FAIR SUNSHINE

I have been young, and now am old, Yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his seed begging bread. Psalm 37:25 W e have now been (back) in Peru for one year, as a family of four. When we first arrived in Peru as missionaries, we had no children, and we had only been married for six months. We had also been saved for a very short time. One of the first books that marked our lives and ministry as young Christians was George Muller’s “Answers to Prayer” . This book impacted our lives so deeply, that we asked God to give us the same kind of faith that George Muller had. Many people have said that George Muller had the gift of faith. However, he never considered himself to have the “gift of faith”, but was only obeying what he saw in the Scriptures. George Muller was a man who brought all of his prayers and requests to God, pouring out his needs to Him, and trusting that God alone would impress the hearts of fellow-believers, who in turn would feel the burden, desire, and need t...

All men possess faith, yet not all faith is true. T he question is not whether a man believeth, but what he believeth, and whether the object of his faith—is able to save. Faith, however sincere, is only as trustworthy as that upon which it rests.

I have delayed writing this particular entry since the sixteenth of April, chiefly because I knew not what ought to be said concerning it. Yet as I now look back upon that day, I see that the Lord had His own purpose in it, though at the time it seemed ordinary and uncertain to me. On that day I encountered several members of the Watchtower sect who shared the same kiosk space wherein we frequently proclaim the gospel. There was a certain tension in the atmosphere, for though we occupied the same public place, we stood upon very different foundations concerning the truth of Christ. Yet I was reminded that error is not overcome through strife of flesh, but through patient witness unto the truth of God. The Word of God is the sword that pierces through the lies and deceptions of the enemy. No falsehood can long endure before the light of divine truth, for the counsel of men and the craft of Satan alike are brought to nothing when set against the living Word of God. Thus the servant of...

E very true hearted Christian who tries to do good in the world, must make up his mind to be treated like his Master. He must never be surprised to find, that the self-righteous and the worldly-minded dislike his ways. He will be regarded as meddlesome, disorderly, and self-conceited, a pestilent fellow, and a troubler of Israel (Acts 24:5; 1 Kings 18:17) . Scripture-readers, district-visitors, lay-agents, and unordained missionaries, are specially liable to meet with such treatment. And worst of all they will often meet with enemies, where they ought to find friends.  Let all who are attacked by the world for trying to do good, take comfort in the thought that they are only drinking of the cup which Christ drank, Their Master in heaven sympathizes with them. Let them work on patiently, and believe that, if they are faithful, their work will speak for itself. The world's opposition is sure to attend every really good work. If the servants of Christ are to cease from every moveme...

M ay the Lord’s work in Dumaguete flourish through His redeemed saints who have taken a stand to bear the witness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ before the public. We share deeply in their joy, joining our spirits with them and all those who stand to proclaim the everlasting glories of Christ Jesus and the sure, righteous judgments of God against all sin and rebellion. There is a holy satisfaction in the public declaration of the testimony of the cross, the only refuge for the lost. As they stand before the public, let their hearts be strengthened by the knowledge that to partake in His suffering is to eventually partake in His glory. May the Spirit grant them a boldness that is tempered with humility and a persistence that remains unfazed by opposition. May the blessings of the Lord manifest in their obedience as they willingly share in His humiliation, advancing by nothing but in the power of the Holy Spirit. All photos and video materials are used with permission from ...

I t was one of those rare instance where I was granted the privilege of lifting up the name of Christ before the day had even reached noon. I had accompanied my wife to the market, and while she went about her domestic errands, I remained outside pacing the grounds, searching for that particular spot where the greatest concentration of souls might be found. I eventually settled upon a corner, yet it was a spot unfavorable. There was no shade, not even a single wandering cloud over the location; the sun was out in its full strength, beating down with a relentless and scorching heat that I could not tell whether my eyes were teary or sweating. I stood there, a witness offering myself for the sake of the Word. I was steady in the realization that this temporary heat—this burning of the sun—was the worst I would ever have to endure in this life. But as I watched the crowds, conviction took hold. I knew that for these souls, if they were to die apart from Christ, this blistering noon w...

