By Selma & Julius

Mass Evangelism is the proclamation of the gospel in a very huge meeting. It is one of the many different types of evangelism that is being utilized today by churches here in the Philippines. Some Christians would doubt if it is still an effective tool for evangelism today. But it appears that some people are still involved in this method of learning about the Gospel.

There have been many different types of evangelism in order to share the gospel message to the people. Each one has particular strengths and weaknesses, which may be observed simply by pondering upon them. Each type has been used at several times in the past. In the New Testament, mass evangelism has been used to reach large numbers of people. And since the time of the Reformation, Whitefield and Wesley employed the mass gatherings to reach the large numbers of people.

There will always be the call for and opportunity for large community events in which the Gospel is proclaimed. In Eastern and Central Pangasinan, we just had the Evangelism Crusade in support with the Cross Partners Ministry where around 15,000 people surrender their lives to our Lord Jesus Christ. Malasiqui Baptist Church and other Southern Baptist Churches participated in this mass evangelism event. The Crusade included praise and worship, contemporary Christian music, film showing and a clear gospel presentation. It is obvious from this that God is still using mass-evangelism in the Philippines today!

I have sent out update through email. Just in case you haven’t received one please let us know through the comment section below. You can read some of the stories here and here.

My computer’s hard disk had crashed for some unknown reason. I think being overused is not a reason for a disk to crash. But it crashed anyway so I am using a very slow computer. For that reason and another, I can’t keep this blog updated as I want.  I sent a wordpress invite to some MBC members out there to help me keep this blog updated.

I encourage you to post anything like testimonies, devotional material, stories, sermons, church happenings, movie reviews, book reviews and others. Young people I challenged to be more involved in this site. Rather than spending your time chatting or playing games, let us spend sometime here and be a blessing to others.

Let us keep this site updated. If you can’t post directly here, sent me an email or post it in your friendster, multiply, etc. just let me know and I will follow you there.

Please pray for us.   We need a lot of support from you all out there. Little becomes much if you placed it in God’s hand.

What the Camp is All About …

by Selma & Julius

Months before the camp prayers are uttered for we believe that in his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps (Prov. 16:9).

List of young people to join, list of people to approach for prayer and support and list of activities to do in preparation for the coming event was done. Meeting for finality of every bit and pieces of the plan. Yes or no, di pa me sure. Ok or not, di me alam. Finish or undone, pd na cguro. Let’s go! W8 lang…

Then finally all is set. We would like to say to all who supported us, “Ang pagtulong ninyong ito sa amin ay hindi lamang makatutugon sa aming pangangailangan kundi magiging dahilan pa ng walang hanggang pagpapasalamat namin sa Diyos. vAng bukas-palad ninyong pagbibigay ay magpapatunay sa amin na matapat ninyong tinatalima ang Mabuting Balita ni Cristo. Dahil diyan, magpupuri kami sa Diyos. vKaya’t buong pagmamahal namin kayong idadalangin, dahil sa dakilang kaloob ng Diyos sa inyo. Salamat sa Diyos dahil sa kaloob niyang walang kapantay!”(2 Cor. 9:12-15). I believe that this ministry is made possible because of the cooperative effort of the church.

The camps objective is to prepare and equip the youth to be leaders, leading like Jesus. To train and enhance their gifts by offering different workshops – ministry.com, writing, art of story telling, organizing concerts and speech power. Many had the opportunity to listen to the testimony of Kuya Jeff a missionary. Indeed the Lord’s hand is moving in Asia and the truth and the reality of the vision that Filipinos are the next generation of missionaries is coming to pass. I am thrilled to witness that most of our YP made a commitment to GO!

But I think the camp from the day it was conceived until this very moment is all about God building a Christ like character in each one. Breaking the wall of indifference and building a bridge of unconditional acceptance. In a simple cooperation and pakikisama ; In laughing at the “corny” jokes; In coping-up of the ka-artihan ng iba. In being patient sa mga tantrums ng mga kasama. In understanding na may sariling mundo ang ilan. In controlling your temper dahil di maiiwasan na may pasaway. In digging your mind dahil sa “intellect” ng iba (feeling). Kahit alam na ang text ay relationship killer pero pwedeng-pwede gamiting relationship enhancer.Encouraging to do better for the best. Kahit may nagkalat meron namang handing magpulot at magligpit ng kalat (literally & figuratively). In taking time to listen sa mga heart warming and heart breaking experiences ng tropa. In living up with the weaknesses and filling-in the shortcomings ng kasama . Building team spirit sa kasama sa team specially sa mga ka tropa sa church. …In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, …agree with one another …and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought (1 Cor. 1:10).

