11- 13- 10 MI DAILY DEVOTION (Proverbs 30:25; 27)
“U”- UNITY AMONG BRETHREN IS IMPORTANT (ON CHRISTIAN’s ABC’s)
25- “The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer; 27- The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands;”
“Ants have often been used in fables and children's stories to represent industriousness and cooperative effort. They are also mentioned in religious texts, In the Book of Proverbs in the Bible, ants are held up as a good example for humans for their hard work and cooperation.” (Wikipedia, “In Culture”)
Unite and unconditionally love others. It’s so easy to stand united, if love is present. After 9/11, a car sticker become so popular in the United States which says, “United we stand, divided we fall”. No wonder Jesus said in (John 13:35) “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
Negotiate and never complain on anything at anytime. There are people who are negative and very hard to get along with; they complain even on good things and sometimes they’re not into fair and peaceful negotiations. Negotiate with them.
Initiate and inspire others to do the same. Initiate reconciliation and initiate something for doors of unity among brethren, opportunity for God and love for each other. We should be the key for the open doors so others could follow.
Team work and to team up with others is very important. “Bayanihan is a Filipino term taken from the word bayan, referring to a nation, town or community. The whole term bayanihan refers to a spirit of communal unity or effort to achieve a particular objective... The origin of the term bayanihan can be traced from a common tradition in Philippine towns where community members volunteer to help a family move to a new place. The process involves literally carrying the house to its new location. This is done by putting bamboo poles forming a strong frame to lift the stilts from the ground and carrying the whole house with the men positioned at the ends of each pole. (. (Wikipedia; Bayanihan, Etymology)Encourage others and evaluate yourself and not your fellow Christians or fellowmen. (Psalm 133:1) “A Song of degrees of David. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!”
11- 14- 10 MI DAILY DEVOTION (I Chronicles 4:9- 10)
“V”- VALUE GOD’S BLESSINGS (ON CHRISTIANS ABC’s)
9- “And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow. 10- And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.”
The Lord’s Blessings come in different forms. I asked my group 2 different questions one day: 1- if they have prayed for God’s blessings that day and everybody raised their hands. 2- “How many of you asked the Lord for a specific blessing?” Nobody raised their hand. We asked God for general blessings and even forget to thank Him for one small thing. We expect God to do some miracles for us and we overlooked to thank Him for the little things that we enjoyed. Jabez prayed, “…Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed” We have general blessings and we also have individual and special blessings; but the problem is, we sometimes don’t take pleasures and value with what God has given us. Value God’s blessings of having your family and love ones with you and the freedom to serve the Lord and being used by God for His kingdom. Do you know what it means to be away from home for a long time and what it means to lost a love ones or watching a love ones leaves for some reasons? Others don’t have any idea how it would feel to be financially distress. Some they don’t know the feelings of going to bed with empty stomach. Others are suffering with health issues in spite of their love for God and their family; while some are abusing their bodies with alcohol, cigarettes and drugs… and were unthankful to God. Sometimes people are only thankful on special holidays. Here’s one of my favorite hymns: “When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed, when you are discouraged, thinking all is lost, Count your many blessings, name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done. Count your blessings, name them one by one, Count your blessings, see what God hath done! Count your blessings, name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done. So, amid the conflict whether great or small, Do not be disheartened, God is over all; Count your many blessings, angels will attend, Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.” (Johnson Oatman Jr., by Edwin Excell (Chicago, Illinois: 1897). Paul said in (I Thessalonians 5:18) “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
