DAY 13
BECAUSE I’M NORMAL
Psalm 13
When I’m angry with something or someone I prefer to be alone in the room. Like David, I pour out all my heart’s contents. I talk to God through writing. I’d use words which I feel like using. I don’t care! I want to empty my heart so that when I’ll go out from the room, I can face the world anew.
When I’m mad with my friends, my resort is to write like crazy. I’ll write all the things those abominable attitudes that they have-that hurt me. I just can’t blurt those despicable attitudes that they have (even if I really want to) right at their faces because it will turn things to worse.
It’s just that I don’t feel terrible if I get sad or down or momentarily stop believing in sunshine. I let myself to feel empty or lost or not to smile. And I tolerate those days when I just want to sit a day out because I’m tired or blue. It helps me to take a grip of my sanity. Anyway, everybody gets sad sometimes, right?
Just that, I always ask God to stay at my side though all things and beg Him to hold me always. Amen.
Ruby Digal
DAY 12
DEVELOPING AN EYE FOR EMOTIONS
Isaiah 59:9-13
Emotion is a word pointing our strong feeling when we are happy, excited, sad, worried, and afraid. And in the writings of Isaiah, it is defined as the lies our hearts conceive. As I ponder on this verses, I came to categorize emotions into two: emotions that bring us HIGH (like happiness and excitement) and emotions that bring us LOW (such as sadness, anxiety, and fear) which is portrayed in Isaiah 59:9-13. And both these emotions can be threats. Emotion, being defined as a strong feeling (not just an ordinary feeling) brings a red alert on our hearts.
HIGH
• Emotions blind our eyes.
When we are overjoyed with our success and achievements, there is a big possibility that we recognize it as the fruit of our labor and of nobody else including God.
• Emotions make us godless.
When we are proud of ourselves, we boast that we can make everything possible and that the ultimate proof is the technology of the era. And at this point, we become godless, believing that we don’t need God to intercede in our lives.
• HIGH emotions can be battled with gratefulness and gratitude towards God.
LOW
• Emotions versus HOPE.
Emotions immediately give birth to worst scenarios that loosen our grip to God’s promise.
• Emotions decay our STRENGTH.
The bad illusions that emotion creates flashes repetitively in our minds, causing us to be stuck, softening our bones, preventing us from moving and consumes our energy thinking on the bad things that are happening or about to happen.
• Emotions drives us to feel ALONE and HELPLESS.
When you feel you are bounded by high, thick walls, you’re totally consumed by your emotion.
• Emotions make us Rebels.
This possibly happens when we have the habit of accusing others as the cause of our sufferings.
• Evaluating LOW emotion, it is a great deal destructive to our relationship with God and the church. We better resist it by submitting our EVERYTHING to God, being SECURE in His promises and TRUSTING on His amazing grace.
Let us be aware that our emotion can be our ultimate enemy.
Rowena Digal
DAY 11
SECURE IN HEART
Romans 8:10
The second book I am reading is entitled “Secure in Heart” by Robin Weidner-a sister from Chicago. These are the things I’ve learned from her.
1. Security in heart is our most precious gift from God-the ultimate overflowing of his goodness to us.
2. Security usually doesn’t come from everything in life going well, but instead through trials and sufferings (Rom. 8:10)
3. What does it mean (for a woman) to be secure in heart? Bottom line, it means knowing that through the resurrection of Jesus, our own personal great Shepherd that we have been equipped with everything we need to do His will. It’s a confidence that He will work in us everything that is pleasing to Him. It is believing that our lives will bring Him glory forever and ever. It’s trusting that the covenant between us and God is eternal. And it’s looking to Him as our only true source of security.
But (sisters), this security we were created for won’t come easily. It won’t come as an “aha!” moment at the end of a sermon or preaching or as the result of a particularly great quiet time with God. It won’t come because someone exhorted us to “Be secure!” and it certainly won’t come because you’ve willed yourself to be secure. Security will come because with God and Christ at your side, you’ve battled for it.
Irene Glinogo
DAY 10
A KINGDOM-FOCUSED LOVE
1 Corinthians 28
Remembering my early years as a disciple gives me a lot of encouragement. Looking back on past quiet times helps me to be grateful to God for teaching me and walking with me for the past years. I’d like to share one of my previous quiet times. This was last February 13, 2004. I learned that our love for God should move us to build His Kingdom.
