ACCEPT…

11- 21- 10 MI DAILY DEVOTION (Romans 10:9- 13)

ACCEPT…

9- “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10- For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11- For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 12- For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 13- For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

1- Accept that you are a sinner before God. (Romans 3:10, 23) 10- “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:” 23- “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” I know it’s not easy to humbly come before the presence of God and accept before Him your sinfulness and unworthiness and ask Him to forgive you of your sins. As you accept before God your sinfulness, it means that you also accept your hopelessness, your depravity and your need for the Blood of Christ to wash you and cleanse you of your sins. (Ephesians 1:7) “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;”

2- Accept Christ as your Lord and Savior. (John 1:12) “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:” When you accept Christ as your Lord and Savior, it means you also accept His Lordship, His shed Blood, His finished work at the Cross of Calvary and you also accept Him as the only Savior and the second person of the Holy trinity. You heard of people say that Christians made it so easy to go to Heaven. Actually, it was not the Christians who made it easy, it was the work of the Holy Trinity through the death of the Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross. Because of what He has done at the Cross; all we have to do is to accept it by faith.

3- Accept the free gift of salvation. The gift was offered, but the question is; would you be willing to accept that gift by humbly coming to God and accepting it by faith. (Romans 6:23; John 3:16) “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

THINGS TO BE THANKFUL TO GOD FOR…

11- 20- 10 MI DAILY DEVOTION (Psalm 100:1- 5)

THINGS TO BE THANKFUL TO GOD FOR…

1- “A Psalm of praise. Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. 2- Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. 3- Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 4- Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. 5- For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.”

(II Corinthians 9:15) “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.” (Psalms 30:12) “To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.” THINGS TO BE THANKFUL TO GOD FOR: Give thanks to God for your unspeakable gift. Let’s be thankful to God for the salvation that God gave us though our Lord Jesus Christ. We can also rejoice and be grateful for the spiritual blessings that He blessed us with. And we can also look forward to the heavenly places which God prepared for those who came to Him in humility of spirit for their salvation. Paul said that we have His grace and the Lord made us accepted in the beloved. One of the things that we may take for granted is “redemption through his blood”. It was not of money, blood of the animals or of man’s way, man’s will, manmade salvation, but through His blood. We can also look up to God with gratefulness for the forgiveness of our sins through Jesus Christ. The guilt, the dirty conscience and burdens is gone, because we were forgiven. Thank God for the brethren and pray for them. Keep them in your prayers and be thankful to God for the wisdom and knowledge from above. I’m so thankful to God for being a part of your life by sharing to you the Lord’s unspeakable gift and spiritual blessings through His Words of wisdom. Today, don’t hesitate to say, “Thank you…”

Ephesians 2:3-10 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:  6- To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. 7- In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; 16- Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; 17- That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:”

“Z”- ZEALOUSLY SERVE THE LORD (ON CHRISTIAN’s ABC’s)

11- 18- 10 MI DAILY DEVOTION (Joshua 24:14- 16)

“Z”- ZEALOUSLY SERVE THE LORD (ON CHRISTIAN’s ABC’s)

14- Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD. 15- And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. 16- And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods;

Some Christians, they have a misconception and different mindset when it comes to serving God. Some religious organizations or People would sometimes think that serving God would mean Pastorate or mission work at home or overseas. Some religious groups, their leadership will asked them to do things that are beyond our imaginations as their proof of their love and service to God. Some were trained to be a warrior while other religious organizations are training their converts and send them to foreign Countries to be missionaries in their own expense even if they’re not called to be one. When I was growing up in my home church where my parents used to go, I thought that the Pastors, missionaries, church leaders and deacons were the only group of people who were called to serve God. And I was thinking about my Dad who was one of those who served, but at night he would come home drunk. Back then, my Dad was not a Christian, but he was a good church member. So was he really serving the Lord? I don’t think so. In the process of time, the more I come to church, even on weekdays, the more I began to think that my presence at church was my deepest expression of my service to God. I was wrong because it should start from loving the Lord our God. Seven ways to serve the Lord: 1- Serve God from where you are 2- Serve Him for Who God is and what you have. 3- Serve God in whatever situation you are in right now. 4- Serve the Lord with what you have in your hands. 5- Serve the Lord by being a good parent, son or daughter… 6- You can serve God with your talents, time treasures. 7- Serve God faithfully and with sincerity. (Joshua 24:21- 22) 21- “And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the LORD. 22- And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the LORD, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses.”

