My Failure…

Surely I have lots of failures, but the most grieving failure I could probably think of, is letting opportunities of sharing the gospel to people pass bye. It grieves my heart having not been able to share the gospel of Christ clearly to those who surround me: to those I’ve been with as classmates, workmates or simply acquaintances. I’ve probably been able to share to a few, but those are numbered compared to those opportunities that I fail to grab and let it pass bye.

Being part of my Father in heaven and my father’s ministry, seeking the lost and leading them to Christ has truly made a big impact in my heart. My heart is stirred by the great need to share the gospel and to make clear of the saving knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, which nowadays are given much less meaning or importance. Although I still have the desire of discipling and teaching young people, I have failed to give notice that discipleship starts with bringing first one to Christ and making sure one have truly made a decision to fully surrender everything to Him, making Christ His Lord, His Master and His Savior. I have also failed to realize or to understand that discipleship is much effective when the Holy Spirit works in the life of the one who is truly saved and sanctified. Yes, teaching and discipling is one of the important issues on Christian life, but to fail to realize that God works and is the one who truly molds and completes one person through the working of the Holy Spirit, we are consumed by all effort we do just to disciple a single person (Philippians 1:6).

I’m not sure if I’m making my point here clearly understood, but the bottom line that I wish for Christian disciplers to understand is that, it is God Who completes the work of discipling and not us. God uses us as instruments to teach and make a big impact in the lives of men and women, but God is the one Who works in the heart of men, for in the heart dwells the will of man that no one can change but God alone. As for us Christians, we ought to preach and teach the Whole Principles of God, with the Word of God and earnestly praying for them whom we disciple that the Holy Spirit may work in their hearts. But the most important thing before these things happen is that we ought to make sure that the Holy Spirit indwells them whom we disciple, of course by leading them to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. For its useless to disciple when we are discipling people not of God but still a children of the enemy, Satan.

Truly it is a great battle when it comes to the souls of men. Probably explains why it’s so hard to reach and share the gospel of Christ. But of course this shouldn’t be an excuse for us to retreat. It’s not an excuse for me to stop hoping, pursuing and desiring to share the gospel of Christ to all those that surrounds us. It won’t be truly easy as the Lord says in John 15:20 “Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.” But Christ’s words also promises that with our effort to share the gospel and His Word, there will be fruits and there will be those who will hear and keep Christ’s sayings.

Oh may it be that our failures not blind us nor bind us from pursuing what is most important we could ever pursue as Christians. That is seeking the lost and sharing to them the good news, the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Missin’ the Old Folks

At this time, I have some deliberations upon myself. But before my head grow mad, I think I'll just put it into my blogsite. Previously I have been to quite a lot of travels. One unforgettable was one I have shared previously. And most of my travels were ministry-related or church-related, especially my father’s ministry. Recently I had the opportunity to go with my father at Minac as they celebrate their 27th Church Anniversary. It was indeed quite a blessing seeing how the church in Minac is. Further than that, I saw my high school classmate, Ptr. Bill Canuto and yes he is now a pastor. Don’t know him that quite but I know he too is a quiet person as I am. I too know he is of the same faith as I have, but haven’t expected him to be a pastor. Hahaha! Not that I disqualify him as one, but perhaps his quietness and serious look never gave me an impression that he would become one. But nevertheless, I’m glad he became one. =) And I can’t seem to believe what I was seeing but indeed it’s all by God’s grace he is what he is now. But even though, there’s no match of the joy seeing people I’ve known from my high school days being in the ministry itself. It’s quite an amazing sight!

With our visit at Minac, memories seem to be remembered. Not only mine but mostly of those who came and celebrated the anniversary of Minac Biblical Baptist Church. I have no real full recollection of the church there, but the people who helped, ministered, sacrificed and gave their life for that church to be established were remembered, honored as well as recognized. My father was one of them as well as Ma’am Rebecca and Ptr. Pat Eslao. There were others as well who helped, like Ma’am Jona Cosil (not sure the name spelling..=) ) but through their ups and downs, their hardships, their stories were told. One of those remembered were Ptr. Nick Cawaon and Auntie Anita, who are now with the Creator in heaven. Ptr. Dawal was also mentioned and many more… Most of them, my father worked with, hand-in-hand, especially with Ptr. Nick Cawaon, as where my father ministered to, his handiwork can also be seen. And most of them of whom my father worked with are now with the Lord. Definitely a time of remembering and missing them as well.


