Philippines Mission Letter: January 2021
Click/tap for full PDF Dear Brethren, We thank the Lord always for keeping our family protected from the virus and other serious illnesses. Our brethren here are also doing well. It is our hope and prayer that you and your loved ones are doing the same. The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in our town is increasing. Last month, two of our neighbors were infected with the virus and were taken to the isolation center. Our compound was lockdown…
Trials
James wrote to people who were having “trials” in their lives. The word James used could be translated “temptations.” Readers were to understand that these trials caused “the testing of faith” (James 1:2). The result, if successfully dealt with, would produce patience. Something good can come from something that seems bad. Patience, a needed virtue, is developed through facing trials. Today, just as in the time when James wrote, trials will test God’s people. Those who think living the Christian…
Such Great Faith
Jesus gave some of the most coveted compliments to the most unlikely of people. In Luke 7, a centurion discovers Jesus and implores Him to come and heal his dear servant. The account ends with the servant healed but Jesus making the comment to the following crowds, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel” (Luke 7:9). What types of qualities characterized this centurion’s faith and made it great in the eyes of…
Inconceivable!
In James 1:14-15, James explained the process that leads to the birth of sin. “Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.Then,when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin.” It’s interesting to note that temptation isn’t something that enters into people; rather, people enter into temptation. Jesus instructed His disciples to ask God to not lead them “into temptation” (Luke 11:4; Matthew 6:13). As Jesus entered the garden to pray, He warned…
Philippines Mission Letter: December 2020
Click/tap for full PDF We praise the Lord for all His love, protection, goodness, mercy, and blessings in spite of all the unwanted circumstances that we went through in 2020. With God’s guidance and compassion for the lost, we were able to reach out and teach more people last year despite the threats of the pandemic. Most of those prospects that we taught were converted and now serving and worshipping the Lord with us. We appreciate so much the help…
Craving Perspective in the Valley
People in the valley often have little perspective on how big the mountains really are, how long the range is, or what is waiting on the other side. Isn’t it wonderful to know that whatever valleys life tries to shove us into, God has provided perspective we badly need, yes, even crave? What really gets you down? Maybe economy, politics, sorrow, trouble, rumors, falsehood, families, wars, persecution or simply dread of the future? What valley are you walking through? The…
“On Sale, NOW!”
The holidays are almost over. Everyone will soon be settling back into a rhythm that will take most people through the remainder of the winter and through the first part of spring. However, every day I check my “junk email” account, I see hundreds of email subject lines from hundreds of different companies such as this: “Christmas sale! You don’t want to miss this event.” “Treat yourself NOW!” “Don’t miss an EXTRA 40% off year end.” After months of Christmas…
Home, Sweet Home
The headline reads, “Archaeologists Believe They’ve Unearthed Jesus’s Childhood Home (Popular Mechanics, December 1, 2020).” Professor Ken Dark has been credited with making what has been described as “an astonishing find.” It seems that after 14 years of examining a particular dwelling in modern-day Nazareth, Professor Dark has become convinced that it is the house in which Jesus was raised. It’s interesting to note that a convent of nuns carried out excavations at the site from 1888 until the 1930’s,…
An Important Question
The question asked in Psalm 116:12, “What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me?”, could only come from the lips of humans. Humans alone are endowed with the ability to be concerned about gratitude and its obligations Two thoughts might be considered in regard to that question. They are telling when we relate them to ourselves. GOD’S BENEFITS Do we acknowledge God’s “benefits” toward us? Some spend more time complaining about what they do not…
Philippines Mission Letter: November 2020
Click/tap for full PDF Dear Brethren, May the gracious and merciful Father in heaven continue to watch over you and your loved ones. Our whole province of Pangasinan is placed under modified general community quarantine for the rest of the year. In our town, those who are 15 to 65 years old are allowed to go out, provided, that the minimum public health standards such as the wearing of masks and the maintenance of social distancing protocols are observed. Public…
They Gave Till They Heard “Stop Giving”
It was a plethora! In fact, the two lead craftsmen of the tabernacle said that they had, “more than enough for doing the work of the Lord” (Ex.36:5). What a statement to be made about God’s people. There was work to be done, there was a godly plan to be executed, and the people were right there with what was, “sufficient to do all the work, and more” (Ex. 36:5). How does that happen? The Lord committed a charge. Through…
Peddlers or Preachers?
“You have no desire to help anyone as a preacher. You just want to get rich off of us!” As a preacher, the apostle Paul had to defend himself against those who accused him with words like the above statement. As a preacher, it hurts when accusations are made like that. In fact, he had to confirm his work and apostleship again to some of the very people he had helped and converted (2 Corinthians 2:14 -3:3)! Notice some things…