Reblogging: 5 Accountability Questions To Ask Yourself Today

Here are five accountability questions to ask yourself today and every day, which I have found online. Truly enough, it hit rightly in my heart re-evaluating myself every now and then. Be blessed while learning from this sermon at: Faithnews.com

How Much Time in Prayer and in the Word?

I try to discipline myself to pray before I get out of bed and then to read my Bible before I have any breakfast. My own flesh wants to resist that, but I hold myself accountable and ask, “How much time have I spent in prayer today? How much time have I been in the Word of God today?” Most of the time the answer is “Not enough!” but at least it is some time spent as opposed to no time. I honestly can’t remember the last time I went a day without starting out with prayer and Bible reading, and the last time I did, I probably felt miserable and convicted. If I don’t get into the Word of God daily, the Word of God won’t get into me.

What’s My Priority?

Is my goal or priority to make friends, influence people, and gain in popularity, or is it to glorify God and try to be an effective witness for Christ? I believe we were created to glorify God and to help in rescuing those who are perishing. If my goal is anything other than that, then I am holding myself accountable and must “reboot” my day, start over again, and zero in on why I am here and what I am to be doing. Jesus sought to glorify the Father, and the Father wanted to glorify Jesus (John 17:1, 5), so shouldn’t that be our goal, too, and isn’t that why we were created?

What’s My Earthly Ministry?

Our first earthly ministry next to our ministry for the Lord is to our family. In fact, the qualifications for being a shepherd depends on this because he “must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church” (1 Tim 3:4-5), and “a deacon must be faithful to his wife and must manage his children and his household well” (1 Tim 3:12). Since all believers basically are ministers of God, we must make sure that our families are our first priority, next to God, and that absolutely includes our spouse. Have I spent time with them today? Have I told them I love them? Have I helped them in ministering or serving them today?

Praying for Others?

It is so easy to tell others that “I will pray for you” and then forget all about it. I ought to know; I’ve done it. I often head to bed late at night and stop and think, “Is there someone whom I told I’d pray for? If so, have I?” I am accountable for what I said I would do. Samuel said in his farewell address to Israel, “as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you” (1 Sam 12:23). If I say I will pray for someone and don’t, then that is sin to me and I have just lied to someone who really needed me to pray for them after I had promised them I would. That hurts! Please forgive me for those times, Lord. Help me to remember to keep my promises.

Evaluating the Tongue

This is one of the hardest things to manage: the tongue. What were my words used for today? Were they judgmental? Were my words edifying for others? Did my words build up or tear down? The tongue is one of the smallest members of the body, but it can set an entire forest on fire (James 3:6). It can do a lot of good, but it can do a lot of harm, too. We can bless people with it, but then curse them, too (James 3:9-12). I need to constantly inventory what my words were today and what they will be used for tomorrow. Ask yourself, “Did what I say today help others or hurt them?”

Conclusion

We are all going to have to give an account someday for everything we’ve ever done and every idle word we speak (Matt 12:36). That’s a sobering thought, isn’t it? I want to be holding myself accountable for what I do today because God will.

May God richly bless you,

Pastor Jack Wellman

MY FIRST TRAVEL ABROAD

Sorry for the long blog absence...I failed to write something because my time was occupied with so many things. Now, I am back and updating it once again about the recent happenings of my life. I didn't expect that the first country that I was about to visit is Thailand. It never popped out just as my plan would be either in the USA or China. When a sudden call came from Thailand, I was hesitant at first to accept the call since it's not my target. I prayed hard and was asking for signs from the Lord, believing that it was really God's will. All my things were packed up just as preparing myself for the new environment that I am going to trod. As I was heading to the airport with friends to accompany me, I never felt the excitement nor the happiness since I knew that I am leaving for a country that I never prayed so hard nor asking God for it that much. When Cebu Pacific Airlines touched down at the airport, my feelings were like backing out and going home to the Philippines. The emotions of homesickness hit me like a fist while we were driving to Bangkok to get a rest for a while since I arrived almost 12 midnight. The excitement had never visited me so I didn't appreciate much of my coming here to Thailand. After all, I thank God for giving me the chance to see the other side of the world though it didn't reach my expectations. I hate to complain at all to the Lord because He has been so good to me. The place where I am staying right now is located in the northern part of Thailand, 3 hours from Bangkok by van and 41/2 by bus. I felt more frustrated when none of them can't understand my English nor nobody from the place could talk to me except the Thai English teachers with their awful lucid English, but for the high school students, it drained my strength so badly. To be in Thailand wasn't a dream to me since I am always wishing to be in a country of blondes and white people, especially in the English speaking countries. I knew God works in mysterious ways but sometimes my human understanding isn't deep enough to comprehend His ways. My first day of teaching was so terrible so as on the second day since I can't fully extend my horizon on how to tickle them. Nevertheless, I am already here but still praying that God would send me home.

