Give Thanks

Binhi sang Pagtuo

November 22, 2010

Dear Friends,

Greetings!

Yesterday we were in Ajuy, Iloilo to join the Thanksgiving Celebration of two churches – the Espinosa Rice Mill Baptist Church and the Ajuy Evangelical Church. Next week we will be joining Jaro Evangelical Church in their Thanksgiving Celebration.

The Greek word “thanksgiving” is eucharistía and it comes from two Greek words – eu which means “well” and cháris which means “grace.” This means that when we consider God’s cháris “grace” we are compelled to have eucharistía “thanksgiving.”

Mrs. Felina Silencino emphasized in her sermon delivered in Ajuy that we can live for 60 days without food, 6 days without water but not 1 second more without the grace of God. Indeed, we must acknowledge our indebtedness to God for the gift of life itself and for His mercy in sustaining us.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:18 Paul encourages us that we must “give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.” The duty of thanksgiving must be evident in our prayers.

We must thank God for blessings that are granted. We must also be thankful for prayers that are deferred for they are delayed only until a more favorable time when we can fully appreciate the value of the blessing. And we must still be grateful for the petitions that are denied because God knows that what we have asked is not beneficial and can only hurt us. Soon, God will bestow to us something better than what we have prayed for.

I remember one instance a few months ago when we decided to buy tiles for our house. To my disappointment, the tile that we have chosen was out of stock when we decided to buy it. Somebody bought it a day before. My wife, Hermely, reminded me that since we committed to God our plans, He will give us something better. I was skeptical with her reassurances. She urged me to visit another store. And behold the tile what we like was available and, to make it sweeter, the tile was for sale at a discounted price.

May God bless us all!

Sincerely,

Pastor Francis Neil G. Jalando-on

Give Thanks

Binhi sang Pagtuo

November 15, 2010

Dear Friends,

Greetings!

November is the month that churches celebrate Thanksgiving. This is a tradition coming from the Protestant Missionaries that came to the Philippines more than 100 years ago.

Psalm 100, called the Psalm of Thanksgiving, declares,

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.”

Indeed we can declare that our God is good, merciful and faithful. God has showered us many blessings that we should be thankful for. As the song goes,

“Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.”

Have you really tried to count and name your blessings? If not yet, then this November is a good time to reflect on the blessings that God has bestowed to you.

Let me name one blessing that we just received. Earlier today the pastors of central and south Negros experienced God’s blessings through the generosity of the Lapatha family. More than 90 pastors gathered at Caingin Beach Resort, Pontevedra, Negros Occidental for a 1-day Institute conducted by the Convention Baptist Ministers Association. Mr. Lemuel Lapatha shared to us that their hosting of our Institute is part of their ministry of hospitality (free food, snacks and venue). This event is without a doubt a cause for thanksgiving.

The Filipino nation yesterday also thanked God for the win of boxing icon Manny Pacquiao over Antonio Margarito to capture an unprecedented 8th world title in 8 weight classes.

May God bless us all!

Sincerely,

Pastor Francis Neil G. Jalando-on

Be like a Fruit

Binhi sang Pagtuo

November 8, 2010

Dear Friends,

Greetings!

Last week the Philippine Baptist Men held its annual assembly at Capiz Evangelical Church, Roxas City, Capiz. Let me share to you a portion of my sermon in the Closing Celebration on the theme: “Pruned to be Fruitful” and Scripture text: John 15.

Jesus said, “I am the vine and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch that does not produce fruit and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.”

When Jesus spoke of this analogy I imagine that he was standing in the midst of a vineyard or near its vicinity and that his audience is looking at a lot of grapes. Jesus often spoke using the object lesson method of teaching. In this instance Jesus was telling his disciples that their faith must bear fruit. For our faith to be life a fruit it should be something that is tangible, attractive, tasty, and useful.

What kind of faith did the early church show that can be describe like a fruit?

First, their faith was tangible because they helped the poor. They have a food distribution center, and shared their excess wealth. It was a very attractive sight that eventually attracted the people and joined Christianity. The book of Acts tells us that thousands were added to their fold.

When was the last time that you gave a material thing to someone who is in need?

Second, their faith was attractive because they verbally shared the Gospel to the people. They did it through preaching, singing and giving testimonies.

Let us find ways to verbally express our faith. If you want to preach, then study preaching and ask your pastor for an opportunity to share the Word of God. If you do not want to preach, you can become a Bible study leader, a Sunday School teacher, a testimony giver, a liturgist, a singer or an encourager.

When was the last time that you verbally expressed your faith?

May God bless us all!

Sincerely,

Pastor Francis Neil G. Jalando-on

Lessons on All Saints Day

Binhi sang Pagtuo

November 1, 2010

Dear Friends,

Greetings!

Most of us have visited our departed loved ones in the cemetery today. It is our tradition to light candles, eat sticky food, and reunite with family members on All Saints Day.

What lessons can we learn on our November 1 tradition?

First, let us value our family. In our fast pace world nowadays we sometimes forget to greet our love ones, share stories with them, and just sit there and feel their presence.

We need to seek out our family members and let them feel that we value their existence. Sometimes a surprise visit does a lot of good.

When was the last time you visited your family?

Second, let us fellowship in our table. It increasingly alarming that we oftentimes eat alone, and in a fast food joint. One can note in the gospels that there are many stories of Jesus together with people attending a feast or having just plain supper. Jesus did not do it for the free food but in eating together, Jesus was teaching us about how to nurture our relationship with one another.

What is it in eating together? When we share a meal, there is ritual of passing the plates, viands, and drinks. While doing this, we are reconnecting with our family members – we would ask them what is happening with their life, and vice versa. This is why eating in a table with family and friends would sometimes take long to finish. Table fellowship is a good way of uniting our family.

Eating foods that are sticky on November 1 is a reminder for Filipinos to stick with your family. There are many families that are breaking up, and eating “suman” reminds us to keep our family together.

When was the last time you ate with your family?

Third, we need to keep and continue the legacy of our departed loved ones.

I noticed that in the cemetery, one of the purposes of lighting a candle is to start a conversation about the departed loved one and use the life of the candle as the timer when to end the conversation. Although the conversation is short, it rekindles memories. The swapping of stories becomes a great way of passing on to the next generation the legacy of the previous generation.

When was the last time you told a story of your departed loved one to the new generation of your family?

May God bless us all!

Sincerely,

Pastor Francis Neil G. Jalando-on