Daily Devotional

Obedience: The Learning Process

READ | Ephesians 6:1-6

God wants us to obey so He can guide us to fulfill a divine plan and purpose for our lives. But submission to His will doesn’t come naturally. To instruct us in obedience, the Lord requires we comply with earthly authority. Exodus chapter 20:12 says a child is to honor and obey his parents. God planned our early experiences of authority and obedience. This time would involve those who love us and care about our best interest. But, people are born with rebellion in their spirit. Toddlers often willfully defy warnings not to touch forbidden items. But as a child grows, a lesson’s learned from his parent’s repeated warnings and discipline. A child mastering rebellion leads to greater privilege and a solid relationship with Mom and Dad. As he matures, a child encounters other authority figures like teachers, police officers, and coaches. Then when a young adult takes a job, the command from Ephesians chapter 6:5 says to submit to one’s employer becomes relevant. Romans 13:1 states God places authority figures in our life. Since these men and women are human, they’ll make mistakes and sometimes treat us unfairly. But they’re still His instruments. Whether or not we approve of the way we are ruled, our parents, employers, and other authorities teach us that obedience has value. Disobedience has consequences. We already understand the basic principles of submission when it’s time to decide about yielding our will to God. He’s a perfect Father, who desires only the best for His children.

Taken from: In Touch Ministries

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Daily Devotional

Conformed or Transformed?

READ | Romans 12:1-2

If you want a little snapshot of what the world considers “normal,” just glance at magazine covers near the grocery store checkout. You will find racks of lies, rumors, indecency, adultery, and betrayal. A movie star leaves his wife for another woman. A pop-singer mom loses custody of her children because of drug use. Young girls are taught their self-worth is based on outward appearance. These don’t sound like traditional family values, do they? But as a culture, we aren’t shocked by what we see. Even worse, we enjoy it. We read articles and watch TV shows about such perversion, as if intoxicated by the “glamour” of such lifestyles. We fill our homes with a million little pictures of this distorted reality and then pack it neatly away when it’s time for church. Sadly, some of us are living two separate lives. The one we show God, and the one we show the world. Romans chapter 12:2 confronts us with this contradiction head-on. As you think about the images above, consider the words of the apostle Paul. He said “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so you may prove what the will of God is, which is good and acceptable and perfect.” Is your home being conformed to the world, or is it being transformed by the Holy Spirit? Would others see you as a blind follower of culture’s ambitions? Or would they see the “good and acceptable and perfect” will of God in your life? Be honest with yourself as you talk to the Lord today.

Taken from: In Touch Ministries

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Daily Devotional

God’s Will: The Great Discovery

READ | Jeremiah 29:11

The Lord has a plan for your life. He has a perfect will and a specific course in mind for you. Some believers are frightened of God’s will. The idea of a divine plan isn’t attractive, because it requires a great deal of trust and faith in the Father. We’re usually quick to trust God with someone else’s needs. But, we’re often slow to trust Him with ours. To make things more confusing, some people misunderstand what the Lord’s will actually is. Some believe it’s a special bit of knowledge that He imparts only to super-spiritual people. Others think, it’s simply His call to do something dangerous, painful, or uncomfortable. Too often, God’s will is seen as something we have to do, whether we want to or not. God’s will isn’t something to fear. It’s meant to give us clarity of purpose and power to live a life of many blessings. It provides us with direction at every turn. It gives us answers to important questions. In a time, where even our cars can get real-time, turn-by-turn directions from satellites in space, some people resist that kind of guidance for their lives. Most likely, it’s because we want some advice about how to proceed but prefer to do the driving ourselves. We may let God suggest where we should go, but we want to be the ones holding the steering wheel. God knows where you’re going and how to get you there safely. Don’t trust Him with just the final destination. Let Him guide each step of the journey.

Taken from: In Touch Ministries

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Daily Devotional

Sent to Serve

READ | John 17:18

Too often, people fall into a belief that they have no real purpose in life. They get up, go to work, come home, and zone out in front of the TV. Then it’s time to go to sleep and start all over. Where in this routine are they making time to fulfill their true purpose? This isn’t the model that Jesus set for us. When we look at the life of Christ, we can clearly see His coming was no accident. His time was not wasted. He lived His life “on target.” Scripture shows without a doubt Jesus was sent to serve. Many times in the Gospels, Jesus refers to having been “sent” by the Father. That word implies focus and intent. Our Savior didn’t stumble upon the earthly scene. His coming wasn’t an accident or a happy coincidence. The idea is not that Jesus just “appeared”. He was sent and to the world for a purpose. Matthew chapter 20:28 reveals Jesus came not to conquer, but to serve. His life reveals a clear mission. Everything He does in the Gospels points back to a four-part purpose: to reveal the Father, die for sin, save the lost, and provide abundant life. No matter where He was, who He was with, or what He was doing, the Lord always kept His eye on His purpose. Just as Jesus was sent by the Father, so we are sent by Christ to carry His message of hope throughout the world. Is this purpose evident in your daily routine? Pray for clarity and focus as you serve the Lord today.