And about renewing of the mind and the commitment each camper will make. After the symbolic burning of the past inadequacies and starting anew from the heap of ashes in the bonfire. Commitment is not the outpouring of emotion or shedding of tears that move one to make a promise. It’s not only something that kindles one’s interest because you will only do your commitment when you are available. Nawa masabi ng lahat gaya ni Apostol Pablo, “vAng tanging hangarin ko ngayon ay lubusang makilala si Cristo, maranasan ang kapangyarihan ng kanyang pagkabuhay na mag-uli, makihati sa kanyang mga hirap, at matulad sa kanya—pati sa kanyang kamatayan—“ (Phil 3:10).

1. As God’s chosen people we should not forget our heritage. (3:12)

Because we can’t afford hotel rooms wherever we are in Chiang Mai we usually stay at our friend’s English Center. There are many reasons why we like to stay there. First, it is free. Second, we can be by ourselves and third there are lots of books in there and we love books. While browsing at the library I found one of Philip Yancey’s books and read it.Anyway in his book Philip Yancey says that “Grace comes free of charge to people who do not deserve it and I am one of those people. I think back to whom I was — resentful, wound tight with anger, a single hardened link in a long chain of “un-grace” learned from family and church. Now, I am trying in my own small way to pipe…the tune of grace. I do so because I know, more surely than I know anything, that healing or forgiveness, or goodness, I have ever felt comes solely from the grace of God. I yearn for the church to become a nourishing culture of that grace”.

“A nourishing culture of that grace.” When I read that, I thought, “Isn’t it sad that people often find more grace and acceptance in places other than church?” Isn’t it tragic that people regularly enter churches and then leave again never finding grace? The sad reality is that churches and Christian groups are often known more for their rules and musty religious pretense than for being real grace-freed followers of Jesus.

It is common that those who believe in God’s grace most of the time are ungracious. It’s also common that those who preach grace, failed to extend it to others. As Christians, it is sad that we claim grace and forgiveness for ourselves, but we often demand performance from others.

As people who have been saved and chosen by grace we should be committed to a the gospel of grace — no one earns salvation in any way — we’re also committed to grace-oriented lifestyles and relationships. We avoid teaching and practicing legalism; we allow God the Holy Spirit to work in peoples’ lives, and we treat each other as God has treated us, with love, kindness, forgiveness and gentleness.”

Our human pride makes us legalists by nature. We need regular, repeated doses of the Truth of grace to wash out that garbage out of our thinking. We also want others to have a good impression of us. The result is a sort of Christian niceness, but it’s not real righteousness. Grace also will remind us that it is okay to let others see how much God still needs to work in our lives. Grace and authenticity walk hand in hand.

So what will characterize a gracious Christian? The passage we look at today helps us discover, how to put a “face on grace”. It helps us celebrate grace and in turn to be gracious to each other.

As I was thinking of a title for this message, I was led to a passage in Romans chapter 11 verses 5 and 6 saying: So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace. And it is very appropriate here that as Christians, we are people chosen by grace.

Let us read our text this morning, Colossians 3:12 -17,

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Paul helps here see the relationship between God’s grace to us and ours toward one other. First, he says

The pattern here is common in most of the New Testament letters. First, comes the teaching of Truth — what God has done — then comes the urge to live by that Truth.

Let’s begin at verse 12. First, Paul describes the people he’s writing. If you’re a Christian, you can take these words as true about you. So, then as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved…. The NIV calls us God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved.

In the Philippines when you call somebody “holy one”, they will laugh at you. But God’s Word uses precisely that language here and elsewhere in the New Testament, including in the letters to the carnal Christians at Corinthians. Before Paul calls us to be radically gracious to others, he reminds us of God’s radical grace that transformed us.

Who are we? First, we’re God’s chosen people. The Bible says God has set His love on us. He set His intentions on us as His very own. Israel was God’s single chosen people in the OT. He established a covenant with them to be His — He marked them out to be distinct and unique from every nation on the Earth.

