Journal Entry. Evening. 6th of October. 2025 My thoughts are continually exercised and greatly afflicted by the remembrance of the street meeting we were constrained to forego by reason of my current ailment. My spirit finds itself in a sincere and arduous wrestling with the conviction that but a single public assembly per week may fail to bear the abundant fruit that the Lord desires. The soil is hard-packed, and the seeds must be scattered often and with great persistence! A particular thought hath now come clearly into view, one that aligns with a burden the Lord hath been impressing upon my heart for many weeks. Yet I am careful not to run ahead in my own strength, lest I make a rash commitment apart from His leading and enablement. For now, I wait upon the Lord, seeking clearer direction and the assurance of His blessing upon the matter. Whitefield's activities in Scotland supply further evidence of the carefulness with which he planned his work of preaching. His first three w...

Let us maintain a sober and necessary distinction between those who merely criticize the spiritual decay of the age and those who, in the fear of the Almighty, labor against it. There is a vast gulf separating those who simply affirm the existence of error from those who are truly broken before God because of the transgression! Verily, a great chasm separates those who merely attend the assembly and those who, in humility, worship God in Spirit and in Truth. As the sacred record laments, the wicked doth often surround the righteous, wherefore wrong judgments abound in the public square and even within the courts of the Church (Habakkuk 1:4) . Of such wrong judgments is born a grievous lack of urgency for the advancement of Christ's eternal Kingdom—a damnable disease we call complacency. This slothful spirit doth stand in direct violation of the LORD's solemn command to "occupy" our appointed posts until His glorious return (Luke 19:13) . We must affirm that the as...

Congregations in every age must see themselves as learning communities in which gospel truth has to be taught, defended, and vindicated against corruptions of it and alternatives to it. Being alert to all aspects of the difference between true and false teaching, and of behavior that expresses the truth as distinct from obscuring it, is vital to the church’s health. 1  As the years go by, I am increasingly burdened by the sense that the more conservative church people in the West, Protestant and Roman Catholic alike, are, if not starving, at least grievously undernourished for lack of a particular pastoral ministry that was a staple item in the church life of the first Christian centuries and also of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation era in Western Europe, but has largely fallen out of use in recent days.  That ministry is called catechesis. It consists of intentional, orderly instruction in the truths that Christians are called to live by, linked with equally intentio...

The familiar feeling of dread once again overtook me as we drew near to our spot this afternoon. My stomach started acting up and my chest was pounding. An all too familiar feeling with every instance of pleading in public. I had to face this every time in the past when I went out alone, but now, having my wife beside me was more than enough great comfort. It's perfectly fine to be afraid, as long as you obey in spite of it. And so we prayed. We pleaded for mercy and unction. We parked. And we made our way to the park. I immediately went to look for an enforcer but there was none, and I was directed to the nearest precinct. It is my custom, first of all, to ask permission from any available law enforcement person before I plead in public. In this case, the nearest police district was a good leg stretch away. It was a short but amusing conversation that both of us obviously wanted to end quick. The gentleman was only too pleased to even encourage me by saying "by all m...

Although the past few months have confined me to the house trying to find a means for "tent making" via online jobs, my soul was aching to proclaim the gospel on the streets as I used to. We as a family, have also withdrawn from fellowship for a month so I can reflect more on the gravity and seriousness of speaking in front of the saints, a practice which I would be wise to consider a very grave and solemn matter. I am not a pastor, nor am I educated in the proper means to deliver a sermon, but I would like to believe that, given my lack of knowledge in earthly preparation, I strive towards the filling of the Spirit on my knees instead.  This day found me walking a kilometer from Soler, Santa Cruz to Tutuban Center in Divisoria. This is the go to place in Manila for everything you need, cheap. In the past, you can barely walk straight on this very street as it was filled with vendors and tents of all sorts, which also made it a breeding ground for all kinds of unlawful d...

Finally, after a long time, I was enabled once again to fellowship with this passionate brother, Roland, who came straight from a job interview, to meetup with me in Manila. We ministered at this place and managed to speak directly with a few people. This one fellow in particular challenged us to respect other people's religion saying that truth is relative and dependent on a person's preference. We engaged him with his circular reasoning and turned it against him till he found himself arguing with his own thinking. We did not linger long, but instead witnessed against him that Jesus Christ is the only way, the only truth, and the only life. His own blood be upon his own head. There is no salvation outside the name of Christ.

I met Glen one morning at the place I was handing out tracts at, and among those who took from me, he was the only one who confronted me regarding what it said in the text. As I turned to leave he got up after me and asked me, "Hey, hold on there. It says here that God is good. Can you please explain to me how God can be good? This can't be true. I don't believe this. Where was he when my wife ran away with another man taking my daughter with her and all our belongings? My father, who is a pastor, never treated me like a son. My family shunned me, and treated me as a stranger. I have been living on the streets because of this. I'd rather live here than with my parents. My life is a mess. I have nothing in my heart but anger at my father and at God. So this thing that says, God is good, this doesn't make sense. It simply cannot be true." I can tell he wasn't asking for answers, not a confrontation. I asked him, if he was willing to listen, that I would...

We were supposed to preach in the city but a sudden invitation swayed our plans. After asking and waiting on the Lord for confirmation, if indeed this was his will, it was impressed upon me that I needed to heed this one. Despite my apprehensions, I thrust myself into the hands of the Lord. Tondo is infamous for its hardened population, criminality and poverty. Debauchery here is an accepted norm. This is the hiding place of some of the lowest of the low. I was surprised to find out that there are a lot of active ministries here, if they be real ones though, I do not know. The people are used to hearing the love gospel, and was visibly struck with the open proclamation of sins that everybody is guilty of but no one talks about. The wrath of God and his holy hatred for everything evil, safe to assume, is never mentioned. This was confirmed when the lady pastor we were with (yes, a woman who calls herself a pastor) told us the people has never heard of God's anger, only his love...

