Devotional Clips

The important of time in sharing the Gospel

The Empty Plate Experiment: Bakit Mas Mabenta ang “Almost Sold Out” kaysa “Fully Stocked”

Noong 1959, may psychologist na si Howard Leventhal na gumawa ng kakaibang experiment sa isang college cafeteria.
Nag-set up siya ng dalawang identical dessert tables.
Parehong pudding.
Parehong plato.
Parehong presyo.
Pero eto ang twist:
Sa Table A, punô ang tray — overflow pa ng chocolate pudding.
Sa Table B, kaunti na lang ang servings, may mga half-eaten plates, at medyo magulo na.
Guess mo kung aling table ang unang naubos?
Yung “empty” tingnan.
💡 Bakit? Dahil sa isang sneaky marketing truth:
Hindi pudding ang binibili ng tao.
Binibili nila yung permission na huwag ma-miss out.
Tinatawag ito ngayon ng psychologists na Scarcity Heuristic — naka-wire ang utak natin na bigyan ng mas mataas na value ang bagay na mukhang rare.
’Yan din ang dahilan kung bakit napapa-panic ka kapag may nakita kang:
“Only 2 seats left at this price.”
O bakit yung product na “Out of Stock” biglang naging super interesting kahit kanina lang hindi mo naman pinapansin.
Perception of scarcity creates desire.
Hindi ito logic… psychology ito.
🍽️ Paano ginagamit ng smartest marketers ito?
• Apple – hindi talaga naglalabas ng sobrang dami during launch… kahit kaya nila. They sell out on purpose.
• Supreme – limited drops, kaya nagiging parang currency yung damit.
• High-end coaches – maagang nagc-close ng enrollment kahit pwede pa mag-accept… to raise status perception.
Scarcity frames value.
At mas nagbabayad ang tao para sa bagay na akala nilang mawawala.

Biblical Reflection
Ephesians 5:15–16 (KJV)
“See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”
Si Paul, pinaaalala sa atin na scarce ang time.
Ang opportunities na maglingkod, magpatawad, sumunod, magbahagi ng Gospel — hindi yan laging nasa shelf. ⏳
Parang pudding table: kapag almost empty, nagiging urgent.
Maraming tao ang nagsasabing:
“Balang araw, aayusin ko ang buhay ko kay Lord…”
Pero walang date sa calendar ang ‘someday.’
2 Corinthians 6:2
“Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”
Kung ang mundo nagmamadali kapag “last item on sale,”
tayo dapat mas eager kumuha ng opportunities that matter for eternity.
Sabi ni Jesus:
John 9:4
“I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day:
the night cometh, when no man can work.”
💡 Spiritual Insight

Ang “Empty Plate” reminds us na valuable ang invitations ni God dahil hindi ito endless.
Ang grace ay free — pero ang time to respond, hindi unlimited.
Bawat araw na dine-delay natin ang obedience,
mas nauubos ang plate ng opportunity.
Kaya huwag hintayin na maging totally empty ang table.
Lumapit habang may pudding pa! 😄🍮
Respond to God’s calling ngayon — habang available, habang fresh, habang puno ng grace.

from pastor's notebook

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The Cockroach Story

The cockroach story for being stable in the midst of disturbance

At a restaurant, a cockroach suddenly flew from somewhere and sat on a lady.
She started screaming out of fear.
With a panic-stricken face and trembling voice, she started jumping, with both her hands desperately trying to get rid of the cockroach.
Her reaction was contagious, as everyone in her group also got panicky.
The lady finally managed to push the cockroach away but ...it landed on another lady in the group.
Now, it was the turn of the other lady in the group to continue the drama.
The waiter rushed forward to their rescue.
In the relay of throwing, the cockroach next fell upon the waiter.
The waiter stood firm, composed himself and observed the behaviour of the cockroach on his shirt.
When he was confident enough, he grabbed it with his fingers and threw it out of the restaurant.
Sipping my coffee and watching the amusement, the antenna of my mind picked up a few thoughts and started wondering, was the cockroach responsible for their histrionic behaviour?
If so, then why was the waiter not disturbed?
He handled it near to perfection, without any chaos.
It is not the cockroach, but the inability of those people to handle the disturbance caused by the cockroach, that disturbed the ladies.
I realized that it is not the shouting of my father or my boss or my wife that disturbs me, but it's my inability to handle the disturbances caused by their shouting that disturbs me.
It's not the traffic jams on the road that disturbs me, but my inability to handle the disturbance caused by the traffic jam that disturbs me.
More than the problem, it's my reaction to the problem that creates chaos in my life.
Lessons learnt from the story:
I understood I should not react in life.
I should always respond.
The women reacted, whereas the waiter responded.
Reactions are always instinctive whereas responses are always well thought of.
A beautiful way to understand
LIFE.
The HAPPY person is not because Everything is RIGHT in his Life.
He is HAPPY because his Attitude towards Everything in his Life is Right!

Credits to: Divya Bhrambhatt