Just hearing their stories, as well as the stories of whom they ministered to, it was a blessing. It was heart-warming hearing ma’am beck share her story of going not only in Minac but also in Bisal with ma'am Jona, walking for hours on a steep and dangerous pathway, just to teach a lot of kids, eagerly waiting to hear stories of the Bible and get to know Christ. I've heard also the stories of my father, how he ministered in that place, at a young age (perhaps 20s), traveling along with other young people of Loakan, going through rocky and dusty road and going home late at night. It was indeed precious memories, for blood, tears, and sacrifices were made just for the sake of the gospel of Christ.

Sadly noted, that these days, the workers or laborers of Christ (not all of course), seem to seek more of convenience and comfort in the ministry of God; So few seem to lay their life just for the sake of preaching the gospel of Christ. I know at some point i feel awkward saying this for my father almost sacrificed us his family, forsaking us, just for the sake of the ministry. But I understand and know why. I understand that because of it, it was my mother who became the bread winner of our family and has been the bridge for us, their children, to finish our studies. I know, it may have made me bitter over my father, but nevertheless, I first have known Christ as my Lord and my Savior, the reason why I understand why things had to be done. But I'm probably sure that if I have not known Christ, it would be so different. And so having Christ as my Lord and Savior, even at our darkest moments, I had to trust in God no matter what. It may seem as foolishness to men, but trusting God is the only place where I could truly find rest, solace and peace; and doing the Will of God and obeying Him no matter the cost is the sole purpose of why we Christians are still here. And the greatest motivation why we do this, is because of the Love of God dwelling within us. (I John 4:7-8)

And now, as I help with the ministry my father has, a question troubles me. What is indeed the will of my Father in heaven for me? Seeing my father, growing old and that his strength no longer matches his strength when he was young, I look to myself and ask "Am I going to succeed my father?” All along I know my God has led me to be His servant, by means of helping in the ministry and not through being a pastor or full-time worker. People seem to expect that I would succeed him on what he does, as an evangelist. But surely I cannot see that in me. I see myself more of a discipler and a teacher of the Word of God. And that through my life, living as a true & genuine Christian, I can portray and declare the Word of God, not because of my own strength or my own will or anything that I possess, but through the grace of God, He has given upon me. All my life, I’m pointing to Christ (just ain't sure if it's working though). Showing that Christianity is about following Him and His will, truths that seem to be twisted or neglected. The Christian name seems to be only a name and not a life lived and declared. Christianity before is far from the Christianity now. As now, it has become only about rituals, habits, activities, methods, outward appearances and nothing involved about the life-changing, life-enabling, life-empowering, life-molding toward the Lord Jesus Christ. This has been my sole purpose of living, to declare Christ through my life and if it be, to bring back what Christianity is all about. But as far as being a full-time worker or pastorate is concerned, I don't know. But if God leads me, so shall I obey. All I know is God is at work in me. For the challenge for me to take is to disciple and teach young people in Apalan-Guesset. Leading them towards Christ. And not only about Spiritual matters but also physical matters must I face. Like learning the language which I should've learned from the very start, the Ibaloi tongue. As well as learning different skills, I must learn. There are a lot of things to face: things I need to learn, trust to earn, and lives to make an impact and to direct towards the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s all new for me and I know I’m no longer on my comfort zone. And surely, it will truly be a long spiritual struggle or battle but it will also be an avenue once again for God to work in me and my family. And for this may all glory be His!

Post-Cantata at DMMMSU, Bacnotan, La Union

The Loakan Baptist Church Choir presented the Easter Cantata Presentation entitled "One Life, One Truth, One Way" last May 16, 2011 at DMMMSU, Bacnotan, La Union.



Here are the videos taken. =)







































Only few listened to the songs and the preaching of the Word but hopefully God has indeed planted a seed that will make a great impact on those who has heard it. All Glory belongs to Him alone!

My first in the Land of Promise in the Philippines

Mindanao! Such a beautiful place! Might be because I’ve never seen it all my life and I don’t know if I’ll have an opportunity to see it again. If I would describe the place, I would think it was like a very wide but little hotter Baguio. Or to make it more detailed, it’s filled with much trees and green plants. The people there I think depend more on agriculture and farming. I saw canyons along the road going to Bukidnon. It was a thrilling feeling as I personally haven't seen such kind of geographic feature, only in pictures. There were different kinds of trees, unlike in my home place where Pine trees are a common sight. And of course, I admire the hospitality of the people who received us and have taken care of us. The place is truly a magnificent place, a place seemingly I’m longing for. I’m an asthmatic person, a reason why I greatly appreciate the kind of nature-like place, where not much pollution can be found. Although I must say, I fear soon enough, such beauty will be marred in the near future, if the people will not learn to value it’s natural beauty and care for the magnificent creation of God.

