Monday, February 15, 2021
David Served God’s Purpose
For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep. Acts 13:36
One of the greatest tragedies in life is to get very close to reaching your goal, arriving at your full potential, accomplishing what you set out to do, only to fall short of what you wanted to do. It’s always sad to have to quit a few hundred meters short of the top, or to get so very close to winning, only to have victory snatched from your grasp.
Unrealized goals! Unfulfilled potential–what a tragedy! With a sigh we speak of, “The man he might have been,” or “the woman she could have been!”
You tell me what your heart yearns to do, what you think about when you lie awake unable to sleep in the night hours, and I’ll tell you what kind of a person you really are. If money consumes your thinking, you are materialistic. If you think only of revenge, you’re angry and bitter. If your thoughts are of God and how you can serve Him, you are a person of spiritual sensitivity and dedication.
When I interview people, I often close the interview by asking, “At the end of your life, how would you like to be remembered?” Answers tell a lot about the person who responds to that question.
A thousand years after David, the king of ancient Israel, lived, Luke, one of the writers of the New Testament, included a few thoughts about how David was remembered. He wrote, “For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep…” (Acts 13:36). Another translation adds a single phrase which injects even more meaning. It reads, “For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation according to the will of God, he fell asleep” (Nestle’s Greek text). The overview of history is often so much different from how we appear in the smoke and dust of the battle.
For a few moments, measure your life against the bench mark of what Luke wrote about David. First, he served God’s purpose. Now translate this to our generation: to your family, your work place, your neighborhood where you live and sleep. Would you say that you are accomplishing God’s purpose for your life? Or would you have to say that you fall far short of accomplishing God’s purposes?
You may be asking, “What is God’s purpose for my life?” Good question! There’s a whole book which answers that one. It’s called the Bible, and it explains very clearly what God’s purpose is for your life in simple, easy-to-understand language.
The second thought is that David was responsible only for his own generation. You can’t do anything about what took place a hundred years ago, or even a generation ago. That’s history, but you can do something about your generation, today, the world in which you live.
Some think, mistakenly, that the sum total of their influence in life is zero. Not true! Every person, no matter how humble or insignificant, influences somebody. You, like David, can serve God’s purpose, touching someone, making a difference.
A final thought. David served God’s purpose according to the will of God. That’s a powerful thought. “Does God have a will for my life?” you may be wondering. The Bible says He does. The writers of Scripture contend that what happens to your life is of great importance to our Heavenly Father. Paul wrote, “Be very careful, then, how you live–not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is” (Ephesians 5:15-17). There you have it–a life of purpose touching our generation according to the will of God!
Resource reading: Ephesians 5:1-20
https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/david-served-gods-purpose-2/
Comelec registers 1.3M new voters as of Feb. 4
By Ferdinand Patinio
Over 1.3 million would be voters have so far filed their applications for registration for the May 2022 national and local elections, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said on Monday.
Latest data from the poll body’s Election Records and Statistics Department (ERSD) showed that a total of 1,339,346 applications have been processed nationwide as of Feb. 4.
The Comelec is looking to register some 4 million new voters during the nationwide voter registration that resumed on Sept. 1, 2020 and will run until Sept. 30, 2021.
Meanwhile, the Comelec said close to 700 Filipinos abroad have registered for the test run of internet voting.
“As per OFOV (Office for Overseas Voting), overall figure is 697 as of Feb. 14, 2021,” it said.
The poll body also reminded foreign and domestic observers who are interested in covering the March 13, 2021 Palawan plebiscite that they can now secure accreditation from the Comelec.
From Feb. 8 to 15, 2021, foreign and domestic observers with official addresses in the National Capital Region may submit their applications for accreditation with the head of the Education and Information Department (EID); for observers residing in other provinces within Region 4-B (Mimaropa) with the Regional Election Director of Region 4-B; and for domestic observers residing within the province of Palawan, with the Provincial Election Supervisor (PES) of Palawan.
It said applicants must submit a duly accomplished application form; two recent 1.5”x1.5” colored photographs of the applicant; if foreigner or foreign group, organization or committee or association organization, endorsement issued by the ambassador or consul of the applicant’s home country; and terms of reference or similar document, explaining the purposes of the election observation mission.
Upon approval of the application, Accredited Observer Passes will be issued, which will grant access and other privileges relating to the conduct of the plebiscite. The passes may be confiscated and the accreditation revoked for violation of the guidelines for accreditation.
The Comelec said observers or monitors must have a bonafide intention to participate in the conduct of the plebiscite and must be free from any political, economic or other conflicts of interests that would interfere with conducting observations/monitoring impartially.
They are also expected to strictly adhere to the code of conduct and refrain from engaging in any of the prohibited acts laid down in the guidelines, it added.
13 anyos patay matapos makuryente sa ginamit na headset sa computer shop
SARA, Iloilo – Patay ang isang 13-anyos na lalake matapos siyang makuryente sa ginamit na headset sa isang internet shop sa bayan na ito nitong Linggo.
Sa imbestigasyon ng Sara police, inabisuhan raw ng may-ari ng internet shop ang biktima na huwag gamitin ang headset dahil sira ito.