God reminded Israel and he is reminding us right now that we are not chosen because we are better, richer, smarter or better looking than the others. I think it is more true to say that God has chosen for the opposite reason. But the truth is that God has chosen us by grace.

This reminds me of a passage in Deuteronomy chapter 7: 6-9.

For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.

Moreover, when Jesus died and rose, He established a new covenant with a new body of people — the Church, His Body. The Church is composed of Jews and Gentiles, from people of every tribe, tongue, nation and ethnic group. Every person, brought into a faith relationship with His Son is God’s chosen people. Paul is saying, like the Jewish nation was to be different from all others, holy and set apart for God’s purposes, we are God’s unique people today. Old Testament Jews had failed God and broke their covenant with God. That will not happen with us.

Why? It is because in the New Covenant Jesus met every requirement Himself. That is implicit in verse 12.

You are God’s chosen people, holy…. We don’t earn the description of holy and acceptable. If we’re in Christ, God declares, we are holy. We also don’t earn God’s love; we are God’s beloved, literally, the dearly loved ones of God — dear to the heart of God. You’ll never discover a more powerful and motivating personal Truth in life than that you are acceptable in Christ, and God’s beloved child. He loves you deeply. You can’t lose sight of that.

It’s foundational. You need to know who you are, what heritage you have in Christ. That new identity lays the foundation for how you relate with other Christians. The point is this: when you know God’s grace-work in you, you become free to express grace to others.

If you don’t know, or if you forget God brought you to faith in His Son, by mercy and grace, and forgave your sin, you won’t be forgiving and grace-filled with others. People who don’t understand grace are never free to pass it on.

And religion and legalism will never provide grace-filled relationships, because religious people are trying to earn or keep God‘s favor. Grace driven people remember their heritage, and celebrate God’s grace.

Second,

2. As God’s chosen people we reflect God’s grace. (3:12-14)

He says, because you’re God’s chosen and God’s beloved, verse 12: put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving each other, just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.

He reminded us of our heritage, and in reality, of our resources. Then, Paul uses one of his favorite phrases: put on or clothe yourselves. And this is not put on like we mean in English, say as if we meant “fake it”.

Up in verse 10, Paul used the same phrase to tell us, God’s grace gave us a whole new self. If you’re a Christian: if God’s grace has invaded you life, you’re a brand new creation in Christ, you have a new personality, new character, power and resources to live out this new identity.

You also have new ways to extend yourself to others — and he describes it like a new wardrobe. God never makes an assignment without providing us what we need to carry it out. He’s said in chapter 3, put off the old man; that means lay aside, just like you’d put off some dirty old worn out clothing. Now he simply says, put on something to replace it.

It’s like getting up in the morning and going to the closet to make a choice. We’re free now to make a choice of what to wear: either the old nasty stuff or the new gracious stuff. Because God has been gracious and forgiving, because God has touched us, we’ll never be the same — we have new habits we put on as we interact with one another. We have new approach. Now this will be how we speak, react, and respond to others: our spouse, our kids, our parents, to anyone who is a fellow believer.

These characteristics contrast with what we used to be. The old ways were already mentioned in chapter 3. Paul said, lay aside, and take off, anger, rage, slander and filthy language.

We are told that believers, no longer lie to one another. We say old habits die hard. God says, by the power of grace, put them off! And put on some new ones. Sarcasm, cutting remarks, rudeness, sour attitudes don’t match God’s glorious grace work in us. Put them off.

Instead, put on new qualities. Let God’s transformation and power inside show up on the outside. Beginning in verse 12: Clothe yourselves with,

Put on a heart of compassion…

The Greek term is literally “bowels of sympathy.” Greeks thought that the emotions originated in the bowels. The English language come close with phrases like, “I’ve got a gut feeling.”

It’s a deeply felt heart of compassion God wants to be seen in us — to feel what others are feeling. Instead of assuming the worst, and jumping to conclusions, put on compassion. When you deal with your spouse or your kids, approach with compassion. When you come to worship, come ready to show compassion. The Bible says that God’s compassion toward us is like a mother who cares tenderly for her children. We are commanded to put on a heart of compassion.

Put on Kindness….

