[The Negros Chapter]: Only One Way

This is the first part of a series of posts about my evangelistic-campaign trip to Negros, Philippines. The campaign is actually 6 weeks long, but I only went there for one week. Was really a blessing to be able to serve together with the Campus Ministry this year, as well as many others from different churches around the world. We would travel to different high schools (secondary schools in Malaysian terms) in Philippines and share the gospel with them; either class-to-class or through a mass evangelism in a school assembly. I joined the campaign in Week 3, and we went to Negros (both Occidental and Oriental).

Practically every Filipino in Negros (and all over the country) knows who Jesus is, and are Christians of some denomination. So why bother to go evangelizing in the Philippines, you may ask. But when I threw the students a very direct question: "Are you ready to meet God when you die?" Some of them couldn't answer me. They were not sure. And some of them answered "Yes!" But in the end, not all of them were sure too.

I remember Simon told us in our first school a conversation he had with a teacher he met outside a classroom. She believed that salvation was based on works, and Simon shared that it was not through Titus 3: 5: Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit."

He then asked the teacher after sharing the gospel: "If you died yesterday, where will you be going?"

The teacher said, "Heaven."

Simon: But yesterday, what were you depending on to save you?

Teacher: Works.

Simon: Then if you died yesterday, will you be on your way to heaven?

Teacher: No.

The teacher then understood that it is not works that save, but Jesus alone.

There are many students in many schools who could recite John 14: 6 to me off their heads. John 14: 6 records Jesus saying "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no one goes to the Father except through Me." But not all of them knew that this meant Jesus is not just 'a way', He is 'the way'. There are not many roads to heaven as there are to Rome. There is just one.

When I read the response slips, many believe they are saved by going to church. Some believe they are saved through baptism (they even remember and write the date down). By doing good things. By praying. By virtue of birth in a Christian home.

But all these are works. And though righteous works may be fruits of salvation, they are certainly not the means to salvation. The prophet Isaiah laments in Isaiah 64: 6a:"But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousness's are like filthy rags..."

What we do cannot save us. It is not what we have done, or need to do. If there is any other way to save us, then Jesus needn't have died. But there is none. Therefore Christ must die - to make the payment for sin, the sacrifice for sin needed to appease a righteous and holy God.

I illustrated this in class by using an example of taking a bus to school (others prefer using ferrys etc.). I asked the class if I just looked at a bus without getting up it, though knowing it will take me to school, will I get there? They said "No." Therefore, it is not enough to know who Jesus Christ is - or to even know He is the Savior of the world. He may be the Savior of the world, but the question for you is - is He your Savior?

My second example was about me trying to board a bus to school, with one leg up the bus and the other leg trying to walk my way there at the same time. (It was not easy for me to do this ok, I'm usually very prim and proper with crowds.) They laughed at my weird jumping, and I asked them will I reach school this way? They answered again, "No."

Then I asked the class: "Do you know many of you are doing this? Is it tiring? Yes! But will it take you to school? No." Many waste a lifetime in trying to do good works to justify themselves, while trying to depend on Jesus too. But split faith, is not faith. I can't believe the earth is round and at the same time believe that it is flat. True dependent faith, is putting all your eggs in a basket, and this is the saving faith that will lead you to salvation.

Romans 10: 9 says: " If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." It is believing that saves. And to go to school through taking the bus, I need to get on the bus, and sit down, having faith that the driver will send me there. It is not what I do myself - I don't drive the bus. But it is the dependence on the driver that makes me put the whole of my self into the vehicle and sit down.

Not by works - not even by church going, prayer, or baptism. The Bible said it is through a heart of belief only. And as I have asked the students - do you know Jesus with your heart, or just in your head? What were you depending on to save you yesterday? Jesus is the only way to reach God. Only Jesus saves.

Quarter of a Century

I'm still working on my Philippines blog. Maybe I'll blog in stages instead of the whole thing at once, so it won't be too much of a read. All I can say for now is that the trip of awesome and we had to depend on God all the way to meet many needs. The weather, our safety, timing, and of course open hearts of the students who were listening to the gospel we shared. More on that in subsequent posts.

