Daily Devotions – Philippians 2

This morning as I was doing my daily devotions on my Bible App, You Version (which you can download for free here) I was rereading Philippians 2.

I have been sitting in Philippians now for the past couple of months, gleaning pearls of wisdom from Paul, on the way in which we should live as Christians.

In Philippians 2:3 he says;

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,

As I sit here in Kathmandu, Nepal contemplating this verse I wonder how much we value others above ourselves.

Drivers slow down for dogs, cows & other animals that cross the road but have no time for follow human beings, blaring their horns & shaking their hands @ passers-by who look as if they are to busy to give anyone the time of day. Forcing their way past people on their motorbikes and in their cars, giving people a nudge to get out of the way…

Going into restaurants & cafe’s people are more interested in there online presence, or the person on the other end of the phone than they are in communicating with the person in front of them.

Admittedly some would argue that they are communicating, but not necessarily to the people that they are with in person.

In the Western world or even in New Zealand are we any different?

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,

I think that if we are to truly value others, then in the first instance we need to acknowledge them – so the question for today and the remainder of this week is, who are you going to recognize? Who are you going to value by holding a conversation with them (even if you don’t understand a single word they are saying, you can still nod and show that you are at least trying to listen and understand.)

As Christians we need to “act in such a manner that you are living proof of a loving God.”

You never know, you may just brighten the day of that someone who you took the time to value by acknowledging them or you may even get the opportunity to have a faith conversation!

Nameste

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Nepal – Day 9

This morning was a bit of a slow start as we didn’t really have anything booked, so we took it easy. Andrew, the team leader, had a meeting mid morning to look at a house, which we will be looking to move into for the duration of our stay here in Nepal. This will serve as the base of operations for the recovery team who will start arriving mid October.

This is about the sixth house that members of the team have looked at over the past couple of weeks, a few days ago we thought we had one lined up, but the owner decided at the last moment, after saying yes mind you, that we couldn’t have it as he was going to stay due to family coming back from oversees. But it looks like this one that was viewed today is all go, and we can move in tomorrow…

In the afternoon MJ & I went back to Liwali Camp to catch up with Ratna as they were having their celebration march, which is part of the ongoing celebrations for those that have passed away in the last year. MJ was invited to wear a traditional wrap around skirt (sari) and she was very obliging getting kitted out by a few of the ladies of the camp.

The march follows a centuries old path around the city and includes a stick dance through the streets which was accompanied with a group of drummers. It certainly drew a crowd, along the way people lined the streets to watch, in some places the people were hanging out of windows. As we approached Durbar Square the amount of people gathering around was astounding, as other community settlements also took to the streets.

The celebrations go well into the night, we were told that after they get back from the march they have a number of dramas and songs, over food of course!

It was great to be a part of their culture, rather than continually giving out we were able to just be with them which I think they truly appreciated.

It was a bit of a shame that we couldn’t have continued well into the night with them, but the reality was that after a few hours of pounding the streets we were had it and needed to get back to Sisters Cafe & Beauty to catch up with the rest of the team.

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