Pero ginamit pa rin umano ng biktima ang headset at bigla na lang nangisay.
Tinangka pang tulungan ng mga nakakita ang biktima ngunit nakuryente rin ang mga ito kaya bumitaw sila.
Agad na dinala ang biktima sa ospital pero ideneklara itong dead-on-arrival ng doktor.
Handa namang tumulong ang may-ari ng internet shop sa pagpapalibing sa biktima.
Hindi pa malinaw kung bakit naroon pa rin ang naturang headset kahit alam ng may-ari na ito ay sira na.
–Ulat ni Rolen Escaniel
Pagtatag ng Department of Overseas Filipinos 'di kailangan ng malaking pondo: Nograles
Hindi mangangailangan ng malaking pondo ang pagbuo ng Department of Overseas Filipinos (DOFIL), sabi ngayong Lunes ni Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles.
Sa pagdinig sa Senado, ipinaliwanag ni Nograles na pag-iisahin lamang sa isang kagawaran ang lahat ng ahensiya ng gobyerno na may kinalaman sa overseas Filipino workers (OFW).
Magiging attached agency naman umano nito ang Philippine Overseas Employment Administration at Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.
Magkakaroon umano ito ng regional offices at magtatayo ng overseas Filipinos malasakit centers.
Magkakaroon din ng 'assistance to nationals' fund, at may congressional oversight committee na buuuin ng 6 na senador at 6 na kongresista.
Iginiit ni Nograles na ang DOFIL ay magiging dedicated agency para sa pangangailangan at proteksiyon ng mga OFW.
"Wala po tayong single agency kung saan ina-adress po ang lahat ng concerns ng ating mga kababayang overseas Filipinos," ani Nograles.
"This COVID-19 pandemic opened up our eyes na kailangan ma-meet up natin ang challenges na ito. So this new department seeks to streamline and directly manage all concerns of Filipinos overseas plus their families, plus their dependents," dagdag ng kalihim.
Pero ayon kay Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, tila paghikayat ang DOFIL sa mga Pinoy na magtrabaho abroad, taliwas sa sinasabi ng gobyerno na gusto nilang sa bansa magtrabaho ang mga Pinoy.
Ayon kay Nograles, may 5 taon na mandatory review ang panukala at ang long-term agenda pa rin ng gobyerno ay bumalik sa bansa ang mga OFW.
Inirekomenda naman ni Sen. Imee Marcos na sa halip na magtatag ng bagong department, mas makabubuti kung maglalabas na lang ng executive order na magpapalawak sa poder ng POEA.
Pero ayon kay Nograles, iba kapag Cabinet level ang namumuno dahil direkta itong nakakapag-report sa pangulo.
Gusto ni Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri na madaliin na ang pagdinig sa panukalang DOFIL para maipasa ang panukala.
Pakikinabangan kasi aniya ng milyong-milyong OFW ang pagtatag ng kagawaran.
Sang-ayon dito si Sen. Christopher "Bong" Go, na isa sa mga nagsusulong ng panukala.
"Kung ang ating mga ahensiay ay hiwa-hiwalay at may kaniya-kaniyang mandate, ang nahihirapan po ay overseas Filipinos. Kadalasan hindi nila alam saan sila pupunta, pinagpapasa-pasahan sila," ani Go.
Nilinaw naman ni Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III sa pagdinig na walang deployment ban sa mga OFW.
Ang umiiral lang aniya ngayon ay deployment cap para sa medical workers na 5,000 kada taon.
Sa ngayon, nakikipag-negosasyon ang Department of Labor and Employment sa United Kingdom dahil nag-request ang huli na ma-exempt sa deployment cap, ani Bello.
-- Ulat ni Robert Mano, ABS-CBN News
Comelec hopes for high voter turnout in Palawan plebiscite
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is hoping for a high voter turnout in the March 13 Palawan plebiscite.
“We would like to have a high voter turnout for this plebiscite, definitely,” Comelec Commissioner Antonio T. Kho Jr. said in a virtual press briefing last week.
“We hope and we encourage voters [to participate] to have a high turnout,” he added.
The commissioner-in-charge of the plebiscite, however, said that they cannot really say if there will be high voter turnout, considering the threat of the coronaviris disease 2019 (COVID-19).
“We cannot really determine, at this point in time, if there will be a high voter turnout as this will be the first time we will be holding an electoral exercise with a public health emergency,” said Kho.
“Because of this COVID-19 situation, our expectations are fluid,” he added.
Based on Comelec records, there are a total of 490,639 registered voters eligible to participate in next month’s plebiscite.
The Comelec originally scheduled the conduct of the plebiscite to ratify the division of the province of Palawan into Palawan del Norte, Palawan Oriental, and Palawan del Sur on May 11, 2020 as provided under Republic Act No. 11259.
The law provides that the plebiscite shall be held on the second Monday of May 2020.
In April 2020, the Comelec suspended the May 11 plebiscite due to the pandemic and government’s imposition of the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) in Luzon.
On October 8, 2020, the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) approved the proposal to already hold the plebiscite in Palawan.
The poll body then set the plebiscite on March 13, 2021.
https://mb.com.ph/2021/02/15/comelec-hopes-for-high-voter-turnout-in-palawan-plebiscite/
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