roman guevara

ROMAN GUEVARA
Daily Devotional Reading

“Public Worship, Private Blessings”

Scripture

Acts 16:25-28

²⁵About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. ²⁷The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. ²⁸But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”

A really long read? I know………….. And to some of my friends who just don’t like reading lengthy articles, (and lengthy verses), my apologies.   I trust that inspite of, well everything, that’s going on in our lives, still, the Spirit of God will speak to you today, and make his message clear and practical.

Why is the title of this devotional “Public Worship, Private Blessings”?

Si Paul kasi, at ang kanyang companion, si Silas, nakulong.

Nakulong sila dahil minsan silang nangaral ng Salita ng Diyos. Along the way, napalayas nila ang masamang espiritu na sumasanib sa isang slave girl. E kaso, yung slave girl, pagmamay ari ng isang negosyante. Ikinagalit nila na napalayas ang masamang espiritu sa kanilang slave girl, kasi, somehow, binibigyan ng masamang espiritu na ito, ng kapangyarihan ang nasabing slave girl, na magfortune telling.

Raket. Gimik. Isang malaki at kumikitang business!

E napalayas nga ni Paul, kaya natsugi ang fortune telling business. Sa galit ng negosyante, ginamit nito ang kanyang influence, at nakulong si Paul at ang kasama nito, si Silas.

What do you call that? Injustice. Nangyayari na nung araw pa yan. It happened then. It still happening now.

What else can you call that? Irony? Malas?

I’m sure others can think of better terms, however, hindi bat nangyayari naman talaga sa maraming tao yung, gumagawa kana ng tama, tapus napapahamak ka pa? O di naman kaya sa christians, sa workers sa ministry, hindi bat nakakaranas din tayo ng mga unexplainable trials, sometimes even suffering and tragedies?

A Pastor na iniwan ng kanyang asawa for his best friend; a worship leader who lost his daughter because nasagasaan ng kanyang son ang daughter ng sasakyan; a faithful tither or donor who got bankrupt; or a committed church volunteer na nagkaroon ng malalang cancer. At marami pang iba.

Hindi naman kasi laging puro masaya at puro jubilant blessings ang christian life.

Me trials din talaga.

Ang point…..Paul was just like us. Nakaranas din siya ng mga matitinding pagsubok. Like being sent to prison for doing the right thing.

What do others do? Well some, sadly, would begin to blame whoever.

Ministry. The people they are with. And sometimes even God. Others would begin to complain. Even to regret doing the right thing. Rebel. Magmukmok. And worse of all, lose faith.

But Paul showed us a better response to unexplainable and difficult trials…he worshipped God. And he did so, for all the world to hear and see. He worshipped publicly!

In doing so, e, nakatanggap siya ng (5) private blessings, as a result of his public worship.

1.) COMFORT

Acts 16:19-25

¹⁹When the owners of the slave girl realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. ²⁰They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar ²¹by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.”

²²The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten. ²³After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. ²⁴Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

²⁵About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

Grabe yung ginawa sa kanila! Kinaladkad, pinagtulungan, pinahiya, binugbog.  But what did they do? They worshipped pa rin. Kasi alam nila, in all of our burdens, trials, temptations, the best option parin is to worship God. Because when we worship God, we get his comfort. Yung hindi natin naiintindihan, pinapalitan niya ng kapayapaan. The peace that the world cannot give.

2.) MIRACLES

Acts 16:26

²⁶Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose.

Pagnagwoworship, nobody can stop God from performing miracles. Me gumagaling sa karamdaman. Me nahihilom ang wounded at broken heart. Me nagbabalik loob sa Diyos. In Paul’s case, nung nagworship siya, nagpadala si Lord ng earthquake, at nagbukasan ang mga selda sa kulungan. It happened then. It can still happen now. Basta gusto ni Lord, you better believe it, miracles can still happen, specially, when we worship God.

3.) SALVATION

Acts 16:27-34

²⁷The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. ²⁸But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”

²⁹The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. ³⁰He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

³¹They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” ³²Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. ³³At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized. ³⁴The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole family.

Pagnagwoworship tayo together, something powerful happens. And what is that? God manifests himself somehow, and he makes his presence felt. Nararamdaman ng tao ang presensya ng Diyos, lalo na, pag tayo ay sumasamba sa kanya. This brings all people, including unbelievers, to the realization, that God indeed exists. And he touches people. He convicts people to come to him. To the point that this leads many, even among those that initially did not believe, to come to God for salvation. Sila pa minsan ang magtatanong, papanu ba maging Christian. Why? Because they say and felt God’s presence as christians worshipped the LOrd.

4.) FREEDOM

Acts 16:35-36

³⁵When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: “Release those men.” ³⁶The jailer told Paul, “The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace.”

Bagamat yung freedom ni Paul at ni Silas dito ay actual, physical release from prison, still, we can see here, that when people worship, God gives people freedom. Many have been released from their worries, fears, resentments, and burdens, as they have learned to surrender everything to God, in sincere, wholehearted worship. Many can be set free from their addictions, bondages, dungeons. Be they man made or truly spiritual in nature.  Indeed, one of the blessings of worship, is to be free, in Jesus name.

5.) DIGNITY

Acts 16:37-40
³⁷But Paul said to the officers: “They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.”

³⁸The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed. ³⁹They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city. ⁴⁰After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers and encouraged them. Then they left.

Hindi sila dapat nakulong. Kung papaano sila nakulong, at kung ano ano ang ginawa sa kanila as they were sent to prison, is just totally an example of terrible injustice. Hindi bat minsan nararanasan natin na tayo ay malamangan, matapakan, maagawan, mapagtaksilan, maapi, at masaktan? Minsan pa ng ating sariling mga kamag anak, kaibigan, kasama sa ministry, at pati na minsan ng sariling asawa at anak. It happens. It happened then. It’s still happening to some people.  But thanks be to God, he is still the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He is still on the throne. He is in full in control. Alam niya ang ginagawa niya. When people worship, they can be assured, that one day, God will do his will for us. And he loves us. And he will bless us. He will restore our dignity, like he restored the dignity of Paul and Silas, when they were unjustly imprisoned. God is good!

Let the Lord speak to our hearts today.

May our reading for today, encourage us, to worship the Lord, inspite of all our dealings and burdens in life.

Ikaw kapatid? Anu ano ba ang trials na pinagdadaanan mo ngayun?

How do you cope?

What do you do when you are faced with difficult trials and testings?

A PRAYER FOR TODAY

Praise you Lord for you are good, for your mercies are new each day. I come to you Lord with all my heart, asking you God, to fill me today, with your love, joy, and peace. Touch my heart LOrd, renew my mind, and refresh my soul. Enable me to worship you in spirit and in truth. To not hold back, but to offer to you everything. All that is within me. All that is in my heart. I rejoice in knowing, that God is greater than all my worries and fears; than all my hurts and pain; than all my discouragements and difficulties. I trust in your great power Lord; in your great love. And i accept today, Lord, all your infinite blessings for me, in Jesus name, amen.

IF YOU HAVE BEEN ENCOURAGED BY TODAYS DEVOTIONAL, AND THE ONES BEFORE IT, FEEL FREE TO RECOPY, REPOST, OR LINK TO YOUR SITE, THANKS AND GOD BLESS.

This entry was posted on Friday, September 5th, 2008 at 2:38 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.