Thursday, March 4, 2021
Why You Should Live One Day at a Time
Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” James 4:13,15
Have you ever stopped to think that today is the smallest division of God-given time? Seconds, minutes, hours are artificial, man-made time divisions, but the period of time from dawn to dusk is the shortest division of time on God’s clock. Time is a strange thing in itself. It is something like fence posts or telephone poles you pass as you drive down the highway, but like a fence it encloses our lives, and between the two poles of life and death we are very much prisoners of time.
The perplexing part of it is that we all know when time began–at least for us individually, since time is reckoned from the date of your birth. But we are never quite sure when God will press the stop-watch, and time will have become history–at least, for us.
Have you ever thought much about the way that time governs your life? Possibly as no other generation, we are slaves to the clock. We are bound to schedules and deadlines, and we think that the world will stop unless we make those deadlines. Sometimes it is good for us to realize that when our schedules go awry, life will go on.
That painful realization first was driven home in my life, the day following a speaking engagement in Cardiff, Wales. My wife and I took the overnight train to London where we were to meet a tour group which was about to depart for the continent. When we arrived at the station in London, we thought there was plenty of time to transfer from one station to another. Being young and not having much money, we decided to take the underground. We bought our tickets and boarded. But a few minutes into the journey, the underground train coasted to a stop, and we were 100 meters or so underground.
How were we to know that the engineers were to go on strike–and we had to be caught in the middle of it? We sat there, and stewed and fumed. If we didn’t get there, we would miss the train and miss the tour which had been paid for. The longer we sat there, the higher was my stress level. I think I learned a lesson that day–a painful one. What we believe is so important at the time, really is not as important as we think. Life goes on when your plans go awry.
There is a reason why you must learn to live one day at a time. God has promised guidance and direction for just today. Time and time again, the Bible emphasizes the importance of today. God promised, “As your days, so shall your strength be” (Deuteronomy 33:25,NKJV).
When Christ taught His disciples to pray, He said, “After this manner, therefore, pray ye, ‘Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread!” There you have it again. Give us this day–not tomorrow–not next year–but meet our needs today.
You may be frustrated because your schedule and your goals haven’t worked out the way you planned. There’s good news! God promises help for just today. He said, “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows them that trust in Him” (Nahum 1:7). Living in the present does not mean a total disregard of the past nor a nonchalant attitude toward the future. It means that you find God’s grace to cope with the flight that is cancelled, the stock that collapses, the loan that doesn’t get paid, and the hopes for tomorrow that don’t materialize. Yes, God help us to find His strength for today.
Resource reading: James 4:13-17.
https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/why-you-should-live-one-day-at-a-time/
Comelec to utilize radio for Palawan plebiscite campaign
By Ferdinand Patinio
The opposing camps in the forthcoming Palawan plebiscite will be given a chance to present their sides to the voters through radio airtime, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said on Thursday.
Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said holding of broadcast campaigns would be better as they cannot hold debates due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
“The Comelec will be conducting an air campaign starting next week, where we give the platform for pro and anti referendum. There will likely no debate as we are accustomed to thinking of such things. We have to be very careful because of the pandemic but we will be making sure that the opposing sides are given an opportunity to reach the public via radio,” he said during a virtual press conference.
He added that radio is the best medium for the plebiscite campaign in the province as it is experiencing problems with internet connectivity.
"We will make sure that during our air campaign we will have pro and anti together with our information delivery,” he added.
He said once they started the campaign via radio, they will be visiting every radio station in the province to be able to reach out to the people and for them to know about the March 13 plebiscite.
“Once we start the air campaign, we will use the radio. Comelec will be hitting every radio station in Palawan through the week before the plebiscite. Look out for that,” Jimenez added.
The campaign period for the plebiscite has started last February 11 and will run until March 11.
On plebiscite day, voters will be choosing to divide the province into three areas namely: Palawan Oriental, Palawan del Norte, and Palawan del Sur.
LOOK: Duterte gets his national ID
President Rodrigo Duterte has received his national ID card, photos from Malacañang showed on Thursday, even as some officials face a graft complaint for the project.
In photos shared to reporters, Duterte can be seen getting his ID from National Economic and Development Authority Acting Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua.
Authorities hope the Philippine Identification System ID would boost public service delivery, reduce corruption, and curtail bureaucratic red tape.
Duterte in 2018 signed into law the PhilSys Act that mandated the government to create a single official identification card for all citizens and foreign residents that would serve as a de facto national identification number.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) is mandated to lead the ID system, with support from a policy board chaired by the National Economic and Development Authority and composed of various government agencies.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno and other officials are accused of graft and violating the Government Procurement Act for allegedly awarding the P1.75-billion supply contract for the nationals ID without public bidding.
"Naninindigan po tayo sa integridad ni Governor Diokno," Duterte's spokesman Harry Roque said in January.
"At alam naman natin na karapatan ng kahit sinong magsampa ng kaso. Pero kampante po kami at nagtitiwala na magbibigay-linaw po si Governor Diokno sa issue na ito," he told reporters in an online briefing.
(We stand by the integrity of Governor Diokno. And we know that anyone has a right to file a complaint. But we are confident and trust that Governor Diokno will clarify this issue.)
Duterte and his Cabinet in December approved a "3.52-billion additional budget for 2021 to register 20 million more individuals (on top of the 50 million target) to the Philippine Identification System," said Roque.
PSA had said it aims to initially register 5 million heads of low-income households from the list of the Department of Social Welfare and Development. This year, PSA will register 45 million people, and another 42 million by 2022.
Registration steps include going to registration centers and submitting biometric details.
The PSA aims to register majority of Filipinos by the end of Duterte's term. The IDs to be issued are free of charge.
Signed into law in August 2018, the National ID system will provide a valid proof of identity for all Filipinos and residents, making access to services simpler and faster.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/04/21/philippines-national-id-system-rodrigo-duterte-gets-his-card
Amihan continues to bring rains across Luzon
The northeast monsoon (amihan) affecting Luzon will continue to bring rains across the island, the weather bureau said Thursday.
In its 24-hour forecast, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said Cagayan Valley and Cordillera Administrative Region, and the provinces of Aurora and Quezon will have light rains.
PAGASA said the Bicol Region may also experience light to moderate, with at times heavy rains. Flash floods or landslides are possible.
Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon will experience isolated light rains.
The rest of the country will have isolated rain showers caused by localized thunderstorms.
Meanwhile, moderate to strong winds and moderate to rough seas will prevail over Luzon.
Elsewhere, winds will be light to moderate with slight to moderate seas, PAGASA said.