godly wisdom – Page 3

Countdown Reflections to 2025

About 35 hours left until 2025 as I post this.

Each hour, let’s reflect, connect, and have fun with a simple activity and a Bible verse to inspire us.

35 Hours to Go

➡️ Write down three things you’re thankful for.

📖 “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

34 Hours to Go

➡️ Send a kind message to someone.

📖 “Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.” (Proverbs 16:24)

33 Hours to Go

➡️ Reflect on God’s faithfulness this year.

📖 “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end.” (Lamentations 3:22)

32 Hours to Go

➡️ Sing or listen to a worship song.

📖 “Sing to the LORD, all the earth; proclaim His salvation day after day.” (1 Chronicles 16:23)

31 Hours to Go

➡️ Play a silly Bible-themed game (e.g., charades).

📖 “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” (Proverbs 17:22)

30 Hours to Go

➡️ Share your favorite Bible verse from 2024.

📖 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105)

29 Hours to Go

➡️ Make a creative prayer list for 2025.

📖 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6)

28 Hours to Go

➡️ Go outside or look out a window and thank God for His creation.

📖 “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.” (Psalm 19:1)

27 Hours to Go

➡️ Write a short thank-you note to God.

📖 “Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name!” (Psalm 100:4)

26 Hours to Go

➡️ Challenge someone to share a blessing from 2024.

📖 “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.” (Psalm 103:2)

25 Hours to Go

➡️ Do something kind for a family member.

📖 “Let all that you do be done in love.” (1 Corinthians 16:14)

24 Hours to Go

➡️ Reflect on how God has worked through challenges this year.

📖 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him.” (Romans 8:28)

23 Hours to Go

➡️ Play Bible trivia together.

📖 “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” (Psalm 119:11)

22 Hours to Go

➡️ Share your favorite parable or Bible story.

📖 “The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.” (Psalm 119:130)

21 Hours to Go

➡️ Memorize a short Bible verse together.

📖 “Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)

20 Hours to Go

➡️ List ways you want to serve others in 2025.

📖 “Serve one another humbly in love.” (Galatians 5:13)

19 Hours to Go

➡️ Pray for someone specific.

📖 “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” (James 5:16)

18 Hours to Go

➡️ Describe God’s character in three words.

📖 “For the LORD is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations.” (Psalm 100:5)

17 Hours to Go

➡️ Write down one lesson God taught you this year.

📖 “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12)

16 Hours to Go

➡️ Challenge someone to recall a Bible promise.

📖 “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ.” (2 Corinthians 1:20)

15 Hours to Go

➡️ Reflect on one way you grew in faith.

📖 “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 3:18)

14 Hours to Go

➡️ Pray for a fresh start in 2025.

📖 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

13 Hours to Go

➡️ Encourage someone with a verse.

📖 “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up.” (1 Thessalonians 5:11)

12 Hours to Go

➡️ Do a mini gratitude journal session.

📖 “Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever!” (1 Chronicles 16:34)

11 Hours to Go

➡️ Look up “Hope” in the Bible and share one verse.

📖 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him.” (Romans 15:13)

10 Hours to Go

➡️ Play a game of “Guess the Bible character.”

📖 “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 3:18)

9 Hours to Go

➡️ Write down one goal for your spiritual life in 2025.

📖 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.” (Matthew 6:33)

8 Hours to Go

➡️ Pray for guidance for the year ahead.

📖 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105)

7 Hours to Go

➡️ Reflect on what “joy” means to you.

📖 “The joy of the LORD is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10)

6 Hours to Go

➡️ Plan a family worship night for the new year.

📖 “As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15)

5 Hours to Go

➡️ Share a favorite Bible song or hymn.

📖 “Sing to the LORD, for He has done glorious things.” (Isaiah 12:5)

4 Hours to Go

➡️ Draw or write something inspired by a Bible verse.

📖 “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1)

3 Hours to Go

➡️ Pray for peace in the world and in your home.

📖 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” (John 14:27)

2 Hours to Go

➡️ List five blessings for 2025 in faith.

📖 “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1)

1 Hour to Go

➡️ Celebrate the new year with a prayer of thanksgiving!

📖 “Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!” (Psalm 150:6)

Happy New Year! 🎉

Begin 2025 with love, joy, and gratitude, trusting God in all things.

Pontius Pilate asked Jesus, “What is truth?”

He listened. And he also went on to wash his hands off of Jesus’ sentence. And, as if for his own benefit, he put the sign over Jesus’ head to proclaim that Jesus is the King of the Jews.

Truth-seeker, as you listen, remember that your silence or passivity puts you in the crowd who picked to free Barrabas over Jesus and sentenced Jesus shouting “Crucify him!”

Let this be a gentle reminder that you are a sinner, too, and Jesus died for you. Yes, even you. And that you who know the Truth have a moral obligation to tell people…

…that Truth isn’t a What but a Who.