My wife and I were blessed to return again to UN Avenue after a day's worth of errand in Makati. Finding Arman, the man we met days ago, in good spirits as he was pleasantly surprised, when upon waking up from sleep he saw me and immediately extended his hand out to me for a greeting. I did not have time to speak with him the last time, but today we were willing to hear his story for as long as it takes, his eyes were beaming as he narrated his life, and I can feel how elated he was to have someone listen and talk to about personal things he had kept for himself for so long. He showed me his back tattoo, signifying he was an ex-convict who spent a good part of his life in prison for homicide. It came about when a fellow street dweller aggravated him at a feeding session. So to exact revenge he searched him out, found out where he was sleeping, went there, waited, and stabbed him three times before escaping. He said he'd do it again if the situation calls for it. I felt sad...

Kenneth is around 15 years of age. He did not look anything like the typical street dweller we commonly see because he was even healthier than my children by appearance. But he was obviously hungry. The guard was not at his post when he entered the establishment we were in. This was just a chance meal we thought of having after distributing bibles and tracts at a busy market near the university belt in Manila, but some of our best divine appointments come about suddenly and without warning. Kenneth went from table to table, asking everyone eating for money, to buy food. He was waved off every time. When he came to us at last, we asked him to sit with us and told him we cannot give him money, but we can buy him food instead. I have learned that one of the best opportunities to share the gospel is when people are asking something from you. I asked him if he knew who Jesus is, to which he blankly replied, "tagapagligtas", (savior). "From what?", I asked. ...

A dear brother and I wished two days ago to publicly proclaim Christ at my fishing hole in Plaza Rueda. The events on the morning of that Tuesday will I reserve for another post, to wait on the Lord for what transpires after a lengthy talk with a lost and angry soul who chased after me with a lot of hard questions when he read the words, "God is good." on our tract. The Lord was pleased to finally free this man from years of bitterness against God and his family after he heard the truth about who he is before a holy God, and what God, through His Son, had done for him. After I invited him for lunch and he shared more details about his present predicament, he went out in joy to tell more of his friends, with an invitation for me to come back and tell them about the Savior. After this particular meal we gave away tracts at the nearby park where scores of families and touring groups were. When we spent our supplies after an hour we went about to look for a security enforcer to...

Morning outreach and fellowship with brother Roland, one of the few fiery preachers I know of. Two locations in Cubao, Manila. We pleaded at the intersection of the Metro Rail and walked the length of this street preaching to the lines of tricycles and jeepneys that made it their very own terminal. A month ago the Lord dealt graciously in having another brother I worked with more than fifteen years ago to suddenly call me and hand over his support for more bibles to be given away. I determined never to let anyone know of our needs but rely solely on the Lord in sustaining us. More importantly I have received kind and very encouraging words from brethren half the world away in supporting me through their prayers. Indeed I am surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. We spent the afternoon preaching to the crowd at Quezon City where a group of nuns were present and they were able to listen to the presentation of the law and the Gospel. Moreover I am encouraged to se...

Since last week, I have been urged to go out again and deliver a particular reading of Matthew 5 to 7, though I was at a loss as to where, up to the last minute, being minded to simply board a jeep and go down where I'm told to. I was trembling with the usual fear that accompanied such a bidding. My stomach was turning inside and my palms were shaking and sweating. I kept breathing out to ease my thumping chest. Everything in me told me, 'No. You'll just choke there with nothing to say.' I simply knew that despite that being true, I only need to trust and obey. It was past 10PM as I went down at a place 2 rides from work in Manila. I asked permission from the local enforcers (baranggay) and the nearby police station, found a worthy slab I can stand on beside a jeepney terminal, and read. There was nothing unusual about what happened for the next hour. The police and enforcers were surely ministered to as they stood and sat towards my direction, but besides that...

I only got to bring a hundred tracts this week. But tonight's line was four times that number. I can only print on a limited budget sufficient for 400 prints per payday. Including the ink. When I finally step down from secular work I am confident the Lord will take over the ministry needs. I decided to deactivate my social media account, and was pleasantly surprised to know many noticed and sent inquiries, which meant my posts reach more people than I would like to believe. I received not so few encouragements as well, the Lord being kind as to send messages from true brethren for me  to press on. But I badly need more time alone with the Lord, to be serious with my 4AM devotions, and my personal 12-3-6 program. Near the boarding area I picked these up. Four discarded tracts crumpled and stepped on. Heartbroken I said to the Lord, "Forgive them, Lord, for rejecting you." The answer came back immediately, "They did not reject me. I rejected them." ...

Somebody bought the whole stock of bibles from my source this month, leaving me with nothing to bring today. Since I ditched driving to work I am more free to minister to where the Lord leads me whether going to work or going home. My route takes me almost 40 kilometers one way and I get to interact and ride with different people. Every opportunity to minister has stories I get to take back with me and learn from. This past month lay really heavy on me. I finally lost all passion and zeal for my work. Gone. Depleted. Sucked to the core. Although I have submitted my resignation letter middle of last year, things are becoming more clearer that I have to move on without looking back. Should I leave now, I would still be looking for work to support my family and three of my children who are still in school, but any simple work will do. I don't mind stepping down the social ladder. I did not pursue working to achieve social status anyway. Worries tend to creep under me trying to...