“Y”- YIELD TO THE WORD OF GOD AND TO HIS WILL (ON CHRISTIAN’s ABC’s)

11- 17- 10 MI DAILY DEVOTION (II Chronicles 30:8)
“Y”- YIELD TO THE WORD OF GOD AND TO HIS WILL (ON CHRISTIAN’s ABC’s)
8- “Now be ye not stiffnecked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves unto the LORD, and enter into his sanctuary, which he hath sanctified for ever: and serve the LORD your God, that the fierceness of his wrath may turn away from you.”
One single word could change the course of your life and future. Just a single word could even leads to death, life, freedom, blessings and we can go on and on… The word “yield” is a very powerful word. If you yield to God for your salvation; your life will be changed, your destiny will be determined and your future will make a difference. One of the rules in a fight in Ultimate Fighting Championship is “submission”- a fighter taps on the mat or his opponent three times (or more) or verbally submits.” (Wikipedia) “Submission” is the synonym of “yield”. Indeed, unless we submit or yield ourselves to God, His Word and His will, we will never win. It’s opposite to the rules of whatever sports, especially in boxing or martial arts. In Christianity, the more we surrender, submit or yield the more we win. The more sin you surrender, the more you win over sin, Satan and self. Here in the United States of America and some parts of the world, we have a traffic rules in which whether you’re in a freeway or residential area; once you see the sign “yield”, it means you really have to yield and give way to the oncoming vehicles or the vehicles behind you as you’re driving in into the freeway.  You can get into a deadly accident if you will not yield. It’s just a single word, but it has made a lot of difference in traffic and in the lives of many. I had an accident with my wife few years ago, because a woman who was coming out from the subdivision did not yield to the vehicles with the right of way. It’s a good picture of what will happen to people who will not yield to God’s Word and will in their lives. (Romans 6:13, 16, 19) “Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. 16- Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? 19- I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.”

“X”- X RATED MOVIES AND MAGAZINES MUST BE AVOIDED (ON CHRISTIAN’s ABC’s)

11- 16- 10 MI DAILY DEVOTION (Psalm 101:2- 4)

“X”- X RATED MOVIES AND MAGAZINES MUST BE AVOIDED (ON CHRISTIAN’s ABC’s)

2- “I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. 3- I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me. 4- A froward heart shall depart from me: I will not know a wicked person.”

I skipped some of them because some of them are not very family friendly, but these are some of the 25 most searched on the Internet. Number 2 is “Porn”, number 9 is “sex”, number 12 is “girls”, number 13 is “free porn” and number 14 is lesbian. It’s just so sad that many of our Christian friends, love ones and religious leaders including those who are in politics are the victims. Everything about sin is available in the Internet which is just 1 click away from our fingers that of our children. Paul said, (Ephesians 6:11- 12) 11- “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12- For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

We have all kinds of entertainments on the Internet, hard copies, live shows, movies and television. The negative part of it is we don’t have any control of what they would put on our screen.

We need to put on the whole armour of God and pray. May we will pray the prayer of Jabez, “…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.” It’s only by the grace of God and by the strength of the Lord that we will be able to sustain, overcome and be on the top of any temptation. And may we would not be judgmental and we will not look down on those who were hooked by such sinful act, but we will be helpful and we will extend our open arms. They are the kind of people who really needs help, love, care and our full attention as we lift them up to Jesus.

On the Lord’s pattern or example and manner of prayer from the Book of (Matthew 6:13) “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”

“W”- WALK WISELY, WORK WISELY AND WORK HARD FOR GOD (ON CHRISTIAN’s ABC’s)

11- 15- 10 MI DAILY DEVOTION (I Samuel 18:5)

“W”- WALK WISELY, WORK WISELY AND WORK HARD FOR GOD (ON CHRISTIAN’s ABC’s)

5- “And David went out whithersoever Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely: and Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul's servants.”

David here became King Saul’s employee in his kingdom. In (I Samuel 18:14- 15; 30) “And David went out whithersoever Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely…” The reason why David behaved himself wisely was because of Saul’s sin of envy and jealousy. Saul was trying to kill David. Matthew Henry said, “…showing himself as dutiful as he was bold and courageous. Those that hope to rule must first learn to obey. He had approved himself a dutiful son to Jesse his father, and now a dutiful servant to Saul his master; those that are good in one relation it is to be hoped will be so in another.” (The Bible Collection) In (Proverbs 28:26) “He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.” What does it mean to walk wisely? It means we have to live and make decisions according to the wisdom of God. We don’t just walk and we don’t walk and make decisions according to the flesh, but in the Spirit.  Jesus said in (Matthew 10:16) “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.”

We also need to work hard and work wisely for our family, for ourselves and for God. In (II Chronicles 4:12) it says, “And the men did the work faithfully…” There is no room for laziness in our home. We have people who are very dependent to their love ones, to the Government or agencies, because they don’t want to work and don’t want to work hard. I remember when I was working for a company where I was in a stressful environment. It was until I decided to really think and plan on how I could do my job in an excellent way, while at the same time, I could work and do my job wisely and less stress on my part. You may asked the same question like the people during the Lord’s time when they asked Him; “What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?” In (John 6:28- 29) 28- “Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 29- Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.”

“U”- UNITY AMONG BRETHREN IS IMPORTANT (ON CHRISTIAN’s ABC’s); “V”- VALUE GOD’S BLESSINGS (ON CHRISTIANS ABC’s)

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.”