The Sofa

Read: Acts 6:1-7

As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. —1 Peter 4:10

Bible in a year:
2 Kings 15-16; John 3:1-18

On one Saturday I was doing house chores with my wife while the kids are playing inside the house. I was in fact vacuuming the floor and I have to move things from there to there and back again. Have been struggling with our sectional sofa and when my kids saw me on this situation they came to me, put their young strength to work, and together we were able to right the sofa.

What happened that day and whenever it happens since we always have to clean reminds me of what can happen in the church. The “professionals,” the pastor and others who are trained to lead the church, face a task they can’t do alone. It’s often a struggle to get the work of the church done until laypeople join in and work alongside the leadership.

This was the situation in Acts 6. Some people in the church were being neglected, and the “professionals,” the apostles who were leading the church, realized they couldn’t do everything by themselves. Only when seven laypeople pitched in to help the leaders could the church proceed.

How can you come alongside your pastor and other leaders to help keep your church moving ahead?

O Lord, help me in every way

To have a faithful heart;
Teach me to love and serve Your church,
And always do my part. —Fitzhugh

Teamwork divides the effort and multiplies the effect.

Staying Late Nights

Read: Ephesians 6:1-6

. . . not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. —Ephesians 6:6

Bible in a year:
2 Kings 13-14; John 2

A few years ago and until today, some people would ask me why I stay late nights answering mails and attending calls when it is already beyond office hours. Jokes would fly like "Martyrs belong to Luneta" (Binabaril sa Luneta ang mga Martir). I just have to laugh it out and continue doing it though I know they laugh behind my back too.

In our house in Cavite, I usually bring my laptop out and place it on top of the car's trunk. I know, it's like bragging I have a laptop and showing it outside, but not really. I have to go out the house to get the best signal for my Wifi to connect to the network and attend a late evening call with my counterparts and bosses in the west.

Now I don't have to bring my laptop out because I don't need it anyway to get a signal, this part of the world where I am in has all the access to go online and not a single soul would know from the outside of my home and yet I continue to go attend evening calls and answer mail late in the evening to my counterparts now in the East.

What I can say is this, Believers, have a much higher calling when it comes to dealing with employers. In the Scriptures, we are encouraged to exhibit a respectful attitude toward those who supervise us: “Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart” (Eph. 6:5-6).

The right work ethic begins with a heart of sincerity in which we consider Jesus Christ our employer. We please Him when we diligently serve our boss and others in the workplace.

Whatever task you find to do,

Regardless if it’s big or small,
Perform it well, with all your heart,
Because there’s One who sees it all. —Sper

No matter who your boss is, you are really working for God.

A Little Piece Of Heaven

Read: Exodus 25:1-9

Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? —1 Corinthians 3:16

Three years ago, I met a woman who happened to be my classmate in college. I got to talk to her again after so many years and during our discussion, she revealed how depressed on how things are going on her life. I listened to her and talk things to my hurting former classmate.

To make the story short, I helped her got a new job, help her build back her confidence and she did.

With renewed hope for a better tomorrow, I believe that my former classmate experienced in some small way a little piece of heaven on earth.

When God instructed Moses to build the tabernacle according to His specifications, it was so that God’s people would sense His presence. I like to think of it as a little piece of heaven on earth. The temple was a physical example of God’s presence on earth also (1 Kings 5–8). The purpose of these holy places was for God to dwell among His people. This was God’s plan when Jesus, the perfect temple, “tabernacled” among us (John 1:14).

When Jesus ascended to heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit to indwell His followers (John 14:16-17), so that we would be God’s tabernacles and temples in the world (1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19). As God’s representatives of His presence, let’s find ways to bring the peace and hope of heaven to others on earth.

For Further Thought

Ask God to use you in the lives of others and to show you some ways to apply this devotional at work, in your home, and in your neighborhood.

A Christian who is willing to do little things for others can do great things for the Lord.

thedirtymind says:

I have visited a lot of buildings of different religions to find His presence until I realized those buildings are not the temple I was seeking. He had been with me all along in me and his Spirit resides in me though many times I always just shut the door and send him away... Good thing is, in His Mercy, he is always coming back to teach me, guide me and continuously Bless me with His Love.