Taken from : In Touch Ministries

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Daily Devotional

The Power of Prayer

READ | Matthew 7:7-11

Jesus knew the importance of prayer and practiced it regularly. He often slipped away from the crowds to commune with God. He would receive the guidance and strength necessary to carry on His Father’s work. In teaching about the power of prayer, Jesus promised that God will answer. He used three words to help us pray effectively. First, we must ask. We are to come to God with our requests. In doing so, we are acknowledging both our need and God’s ability to meet it. Jesus assures us that every request will be granted in accordance with our Father’s best for us and others. Next, we should seek. Sometimes the Lord asks us to get involved in the situation that we’re praying about. We may be petitioning for Him to help us find a new job. He wants us to seek His wisdom and guidance. God also wants us to take practical steps to find what is available. When we obey His directions, God promises to provide the answer. Finally, knock. In carrying out the Father’s plan, we’ll encounter obstacles along the way. Persistent praying may be required. Knocking implies a level of force being applied so a door will open. Once God presents the solution, we no longer need to ask. When He opens up a path, we should walk on it. Prayer engages the Lord in the personal lives of men and women and in the affairs of government. It is the way we experience oneness with our Father and receive the essentials we need to carry out His work.

Taken from: In Touch Ministries

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Daily Devotional

The Awesome Privilege of Prayer

READ | 1 John 5:11-15

Something amazing happens when we reach out to our Father through prayer. We enter into God’s presence and can access His power on behalf of a lost, hurting world. Jesus Christ made it possible for us to have communion with the Father. All of us inherited a sin nature through the first man, Adam. We’ve been separated since birth from holy God. Our sin nature placed us under a death sentence with no appeal. To give us access to Himself, God sacrificed His Son Jesus. God counted His death as payment for our sins. When we make a commitment to Christ by receiving Him as our personal Savior, our sins are no longer counted against us. In God’s “accounting books,” our transgressions have been transferred to the Lord. His righteousness is credited to us. John chapter 14:13 says with our sins forgiven, we have a new position in Christ. We are free to approach God with the confidence that He will hear and answer our prayers. The One who listens to our prayers also has the power to answer them. His authority is unlimited. Job chapter 42:2 confirms no individual or government is mightier. No one can stop His plans. Through Jesus’ life, we see God’s absolute power over nature, disease, and man’s plans. After the Savior’s death, God used His divine power to resurrect Jesus and bring Him to heaven. This same power is available to us when we pray. Prayer is a key spiritual discipline in the Christian life and an awesome privilege. It opens the door for us to approach God and involve Him in our lives.

Take from: In Touch Ministries

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Daily Devotional

A Peaceful Heart

READ | Philippians 4:4-7

Many of us are at war with ourselves and don’t realize it. Some people experience inner turmoil because they’ve never made peace with God. That’s corrected by receiving Jesus Christ as Savior. Those of us who already believe may at times feel anxious. Inner serenity comes when we accept who God made us to be. Acts chapter 17:26 says our Father chose the time and place we would be born. He determined what we’d look like. God gave us our personality, talents, and spiritual gifts. Fussing over what He has chosen for us will keep us unsettled. Understand His purpose for our life. Proverbs chapter 3:5-6 reminds us that embracing God’s unique plan for us will bring satisfaction and peace. Know that we belong to Him. Feeling disconnected can irritate us. You should remember that adoption into God’s family is permanent. It’ll keep us steady. The bible says in John chapter 10:28 that nothing can change the fact that we are His. Maintain a clean conscience. When we are headed in the wrong direction, our conscience acts as a warning signal. We feel a sense of guilt or shame that troubles our mind and keeps peace away. Once we confess our sin and turn from ungodliness, our conscience becomes clear once again. Inner turmoil is replaced with calmness. Keep a Christ-centered focus. Taking our eyes off ourselves and steadily looking to Jesus will give us a quiet spirit. A peaceful heart will become a reality when we embrace who we are in Christ, confess our sins regularly, and keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.

Taken from: In Touch Ministries

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Mercury SMTP Server

Mercury MTS is a nifty free mail server from the same company that offers the free mail client Pegasus. Both can be downloaded from http://www.pmail.com/ .