This morning I felt the heavy drag of my own corrupted nature: timidity and the ease of excuses, cried out for extended repose and sleep. I honestly wrestled against sloth, compelled by the urge to honor my Redeemer before the very souls who, on this day, are tragically immersed in the second day of their solemn observance for the departed.   In this season, the people flock in droves, seeking to honor the deceased with vain oblations of candles and prayer. But what terrible blindness! To offer inanimate candles and dead prayers for the dead—a profound vanity! Therefore, I have resolved in my spirit to seek out three places of earthly rest along my destined route: the grave sites at Santa Maria, the cemetery of Tumana, and the sacred ground of Saint Joseph, where the mortal remains of my dear wife’s father and grandmother repose. My journey led me past the first two resting places, where, perhaps by the kind arrangement of Providence, no great throng was yet assembled. Perhap...

Posting for the record, the pins of locations we have taken the message of the glorious Gospel to since 2017. The grayed out ones with numbers are the locations I am scheduled to visit. If the LORD wills, the chapters of my short life will close with this—my reason for existence, summarized in one insignificant google map. The LORD God of heaven and earth has been faithful and merciful, in keeping me from much harm, since I began lifting up His name (Psalm 40:11) . The great privilege given me as my life's work, was to proclaim the salvation of my LORD. I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; behold! I spared no words! O LORD, you know this is true.  Psalm 40:9  

I am setting forth the boundaries of the list of municipalities wherein I purpose to deliver the divine Word in the coming months. Though the fields for the Gospel's sowing are vast beyond measure, I have, through prayerful consideration, confined my exertions to that which, by the Lord's grace, one man might possibly achieve. May the Almighty, in His boundless mercy, mercifully keep this unprofitable servant from the snares of ambition or self-deception.  This itinerary will require a span of somewhat beyond four months for its completion. I shall commence with four appointed locales in the first month, followed by a like number in the succeeding month, and so forth. My intention is to address the populace in two separate places each day, rotating my ministry amongst the designated locations on a daily, alternating rhythm. Seventeen new locations, and three to revisit. Two I am to revisit, with the exception of Obando, are considerably far from me. Going from one place to the...

As I journeyed toward my fishing hole, my soul was exercised with earnest supplication, repeatedly importuning the LORD to grant me a searching soul—a weary, sin-sick stranger—upon whom I might lavish the glorious tidings of the Gospel. And lo, a profound calm settled upon my spirit, a certain assurance of His favor! For assuredly, He never fails to bestow, in His tender grace, that which His humble servant asks of Him. This deep, abiding serenity, this grounded peace that often fills my breast, confirms the very path of my mortal pilgrimage: to spend the remainder of my fleeting days in this most blessed employ! To boast before a heedless world the immeasurable wonder of God’s unmerited gift—Christ crucified!  O, the mystery of this calling! It begets a wondrous gladness within the soul, mingled with a terrible terror in the flesh. To know that this sacred duty is laid upon me, yet to possess a natural detestation of all human attention—it is a spiritual paradox! Yet, how ...

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  In the first instance, the sheer, self-centered disregard of those poor, afflicted souls was truly grievous to read. They crammed their own bellies with the sustenance presented, whilst selfishly hoarding every last spoil they could lay their hands on. Yet, it is a small mercy that, amidst such indulgence, the light of conscience pricked them, and they were brought to recognize their lapse. Even more dismaying is the pitiful truth that their unthinking actions serve as a dreadful m...

"I fear that in some of our less enlightened country churches there are conservative individuals who almost believe that to preach anywhere except in the chapel would be a shocking innovation, a sure token of heretical tendencies, and a mark of zeal without knowledge. Any young brother who studies his comfort among them must not suggest anything so irregular as a sermon outside the walls of their Zion.  In the olden times we are told Wisdom crieth without, she uttereth her voice in the streets, she crieth in the chief places of concourse, in the openings of the gates'; but the wise men of orthodoxy would have wisdom gagged except beneath the roof of a licensed building. These people believe in a New Testament which says, Go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, and yet they dislike a literal obedience to the command. Do they imagine that a special blessing results from sitting upon a particular deal board with a piece of straight-up panelling at their b...