Who is Jesus to you?

Open Letter for Momsie

Momsieeeee ❤️‍🩹

Every soul needs nurturing, not only by loving ourselves but by loving one another. I learned this through you.

When I needed a lift, you were there. When my heart needed rebuke, you gave it. And when my ‘ancoreny’ jokes needed someone to laugh with, you were there, too.

I am still in disbelief, grieving your passing. If love was about keeping score, I’d like to think that I was there for you as much as you were for me. I loved you deeply, even when I failed to show up in many occasions. Praise God, ours was a relationship built on grace and mutual support but Momsie, you win.

I remember that morning you called me to ask about our wedding cake. In your signature gentle voice, you asked, “Kumusta ka?” “Okay naman Momsie, why?” was my reply.

You didn’t know what I had gone through the previous night—how I tried several times to place an order online but went to bed tired and frustrated. So when you said, “I want to give you a cake,” my heart literally leapt for joy. That call was an unexpected blessing, a reflection of the selfless love you always showed, a tangible proof of God’s providence.

I remember tagging along in one of your visits to the grocery. I was amazed that you didn’t have a list but you didn’t go beyond the budget. You were Holy Spirit-led even in the grocery store.

You showed me a love that never judged nor condemned, a love that gently corrected me and embraced me unconditionally.

Remember our time together at the Araneta Coliseum for the “Just Give Me Jesus” event? We were seated near the bleachers and there you joyfully shared that you no longer practiced your old religion. Your courage inspired me, big time.

Our conversations often centered on how we could further God’s kingdom with the resources He has already given, trusting that He would multiply our efforts.

I also remember the first time I saw tears in your eyes as you lamented the selfishness of this world. It was a powerful, tenderhearted moment that showed how deeply you cared for others.

You patiently guided and coached me to tread gracefully, to let go of my fears, and to learn to trust.

Listening to you courageously and honestly share your life has been a source of deep learning for me. Application is always the difficult part, yet as we have learned and experienced in uniquely personal ways, God never abandons us to figure things out on our own. He graciously walks alongside us, pouring out His love and embracing us in His truth and presence day by day, moment by moment.

Momsie, if life was a computer game, I lost a huge percentage of my life bars now that you’re fully asleep. I am power-less without you. I know you’ll rebuke me for that and point me back to who our Source is.

“Now, brothers, we want you to know the truth about those who have died; otherwise, you might become sad the way other people do who have nothing to hope for. For since we believe that Yeshua died and rose again, we also believe that in the same way God, through Yeshua, will take with him those who have died.” 1 Thessalonians (1 Th)‬ ‭4‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ ‭CJB‬‬

“Mga kapatid, nais naming malaman ninyo ang katotohanan tungkol sa mga namatay na upang hindi kayo magdalamhati tulad ng mga taong walang pag-asa. Dahil naniniwala tayong si Jesus ay namatay at muling nabuhay, naniniwala din tayong bubuhayin ng Diyos upang isama kay Jesus ang lahat ng mga namatay na sumasampalataya sa kanya.” 1 Mga Taga-Tesalonica‬ ‭4‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ ‭MBBTAG12‬‬

In the movie Gladiator, Maximus is speaking to a fellow prisoner who asks him about his family.

Fellow Prisoner: What will you do?
Maximus: I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.
Fellow Prisoner: You have a family?
Maximus: I had a family.
Fellow Prisoner: Do you think you’ll see them again?
Maximus: Not yet.

Maximus expresses his longing for his wife and son, who were killed. The fellow prisoner urges him to let go of his grief, but Maximus, reflecting on his loved ones, firmly replies:

“I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.”

As he grapples with his grief and the purpose behind his fight, he envisions his family and reaffirms his commitment to live and seek vengeance for them. The emotional weight of his memories leads him to remind himself, “Not yet,” signifying that he still has work to do before he can be with them again.

Such moment captures the deep sense of loss Maximus feels and his determination to honor his loved ones by continuing to fight.

Momsie, though your death calls for no vengeance, Maximus’ grief resounds deeply in me. Wala na ang nag-iisa kong Momsie whom I loved and trusted dearly. God, our Heavenly King, has taken you back Home. Grief is hard but I will choose to press on, keeping my eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith. I believe this is what you would have me do.

Sabi ni little Kuya Hope, “Don’t worry about your best girl, when your mission is done you will hug her again in Heaven.”

Momsie, I will never forget you. I will miss you. Thank you for all the warm hugs and all the prayers you uttered on our behalf. Thank you soooo much for being the mom our souls needed. We’ll see each other in the next, but Lord-willing, not yet.

Tag Archives: godly wisdom

Countdown Reflections to 2025

The Who

Open Letter for Momsie