
Mark 1:35; Matthew 15:21; Mark 14:38; Luke 9:28
Have you ever been in a situation, wherein you don’t know what to pray?
I have been in this situation many times and it is a struggle for me. I need to search myself on how to overcome this.
There are factors that affect our intimacy in our prayers.
1. UNWORTHINESS-It is one of the hindrances that stop us to pray. The feeling of guilt and feeling of rejection from God because of our sins. The enemy would throw these arrows of guilt so that you will be able to overlook the grace of God.
True, we are unworthy in Gods eyes. But to overlook the love and the grace of God; this is a different story. The more we need to approach God for His forgiveness.
2. DISTRACTION-There will always be distraction because the enemy hates it once we are going close to God. He would do everything to make a wall that would shut our eyes before God.
I have read from this book practical and few techniques to deal with DISTRACTION and how to FOCUS on our prayers.
1. To suppress all interference from electronic devices. (TURN OFF CELLPHONES/SILENT MODE).
2. Have time to find a place where in you can have privacy, only for God.
3. To keep a piece of note paper and a pen on your side. (Any distractions that comes into your mind, write it down).
4. To incorporate the distractions into our prayers. (Distractions may become the substance of our encounter with God).
5. Make it special and have some effort on your prayers. (Put LOVE on it)
Prayer expresses a relationship between two persons, one of whom happens to be God.
Reality and honesty is what God wants.
• Do we still have faith in our prayers?
• How serious are we on our prayers?
Raul Pabilando
DAY 14
A GOD GIVEN LIFE
James 4:14-16
How do you see your life? What is your life like?
My life is like a roller coaster. It is full of ups and downs. It makes me realize that I have nothing to boast about myself. How I stand up every after test is not about me but through God who gave me life. God watches over me constantly. He is aware of every situation I’m facing. He saw how I reacted over trials. Therefore, I should be grateful for the life that I have with Him.
Challenge: Think one thing in your life that you will always be grateful having God.
Betty Belmonte