• Have a desire in your heart to build God’s Kingdom.
• Then have a plan and vision to build God’s Kingdom.
• Even if God will not allow you to build His Kingdom, this should not limit us but rather this needs to inspire us to help others build His Church.
• Share your heart to others so they too may be encouraged to dream for God’s Church.
• Let us be unswerving in carrying God’s Word and will. Let’s teach others to hold on to God’s teachings or to do the same.
• Acknowledge God. Serve Him with wholehearted devotion and a willing mind.
• Always seek God and be strong to do the work He has prepared for us.
• God Himself will give us understanding in the details of the plan. We should not be afraid or discouraged for God is with us. God will not fail or forsake us until all the work for the service of His Kingdom will be finished.
I can still remember how in those days, we were always reminded to have a kingdom-focus… how we need to put the interest and what is best for God’s Kingdom as a priority more than our own. I believe the same conviction needs to be recommitted today.
May we be one in heart to have a Kingdom-focus here in Bohol!
January Samson
DAY 9
SEEING GOD’S WORK IN YOUR LIFE
Romans 6:19
God’s work is like a construction business. From the beginning of the Bible to the very end, God is always at work building something.
You’ll see His creative work in Genesis chapter 1, when He created the heavens and the earth. He then made man in His own image and created him after His own likeness. Then there was the building of the ark when Noah was led by God and given building plans for the formation of that ship that delivered them from of God’s judgment. And then later on there was the building of the tabernacle, and then the temple.
Then, when Jesus came to this earth, what was His profession? He was a carpenter! And He made things physically with His hands and, beyond that, said, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).
And you know something? God is building you, too. It’s called “sanctification” and He’s doing it in you every day as He makes you more and more like Him. So if you struggle with sin, don’t let it get you down. Just imagine a big orange sign over your head that says, “God at work”!
AS A CHRISTIAN, YOU SPEND YOUR ENTIRE LIFE AS GOD’S CONSTRUCTION PROJECT, BEING MADE MORE LIKE HIM. SO DON’T LET YOUR STRUGGLES GET YOU DOWN. YOU’RE A WORK IN PROGRESS!
Halbert Tillor
HIDDEN TREASURE
Ephesians 1:3
There is no way to comprehend the riches God has provided for those who love his son. He has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessings.
In Christ, we have all the benefits of knowing God.
• Being chosen for salvation
• Forgiveness
• Insights
• The gifts of the Holy Spirit
• Power to do God’s will
• The hope of living forever with Christ.
Jesus said:
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field”. Mt. 13:44
The good news is, if we love the Son of God, we inherit all the riches of the Father. If we believe in Christ, we have treasures beyond imagination.
Julian Baga
WE ARE WORK IN PROGRESS
Philippians 2:13
We as disciples are taught that spiritual growth is a lifetime affair.
In Romans 8:29 says, “For those God for knew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” But often we are impatient with the speed with which God works. Because God knows His way is the best way, he actually takes a lifetime for the process!
In addition to acknowledging God’s slow and progressive work in us, it is necessary for us to more closely match our speed to His. Almost all of us believe that fast is better. We don’t like waiting at traffic lights. We look for the shortest line at the store or bank. We are impatient if the clerk is not—in our opinion—working efficiently. How about our times with God? How much time do we spend our bible reading and prayer times? Is it sufficient enough? Or we also wanted the shortest and the fastest way?
For God’s work to be best accomplished in us, we must learn to slow to His pace. We must observe the signs: Slow Down: work in Progress.
Raquel Culango
DAY 6
CHRISTIANITY TAKES TIME
Philippians 1:6
Have you ever evaluated your traits and found out you haven’t changed into someone Christ-like? If yes, I did too. I did feel impatient when the character I wanted to remove came back in the time when I was in hard situation. From then on, I said that Christianity takes time.
According to Rick Warren on his book “Purpose Driven Life”, there are five reasons why becoming Christ-like takes time:
1. We are slow learners – We have to learn a lesson again and again. We think that we already know but the fact that we encounter it again, it means we haven’t gotten it fully. God knows better. We, humans easily forget what God teaches us.
