• The Perspective Changing Power of the Resurrection 

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    Read: Philippians 3:7-11 It’s forty degrees below freezing point, but with the wind chill factor, it feels a lot colder. The fingertips of the guitarist are numb, and the snow makes it harder to walk for everyone. But the night is not getting any younger and the people are getting ready for bed. The team…

  • Perish to Proliferate

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    Read: John 12:23-35 One of my chores as a child was to watch over large thin spreads of rice grains as they dry on the side of the street or plaza. After harvest, the grains need to be completely moisture free before being put away for either consumption or for next season’s seedlings. The sweltering…

  • Fools With And For Christ

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    Read: 1 Corinthians 1:18-30 No one wants to be called, or even thought of as a fool. I think to make it hit harder, let me use the word idiot, forgive my language. No one wants to be called, or even perceived as stupid. To be made fun of or to be condescended upon is…

  • Freedom Isn’t Free 

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    Read: John 8:31-36 I grew up on the eastern foothills of Mount Tirad, a 1,154 meter high mountain near the city of Candon, Ilocos Sur, Philippines. The mountain is significant to Philippine history because it was the site of the 1899 Battle of Tirad Pass, where a Philippine hero, the young General Gregorio del Pilar,…

  • The Death That Did Away With Death

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    Read: 1 Peter 3:18 As a child I had, thanatophobia,  an extreme fear of death, probably due to the trauma of my father’s passing when I was five. Anything connected to death absolutely terrified me – cemeteries, crosses, coffins, and even the colors white and purple, because those were the colors of crepe papers people…

  • The Rewards of Righteous Suffering

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    Read: Revelation 22:10-13 Parents have an effective trick up their sleeves to get their children to do something, which, by the way, could be quite a challenge. This is the age-old giving of rewards.  And it almost always works.  Rewards are effective incentives to get people to do something, even if it means that they…

  • Mining the Meaning

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    Read: Romans 8:28-39 There is nothing more powerful than a period of great suffering that incites reflection and contemplation. C.S. Lewis said, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains.” In our suffering, we need to lean in, listen closely, and learn what lesson might be gained…

  • Been There But Never Done That

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    Read: Hebrews 4:14-16 Waking up for school, doing chores, completing homework, and getting off the screen are common points of contention in many households, including mine. Pastors’ families are truly just like any other family. And pastor parents are just like any other parent. We also get upset and frustrated when our kids act up…

  • If We Should Suffer

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    Read: 1 Peter 4:12-16 There is no word to describe the pain of being separated from someone loved so dearly. It cuts deep into the soul, gnawing at every fiber of one’s being. For me, the pain is most torturous at dusk. There’s something about nightfall that aggravates the torment. Have you ever experienced being…

  • Resigned To Suffer Because He Will Never Fail

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    Read : Philippians 1:27-30 When I think about Christ’s incarnation, leaving behind His glorious throne and the endless adoration of heaven, putting on humanity and entering the world in such a humble manner, experiencing the pain of rejection and eventually dying a most painful death – I imagine Him in eternity past, knowing fully well…