This post is my birthday entry. Just turned quarter a century old last week, and am really thankful for the people who celebrated with me in this little island away from home. Am thankful for the numerous messages, calls, and Facebook wall posts too. :) I had three cakes of exotic flavours this year! The first is a mango yoghurt cake made by Jon in the wee hours of the morning. The second was a green-tea red bean cake slice bought by my colleagues at work. And the last was with Campus ministry at church, a nutty banana cake.

I think what made me happiest in this birthday celebration was actually the fact that we managed to put this picture together.

This is a picture of some peeps in our Campus ministry, taken on Sunday. Not everyone is here - Simon is still in the Philippines, Boss and WM not around, and some guys I used to be with years back have left campus (like Kailing and Alvin), others have 'graduated' into Young Adults. But do you know how hard it is to have this number of people taking a picture and celebrating an event together nowadays? Almost all of us are working and we seldom meet together like this - although we sporadically meet a few out of the group here and there. It's so rare that everyone happened to be around for lunch (and there's even Irene, Gerald and Chris who were with us that day but not in this picture).

Stacey told me she was happy that there was such a big lunch outing and I was too. Especially since it was partially for my birthday, and I usually don't get to have such a long lunch outing on Sundays. I would either be knocked out after night shift, or leaving a bit earlier to work on afternoon shifts. But it so happened that last Sunday I shifted down into night shift to support my colleagues in the next team which lacked manpower. Hence I was able to sleep properly and have a nice long lunch with everybody else.

I think this made me happiest as it brought back a taste of what campus used to be like in my year one. Just that during that time I was not that close to most people (we only meet once a week after all), and my affections were more towards my hall mates. But as years grow by I found myself getting more attached to the people in Campus, and it was such a joy to serve together and grow closer to each other in the Philippines. Technically most of us have graduated, but we haven't officially 'left' Campus group yet.

Most of us have changed so much even across these few years, and I really thank the Lord for Simon's ministry in Campus. Students pre-occupied with studies in a competitive country are really hard ground for the seeds of change - but through love and patience and being a wonderful example, Simon has impacted our lives in many ways, and helped us to grow. There is no short cut to nurturing spiritual growth in others - and I have really Simon and Campus Seniors to thank for keeping me in the faith across my uni years and working life. I wouldn't have 'lost faith' in God in a sense, but to keep growing, and loving God, and loving God's Word, and finding opportunities to serve is not easy when there are other things that always seem 'more important'. Simon is a busy man in his profession and has set such a wonderful example to us to seek first God's kingdom and His righteousness. Thank God for him.

Thank God for Campus Ministry, the way we've grown and our love for each other. The above picture still stirs surges of emotions in my heart, because Campus has left a mark that will always be a part of me, although it was so gradual that it was hardly felt across the years. We've been through a lot together, and I hope we still get many many pictures of Campus-ers together in the future.

Being Built Upon A Rock

I am writing this piece to be posted elsewhere so I thought I should put it on my own blog too.

Matthew 7: 24 - 25 says,
" Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.

Here are some of my personal thoughts with regards to the verses above:

1. Obedience as an expression of wisdom

Matthew 7 (also cf Luke 6: 46 - 49) likens a man who is obedient to one who is wise. Proverbs 1: 7 says: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instructions. Proverbs 9: 10 also says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

A man who is wise does everything with a God-fearing heart. Not fear in the sense that 'if I make a wrong move, God will strike me dead'; but fearing God with a sense of awe, with a full knowledge of His sovereignty and authority. A wise man invests in the right place, putting in time and effort to build his house upon the rock.

Are you investing time to go deep into God's word, and take the effort to obey His commands? It will not be easy, it will take time; and sometimes it will be messy. But when the days of tribulation come, this will keep you standing. Only through the obedience of God's Word that you will experience His faithfulness, His power and His grace, that will enable you to be obedient. Only by experiencing Himself through His word and through your obedience, will you be able to firmly ground yourself against trials and tribulations. You will not be shaken because you know the God you have experienced. You will then be able to say with certainty: The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer, my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold (Psalm 18: 2).

A wise man knows that he has to build his house on a strong foundation; and he knows that God Himself is his rock!

2. Obedience as an expression of love

"If you love me, you will keep my commandments (John 14: 5)."

