FAIR SUNSHINE

And when these lepers came to the edge of the camp, they went into a tent and ate and drank, and they carried off silver and gold and clothing and went and hid them. Then they came back and entered another tent and carried off things from it and went and hid them. Then they said to one another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news. If we are silent and wait until the morning light, punishment will overtake us. Now therefore come; let us go and tell the king's household.” 2 Kings 7:8-9  "At first, the lepers' self-centered disregard for other people was terrible. They cram themselves with food while storing as much spoil as they can. At least in the middle of it all they realized their mistake. Even more concerning is the fact that their actions reflect that of many Christians who reap the rewards of salvation but never spread the gospel to people around them who are in desperate need of the truth. May the Lord help all believers understand their resp...

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart, yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:11 The Karen people inhabited northern Thailand and the highlands of Burma (Myanmar) for generations.  A prophecy that was part of their oral traditions stated that the Creator God, Y'wa, had once given them a book that contained His truth. They believed that their forefathers had lost this book long ago as a result of their disobedience to Him.  Tradition told that the missing book would eventually be returned to them by a white brother who would come across the ocean.  Despite not knowing the Bible, they sung old hymns about Y'wa being everlasting, holy, and the creator of everything. This prophecy kept alive a desire for the restoration of truth. Adoniram Judson comes to Burma in 1813, and opened his first public preaching place in 1819. For seven years he labored among the Burmese Buddhists, working on...

I was beaming with gladness and my heart ablaze once again after the LORD led me to find this brother who preaches the glorious gospel in public with his son in the Andes,Peru. Such conviction is aroused by speaking plain truth of the great need of our times. May the LORD advance His kingdom among the people in this place and call them home through this dear brother's labors. Even in the beginning of the LORD's work here in our place we have been praying for the unnamed and unknown missionaries who have left their lives behind to labor in places where Christ has yet to be named. May the LORD answer their prayers. May He give their families comfort. If they are in peril, may the LORD hold their faith and see them through to the end. Oh, what sweet gladness for me to hear these faithful soldiers praise God as they see the face of Christ in the end smiling at them. Ushering them into His eternal promise and rest where they will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. I am granted ...

To engage in mercy ministry is good. But to neglect the intentional proclamation of the gospel is to affirm that man can indeed live on bread alone. If you give yourself a year in persevering through the difficulty of open air preaching you will realize what commandment you have been neglecting all along. Good doxology ought to follow from sound theology.  A proper appreciation of God's glory inspires awe, which in turn motivates action.  Telling others when we see something wonderful is ingrained in us.  People who claim to know God but could not bring themselves to share him with others demonstrate that no beauty in Christ was ever seen, and as a result, no glory for God is desired.  Doxology is then reduced to lip service rather than action because theology was either improperly taught or improperly comprehended.

Two weeks upon learning there would be a sodomite rally on the 28th at Quezon City, we held overnight prayer meetings between the hours of 2AM to 4AM. We believe all battles in behalf of the kingdom of Christ is won on our knees, and that our Lord's victory on the cross was made possible by that pivotal moment He spent in Gethsemane the night before. Everyone wanted to participate, but our small car can only accommodate five people. Everyone else would have to endure the laborious effort of traveling from Makati and Bulacan. Some sacrificed the day off from work, while others traveled directly from a 5 a.m. shift. We weren't there to see the event or the people, but to witness for our Savior. The public proclamation of the word is grossly misunderstood by most, especially by religionists who think the practice is outmoded, impractical, and ineffective. I've read comments arguing that it drives people away, and it belittles their faith. In reality, they have never been cl...

My wife takes our current house help through the pages of the New Testament each day before starting work. Her life is unbelievably difficult, and seemingly hopeless. Singled out by her in-laws for her background, she struggles between being beaten and maltreated by her husband, disrespected by her children, and having nowhere to turn to, till she found solace in talking about the Lord. As believers we are to treat each soul brought to us by the Lord as a candidate for His mercy. Each gasoline boy, driver, or security guard, a recipient of a gospel tract. These bread crumbs, done consistently and without regard for numbers, will one day surprise us in heaven. I tend to imagine a soul in heaven approaching me saying, "Remember that one tract you gave at such a place? The Lord used that to save me. And now I am here to worship God forever because you obeyed."