Tangible Love

Read: John 19:25-30

When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!” —John 19:26

The Chester Beatty Library in Dublin, Ireland, houses a wonderful collection of ancient Bible fragments. One very small fragment is a portion of John 19. This piece of John’s gospel describes the moment, as Jesus was being crucified, when He spoke to His mother in a display of love and concern for her. The words are from verse 26, where we read, “When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, ‘Woman, behold your son!’ ”

As I stared at that ancient fragment, it struck me afresh how tangible Jesus’ love was for His mother and friend. With clear words He let the world know of His love and affection by showing His concern that Mary be cared for by His friend John when He was gone. Hanging on the cross, Jesus said to John, “‘Behold your mother!’ And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home” (v.27)

I think that today, on this Mother’s Day, would be a wonderful time to declare publicly your love for your mom if you still have her—or to give thanks to the Lord for her if she is no longer with you. Then show in some tangible ways how much you love her and how much she has meant to you

Since this priceless gift God gave us
Must from us one day depart,
Lavish her with love and kindness,
Real true love, with all your heart. —Stairs

God bless my mother; all I am or hope to be I owe to her. —Abraham Lincoln

Saturday of the Fifth week of Easter

Today the Church celebrates : St Victor

Reading :
cts of the Apostles 16:1-10.
He reached (also) Derbe and Lystra where there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek.
The brothers in Lystra and Iconium spoke highly of him,
and Paul wanted him to come along with him. On account of the Jews of that region, Paul had him circumcised, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.
As they traveled from city to city, they handed on to the people for observance the decisions reached by the apostles and presbyters in Jerusalem.
Day after day the churches grew stronger in faith and increased in number.
They traveled through the Phrygian and Galatian territory because they had been prevented by the holy Spirit from preaching the message in the province of Asia.
When they came to Mysia, they tried to go on into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them,
so they crossed through Mysia and came down to Troas.
During (the) night Paul had a vision. A Macedonian stood before him and implored him with these words, "Come over to Macedonia and help us."
When he had seen the vision, we sought passage to Macedonia at once, concluding that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them.

Psalms 100:2.3.5.
Worship the LORD with cries of gladness; come before him with joyful song.
Know that the LORD is God, our maker to whom we belong, whosepeople we are, God's well-tended flock.
good indeed is the LORD, Whose love endures forever, whose faithfulness lasts through every age.


Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 15:18-21.
If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first.
If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you.
Remember the word I spoke to you, 'No slave is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.
And they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know the one who sent me.


Commentary of the day : Saint Cyprian
"Because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you"

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 15:18-21.
If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first.
If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you.
Remember the word I spoke to you, 'No slave is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.
And they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know the one who sent me.

thesinfulmind says:

No matter what or where man goes, he will never exceed beyond Him... like everything else, we are all temporary... no matter how high we peak we will always go down and join the rest of the dust from where we came from.

Will you not enjoy every second of your life knowing you will never pass the same route again???

Becoming Inclined To God

Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus. — Colossians 3:17

I have learned much about the conscious remembrance of God from Brother Lawrence, a cook in a 17th-century monastery. In his book The Practice of the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence mentioned practical ways to “offer God your heart from time to time in the course of the day,” even in the midst of chores such as cooking or repairing shoes. One’s depth of spirituality, said Lawrence, does not depend on changing things you do but rather changing your motive—doing for God what you ordinarily do for yourself.

One of his eulogies said, “The good Brother found God everywhere, as much while he was repairing shoes as while he was praying . . . . It was God, not the task, he had in view. He knew that the more the task was against his natural inclinations, the greater was his love in offering it to God.”

That last comment affected my wife deeply. While working with senior citizens in downtown Chicago, she at times was called to do tasks that went beyond her natural inclinations. As she tackled some of the least desirable duties, she reminded herself to keep God and His glory in view. With effort, even the most difficult tasks can be performed and presented as an offering to God (Col. 3:17).

Follow with reverent steps the great example
Of Him whose holy work was doing good;
So shall the wide earth seem our Father’s temple,
Each loving life a psalm of gratitude. —Whittier

Duty alone is drudgery; duty with love is delight.

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thesinfulmind says

So not only blessings before meals, prayer when you wake up, prayer before you sleep but on everything we do we think of Him who gave us all graces... not only during our darkest and most sorrowful days but also when we have our happiest moments.

We tend to forget Him most of the time like when we don't have problems.... I do, others do. Are you one of us?

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 15:12-17.

This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.

No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command you.
I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.
It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.
This I command you: love one another

thesinfulmind says:

To be a friend of Jesus you have to love one another... but you have friends that you can love but you also have enemies or those people whom you cannot become friends with. How can you love your enemies when they are the ones who caused you so much pain and so much trouble that every time you wake up and open your eyes you feel the agony? It's there and it won't go away, will you love one another even your worst enemy?