Straight From Pastor Ey

It was an epic flood due to a record rainfall. Tropical storm Ondoy, “bearing winds of 85 kilometers per hour with gusts of 100 kilometers” (Source: http://inquirer.net/ ) hit us mid-morning. “ About 100 families in different areas in Metro Manila have been evacuated as incessant rains caused heavy flooding in the national capital region… In San Mateo, Rizal, at least 269 families were reported to be severely affected by rising floodwater”. As I was writing this, the statistics are steadily rising. In the news, the government just declared Metro Manila and 25 provinces under state of calamity. Dela Rosa Street became the Dela Rosa River. (Watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/wat ch?v=Fv7KKVtRbRQ ) The floodwater rapidly reached waist deep. It engulfed the cars parked along the street while the owners watched hapless and helpless. Our basement parking overflowed to the brim. Slowly, the waters seeped into our church office. We hurriedly cleared up the lower shelves of our fil...

It’s more than 230 days before the 2010 national and local elections. But it seems things are heating up. Even my Facebook page is getting flooded with posts campaigning for this or that presidentiable! In fact, the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches recently came up with guidelines should a church decide to be partisan (that is, endorsing or campaigning for a certain candidate) or non-partisan (engaging in voter’s education without endorsing anyone in particular) for this coming elections. (In case you are asking, our church will remain non-partisan.) In the midst of all these I believe we should be like the “men of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do” (1 Chronicles 12:32, NIV). Though very few in number, “They were men of great skill above any of their neighbours” (Source: Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible). Dubbed as “weather-wise,” they knew the right time to plant and to harvest. Deuteronomy 33:19 tells us that “They will summon...

I wrote this article here in San Carlos City, Pangasinan during the ministry week of the International Graduate School of Leadership which started last Thursday, September 10. (Deacon Manuel Go, Jr. is with the Baguio team.) As soon as we arrived in Pangasinan, we hit the ground running by doing classroom evangelism in Dagupan National High Scholl. I almost lost my voice speaking before students in hot and humid classrooms. The next day our team evangelized the students of Turac National High School (Believe it or not, this public school of around 600 students has a Wi-Fi hotspot!) We are also training pastors and church workers in facilitating small groups, youth ministry, church leadership and preaching seminars. This Sunday (September I3), I will be preaching in the worship service of San Carlos City Baptist Church. Other than what I went through personally in the past weeks, I saw that the enemy busied himself attacking. Last week, Pastor Cesar Magalong, the pastor of our host chur...

When it rains, it…? And it appears that when it pours, it’s a downpour. You already know that my son Jessey was hospitalized due to dengue. (Thanks for your prayers! His recovery is really a miracle.) Then, a few days later, his PSP has gone kaput. The technician lamented that it is beyond repair. Then, last Thursday, around 6PM, he got held up on his way home from school. His school bag, including my Macbook, got stolen. He brought the laptop to school for a class presentation. Three teenage suspects picked him up right in front of our house, brought him a block away then robbed him. I just praise God he was unharmed. That was really scary! Nowadays people get stabbed or shot or beaten up. I told him, “God gives us problems either to punish us or to polish us.” The morning before the mugging, I spoke before grade and high school students, faculty and staff of a Filipino-Chinese Christian School. My verse was Psalm 23:5. “You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You w...