This is the act that grows out of compassion. Once in a while, we get the urge to have compassion with people. Those urges don’t come from us; they come from the Holy Spirit. The sad thing is, we often let them pass. Paul says, allow actions to flow from the Spirit’s work inside you, out toward someone‘s needs and hurts.

The New Testament calls us to kindness with the identical term it uses to describe God’s kindness. It says, God’s kindness draws us to repentance. Imagine how demonstrating that grace encourages and motivates people. You can be kind by just listening, sharing Truth from God‘s Word, praying with somebody, passing out hugs, offer to help someone in practical ways.

Put on humility….

Humility flows out of remembering God’s grace to you. In Romans 12, Paul says, through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. Don’t come at others in the body with an attitude, instead come humbly and be ready to serve.

Wear gentleness…

This word is the same word as meekness — it‘s the opposite of rudeness and abrasiveness. It is strength under control, it is real strength, it doesn’t need to show off. Gentleness is willingness to waive your rights and your preferences, for the cause of Christ.

Put on patience…

Literally, that means putting up with people’s annoying conduct without responding back. It’s a negative term. It means holding back and restraining yourself from being upset or speaking harshly to people who, humanly speaking, deserve it! There will always be other Christians whose conduct you find annoying. Put on patience as you remember how patient God has been with you.

These graces toward others lead to two concrete actions — in verse 13: forbear and forgive. Forbear is an old word that we’d translate today with, put up with. As we get to know other Christians, things happen. We rub each other the wrong way. Rough edges show up. None of us always behave out of our grace identity. God’s Word has an answer for this reality. Forbear. Put up with them!

And forgive. Two reasons to forgive others: First Whoever has a complaint against anyone. Someone offended you, spoken against you, hurt or disappointed you? Forgive them. This is basic Christianity.

Forgiveness is distinct from confrontation. Confrontation may become necessary; sometimes it works, sometimes not. But forgiveness is always fundamental.

But forgiveness proves that you’ve been freed by God’s grace. That’s the second reason Paul gives us to forgive: If you’ve experienced God’s forgiveness, forgive like He did you: fully, freely, and graciously. Period.

Verse 14 says, over all these virtues, put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. The precedent referred to by the pronoun “them” is hard to identify, but most probably it refers to the believers. It is the believers who become perfectly bound together by love. The commitment to love means we will go the distance in relationships; not write people off or avoid them.

This is where we have to get real and stop making excuses: the way other Christians act and relate doesn’t determine how I act and relate. When we know who God has made us to be, then our character can reflect Christ’s. Gracious Christian mirrors God’s grace.

Third,

3. As God’s chosen people our life demonstrates to whom we belong. (3:15-17)

There’s a lot in verses 15-17, but the context is still relating in the body. Look at the heart of three commands, each one of which relates to whom we belong: to Christ.

First, let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts. Paul first talks about unity in the fellowship. To rule means to govern. Peace isn’t just an individual experience here, it’s corporate. The tone of our interactions as a body must embrace Christ’s peace. That describes then how we approach each other; talk to each other, and treat one another. Grace people choose to let Christ’s peace rule them.

Then, let the Word of Christ richly live in you. As Christ’s followers we should allow Scripture to saturate our lives and our community life. We need to know God’s Word well and we need to help each other live it. There’s no substitute for the Truth of Scripture, and our body life is dependent on how well we know it and live it. One overflow of knowing it well is that we will teach each other. We’ll remind, challenge, encourage and warn each other from it.

One role you have is getting His Word into you enough that you pass its wisdom and principles on to Christians around you. Paul relates the ministry of music to teaching one another. Worship music, should flow out of hearts filled up with Scripture. We encourage and lift and teach each other with that kind of truth-based worship.

Finally there’s the name of Christ. Whatever you do” — that means all of life — here, addressing how we treat each other — all of it should align with Christ’s Lordship in life. Christians don’t live in two worlds — our faith life and our social life — we are to be moved by the Truth that we are His, by His grace in our lives, and therefore, to honor Him in how we how we behave toward other Christians. Remember whom you belong.

Author Steve Brown writes, “Once you know two things — His unconditional love and the truth about yourself — you will rest easy.” In other words, you’ll be free to be who God intended you to be all along. I don’t know about you, but I get very weary when I do the “let‘s pretend to be religious”game. I get real tired when I try to keep a religious mask on tightly. Galatians says, Christ has set you free. Don’t let your freedom in Him be taken away from you.