My spirit was quite beaming with gladness, and my heart set ablaze once again, when the LORD did mercifully lead me to discover a dear brother who boldly proclaims the glorious Gospel in the public thoroughfares of the Andes, Peru, even accompanied by his own faithful son! Such a spectacle of conviction doth put our own languid spirits to shame, for the truth is delivered not with the rhetorical flourishes of man, but with the plain, unvarnished truth concerning the great spiritual need of our perilous times. My supplication ascends now for this valiant laborer! May the LORD mightily advance His Kingdom among the mountain populace in that far-off land, and through this dear brother's faithful exertions, may He call them home to the fold of Christ! Even at the very commencement of the LORD's work in our own humble sphere, our hearts have been lifted in constant prayer for those unnamed and unknown missionaries who have, with sacred resolve, forsaken the comforts of their mortal ...

To dedicate oneself to the simple acts of mercy ministry is undeniably a noble and commendable pursuit, bearing a righteous mark. Yet, to perform such deeds whilst neglecting the intentional and open proclamation of the Gospel—that sacred message of saving grace—is to tacitly affirm the wretched notion that the soul of man may, indeed, live upon bread alone. If one were to but dedicate the space of a single year to the rigorous perseverance of open-air preaching, you would quickly realize, with a striking clarity, precisely what solemn commandment you have been neglecting all along. Let us not find comfort in the physical relief of others, while their souls starve for the truth. The greatest act of mercy is to bring the unblemished Word to a soul in darkness. Good doxology must, by necessity, flow forth from sound theology. For it is a proper, heartfelt appreciation of the Almighty's glorious majesty that first inspires a genuine and humbling awe, which in turn, acts as the soverei...

It is a prevailing and most disingenuous practice that the advocates for sodomy do ever resort to the citing of Ezekiel, the sixteenth chapter and the forty-ninth verse. They deploy this partial truth as a mere shield, hoping to deflect the righteous argument away from the explicit, burning sin of unholiness and onto the more palatable vice of neglect for the needy. Yet, mark this insidious deceit. They invariably, and most shamefully, cease their reading precisely at that forty-ninth verse, deliberately shrinking away from the awful, concluding sentence of the passage. Behold, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom, PRIDE , fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.  They were PROUD , and committed ABOMINATION before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good. Ezekiel 16:49-50 He who believes on the Son has everlasting life: and he who does not believe on the Son shall not se...

Pat, as he is simply called, is a servant of the Lord with a passion for the proclamation of Christ. I had the honor of meeting him and his beloved wife Sarah during the rebellion march at University of the Philippines last Saturday. This meeting has been long overdue. God is gracious indeed.  I have been with a handful of  men in the past who for a time preached Christ in public but went back to comfort and silence. They did not continue or persevere in it. It was just a phase. Perhaps the reason they did it was because it was a "Christian" thing to do and there were others to do it with. However, true calling is demonstrated when men follow through even when others have abandoned you. I have lost count the number of messages I've received along the lines of, 'I want to preach with you.' or 'do you have Facebook so I can follow because I want to preach?' Even, 'I have a burden to preach. Do you give instructions?'  The question is not, do ...

Upon learning, two weeks past, of the assembly of the sodomites scheduled for the twenty-eighth day in Quezon City, our hearts were immediately drawn to the Lord's high court. We immediately instituted overnight prayer meetings, convening between the solemn hours of two and four in the morning. For we hold fast to the conviction that every battle undertaken in behalf of the Kingdom of Christ is won on our knees, and that our Lord's perfect victory upon the Cross was secured and made possible by that pivotal, agonizing moment of wrestling He endured in Gethsemane the night preceding His crucifixion. A great earnestness seized the assembly, and all souls were desirous of participating; alas, our small carriage could accommodate but five brethren. Thus, the remaining faithful were compelled to endure the effort of traversing great distances from Makati and Bulacan. Some did willingly sacrifice their very day of rest from their work, whilst others journeyed directly after concludin...