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Caypombo, Bulacan Plea

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Here is the aggregate video of last Saturday's time spent in this part of Bulacan.  May the LORD be glorified and you be blessed.

There Are People Here

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How else can one enjoy both the beauty of God's and creation and the sharing of his word at the same time? Once again, it proved to be true that the kingdom of God is for the simple-hearted. Through four towns, a cavern and into the quarry behind the mountain region of Malangan. I was so joyful inside that I was even thankful for the sun that burned us as we walked the trail. It was a trek we thoroughly enjoyed every minute of. Get thy glory, Lord.

Resistance to the Gospel

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I was not even thinking when we passed this marketplace in Caypombo as I suddenly turned inside a vacant lot to park, and prayed. I had driven past a spot, an hour ago, which I thought would be a good place to proclaim the Gospel, but now we found ourselves here in a different place. Far inside the heart of Bulacan. There was a sense of spiritual oppression that filled this place. I do not know what its history is, but public proclamation was frowned upon. The owner of the establishment I was standing on seemed annoyed, but however we viewed the opportunity, it looks as though we are here to witness against the place. We were enabled to freely distribute just 29 bibles and close to just a hundred tracts, but it was not without difficulty and verbal resistance. This was the first time we have people refusing free bibles even if we were emphasizing that all they had to do was take it. But then the Lord did smile upon a few souls who welcomed both the proclamation of the wor...

The Hedges

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For a long time now, I had it in mind to pursue the spread of the Gospel in my own backyard, but I have yet to start, nor do I have any idea where to start. I have stayed away from the practice of going out for the sake of necessity, and leaned more towards the inspiration and bidding of the Holy Ghost. Those who are steeped in mundane religion, are pooled mostly in urban areas, whereas the simple-hearted are neglected to tend to themselves, mostly in a poor and degrading environment. My daughter was first to inform me of this particular area in San Rafael she had traveled to just last year, but it was only till last Friday that it really sank into me that there were actual fishes far out into the sea. If it indeed be a good thing, to extend the Gospel only to those within my immediate reach, that is to say, those areas that are within my daily route; am I neglecting a need that is just as critical as those I had attended to? I asked my wife to accompany me in scouting ...

Going Home

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As in most times I am told to go, this particular bidding was hard on my flesh for reasons I myself cannot recall then, so I will endeavor to explain the remainder of this past Saturday here.  I stood for a good while on the stairs after alighting off the train station on my way home, looking at these people who were standing in line waiting for the provincial bus to come in. This is the same line that I take to board my bus. There was nothing out of the ordinary for the line to form this long, except that, at that moment, I knew what the Lord was moving me to do, and so I began to tremble inside. I have handed out tracts around this area often on my way home. I have pleaded with the people at other points of interest around this area as well, but I have always yearned to reach out to the people of this particular spot. I have also stood in line with the same people many, many times, hiding in shameful silence, my insides burning with the Gospel, without even trying to ...

Go. Stand. Speak.

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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...

Preaching Silently

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In anticipation of our funds being cut off this coming July, we invested in a small number of tools that would at least help with our necessities, and at the same time help my fellow soldiers who preach on the streets. I am no stranger to manual labor, being a weldor/fabricator. I miss the grime on my hands and the smell of argon. Not the least bit concerned about titles I do not mind stepping half-way down ladder even to a janitorial or messenger position. That being said, I find myself in a position to put my God-given skills in digital media to good use for the kingdom. I have personally heard of the testimony of the proprietor of Wear His Word, a Christian shirt company who prints scripture on their wares, and have studied their profile and direction for a bit just to get ideas. It was great to see them where they are now in terms of profit compared to when they first started, resigning from a corporate position, and choosing instead to simply print shirts. Yet.. Th...

Fulfillment

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These photos were sent to me last night by my dear brother Jordan who led his flock in public ministry yesterday morning in a busy market in Bocaue, Bulacan. It blesses me to see this beloved church moving in the right direction. If you care for the precious bride of Christ please remember them in your prayers. May the Lord guard their beautiful simplicity and prune it into fruitfulness. Remember also, seeing that we are blessed with the freedom to do with little or no resistance, the pastors who are in prison right now for the same cause of Christ, and their families who are missing their husbands and fathers. We must needs be working fervently in prayer and in the ministry of the word while we have light. The shadow of the enemy looms ahead that threatens to criminalize the rebuking of sin, such as this devilish SOGIE Bill (I hate it with a perfect hatred) that is being proposed by a few proponents of Satan himself. Nonetheless, their father has first to acquire permiss...

Directions

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This month marks our first year since we began in public ministry. As I sat before the Lord this afternoon I felt utterly small, looking at how it has pleased him to bless our meager beginnings by enabling us this month to increase our purchase  of a hundred new copies of the New Testamen to be given away, to put the holy scriptures in the hands of as many people as it is permitted us.  Each bible also has a Gospel tract inserted inside. We found that handing away free bibles is a sure way to get our tracts in the hands of people, who would otherwise simply shove us away most of the time we offer them out.  It was also necessary to revise and append some points in our tracts regarding the presenting of the law, grievous offenses and man's complacency in himself, being inherently apathetic towards the things of God, before the good news can be clearly presented.  This past month also found me in various bouts of sickness, and declining health. I am co...

James Guthrie. Covenanter.

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How many of us bow at the slightest discomfort and trouble? How our faith is revealed in the smallest of all affliction? When in fact, if we take time to reflect on it, our lives are not enough to give back for what has been graciously given us. I am afraid that even in our so-called present zeal, we have yet hidden one of both hands from the Lord, though he gave us his all, and that it would take the blood of  present-days martyrs for revival to yet come to our land. May God have mercy on us.  ~D With hands tied together, James Guthrie walked slowly up the High Street to the city cross. Broad-shouldered William Govan kept pace beside him. The one was nearly fifty, the other not yet out of his thirties. Greatheart and Valiant for Truth were to be seen once again upon the human scene. Soon they were upon the scaffold above the serried rows of glittering steel, and Sickerfoot, who had been offered a bishopric and had refused it, stepped forward with loving zeal to give his...

An Answer For More Laborers

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I barely had three hours sleep the previous night trying to meet my submission deadline. I got to leave work by 430 AM and was blessed to arrive home safely by 6 AM with just enough time to prepare and leave again for our 8 AM meeting with the church at Batia, Bulacan. The church had been looking forward to this day for three weeks, as this was to be the very first official public ministry of this young gathering. God has so graciously worked his spirit in the believers that they saw the call for more laborers in the Lord's vineyard, and the Lord has since endeavored to form in them the zeal to pursue the need. This was doubly a special day for me as well, as this is also the very first time that my beloved wife unselfishly offered herself, despite her apprehensions and fears, to read God's word in public. I have long imagined this day. How glorious to have seen it come to pass. She read for as long as she can till she lost her voice. It was such joy to hear her voice l...

The Daily Line

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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." ...