Would you stop with the pretending and start letting grace press you toward faithfulness? Are you becoming a person of grace? Do you celebrate your heritage as God’s chosen people? Do you remember where you were when God found you? Does His costly grace toward you, when you did not deserve it, press you back to Him again and again? Would you mirror grace in your interactions and relationships with other believers?

I hope and pray that Mae Sai Grace Church is a place where we can feel God’s grace, a place where we can be real. Let’s help each other get there.

This is adapted from a sermon by Rev. Dean O’Bryan of Trinity Baptist Church of Nebraska.

Whether we are in the Philippines or in Thailand, December proved to be the busiest month of the year for us. This is the reason why this blog has not been updated for a while.

Nevertheless our hearts are full of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord as He has given us opportunity to celebrate Christmas and New Year in a special way. We spent Christmas Eve at the church, fellowshipping with believers and non-believers alike in a Christmas program that we helped to bring about. It was the first Christmas ever in the church that the Nativity had been reenacted.

We did a lot of rehearsals for the presentations and carol singing days before Christmas that kept us up practically up the whole night. So we took a couple of days to catch up on our sleep after Christmas. Since the church’s primary school too had its break we seized the time to fix the van’s seat upholstery which were in really bad shape. The children deserve a comfortable ride from daycare/primary school to their homes and vice-versa.

We received a call from Ate Imel Tabije (fellow Filipino missionary ministering in Chiang Mai) and invited us to celebrate the New Year with other Filipino Christians in Chiang Mai. And although we really wanted to go we were hesitant at first because we didn’t have the money for the trip. Ate Imel’s financial assistance eventually enabled us to go. Thus we were reunited with old friends and met new friends. The time we spent with them were indeed refreshing and encouraging for us. We also visited and spent time with Jeph and Apple’s ministry at Hope House and their tribal outreach.

It was the second time we celebrated the holidays away from home and we miss our family very badly. The children missed their cousins (which are not too many) and the thrill of opening gifts from their ninongs, ninangs, lolas, uncles and aunties. They also missed the fun of giving gifts to their friends and loved ones.

Last January 5 we marked the second year of our stay here in Thailand. Two years of God’s faithfulness, living in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and empowerment of the Holy Spirit. We recognize that our stay here as God’s witness.

We want to thank you all for your prayers and generosity. We are looking forward to a more fruitful partnership and hoping we can meet you all here in Thailand someday.

CPASBC stands for Central Pangasinan Association of Southern Baptist Churches. I am not sure how many member churches it has now. I need to be updated. But they held their prayer rally and family day last November 30 at BLISS community, Bonuan Binloc in the city of Dagupan. They spent a lot of time in prayers but perhaps more time at the beach. Looking at the pictures, I can only surmise that they had a great time. They enjoyed the games and the beach and most of all, enjoyed the fellowship of the family of Christ. Wish we were there. To see how much fun they had see more photos at Flickr.Com. You can also see the thumbnails of the pictures at the sidebar.

Di ko alam kung papaano ito mababasa ni Tia Paps. Hindi kasi siya marunong mag computer at wala siyang Email. Anyway, we are all wishing you a happy birthday. We are praying that God will continue to bless you. We pray for a long life filled with joy. Nami-miss na namin ang mga gulay mo. Birthday wish namin para sa iyo, sana makarating ka dito sa Thailand.

Taon-taon ginaganap ng MBC ang Advent Celebration Ngayong linggo ay uumpisahan na ang selebrasyon nito hanggang December 24. Malaki ang pasasalamat ng MBC sa aklat ni Mrs. Grace Fe Paraguas-Jainga “Family Advent” na nakapagbigay ng idea kung paano ito gaganapin.  Ang mga sumusunod ay tumutukoy kung ano ang kahulugan ng Advent:

ANG KAHULUGAN NG ADVENT

Ang kahulugan ng “Advent ay “pagdating”. Ang pinagtutuonan ng pansin ay ang pagdiriwang ng kapanganakan ni Hesus noong una siyang dumating at ang pag-asa sa kanyang muling pagbabalik. Ang advent ay ang pagdiriwang ng katotohanan tungkol sa Diyos, ang pagpapahayag ng Diyos kay Kristo sa muling pagpapanumbalik ng lahat ng nilalang sa Diyos.