2. We have a lot to unlearn – We have many undesirable behaviors and characters that we need first to shed off before we become Christians.
3. We are afraid to humbly face the truth about ourselves – Before we could shed off our undesirable behavior and characters, we have to humbly evaluate ourselves and accept we have it.
4. Growth is often painful and scary – There’s no growth without change, there is no change without loss, and there is no loss without pain. And often it’s the reason why we hesitate to grow up.
5. Habits take time to develop – A certain bad habit develop in years. Also, we must consider that inverting this habits take time.
But though it takes time to be finally Christ-like, it was said in Phil. 1:6 that God will carry it on to completion before the day comes. No doubt, we will all become Christians.
Rowena Digal
DAY 5
REPENTANCE
Romans 2:4
I am just inspired and convicted of the book I was reading in the month of January. Please allow me to quote two of the many lessons of Edward J. Anton, the author.
1. Repentance isn’t something that we do so that we can return to God. Rather, repentance is our return to him. (page 63)
2. Did they repent and enter the kingdom? Jesus leaves that part of the story unwritten. As we all mature in Christ, we inevitably face the perils of the older son. Perhaps we who are sanctified, we who are experts in the Bible, were meant to write an ending through our repentance.
Below is my meaning of the acronym.
R-remove
E-everything that
P-prevents you from
E-entering to the
N-never ending
T-truth
I am very thankful to God because, he designed the Discipler–Disciple relationship. I thank God for Annie Abing Angel, my discipler this year, 2012 because she helped me take away the obstacles (sins) that stopped me from enjoying my walk with God. Actually, God used her for me to be set free again. (James 5:16a)
Irene Glinogo
A THANKFUL HEART
Philippians 1:3
A thankful heart is essential for true spiritual service. Even Paul expressed thanks to God for the people he remembered. Paul also knew what is in the heart of a true servant of God – an attitude or gratitude. Now if we are trying to serve the Lord without gratitude in our hearts for what He has done to us, then we are serving in the flesh with improper motives. The person who is thankful realizes that God has a reason for everything that happens.
The question now is: Do we have a thankful heart? Are we overwhelmed with thanksgiving for what God has done?
Julian Baga
DAY 3
GREAT FAITH!
Hebrews 11:1-40
Hebrews 11:1 - Now Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
vs. 6 - Without Faith it is impossible to please God.
When I read this passage again during my quiet time this week, it encouraged me to be reminded of the great faith of the people in the Old Testament. They have shown such incredible faith to God. It was not an easy thing; uncertainty lies ahead of them. Most of the times, their faith were tested. Abraham offered his son as a sacrifice. In holy fear, Noah built an Ark. Moses and even those less mentioned in the bible made an impact in their times and even until now. My heart is touched by their conviction of faith. Because of faith, they pleased God and by their faith they were commended and rewarded by God.
To ponder: What stops you from having great faith? What makes you fearful? What hinders you from being hopeful?
For 15 years as a disciple, there were times I struggled with having faith – a faith to see the impossible. I sometimes lose faith of believing that I can change and overcome my weaknesses and sins in life. To believe that God is working in my dating life. To be set free from financial crisis. To have a good career path. To have a successful ministry. To believe that I can be used powerfully as a missionary here in Bohol, etc. In some point, I was a candidate of losing faith especially when things seem like falling apart.
Although I have changed many things since I came here in Bohol, I have built great and big dreams in my heart. Some dreams are attainable and most of those, I lift up to God. For with Him, everything is possible for those who believe. My wildest dream is to see a foreign ministry and a lot more exciting dreams.
Conclusion: God works for you and me. Let’s work on our faith. We all have some successful stories of faith in our lives. Cling on! Hang on to God! When we surrender to God, many things can happen. Faith grows. Life changes. Let’s not give up when we only see the shadow of our dreams. Even if there is no shadow, yet let us keep on believing and have the faith that pleases God.
The bible teaches us a lot of stories about faith. It is very true. We can make a difference in our times today. We can make a history of our own faith in God. Let that faith begin now.
DAY 2
HOW TO BE LIKE CHRIST
Philippians 2:5-11
Romeo Samson Jr.