Do you know what truly enables obedience? Love. Fear does make a person submit. But how does a person willingly obey if there is no love? It is easy to obey instructions out of fear. But how does one love one's enemies from one's heart unless motivated by another form of love - love for God who loved us when we were once His own enemies (Colossians 1: 21)? How does one be joyful at all times unless one knows he is kept in God's love and God's will?

John 1: 53 says, "This is love for God: to obey His commands. And His commands are not burdensome."

Are God's commands a weight in your heart, chains on your hands and feet? Are they a set of do's and don'ts fixed on standards so high you cannot reach? Are you turning away from Christ because your cross is just too heavy to bear - and His words judge you and damn you because you fall short, and you are unable to obey?

Unless we are like Mary, worshiping Jesus at His feet, we will never find joy in obedience. If we obey and serve with Martha's hands, but without Mary's heart; we will never find joy in obedience. We will burn out without love for the Lord. But obedience founded with love is a joy, is a relief. It does not find God's commandments burdensome, because it has instead become a channel by which overflowing love could be expressed.


Dear friend, may you be wise in obeying the Lord, and find God showing Himself faithful to you; for God honors obedience. Do so that you may stand firm in times of tribulation, due to your constant experiencing of God and His grace. But do so even more as an expression of the love on your heart, that you may find joy in obedience, that your obedience itself is a form of worship better than sacrifice that the Lord finds pleasing.

God is Sovereign

There are plenty of people who think that the God is harsh, big-headed, mean and dominating. Not to mention a killjoy. Probably because God judges sin, demands obedience, and demands worship. 

That's the danger of a man-centered gospel, I feel. When man thinks that he is the center of God's universe, and that God should so love him to send His own son to save him, the image of a benevolent, doting God is conjured. But when they realize that they are to take up their crosses to follow Jesus, God instantly becomes the big bully on the play ground, wanting to have everything 'His way', toying us puny beings around His little finger. 

People like to press 'human rights' upon God because they often forget - God is not human. God is God. The creator, the maker of human beings. God is sovereign. 

It's just like a potter who makes a vessel using clay. Is it therefore right for the clay to complain to the potter? The Bible says: "You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, 'You did not make me?' Can the pot say to the potter 'You know nothing'? (Isa 29: 16). Can the pot claim to want equal treatments with its maker? And who is man to demand 'respect', demand 'rights', or even demand love from God? 

Man has no right for such demand. Should God decide to damn the world He made to judgment in hell for their disobedience (just like potter could destroy hardened clay), who is to say it is not fair? If a judge sentences a murderer to death, or demands a fine from one who speeds on the road - can anyone say that the judge is not fair? And should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right (Gen 18: 25)? The Bible says that the wages of sin is death (Rom 6: 23). Should we not deserve the wages towards a work we have worked a lifetime towards? Is that not fair? Yet God is hated for being fair.

We say it's not fair because our sins are just little things! Not murdering or kidnapping, or nasty things like that. A little white lie here. A little envy there. A little cowardice not to do the right thing. But in the same manner, murderers do not always think they have done wrong! Nor do people who drive past the speed limit. Nor to husbands who abuse their wives. If everything is based on the perception of the crime instigator, law and order is doomed. Who decides what is right and what is wrong? The law. And who wrote the God's law? God did. Who judges? God.

Should not a King deserve to demand loyalty from his subjects? A country from her citizens? A master from his servants? How about God from His created beings? Is God wrong to demand the worship He deserves? Does that mean God is arrogant? Or is it human beings, the created pots who are arrogant towards the potter, thinking that they are on par with Him? Thinking they know better, they deserve better? 

The Bible says "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whomsoever believes shall not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3: 16). Judgement is deserved, but grace is not. Grace is given because of love. Commandments are given so that we can have life. And Jesus died for us while we were yet sinners, while we were still enemies of God (Romans 5: 10). What a love! What a cost! What an undeserving exchange. For through Jesus, not only our sins are cleansed by His blood (1 John 1: 7), but we are credited His own righteousness (Romans 4: 22-25). We are saved not by the good works we've done on earth, for the Bible says they are but filthy rags (Isa 64: 6). We are saved because Jesus gave us His righteousness.

Should not such a God demand worship? Should not such a God demand love and obedience? Should you not trust in the heart of the God who loved you so?