FAIR SUNSHINE

I vaguely remember a story about a missionary standing beside a pagan priest, admiring their spectacular temple that was made of precious stones and overlaid with gold. He asked the priest, 'this  must have cost a lot to build?' , to which the priest replied, 'it is for the gods, we do not ask how much it will cost.' After a good while our neighbor, who strangely has grown cold towards us in the past month, surprisingly said a friendly quip to my wife yesterday as she was struggling to bring in the rice she bought for us. Immediately we saw it as an opportunity to do something for her to win her favor back. It has been Tina's desire to give food away for so long, and this was a good opportunity. We have been living among our neighbors three months now and we still haven't done anything for them. Yesterday, a client sent a timely downpayment for a sideline I have been doing for two weeks now (the LORD has never failed to give us food in due season) . Our...

Every chance to go out, especially at this time when the whole of the city of Bulacan is on lockdown, is a good excuse to bring the gospel along with me. This errand which took me over three hours to complete was one such instance. The remittance center I was directed to go to, had a line, but each person took more than 10 minutes per transaction, and by 12 noon has depleted its money supply, as those cashing out were more in number than those sending money, and was forced to turn away customers till the next day. I was second to the last before they cut the line. I fell in line before 10AM and was out of there around 12:15PM. It is now prohibited to cross over to the next town proper and we are strongly advised to find our means inside our own city. I had to ride to McArthur Highway to find a bank but all the automatic teller machines I passed by were offline, so I drove back home before the curfew ended. This particular fellow read the whole thing intently. I later ov...

It is humbling to know that the LORD saw to it that His work bore more fruit unto His glory. This was sent in by a brother who lives down south. He took it to himself to translate the scripture list in the previous post to the Tagalog language by hand so he can read God's words in public where he ministers. The LORD bless him. This is all the LORD's work, and he has made it marvelous in my eyes, for which it has brought me tremendous gladness.

It is most appropriate to begin public proclamation with scripture. Only then does preaching follow after. People need to hear God's word, not my opinion. Always after reading am I assisted mightily in power and in spirit. I have, in the course of my meager experience, compiled different portions of scripture that present the gospel in a linear fashion, so that it forms a singular paragraph and a consistent train of thought. Reading it alone is equivalent to preaching. If you have been given the heart to take the gospel to the lost but are afraid of preaching, I highly encourage you to read scripture. Anyone who can read can do this. If you want to kill the flesh, reading scripture in public is one of the best ways to accomplish this. But then again, keep in mind that carrying the gospel has a high price. Not one of perfection, but a sincere striving towards purity and holiness. If you have no desire in yourself to practice what you preach, or read in this matter, then it...

Correct biblical preaching can only come from a correct understanding of correct biblical doctrine. This is a small part of a forty-five minute pleading last Monday, the 16th of March, by our beloved servant brother Jordan.  Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! Psalms 133:1 

I believe we are moving into this world's darkest age. Vividly surreal, that one will find it extremely difficult to grasp the speedy pace at which things are happening as they are plainly laid out in scripture. Yesterday we were blessed to have gathered with a small number from the church body to help instruct each and everyone who has been given a heart for the lost, the points of sharing the gospel in line with proper biblical doctrine, both one on one and on the street. I remember saying this line without thinking, "the world out there does not need more ministers, but people who are willing to die for the gospel." A hospital that operates only eight hours a day is absurd. A fire department that closes at the end of the day is even more. But a church that operates only two hours one day of the week is a tragedy. And as a fiery preacher puts it, 'the tragedy of our day is a sick church in a dying world.' If we refuse to let our very light shine forth, the...

Deliver those being taken away to death, and hold back those slipping to the slaughter. If you say, “But we did not know about this,” does not the one who evaluates hearts consider? Does not the one who guards your life know? Will he not repay each person according to his deeds? Proverbs 24:11-12     God hath in His mercy enabled us once again to step out in spite of the ongoing virus scare, to which we see a great opportunity to present Christ to the people, seeing they are at a more sober mind at this time, and are apt to be more receptive to our message. There were no large crowds, but the establishments across us, and the tricycle terminal behind us, which always has people, served as our audience. My brother pastor and I rode on our scooters, accompanied by brother Ronnie from Ilas, and my dear wife. We were assisted with the word and with power. The parlor in front of us visibly agitated by the severity of the gospel. We began past five and before we knew, i...

There were times I've wondered if anything I do is of any worth to the kingdom, for lack of evidence or fruit. I have deactivated and activated, erased and re-uploaded posts on some social media platforms in my doubt. But the Lord has always sent fresh encouragements to me from strangers who surprisingly notice my absence. In my devotions with the word of God, I am reminded that the stories there did not occur in a linear fashion as they were written. At times there were long gaps in the timeline in between revelations. Sometimes weeks in between, sometimes years. It is a great comfort to me that even though I do not always feel the presence of God, His promises remain ever faithful, and His integrity steadfast. In the weeks that have passed a brother in the Lord from Cavite wrote to me and asked for copies of our tracts he can use for distribution. After a brief exchange regarding faith, I sent him our templates so he can have them printed out. He sent me back these pictures ...

Amidst the scare of the so-called Corona virus, (which the media is frantically hyping up as the new black plague but has the same symptoms as the common flu) , life goes on in this part of Bulacan. Sin is still the biggest disease, having a 100% fatality rate. But thanks be to the grace of God through our Lord Jesus Christ for His sure mercies that we have the freedom to proclaim the good news of reconciliation far from the persecution that besets our brethren overseas. We are told not to fear men, and that includes sickness and disease. A thousand may fall beside us, and ten thousand by our side. But it shall not come near us. And even if it does come to us by His sovereignty, we know whom we should fear. In most countries where Christianity is singled out and illegal, having a church building is a liability. We should number our days, and not abuse the time and freedom we have to continue being unmindful of souls entering daily into a Christless eternity, lest we find ourselv...