Ang Advent ay sumisimbolo din sa ating espiritual na paglalakbay bilang indibiduwal at kongregasyon na nagpapatotoo na Hesus ay dumating at ang Kanyang presensiya ay nasa ating kalagitnaan ngayon, at buong kapangyarihan siyang babalik.

Kung kaya sa pagdiriwang ng iglesya sa “advent” atin ding ipinapahayag ang ating responsibilidad na iniatas ng Diyos sa atin na “mahalin ang Panginoon mong Diyos ng buong puso at “mahalin mo ang iyong kapuwa gaya ng pagmamahal mo sa iyong sarili.”

Ang advent din ay ang pag-asa na balang araw ang Diyos ay maghahari ng may katotohanan, katarungan, at katuwiran. Inaasahan din dito ang paghatol ng Diyos sa kasalanan at ang pagtawag sa mga tao sa kanilang pananagutan sa Diyos.

ANG ADVENT WREATH

 Ang advent wreath ay isang popular ng simbolo ng kapaskuhan. Ang pagiging bilog ng wreath ay walang simula at walang katapusan na nagpapaalaala sa atin sa pagiging walang hanggan ng Diyos at sa Kanyang walang katapusang kahabagan. Ang kulay berde ay nagpapaalaala sa atin na ang ating pag-asa sa Diyos at ang pag-asa ng buhay na walang hanggan. Ang mga kandila sumisimbolo sa liwanag ng Diyos na dumating sa mundo dahil sa pagsilang ng kanyang Anak.

Ang liwanag ng kandila ay nagpapaalala sa atin na si Hesus ang Ilaw ng sanlibutan. Nagpapaalala din ito na tayo ay tinawag mula sa kadiliman tungo sa liwanag.

Ang apat ng kandila sa advent wreath ay ang apat sa maraming pangalan ni Hesus na ating alalahanin sa pagdiriwang ng advent.

Ang sentrong kandila ay tinatawag na Christ candle. Ito ay nasa gitna na nagpapaalaala sa atin na si Kristo ang sentro ng ating buhay.

It’s Sunday and if your church is like ours you will also celebrate the Lord Supper today being the first Sunday of the month. I found this Communion mediation. This is so true and I’m using it in our church here as I lead the Communion.

When we take communion we look back….
We remember each time we take communion that we are part of a wonderful tradition stretching back to that first Passover, when the people of God saw Him deliver them from a desperate situation. We also look back to the nearer past, to the Last Supper, when Jesus made His solemn promise to make us His covenant people, and to the events of betrayal, torture and painful death that allowed this New Covenant to be established.

Looking back makes us realize that our God keeps His promises. He promised deliverance to the Children of Israel – and provided it. He promised a Savior, not just for the Jews but for the whole world – and He provided it. Looking back strengthens our faith and encourages us to hold fast to all the promises God has given us. Each time we take communion, we are ‘raising an Ebeneezer’ like the prophet Samuel of old. We are putting down a marker saying, “Hitherto the Lord has led us….the Lord will provide.”

When we take communion we look around….
Communion is not an individualistic act. The word communion means a ‘joining together’. As each of us takes the elements we are saying to each other: “I, like you, am a sinner saved by the grace of God. I, like you, love Jesus. I, like you, need the continuing renewing power of the Holy Spirit in my life. Let us serve the Lord, together.”

Communion eradicates all our ideas of status and importance, all our values, all our pride and prejudices about each other. We see that, together, before Jesus, we are all equally worthless, but equally loved and treasured by Him. And we are called to take His values, His love for each of His people out of our communion service into our daily lives.

When we take communion we look forward….
There are three great feasts ordained in the history of the people of God. Two of these already occurred: the Passover of Moses and the Last Supper of our Lord Jesus Christ. The third great feast event has yet to happen: it is the Marriage Feast of the Lamb. Each time the children of Israel took the Passover they were affirming their belief in the coming of a promised Savior. Each time we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we are affirming our belief in the return of the glorified Lord Jesus.