But far than my appreciation and delight of the place are the lessons I’ve learned and experiences I probably won’t forget. One of the experiences I won’t ever forget was my first flight. At first the plane flew up and up and up, I truly felt the change of height. It was just like riding an elevator going up. And then in a few minutes the pilot announced that the plane would experience turbulence within a few minutes. Experiencing the turbulence was kind’a bothering at first, for it felt like the plane is nearly falling apart. Nevertheless, I placed my full trust in my God, that whatever His will is, so be it. I was ready for whatever would happen. Suddenly I heard whispers around me. I couldn’t understand the whispers but it can be heard. And then, I felt some kind of a migraine or a bad headache. It felt like my nerves in my head were growing bigger or something. It felt like my head was gon’na explode. I took hold of my head trying to deal with it. But while experiencing the pain, the agonizing headache, I suddenly noticed the turbulence seems to be not stopping; my companions closed their eyes, not even bothered to notice me having a headache. In addition, the whispers grew stronger, and can be clearly heard. They were praying! They were calling the name of Mary, the mother of Jesus! They were probably praying the rosary. It was a sign, people were panicking, whereas, I was more concerned on the pain I’m experiencing. We even felt the plane falling, then up again, as if the plane was going to crash. And the prayers continue to grow stronger. They were chanting, “Mary… mother of god… pray for us… Jesus….” and I could hear it clearly. At some point, I’m reminded of a verse or a song by Steve Green… saying “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the Name of the Lord our God,” which could be found in Psalm 20:7. This is just a reminder that people trust in many things but as Christians we should only put our trust in God, knowing as well that if God has a plan for us, He will put us to safety. It’s a sad note though, that people who knew not Christ are living in fear and taking their refuge in a sand castle.

For almost 15 – 20 minutes of turbulence, the pilot then announced that the plane will now go back to NAIA, due to a technical problem on the plane. Hearing that announcement, I saw my sister Kristine open her eyes, then, followed by the others, which then allowed Ptr. Lemuel to notice me having a headache. He gave me a pain killer after that. That was one unforgettable ride.

As for the lesson I’ve learned, I’ve learned that in every relationship, not only in a man-woman relationship, but in every kind of relationship, like friendship, communication is a very much substantial factor to make relationships work. I may have not to be detailed on this lesson I’ve learned, but perhaps it’s just part of reality that happens in every circumstances. It’s been long that I have been with my friends. And I know them, their weaknesses and their strengths; but of course not everything. But with my friend Joffer’s wedding, somehow things went not as what we’ve always expected. If I may give a little glimpse, we are so used in organizing, moving or doing things in our own perspectives, especially when it comes to special event. Now, Joffer’s wedding is truly a special and big event, we hope not to mess up and we would like to do all our best to make it a wonderful event. But the case is that, we are not tasked to do the task of preparing and organizing it. Because of this, we made our own ways in helping brother Joffer. The bad thing about what happened is that we went our own ways and the network of Globe Telecom had a frustrating problem, we weren’t able to communicate well with others. Night before Joffer’s wedding, we were seeing, like nothing was happening and that, what we were expected to do, we failed to do. We soon started blaming one another and our weaknesses have been unfolded becoming offensive to others. It felt so bad I could not picture what would happen on my friend’s wedding day. Nevertheless I took time to pray and ask God for His leading. Nearly midnight came, I had to talk to my friends and talk them out as to what to do. We made plans and set our minds to help in any way we could. After this, we asked Ptr. Joshua to pray. And as soon as we woke up, we did as we had to do. And as the wedding started and finished, still God blessed it as I see it. It was definitely a special day for my friend who was married that day, an interesting event indeed. I couldn’t imagine what God was thinking or was planning, but surely I know God wanted me to learn something, and I hope my friends also learned something.
After that day, a question bothered me. “What if I choose not to have friends?” It was a mere question as I am angered by my friends’ actions and attitudes. The truth? I am capable of being alone, with God alone as my friend. But is it still worth having friends when we dislike people’s character, personality or attitude? And if I may ask you who reads this note, “What will your response be?” As far as human nature is concerned, it is easy to conform to the thought that “if you don’t like it, then leave it!” kind of thought. But, if I would think of Christ, He always reminds of His sacrifice, His love, His compassion and His laid-down life for His friends; such unconditional love indeed. And because of this, as one of His own, it’s still worth having friends even with their weaknesses and flaws, simply because Christ Himself has done the same thing toward me. But of course this doesn’t mean when a friend sin, we simply forget, but it’s a challenge to put them back in the right road as they are supposed to be.

Friendship, such a precious relationship! If you choose to have it, make sure you have these factors to make it work: Love, Forgiveness, Communication and Humility. I may not say it all, nevertheless, look to Christ. He’s the best example of portraying the kind of Friendship we could ever have.