Faithful Endurance

Billy Graham is known to be an evangelist who has toured almost the entire globe to preach the gospel of Christ to those who are lost. His life has been a blessing to many. God has been using him greatly and mightily through his speech proposal in different events, books that were published, and he has become a great influence to his son and grandson to continue what he started as an evangelistic pastor. His life has touched a lot of souls and it is all by God's power that enables him to glorify God's name through evangelical ministry. I am blessed by his life. I remember when I was in fourth year High School I have read a few pages of his book entitled, "Peace with God." Its content were very practical and helpful in broadening my knowledge about God. Aside from the life of Billy Graham, I have been blessed as well with how Christianity came here in the Philippines in a very unique way. Spanish Catholicism came to Philippines hundreds of years ago carrying the type of government which was frailocracy. At this time every personnel in the government had to obey with the Spanish priest rulers which caused the government and the state to be merged together. As the years went by, brutality had been displayed. So America raged war against Spain. America won. I was blessed with the life of Manrique Alonzo Lallave, who was a Spanish priest in Pangasinan who was against the Spanish government. He met a Swedish missionary. He was converted to Protestantism and smuggled bibles from outside the Philippines to the inside Philippines together with Francisco de Castells. Since then, Protestantism spread rapidly among Filipinos. Soon, there was an establishment of Evangelical Union, Siliman University, and Nicolas Zamora became the first ordained Filipino preacher. Truly, as God's people develop a pure motive of serving Him, the ministry that has been started will flourish by God's tools and His molding. God honors and works in His ministry.

I have learned from these people to really have faith and endurance with the life and ministry God has been entrusting to me. I am still in the process of accomplishing these two ingredients of finishing the race that we all, Christians, are into. By God's grace, I have endured the challenges I faced last year and I know by faith and God's grace, He will enable me to endure the challenges that will be coming into my life. Though I do not know where I am going, Christ is the driver of my life who knows which path to choose. In order to faithfully endure, I have to fuel the my jeepney (My life) with God's word, hold on to the corner of hope (God's promises), pray diligently as I ride in the jeepney (As I go through life), and trust in Him, my driver (Christ) who knows the right way.