Depending on the modules that you choose during setup, Mercury can act as a stand-alone SMTP server and client (to send and receive emails directly), SMTP relaying client (to send emails to Internet recipients through a mail server at your ISP), POP server (to deliver mail to local users) and POP client (to retrieve e-mails through your ISP's mail server, and deliver them locally through the Mercury POP server), mailing lists, filtering rules, aliases, support for black-listing spammers (ORBS, RBL), server-based email directory through PH, etc. Quite amazing for a free mail server!

XAMPP package includes Mercury and during installation the user is provided with the option to whether install the Mercury or not. Installing Mercury with XAMPP is as smooth as just clicking next button until the installation is finished.

I tried installing XAMPP on my local server and immediately test the PHP mail() function to test the mail server. The first error I encountered is this one:

Warning: mail() [function.mail]: Failed to connect to mailserver at "localhost" port 25, verify your "SMTP" and "smtp_port" setting in php.ini or use ini_set() in C:\xampp\htdocs\ramises\sendEmail.php on line 72

which made me realize that there isn't any mail server running on my local server. I opened the XAMPP control panel and made sure that Mecury is running. The XAMPP control panel has a "start" option on each of the modules. If Mercury is not running on your server, simply click "start" to make use of its service.

This time I am confident that the dummy script I made will run perfectly, but I have this problem now: Warning: mail() [function.mail]: SMTP server response: 553 We do not relay non-local mail, sorry. in C:\xampp\htdocs\ramises\sendEmail.php on line 72 If ever one of you meet "Server Response: 553", open the XAMPP control panel, click the admin button on the Mercury row to open the Mercury window. Go to "Configuration->Mercury SMTP Server->Connection control" and uncheck the "Do not permit SMTP relaying of non-local mail". Running my script again . . . . and whoaaalaaaaa, script runs perfectly!

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Daily Devotional

God’s Guide to a Victorious Life

READ | Proverbs 3:5-6

A compass indicates four points of north, south, east, and west. All are necessary for finding direction in the physical world. For guidance in living the Christian life, Proverbs chapter 3:5-6 also gives four points. The first point is trust God. James chapter 1:17 states He deserves your complete confidence because He alone does not change. Second, do not rely on your own understanding. The human mind has limited comprehension. Only God is all-knowing. Hebrews 4:13 shows us that every thought and motive is visible to Him. There is nothing that He doesn’t see. The next point in trusting God is to acknowledge Him in all your ways. As the Maker and Savior of all mankind, God has the right to plan every life. He knits each person together in the womb. He provides redemption through His Son Jesus Christ. God gives spiritual gifts to be used on His behalf. Just as a child will look to his father for help, believers are to include their heavenly Father in everything. Success may tempt people to feel proud. But, Christians must guard against this thinking because it can lead you in a harmful direction. God promises to make your paths straight. Spiritually, the direct route is easier to travel and requires less time. But it is not obstacle-free. As you follow the first three directional signs, the Father will work on your behalf to overcome barriers along the way. Will you follow God’s spiritual compass and trust Him wholeheartedly? As you reject self-reliance and acknowledge dependence upon Him, you will stay on the straight path of godliness। Taken from: In Touch Ministries

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Daily Devotional

Trusting God

READ | Psalm 25:1-5

Life can seem confusing at times. Sudden changes in our circumstances or the people’s behavior can make us wonder how to go forward. That’s why God gave us His Word as a reliable compass to point the way in difficult times. But we need an abiding trust in Him if we are to effectively use His guidance and follow His instructions. We know God is trustworthy. He is the One who created us. God sent His Son to die in our place. He adopted us permanently into His family. With His great power, He resurrected Christ. With that same power, He is able to keep every one of His promises. These are solid reasons that we can depend upon Him. There are several signs that we don’t trust the Lord. Sometimes we rely on other things to determine our course of action. We lean on our reasoning power, material desires, or feelings. You may also seek advice and help from other people instead of from God’s Word. These ways show a lack of trust in Him. Some things keep us from placing our full confidence in God. One obstacle is a lack of awareness that God desires an intimate relationship with us. If we don’t realize that He is deeply interested in our affairs, then we won’t look to Him for guidance. A second barrier is pride. We often would rather rely on ourselves than depend solely on Him. Placing our confidence in the almighty, eternal triune God is always wise. He can be trusted in every situation.

Take from: In Touch Ministries

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ECE Board Exam Result

The result of the ECE Board Exam given last March 2008 was released yesterday April 01, 2008. Please check this link for the result : Roll of Successful Examinees in the ELECTRONICS ENGINEER LICENSURE EXAMINATION

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