This Sunday was a review of the lessons from the past month. The children who have been with us for 14 months have responded so wonderfully to the catechisms that I cannot begin to praise God for deepening the children's understanding. The Old Testament's main ideas, starting with the Genesis' prophecy of the coming Messiah up to Joshua, required about a year to study. Much grace has been given to the teachers who put their hearts to pray for the children, and going the extra mile by burning the midnight oil, studying for the lessons, often well into daybreak. It gives me great joy in encouraging them that their labors in the LORD are never in vain, and that they have been given the privilege of shaping these minds who would one day, Lord willing, be granted saving grace. They have a hand in affecting these children's lives who in turn will be the very ones to take the gospel into their homes, to their parents, and to their siblings. God is able to do more with the litt...

I took my wife on a date this afternoon but the rain caught us midway and we were forced to take shelter at a random shop. Out of nowhere came this man, a homosexual, asking for alms. Divine appointments like these are heaven sent gospel opportunities. To give him money so he'd leave me alone is cruel. Filling an empty stomach without giving the gospel is useless, just as giving the gospel to someone hungry is as well. He obviously just wants the money so he can move on. But the poor wretch is in dire peril. I use questions to communicate, instead of presenting statements. He is forced to think to give an answer instead of simply nodding.  We talked for ten short minutes, and as he was walking away with his prize I am reminded of how helpless I am to turn anyone to Christ. May the gospel he heard be not for his condemnation. I can only witness. It remains solely the work of the Father to turn a soul to Christ.  Only God can make a Christian. Christ alone saves.

The most useful books for the whole week that compose the Sunday liturgy, with the family worship guide being used daily, 7 days a week. We keep the services 2 hours short, with an hour of close fellowship prior to start. An hour dedicated to prayer, worship, catechism, and Scripture reading - before the message. Ending in songs from the Westminster Scottish Psalter, and another hour of fellowship. God has tremendously blessed the dear ones by instilling a greater awareness of sin, and a deeper reverence for His commands, especially the seriousness of Lord's day, by which most of them have stood firm against much opposition and ridicule from employers, and even from their own families. The fruit of God's faithfulness shone through when I spoke with one of the young ones, "Should God gift me with my own family, we will dedicate every night to worshipping the Lord. From my children and to my grandchildren." Each one of them share the same sentiment. What a blessed work...

I was provided an audio book of this precious work by William Bridge more than 6 years ago and have acquired the very transcript with which I have printed and bound my own book. It has greatly comforted me in my distress regarding this aspect of my faith time and again, and has served well to emphasize the grace that God has graciously showered upon poor sinners via the merit of Jesus Christ's covenantal work on the cross. And as I seek to help those who are drowning in the same pit of hopelessness, I am awed with the majesty of God's sure election and His faithfulness to the everlasting covenant:  "As godly men shall never be condemned for their sins, so their sins shall never part God and them. What seems to be the reason why some are so discouraged about their sins, but because they think they shall not only lose the face and presence of God by their sins, but that they shall lose God himself.  But now, surely, the sins of the godly shall never part God and them. Their ...

Each meeting is fruitful for this old soul whose light is quite near its close. His body may have wasted away, but he is gifted with simple, child-like understanding. It is always a joy to recommend the mercies of Christ to a ready ear, and including the beginnings of redemptive history is quite a tremendous help in framing the gospel aright. May the LORD grant me the grace to faithfully and joyfully see this through. 

Last week we hired a lady to clean the shop and our house which led to my queen sharing the gospel with her. She lives with her husband in a small unit in the neighboring village, sharing the roof with her aged parents and 5 others. 9 of them live a small house for 2. The 10th occupant, a 21 year old lesbian lover of her 15 year old daughter, added to the load. Her stepfather's name is lolo S**, who she told was the only Christian in the family. He was passionate about the Word, but had no feeding for a long time now, eversince the pastor from Malolos who was assisting them stopped visiting for some reason. I offered to take her home so I can talk with the old man, and asked if he was interested in reviving the studies. He slept on a makeshift bed of wood in the garage, and can barely read with his poor eyesight. He popped his left knee while working on the dump site but had no money for an operation, so the knee is still dislocated up to this day and it keeps him from walking far....

The Muslims became restless towards the end when all they heard was about Jesus dying on the cross. They did not want to hear about their secret sins brought out into the open, nor did they want to hear about a mere prophet being the Savior of sinners. Whitefield said, “I was honored to have rotten eggs and pieces of a dead cat thrown at me as I preached Christ.” Though I have had some type of resistance and threat before alas, I have not yet had such an honor. God has graciously taken me often to the brink but not over. My time will come. I purposely avoided preaching at this spot but it was inevitable. The crowd was more than usual being days away from the New Year. Despite my fears and excuses not to stand here, God prevailed. I was not sent to preach the Gospel to the many who were irritated and annoyed, and who honked horns to drown me out - but to the few who listened patiently and intently. Just as Jesus did not come for the self-righteous but for sinners. If there is such a thi...