Daily devotional: The pressure

Daily devotional, March 02, 2024The pressure “Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.” Proverbs 31:8-9 Peer pressure is a real concern when raising teenagers. As teenagers, friends and classmates are one of the foremost influences…
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Daily devotional: The cheerleader

Daily devotional, February 28, 2024 The cheerleader “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11 One of the highlights of any opening program of a sporting event is the cheerdancing. Be it a professional league like basketball or football associations, or school-based sports competitions,…
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Daily devotional: Five-minute challenge

Daily devotional, February 27, 2024 Five-minute challenge “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!” Psalm 37:7 As followers of Jesus, we often hear the phrase “intimate relationship” with God. While it is easy to understand for some,…
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Daily devotional: Eye of the storm

Daily devotional, Feb 26, 2024 Eye of the storm

"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” 
John 16:33

Every school day of my life, I wake up to AM Radio news. My dad would listen to it as soon as he woke up. When the weather is terrible, I take pleasure in hearing from the radio announcer that classes are suspended. I know that most children my age are thrilled to hear the same. Adults however are not as happy because unlike children who would have to stay home and play all day, they would still have to work and brave the forces of nature.

The false sense of peace children feel as they relish class suspensions, can be likened to the peace felt by people who are oblivious to the oncoming consequences of their disobedience to God. Sooner or later, they will be met with the natural consequences of their actions (or inactions) and have to live with it.

"If you will not listen to the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the command of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you, as it was against your fathers." 1 Samuel 12:15

The false sense of peace can be brought about by the numbness in committing sins. When a person has become blinded by what he gets from deliberately disobeying God, he no longer feels restless or conflicted over committing his favorite sins.

In his letter to the Romans, St. Paul the Apostle reminded the church to resist the temptation to commit sins and instead, be a tool for righteousness.

"Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness." 
Romans 6:12-13

Seeking temporary sources of comfort could also provide short-term peace. When we turn to mindless consumption of digital garbage, overspend money, over-consume alcohol or abuse substances, over indulge on food or beauty fixes, or even cling on to bad relationships, we could feel a false sense of peace. What is alarming about this kind of “peace” is that it can blow up in our faces. It will surely complicate our problems further because instead of us seeking for a real solution to our issues, we turned to committing more sins to comfort ourselves.

In his letter to the Corinthian Church, St. Paul the Apostle reminded early Christians that as followers of the Lord, one must remain steadfast in faith, never sliding back to the old life. 

"Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." 
1 Corinthians 6:9-11

So what are we to do upon realising that the peace we feel is not the real, lasting peace that could finally calm our hearts and minds? We seek Jesus.

We can seek Him by praying earnestly, and sincerely wanting to hear from Him. We can seek Him by reading His words and trying our best to understand it and apply it in our lives. We seek Him when we consciously allot time for Him every single day, and do our best to not just be hearer of His words, but doers. 

Before His death, Jesus assured His disciples that He will bring them peace even in the most troubled times. And this is by giving them the greatest comforter, the Holy Spirit which could guide them in truth, love, and peace.

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." 
John 14:27

Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to ponder on Romans 6:20-23 to dig deeper on today’s topic.

Reflection QuestionDo you have peace in your life right now? Is it the peace that Jesus gives?

Conversation with the Lord: Heavenly Father, thank you for being my source of comfort and peace. Allow me to seek you every single day, and especially when I am facing difficult challenges. Amen.

Daily devotional: Play-doh

Isaiah 64:8
Isaiah 64:8

Daily devotional, Feb 19, 2024 Play-doh

"But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter;we are all the work of your hand." 
Isaiah 64:8

Play-dough will always be fun and fascinating. Most, if not all kids I have encountered love it. Even a former colleague had canisters of it in her table as part of her “therapy,” following a really bad break-up. She said she was advised to make something using her hands, and all she could think of was clay. And so she bought cans of it, and kept her mind and hands busy so she would not focus much on her crushed heart.

Apart from heartbreak, sinfulness can utterly crush our hearts into broken little pieces. When we come to terms with how far we have distanced ourselves from God, we will realize that we can never experience peace until we hand our hearts back to the one who molded us.

"Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature."
Genesis 2:7



And since the Lord does not despise a contrite heart, He reaches out to us with a loving embrace eager to re-mold us back to how He designed us to be. This is the exact message of God to the Prophet Jeremiah, as He reminded Him and His people that He is sovereign and that He is merciful and just:

“Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will let you hear my words.” So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. Then the word of the Lord came to me: “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the Lord. Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel." 
Jeremiah 18:2-6


We are much like the uncooperative clay in the Potter’s hand, as mentioned in the bible passage above. But once we come to our senses and realize that we have disobeyed the Lord, and have become sinful we give the Lord the opportunity to mold us to whom He wants us to be. Once we admit that we have turned into a stubborn and muddied clay, and decide to return to Him, He can work on us again and keep us from cracking or breaking apart.

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

Ephesians 2:10


The Apostle Paul reminds us that we are like clay vessels. He said we will always have a choice to be used for the Lord’s good works and that we can harness our full potential as followers of Jesus Christ:

"Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work." 
2 Timothy 2:20-21


So how do we ask God to repurpose us? Well the first step is to admit to our spiritual bankruptcy. We have to confess our sins to Him and repent. We have to genuinely regret that we lived away from His light and train ourselves to walk in His ways by following His commands and living in Christ-likeness. 

We have to make a conscious effort to obey God’s commands and live our faith. We can do this by praying to the Lord every single day, dedicating time to praise and worship Him, thanking Him for all that He has done for us. We also should tell Him about everything that happens to us and not just plead for favors. We have to earmark time to read and study His words, by ourselves and with other people, and worship Him at least once a week with other believers.

We have to realize that we cannot do it alone, and that we cannot depend on our own strength to go through this life — because in reality, we cannot. That would be like expecting an uprooted plant to survive without soil. 

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

2 Corinthians 5:17

Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to ponder on Jeremiah 18:1-10 and Romans 9:11-24 to dig deeper on today’s topic.

Reflection Question:  Do you need God to remold your life?

Conversation with the Lord: Heavenly Father, thank you for always being willing to work on me so that I could live Your purpose for my life. Pardon my sins, and cleanse me, so that You could use me for Your good works. Amen.

Daily devotional: Reduce

Romans 12:1
Romans 12:1

Daily devotional, February 15, 2024 Reduce

“Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.Do not be conformed to this world,but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:1-2

I grew up during the time when the word “reduce” was widely used to say that a person is trying to lose weight. The term was so commonplace that even local movie stars used the phrase “nagrereduce” to emphasize that they are eating less to slim down.

As followers of Jesus, “reduce” can be a useful word in terms of trying our best to lessen the sins that we commit as a form of sacrifice during lent. While fasting from food is an important part of a prayerful existence, consciously exerting effort to not break the Lord’s commands could help us in our goal towards a Christ-like existence.

"Assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self,which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness." 
Ephesians 4:21-24

As Rev. Fr. Dave Concepcion says, it is impossible for us people to be sinless, but we can “sin less.” This means, we can train ourselves to not be as sinful as we are now, by intentionally avoiding occasions where we commit our favorite sins.

So this Lent, apart from abstaining from meat and fasting, we should lessen the instances that lead us to sinning. We may not be successful in avoiding it altogether since only Jesus is sinless and perfect, but at least we can try, and we get to lessen our bad habits. We can hold on to what St. Paul the Apostle said as he encourages early Christians to refrain from giving in to their temptations:

"No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it." 
1 Corinthians 10:13

So what are the practical examples of these habits we can lessen? Well you can try “reducing” any of the following:1. Reduce hate in your life. Forgive those who may have hurt you before, and pray for them. Refrain from participating in hate fests — do not be a basher of anyone, and do not cancel another human being just because a lot of trendy people do. Just do not propagate and participate in any type of hate.

2. Reduce gossipping and rumor mongering. If retelling and commenting on confirmed or unconfirmed details of other people’s life or problems is part of the culture in your organization, family or circle of friends, then now is the time to quit participating in such a pastime. When it is time for everyone to talk about other people, leave the table and do something else. If you have the guts, call the head gossip out and tell her it is time to stop hurting others.

