DAY 21
DON’T GIVE UP
Galatians 6:9
God knows we easily give up. At
times we throw our hands and say “I surrender. It has been too much. It is still too far to
go.” But Paul encourages us not to become weary. A harvest of righteousness will begin to
grow. Perhaps, it has grown already, we
just need to open our spiritual eyes and be grateful. Some things might not be
changing but someday or one day a fruit will bear and be ready or ripe for
harvest. It’s a promise. Let us continue
to persevere and fight the good fight.
Raul Pabilando
DAY 22
EVERYTHING IN HIS HANDS
Ecclesiastes 7:14
Times are good,
Times are bad,
A winding road
Shifting sands
But through it all
He understand
It’s in control, its in his hands..
Oh, I love this song! It reminds me of how God heals my wounded heart
from all the challenges and struggles I encountered each day of my life. But
through it all God is in control
Scripture to ponder: Ecclesiastes 7:14
When times are good, be happy
When times are bad, consider
God has made the one as well as the other.
Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future.
DAY 23
MAINTAINING SELF-CONTROL WHEN STRESS HITS
Proverbs 25:28
Have you tried to talk to yourself when you feel angry about a
particular person? Or sometimes our mind wants to explode and confront the
person who gives us stress in our lives.
Sometimes, there is miscommunication between me and my boss. I want to confront
him of some of his decisions. That is really in my mind, every time I feel
stress with all the things that he wants me to do. But because he is my boss, I
respect him, and of course, I don’t want to lose my job either.
The only reason why I am not giving up on my job until now, is because
I still remember that I am a disciple. Every time I feel upset with somebody, I
will go out to a place where I simply remind myself that God is in control. You may be at work, at home, or wherever, but
it’s always good to keep an eternal perspective when stress hits.
Maybe today, you need an eternal perspective in a stressful situation.
Perhaps you’ve even already snapped at someone and you need to apologize for
that. Whatever it is, remember that in the midst of stress, God wants you to
have self-control by remembering that He is the one who really has the control!
WHEN THE STRESSES OF LIFE HIT, MAINTAIN YOUR SELF-CONTROL BY
REMEMBERING THAT GOD IS THE ONE WHO’S REALLY IN CONTROL!
Halbert Tillor
DAY 24
WHO IS THE GREATEST IN GOD’S KINGDOM?
Matthew 18:1-4
Of all virtues, Jesus elevated meekness above the
rest. Why humility? It is the door opener to grace, and no virtue enters our
lives except that humility acknowledges our need and requests virtue to come.
Without humility, we see no reason to change or appropriate future grace.
Yet, humility not only hosts the other virtues, it is
also the life essence that sustains them. It is humility that recognizes when
love is growing cold and humility that confesses our need for greater purity.
Without humility, our virtues harden into lifeless statues; we are outwardly
religious, but inwardly unable to change.
Humility is the taproot of true nobility. For it
provides increase to wholeness, and life and maturity to all other virtues. It
is the antidote to Pharisee-ism and the cure for a Jezebelian attitude. - Francis Frangipane
A Child
Consider: when Jesus was asked by His disciples, “Who then is the
greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” He put a child in their midst. He said,
“Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the Kingdom
of Heaven” (Mathew 18:1,4).
In Heaven, the height of greatness is measured by the depth of one’s
humility.
Consider Wuest’s Expanded Translation of Jesus’ statement:
“Therefore, he who is of such a nature as to humble himself like this
little child, esteeming himself small inasmuch as he is so, thus thinking
truly, and because truly, therefore humbly of himself, this person is the
greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.”
Jesus came to establish Heaven in the lives of His followers. Thus, He
introduces the realm of God to His disciples with the words, “Blessed are the
poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:3).
The Kingdom of Heaven belongs to the “poor in spirit.” Who are these
poor? They are people who “know their need” . In God’s kingdom are filled with
people who, at some time or another, failed and fell short. There are
adulterers who’ve been washed and cleansed by Christ’s blood, ex-drug dealers
and prostitutes whose hearts are filled with praise to God – all who came face
to face with their need, repented and found forgiveness of their sins.
But there is not one proud individual in Heaven. There are no
self-righteous beings in Heaven. Here on
earth we see the prideful – the air of self-importance . We see unrepentant
pride in the conflicts that lead to disunity, envy and jealousy – in our
selfish desire to be glorified before other men.
Jesus said the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to the poor in spirit! Not the
perfect, but the poor. Yes, we are called to standards of perfection, and
strive we must toward that upward call. Yet, perfection in Heaven is measured,
not in degrees of self-sufficiency, but in degrees of dependency and surrender.
The disciples were arguing about who is greatest in the Kingdom. Jesus
placed a child in their midst. This is greatness in the Kingdom of Heaven: TO
POSSESS A HUMBLE HEART.... This is my greatest challenge as well.... How about
you?
Raqz Culango
DAY 25
PLEA
Psalm 31:1-5
I’m four days late in submitting my quiet time
contribution. I tried to write my quiet time two weeks before submission but
nothing good would come out from my head. I tried a couple and more strategies
to bring up the fire.
I tried reading the Bible to draw inspiration from
it, but I felt nothing. The words seem to stare back at me blankly. I tried
praying, but in the middle if my prayer I get distracted because my words
sounded empty. I could not put myself on it. I also tried reading inspirational
books but I could not feel anything about it. I understand the words but it
won’t go down to my heart. I tried cleaning the mirror hoping to see my self
clearly on it. But the only thing I saw was my oily face and my unkempt hair. I
know something was wrong with me but I could not put my finger on it. I am
totally perplexed. I wanted to talk to someone but I do not know where to
start. I don’t know how to say what’s in my head because I don’t understand
myself in the first place.
I know I needed help so I lay on Raq’s bed, stared at
the ceiling for sometime [as if there’s something interesting in there], reckoned
the things that had happened to me (especially those things that made me
downhearted), shed some tears (to complete my little scene of mellow drama),
then I took some really deep breathes and finally doing again my strategies on
the second paragraph, but doing the prayer first. I did the prayer with
pleading, begging God to cast all my insecurities away. But nothing changed
overnight. There is no short cut for my battle. I have to undergo a process and
I am going take it even if it hurts. I can’t quit now. I just can’t. So, help
me Lord.
Ruby Digal