 

RAINBOW CONNECTION

RAINBOW CONNECTION
Kermit the Frog

Why are there so many
Songs about rainbows
And what's on the other side
Rainbow's are visions
They're only illusions
And rainbows have nothing to hide
So we've been told and some chose to
Believe it
But I know they're wrong wait and see

Someday we'll find it
The Rainbow Connection
The lovers, the dreamers and me

Who said that every wish
Would be heard and answered
When wished on the morning star
Somebody thought of that
And someone believed it
And look what it's done so far
What's so amazing
That keeps us star gazing
What so we think we might see

Someday we'll find it
That Rainbow Connection
The lovers the dreamers and me

Have you been half asleep
And have you heard voices
I've heard them calling my name
Are these the sweet sounds that called
The young sailors
I think they're one and the same
I've heard it too many times to ignore it
There's something that I'm supposed to be

Someday we'll find it
The Rainbow Connection
The lovers, the dreamers and me

This is my fave song.It was popular way back in the early 80's sang by Kermit the frog theme song from the movie "The Muppet Show". No matter how vague it was still I can remember how Kermit sang this wonderful song.Its the entrance of the movie,while Kermit playing the guitar hovering over in the river,beneath in a peaceful moonlight evening.
If you go along with the flow of the lyrics and savor its juices,you'll see yourself in the fantasy land of reality.
The song is truly sad and lonely,yet, soothing.Every time I sing or hear this song,it brings me back the time where I was young,naive and dreaming of going to some place that I wish to see.
As an adult person, I still believing that dreams do come true no matter what.Loneliness,envelopes me when times of reckoning the days,how I would make my dreams come true.
But just as the song goes,someday I'll find it the rainbow connection,the lovers the dreamers and me.

OVERFED BUT UNDERNOURISHED

Huh! long holy week vacation's over, it's over for a vacationers-except me. Except for a jobless, unemployed like me, - us. Sounds very pathetic and hopeless isn't it? Unemployed in the midst of the global crisis is a worthless & unmeritorious citizen. What can I do? I was born poor, unfortunate, ill-fated college graduate.
Living in a barren corrupted country slowly enfeeble my hopes as I am counting the days everyday. Sometimes, my inclinations to worry unduly executed me as if it grips my neck tightly and leave me breathless.
Occasionally, I ask myself f God has abandoned me completely. I have never been so lucky since my life is always paired with regrettable inauspicious living, comparing to other like my cousins, friends, acquiantances, and even classmates back both in high school and college.
Considering overfed with food and dreams but undernourished materially. Undernourished all the answers being asked in life.
I am honestly starving of the answers I needed, why I'm always left situated at the end-most? Why can't I be preceding all others in order? Why can't I be succeeded just like them? Life seems to be unfair and unpromising in terms of thing conducive to happiness.
My holy week vacation wasn't favorable & fertile as I expected to happen. Not just because I wasn't gratified & felicitously happy meeting with my cousins, except for the fact that my intellectual ability is boggling with doubt questions instead of resting it from the puzzling enigmatic life. I left my rented place for a short vacation monetarily emptied so as I came back still empty handed. What a wasted nonsense life! Don't you think it is?
Aside from the crucial hot weather that caused ny head aching, thinking hardly about my future is among the ultimate problems form a mental picture in mind. The lack of sleep, food, and money has been excruciatingly tough. Adding to that, the global economic meltdown, less jobs offer in the country is an alarming scenario that shakens me, resulting (to) the weakens of my spiritual badly.
Honestly, I'm lonely, sad, angry, hopeless and crying everyday. Throughout the lent days, harboring myself by watching movies was the last opt I did just to ease the pain and head-aches.
Temporarily, it diverted my mind somewhere else nonetheless, it didn't cure absolutely.
Below are the posters of the films I had watched just this lent days. I thank my cousin Rose and her husband Richard for lending me those movies thru out the week. If you haven't watched them, please try to. Some, may old films already but still worth to watch.

NEVER STOP BELIEVING

Never Stop Believing
There's always the promise of a new day.
There's always something to come home to.
There's always a star much brighter than the darkest night.
There's always a moment when the impossible becomes probable.
All because you believe. Together we can move mountains.
(source: AYALA Corp.)

As usual, life has been so monotonous these times....nothing much newsworthy and no challenges. I just stay home watch movies with friends(thanks to Jacks and Michael for allowing to watch movies at their home)
I got this short poem from a news paper and it was a message from AYALA group...I like how the message goes as it is trying to explain of reaching your dreams without stopping of believing that you can possibly go beyond what you desire for.
Hopelessly as I am, that poem encourages me to stay tune no matter how vague and unclear life is....from now on I won't stop believing.
These were the movies I had watched previously.......you like them while you are passing the boring time.