3. Reduce lying. If it is part of your habit to tell white lies, hard core lies, and all types of lies then work on gradually reducing occasions of lying until you feel very uncomfortable to not tell the truth. Keep away from instances that may lead you to lie, even if it is a seemingly harmless kind of lie.

4. Reduce covetousness. Start being happy for others, and quit or at least lessen your envy over material things, lifestyle, and even family circumstances. Each person is blessed in his own way so attempt at the very least to not look with envy in both real life situations and online. If hanging out in your social media feed makes you covet more, then now is the time to put down that phone, and be busy with something that is not going to lead you to sin.

5. Reduce greed. When we over book our schedules and spread ourselves too thin we may be getting greedy about power, possessions, and pleasure. Examine your reasons for being so busy that even your children can no longer spend time with you. If it is because you want to earn more money, or make a bigger name for yourself or for your business, then now may be a good time to start reducing your speed, and try being unbusy.

6. Reduce gluttony. When you do not treat your body as the temple of the Holy Spirit and you don’t share your resources with others, you tend to gulp down everything your money can buy. You get too heavy for your liking and you soon contract lifestyle diseases you are too young to have. You pass on this trait to your children too, so look, is the weighing scale trying to tell your family something? Maybe it is time to re-assess your food choices and wellness habits. Maybe it is time to divert some of those extra resources to the undernourished who badly need nutritious food?

7. Reduce tactlessness. Even the scriptures acknowledge that it is challenging to tame the tongue, and so why not take on the challenge this lent? Reduce cuss words from your vocabulary, try to be more gracious in your speech, especially to those you love most.

Perfection can never be attained but as sinners saved by the grace of God, our sanctification process will remain on going while we are still alive. Hence, our sacrifices to reduce sinning should not end on Easter Sunday, it should end when we hear our Lord and Savior tell us “well done, my good and faithful servant.”

Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to ponder on Ephesians 4:17-32, Romans 12:1-2, and Luke 9:23-25 to dig deeper on today’s topic.

Reflection Question What sins should you try your best to veer away from?

Conversation with the Lord: Heavenly Father, please help me as I try to avoid occasions of sinning. I love you with all my heart and would like to please you and live a life that is glorifying to you. Empower me and give me the fortitude to follow your example of righteousness and abide by all your commands. Amen.

Daily devotional: The “harm” in “harmless”

Daily devotional, Feb 13, 2024 The “harm” in “harmless” “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.” Ephesians 5:11 Some consider occult practices as child-play, some describe it as “harmless” fun. Some get curious because they saw it on a show or movie or even on social media. Some on…
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Daily devotional: Highway of blessings

Daily devotional, Feb 8, 2024 Highway of Blessing “The blessing of the Lord makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it.” Proverbs 10:22 Many years ago as a student driver, I got really clammy whenever my Driving Instructor took me to the big highways. I was intimidated by the wide multi-lane roads that had big intersections,…
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Daily devotional: Weighted blankets

Daily devotional, February 03, 2024 Weighted blanket “Let your steadfast love comfort me according to your promise to your servant.” Psalm 119:76 25 years ago studies about a blanket that could provide relief and comfort for those in the autism spectrum or having mental health issues bore fruit. Heavy comforters, or bean filled blankets offered…
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Daily devotional: Sins of the mind

Daily devotional, January 24, 2024 Sins of the mind “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.” Matthew 15:19 My favorite bible teacher always says that the Christian life is a supernatural life. That without Jesus Christ in our midst, it would really be very hard to…
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Daily devotional: Four new habits for a more joyful 2024

Daily devotional, January 18, 2024 Four new habits for a more joyful 2024 “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 They say that habits are formed after six weeks, and if a person wants to develop a new one he…
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Daily devotional: Regular recalibration

Daily Devotional, Jan 12, 2024 Recalibration “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” Hebrews 10:22 Calibration is essential in ensuring the accuracy of testing equipment and precision machines. Gauges, readers, and meters all…
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