Eightentacles

18/03/2020

⭐️ LAWS OF LOVE
DIDACHE : MAR 18,2020

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.” – Matthew 5:17

Beating the red light. Going beyond the speed limit. Not using the right lane. Not using the pedestrian lane. And a lot more.
I’m guilty of all these.
Driving in Manila is always a challenge for me. It’s not so much the driving but the following of the law. I always want to get ahead and reach my destination faster. So I disregard some laws now and then.
I get away with it sometimes, but there have been a few times when I was flagged down. And a lot of other drivers have blasted their horns in anger because of how I drive. That’s how I know I did something wrong.
We can connect this simple lesson with God’s law, too.
How do we respond to Him? Do we resist? Do we try to break His commands so we can get ahead? Or do we trust that even if it makes our journey slower or more difficult, we obey because we believe that it’s for our best?
Because it is.
May we be reminded that He put in place all these laws because He loves us.
And that’s that. Paolo Galia ([email protected])

Reflect: What are God’s laws that you often don’t follow? What can you do today to change that?

Dear Lord, help me to always follow You. Remind me that Your ways are always better than mine. Amen.

17/03/2020

16/03/2020

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.
Deuteronomy 31:6

14/03/2020

LOST
(DIDACHE : Mar 14, 2020)

“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” – Luke 15:2

Do you know that Jesus told the great Parables of the Lost Sheep, Coin, and Son as a reply to the remark above from the Pharisees and teachers of the law? In these parables, our Lord said that He came for sinners; that “there is more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”
Now do you see who was really lost—from understanding what the mission truly is?
I’ve been serving in church for about three decades now. But don’t think all I do was stay inside the church with “religious people.” Because I’m still very much “in the world”—with secular people, people in government and showbiz, and the unchurched. I’m not saying that these people are lost and I’m there to save them. Because somehow, I consider myself lost too—and only found again and again by God’s grace. But I believe the purpose of why I found the Lord in my life is to bring Him to others—to go and find them and not just wait for them to come to church. After all, Jesus welcomed sinners and ate with them.
Yes, walk with righteous people. But never forget whom the Lord came for—and to whom He is sending you. Alvin Barcelona ([email protected])

Reflect: This Lent, welcome sinners and eat with them. Think, too, that it may be you who needs to be welcomed.

Dear Lord, thank You for finding me when I was lost. Help me to find others too for You, not by judging them but by loving them as You did.

St. Mathilda, pray for us.

13/03/2020

⭐DON'T TURN THEM AWAY
(DIDACHE : MARCH 13, 2020)

“The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. The Lord has done this and it is marvelous in our eyes.” – Matthew 21:42

Bo Sanchez calls me a mutant because of the many things that I do, both in business and in my advocacies or ministries. Bottom line is, entrepreneurship is my profession while teaching is my passion. I can teach anywhere for God and country without the issue of money.

During my first lecture at Kalye Negosyo (a free 24-week business seminar organized for the barangay level by Jorge Wieneke, founder of Tokyo Tempura), I noticed that 80 percent of the participants were the underprivileged youth and women of society. However, I saw the passion and potential of every participant despite not having enough money. These participants were rejected in other business seminars because their resources were limited and they weren’t schooled to do a business plan.

After that seminar, I’ve been a supporter and funder of this advocacy because these men and women from the barangay can become the cornerstone of society for the faith in their dreams and their faith in God. Every time I finish a lecture at Kalye Negosyo, I’m fulfilled—full of meaning and filled with blessing. Dean Pax Lapid ([email protected])

Reflect: Have you turned away from someone you think is useless? Look again, but this time with your heart.

Lord, allow me to see with Your eyes and to feel with Your heart. Use my hands to reach out to others with compassion.