Each communion we celebrate is one communion closer to the Marriage Feast of the Lamb (the second coming of our Lord Jesus). It is a reminder of the promise that one day we will celebrate the ultimate Feast with all those whom we have loved and who have gone before us to be with Jesus. What a feast it will be! What reunions will take place! Yet, on that day, all these wondrous things will pale into insignificance, for on that day, we shall see Jesus.

Thanks for the First Baptist Church of Portland for the picture.

Noong umalis kami ng Pilipinas para mag misyon dito sa Thailand, nasiksik sa utak ko na maraming mawawala sa amin. Hindi ko tinutukoy and mga materyal na bagay na aming maiiwanan. Sa totoo lang wala naman kaming masyadong mga ari-arian na maiiwan. At minsan para bang nagpapasalamat pa ako at iiwan na namin ang aming mga kagamitan na luma at minsan pa nga ay kelangan pang kumpunihin.

Kung ikaw ay may planong umalis at marami kang ari-arian talagang mahihirapan ka. Pero sa tulad naming labing anim na taon ng mag-asawa na pero wala naman talagang naipundar, hindi mahirap ang humayo. Siguro talagang sinadya ng Panginoon na ganun ang aming maging kalagayan para kahit kelan kami tawagin at kahit saan kami papuntahim walang problema sa amin. Ilalagay lang naming sa suitcases an gaming mga gamit at puwedeng-puwede ng lumarga. Nung umalis nga kami sa Pilipinas, naalala ko halos lahat ng gamit namin e kasya sa maleta.

Ang pinaka mahirap iwanan talaga ay yung mga tao na matagal mo ng nakasama. Sa Filipinas wala kaming problema sa doctor, kasi libre yung doctor namin sa Cainta. Naalala ko nung mag ka apendicitis si Reuven, halos pati yung hospital bill ay malibre na dahil tiya ko yung isa sa mga head nurse sa Provincial hospital. Dangan nga lang at wala akong lifecare nung mga pagkakataon na yun, kaya nagbayad din ako ng konting halaga. Sa Cainta din e libre kami sa dentista. Kahit magpapasta libre par in dahil yung dentista kasama namin sa church at ninang pa namin sa kasal. Sa Malasiqui naman, wala kaming problema sa mga papeles at notaryo publiko dahil yung sikat na abogado dun e church member din.

Naaalala ko lalo pag nagpupunta kami sa palengke, minsan e umuuwi kami ng bahay na maydalang sangkaterbang gulay. Di ko makalimutan si Tsa Paps, mula ng maglingkod kami sa Malasiqui Baptist Church e siya ang supplier namin ng gulay. Mahirap ang din ang buhay nya. Marami siyang anak, kundi ako nagkakamali sampu ang mga anak nya. At karamihan nakapisan pa sa kanya, nagsisiksikan sila sa kanilang maliit na bahay. Ang siste mo, pag nakapag-asawa na, pati yung asawa nakikipisan pa rin. Marami na rin siyang apo siguro ngayon, mahigit na ring dalawang taon namin siyang di nakikita. Very proud kami kay sa tibay ng pananampalataya ni Tsa Paps. Kahit mahirap ang buhay nakangiti pa rin. Minsan nagpapadala pa yun ng suporta para sa amin. Kahit magkano yung pinadala nya para sa amin yun ang isa sa pinakamalaking suporta na aming tinatanggap kasi alam namin na napakahalaga nun para sa kanya.

Ngayon dito na kami sa Thailand, di kami makapag pa doctor, kasi bukod sa di kami makapagsalita ng Thai, e sobrang mahal ng doctor dito. Sabi ko sa sarili ko, sa Pinas libre lang doctor. Pati dentista, nagpabunot si Narlin minsan, nakup inabot ng 500 baht, halos 700 sa Philippine Peso. Mura gulay dito, pero walang libre. Parang nag-umpisa ulit kami sa zero, sa aming pagdevelop ng relationship sa mga tao dito. May mga kaibigan na rin kami pero, iba pa rin ang mga kaibigan namin na iniwan. Yun ang mahirap iwanan, dahil yun ang tunay na kayamanan. Maaaring wala kaming mga ari-arian pero alam namin marami kaming kaibigan. Salat kami sa maraming bagay, pero mayaman kami sa kaibigan. Sana lang e balitaan nila kami kung ano na bang nangyari sa kanila.